Chapter 84: Chapter 83: Second-Order Elixir (Request for Subscription) _1 Chapter 84: Chapter 83: Second-Order Elixir (Request for Subscription) _1 Out of caution, Fang Xi did not make a bid.
He simply watched in silence as items were brought onto the stage one after another and then described to perfection by Zhong Wanjun through the copper mirror.
After the initial shock passed, Fang Xi realized something.
He was not the only body cultivator practicing “Ten Thousand Beast Body”; it might not necessarily be a trap.
Besides, based on the time of purchase, he might not even be able to master the first layer.
The likelihood that others were being targeted was much greater than him!
During this period, Fang Xi made only one bid, for a volume titled “Alcohol Deity Manual.”
Despite its grandiose title, the “Alcohol Deity Manual” was merely a brewmaster’s notes, containing a few recipes for first-grade Spirit Wine…
Fang Xi casually placed a bid of two hundred Spirit Stones, considering it a way to make up for a minor regret from his past.
Back then, his grand plans for brewing came to an abrupt halt. When he revisited the site later, the cellar’s contents had turned sour, conjuring up quite a wistful memory.
As time ticked away, the auction finally approached its conclusion.
On the stage, Zhong Wanjun looked solemn as he allowed the maidens carrying trays covered with red cloth to ascend the platform.
“Next, we enter the finale of the auction, starting with the first item!”
Zhong Wanjun unveiled the red silk cloth to reveal a shimmering cyan piece of spirit armor on a white jade tray!
“Lower-grade Spiritual Instrument—Cyan Fish Armor! Forged from 6,700 scales of the Green Jade Carp King, this armor can change size at will, remains unstained by the slightest dust, and comes with five magical arrays for gathering spirit, protection, detoxification, repelling water, and emanating golden light… The starting bid is six hundred Spirit Stones!”
“A Spiritual Instrument?” Fang Xi was somewhat surprised in the privacy of his booth.
Qi Refining cultivators use magical artifacts, Foundation Establishment cultivators use Spiritual Instruments!
Such instruments can’t be used without the strong magic power of a Foundation Establishment cultivator!
If a Qi Refining cultivator were to try to use it, it would be like a child trying to swing a heavy hammer, doing more harm than good.
‘There can’t be many people here qualified to bid on this, right?’
‘In Thousand Island Lake, there’s only the Ancestor of Zhong Family at the Foundation Establishment level among the families. It’s not like he’s going to sell it to himself… And there’s only one Individual Cultivator at Foundation Establishment. Besides that, maybe some Foundation Establishment cultivators came from afar?’
Fang Xi leaned back, devoid of any interest in bidding.
But when the second item was brought out, his eyes couldn’t help but brighten slightly.
“Second-grade Spiritual Pill—Seven Treasure Snake Blood Pill! Refined primarily from the essence blood of a second-grade serpent, it can greatly replenish qi and blood, enhancing the innate foundation of cultivators!”
On the stage, Zhong Wanjun was presenting a Liuli jade bottle.
Through the semi-transparent Liuli, one could see a large, deep red pill inside: “The starting bid is five hundred Spirit Stones!”
“A second-grade pill that strengthens qi and blood?”
There was a hint of longing in Fang Xi’s eyes.
If he could acquire this pill, combined with the fourth layer of “Ten Thousand Beast Body” and the research materials from the Grandmaster Conference,
He even had some confidence in breaking through the ‘True Gang Transformation’ stage!
‘No, I must remain calm. I’ve already spent enough Spirit Stones… Most of those competing for second-grade pills are Foundation Establishment cultivators… It would be too conspicuous if I participated!’
‘Even with the second-grade Spiritual Pill, I may not be able to break through successfully… and the Zhong Family might not withstand the pressure from a Foundation Establishment cultivator for my sake… That would be a big problem!’
Fang Xi watched the pill in the copper mirror, eventually regaining his composure, his eyes turning expressionless once again.
Although with the premium monster materials he had on hand, he might be able to win the second-grade Spiritual Pill,
But opportunities would come again; he was still too weak at the moment.
‘Forget it, let it go…’
He exhaled deeply, calmly awaiting the end of the auction.
The last item of this auction was a pill that helped Foundation Establishment cultivators break through bottlenecks, with the starting bid surpassing two thousand Spirit Stones.
At this point, Fang Xi rather wished the auction had been conducted with open bidding, just to enjoy the spectacle.
However, after this round of silent bidding, Zhong Wanjun did not leave the stage. Instead, he smiled and said, “Ladies and gentlemen, following our auction, we have decided to add a round of free trading. You can use a magical artifact to communicate with each other, and after reaching a deal, you can go to your respective booths or a designated secret room to complete the transaction. The Zhong Family will neither know whether you have successfully traded nor the contents of the trade… ”
“This magical artifact is the copper mirror in front of you. You just need to infuse it with magic power to use it.”
…
After listening, Fang Xi became slightly curious and tentatively sent a strand of magic power into the copper mirror.
The next moment, he felt his strand of magic power enter a huge ‘pond.’
Even his Spirit Sense attached to it, entering the pond along with it.
“How fascinating. Is this what it feels like for a Foundation Establishment cultivator’s Divine Consciousness to leave the body?”
In the pond, strands of magic power transformed into carps swimming around, and one black carp emitted bubbles as it swam.
“Zhong Wanjun, this thing your family has is quite interesting…”
At that moment, a large multicolored fish swam over, its size at least twice that of the other small fish.
“It turns out to be a senior!”
Zhong Wanjun also transformed into a green carp, exhaling a stream of bubbles: “This magical artifact is called ‘Ten Thousand Fish Mirror.’ In truth, it’s just a toy. Its communication range is limited, it consumes a lot of energy and can only be taken out for a little amusement…”
He frankly disclosed several shortcomings of the ‘Ten Thousand Fish Mirror.’
