Chapter 394: Chapter 392: Red Heart (Congratulations to the Little Fish Alliance Leader!)_1
Several months later.
In the heart of Thick Soil City, a grand auction was underway.
"Congratulations to the patron in the Sky Number Seven private room. The ’Soil Wheel Flower’ is now yours... A staff member from the auction house will soon make their way to your private room to complete the transaction."
The auctioneer’s voice was polite and contained a hint of enthusiasm, "The next item is the finale of this auction—’Crimson Heart Pill Manual’. This pill manual comes from the hands of ’Chi Xinzi’, a famous master of alchemy in the Quicksand Region, who once participated in the refinement of the ’Soil Return Pill’ and the success rate of crafting the ’Earth Golden Pill’ exceeds fifty percent!"
Before he could finish his sentence, an irritable voice erupted, "Everyone knows Chi Xinzi’s reputation, let’s get started."
"Heh heh... Since everyone is so eager, let us begin. The starting bid for this ’Crimson Heart Pill Manual’ is three hundred thousand low-grade Spirit Stones," said the auctioneer with a chuckle.
The Core Formation Cultivator smiled hehe as he spoke.
"What? A third-grade top-class alchemy inheritance manual for just three hundred thousand Spirit Stones?!"
Suddenly, the auction hall stirred, "This price is too low, could there be some defect with this inheritance?"
"Ladies and gentlemen... I haven’t finished speaking yet," the auctioneer looked towards the private room, "Whoever wins this manual will also need to agree to a condition requested by the seller... As for what the request is, you’ll need to discuss it face-to-face, though you are free to refuse. In that case, the ’Crimson Heart Pill Manual’ will be auctioned again... Given that the seller’s request won’t be simple, it’s recommended that only those above the mid-Core Formation stage bid."
High-level inheritances of the Four Arts of Cultivation are often the foundation of major Sects and Families, and are rarely put up for auction.
It was only natural that harsh conditions were attached.
For a moment, bidding voices were incessantly rising one after another.
"Three hundred and fifty thousand!"
"Three hundred and eighty thousand!"
...
Inside a private room, two Core Formation Cultivators sat cross-legged.
"This manual would be greatly beneficial to our ’Green Dan Sect’. It might be expensive, but it’ll be worth it," said a young cultivator freshly into Core Formation, wearing a jade crown and looking quite spirited. "Even if the seller has some requests, with Uncle Zi’s late-stage Core Formation strength, you should be more than capable of handling it."
"The young master is wise."
Opposite the young Core Formation Cultivator was a purple-bearded old man who, after being flattered, stroked his beard with a pleased look on his face.
"Six hundred thousand!"
The Green Dan Sect young master immediately called out an exorbitant price that deterred many cultivators.
Just when he thought he had the situation well in hand, a lazy voice followed, "Seven hundred thousand!"
"Seven hundred and fifty thousand!"
The Green Dan Sect young master’s expression flashed with anger as he called out another price.
"Eight hundred thousand!"
The lackadaisical voice continued, as if boasting unlimited financial resources, showing little interest in this trivial matter.
"What’s going on? Is this person a shill for the auction house?" the young master of the Green Dan Sect said angrily.
"Unlikely... but it could be the auctioneer’s own price bump," Uncle Zi opened his eyes and looked in the direction of Sky Number Three room, his expression growing more serious. "Young master, if it exceeds nine hundred thousand Spirit Stones, with an additional condition, it might not be worth it."
"I know," the young master of the Green Dan Sect gritted his teeth, "Nine hundred thousand! I bid nine hundred thousand low-grade Spirit Stones!"
"One million!"
The lazy voice sounded again from the private room.
The Green Dan Sect young master angrily sat back down, "The patron indeed has vast wealth. I am impressed. The ’Crimson Heart Pill Manual’ is yours."
In the Sky Number Three private room.
Fang Xi lay back lazily, munching on a Spirit Fruit, "These Western Desert cultivators are indeed wealthier than those from the South Wilderness, probably because there are more mines here and the Spirit Stone Veins are more abundant compared to the South Wilderness..."
"What a pity... even if your family owns a Spirit Stone mine, how can it compare to the effortless profits of robbing a Nascent Soul old monster!"
It wasn’t long before a knocking sound came from outside the private room.
"Come in!"
Fang Xi tossed the Spirit Fruit core casually into the Mountain Sea Pearl and lifted the private room’s prohibition.
The door to the private room opened silently, admitting a white-haired elder and a veiled female Cultivator.
The female cultivator was dressed in the Western Desert’s distinct tight-fitting top, her curves ample, and her two pale thighs like ivory. Even behind the veil, her eyes rippled with emotion, revealing an alluring charm without even trying.
"The honorable guest has arrived... I am an executive from the auction house, and this is the seller of the ’Crimson Heart Pill Manual’."
The white-haired elder, sensing Fang Xi’s late-Core Formation cultivation, smiled even more broadly, "This ’Lady Snake’ is the seller. She has paid the auction house’s required commission fee, so please discuss between yourselves. Whether the transaction succeeds or not, the auction house will not interfere any further."
After finishing his words, he bowed respectfully and exited, carefully closing the door behind him.
With a flick of his sleeve, Fang Xi cast a five-colored prohibition, instantly isolating the inside from the outside.
"May I ask how to address this distinguished guest?"
Lady Snake moved gracefully to sit across from Fang Xi.
She had a cultivation level around mid-Core Formation, and every move she made bore an enchanting charm, likely a Cultivator who practiced Charming Skills.
On any normal day, Fang Xi would have been more than happy to have a profound exchange with her.
