Chapter 358: Auction (A celebratory chapter for patron 20230505021948214! )
Chapter 358: Auction (A celebratory chapter for patron 20230505021948214! )
"So it's 'Ice Fairy' Feng Bingxian of the Profound Ice Palace!"
Huang Huzi bowed with a smile, "Fairy, have you also come for the grand auction?"
"Naturally. . . " Feng Bingxian's expression was frosty, exuding a coldness that kept people a thousand miles away.
Only Fang Xi knew that a fiery passion lay hidden within her.
Observing that her cultivation was still at the Foundation Establishment Perfected stage, he surmised she must have come to this grand auction for a Core Formation Spiritual Item.
Feng Bingxian also saw Fang Xi, but in her eyes, he was merely a Core Formation early-stage cultivator disguised as a scholar.
Though she was somewhat surprised by his unfamiliar face, she didn't say much.
Soon, both obtained jade tokens representing Core Formation cultivators and took up residence in their respective cave abodes.
After all, he was here for serious business.
More than ten days later.
The Sky-Suspension Mountain Grand Auction opened on schedule.
Fang Xi, still in his scholar guise, walked into his private booth.
Sitting cross-legged, quietly waiting for the auction to begin, he suddenly let out a sigh.
In the past few days, the Sky-Suspension Mountain market had seen a large flow of people, with many setting up stalls.
He had tried his luck as usual, but still found nothing.
"It seems. . . I truly have no fortuitous encounters in this regard. . ."
Fang Xi sighed.
At this moment, a fragrant breeze swept across the grand auction stage, revealing a breathtakingly beautiful woman in a white fox fur coat: "Esteemed guests, you have traveled far, and the Green Leaf Merchant Guild is deeply honored. . ."
"Who would have thought. . . the Green Leaf Merchant Guild actually managed to invite 'Linghu Xianzi'."
Many cultivators exclaimed in admiration, their gazes toward Linghu Xianzi filled with a hint of obsession.
Fang Xi glanced over, then indifferently shifted his gaze.
She was merely a female Core Formation cultivator who practiced charm arts; she was nothing special. Her looks were still inferior to his second disciple.
Linghu Xianzi, however, had a completely different style from Tiansha Laoren. She first thoroughly thanked the attendees, then flirted with a few cultivators. Only after many Core Formation cultivators grew somewhat impatient did she get to the point: "Now. . . the first auction item, three bottles of 'Huangjing Pill'. This pill can assist early-stage Foundation Establishment cultivators in breaking through to the middle-stage, with minimal side effects. It's considered a top-grade among its kind of breakthrough pills. The starting price. . ."
Fang Xi observed coolly as exquisite pills, artifacts, talismans, and even rare treasures were brought onto the stage one after another, and the atmosphere of the auction gradually intensified.
Finally. . .
"It's time for the grand finale items of this auction!"
Linghu Xianzi said with a beaming smile, "Our guild has specially prepared three grand finale items for this auction, which should give everyone a pleasant surprise. Now. . . please bring up the first grand finale item!"
Under the somewhat surprised gazes of many cultivators, a little girl, about seven or eight years old, her face filled with nervousness and fear, was led onto the auction platform by two maidservants.
For a moment, silence fell.
After a long pause, a cold chuckle finally echoed from one of the private booths: "Since the Green Leaf Merchant Guild reconciled with the Red Blood Cult, why has it adopted a demonic style? Does this girl possess a Spirit Body, or is she some high-quality human cauldron?"
"Ah, it's Mister Mo. . . Mister Mo runs an academy, educating and nurturing talent, and his Confucian Dao divine abilities are extraordinary. Naturally, he cannot bear to see such things. . ."
Some cultivators, who knew the identity of the Core Formation cultivator in the booth, nodded in agreement.
"Please rest assured, Mister Mo. The Green Leaf Merchant Guild has always been neutral and would never engage in the sale of cultivator slaves. This girl is a voluntary auction item, and she is not a human cauldron. Rather, she is a cultivation genius with a Heaven-grade water spiritual root!"
Linghu Xianzi said with a beaming smile.
"What? A Heaven-grade spiritual root?"
Core Formation cultivators rose one after another, and a female voice familiar to Fang Xi rang out: "Such a prodigy, and your Green Leaf Merchant Guild is willing to auction her?"
"There are naturally some intricacies to this matter. Although our guild wished to acquire her directly and nurture her well, the seller behind her did not agree. . . This humble one can only reveal some details: this girl comes from the Jiang Kingdom. Even if there are some lingering ties, they are insignificant. The full details will naturally be explained to the buyer after the auction concludes."
Linghu Xianzi playfully winked: "Such a cultivation prodigy is guaranteed to reach Core Formation in the future, and there's even a glimmer of hope for Nascent Soul. . . The starting price is 300,000 Spirit Stones, and each bid must not be less than 10,000 Spirit Stones!"
This price was indeed low, and many cultivators were moved.
Of course, the loyalty of such a purchased genius was indeed questionable, and they might not receive much resource allocation. However, cultivating them to Core Formation required the least investment of resources and yielded the most stable profit, which was enough to tempt many factions.
Furthermore, Heaven-grade spiritual roots didn't necessarily have to be nurtured for cultivation. There were many other ways to utilize them, such as the 'Pill Stealing Art' Fang Xi knew of, or cultivating them as human cauldrons, or even refining them into corpses. . .
It was even highly possible for cultivation families to use them for breeding to improve the spiritual aptitude of their descendants.
