Chapter 142: Young Master Song (Compensating for missing update 1 of 'Mysterious Tribulation')
Chapter 142: Young Master Song (Compensating for missing update 1 of 'Mysterious Tribulation')
“One thousand three hundred spirit stones! ”
“One thousand three hundred and fifty spirit stones! ”
...
The market for mid-grade spirit artifacts was quite good, probably because the very first item at the grand auction was already a high-quality piece.
Moreover, most of the bidders were Foundation Establishment cultivators!
Fang Xi silently watched them flex. Ultimately, this 'Five Mists of Azure Cloud Brocade' was purchased by a cultivator in one of the private rooms for a price of one thousand four hundred spirit stones.
“Purple Wood Pills, a medicinal pill that can assist mid-stage Qi Refinement cultivators with wood-attribute spiritual roots in breaking through to the late stage. Divided into three sets, one pill per set, starting bid three hundred spirit stones. The first set. . . ”
Ouyang Zhen showed a faint smile on his face and continued the auction.
All sorts of breakthrough pills, high-quality pills that boost magical power. . .
Fine artifacts. . .
Rare curiosities. . .
It was simply dazzling.
“A rare treasure—the 'Purple Veiled Bracelet'! A high-quality piece that combines offense and defense, recently excavated from ancient cultivator ruins. It consumes very little magical power and is suitable for Foundation Establishment cultivators to use. Its power even surpasses high-grade spirit artifacts by a significant margin. Starting bid two thousand spirit stones, each increment must not be less than one hundred spirit stones! ”
Half an hour later, Ouyang Zhen revealed a purple bracelet, a rare treasure. Intricate and profound patterns were carved upon it, and spiritual light shimmered, making it clear at a glance that it was no ordinary item.
“Two thousand one hundred spirit stones! ” An aged voice immediately called out a bid.
“Two thousand two hundred spirit stones! ”
...
The Foundation Establishment cultivators present were clearly very interested in this 'Purple Veiled Bracelet', and before long, the price reached the high point of two thousand nine hundred spirit stones!
“Three thousand five hundred spirit stones! ”
Suddenly, a young and confident male voice filled the entire venue, directly suppressing the other bidders.
Everyone looked towards that private room, and saw that the window was open. Seated within was a Foundation Establishment cultivator, dressed in a sea-blue dharma robe, wearing a jade crown, with sword-like eyebrows and star-like eyes.
He held a jade folding fan, looking every bit the carefree young master enjoying life. He wasn't timid in the slightest under everyone's gaze; on the contrary, he cupped his hands in a salute, his face full of smiles.
“It's actually him? ”
“The Young Master of the Song family from Yue Country—Song Qing! ”
“It's said that this person originally managed the Myriad Seas Pavilion branch in Green Bamboo Mountain Market. As a result, his performance stood out among the many competitors, and he smoothly seized the position of Young Master of the Song family. Then, his cultivation advanced by leaps and bounds, becoming unstoppable. He successfully achieved Foundation Establishment in his early thirties! He is hailed as a rare genius among the family cultivators of Yue Country! ”
...
Fang Xi looked at the man, listening to the discussions from all directions, his eyes subtly deepening.
He hadn't expected that a mere manager of the Myriad Seas Pavilion back then would now have become the Song family's Young Master, and even successfully established his Foundation!
This person could be considered to have a grudge against him!
However. . . he still needed to endure!
‘Hmm, but this person reaching Foundation Establishment at least proves that the 'Longevity Art' was indeed the original, with no omissions or hidden elements. After all, he did make a heart-devil oath back then! ’
As for heart-devil oaths, they held little binding power for cultivators who disdained the Dao path and had no intention of advancing their cultivation.
But Song Qing was different!
Since this person was able to cultivate smoothly and successfully establish his Foundation after making a heart-devil oath, it was clear that the oath he made was true!
‘But the Song family. . . still had the original 'Longevity Art'! ’
Fang Xi was somewhat determined to obtain it.
Moreover, having cultivated the 'Longevity Art,' he still wanted to eliminate any potential hidden dangers as much as possible.
After all, if it were discovered that he was the one who originally purchased the 'Longevity Art,' and then, despite his originally mediocre aptitude, was later found to possess the 'Wood Spirit Body,' that would be a huge problem. There was even a risk of his 'golden finger' being exposed!
