Chapter 125: Auction

The auction began, and immediately the main event took the stage!

The moment the Spirit-Perching Rice appeared, it instantly ignited the atmosphere of the venue.

"Fifty jin of Grade-Two Mid-Grade Spirit-Perching Rice, starting bid five thousand spirit stones!"

"Each increase must be no less than one hundred spirit stones."

The auctioneer's voice had just fallen.

The cultivators in the venue immediately began bidding one after another.

"I offer five thousand five hundred spirit stones!"

"."

"I offer six thousand five hundred spirit stones!"

"Seven thousand!"

"Seven thousand two hundred!"

"Eight thousand!"

This spirit rice, capable of greatly advancing the cultivation of those at the Foundation Establishment stage, was fought over by various families even though there were only fifty jin.

Quickly, as rarity increased value, the bidding for the Spirit-Perching Rice soared all the way to eight thousand.

"Eight thousand, once!"

"Eight thousand, twice!"

"Eight thousand, three times!"

"Sold! Congratulations to this Daoist friend!"

Subsequently, these fifty jin of Spirit-Perching Rice were secured by an elderly man in a green robe at the mid-stage of Foundation Establishment.

Immediately afterward, the second auction item was brought up.

The middle-aged auctioneer's face overflowed with smiles as he gently lifted the red cloth, revealing a crimson demon core the size of a chicken egg inside, and he loudly introduced:

"The demon core of a Flame-Feathered Eagle, a Grade-Two Initial-Stage demon beast; its uses are widespread, making it a rare treasure."

"Starting bid four thousand spirit stones, each increase must be no less than one hundred spirit stones!"

Upon seeing this demon core appear, Qin Ming's eyes immediately brightened.

Bidding below commenced.

Quite a few Foundation Establishment cultivators were determined to obtain this item.

"This old man offers five thousand spirit stones!"

"Six thousand spirit stones!"

"Six thousand five hundred!"

"Seven thousand five hundred spirit stones!"

From the private room next to Qin Ming, a voice with an icy tone rang out.

Following the sound, the crowd below looked over and began discussing in low voices:

"I saw it just now; the person inside is Bai Yulin of the Bai family from Yiling Mountain."

"Ever since the Bai family's ancestor broke through to the late stage of Foundation Establishment a few years ago, the Bai family's status in the Wei Kingdom's Immortal Realm has risen along with it."

"The Bai family boasts three outstanding talents; Bai Yulin is only forty-five years old yet already possesses cultivation at the mid-stage of Foundation Establishment."

"It is said he is already preparing to break through to the late stage of Foundation Establishment."

"Bai Yulin is extremely narrow-minded and vindictive; forget it, it's better not to offend him."

Seeing that no one continued to raise the bid, the middle-aged auctioneer immediately shouted, "Is there anyone else willing to increase the price?"

"Seven thousand five hundred, once!"

"Seven thousand five hundred, twice!"

Just as everyone thought this Grade-Two fire-attribute demon core would undoubtedly fall into Bai Yulin's hands without incident.

A faint voice rang out.

"Eight thousand spirit stones."

Whoosh~ The cultivators below erupted in an uproar, never expecting anyone would dare to bid against this star of ill omen.

The bidder was Mu Yuanshan of the Mu family from Qilian Mountain, whose overall strength was comparable to that of the Bai family.

At the same time.

Mu Yuanshan could also feel a probe of divine sense coming from the adjacent private room toward his direction.

His expression remained unchanged as he similarly released divine sense no inferior to that of a mid-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator.

The two streams of divine sense clashed in mid-air, colliding together.

Qin Ming's private room happened to be sandwiched between the two; he had no choice but to release his own divine sense, and the moment his powerful divine sense was unleashed, the divine sense of the two neighbors was blocked outside, unable to advance even a fraction further.

"Eight thousand eight hundred!" The icy voice from next door rang out again.

Mu Yuanshan's face remained calm as he bid without any ripple in his demeanor, "Nine thousand!"

At this moment, both Bai Yulin and Mu Yuanshan noticed that the person in the middle private room was not to be underestimated, so they immediately carefully retracted their divine sense.

"I wondered who it was; turns out it is Daoist friend Qin from Moon-Gazing Island in the adjacent room. In that case, I will give Daoist friend Qin face; I will not contend with Daoist friend Mu for this demon core," Bai Yulin said faintly, and although he yielded, one could clearly detect some displeasure in his tone.

Mu Yuanshan also realized the situation and politely greeted Qin Ming.

Hearing this, Qin Ming did not reply; although he was indeed interested in this demon core, he forcibly restrained himself.

"Nine thousand spirit stones, once!"

"Nine thousand spirit stones, twice!"

"Nine thousand spirit stones, going once!"

"Sold! Congratulations to the fellow Daoist upstairs."

The middle-aged auctioneer secretly wiped away a bead of sweat!

He had thought that after Bai Yulin placed his bid, no one else would dare to follow up.

Shortly after.

The third auction item was brought up. A segment of spiritual wood, brown on the outside but blood-red within, was presented before everyone's eyes.