'The root cause is that cultivation requires resource investment, with too much expenditure in the early stages. . . nurturing them to Core Formation is fine, but wanting to condense a Nascent Soul, even for a Heaven-grade spiritual root, requires far too many resources. . . If one has these resources, of course, they'd prioritize their own people, or even themselves. . . To give such resources to a Heaven-grade spiritual root whose loyalty and background are so questionable, that would be insane! '
'This girl's fate will likely be quite tragic, comparable to Chen Ping with his Blood Talisman Spirit Body. Both will be squeezed dry and then discarded. . . '
'In the Yuan Kingdom these past years, there should have been some Heaven-grade spiritual roots emerging, but there are still only a mere two or three Nascent Soul old monsters. . . '
Fang Xi suddenly thought of his friend from Green Bamboo Mountain market back then, but he only sighed and did not make a move.
He wasn't planning on taking a disciple, and this Heaven-grade spiritual root was useless to him.
Out in the auction hall, Linghu Xianzi had several Core Formation cultivators step forward to examine the girl. After confirming that she indeed possessed a Heaven-grade spiritual root, the auction immediately commenced.
Ultimately, she was bought for 530,000 Spirit Stones by an unknown Core Formation cultivator.
'It seems that in the eyes of these Core Formation cultivators, a purchased Heaven-grade spiritual root is only worth about as much as a slightly inferior Core Formation Spiritual Item, not even as good as a Five Elements Core Formation Pill. . . '
Fang Xi yawned, and then Linghu Xianzi's voice suddenly reached his ears: "The second grand finale item. . . the Spirit Source Pearl!"
His eyes snapped open, looking at the fist-sized spirit pearl radiating multicolored light in Linghu Xianzi's hand.
With his Divine Consciousness, he could naturally sense that this spirit pearl was slowly increasing the concentration of spiritual energy in the surrounding world!
At this moment, Linghu Xianzi's voice continued: "Some fellow Daoists might not be familiar with the 'Spirit Source Pearl'. This pearl is a wondrous item forged by creation, a marvel of heaven and earth. If combined with a formation, it can even directly create a small spirit vein. This particular 'Spirit Source Pearl' is only the lowest grade of 'Spirit Eye Item', capable of forming a spirit vein of only about first-order. However, doing so would be a dreadful waste. . . The most suitable use for this item is for us Core Formation cultivators to carry it with us, which would increase our cultivation speed even in the mortal world."
"And if placed within a cave abode, it can make the spiritual energy within the abode even richer. This Spirit Source Pearl's starting price is 500,000 Spirit Stones!"
"550,000!"
"580,000!"
...
Soon, the price of the Spirit Source Pearl soared.
For Core Formation cultivators, the aptitudes of others were secondary; only their own cultivation breakthroughs truly mattered.
Thus, any spiritual item useful to Core Formation cultivators often fetched exorbitant prices.
Fang Xi watched the auction hall with a serene demeanor, observing as the Spirit Source Pearl's price climbed, finally reaching 750,000.
At this price, most Core Formation cultivators had been eliminated, with only two remaining in the bidding.
"I am an elder of the Hunyuan Sect, and I hope this fellow Daoist will give me some face."
Fang Xi's Divine Consciousness suddenly caught a spiritual sense transmission, and he couldn't help but chuckle inwardly.
'Indeed, such people exist everywhere. At least he didn't shout it out in public, but resorted to private intimidation. He still has some brains. . . '
After the Hunyuan Sect elder's intimidation, the competitor was indeed scared away.
Linghu Xianzi seemed oblivious: "The fellow Daoist in Booth A7 has bid 760,000 Spirit Stones. Are there any higher bids, or else this Spirit Eye Item will belong to the fellow Daoist in Booth A7. . ."
"800,000!"
Fang Xi's unhurried voice came through.
"800,000! The fellow Daoist in Booth B6 has bid 800,000!"
Linghu Xianzi immediately cast a charming glance in his direction.
"Fellow Daoist. . ."
At this moment, Fang Xi also received a transmission from the Hunyuan Sect elder, but he merely gave a cold smile and transmitted back a single word: "Scram."
Shatter!
Inside Booth A7, a purple-robed youth crushed the teacup in his hand: "How dare he disrespect our Hunyuan Sect like this. . ."
"Senior Brother, you are too attached to outward appearances. . ."
Beside the purple-robed youth sat a female cultivator, also at the Core Formation stage: "We are here by order, merely for that mission. . . Now that both the Green Leaf Merchant Guild and the Red Blood Cult have fallen for it, it's time to report back."
"Hmph. . ."
The purple-robed youth snorted coldly: "Indeed, our Hunyuan Sect faced considerable pressure after the Green Leaf Merchant Guild and the Red Blood Cult reconciled. . ."
"This person actually possesses 800,000 Spirit Stones. His backing and personal strength are unfathomable. . . it's best not to stir up unnecessary trouble."
The Core Formation female cultivator sighed.
"Hmph, it can only be this way. " The purple-robed youth, for reasons unknown, actually held back, watching as Linghu Xianzi made three bids, and the Spirit Source Pearl fell into someone else's hands.
"Next, is the final auction item of this grand auction—the Water Element Core Formation Pill!"
Linghu Xianzi giggled, ordering a maidservant to bring up the last item.
"Core Formation Pill. . ."
Many cultivators murmured, their eyes reflecting a determination to obtain it.
"It's actually a Water Element Core Formation Pill. That girl Bingxian's luck isn't bad."
Inside his booth, Fang Xi saw this scene after the Spirit Source Pearl had been delivered, and he couldn't help but smile faintly.
Although the Water Element Core Formation Pill was most suitable for Foundation Establishment Perfected cultivators who practiced water-attribute cultivation methods, for those with ice-attribute spiritual roots, the discount on its efficacy wouldn't be too significant; it should maintain about ninety percent of its medicinal power.
For many ice-attribute spiritual root cultivators, it was already the best choice for Core Formation.
Indeed, he heard a somewhat excited female voice ring out: "700,000 Spirit Stones!"
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