Chapter 17: That is Respect, Gratitude, and Awe!

After a few seconds of noise in the arena, a voice, unable to suppress its excitement, rose—the speaker was a lone cultivator.

“Five hundred spirit stones!”

“Eight hundred!”

“One thousand two hundred—I’m from Dropwater Cave; I ask all fellow cultivators to grant me this favor.”

One thousand two hundred spirit stones for an eighth-rank spiritual material? This seemed deeply odd.

Is water jade really that valuable?

Yulou blinked; Wang Xianmao naturally knew what he wanted to ask.

“The region we live in is under the Red Lantern Sect’s control; their disciples primarily cultivate fire arts.”

“Water jade is valuable because it is a water-type spiritual material; items forged from it can break fire arts.”

Yulou finally understood: water jade was expensive not because spirit stones were cheap, nor because of its extraordinary potential.

From those fervent bidders.

Yulou saw their respect for the Red Lantern Sect, their gratitude, their awe.

They feared!

They hated.

They… were furious!

They wanted to buy water jade!

In the end, the eighth-rank water jade presented by Jiang Bao was bid up to fourteen hundred spirit stones before being won by an unknown lone cultivator.

What did this price mean?

Ten times! Compared to slightly inferior eighth-rank spiritual materials, water jade’s price was tenfold!

The Red Lantern Sect’s reputation was this great!

From the final sale price, Yulou understood why the Red Eyebrow Recluse was so obsessed with water jade fragments—it was extremely valuable.

Or rather, within the Red Lantern Sect’s territory, where fire arts dominated, it would always be valuable.

————

The Ghost Market auction’s grand feast was opened by Jiang Bao, but the true climax came after the Red Eyebrow Recluse took the stage.

Ever heard of an ultra-low-spec youth edition of Duobao Dao Ren?

“Fellow cultivators, blessed to meet here, Red Eyebrow will not be stingy.

Today, I bring four fine magic treasures!”

The Red Eyebrow Recluse pulled out three small flying daggers from his storage pouch and introduced them.

“I forged these myself—lower-grade offensive magic treasures, forged from ninth-rank cold iron.”

“Though they bear only four sealing layers, with proper use, their attack power rivals ordinary mid-grade magic treasures.”

If Jiang Bao’s opening display of rare eighth-rank water jade was a shock,

then Red Eyebrow delivered a completely opposite shock—utterly opposite.

He was truly a scoundrel!

“Red Eyebrow, you dare bring out lower-grade magic treasures with only four sealing layers?”

“Exactly! Get off!”

“Lower-grade magic treasures? Even if you gave them away, no one would take them!”

“If I’m not mistaken, your dagger’s hilt is longer than its blade—haven’t you cut corners too badly?”

The audience below erupted in barking.

Red Eyebrow said nothing; he immediately launched one dagger straight at the host, Old Ghost.

I’ll kill you, you bastard, for selling me my daughter rats as purple sables!

Old Ghost was an information peddler who’d landed the role of auction host at the Ghost Market—he was no easy target.

He raised his hand and summoned a wall of earth, blocking the dagger instantly.

“Fellow cultivator, how powerful is this dagger’s attack?”

Red Eyebrow retrieved the dagger and asked with a smile.

“Not bad—it’s truly made of cold iron, but yours is just too small…”

Old Ghost naturally knew Red Eyebrow; he scowled but helped promote him anyway.

He’d just been struck by Red Eyebrow’s dagger, yet now he was praising him with professional sincerity.

What a magnificent professional spirit.

“Three daggers, starting at fifty spirit stones each. First one—any takers?”

Fifty spirit stones for a lower-grade magic treasure forged from cold iron!

The cultivators’ gazes toward Red Eyebrow turned strange.

Brother, we barked too loudly just now—sorry.

You’ve just crashed the price of cold iron magic treasures!

“Sixty!”

Red Eyebrow smiled—it was sold!

“One hundred!”

One dagger paid for itself!

We’re going to get rich!

Red Eyebrow quickly stifled his laughter, forcing his face into a stern mask—he feared overconfidence would invite disaster.

After selling the three “monkey-version” lower-grade magic treasures, Red Eyebrow pulled out the real item he’d prepared for today.

“Mirror-Silver Thread Shield—upper-grade defensive magic treasure, twenty-six sealing layers!

Base: three ninth-rank mirror-silver plates; carving: one ninth-rank spirit-gold thread; core: one eighth-rank black steel.

Minor attacks heal automatically via mirror-silver; powerful attacks are blocked by the eighth-rank black steel.

Even if the Red Lantern Sect’s Merit Hall came here, you might not find a better defensive magic treasure inside!”

“Two thousand spirit stones—bid according to your means.”

If Red Eyebrow had seemed a clown moments ago trying to offload those monkey-version magic treasures,

now he was every lone cultivator’s dream lover.

