Chapter 1348

Han Li flew into the market town just as it was approaching noon, waited a moment, then used a secret technique to transform into a bearded, burly man and headed for the Tai Xuan Palace.

At the gate, people were already continuously handing over spirit stones to receive a light-blocking talisman before entering the hall.

All of these people were cultivators at Soul Transformation or above.

Han Li even saw two or three Void Refinement cultivators enter as well.

After a moment's thought, he stepped forward and tossed a leather pouch filled with spirit stones to the guard.

After the guard scanned the pouch and Han Li with his spiritual sense, he nodded, handed over a jade talisman, stepped aside to open the entrance, and softly said:

"Enter inside, then turn left!"

Upon hearing this, Han Li was slightly startled and walked in with a hint of doubt.

After Fang Yi entered the passage, he suddenly realized that the previously straight corridor had become twisted and abnormal, splitting into two smaller paths from the middle, each leading to the dark left and right sides.

It seemed as if the Tai Xuan Palace he had entered before and this place were not the same at all!

It appears the restrictions inside this palace have been altered.

However, the guard had already warned him. Han Li naturally had no hesitation and directly walked toward the left path,.

Moments later, his figure gradually faded into the darkness and ultimately vanished without a trace.

After the time it takes to eat a meal, Han Li found himself in a solitary, dark stone chamber.

The chamber was only about a zhang in size, with walls on three sides and one side open. Inside, aside from a jade table, a bamboo chair, and a red-glowing magic disk on the table, there was nothing else.

Such stone chambers were densely packed and interwoven, distributed in the low sky up to a hundred zhang high, forming a series of floating stone chambers.

The entire great hall spanned a thousand zhang in width and could easily accommodate nearly a thousand stone chambers.

The surfaces of these stone chambers flickered intermittently with faint azure runes, each spaced far apart, resembling azure lanterns hanging in the low sky, appearing mysteriously extraordinary.

Han Li sat in the stone chamber, looking down with a bird's-eye view at the auction platform on the distant ground, and couldn't help but marvel repeatedly.

The moment he stepped into this great hall, he was instantly transported here by a strange spell array set at the entrance. He had already tested it: these floating stone chambers not only hover in midair but also block spiritual sense probing, and combined with the light-blocking talisman he wore, they could fully ensure the bidders' secrecy.

It seems the auction house owner well understands cultivators' fear of the "jade brings disaster" principle, and to guarantee bidder secrecy, has put considerable thought into it.

After Han Li leaned back in the chair, closed his eyes to rest for a quarter of an hour, several hundred more cultivators entered the great hall, and all the stone chambers appeared to be about seven or eight tenths occupied.

When Han Li opened his eyes again, he exhaled lightly.

Anyone able to enter this auction house is at least a Soul Transformation cultivator or above—doesn't that mean this small auction has easily gathered nearly a thousand Soul Transformation cultivators?

In the mortal realm, this would be something one wouldn't even dare to dream of.

But this is only because of being in Tian Yuan City; if it were any other human cultivation city in the Three Realms, unless it were one of the Three Major Cities, it would still be unthinkable.

Suddenly, a few melodious bell chimes rang out. The originally wide-open hall doors, amid creaking dull sounds, slowly closed.

The hall, already appearing dim, instantly grew even darker.

Immediately, several moonstones the size of heads appeared above the auction platform, emitting a soft, gentle white light that made the surroundings suddenly unusually clear and eye-catching.

Everyone instinctively turned their gaze toward the auction platform.

On the high platform, over ten zhang in size, a spell array suddenly appeared out of nowhere, followed by a flash of white spiritual light, and a white-robed elder appeared on the stage.

Upon seeing this person, the cultivators in the stone chambers stirred with a rustle, some even exclaiming in surprise the elder's name.

"Chi Master!"

"How could he be here! Is this auction..."

A murmur of whispered voices spread.

Han Li hearing these rustling sounds, his heart stirred, and he curiously observed.

The elder was only a mid-Soul Transformation cultivator, but with a full head of silver hair, kind eyes and benevolent gaze, bright and spirited eyes, and the appearance of a Daoist immortal's bones and wind. Listening to others' discussions, this person, honored as Master, must have extraordinary attainments in miscellaneous studies such as alchemy or formation arts.

At this moment, the white-robed elder lightly coughed and spoke in a gentle voice:

"It seems I need not introduce myself further—most of you fellow cultivators already know Chi Mou. In fact, according to my own nature, I should not appear in such occasions, but this auction has several items I was personally invited to appraise, and I am also deeply interested in them, so I voluntarily proposed to preside over this realm's auction. I believe you fellow cultivators will have no objections!"

"Chi Lao is joking—you, a weapon-refining grandmaster, personally presiding over this auction, we would be grateful!"

"Exactly, exactly! If Chi Brother personally did the appraisal, there would surely be no falseness. We can feel more at ease."

