Chapter 26: A Withered Vine Segment

Qin Ming was instinctively startled.

He knew the forces behind Juxuan Pavilion were not simple, yet he had never expected the Gu Gezhu before him to be so young.

And a woman at that.

"Mm."

The Gu Gezhu replied only faintly, her voice clear, spiritual, and aloof.

Then she prepared to continue downward.

"Brother Qin? Why are you here as well?"

At this moment.

Su Yuqing, standing beside her, suddenly spoke up to ask.

"Brother Su, I am here handling some matters." A smile floated across Qin Ming's face as he spoke to Su Yuqing.

The Master of Juxuan Pavilion looked at Su Yuqing with confusion and asked, "Elder Su, do you two know each other?"

Su Yuqing nodded and introduced him to her: "This is my good friend, Fellow Daoist Qin Ming."

Then he turned to introduce her to Qin Ming: "This is the Master of Juxuan Pavilion, Gu Qingzhao."

Qin Ming bowed slightly. "Master Gu."

"Since Fellow Daoist Qin is a friend of Elder Su, there is no need for courtesy; just call me Fellow Daoist Gu."

For the words 'good friend' to come from Elder Su's mouth was enough to show she had gained his approval.

Compared to the beginning, Gu Qingzhao's attitude had also changed.

"Speaking of which, regarding the three Marrow-Cleansing Pills I entrusted your pavilion to auction, part of the credit still belongs to Brother Qin."

As soon as Su Yuqing said this.

Gu Qingzhao could not help but be extremely surprised. "There is such a matter?"

She looked at Qin Ming and asked, "Could it be that Fellow Daoist Qin is also an alchemist?"

"No, it is that one of the spiritual herbs used to refine these Marrow-Cleansing Pills was planted by Fellow Daoist Qin under my commission," Su Yuqing said with a smile.

"Reporting to the Gu Gezhu, Fellow Daoist Qin is a Grade-One Spirit Planter; he came this time to discuss the matter of Beast-Tooth Rice, and we have just finished signing the agreement."

Shopkeeper Liao was also greatly shocked; he could never have imagined that Fellow Daoist Qin had dealings with Elder Su.

Moreover, it seemed their relationship was quite profound.

It was well known that the Gu Gezhu had repeatedly tried to invite this very Elder Su to serve as a Guest Elder, yet the other party had remained unmoved.

"Oh, so that is how it is." Gu Qingzhao gave Qin Ming a faint smile.

Qin Ming cupped his fists toward the two and said, "Then you two attend to your affairs first; I will take my leave."

"Fellow Daoist Qin, we two are just about to attend an auction; if you have nothing else to do, why not join us to enjoy the excitement?" Su Yuqing suddenly invited.

"An auction?" Qin Ming was surprised.

He hesitated for a moment, then decided to go and see.

Qin Ming had been in Qingyang Market for so long, yet he had never once visited an auction house.

And so.

The three departed from the shop amidst Shopkeeper Liao's respectful send-off.

Shopkeeper Liao carefully wiped the fine sweat from his forehead.

"It seems I must cultivate an even closer relationship with Fellow Daoist Qin in the future."

"Unassuming and unobtrusive, yet able to associate with such a figure."

Having left Juxuan Pavilion.

Half an incense stick's time later.

The three arrived at the entrance of the auction house.

The Treasure Auction House was one of the enterprises under Juxuan Pavilion.

"Gu Gezhu."

"Elder Su."

Several staff members of the auction house stood respectfully at the entrance, clearly there to welcome Gu Qingzhao.

Subsequently.

Qin Ming followed the two into the auction house without any obstruction.

Inside, the circular venue was extremely spacious.

In the center was a stage for displaying the auction items.

Gu Qingzhao led the two to a private room with an excellent view.

She also ordered servants to bring up superior spiritual tea and dim sum.

Qin Ming and Su Yuqing began drinking tea.

"Brother Qin, do you have anything you need to auction? You could entrust Fellow Daoist Gu with the auction," Su Yuqing said to Qin Ming after taking a sip of tea.

Qin Ming smiled. "What could I possibly have to auction? I will just watch."

Before long.

The auction house gradually filled up with cultivators.