At the very least, even Core Formation ancestors would be extremely interested in a 'Wood Spirit Body' that could be rapidly achieved!
‘But, it's not the right time. . . ’
Fang Xi's gaze avoided Song Qing's position, and he yawned in boredom.
“So it's the Young Master of the Song family. Fine, let's give the Song family some face. . . ”
“Haha, I am the Family Head of the Han family from Maple Leaf Island. I wonder how the Song family's Old Ancestor is faring these days? ”
...
The Song family's 'face' was indeed significant; those Foundation Establishment cultivators all gave up on the bidding.
Of course, it was also possible that the price of the 'Purple Veiled Bracelet' had reached its limit, allowing Song Qing to smoothly acquire it.
“This auction has the guarantee of my master's reputation; every auction will be fair, and no one is permitted to suppress others with their influence. . . ”
Ouyang Zhen let out a cold snort, subtly taking a jab at Song Qing, and then continued the auction.
This time, what came up for auction were various spirit beast eggs and young pets.
Gale Hawks, Two-Headed Earth Lizards, Thunderhorn Pythons. . .
Fang Xi watched with interest; among these demon beasts, quite a few could rival Foundation Establishment cultivators once they matured.
However, for ordinary rogue cultivators, daily feeding was a significant investment, and demon beasts had long lifespans, with their growth periods often being too prolonged.
Therefore, it was still mostly family cultivators who purchased them.
Many cultivation families, after their Old Ancestors passed away, would voluntarily terminate contracts or create beast-taming tokens, allowing their spirit pets to guard the family for decades or even centuries!
After the spirit pets finished being auctioned, another batch of cultivation methods, secret arts, and even inheritances of the four arts of cultivation came onto the stage.
Fang Xi scanned them but found no cultivation methods or secret arts that interested him.
As for inheritances?
“There was only a second-order talisman-making inheritance. . . It seemed the cultivation world had quite a severe blockade on advanced techniques. ”
Fang Xi merely looked; he did not purchase it.
Finally, just as he was starting to get bored from waiting, Ouyang Zhen's voice rang out: “‘Dragon Transformation Ginseng,’ one stalk, already two hundred and twenty years old. It is an important auxiliary material for refining Foundation Establishment Pills. Starting bid eight hundred spirit stones, each increment must not be less than fifty spirit stones! ”
“Nine hundred spirit stones! ”
In the first-floor hall, a Perfected Qi Refinement rogue cultivator couldn't help but call out a bid.
“One thousand spirit stones! ”
The scene immediately became very lively, with bids rising one after another, quickly reaching one thousand two hundred spirit stones.
“One thousand three hundred spirit stones! ”
Fang Xi naturally joined in, calling out his bid.
This had actually slightly exceeded the previous price for 'Dragon Transformation Ginseng'.
“One thousand three hundred and fifty spirit stones! ”
In a certain private room, a young man gritted his teeth as he made his bid.
Beside him, an old man sighed: “Nephew Hui, one thousand three hundred and fifty spirit stones is already the highest price the family can support you with. If there’s another bid, you must give up. ”
“Uncle, as long as I have the Dragon Transformation Ginseng, combined with the 'Azure Spirit Liquid' treasured by the family, I can gather all the auxiliary materials for the Foundation Establishment Pill. Then, I'll just wait for someone to provide a demon core, and we can cooperate in alchemy. As long as two or more pills are successfully refined. . . I'll be able to establish my Foundation. To give up, I'm unwilling! ”
Nephew Yun clenched his fists, silently praying in his heart.
This price was already very high.
But the next moment, a calm, unhurried voice rang out again: “One thousand four hundred spirit stones! ”
This voice was like the last straw that tipped the scales, causing the young man to slump back into his chair, his face full of despair, his eyes losing their luster. . .
“Heh. . . another fool. Probably a rogue cultivator, with no connections, eh. . . ”
In another private room, Song Qing also commented with a smile: “As long as one has connections, the Dragon Transformation Ginseng and Azure Spirit Liquid combined are only about one thousand five hundred spirit stones. What's truly rare is a second-order demon core! The family has long prepared several sets of auxiliary medicinal materials, but alas, demon cores are hard to find. . . ”
He looked in the direction of the Myriad Beast Mountain Range, his expression faintly tinged with both longing and fear.