As soon as the elder finished speaking, voices of approval and flattery came from several floating stone chambers.

Although the cultivators in the other chambers said nothing, none expressed opposition—it seems this white-robed elder truly enjoys great fame in Tian Yuan City.

The white-robed elder then spoke again:

"To let everyone know, Chi Mou can reveal one thing in advance: the three climax items of this auction are far more precious than before, likely unprecedented in centuries. One is a top-grade material obtained from the Barbaric World, another is a heaven-reaching spiritual treasure listed on the Chaos Myriad Spirits Ranking, and the last is a complete set of primary cultivation techniques left behind by a senior who attained great completion in the Body Integration stage and once shook both the human and demon races."

The cultivators were greatly astonished, almost unable to believe what they heard. The entire hall fell silent in an instant.

Not knowing what the Barbaric World's top-grade material was is forgivable, but the heaven-reaching spiritual treasure on the Chaos Myriad Spirits Ranking and the primary cultivation techniques of a late Body Integration cultivator—how rare these are! Any one of them leaking out would surely stir up a bloody storm.

Everyone's hearts trembled simultaneously, and the hall's atmosphere instantly became unusually solemn.

"Chi Brother, since this auction has such important items, why not release the news earlier so we can prepare more spirit stones? Is there some hidden secret?" A voice like a child's, sharp and eerie, suddenly came from one stone chamber.

"Rest assured, fellow cultivator, the reason this auction's items have remained secret until now is that the owner of these three climax treasures is the same person, who personally requested this confidentiality from the auction house. As for the exact reason, I don't know either, and the auction house cannot refuse. But I can personally guarantee these items are genuine and worth their price—absolutely no falseness. Of course, compared to these climax treasures, this auction is indeed rushed; the final three items allow payment in other rare items as collateral for spirit stones at our house. Of course, the value is definitely only one-tenth of market price. The price was jointly determined by our market's three appraisers and me—fellow cultivators, rest assured!" The white-robed elder seemed to have anticipated such a question, smiling as he replied.

Upon hearing the elder's answer, the cultivators were slightly startled, but many were delighted, and no one asked similar questions again.

Seeing no further objections, the red-surnamed elder immediately announced the auction's start and lightly clapped his hands.

With a "pa" sound, over ten escape lights of various colors flew up from below the stage.

After the light faded, ten beautiful female cultivators in palace attire appeared behind the elder.

Each had at least Core Formation cultivation, stood gracefully, and held a brocade box of varying sizes in their hands.

"Following past convention, we first auction various finished medicinal pills and treasures, then rare materials and technique manuals, and finally the climax items. The first item of this auction is three bottles of 'Heart-Changing Pill' that can help Soul Transformation cultivators advance their cultivation, starting price 300,000 spirit stones, each bid increase not less than 50,000." The white-robed elder spoke clearly, then waved his hand backward.

Immediately, a palace-attired female cultivator gracefully walked to the elder's front, raised her jade hand, and opened the box lid facing the cultivators, revealing three inch-high green jade bottles.

The white-robed elder then gestured toward the box, and a green jade bottle flew out, shot into his hand.

The old man, extremely skilled, opened the bottle cap, tilted it slightly, and poured out a pure white, crystalline pill.

A strong medicinal fragrance immediately spread out!

The white-robed old man immediately picked up the pill with two fingers and gently shook it toward the cultivators.

An incredible scene appeared.

On the surface of the crystalline pill, blue and red light halos immediately appeared, dazzling like a large pearl.

At the same time, the medicinal fragrance in the air became even richer, far surpassing before by several times.

"I have demonstrated the features of the Heart-Returning Pill to everyone; fellow cultivators will surely have no doubts now—bidding begins!"

"Three hundred fifty thousand"

"Four hundred thousand"

"Forty-five"

Suddenly, a large and small purple light halo appeared in the air above the auction platform, spinning and displaying the bid amounts in spirit stones and the numbers of the Sky Heaven Pavilion booths of the bidders.

As soon as the bidding started, the numbers surged upward—this spirit pill, extremely useful for Soul Transformation cultivators, was in high demand.

It's no wonder. Although everyone was moved by the final item, most cultivators knew they had no hope of obtaining it, so they might as well, while the wealthy turned their attention to the last item, honestly bid on things useful to themselves, lest this auction trip be in vain.

Han Li thought to himself that upon returning, he could immediately refine the Jade Clear Pill, so he would not participate in this competition. He merely watched silently as the three bottles of pills were sold for six hundred thousand to a cultivator.

At this moment, Han Li, like many others, silently pondered the three final items of the auction.

To be honest, although Han Li was interested in the barbaric materials and so-called Heaven-Reaching Spirit Treasure, he was merely curious and had no true intention to bid on them.

But the core cultivation manual of the late-stage Body Integration cultivator greatly moved him.

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