Chapter 24: The Auction, Part Two

Master Liu took a medicinal herb from his storage pouch and placed it on the table before him.

"This is a five-hundred-year-old spiritual herb, its potency remains quite intact. Well then, fellow cultivators, let the auction begin."

"Master Liu, is there no reserve price?" a Foundation Establishment cultivator suddenly inquired.

"Sigh, for something of this quality, what need is there for a reserve price? Let the bidding begin."

"So if we bid a single spirit stone, does that count as our offer?" some Foundation Establishment cultivators joked from below.

"If someone allows you to win it with one spirit stone, then it’s yours."

"Better not, I doubt anyone would agree."

Laughter erupted among the crowd.

"Alright, alright, let’s commence the bidding," Master Liu urged.

"Five hundred spirit stones," someone called out, matching the base price for a five-hundred-year spiritual herb.

"Five hundred and fifty."

"Five hundred and seventy."

"Six hundred and thirty."

"Six hundred and fifty," and so on.

"Any higher offers?" Master Liu watched for a moment; there was no reply.

"Very well, this spiritual herb goes to Fellow Wang." Master Liu handed the herb to a disciple behind him to deliver to the winner.

"The next item is a second-tier, low-grade Spirit Gathering Array Disk. Placed in a mountain rich with spiritual energy, it can generate enough qi for ten Foundation Establishment cultivators or an entire cultivator family. It’s quite suitable for those with a clan."

"Let’s begin the bidding."

This array disk was crafted by Lin Yang after experimenting with enhancements. Since it was of no use to him, he put it up for auction.

"Five hundred."

"Seven hundred."

"Niu Pi, are you ill? Why such a jump in price?" The previous bidder who offered five hundred was clearly irritated.

"Bah! I have a whole family to support, you lone bachelor. Why compete with me?" Niu Pi retorted bluntly.

"And what’s your problem? I’m a master of arrays. I want it for research. Is that not allowed?" The other was equally provoked.

"With your skills, you call yourself an array master? You’ve never sold anything. How can you claim that title?"

"Enough! Let’s focus on the auction," Master Liu, usually amiable, suddenly emanated a stern aura that silenced the murmuring cultivators.

The weight of his authority made it hard for Lin Yang to associate him with the kindly neighbor he once knew.

"One thousand."

"One thousand two hundred."

"One thousand five hundred."

"One thousand eight hundred."

"One thousand eight hundred fifty."

At this point, the crowd sensed the price was no longer worth it.

"One thousand nine hundred." This time, it was Niu Pi who bid, for this item was extremely suitable for him. Such things were rare, despite Spirit Gathering Arrays being common.

But one capable of sustaining an entire family was scarce. Otherwise, why would Yellow Maple Valley be built atop a spiritual vein?

"Any more bids? No? Then it’s sold."

"Next, we have a familiar item: the Great Return Pill. Perfect for gifting to juniors or for breakthroughs."

"Each auction is for a bottle, five pills per bottle."

"Only twenty bottles available, first come, first served."

"Five hundred." These cultivators seemed fixated on five hundred; every starting price was the same.

"Who’s the fool quoting the usual price right away?" The formula for the Great Return Pill had been given by Lin Yang to the Pill Refining Pavilion. He received a thirty percent cut for every pill sold.

The price for this was the pill recipe and guidance in refining. Lin Yang’s time was precious; for him, every moment meant progress—visible improvement, at least in terms of statistics.

Soon, the first bottle was auctioned at six hundred spirit stones. After all, these pills bore pill patterns, making them rare treasures.

The remaining nineteen bottles went mostly for six hundred spirit stones, with only the last bottle fetching seven hundred.

"Next, we’re auctioning the Qi Gathering Pill for Foundation Establishment cultivators."

"After taking it, one’s cultivation speed triples for a month."

"Crucial for those undertaking closed-door cultivation."

"Alright, again, five pills per group, twenty groups up for auction."

"Four hundred spirit stones."

"Four hundred fifty."

"Five hundred."

"Five hundred ten."

"Five hundred fifty." Bidding stopped here, with the final price settled at five hundred fifty.

Most of the rest sold for around five hundred spirit stones. By now, Lin Yang had amassed twenty thousand spirit stones, nearly enough to synthesize a cultivation technique.

Many miscellaneous items brought out by sects and cultivators held little interest and were skipped. Still, a number of treasures appeared, and the atmosphere reached its climax.

"Next is a millennium spiritual herb, highly valuable even to Golden Core cultivators." Master Liu brought forth a thousand-year-old herb given by the patriarch.

These items drew the attention of Golden Core cultivators.

"One thousand spirit stones."

"One thousand two hundred."

"One thousand three hundred."

"One thousand five hundred."

"One thousand five hundred fifty."

"Any more bids? No? Then this spiritual herb goes to Master Lei."

Before long, the fourth millennium herb was auctioned off to Li Yuanhua. The true highlight was about to begin. Many Foundation Establishment peak cultivators were desperate to obtain one.

"Up next is the highly anticipated Golden Core Formation Pill."

"A pill that increases the chance of forming a Golden Core by twenty percent—the Gold Essence Pill. Bidding starts at one thousand spirit stones."

"One thousand five hundred."

"Two thousand."

"Five thousand." The head of the Pill Refining Pavilion, Senior Brother Bai, suddenly made a bid, startling most participants. It wasn’t that the pill lacked value or others lacked desire, but the price was beyond most means.

Only those with families or significant skills could afford such sums. Senior Brother Bai had been stuck at Foundation Establishment peak for decades. As Yellow Maple Valley’s chief alchemist for years, his need was urgent; he was wealthier than some Golden Core cultivators.

Soon, the first pill was auctioned to him at six thousand spirit stones.

"Now for the second Gold Essence Pill. Those who missed the first, make your move."

"Two thousand."

"Three thousand."

"Four thousand."

"Five thousand."

"Five thousand two hundred."

"Five thousand five hundred."

"Five thousand five hundred once, twice, thrice!"

"Well, this pill goes to Fellow Lu." The winner was the head of the Lu family from Yellow Maple Valley. The Lu clan was at its peak, and the patriarch was acclaimed as the top Foundation Establishment expert. However, age was catching up; he had just twenty years left.

When he passed, the Lu family would weaken by half. Yet his strength meant little to Golden Core masters.

Some small clans were little more than mobile blood banks for higher cultivators.

For this pill, the Lu family pooled all their resources to gather enough spirit stones.

"Now for the third and final pill. Bidding begins."

"Three thousand."

"Four thousand."

"Five thousand."

"Five thousand five hundred."

"Six thousand."

"Six thousand three hundred." The crowd was clearly getting carried away.

"Seven thousand." This sudden jump surpassed everyone’s expectations.

Lin Yang, curious, looked at the bidder, only to see Senior Sister Hongfu. Like the others, he was surprised. She had no obvious means of earning, yet could afford such a high price.

"Well, seven thousand from Junior Sister Hongfu. Any higher offers?"

"Alright, the third pill goes to Junior Sister Hongfu."

"This concludes the auction. Fellow cultivators, please exit in an orderly manner."