In each private booth, various discussions were taking place—some positive, some doubtful, some filled with sighs. But as soon as Liu Yunan announced, "The first Xiushui City Auction officially begins now," all the conversations came to a halt.
Throughout the journey leading up to this moment, everything Lingxian Sect had arranged seemed authentic, and the guests' initial concerns had mostly dissipated. Now that the auction was about to start, everyone couldn't help but feel curious about the items up for sale.
What treasures did Lingxian Sect gather them here for with such fanfare?
"The first auction item is twenty high-grade Spirit Absorption Pills," Liu Yunan said, as he lifted the box of pills that had appeared on a small table next to him. He opened the box and raised it for everyone to inspect the quality.
The elders in the upper booths, who had a clear view, were stunned with just one glance.
It really was high-grade Spirit Absorption Pills!
These pills were essential for Foundation Establishment cultivators. In the mortal realm, where spiritual energy was already scarce, sects relied on these pills to nurture Golden Core cultivators. Foundation Establishment cultivators also depended on them to progress quickly within their limited lifespan.
While Spirit Absorption Pills sometimes made their way into the mortal realm from the world of immortal cultivators, they were both expensive—costing one or two hundred spirit stones per pill—and incredibly rare. Whenever they appeared, they were quickly snatched up by sects with connections, never even reaching the broader market of mortal cultivators.
The accumulation of spirit stones in mortal sects was scarce, and one of their few major expenses was purchasing these pills.
Perhaps the world of immortal cultivators knew how slowly spirit stones were accumulated in the mortal realm, so they would only sell a few Spirit Absorption Pills every once in a long while.
This demonstrated just how precious they were.
Yet here was Lingxian Sect, offering twenty Spirit Absorption Pills right at the start of the auction!
Moreover, upon close inspection, the elders were even more shocked to find that these pills were all high-grade!
High-grade Spirit Absorption Pills—something even Golden Core cultivators could benefit from!
In an instant, the elders in the audience felt a surge of excitement.
They all instinctively tightened their grip on their storage bags, mentally calculating how they could empty their sect's reserves to secure the pills. If they didn't have enough spirit stones on hand, they would have someone rush back to fetch more!
Next, they heard Liu Yunan calmly close the box and announce, "The starting bid is 200 spirit stones."
...
For a moment, every elder present wondered if they had misheard.
Someone couldn't help but ask in a bewildered tone, "How much?"
Liu Yunan found it strange—weren't these elders all Golden Core cultivators? Why were their ears so bad? He hadn't spoken softly. Nonetheless, he patiently repeated, "Twenty Spirit Absorption Pills, starting at 200 spirit stones."
...
The room fell into a stunned silence.
Liu Yunan, growing slightly confused, asked, "Does anyone want to bid? If not, we'll move on to the next item."
As if jolted awake by his words, the auction hall erupted with bids.
"Yes! I'll bid 250!"
"I bid 300!"
"I bid 500!"
"I'll offer 800!"
"1,000!"
"2,000!"
...
With the bid of 2,000 spirit stones, the room finally quieted.
After all, the elders had a rough idea of their sect's spirit stone reserves. Anything beyond that would be impossible for them to pay.
At this point, everyone turned to look toward the window of the booth that had called out the 2,000 bid, curious about which sect could so easily afford to bid such a large sum.
Even though their sects' total wealth exceeded 2,000 spirit stones, none of them had that much readily available at the moment.
Liu Yunan was also surprised at the high bid. He felt that 2,000 spirit stones was quite steep and felt a twinge of guilt. However, Lin Xiao had told him that in auctions, once a bid was placed, it couldn't be withdrawn, so he had no choice but to swallow his guilt.
"Booth number three has bid 2,000 spirit stones. 2,000 spirit stones going once. Are there any other bids?"
The elder from Yunyin Sect, seated in booth number three, leaned back in his chair, feeling quite pleased as he glanced around at the other booths. He was proud of his sect's recent business dealings with the Li royal family, which had secured them a substantial number of spirit stones and resources. Although 2,000 spirit stones was a significant expenditure, their steady income meant they weren't worried about the cost.
"2,000 spirit stones going twice."
However, the elder from Yunyin Sect found one thing puzzling. The sect leader of Qinghe Sect, whose spirit stone reserves should have been no less than their own, hadn't participated in the bidding. Could it be that they were hesitating, or waiting to outbid at the last moment?
"2,000 spirit stones going three times. Sold!" Liu Yunan brought the gavel down. "The twenty Spirit Absorption Pills go to booth number three."
Hearing this, the elder from Yunyin Sect breathed a sigh of relief. Fortunately, Qinghe Sect hadn't made a bid.
Little did he know, the head of Qinghe Sect, Han Shangyi, was sitting in his booth, practically bursting with frustration.
He wanted to bid so badly!
He had been holding back with great difficulty.
Elder Lü, who was seated beside him, had his leg bruised from Han Shangyi pinching it. Of course, Han Shangyi's leg was equally bruised from Elder Lü's pinches.
Earlier, when the bid reached 1,000 spirit stones, it had been Elder Lü who couldn't resist and called out.
As they watched the twenty Spirit Absorption Pills slip away to another sect, Elder Lü finally asked in dismay, "Sect Leader, why didn't we bid? That's twenty Spirit Absorption Pills! Twenty high-grade ones! 2,000 spirit stones isn't too much at all!"
Han Shangyi's face was equally pained.
It wasn't that he didn't want the pills. He simply couldn't explain why.
He couldn't very well tell Elder Lü that during the banquet earlier, his daughter had sent him a voice transmission, advising him not to bid on the pills and to save their funds for something else later in the auction.
If he said that, Elder Lü would surely ignore him and even mock him for being a doting father, which would ruin his image as sect leader—especially in front of the other disciples.
After the first auction, Liu Yunan continued to auction off a few other types of pills, all related to cultivation. However, none were as valuable as the Spirit Absorption Pills, and no other bids reached the high price of 2,000 spirit stones.
Typically, high-grade items like the Spirit Absorption Pills wouldn't be the first item in an auction. Usually, the value of the items would increase as the auction progressed.
However, considering the situation in the mortal realm and the need to start the auction with a strong item, they had chosen the Spirit Absorption Pills as the opening lot.
These high-grade Spirit Absorption Pills had been refined just the day before by Sun Yigao under the guidance of Liao Pantian.
Ordinarily, given Sun Yigao's current level of skill in alchemy, refining high-grade Spirit Absorption Pills would have been quite difficult. However, with a master as knowledgeable as Liao Pantian, who had recently entered the Nascent Soul stage, guiding him, Sun Yigao's success had been ensured.