Chapter 1615: Four Clans Auction

After Han Li finalized his plan, a flash of white light later, the jade box vanished from his hand. He then sat in meditation on his bed.

For three consecutive days, Han Li remained in his new residence without stepping out. However, on a particular day, as he cultivated in his room, bathed in a shimmering golden light, he suddenly stirred and opened his eyes. With a flip of his hand, the Thousand-Mile Talisman, given to him by Qianjizi, appeared in his palm. A row of small characters became visible on the misty white surface of the talisman. Han Li's expression remained unchanged after reading it. He immediately put away the talisman and walked out of his room.

Half a day later, he found himself in a cave dwelling on Cloud Dream Mountain, part of the Eight Cloud Mountain range. He looked around the various areas of the dwelling, his face full of satisfaction. The spiritual energy within this cave dwelling was no less potent than that of Cloud Radiance Mountain. Moreover, the dwelling was fully equipped with facilities such as an alchemy room, an artifact refining chamber, and a medicinal garden, which already contained a batch of common spiritual herbs. He was extremely pleased with the location.

However, Han Li was not in a hurry to begin cultivating immediately. Instead, he thoroughly inspected every inch of the cave dwelling with his divine sense. Then, in one go, he set up over a dozen layers of various restrictions, both inside and outside the dwelling. This ensured that even a Body Integration stage cultivator would not be able to breach the place quickly. Next, he transplanted some of the spiritual herbs and plants he needed into the cave dwelling. In the days that followed, he began to refine pills in seclusion.

He planned to first refine a certain quantity of Soaring Dragon Pills. He would keep most for his own consumption and take a small portion to the market to exchange for some top-grade spirit stones. After all, whether for powering the psychic puppets or for the future super teleportation array, the required amount of top-grade spirit stones was incredibly vast. Relying solely on selling spiritual herbs, even ten-thousand-year-old spiritual medicine wouldn't be enough to exchange for the required quantity. Furthermore, selling too many ten-thousand-year-old spiritual medicines would attract unwanted attention. In that case, he decided to simply exchange the finished Soaring Dragon Pills directly. He believed that with the potent medicinal properties of these pills, the high-ranking clans in Cloud City would fiercely compete for them, allowing him to fetch an astonishing price. Of course, he wouldn't sell too many, and he would also need to carefully conceal his identity. He was confident that selling them only two or three times wouldn't attract the attention of the Saint Race cultivators. If that still wasn't enough, he would have no choice but to consider using the Golden Lightning Bamboo.

Given the rarity of Golden Lightning Bamboo in the Spirit Realm, selling an entire stalk would certainly be more than sufficient. While beginning his alchemy, Han Li had already contemplated methods for accumulating top-grade spirit stones. Qianjizi probably never dreamed that what he considered an impossible task for Han Li to accomplish in a short time would merely be a minor inconvenience for Han Li.

However, when Qianjizi brought Han Li to this location, he also informed him that permission to use the teleportation array had already been secured from the other clans. A few conditions had been set, but they weren't overly demanding. Most required him to simply pay a usage fee. Only the Stone Cocoon Clan posed a slight issue. They requested him to collect a unique artifact-refining material found only in the Grand Han Realm when he entered it. They even provided a map with the material's origin clearly marked. Once he entered the Grand Han Realm, he merely needed to run this errand for the Stone Cocoon Clan. This condition was, relatively speaking, somewhat dangerous. However, this material seemed very important to the Stone Cocoon Clan; they stated this condition without any room for negotiation. Therefore, after a brief consideration, Han Li agreed to it. If it was just a quick errand, he was willing to take the risk. Thus, Han Li had officially reached an agreement with the various Heavenly Cloud Clans. As soon as the matter of the Grand Han Realm concluded, he would be able to use the super teleportation array, which these clans were responsible for safeguarding, once at any time.

Han Li stayed in the cave dwelling for over a year. During this time, he prepared spiritual herbs for pill refining while simultaneously taking Soaring Dragon Pills and continuously cultivating the True Devil Arts of Brahma Saint. Although the period wasn't very long, the Brahma Saint True Devil Incarnation he manifested during cultivation became even more condensed. This demonstrated the astonishing efficacy of the Soaring Dragon Pills. However, Han Li found it a bit strange that the Crystal Clan woman named "Xianxian" had not contacted him using the Thousand-Mile Talisman during this period. It was as if she had completely forgotten about him. Han Li felt a little peculiar about this, but he had no intention of proactively seeking her out.

However, on this particular day, Han Li finally emerged from his cave dwelling. After a quick scan of his surroundings, he transformed into a streak of light and shot down the mountain. Coincidentally, another white rainbow streaked down from the mountaintop, arriving at the foot of the mountain just behind Han Li. As the light subsided, Han Li and a bald man simultaneously revealed themselves. The burly man had a fierce countenance, and his skin was an unusual grayish-white color. Both of them exchanged surprised glances.

"I am Tie Jian of the Stone Cocoon Clan. Your face seems unfamiliar, Fellow Daoist. Are you a new resident of this mountain?" Despite the burly man's fierce appearance, his words were exceptionally polite.

