Chapter 222: Iron Essence, Spiritual Medicine

A Record of a Mortal's Journey to Immortality, Volume 3

The thin, tall man had already cleverly put the item into his storage pouch, sensing the situation was getting a little out of control.

Now, seeing the burly man pull out a dark, seemingly rusty piece of scrap metal and about to demand the already greatly appreciated auctioned item, the thin, tall man rolled his eyes and retorted impolitely:

"You'd better calm down! We will assess the value of your item in due course, but for now, please return to your seat. Otherwise, our establishment will consider you to be deliberately causing trouble and will act accordingly!"

Upon hearing the thin, tall man's threats, the burly man was instantly enraged.

Given his status, he was a figure of authority in his sect, accustomed to commanding thousands. When had he ever endured such humiliation? He immediately clenched his fists, ready to retaliate.

However, when he glanced at the strange person wearing a cloth bag over their head, he noticed them staring motionlessly, with a hint of schadenfreude in their eyes. This stirred something within him. After a moment's thought, he managed to suppress his furious rage, abruptly turned, and walked back to his seat.

Some cultivators who had anticipated a good show couldn't help but feel disappointed.

The auction of the puppet beast had to continue. The dark item had already been handed to the trio seated on the sandalwood chairs. They were now discussing it in low voices. Although their masks concealed their expressions, their exceptionally cautious demeanor was evident to all cultivators.

After the three repeatedly examined the palm-sized, black, seemingly cast-iron object, they finally reached a consensus. Then, the black-clad individual in the middle stood up and announced loudly:

"One piece of high-grade refined iron, valued at two thousand spirit stones!"

He then sat back down without another word.

"Refined iron?"

All the cultivators who heard those two words were inwardly stunned. Those who had initially intended to bid immediately fell silent.

Everyone wondered in astonishment if this person was a Core Formation master. Otherwise, where would he have obtained refined iron?

This was a raw material for magic treasures that could only be refined using the alchemical fire of the Core Formation stage. Typically, cultivators would immediately integrate such refined materials into their own magic treasures to enhance their power, preventing them from easily flowing out into the market.

If even a small amount of these magic treasure materials, such as refined iron, were mixed into ordinary magic tools, their power would greatly increase, and elevating their grade wouldn't be impossible. Consequently, their value would skyrocket.

As for the burly man from earlier, could he be a Core Formation cultivator deliberately suppressing his aura and feigning a Foundation Establishment stage cultivation? Low-level cultivators, after all, cannot discern the true depth of Core Formation cultivators.

As all the cultivators grew wary and suspicious,

the thin, tall man, prompted by the three behind him, finally spoke again:

"Is there anyone bidding above two thousand nine hundred spirit stones now? If not, this pair of puppet beasts will belong to this gentleman!"

The thin, tall man, seemingly wanting to push the price even higher, deliberately spoke slowly, clearly trying to stall for time.

But who among the cultivators in the hall would dare to bid casually now? Since these individuals were capable of attending this auction, they were certainly not ordinary people. They were either significant figures from cultivation families or Foundation Establishment cultivators. However, in the presence of a suspected Core Formation cultivator, who would dare to stir up trouble?

Furthermore, even if this individual wasn't a Core Formation cultivator, it was clear that a Core Formation master stood behind him. Thus, despite coveting the secret of the puppet beast, none of them were willing to be the first to speak out; they could only watch helplessly.

The strange individual, who had been confrontational from the start, now sat in silence. It was unclear if he was intimidated by the refined iron or simply didn't possess enough spirit stones.

Han Li was also greatly surprised to hear about the refined iron. His "cheap" master had lost two pieces of it to the old monster Qiong in a bet. Seeing his master's crestfallen expression at the time, Han Li knew just how exceedingly precious this item was.

And so, the pair of puppet beasts uncontroversially fell into the burly man's hands. His hands trembled with excitement as he received them.

This turn of events, however, only further piqued the curiosity of the cultivators present. Most of them wished they could snatch the item to carefully study its mysteries.

The cloaked, burly man immediately left his seat and walked towards the stone door upon receiving the puppet beasts. However, when he reached the door, he found it...

