Chapter 44: Foundation Establishment

“‘Danqing Sword,’ starting bid: one hundred low-grade spirit stones!”

Hearing Zheng Yuanao’s bid, Fang Xing’s heart sank.

Even though he earned well, he had at most a few dozen spirit stones on him.

For a post-heavenly martial artist, that was already extremely conspicuous.

Bidding further for this ‘Danqing Sword’ would likely bring trouble.

“Besides… I’m not leaving the marketplace now, so I don’t even need such a fine sword…”

Just as Fang Xing decided, he saw a primordial martial artist rise excitedly: “One hundred spirit stones!”

“One hundred and one!”

Other martial artists began bidding in earnest.

Blood-refined artifacts!

For primordial martial artists, if they reached the peak of primordial realm and acquired a blood-refined artifact, their status would be nearly equal to that of a Qi Condensation mid-stage cultivator.

This was the absolute limit of secular martial artists!

Unfortunately, martial artists were all broke, so the price of this ‘Danqing Sword’ rose very slowly.

“One hundred twenty spirit stones!”

A voice rang out, stirring Fang Xing’s attention—he looked toward the plaza.

The speaker wore black robes and a mask, his bearing calm and composed, yet lacking the yang vigor of a primordial martial artist.

“A cultivator!”

“A cultivator? Why are you bidding for a blood-refined artifact?”

“Probably for his descendants or servants.”

The primordial martial artists all silently cursed inwardly.

But Fang Xing recognized the voice’s owner: “Him? Chen Yi—the leader of the Five Righteous of Cangshan! He’s here too? No… why would he buy a blood-refined artifact?”

“One hundred thirty spirit stones! Hehe, Brother Chen, you finally show yourself—hiding your voice, thinking I won’t recognize you?”

At that moment, a haughty voice rang out from a private booth: “Why buy a blood-refined artifact? Still trying to reconcile with those brothers of yours? Too bad—your two brothers are dead, and the two women left won’t even associate with you…”

“Him? Fu Qing?”

Fang Xing’s heart stirred—he still didn’t understand why Chen Yi had initially teamed up with Fu Qing to ambush Wanfeng Forest, then turned on him.

“Only profit can make cultivators turn against each other… Could there be some secret hidden in that nameless wasteland?”

“One hundred forty spirit stones! I don’t owe you explanations!” After being exposed, Chen Yi stopped pretending—he tore off his mask, revealing his aged face.

In the time since they last met, he seemed even more worn down.

“One hundred fifty spirit stones! Old man, if you’ve got guts, step out of the marketplace!”

Fu Qing clearly hated Chen Yi, but dared not act due to marketplace rules.

His words carried heavy caution, making Fang Xing ponder.

“Enough. This is the Zheng family’s auction—please don’t bring personal grudges here…”

Zheng Yuanao suddenly spoke.

The intimidation of a Foundation Establishment family still held weight—Chen Yi fell silent.

“One hundred fifty spirit stones—the ‘Danqing Sword’ goes to guest in Booth Jia-16!”

With Zheng Yuanao’s announcement, the small commotion ended.

But Fang Xing stared at Chen Yi and suddenly felt he had exposed himself on purpose.

“He didn’t even mask his voice—he openly challenged the Black Tiger Gang… Is he fishing? Or… luring in bigger players? Whether he wins the bid is utterly irrelevant…”

“Whatever. It’s none of my business. Let me watch the show…”

Fang Xing leaned back in his chair, relaxed.

But soon, he couldn’t remain so calm.

“Dragon Blood Pill—mainly refined from the essence and marrow of the ‘Bi Xue Long Li.’ Though low in rank, this ‘Bi Xue Long Li’ is said to be a dragon lineage, carrying a trace of jiao dragon blood; thus, the Dragon Blood Pill contains dragon energy, aiding martial artists or cultivators in refining their bodies…”

Zheng Yuanao held a jade vial, his voice calm: “Our Zheng family has eradicated a group of ‘Bi Xue Long Li.’ These pills will soon be sold publicly at our pharmacy. For now, we release ten vials—each with a starting bid of fifty spirit stones. All bids are silent; the ten highest bidders win…”

For the Zheng family, this was a small game during the auction’s intermission—also a subtle promotion for their pills.

After exterminating the ‘Bi Xue Long Li,’ they retained some fry and were attempting to breed them into a full industry chain.

“Jiao dragon blood?”

Fang Xing grew interested.

“My ‘Great Dragon Stake’ has stalled since reaching Proficiency level… Will this pill help?”

“The ‘Great Dragon Stake’ only mimics a dragon—but this Dragon Blood Pill might contain a real trace of jiao dragon blood? Even just its aura would be excellent… At least it’s perfect for my understanding of the ‘Dragon’s Essence’!”

What is a dragon?

If you’ve never seen a jiao dragon, yet claim to comprehend the ‘Dragon’s Essence,’ isn’t that a joke?

He thought, then dropped a slip into the tray offered by the maid—writing his maximum bid and his seat number.

If he won, he could claim it using his seat number.

