Chapter 39: Soul Liquid

Now proceeding with the twenty-fourth auction item.

Elder Bai opened the red cloth on the tray, and a roughly hundred-page-thick yellowed book lay still upon it.

The bidders below were momentarily stunned.

The auction rule is that, aside from the first item and the finale, generally the later items are more valuable.

Now the auction is basically at its end, yet Elder Bai takes out a book for auction.

What does that indicate?

This book is worth that price.

In the cultivation world, such ancient texts are extremely rare, because cultivators basically record things on jade slips and seldom use paper.

But in the vast world, anything can happen; there are always cultivators who like to record things on paper.

The paper cultivators use is naturally not comparable to mundane paper.

Books made from cultivator's paper, if properly preserved, will remain as good as new even after five hundred years.

But a book like this, neat and even with some pages stuck together, basically has an age of over a thousand years.

What it records may be important or may not be.

That depends on the person.

Everyone remained silent, listening to Elder Bai's explanation.

Seeing the expressions of the crowd, Elder Bai gave a faint bitter smile inside, but kept a smile on his face:

"Gentlemen, this book, according to Manager Huang's appraisal, is at least over two thousand years old, and it came from the Hundred Nations Alliance into our Western Drooping Land."

That remark aroused the interest of two cultivators, but Elder Bai's following words made everyone's hearts turn cold.

"Unfortunately, no one can recognize the text on it, but I suppose you learned cultivators might be able to identify it."

"Elder Bai! May we come forward to take a look?"

"Of course, each cultivator may observe for ten breaths."

As soon as Elder Bai finished speaking, many cultivators stepped forward to examine it.

Apart from bidding once on a pill, Wang Ping had never made a move; this time, curious, he also went up.

Wang Ping, standing at the back, watched the cultivators ahead shake their heads and leave one after another, growing ever more curious.

When it was his turn, he fixed his gaze on the book.

What is this?

Wang Ping's heart jolted, but his body-refining cultivation was near perfection, his control over his body astonishing, so he showed no trace of it.

After observing for ten breaths, he slightly shook his head and returned to his seat.

Soon, all twelve cultivators had finished viewing.

Elder Bai glanced around the field and then spoke:

"One unnamed ancient text, starting bid eight hundred spirit stones! Each raise must be no less than ten spirit stones."

One breath! Two breaths, three breaths, soon it was ten breaths, and on the field no cultivator placed a bid.

Elder Bai felt a slight disappointment, preparing to announce that this ancient text would go unsold, when a hesitant voice sounded:

"I bid eight hundred spirit stones!"

Elder Bai's spirit lifted; as long as the item doesn't remain unsold, they stand to profit.

"Good! This fellow cultivator bids eight hundred spirit stones! Any other cultivator to bid?"

At this moment, Old Man Wu glanced at Wang Ping and deliberately said, "I bid eight hundred ten spirit stones!"

Wang Ping glanced sideways and looked toward Old Man Wu.

Since being called out by name, Old Man Wu simply removed his mask, revealing his true face.

After stating his bid, he wore a look of triumph as he gazed at Wang Ping, his provocation unmistakable.

Another ten breaths passed; Wang Ping, aside from glancing at Old Man Wu, made no bidding move.

Old Man Wu's originally pleased face gradually turned grim, while his heart grew uneasy.

This brat won't fail to bid, will he!

What would I do buying a broken book back home after spending over eight hundred spirit stones?

Old Man Wu couldn't help but feel resentful.

Even if the book recorded a heaven-shaking secret, what of it? The text looks like ghostly talismans—who could read it?

He has five years left until his sixty-year limit; the spirit stones he has saved must be spent carefully.

It's utterly impossible to spend spirit stones and also time to study it.

Old Man Wu grew more worried the more he thought.

Wang Ping, however, sat calmly in his chair, with no intention to speak up and bid.

Even though Elder Bai had already begun counting down.

The many cultivators on the field also began to stare at Old Man Wu with amusement.

This is like trying to steal a chicken and losing the rice—intending to scheme against others, yet ending up trapping himself.

For cultivators at their level, Foundation Establishment is the foremost priority; all other matters must yield to it.

That book, utterly incomprehensible ghost talisman text, produces no effect whatsoever on Foundation Establishment—why buy it?

"Brat! Why aren't you bidding?" Old Man Wu could not help but demand.