...shut tight! He pushed hard twice, but the stone door didn't budge.

"What is the meaning of this?!"

"Are you not letting people leave after they've made a purchase?" The man's voice darkened, and his already unusual accent sounded even more jarring.

"Of course not! We will open the doors immediately for you to leave as soon as the trade fair concludes. However, that's not possible right now." It was no longer the thin, tall man hosting the fair who spoke, but the sharp-voiced, black-clad individual on the far left.

"What? That makes no sense! I'm leaving here immediately!" The man grew enraged, his voice rising a few notches.

"Regrettably, that is indeed our establishment's rule. It's merely a small measure taken to prevent any unpleasant incidents. Surely, you can wait this brief period, can't you?" The black-clad person on the right spoke, their low, hoarse voice sounding eerie.

"Hmph! Of course, I can wait. Are you implying I'm afraid of you? I'm curious to see what other good items might appear next!" The man, apparently having thought of something, abruptly changed his demeanor and swaggered back to his seat.

This left the others momentarily stunned and greatly surprised. They wondered what his intentions were. Didn't he realize that the longer he stayed, the more perilous his situation would become?

By this point, most cultivators present had realized that the man was indeed in the Foundation Establishment stage; otherwise, he wouldn't be so subdued. However, the secret shop's staff seemed to have known the burly man's true capabilities from the start and showed no intention of yielding.

Since the burly man had not left, the auction in the hall resumed. However, most people's attention couldn't return to the bidding. A quiet atmosphere settled, with two items in a row receiving no bids, much to the thin, tall man's embarrassment.

Nevertheless, the auction was nearing its end. The truly significant items, reserved for the finale, finally began to appear.

"A top-grade spiritual herb: a thousand-year Yellow Essence Ganoderma. I won't waste words; you all must understand the value of this herb better than I do!"

As soon as the thin, tall man finished speaking, a vibrant green jade box appeared in his hand.

He then feigned a glance at the cultivators, and seeing that everyone's attention was captivated by the thousand-year herb he had mentioned, he secretly rejoiced and continued:

"This thousand-year spiritual herb has appeared only a few times in the past century. Acquiring it to refine into a spirit pill is undoubtedly your best opportunity to break through realms and enhance your magical power. Therefore, the starting bid is five hundred spirit stones!"

After speaking, the thin, tall man slid open the jade box and held it upright, presenting its contents to the cultivators.

Immediately, a rich medicinal fragrance filled the entire hall, astounding and delighting the cultivators.

They were surprised that such a rare treasure had appeared at this auction, completely unexpectedly! They were delighted because if they could acquire it for alchemy, it would be, as the host implied, far more valuable than any top-tier magic tool. After all, it would enhance their own cultivation, not rely on external power.

As soon as the thin, tall man announced the starting bid, someone immediately spoke up impatiently.

"One thousand spirit stones!"

The first cultivator to speak immediately doubled the spiritual herb's price, causing many who had intended to bid next to inwardly curse. However, others continued to raise the price.

"One thousand two hundred spirit stones!"

"One thousand..."

Bidders continued one after another, and in a flash, the price surpassed the two-thousand mark. Han Li, however, stared blankly at the thousand-year herb on the table, lost in thought.

When he first heard "thousand-year herb," he paid it no mind, assuming it was just another instance of thousand-year medicinal materials being discovered elsewhere.

But when the thin, tall man revealed the thousand-year Yellow Essence Ganoderma from the box, Han Li immediately confirmed that the so-called top-grade spiritual herb was clearly one of the two he had sold to the Myriad Treasures Pavilion. After all, he had personally cultivated this spiritual herb; how could he mistake it?

However, since the spiritual herb was already in the Myriad Treasures Pavilion's possession, Han Li didn't concern himself with how they handled it. So, after a brief moment of absentmindedness, Han Li recovered and continued to casually observe the intense bidding among the cultivators.

Listening to the cultivators' fervent bidding, Han Li felt a slight sense of smug satisfaction.

After all, it was a source of pride to see others so agitated over something that originated from him.