...
“Although the premium was quite high, he had finally snatched it. . . A sucker is a sucker, I suppose. . . ”
Fang Xi, having successfully won the bid, let out a sigh of relief and slowly watched the proceedings in the hall.
However, the next auction item was beyond Fang Xi's expectations.
“A second-order high-grade 'Gale Golden Blade Array,' with a complete array disk and array flags, freshly refined. . . Simple to operate, astonishing in power, it can serve as a mountain-guarding array, capable of covering an area of over ten li. . . It's a rare and fine item. ”
Ouyang Zhen smilingly displayed the shimmering array flags one by one: “Starting bid three thousand spirit stones, for those who wish to purchase an array to protect their family, or establish a market town, you mustn't miss this. ”
Fang Xi's eyes suddenly lit up.
He simply couldn't set up a second-order high-grade array.
Furthermore, the 'Gale Golden Blade Array' was primarily for offense and killing. If this array were fully activated, even late-stage Foundation Establishment demon beasts that fell into its death gate would find it hard to survive!
Of course, ordinary Foundation Establishment demon beasts possessed intelligence and wouldn't be so foolish as to deeply penetrate a grand array.
But Fang Xi was different!
He could ensure that as soon as a demon beast arrived, it would fall directly into the death gate!
“If he could get his hands on this array, then acquiring demon cores would truly be as easy as taking something from his pocket. . . ”
Fang Xi's eyes shimmered faintly, but upon seeing Song Qing's private room, he became silent again.
He had already experienced this person's character; he was definitely not a benevolent sort, and revealing too much wealth would easily attract attention.
“Wait first, and see again. . . ”
Fang Xi remained still, while this array clearly plunged the Foundation Establishment powers into a frenzied scramble, and its price quickly soared past four thousand!
He calculated his assets and immediately gave up.
After fencing his stolen goods, he had a maximum of seven thousand spirit stones at one point. Adding his previous purchases and the current expenditure, he now only had over three thousand low-grade spirit stones left.
It wasn't a matter of whether he wanted to compete; he simply couldn't afford it!
In the end, this second-order high-grade array was acquired for the high price of five thousand spirit stones by a newly advanced Foundation Establishment family in urgent need of a mountain-guarding array.
After a few more auction items passed, Ouyang Zhen once again brought out a set of array disks and array flags:
“A second-order mid-grade—a damaged 'Wood Spirit Thunder Array'. . . This array had lost several array flags, and its array disk had been damaged. After repairs, it barely recovered a certain degree of its power. . . ”
Fang Xi looked at the numerous green array flags, feeling a slight hesitation.
Just then, a female voice emerged from one of the private rooms: “What is the coverage area of this array? Have its life gate and death gate changed? ”
The questions this woman asked were all crucial, suggesting she might also be an array master.
Fang Xi pricked up his ears and heard Ouyang Zhen's somewhat awkward reply: “This array's coverage area has shrunk to about two hundred zhang, and its concealment function has been weakened. As for the other restrictions, they are largely intact. . . ”
“Two hundred zhang? ”
The female array master let out a scoff and asked no further questions.
Some older, more experienced cultivators also sighed.
Generally speaking, if a second-order array were fully activated, it could cover an area of at least several li, or even more than ten li!
Two hundred zhang is only over six hundred meters! It had already fallen to the first-order level, simply not enough!
As for its weakened concealment function, it meant it was hard to hide. Even if brought to the wilderness to set a trap, no demon beast would be foolish enough to stumble into it.
One could say, it was quite useless.
“Cough, cough, a second-order mid-grade 'Damaged Wood Spirit Thunder Array,' starting bid one thousand five hundred spirit stones! Each increment must not be less than twenty spirit stones! ”
Ouyang Zhen was also somewhat helpless. This array had been damaged by its owner while hunting demon beasts outside. Forced to abandon it, they had no choice but to send it for auction; at least it was better than simply scrapping it for materials!
As expected, there was sparse competition among the cultivators below. . .
After a few scattered bids, it was bought by a guest in a private room for a price of one thousand six hundred spirit stones.
Ouyang Zhen breathed a sigh of relief in his heart, and a smile once again blossomed on his face: “Everyone. . . next up is the grand finale item of this auction. . . ”
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