Most were in the middle to late stages of Qi Condensation, and four or five at the Qi Condensation Perfected stage had also arrived.

Very soon.

The auction began.

After an old man in a golden robe took the stage and delivered an opening speech.

The first auction item was brought onto the display platform.

The old man in the golden robe lifted the red cloth.

An exquisite silver magical sword appeared before everyone's eyes.

"A top-grade magical artifact, the Water-Avoiding Sword, crafted by the master refiner Fang Yezi."

"I need not say more."

"The starting bid is eight hundred spirit stones."

Whoosh! Just this one auction item immediately ignited the enthusiasm of the cultivators present.

"It was actually refined by Master Fang Yezi; I must have it!" "I bid one thousand spirit stones!"

A voice rang out.

"Damn, are you a shill? How are we supposed to keep bidding if you do that?"

"One thousand five hundred!"

"!!!"

"Two thousand!"

"Two thousand five hundred!"

"."

Qin Ming watched the passionate auction scene, dumbfounded.

He still had two thousand spirit stones in his own storage bag and thought he was wealthy, only to realize upon arriving here...

... that he was far short.

In the end, the top-grade magical sword was taken by a burly man in the late Qi Condensation stage.

He secured it for two thousand eight hundred spirit stones.

The old man in the golden robe smiled and said to him, "Congratulations, fellow Daoist; please proceed to the back stage shortly to complete the transaction."

He was very satisfied with the crowd's reaction.

The goal was to present good items right from the start to create a wave of spending atmosphere.

"Next, the second auction item."

"A top-grade talisman, the Blazing Sun Talisman."

"The starting bid is five hundred spirit stones."

"I bid six hundred!"

"Eight hundred!"

"Eight hundred and fifty!"

"One thousand!"

Qin Ming looked at the talisman on the central platform and felt extremely tempted, alas, his strength did not permit it.

As time passed.

One auction item after another was sold at high prices.

Qin Ming sighed inwardly.

No wonder it is called the 'Treasure Auction House'; everything sold here is a rare treasure.

"Regarding this next auction item, even this old man is not entirely certain."

"It was brought out from a secret realm by a certain cultivator."

"Everyone, please look."

Having said this, the old man in the golden robe lifted the red cloth.

A section of black withered vine, about the thickness of a thumb, appeared before everyone's eyes.

Pity it was so short, only two inches long.

The cultivators present looked at each other in bewilderment; clearly, none of them recognized this object.

"I have already tested it; this object is quite strange and mystical, impervious to water and fire, and cannot be damaged in the slightest even when struck by magical artifacts, blades, or axes."

"Thinking that perhaps someone could use it for refining something, I brought it out."

"Starting bid, one hundred spirit stones."

After the old man in the golden robe finished speaking, there was no movement from below.

The atmosphere became somewhat awkward.

"Is no one bidding? Then it will be passed in."

Before his words had even faded, someone began to bid.

"One hundred and fifty!"

"Two hundred!"

"Two hundred and fifty!"

"Are there any more bids?"

"Two hundred and fifty, once!"

"Two hundred and fifty, twice!"

Just as the old man in the golden robe was about to call out the third time.

"Three hundred!" Qin Ming shouted from within the private box.

Su Yuqing looked at Qin Ming with considerable surprise and asked, "Could it be that Fellow Daoist Qin recognizes this object?"

Qin Ming gave an awkward smile: "I do not recognize it either; I just find this object somewhat curious and wish to buy it to study it."

In truth, he had already started calculating in his heart.

He wanted to use the 【Regenerative Spirit Seed】 attribute to try resurrecting this withered vine.

Of course, if the price exceeded his expectations, he would forget about it.

"Three hundred, once!"

"Three hundred, twice!"

"Three hundred, thrice!"

"Sold! Congratulations to this fellow Daoist!"

Qin Ming's face lit up with joy; he hadn't expected to win the bid so easily.

Perhaps the cultivators present felt the withered vine was too short to be of any use for forging artifacts.

"Next is the final highlight item of this auction."

The old man in the golden robe lifted the red cloth, revealing three exquisite porcelain bottles to everyone's view.

"Breakthrough Pill—Marrow-Cleansing Pill!"

"Refined by the high-grade alchemist, Alchemist Su Yuqing."

(End of Chapter)