Three days passed in the blink of an eye.
By the time the annual auction officially began, Purple Iris Immortal City had become even livelier than before. Cultivators from every corner of South Sea Province poured into the city, filling the streets with flying swords, spirit beasts, merchant caravans and cultivators dressed in robes bearing the insignias of various sects and families.
The annual grand auction was the largest event held by Purple Iris Immortal City every year.
Rare treasures that normally never appeared on the market would all be gathered here. Whether it was cultivation techniques, medicinal pills, spiritual herbs, demon beast materials or even ancient inheritances, anything valuable could potentially appear on the auction stage.
Naturally, no one wanted to miss such an opportunity.
Outside the magnificent auction hall, thousands of cultivators had already gathered.
Most were rogue cultivators who had travelled for weeks just to attend.
Many of them had reached the late stage of Qi Refining and hoped this auction would provide the opportunity to change their fate.
After all, a single Foundation Establishment Pill...
...was enough to alter an entire lifetime.
Just then, a silver figure descended slowly from the sky.
Lin Sheng landed calmly before the entrance, his silver robes fluttering gently behind him, his hands resting behind his back.
He no longer concealed the aura of a Rank Two body cultivator.
The moment he appeared, the noisy crowd instantly quietened.
"A Foundation Establishment body cultivator..."
Someone unconsciously swallowed.
"I wonder which family's Foundation Establishment ancestor he is."
"Or perhaps a true disciple from one of the immortal sects?"
The Qi Refining cultivators immediately stepped aside, leaving a clear path toward the entrance. Several even bowed respectfully as he walked past.
Strength commanded respect wherever one went.
"He actually reached Foundation Establishment."
"I'm still waiting for the sect to reward me with a Foundation Establishment Pill."
His companion sighed helplessly.
"There are always monsters in this world."
"Comparing yourself to them is simply asking for suffering."
The two watched Lin Sheng disappear into the auction hall before silently looking away.
---
The moment Lin Sheng entered, a beautiful female attendant hurried over with a respectful smile.
"Senior, please follow me."
She didn't even ask for an invitation.
Foundation Establishment cultivators naturally enjoyed the highest treatment.
She personally escorted him toward the second floor.
Unlike the bustling common seating below, the second floor consisted entirely of private VIP rooms overlooking the entire auction stage.
The room prepared for him was spacious and elegantly furnished. Spiritual tea had already been prepared, while the transparent crystal window allowed him to observe everything happening below without being seen himself.
Lin Sheng glanced across the second floor.
There were dozens of similar private rooms.
As he released his perception slightly, he immediately sensed one powerful aura after another.
"So many Foundation Establishment cultivators..."
It seemed this auction truly attracted experts from all over South Sea Province.
Some undoubtedly came for rare treasures.
Others...
Likely came searching for opportunities impossible to obtain elsewhere.
Lin Sheng sat down quietly.
Since the airship to the Southern Archipelagos wouldn't depart for another few days, attending the auction was simply a good way to pass the time.
---
Not long afterwards...
The lights inside the auction hall dimmed.
The noisy discussions gradually faded.
A graceful figure slowly walked onto the auction stage.
She wore a light blue dress that perfectly outlined her elegant figure, while every smile seemed capable of stirring the hearts of countless young cultivators below.
Her name was Little Rui.
No one knew whether it was her real name or merely a title used by the auction house.
Few cared.
Her appearance alone was enough to make many hot-blooded male cultivators forget why they had even come.
Little Rui smiled gently as her pleasant voice echoed throughout the hall.
"Welcome, everyone, to Purple Iris Immortal City's annual grand auction."
Without wasting time, the auction officially began.
One treasure after another appeared on the stage.
Late Rank One artifacts...
Peak-grade medicinal pills...
Rare cultivation techniques...
Second-order spiritual herbs...
Each item immediately triggered fierce bidding.
Lin Sheng watched quietly at first.
Although many of the treasures would have driven ordinary Foundation Establishment cultivators into a frenzy, very few interested him.
After all, his current path differed greatly from that of ordinary immortal cultivators.
Most of these treasures were of little use.
He almost began losing interest.
Then...
Little Rui accepted another jade tray from an attendant.
"This next item," she said with a mysterious smile, "is something rather special."
She carefully placed a small jade jar onto the auction table before taking out a talisman.
Several curious gazes immediately focused on it.
Little Rui activated the talisman.
A faint spiritual light enveloped the jade jar.
"This is a Medicine Identification Talisman."
"It has already verified the contents."
Lin Sheng's interest immediately rose.
This was certainly far more professional than the appraiser Old Wan he had encountered previously.