So what if he weighed three hundred jin?

Red Eyebrow’s flesh wasn’t fat—every ounce was his strength!

So ruthless, Red Eyebrow!

“Two thousand two!”

“Two…”

The cultivators in the arena began bidding, but Wang Xianmao smiled faintly.

Red Eyebrow, Red Eyebrow—you’re even selling your last defensive treasure; you’re clearly preparing for Foundation Establishment!

“Three thousand spirit stones—this Mirror-Silver Shield is excellent; I, Gu Clan, claim it!”

No one expected a Foundation Establishment cultivator here to guard the auction would bid outright.

After the second elder of the Tea King Gu Clan placed his bid, no one dared continue.

Still, three thousand spirit stones for an upper-grade magic treasure was already high—not outright coercion.

Ordinary upper-grade magic treasures could often be bought for a thousand spirit stones; this shield was so expensive because it was a defensive treasure, used abundant spiritual materials, and contained a full twenty-six sealing layers.

——————

The Ghost Market auction ended; the Wang Clan bought nothing, yet sold off a pile of goods.

Families have their own industries and legacies; many things lone cultivators saw as rare finds, the Wang Clan could produce themselves.

“Clan Chief, I don’t understand—why can Qi Refining cultivators use elixirs to accelerate cultivation, but we in the Qi Drawing stage cannot?”

Yulou was genuinely curious; from his observations, this world’s elixir system was highly developed.

Yet Qi Drawing cultivators could only use elixirs to break bottlenecks or for auxiliary purposes—they couldn’t use any that directly boosted cultivation progress.

This was very strange.

“Long ago, Qi Drawing cultivators could use elixirs to advance cultivation.

Once you reach Qi Refining, read the secret records the clan prepares for its Qi Refining disciples—you’ll understand.”

Wang Xianmao answered with a smile.

Yulou nodded slightly and stopped asking.

First become Qi Refining—Clan Chief’s meaning was clear enough.

“Why though, Clan Chief?”

Yu’an, Yu’an—only Yu’an would ask.

“Hahaha, fine, I’ll tell you—but don’t speak of this outside.

The world’s resources are limited; if Qi Drawing cultivators advanced too quickly, too many resources would be consumed by them.

If Qi Drawing cultivators grew too fast, there’d be too many Qi Refining and Foundation Establishment cultivators, and that would cause trouble.

Roughly a thousand years ago, the great cultivators of heaven and earth joined hands and altered the rules of heaven and earth—and they’ve remained so ever since.

Our Wang ancestors were already within the Red Lantern Sect then, so they recorded this.

Many families and small sects that rose in the past few centuries know nothing of this secret.”

The great cultivators of heaven and earth joined hands and altered the rules of heaven and earth.

Like one entranced, Yulou unconsciously chewed over those words again and again.

He sensed from them an unfathomable majesty, an indescribable grandeur.

To change heaven and earth!

A cultivator ought to be like this!

A real dog’s bark shattered Yulou’s reverie.

“Go to hell!

Free cultivators? Just beggars!

Even the secret prostitutes in Qingxi Fang know better than you!

The Red Lantern’s Merit Hall is coming—sleeping on the streets is deliberate sabotage of Qingxi Fang’s grand event!

Get out! If you don’t, I’ll whip you to death!”

At the entrance of Fuyuan Inn, Gao Jie swung his Spirit-Binding Rope, cracking it wildly against the wall where the free cultivators lay.

Lately, too many free cultivators had flooded into Qingxi Fang; every shop and residence had raised its rent.

Many penniless free cultivators chose to lie in corners against walls, waiting stubbornly for the Merit Hall’s arrival.

As a member of Qingxi Fang’s patrol force, Gao Jie naturally despised these beggars tarnishing Qingxi Fang’s image.

Hence he whipped them furiously, nearly sparking flames with every strike.

If you asked why these free cultivators didn’t wait outside until the Red Lantern’s Merit Hall arrived…

“My lord, my lord, we paid the entry fee!”

“Who knows if you paid or not! If you can’t afford housing, get out—don’t ruin Qingxi Fang’s appearance!”

Gao Jie was on patrol; what did he care about the entry fees collected by the gatekeepers?

If these beggar cultivators ruined his master Jiang Bao’s image before the Purple Mansion’s Grand Cultivator, Gao Jie would bear the blame!

Seeing this, Wang Xianmao casually cast a concealment spell, veiling himself and the two youths.

He led Yulou and Yuan to Gao Jie’s side, ensuring they could clearly see the Red Lantern’s outer disciple’s disgraceful behavior.

Then the clan chief asked.

“Yulou, Yuan—how do you think this matter should be handled?”

Yulou frowned, realizing the matter was far from simple.

If simplicity had levels,

then this seemingly casual question from the clan chief was the highest level.

Because casualness was a special posture; in certain contexts, it carried inverted prominence.