[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-ascending-to-the-jade-palace":3,"chapter-ascending-to-the-jade-palace-ascending-to-the-jade-palace-chapter-17":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","Ascending to the Jade Palace",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},2320479,4538,"Chapter 17: That is Respect, Gratitude, and Awe!","ascending-to-the-jade-palace-chapter-17",17,"\u003Cp>After a few seconds of noise in the arena, a voice, unable to suppress its excitement, rose—the speaker was a lone cultivator.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Five hundred spirit stones!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Eight hundred!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“One thousand two hundred—I’m from Dropwater Cave; I ask all fellow cultivators to grant me this favor.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>One thousand two hundred spirit stones for an eighth-rank spiritual material? This seemed deeply odd.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Is water jade really that valuable?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yulou blinked; Wang Xianmao naturally knew what he wanted to ask.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“The region we live in is under the Red Lantern Sect’s control; their disciples primarily cultivate fire arts.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Water jade is valuable because it is a water-type spiritual material; items forged from it can break fire arts.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yulou finally understood: water jade was expensive not because spirit stones were cheap, nor because of its extraordinary potential.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>From those fervent bidders.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yulou saw their respect for the Red Lantern Sect, their gratitude, their awe.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They feared!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They hated.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They… were furious!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They wanted to buy water jade!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>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.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>What did this price mean?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ten times! Compared to slightly inferior eighth-rank spiritual materials, water jade’s price was tenfold!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Red Lantern Sect’s reputation was this great!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>From the final sale price, Yulou understood why the Red Eyebrow Recluse was so obsessed with water jade fragments—it was extremely valuable.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Or rather, within the Red Lantern Sect’s territory, where fire arts dominated, it would always be valuable.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>————\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>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.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ever heard of an ultra-low-spec youth edition of Duobao Dao Ren?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Fellow cultivators, blessed to meet here, Red Eyebrow will not be stingy.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Today, I bring four fine magic treasures!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Red Eyebrow Recluse pulled out three small flying daggers from his storage pouch and introduced them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I forged these myself—lower-grade offensive magic treasures, forged from ninth-rank cold iron.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Though they bear only four sealing layers, with proper use, their attack power rivals ordinary mid-grade magic treasures.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If Jiang Bao’s opening display of rare eighth-rank water jade was a shock,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>then Red Eyebrow delivered a completely opposite shock—utterly opposite.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He was truly a scoundrel!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Red Eyebrow, you dare bring out lower-grade magic treasures with only four sealing layers?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Exactly! Get off!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Lower-grade magic treasures? Even if you gave them away, no one would take them!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“If I’m not mistaken, your dagger’s hilt is longer than its blade—haven’t you cut corners too badly?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The audience below erupted in barking.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Red Eyebrow said nothing; he immediately launched one dagger straight at the host, Old Ghost.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I’ll kill you, you bastard, for selling me my daughter rats as purple sables!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Old Ghost was an information peddler who’d landed the role of auction host at the Ghost Market—he was no easy target.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He raised his hand and summoned a wall of earth, blocking the dagger instantly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Fellow cultivator, how powerful is this dagger’s attack?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Red Eyebrow retrieved the dagger and asked with a smile.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Not bad—it’s truly made of cold iron, but yours is just too small…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Old Ghost naturally knew Red Eyebrow; he scowled but helped promote him anyway.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He’d just been struck by Red Eyebrow’s dagger, yet now he was praising him with professional sincerity.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>What a magnificent professional spirit.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Three daggers, starting at fifty spirit stones each. First one—any takers?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Fifty spirit stones for a lower-grade magic treasure forged from cold iron!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The cultivators’ gazes toward Red Eyebrow turned strange.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Brother, we barked too loudly just now—sorry.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>You’ve just crashed the price of cold iron magic treasures!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Sixty!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Red Eyebrow smiled—it was sold!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“One hundred!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>One dagger paid for itself!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>We’re going to get rich!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Red Eyebrow quickly stifled his laughter, forcing his face into a stern mask—he feared overconfidence would invite disaster.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After selling the three “monkey-version” lower-grade magic treasures, Red Eyebrow pulled out the real item he’d prepared for today.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Mirror-Silver Thread Shield—upper-grade defensive magic treasure, twenty-six sealing layers!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Base: three ninth-rank mirror-silver plates; carving: one ninth-rank spirit-gold thread; core: one eighth-rank black steel.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Minor attacks heal automatically via mirror-silver; powerful attacks are blocked by the eighth-rank black steel.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even if the Red Lantern Sect’s Merit Hall came here, you might not find a better defensive magic treasure inside!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Two thousand spirit stones—bid according to your means.