Chapter 324: Reaper Grass

The burly man only had three thousand-vine flowers in his hand.

The efficacy of spiritual herbs varied greatly, making their precise value difficult to assess.

However, judging by the auction's momentum, the Soul Fruit was clearly going to fetch an extremely high price. After weighing the pros and cons, most people began to back away.

Nevertheless, the thousand-vine flower was still a rare spiritual herb. It seemed many people were attempting to bypass the Soul Fruit and trade directly with the burly man.

The burly man became flustered. He cupped his fists towards his surroundings and announced loudly, "I only wish to trade for a Soul Fruit, or a similar elixir that can nourish the soul. Fellow cultivators, if you do not possess such elixirs, please do not waste your breath."

Amidst this commotion, the auction for the Soul Fruit remained unaffected, its price steadily climbing.

Unfortunately, many individuals vied for the Soul Fruit, and it indeed fetched a price far exceeding the spiritual herb's inherent value. A few who had been interested in the thousand-vine flowers also attempted to raise their bids a few times, but ultimately gave up.

Qin Sang made two bids but decided to withdraw.

It wasn't worth paying such a high price for a few thousand-vine flowers that were currently of little use to him.

In the end, a female cultivator purchased the Soul Fruit at a price that left the burly man despairing. She showed no intention of trading with him, indicating that the Soul Fruit was precisely the spiritual herb she urgently needed.

The burly man slumped onto his chair, utterly dejected.

Some people, still hopeful, tried to contact him for a trade, but the burly man refused them all.

The auction continued uninterrupted by the burly man's plight, with items being sold one after another. Unfortunately, no more elixirs with effects similar to the Soul Fruit appeared.

"Next item! Soul-Guiding Grass!"

Gao Yi's impassioned voice invigorated Qin Sang. He had previously hesitated in his bids, reluctantly passing on several items, and had only purchased a Fallen Phoenix Vine, similar in quality to the Earth-Fire Pan Acacia, for fear of spending too many spirit stones and impacting his ability to bid on the Soul-Guiding Grass.

Finally, the moment arrived—the Soul-Guiding Grass was brought out!

*Swoosh!*

Gao Yi swept aside the red cloth, revealing three jade boxes laid out side by side on the tray!

Inside each jade box was a spiritual herb, carefully dug out from the root—each one a Soul-Guiding Grass!

The Soul-Guiding Grass was entirely dark black. From its root, three leaves sprouted, but instead of growing in different directions, they intertwined like three vines, forming a bud-like shape at the top. It was truly peculiar.

During its growth, the Soul-Guiding Grass underwent four color changes: white, green, dark green, and dark black. The dark black color indicated full maturity!

The moment the Soul-Guiding Grass appeared, the hall erupted in an uproar, punctuated by gasps of astonishment.

Some even sprang to their feet, staring intently at the tray with fervent eyes.

Many cultivators who had previously spent their spirit stones lavishly now sighed repeatedly with deep regret.

Seeing this scene, Qin Sang's heart tightened instantly, and he had a bad feeling. It seemed he had underestimated the Soul-Guiding Grass's appeal to demonic and evil cultivators.

Each leaf of the Soul-Guiding Grass could be refined into one Heavenly Corpse Talisman, meaning a single plant could yield three. Although there was a certain chance of failure, Qin Sang had been studying the *Heavenly Yin Corpse Art* for quite some time and was confident he could refine at least two.

Judging by their fervent expressions, the competition for the Soul-Guiding Grass was bound to be fierce. Qin Sang dared not hope to acquire all three plants at once.

He decided to make a strong opening bid and secure the first plant at all costs, then assess the situation for the remaining two.

Qin Sang made up his mind.

With his financial resources, securing the first plant should be certain, though the price would far exceed his expectations.

However, obtaining at least two living corpses would make it worthwhile.

"Three mature Soul-Guiding Grass plants can aid the cultivation of many demonic and unorthodox cultivators. It seems everyone here understands their value, so I'll just give a brief introduction..."

Gao Yi's lips curved slightly as he loudly announced the reserve price.

"The owner of the Soul-Guiding Grass requests that all three plants be auctioned together; they prefer them to go unsold rather than be separated. The reserve price is one talisman-treasure with at least seventy percent of its power remaining, with offensive talisman-treasures being preferred!"

All three auctioned together!

No spirit stones, no magical artifacts, no elixirs—only talisman-treasures!

This condition immediately dampened the fervent atmosphere like a bucket of cold water.

Silence fell over the hall as everyone exchanged glances.

Among so many Foundation Establishment cultivators, how many were fortunate enough to possess a talisman-treasure?

Furthermore, the requirement that the talisman-treasure retain at least seventy percent of its power was simply too demanding.

"This old man is willing to pay seven thousand low-grade spirit stones to purchase a talisman-treasure, in exchange for the Soul-Guiding Grass. Is there any fellow cultivator willing to part with one?" An aged voice suddenly echoed through the hall.

Seven thousand low-grade spirit stones could buy nearly two excellent top-grade magical artifacts; this price wasn't undervaluing a talisman-treasure.

However, no one was willing to sell theirs like that.

"Seven thousand spirit stones for a talisman-treasure? That's too much of a fantasy, fellow cultivator! I'm willing to offer seven thousand five hundred!" As expected, someone immediately raised the bid.

"Eight thousand!"

As the spirit stone bids reached nine thousand, only a handful of individuals had the means to compete.

Unfortunately, only their voices echoed through the hall; no one responded, clearly indicating that mere spirit stones weren't enough to tempt those who possessed talisman-treasures.

"Two top-grade magical artifacts, plus two thousand spirit stones! Is anyone willing to trade?"

Finally, someone offered other items for exchange. His voice carried a strained quality, clearly indicating significant pain at the thought of parting with his belongings, likely including the magical artifacts he usually used.

Qin Sang had participated in the bidding and quickly realized this approach wouldn't work. He began to carefully observe the expressions of the people in the hall.

Gao Yi stood on the high platform, smiling as he watched the frantic bidding below.

Below the platform, many people were communicating with Gao Yi via spiritual messages. Qin Sang could guess their intentions: they wanted the Soul-Guiding Grass to be sold separately or to negotiate other conditions.

It seemed they had all been refused, as sighs of disappointment filled the air.

Eventually, Qin Sang noticed several individuals who particularly caught his attention.

A woman in red.

A Daoist priest wearing a dark blue robe, with no magical artifact covering his face.

A slender young man in battle armor.

A boy who appeared to be only in his teens, a smile playing on his lips.

They all shared a common trait: their aura was extremely subtle, making it impossible for Qin Sang to discern their cultivation levels. He guessed they were likely cultivators at the late Foundation Establishment stage.

These individuals were also fixated on the Soul-Guiding Grass, silent and unmoving. They appeared to be weighing whether a talisman-treasure was a worthwhile trade for the Soul-Guiding Grass, completely ignoring the fluctuating bids around them, clearly unmoved.

This sent a strong warning signal to Qin Sang.

The auction house in Yinshan Pass was quite renowned, attracting many experts. It was only natural that some of them possessed talisman-treasures.

For these individuals, spirit stones and top-grade magical artifacts were not necessities; only similarly rare treasures could tempt them.

Even if he offered his spirit stones, magical artifacts, and his nearly shattered Silver Blade Talisman-Treasure, he would, at best, find himself in a deadlock.

Apart from these, he only had two millennium-old spiritual herbs that he could offer.

If he was unwilling to part with the spiritual herbs, and the price continued to rise, he would undoubtedly be the first to give up, as his overall resources were certainly inferior to theirs.