Little Rui slowly opened the jade jar.
A dense medicinal fragrance instantly spread throughout the auction hall.
"This item is a body refinement ointment."
"It was refined using the essence of a Second-Order yao beast's flesh and blood, combined with several accompanying spiritual herbs."
Many body cultivators below immediately straightened in their seats.
For ordinary people, it was merely another body refinement resource.
For Lin Sheng...
His thoughts instantly moved elsewhere.
His eyes narrowed slightly.
"So that's how it is..."
He wasn't interested in the ointment itself.
What interested him was the formula.
If a Rank Two yao beast's flesh and blood could be refined into such an ointment...
Then replacing those materials with Rank Three yao beast blood, meat, scales and other body refinement resources should allow the formula to be upgraded to match his current realm.
For the first time since entering the auction...
Lin Sheng smiled. This single formula was already worth the trip.
Little Rui gently placed the jade bottle back onto the tray before smiling at the audience.
"The starting price for this Body Refinement Ointment is thirty thousand low-grade spirit stones. Each increase must be no less than one thousand."
Her voice echoed throughout the auction hall.
Yet...
The hall remained unusually quiet.
Although body refinement had become more popular over the years, it was still far from mainstream. Most cultivators followed the Immortal Dao, and few were willing to spend such a large amount of spirit stones on something they couldn't personally use.
Lin Sheng wasn't surprised.
Just as he was about to bid—
A calm voice sounded from another VIP room.
"Thirty-five thousand."
Lin Sheng's eyes shifted toward the opposite side of the second floor.
"So there's someone else interested."
Whether the other party was a body cultivator or merely curious about the ointment formula, he couldn't tell.
Either way...
Lin Sheng had no intention of giving it up.
He wasn't interested in the ointment itself.
Once it was in his hands, the Chip would be able to analyze every ingredient, deduce the preparation method and reconstruct the complete formula. At that point, he could simply replace the second-rank yao beast blood, meat, scales and accompanying medicinal herbs with higher-grade materials to create a version suitable for his current cultivation.
Without hesitation, he raised the price.
"Forty-five thousand."
The auction hall immediately became quiet once again.
The cultivator inside the opposite VIP room didn't respond immediately.
It was obvious the sudden increase had caught him off guard.
Several breaths passed.
Little Rui smiled sweetly.
"Forty-five thousand once."
No reply.
"Forty-five thousand twice."
Still nothing.
Finally...
"Sold."
The small wooden hammer struck the table.
"The Body Refinement Ointment belongs to the esteemed senior in Room Seven."
Lin Sheng leaned back slightly.
A faint smile appeared on his face.
The formula was now his.
The rest of the auction continued without much excitement from his perspective. Spiritual medicines, defensive treasures, flying artifacts and even several rare cultivation manuals appeared one after another, each triggering fierce competition among the cultivators below.
He simply watched quietly while sipping spiritual tea, only occasionally glancing toward an item before losing interest again.
It wasn't until Little Rui walked onto the stage carrying one final jade box that the atmosphere inside the hall completely changed.
Even before she spoke...
The Foundation Establishment cultivators inside the VIP rooms had already become alert.
Little Rui slowly opened the jade box.
A single pale-gold medicinal pill rested quietly inside.
The fragrance alone caused many people's spirits to tremble.
She smiled as she looked around the hall.
"Our final auction item..."
"...the Niwan Opening Pill."
A wave of whispers instantly swept through the audience.
Little Rui continued calmly.
"This pill assists late and peak Foundation Establishment cultivators in opening the upper dantian ahead of time, greatly reducing the difficulty of advancing into the Purple Palace Realm."
The moment those words fell...
The atmosphere became suffocating.
Several powerful auras leaked uncontrollably from the VIP rooms.
Even the rogue cultivators below understood the value of such a treasure.
A single Niwan Opening Pill...
...could change the fate of an entire Foundation Establishment cultivator.
Lin Sheng merely glanced at it once before quietly standing up.
There was no reason for him to remain.
His cultivation path differed completely from ordinary immortal cultivators. The pill held little value to him, and more importantly...
He knew exactly what would happen after the auction ended.
Whoever obtained that pill would become the target of countless greedy eyes.
There would be pursuit, ambushes and murder.
Perhaps even Purple Palace cultivators would secretly intervene.
Remaining here would only drag him into trouble that had nothing to do with him.
Without attracting attention, Lin Sheng left through the private passage reserved for VIP guests.
By the time the first bid for the Niwan Opening Pill echoed throughout the auction hall...
He had already disappeared into the bustling streets of Purple Iris Immortal City.