Chapter 224

The first item up for auction was a high-grade magic artifact with considerable power, which surprised Han Li.

Especially this artifact, described by the tall, thin man with vivid, dramatic flair as peerless under heaven and rare on earth, made Han Li himself feel a sudden urge to pull out spirit stones and buy it—let alone other cultivators desperately in need of high-grade artifacts.

Indeed, as soon as the starting bid of two hundred spirit stones was announced, three or four impatient cultivators quickly raised their bids. In the blink of an eye, the Firecloud Sword was driven up to over three hundred spirit stones, causing other would-be bidders to immediately abandon any thought of bidding further.

Although the Firecloud Sword's Firecloud attack was decent, it was clearly still far from a top-tier masterpiece. Buying it for three hundred spirit stones would make it rather useless.

But if these people didn't want it, others were happy to be the fools who would.

For those willing to buy, the later auction items might be better—but they couldn't possibly win them. It was far more practical to secure this decent high-grade artifact right now.

Thus, the Firecloud Sword was sold quite smoothly, after fierce bidding among several Qi Refining cultivators, for just over four hundred spirit stones.

The cultivator wearing the doll mask stepped forward, paid the spirit stones, then happily cradled the sword as he returned to his seat, as if he intended to take it home as a family heirloom. This amused several other cultivators.

After the man sat down, the tall, thin man cleared his throat and spoke again:

"The second item our shop offers for auction is the Red Luo Celestial Furnace—a favorite among alchemists. This furnace has passed through the hands of many master alchemists and produced numerous masterpieces among high-grade artifacts, such as the Illusory Sound Sword, the Azure Dragon Flag, and the Black Flame Pearl. It is said to enhance the forging of magic artifacts to some degree. But whether this is true or not, our shop does not know! Therefore, we now auction it at a starting bid of four hundred spirit stones—certainly not high."

As he spoke, he pulled from his storage bag a crimson furnace and placed it on the table for all to examine.

Instantly! Though no one shouted aloud, the hall's atmosphere surged with heat. Many cultivators fixed their hungry gazes on the furnace, clearly coveting it.

Han Li sat quietly in the corner, coldly observing all this. But when he heard that his own Azure Dragon Flag had also been forged in this furnace, he was slightly surprised—though only surprised.

He knew nothing about forging, so he had no idea of the furnace's true value. But if he couldn't use it, he wouldn't bid—Han Li could still do that. Besides, though he had many spirit stones, they must be spent where truly needed.

"Four hundred fifty!"

"Four hundred seventy!"

"I offer five hundred spirit stones."

"..."

Regardless of Han Li's thoughts, the furnace known as the "Red Luo Celestial Furnace" soon soared to an astonishing price.

"Seven hundred and eighty!"

This bid came from a fat cultivator wearing a yellow cloak, gritting his teeth as he shouted it out.

"Eight hundred!"

A female cultivator not far from the fat man calmly raised the bid by another ten, making the fat man clench his fists in rage.

At this near-heavenly price, everyone else had already withdrawn. They could only stare with resentment as the two wealthy Foundation Establishment cultivators continued to drive the price higher, again and again.

"Eight hundred and fifty! If this lady can raise it by even one more, the furnace is yours!" The fat man raised his bid again, then glared at the woman with fury.

"Eight hundred fifty-one!"

As soon as the fat cultivator spoke, the woman sneered and deliberately bid just one more. The fat man's face beneath his cloak flushed crimson. But after glaring venomously at her a few times, he finally stopped bidding.

Thus, this Foundation Establishment female cultivator paid a heavenly price to acquire the famed furnace—whether it was worth it, no one knew.

Perhaps the fierce bidding had stimulated the nerves of many cultivators. The previously dull atmosphere in the hall suddenly exploded into fervor; one after another, high-grade artifacts and rare materials were snatched up by eager cultivators.

But after twenty items had been auctioned, Han Li still had not seen any array flags or array discs offered for sale, and he began to grow impatient.

Han Li silently thought: if this auction truly had no such items, he would have to visit the Star Dust Pavilion again. Even buying several basic array tools would be better than having none!

As Han Li was thinking this, the tall, thin man announced the next auction item.

"Upper-grade magic artifact: a pair of Puppet Mechanical Beasts! Each possesses strength comparable to a Qi Refining ninth-layer cultivator. Absolutely loyal, fearless of death. If purchased, it is like carrying two personal bodyguards at all times. Starting bid: one hundred spirit stones!"

"Puppet Mechanical Beasts? My own upper-grade artifact is called the Puppet Archer. Could they be the same thing?" Han Li's interest stirred. He sat up straight and watched intently.

The tall, thin man had already placed on the table two black, doll-like objects—no larger than a fist, shaped vaguely like lions or tigers, yet neither, their prototype unknown.

"Many guests may have never heard—or rarely heard—of Puppet Mechanism Art."

"It is a technique derived from artifact forging, yet fundamentally different from it. Though rare here, it is extremely popular in the far west, even giving rise to a sect called the Thousand Bamboo Sect, which specializes in this art and has pushed it to its utmost limits. It is said that top-tier Puppet Mechanism Humans can rival Foundation Establishment late-stage cultivators! Moreover, labeling this pair as upper-grade artifacts is merely our shop's informal classification; according to the formal Puppet Mechanism grading system, they should be called Level-Two Mechanical Beasts."

Seeing the cultivators below seemed uninterested, with no one bidding, causing a cold silence, the man hastily recited his prepared speech, hoping to spark interest.

But after he finished speaking, though the cultivators grew curious, none were willing to spend one hundred spirit stones on two doll-like objects. Besides, what use were Qi Refining ninth-layer bodyguards to cultivators present?

"One hundred spirit stones!"

A voice rang out from the corner—someone actually wanted to buy this toy! All eyes turned to the corner.

But it wasn't Han Li. It was a masked figure seated in the opposite corner—a bizarre, comical man whose entire head was covered by a large, gray cloth sack.

"One hundred fifty!"

As other cultivators thought the odd man was wasting money, another voice, thickly accented and painfully stiff, echoed through the hall.

The cultivators in the hall were stunned, and turned again to the new bidder.

A burly man wearing a green cloak sat on the last row of chairs, arms crossed. The new bid came from him. When all eyes turned to him, he met their gaze coldly, showing not the slightest unease.

"Two hundred!" The sack-covered man, determined to win, immediately raised his bid again.

"I offer three hundred!" The burly man refused to yield an inch.

"Four hundred!"

"Six hundred!"

…

In the blink of an eye, the two of them, back and forth, drove the price of the pair of Mechanical Beasts to an unbelievable level!

At this point, even the most foolish cultivators in the hall sensed something was wrong.

"Could this pair of Mechanical Beasts hide some astonishing secret?" Every cultivator's mind now harbored this thought.

The cultivators in the hall exchanged glances, hearts pounding. Some wealthy and impulsive ones even joined the bidding.

But some older, more cautious cultivators, though tempted, still harbored doubts.

Could these two be shills sent by this secret shop? Were they deliberately inflating the price of this worthless item to make others the fools?

Many cultivators held this suspicion. Han Li was one of them. He watched coldly, showing no interest whatsoever.

"I offer nine hundred spirit stones, plus this!"

Seeing more and more cultivators joining the bidding, the burly man grew anxious. He pulled something from his storage bag, strode forward to the tall, thin man, and placed it on the table. Then, in a stiff voice, he said:

"This item is worth thousands of spirit stones—more than enough to trade for this pair of Mechanical Beasts. Give them to me at once!"

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