But at this time, he just wanted to get the pill manual, and then return to the South Wilderness to refine pills and cultivate, striving to form his Nascent Soul as soon as possible.
His alchemy skill had hit a bottleneck, and if he could acquire this third-grade superior alchemy inheritance, he probably would be able to make further progress and not waste too many spirit medicines from the Evergreen Garden Secret Land.
In fact, Fang Xi only planned to refine those spirit medicines that weren’t too old into pills.
As for the ten-thousand-year-old spirit medicines, they would certainly be useful to Transcendent God cultivators and were naturally left untouched.
Similarly, the spirit medicines that were a few thousand years old were also sufficient to create pills fit for Nascent Soul cultivators to refine their magic power, and for him to consume them now would be a profligate waste.
The pills he intended to refine would mainly use the least valuable batch of spirit medicines from the secret land as primary ingredients, supplemented with purchased ancillary herbs.
Even so, it would cause heartache if too much was wasted.
If he could improve his own alchemy skills further at this time, it would save a lot of spirit stones.
Moreover... it was also related to the future refinement of the ’Crossing Extinction Pill’.
Therefore, Fang Xi was quite interested in this pill manual.
"You may address me as Master Mu!"
Fang Xi gave Lady Snake a few looks, "Sir, there’s another condition in your auction terms, may I know why?"
Lady Snake scrutinized Fang Xi’s appearance and found that his face was shrouded in a layer of black light, making it impossible to see clearly.
She gritted her teeth, "May I ask sir to reveal your true face?"
"Oh?"
Fang Xi became a bit more serious, glanced at Lady Snake again, but still performed a hand seal.
The black light on his face dispersed, revealing an ordinary and unremarkable visage.
"Cultivators at the late stage of Core Formation aren’t many in the Quicksand Region; I’m fairly familiar with their appearances... Sir, you wouldn’t happen to be a cultivator from this region, would you?"
Lady Snake tentatively asked.
"Have you asked too many questions?" Fang Xi frowned and snorted coldly.
"Please forgive me, Sir. It’s just that the matter I need help with is of great importance. It’s best to ask for assistance from a high-level cultivator who has little involvement with this locality."
Lady Snake immediately showed a pitiful demeanor.
"Heh heh..." Fang Xi stroked his chin, "I am indeed not a cultivator from the Quicksand Region... What exactly do you need?"
"I would like to ask Sir to make a move just once, to help my family relocate to a safe place."
Lady Snake finally spoke up.
"Your... family?"
Fang Xi’s expression was calm, revealing no emotion, "Let’s hear the details..."
"Yes, my family, in fact, descends from the bloodline of Chi Xinzi... known for our alchemy but recently received news that the Quicksand Region is unsettled... and we wish to relocate... Although my family seems free to come and go on the surface, we are secretly restrained by a Core Formation elder from the Yellow Sand Sect... Ah, years ago, my family paid a great price to connect with this Core Formation elder, but we are not his subordinate force... It’s just that now that my family wants to relocate, he has released rumors to obstruct us..."
Lady Snake said with a wry smile.
"You’ve offended a Core Formation elder from a Nascent Soul Sect." Fang Xi chuckled, "That is truly quite troublesome. What is the cultivation level of that Core Formation elder...?"
"Old Huang has already reached the late stage of Core Formation, but his lifespan is insufficient, and he should not be able to break through to Perfect Core Formation, let alone have any hope of condensing a Nascent Soul..." Lady Snake quickly answered.
"A late-stage Core Formation cultivator?!"
Fang Xi sighed, "Perhaps it would be better for you and your family to continue staying in the Quicksand Region..."
If it were Old Huang, he would be helpless too.
Initially, the family below desperately wanted to cling to him for the sake of reputation and protection, providing him with a substantial tribute of spirit stones and medicines every year.
And now, they suddenly talk about running away!
Even Fang Xi wouldn’t be pleased with such a situation.
Of course, since it’s a goose that lays golden eggs, one wouldn’t really want to kill it, so they could only release rumors to obstruct a bit.
"If there were no issues, why would we, cultivating immortal families, ever wish to relocate?"
Lady Snake gave a bitter smile, "Sir, I can tell you a piece of news... It’s rumored that the Soul Lamp of ’Lord Qian Sha’ from the Yellow Sand Sect has been extinguished, suspected to have fallen... and Lord Black Sand has also gone mad from flawed cultivation practice."
"What?!"
Fang Xi ’showed great shock’, swiftly scanned the surroundings to check for prohibitions, then whispered, "You dare to say such things, aren’t you afraid of dying?"
"Sir truly isn’t someone from the Yellow Sand Sect..."
Lady Snake, however, smiled and threw a coquettish look, "If it were a person from the Yellow Sand Sect or a Cultivator friendly with it, they would probably want to turn hostile and capture me after hearing this..."
"Hmph, are you testing me?"
Fang Xi snorted coldly.
"It concerns the rise and fall of my family. I dare not be careless..."
Lady Snake said, "But I can assure you, the news of Lord Qian Sha’s fall is absolutely true."
’That I certainly know, for I was one of the people involved...’
Fang Xi thought to himself mockingly, "So...?"
"Now, with only two Nascent Souls left in the Yellow Sand Sect — one having passed in meditation and the other suspected of demonic possession — I’ve received a highly confidential piece of intelligence that ’Eight Desolate Sect’ from outside the Quicksand Region intends to invade and start a war between the sects."
Lady Snake said pitifully, "In such a war between sects... they are sure to call upon their subordinate cultivating forces; I don’t want to become cannon fodder, so I have no choice but to flee!"