Wang Ping calmly smiled and said, "Why should I bid? Since you seniors like it, I juniors will fulfill your wish."

"You!" Old Man Wu was left speechless.

Wang Ping sneered inside; Old Man Wu had earlier shown killing intent toward him, evidently planning to waylay and rob him.

Since that's the case, better let him spend those eight hundred plus spirit stones; then, at the final climax auction item, he might lack funds and be forced to give up bidding, saving him a large sum of spirit stones.

Once the auction ends, all of these will be his.

Of course, Wang Ping's daring to do so is also backed by his strength.

Wang Ping was scheming on his side; on the floor, Old Man Wu handed over the spirit stones with a cold face, although extremely unwilling, he carefully put them away.

Seeing this, Wang Ping quietly let out a breath, fearing that Old Man Wu might destroy the book in anger, but it turned out Wang Ping had overthought it.

This also avoided a battle, after all Wang Ping would not allow the Spirit Insect Cultivation Notes to be damaged in the slightest.

If Old Man Wu made the slightest suspicious move, he might have lashed out, hurt someone, and snatched the book away.

All this was just a minor interlude; soon, three more materials were auctioned, with prices around two thousand spirit stones each.

At that moment, Bai Lao suddenly shouted excitedly:

"Next, we will proceed with our final auction item, which is also our climax piece."

It seemed that, aside from Wang Ping, the other eleven all knew what the remaining climax item was.

Wang Ping could feel the atmosphere on the floor instantly fill with the smell of gunpowder.

On the auction stage, Bai Lao slapped his storage bag, and a disc covered with red cloth appeared in his hand.

Huff! Huff!

Wang Ping heard scattered heavy breathing; glancing around, he saw that more than one person was panting.

What exactly could cause them to react so intensely?

Wang Ping became increasingly interested.

Only seeing Bai Lao gently blow, the red cloth lightly floated up.

A clear, translucent crystal appeared on the disc; the important part was not the crystal itself, but the drop of black liquid sealed within it.

"My heavens! It really is soul liquid; that old geezer didn't lie to me!"

"How is it possible? How could the Soul Refining Hall allow such a thing to leak out?"

When the crystal was revealed, the floor instantly erupted; even the woman in light gauze and the man with a knife stood up.

Only Wang Ping sat dazed in his chair, motionless.

He was somewhat dazed at this moment; is that drop of black liquid soul liquid?

What exactly is soul liquid, and why is it related to the Soul Refining Hall?

These are not the most important; the crucial thing is that drop of liquid—Wang Ping has it, and plenty, at least fifteen drops.

Moreover, his soul liquid seems much purer than the one on the stage.

While paying attention to the movements on the floor, he also diverted part of his consciousness to probe the silver-white block deep in his mind.

Inside the silver-white block, a small space he had separately divided off is about three cubic centimeters.

Within this small space flows a mass of black liquid resembling the deep universe; faintly, light seems to flicker within the liquid.

That is Black Heaven; after Jia Li's soul was collected into the block and compressed, it formed this liquid.

Comparing the two kinds of soul liquid, he finally concluded that the one on the stage is inferior to the soul liquid inside his silver-white block.

While Wang Ping was worried about not knowing what soul liquid was, the cultivator dressed like a wealthy patron said with an enamored expression:

"This is the Soul Refining Hall's exclusive specialty—a soul liquid that can purify the spirit and increase mental power; it's truly unbelievable. I really don't know how they produce it, or where it comes from, yet even the Hundred Kingdoms Alliance is unwilling to move to exterminate them."

"Can soul liquid purify the spirit and increase mental power?"

Wang Ping lowered his eyelids, his heart shocked, yet his face showed no abnormality.

These cultivators don't know how soul liquid is refined, but Wang Ping knows it perfectly clear.

Could it be that the Soul Refining Hall's soul liquid also comes this way?

"Master Bai! Truly vast are your powers—you can even obtain soul liquid; truly admirable!"

"Stop flattering; let's start the auction quickly!"

Facing the cultivators' enthusiasm, Bai Lao seemed to have expected it.

He also didn't waste words with nonsense, speaking directly:

"One drop of Soul Refining Hall soul liquid, starting bid three thousand spirit stones, each raise must be no less than one hundred spirit stones."

No sooner had his words fallen than the wealthy patron cultivator spoke up directly:

"Four thousand spirit stones!"