“Interesting!”
Grasping this rare opportunity for Spirit Sense to leave the body, Fang Xi turned into a small red carp and curiously swam around the ‘pond.’
‘This feeling is just like playing a virtual reality game…’
‘But how do you play this? Is there an instruction manual or something?’
Though Fang Xi didn’t understand, he was a quick learner.
He saw a white carp next to him blowing bubbles, and out of curiosity, he bumped into one.
Pop!
The bubble burst, and a voice that only he could hear echoed in his ears, “I want a Foundation Establishment Pill, I want a Foundation Establishment Pill, I want a Foundation Establishment Pill…”
‘Damn, I want one too! But I need to have one and be willing to trade for it to work!’
Fang Xi rolled his eyes and imitated by blowing a bubble: “Need a first-grade array, need a first-grade array, with a wide range, suitable for farming…”
Pop, pop!
Several small fish burst the bubbles, but there was no reply.
Fang Xi wasn’t in a hurry, waiting patiently.
He even passed up on a second-grade Qi Blood Pill; his mindset was excellent, with a sense that fortune befell him and fate took it away.
Before long, a green carp swam over and blew a bubble that bumped right into Fang Xi.
A voice rang out next to Fang Xi’s ear, “I have a set of first-grade mid-quality ‘Little Cloud Rain Array.’ Name your price!”
Fang Xi’s spirits lifted, and he replied with a bubble: “Do you accept first-grade superior monster materials?”
The green carp replied quickly: “Accepted!”
“Then let’s meet at Room Xuanzi Number Sixteen for the trade!”
After Fang Xi replied, he immediately withdrew that trace of magic power.
Inside the private room, he toyed with a bronze mirror and found it quite interesting.
‘This magic artifact seems to be anything but simple…’
It wasn’t long before there was a knock on the room’s door. After Fang Xi opened the door, in came a cultivator with a graceful figure, her face veiled.
Her aura was profound and impenetrable, making it impossible to perceive her cultivation level, evidently due to some kind of aura-concealing secret skill.
Fang Xi’s expression remained unchanged. Although he did not know any spells to hide his cultivation, anyone seeing him so wealthy and bold at the mere Qi Refining fourth layer would probably think he was concealing his strength!
This was also a strategic deception!
“First-grade mid-quality Little Cloud Rain Array, with both the array disk and array flags intact, along with one operation jade slip!”
The graceful female cultivator didn’t say much, and with a wave of her hand, a huge jade chest appeared and opened to reveal a series of exquisite array flags, shimmering with spiritual light and looking extraordinary: “This array has Gathering Spirit and concealment effects, and its range is quite large; it could be used as a foundation array for some small sects or families. If the value of your materials is less than five hundred Spirit Stones, I won’t make the trade. Moreover, if you can’t operate it and require me to set it up, that will be an additional one hundred Spirit Stones!”
“There’s no need for you to come over.”
Fang Xi was, after all, an Array Master… though not quite a beginner. With the guidance of the jade slip, he could manage to arrange the array.
After thinking for a moment, he took out his Storage Bag and gently tipped it over, and out floated a giant wolf skin, two bird claws, and some miscellaneous bestial tendons: “Have a look…”
The female Array Master picked up the wolf skin, her eyes shining: “First-grade superior Monster Wolf skin…”
“First-grade superior Monster Bird talons…”
“And this is… tendons of an unknown monster beast, also first-grade superior?”
“Did you… annihilate a monster beast’s lair or something? No, wait… these monster beasts are not of the same kind…”
By the end, the female Array Master was evidently very wary.
Only a fiercely strong person could have killed so many late-stage Qi Refining monster beasts!
‘And still disguised as a mere Qi Refining fourth layer cultivator, trying to fool a ghost!’
She thought to herself and put the materials away: “I’m very satisfied with these materials; the deal is done!”
The female Array Master left in a hurry, not giving Fang Xi a chance to make conversation.
‘Am I really that scary?’
He touched the square-jawed face he had disguised himself with, feeling it had quite some character.
After examining the array flags and disk a few times, he collected the jade chest and left the private room: “Let’s settle the bill…”
An attendant soon approached and led Fang Xi to another chamber.
…
“The guest from Room Xuanzi Number Sixteen, you’ve successfully bid for the Vajra Talisman and the Extraterrestrial Meteoric Iron Sword. As for the ‘Alcohol Deity Manual,’ unfortunately…”
In front of Fang Xi, a cultivator who looked like a senior attendant pushed two boxes across the table.
Upon opening them, inside was a golden talisman and the Extraterrestrial Meteoric Iron Sword.
‘I really lack experience…’
As Fang Xi examined them, he mused, ‘I clearly overpriced the talisman… The Extraterrestrial Meteoric Iron Sword is only suitable for body cultivators, with a narrow audience; it won’t sell for a high price…’
‘The ‘Alcohol Deity Manual’ might seem low-tier, but in reality, it could add a winemaking industry to some small families, bringing in a steady flow of income… Two hundred Spirit Stones was definitely not enough.’
“One hundred Spirit Stones for the Vajra Talisman, three hundred for the Extraterrestrial Meteoric Iron Sword, totaling four hundred Spirit Stones!” said the senior attendant with a beaming smile.
Fang Xi nodded silently and took out the remaining three hundred and eighty-seven lower-grade Spirit Stones from his Storage Bag, asking, “I’m short on Spirit Stones; could I use other items to make up the difference?”
“Of course, that’s possible, but they must be valued at ten percent less!”
The senior attendant twirled his graying beard, a glint of happiness in his eyes.