Chapter 87: Departure and Auction

Qin Ming pondered for a moment.

This trip to the spiritual energy Archipelago would require leasing a second-tier spiritual island field, and the estimated expenditure was considerable.

Thus, he took out the bark of a second-tier spiritual plant, the Red-Silver Yellow Flax, along with a bottle of top-grade Marrow-Cleansing Pills from his storage bag, and placed them before Gu Qingzhao.

Originally, Qin Ming had intended to use that bottle of top-grade Marrow-Cleansing Pills himself, but after refreshing the 【Magic Power Crystal】 attribute, he broke through to the late Qi Refining stage in one go.

He no longer needed so many of these breakthrough pills for the late Qi Refining stage.

"Then I must trouble Fellow Daoist Gu to auction these two items on my behalf."

Gu Qingzhao curiously lifted the jade stopper and peered inside; instantly, her eyes brightened, and strong joy appeared between her dark eyebrows.

"It's actually a top-grade Marrow-Cleansing Pill!"

"With these two items from Fellow Daoist Qin, we can make them the finale auction items!"

Qin Ming smiled; seeing Gu Qingzhao in such a state, he suddenly felt she was so beautiful as to be untouchable.

"It seems Fellow Daoist Qin has fully inherited Master Su's true teachings!"

"I believe that once Fellow Daoist Qin establishes his Foundation, it won't be long before he breaks through to become a second-tier alchemist."

"Possessing dual second-tier crafts, such a existence is extremely rare even across the entire Wei Kingdom Immortal Realm."

A slight smile touched Gu Qingzhao's lips as she praised Qin Ming.

Qin Ming waved his hand. "Ai~ Fellow Daoist Gu overpraises me; my spiritual root aptitude is lowly, and establishing my Foundation remains a distant hope."

"I do not see it that way; Fellow Daoist Qin holds great potential, and establishing your Foundation is merely a matter of time," Gu Qingzhao said with a hint of amusement in her smile.

Hearing this, Qin Ming could only smile helplessly.

Three days later.

A giant dharma boat, even a size larger than the Duyuan Dharma Boat of the Lingyu Sect, slowly docked before the mountain gate of Yunmeng Mountain.

The ship's cabin had five levels, with three stories of pavilions on the exterior, accommodating several thousand cultivators in total.

Like a primordial behemoth, Qin Ming appeared extremely tiny standing beneath it.

Only the Mirror Jing Xue Ge could afford to maintain such a gold-swallowing behemoth; the spirit stones consumed in a single voyage must be no small sum.

At this moment.

In the distant sky, countless trails of escaping light flew toward this location one after another.

"These cultivators have all purchased ship tickets to leave the Yunze Dahuang together with us."

"They are also cultivators unwilling to get entangled in this conflict between major powers," Gu Qingzhao said lightly, standing beside Qin Ming.

The guards of the Mirror Jing Xue Ge began verifying the boarding jade slips one by one before allowing passage.

More and more cultivators gathered; in just one morning, several thousand people had arrived.

"Is Fellow Daoist Gu not afraid that bandits might slip in among them?" Qin Ming asked in confusion.

Hearing this, Gu Qingzhao smiled. "Even if they are bandits, as long as they are willing to pay spirit stones, I will accept them without hesitation."

"Fellow Daoist Qin need not worry; the safety on the ship is extremely reliable."

Seeing her so confident, Qin Ming felt much more at ease.

At Gu Qingzhao's invitation, he boarded the dharma boat.

It was not until the first quarter of the Shen hour.

All the cultivators had boarded the ship.

The massive dharma boat slowly set in motion, with Qin Ming and Gu Qingzhao standing by the railing on the third deck.

Watching Yunmeng Mountain gradually disappear from their sight, a nameless sense of melancholy suddenly surged in Qin Ming's heart.

When he first arrived in this Dahuang, he had never imagined that one day he would be able to return.

"Fellow Daoist Qin, come inside for a cup of spiritual tea," Gu Qingzhao said; seemingly accustomed to such a life, she behaved very casually and freely.

Qin Ming ceased his sighs, nodded, and followed her into the luxury suite located on the upper three decks.