"Indeed, I have recently moved onto the mountain," Han Li replied with a smile, surprised inwardly upon realizing, with a sweep of his divine sense, that the man was a peak Void Refinement stage cultivator.

"So it's Fellow Daoist Han! Hmm, I heard that last year an outsider activated a Grand Han Token, and that person also had the surname Han. Could that be you, Fellow Daoist?" The burly man was well-informed; upon hearing Han Li's surname, he immediately guessed his identity.

A hint of surprise flickered in Han Li's eyes, but he replied with a slight smile: "I am indeed the one who activated the Grand Han Token. I didn't expect my reputation to have spread so widely that even you know about it, Fellow Daoist."

"Haha, Brother Han, you are the first outsider guest elder to activate a Grand Han Token in so many years, so your reputation is naturally quite significant! Are you heading out now because you heard about the Four-Clan Auction featuring rare items, and you wish to attend this grand event?"

"Four-Clan Auction!" Han Li was somewhat surprised.

"What, Fellow Daoist Han, you didn't know about this? Oh, no wonder, you've only been in our Cloud City for a short while. This Four-Clan Auction is a grand auction held every ten years by four of our thirteen clans to boost Cloud City's popularity. The treasures auctioned are usually important clan artifacts that would never be brought out otherwise. Therefore, each time, many high-level cultivators specifically travel to Cloud City to participate. This time, due to the Horned Chi Clan's attack, and our clans being at a disadvantage in the previous battles, some treasures far surpassing those of previous sessions have been brought out to boost our morale. Among them is the 'Myriad Marvel Pill.' This is an excellent supplementary pill for Void Refinement stage cultivators to break through bottlenecks. Only Grandmaster alchemists of the Crystal Clan can refine it, and it has never appeared in previous sessions." Tie Jian suddenly realized Han Li's lack of knowledge and promptly explained it in one breath.

"Myriad Marvel Pill! I have indeed heard of it," Han Li thought, his heart stirring at the mention of the pill's name. Back in Green Realm City, those few foreign cultivators had mentioned this pill. Its value seemed to surpass even that of psychic puppets. If it was truly effective for Void Refinement stage cultivators, then obtaining this pill or its formula would undoubtedly be a significant aid in breaking through future bottlenecks.

"Since such a grand event is taking place, I suppose I shouldn't miss the opportunity to witness it," Han Li said, blinking his eyes, a look of interest on his face.

"Since you're interested, Fellow Daoist, why don't you come with me? To be frank, Brother Han, I might also join this trip to the Grand Han Realm. Perhaps I'll even end up in your group! If so, I'll count on your care and guidance." The bald man chuckled heartily, appearing remarkably straightforward.

"You jest, Fellow Daoist! Fellow Daoist Tie's cultivation at the ninth tier of the high-ranking clan far surpasses mine. However, I am indeed not very familiar with Cloud City, so I'll trouble you, Brother Tie," Han Li replied with a noncommittal laugh.

Upon hearing this, Tie Jian chuckled and didn't elaborate. Instead, he raised his hand to summon a beast carriage parked at the foot of the mountain, then gestured for Han Li to enter. Han Li didn't stand on ceremony and stepped into the carriage first.

"To the Cloud Intent Auction House!" the burly man commanded the driver plainly.

The driver acknowledged with a sound and immediately urged the spirit beasts in front of the carriage to gallop wildly.

Inside the carriage, Han Li curiously inquired about many details concerning the Four-Clan Auction. Only then did he learn that the auction had already begun several days prior, but the true highlight, the auction of premium items, was happening today. He also discovered that the Stone Cocoon Clan man had even borrowed a significant sum of spirit stones from a friend just for the "Myriad Marvel Pill," which was why he had set out to participate in this auction. Han Li's heart stirred when he heard that this auction also featured two psychic puppets from the Myriad Ancient Clan.

After the beast carriage sped for over an hour, it made a turn and entered an exceptionally wide street. On this street, beast carriages suddenly became numerous, and many cultivators, whose cultivation seemed formidable, were walking in the same direction along the roadside, their wide sleeves fluttering. Finally, the beast carriage abruptly stopped near the end of the street, parking alongside dozens of other beast carriages.

Han Li and Tie Jian stepped out of the beast carriage and scanned their surroundings. Directly ahead, a colossal, square building came into view. It stood about a hundred zhang tall, and its length and width were nearly a thousand zhang. At the very top of the building was a cylindrical altar, upon which floated a yellow ring, over ten zhang in diameter. It resembled neither gold nor wood, and its material was unknown, but as it slowly rotated, it emitted a chilling glow that enveloped the entire grand hall. Around this grand hall, a row of armored guards, both still and moving, stood sentinel. These were, in fact, puppets of considerable rank. The hall had three entrances: one large main entrance and two smaller ones. Over twenty blue-robed guards stood watch at these entrances. All of these guards were cultivators at the Void Refinement stage or above! At this moment, not many people were entering through the largest main entrance. In contrast, the two smaller side entrances were bustling with people constantly moving in and out.

"Fellow Daoist Han, I have a few items I plan to sell in the side hall first to gather more spirit stones. Brother Han, do you also intend to go and take a look?" Tie Jian asked, turning his head as Han Li was lost in thought.