Not long after, Zheng Yuanao smiled as he received a slip: “Congratulations to the following ten friends who won the Dragon Blood Pill—Ding-27, Bing-65…”

“Not bad—I won.”

Below, Fang Xing nodded slightly, then sighed inwardly: “Sixty-seven spirit stones—more than a Primordial Pill. If it does nothing, I’m ruined…”

“But the Primordial Pill only grants entry to primordial realm. This Dragon Blood Pill might unlock an essence. That’s a fourth-stage ability… So if it works, I profit.”

He kept watching as more precious items appeared.

From Qi Condensation breakthrough pills, to golems and spirit plants—it was all there, everything imaginable.

Unfortunately, most suited only cultivators.

“Next is one of the three featured items of this auction!”

Suddenly, Zheng Yuanao’s voice turned solemn yet slightly excited as a maid brought forward a dull gray small silk pouch.

“One low-grade storage pouch—contains three internal spaces, usable for storing objects, but not living beings… Starting bid: three thousand low-grade spirit stones!”

Before he finished, the auction hall erupted:

“Storage pouch? A real storage pouch?”

“So expensive—such a storage treasure is beyond the reach of most Qi Condensation cultivators, save perhaps a few Foundation Establishment masters…”

…

“Spatial item?”

Fang Xing’s eyes lit up.

The Blue Star Federation’s spatial technology was mediocre—only after extraterrestrial demons invaded from the virtual space did they scramble to catch up, yet still couldn’t block all attacks.

This small spatial item—perhaps even Federation Martial Saints or Martial Gods lacked the qualification to possess!

“More importantly… it represents another civilization’s interpretation of spatial Dao… If sold to top conglomerates or labs, even a trillion star credits would be trivial… Well, I dare not.”

Fang Xing shook his head, listening intently as Zheng Yuanao explained—the ‘storage pouch’ was an extremely rare artifact, crafted from the hide of a void-attribute beast, impervious to ordinary weapons, but crucially… required spiritual power or even spiritual awareness to use!

“I feel the world’s malice—this cultivator world is unfriendly to me…”

He grumbled inwardly, watching the price climb until it finally sold for six thousand eight hundred spirit stones to a cultivator in a private booth.

…

“The second-to-last featured item… is a deed—a shop in the marketplace, formerly ‘Qingyun Small Shop,’ starting bid: four thousand five hundred spirit stones…”

Zheng Yuanao smiled broadly.

“A land deed? Only major factions would care about this?”

Fang Xing shook his head, watching the powerful factions in the booths bid fiercely, finally reaching a sky-high price.

Though the price seemed exorbitant, major factions passed such assets down generations—owning a marketplace shop was like owning a golden goose that laid eggs. In time, they’d recoup it.

It made Fang Xing think of infrastructure projects—high investment, high return, just requiring long timelines.

“Huh? Why does the atmosphere feel off?”

Fang Xing, about to enjoy the spectacle, sensed something wrong in the auction hall.

A strange pressure filled the air.

It made him feel as if a ferocious beast stood beside him, watching him constantly!

“A Foundation Establishment master!”

“The Zheng family’s patriarch has arrived—so the rumors are true… Then the Qingyun Shop’s owner selling his property was likely for this final item…”

Hearing two cultivators beside him whisper, Fang Xing’s heart stirred.

Hummm!

On the auction stage, arrays of runes surfaced, converging into a translucent silver-white bowl, inverted and sealing the entire platform.

Then, Zheng Yuanao’s expression turned grave as he personally carried a tray forward:

“The final item: a Foundation Establishment essence—One vial of Qianyuan Fire Poison!”

On the tray sat only a jade vial, its interior a thick, viscous crimson liquid; crimson radiance seeped through the jade, radiating waves of scorching heat…

“It’s a Foundation Establishment essence!”

“This auction truly offers a Foundation Establishment opportunity?”

The cultivators present went wild—especially those at late Qi Condensation and Qi Condensation peak—all stared hungrily at Zheng Yuanao, or rather, the jade vial in his hand.

Had it not been for the Zheng patriarch’s earlier aura display and the protective arrays, someone would have rushed the stage to seize it!

Foundation Establishment!

This was the lifelong pursuit of every Qi Condensation cultivator—success meant a lifespan over two hundred years, bodily flight, founding a sect, wielding power and privilege.

But breaking through to Foundation Establishment is extremely difficult; without a Foundation Establishment opportunity to assist, success rates are barely one in a hundred, and failure almost certainly means death!

The best among Foundation Establishment opportunities is naturally the Foundation Establishment Pill, said to increase success rates by two to three tenths.

Next come various spiritual items beneficial to the three Foundation Establishment trials.

Zheng Yuanao’s voice trembled slightly; he could hardly fathom the willpower it took to tear his gaze away from the ‘Qian Yuan Fire Fiend’: “The Qian Yuan Fire Fiend can purify the body and cultivation energy, greatly aiding the ‘Body Trial’ among the three Foundation Establishment trials, and offering slight aid to the ‘Energy Trial’… Overall, it raises the Foundation Establishment probability of a Qi Condensation peak cultivator practicing fire-affinity Wu Gong by half to one tenth. Starting bid… ten thousand low-grade spirit stones!”