Originally, he had asked Gu Qingzhao to arrange an ordinary room, yet she had still prepared a superior room for him.

The room was very spacious with an excellent view, allowing one to gaze out at the scenery from the window.

Three days later.

Inside the banquet hall on the fourth deck of the dharma boat, more than several hundred cultivators had already taken their seats one after another.

Those able to enter here were mostly Qi Refining cultivators of considerable strength.

There were also four or five auras of magic power belonging to great Foundation Establishment experts, hidden amidst the many cultivators, faint and indistinct.

Before long.

The auction on the Mirror Jing Xue Ge's dharma boat began.

Qin Ming and Gu Qingzhao sat in a private box, eating snacks brought by attendants while watching the venue below.

"Welcome, fellow daoists, to participate in this auction."

"I can only say that weighty auction items will appear at this auction, and it will certainly not disappoint the fellow daoists present!"

A middle-aged cultivator in a dark robe ascended the central platform and began warming up the crowd.

"First is the first auction item."

Two bottles of pills were directly carried onto the stage by attendants.

The middle-aged cultivator gently lifted the stopper of one bottle, and a heart-penetrating pill fragrance drifted out; a deep blue spiritual pill suddenly appeared in everyone's line of sight.

"A spiritual pill that can increase the magic power of those in the middle to late Qi Refining stage—the Spirit-Nurturing Pill!"

"I suppose this spiritual pill needs no further introduction from me, correct?"

"Among all pills for Qi Refining cultivators to increase their magic power, none has a better effect than this one."

The moment the middle-aged cultivator finished speaking.

"It's actually a Spirit-Nurturing Pill!"

"Which grand master crafted this?"

"I heard Spirit-Nurturing Pills are extremely difficult to refine; ordinary pill refiners wouldn't even dare to attempt them."

The atmosphere in the venue instantly ignited.

The middle-aged cultivator raised a hand, cleared his throat, and shouted, "Spirit-Nurturing Pills, five per bottle."

"Starting bid: four hundred spirit stones."

"Each increment must be no less than ten spirit stones!"

Having said this,

the cultivators below began bidding fervently.

"I offer four hundred twenty!"

"Four hundred fifty!"

"Four hundred eighty!"

"Five hundred!"

Qin Ming hadn't expected that the Spirit-Nurturing Pills he had once sold to Gu Qingzhao would be so sought-after.

He needed to remember that when he sold them, the price was only four hundred fifty spirit stones per bottle.

Now, after just one round of bidding, the price had skyrocketed to over five hundred spirit stones.

'Why do I feel like I lost out?'

Inside the private room,

Gu Qingzhao, observing Qin Ming's expression, couldn't help but smile faintly.

"Five hundred fifty!"

The bidding continued.

"Five hundred eighty!"

Clearly, all the cultivators knew how rare this pill was; if they missed this chance, there wouldn't be another, so they bid frantically.

"Excellent!"

"Five hundred eighty, once!"

"Five hundred eighty, twice!"

"Five hundred eighty, three times!"

"Sold!"

After a fierce competition,

the second bottle of Spirit-Nurturing Pills also sold for over five hundred spirit stones.

"Next is the second auction item."

An attendant brought up another item.

The middle-aged cultivator lifted the red cloth, revealing a cyan dharma robe to everyone's eyes.

"A high-grade Cyan Spirit Dharma Robe, possessing both defense and speed-enhancing effects, capable of withstanding a full-power strike from a late-stage Qi Condensation cultivator."

"Starting bid: five hundred spirit stones!"

"I offer six hundred!"

As item after item was sold at high prices,

the auction house event drew to a close.

An attendant carefully carried up an exquisite jade bottle.

The middle-aged cultivator, his eyes burning with intensity, gently removed the stopper; instantly, a wisp of cyan spiritual charm drifted out.

Immediately, the fragrance of the pill permeated the air.

"Next is the first headline item of this auction."

"A realm-breaking pill: a top-grade Marrow-Cleansing Pill!"

"Starting bid: two thousand spirit stones per pill!"

Boom! The venue plunged into an unprecedented uproar.

(End of Chapter)