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If Red Eyebrow had seemed a clown moments ago trying to offload those monkey-version magic treasures,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>now he was every lone cultivator’s dream lover.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So what if he weighed three hundred jin?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Red Eyebrow’s flesh wasn’t fat—every ounce was his strength!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So ruthless, Red Eyebrow!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Two thousand two!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Two…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The cultivators in the arena began bidding, but Wang Xianmao smiled faintly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Red Eyebrow, Red Eyebrow—you’re even selling your last defensive treasure; you’re clearly preparing for Foundation Establishment!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Three thousand spirit stones—this Mirror-Silver Shield is excellent; I, Gu Clan, claim it!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>No one expected a Foundation Establishment cultivator here to guard the auction would bid outright.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After the second elder of the Tea King Gu Clan placed his bid, no one dared continue.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Still, three thousand spirit stones for an upper-grade magic treasure was already high—not outright coercion.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>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.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>——————\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Ghost Market auction ended; the Wang Clan bought nothing, yet sold off a pile of goods.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Families have their own industries and legacies; many things lone cultivators saw as rare finds, the Wang Clan could produce themselves.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Clan Chief, I don’t understand—why can Qi Refining cultivators use elixirs to accelerate cultivation, but we in the Qi Drawing stage cannot?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yulou was genuinely curious; from his observations, this world’s elixir system was highly developed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>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.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This was very strange.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Long ago, Qi Drawing cultivators could use elixirs to advance cultivation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Once you reach Qi Refining, read the secret records the clan prepares for its Qi Refining disciples—you’ll understand.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wang Xianmao answered with a smile.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yulou nodded slightly and stopped asking.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>First become Qi Refining—Clan Chief’s meaning was clear enough.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Why though, Clan Chief?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yu’an, Yu’an—only Yu’an would ask.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Hahaha, fine, I’ll tell you—but don’t speak of this outside.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The world’s resources are limited; if Qi Drawing cultivators advanced too quickly, too many resources would be consumed by them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If Qi Drawing cultivators grew too fast, there’d be too many Qi Refining and Foundation Establishment cultivators, and that would cause trouble.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>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.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Our Wang ancestors were already within the Red Lantern Sect then, so they recorded this.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Many families and small sects that rose in the past few centuries know nothing of this secret.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The great cultivators of heaven and earth joined hands and altered the rules of heaven and earth.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Like one entranced, Yulou unconsciously chewed over those words again and again.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He sensed from them an unfathomable majesty, an indescribable grandeur.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>To change heaven and earth!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A cultivator ought to be like this!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A real dog’s bark shattered Yulou’s reverie.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Go to hell!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Free cultivators? Just beggars!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even the secret prostitutes in Qingxi Fang know better than you!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Red Lantern’s Merit Hall is coming—sleeping on the streets is deliberate sabotage of Qingxi Fang’s grand event!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Get out! If you don’t, I’ll whip you to death!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At the entrance of Fuyuan Inn, Gao Jie swung his Spirit-Binding Rope, cracking it wildly against the wall where the free cultivators lay.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lately, too many free cultivators had flooded into Qingxi Fang; every shop and residence had raised its rent.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Many penniless free cultivators chose to lie in corners against walls, waiting stubbornly for the Merit Hall’s arrival.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As a member of Qingxi Fang’s patrol force, Gao Jie naturally despised these beggars tarnishing Qingxi Fang’s image.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hence he whipped them furiously, nearly sparking flames with every strike.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If you asked why these free cultivators didn’t wait outside until the Red Lantern’s Merit Hall arrived…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“My lord, my lord, we paid the entry fee!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Who knows if you paid or not! If you can’t afford housing, get out—don’t ruin Qingxi Fang’s appearance!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gao Jie was on patrol; what did he care about the entry fees collected by the gatekeepers?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If these beggar cultivators ruined his master Jiang Bao’s image before the Purple Mansion’s Grand Cultivator, Gao Jie would bear the blame!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seeing this, Wang Xianmao casually cast a concealment spell, veiling himself and the two youths.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He led Yulou and Yuan to Gao Jie’s side, ensuring they could clearly see the Red Lantern’s outer disciple’s disgraceful behavior.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then the clan chief asked.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Yulou, Yuan—how do you think this matter should be handled?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yulou frowned, realizing the matter was far from simple.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If simplicity had levels,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>then this seemingly casual question from the clan chief was the highest level.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Because casualness was a special posture; in certain contexts, it carried inverted prominence.\u003C\u002Fp>",1548,"2026-06-20T15:48:26.995Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","fbf37ed3bb45e571637f91e0561e639816171cd3ec770e02c9c45a6de999c226","ascending-to-the-jade-palace-chapter-18","ascending-to-the-jade-palace-chapter-16",243,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fascending-to-the-jade-palace-cover.jpg"]