The middle-aged cultivator introduced it: "A top-grade tier-two spiritual plant, the Dragon Blood Divine Tree; it is a rare treasure for refining spiritual artifacts and concocting special pills."

"Starting bid: six thousand spirit stones!"

"Each increment must be no less than five hundred spirit stones."

As soon as this item appeared, the atmosphere at the auction became even more heated.

"This old man bids ten thousand spirit stones!"

"???"

"!!!"

"Who bids like that?"

The cultivators in the hall began to curse and grumble.

Immediately, they turned their gaze toward the cultivator who had just bid.

"So it's Grandmaster Fang Yezi; that explains it."

"Then there's no issue; Grandmaster Fang must have his eye on such a top-grade material for artifact refining."

Qin Ming was also extremely tempted by the Dragon Blood Divine Tree; he hadn't expected the things he needed to be auctioned off one after another, catching him somewhat off guard.

According to records in books on spiritual plants, the Dragon Blood Divine Tree has extremely stringent requirements for its growing environment.

It is a miraculous spiritual plant that has been infused with the blood of flood dragons.

Only in a few specific regions of the Immortal Realm can one find one or two such trees; a mature Dragon Blood Divine Tree will bear a fruit containing extremely powerful vital energy, known as the Dragon Blood Divine Fruit.

Pity that this fruit bears only once every hundred years; coupled with the rarity of the divine tree itself, it is a rare sight in the Immortal Realm.

He immediately swept his divine sense over that segment of Dragon Blood Divine Wood and discovered that root fibers still remained at its base. Qin Ming's heart instantly leaped with joy; just as he was about to place a bid, he heard Bai Yulin from the neighboring box also begin to compete.

"Twelve thousand spirit stones!"

Qin Ming, unhurried, followed with a bid: "Thirteen thousand!"

Fang Yezi's expression changed, and he continued to raise the price: "Fifteen thousand."

"Sixteen thousand." At this moment, another Foundation Establishment cultivator also joined the bidding.

Upon closer look, the cultivators realized it was the green-robed elder who had purchased the Spirit Perching Rice at the very beginning.

"Eighteen thousand." Bai Yulin seemed determined to secure this wood at all costs.

"Twenty thousand!" Fang Yezi spoke lightly.

Mu Yuanshan from the neighboring box did not hesitate and immediately matched the price: "Twenty-two thousand."

"Twenty-five thousand." The green-robed elder wore an expression of complete calm.

With the bidding reaching this level, the cultivators present began to click their tongues in secret amazement.

If it were the Dragon Blood Divine Fruit, such a price would be justified, but if it is merely the divine wood, the price is somewhat inflated.

Although Qin Ming also desired this item, facing competition from these immortal families meant standing out too much.

Though the divine wood is excellent, contending with these scions of immortal families is not a wise move; with his traits in hand, what kind of spiritual plant could he not cultivate? Thus, he helplessly gave up on bidding.

"Twenty-eight thousand." Bai Yulin nearly gritted his teeth as he shouted the price.

At this point, the artifact refining grandmaster Fang Yezi and the green-robed elder fell silent and withdrew from the bidding.

"Thirty thousand."

Mu Yuanshan's voice was as calm as an ancient well without ripples.

"Fellow Daoist Mu, I just yielded one auction item to you; isn't your bidding like this a bit excessive?" Bai Yulin's voice drifted over lightly.

Mu Yuanshan paid it no heed whatsoever and replied: "Fellow Daoist Bai need not be so modest; please, bid as you wish."

Upon hearing this, Bai Yulin's face turned extremely ugly; he gritted his teeth, and although he greatly desired the Dragon Blood Divine Tree, this price had far exceeded his psychological expectation.

"Then congratulations to Fellow Daoist Mu," Bai Yulin said coldly, and fell silent.

The middle-aged auctioneer, filled with excitement, immediately announced: "Thirty thousand spirit stones, going once!"

"Thirty thousand spirit stones, going twice!"

"Thirty thousand spirit stones, going three times!"

"Sold! Once again, congratulations to this fellow Daoist!"

Having successfully purchased two treasures in a row, it drew the gazes of all the cultivators present toward the private room where Mu Yuanshan was located.

"Truly magnificent!"

"Who exactly is inside that private room?"

For a moment, the cultivators below began to speculate wildly.

Next.

The auction house proceedings continued with undiminished fervor.

Various rare magical artifacts, pills, spiritual materials, and cultivation techniques were continuously sold off.

More than half a day passed.

Dozens of treasures, rarely seen under normal circumstances, were secured by various factions.

After purchasing those two items, Mu Yuanshan did not engage in any further bidding.

As time went on.

Another item was brought up.

The middle-aged auctioneer untied the red cloth, revealing an exquisite emerald-green jade bottle on the tray.

He then began to introduce it:

"Inside this jade bottle is the essence blood of a Bi Xue Suanni, a rank-two early-stage beast!"

"This item requires no further explanation from me; I'm sure everyone here already knows its value."

"The starting bid is eight thousand spirit stones!"

Qin Ming's eyes lit up; the high-grade beast essence blood he had been longing to find had finally appeared!

(End of Chapter)