Chapter 2495: Auction

The night quickly passed.

Wang Qingshan sat cross-legged on a blue cushion, his eyes closed.

A moment later, a sound transmission talisman flew in, landing before Wang Qingshan.

Wang Qingshan opened his eyes. With a flick of two fingers, a streak of blue light shot out, striking the talisman. Wang Yingjie's excited voice then rang out: "Ancestor Qingshan, I've acquired some excellent items!"

Wang Qingshan rose and walked out. Wang Yingjie stood at the doorway, looking excited.

"Yingjie, what good things did you acquire?" Wang Qingshan asked, puzzled.

Wang Yingjie retrieved two jade boxes, one blue and one green, and handed them to Wang Qingshan.

Wang Qingshan opened the jade boxes to find a Crying Blood Stone in one, and a Tidal Divine Jade in the other.

The Crying Blood Stone was one of the materials needed to refine Calamity Substitute Pearls, which the Wang family had been searching for without success. The Tidal Divine Jade was even rarer.

"Where did you get these?" Wang Qingshan asked, perplexed.

"I acquired them from an underground auction. The Crying Blood Stone was purchased with spirit stones, and the Tidal Divine Jade was exchanged for a sixth-tier elixir," Wang Yingjie explained. He didn't possess many valuable items himself, but Liu Hongxue had given him a significant number of sixth-tier elixirs.

Wang Qingshan nodded, put away the items, then took out some Dry Sun Grass and the inner core of a sixth-tier Armored Dragon Beast, handing them to Wang Yingjie.

"Ancestor Qingshan, I already possess a five-thousand-year-old Dry Sun Grass. Please keep these for yourself!" Wang Yingjie politely declined.

"Cultivating the Dry Sun Illusion Eye requires a large amount of Dry Sun Jade Liquid, so please take them. Before the auction begins, let's attend a few more gatherings; hopefully, we can acquire more Tidal Divine Jade." Wang Qingshan gave the Dry Sun Grass to Wang Yingjie.

Wang Yingjie no longer demurred and accepted the Dry Sun Grass.

Half a month quickly passed.

Wang Qingshan and Wang Yingjie frequently attended gatherings of Void Refinement cultivators, meeting many new acquaintances and exchanging for various refining materials.

Early one morning, a long queue stretched before the entrance of a resplendent golden tower. Above the entrance, the characters "Golden Sun Tower" were inscribed.

The Golden Sun Tower, a Heaven-Reaching Spirit Treasure, served as the auction venue. Equipped with numerous formidable restrictions, it allowed cultivators to participate in the auction with peace of mind.

Wang Qingshan and the other cultivators queued to enter the Golden Sun Tower. Before long, they were inside the venue.

Upon entering the Golden Sun Tower, they were met by a spacious and brightly lit hall. In the center of the hall stood a circular golden stone platform, upon which rested a blue jade table.

Thousands of blue jade chairs were arranged around the golden stone platform, while private stone rooms lined the upper floors.

As the Wang family was not an ordinary power, they naturally had a private booth.

A green-robed attendant quickly approached, personally escorting Wang Qingshan and his companions upstairs.

They reached the entrance of a stone room on the fifth floor. Its door was tightly shut, with a circular indentation on its surface.

The green-robed attendant produced a shimmering blue circular token, inserted it into the indentation, and gave it a gentle twist.

The door opened automatically, revealing a stone room over a hundred zhang in size.

Inside the stone room, a blue jade table and several jade stools were arranged. At its center stood a blue crystal, taller than a person, through which the scene in the main hall could be viewed with perfect clarity.

"Alright, you may go. We will call you if we need anything." Wang Yingjie waved his hand, dismissing the green-robed attendant.

Wang Qingshan and the others entered and closed the door behind them.

On a blue jade table lay a blue square token, used for bidding.

Wang Qingshan and Wang Yingjie took their seats, while Wang Yuanwei and the others stood to the side, their expressions a mix of emotions.

It was their first time attending an auction of this caliber; some were curious, others excited.

Time passed, and cultivators steadily streamed into the venue. Most were seated in the main hall; only a select few from prominent factions were granted private booths.

Lan Fukun appeared in the main hall; he did not have a private booth.

After about the time it takes to steep a cup of tea, a loud chime echoed, signaling the start of the auction.

A beautiful young woman in a green dress descended from above, landing gracefully on the circular stone platform.

"My name is Ximen Yu, and I welcome all esteemed seniors and fellow Daoists to this auction. The highest bid will win, and some items will be traded. Bidding begins now."

The young woman in the green dress gave a brief introduction, then produced ten blue porcelain bottles. "Ten bottles of Longevity Pills," she announced. "Each Longevity Pill can extend one's lifespan by four hundred years. A cultivator can only consume one in their lifetime; taking two will have the same effect as one. The starting price is one million spirit stones, with each subsequent bid not less than three hundred thousand spirit stones."

The Xuanyang Realm possessed many elixirs that extended lifespan; it was not uncommon for wealthy God Transformation cultivators to live for four or five millennia.

Cultivators above the Void Refinement stage naturally had no use for these pills. However, their disciples or relatives who had not yet reached the Void Refinement stage could extend their lives by four hundred years with a single Longevity Pill.

"One million!"

"One million three hundred thousand!"

"One million six hundred thousand!"

The bidding was exceptionally fierce, with prices steadily climbing and quickly surpassing three million.

In its earlier years, the Wang family had a severe shortage of longevity elixirs. However, they had since recovered and no longer lacked them, as they could refine their own.

The ten bottles of Longevity Pills were successively auctioned off. Lan Fukun spent 7.5 million spirit stones to secure one bottle, which amounted to 750,000 spirit stones per pill.

He bid for his descendants; some, with limited talent, would reach the late God Transformation stage with little lifespan remaining. A Longevity Pill offered them a chance to break through to the Void Refinement stage.

The lowest winning bid was 7.5 million, while the highest was 9 million spirit stones. Most of the bidders were God Transformation cultivators.

After the ten bottles of Longevity Pills were sold, Ximen Yu produced thirty golden porcelain bottles. "Thirty fifth-tier Seven Star Jade Essence Pills," she announced. "These can assist Nascent Soul cultivators in breaking through to the God Transformation stage. The starting price is one million spirit stones, with each subsequent bid not less than five hundred thousand."

The Wang family, possessing as many as seven types of elixirs similar to the Seven Star Jade Essence Pill, naturally had no shortage of them.

While the Wang family had an abundance, smaller factions did not.

"One million!"

"One million five hundred thousand!"

"Two million!"

The thirty Seven Star Jade Essence Pills were quickly auctioned off, with the lowest winning bid at 4 million and the highest at 6 million. Given that elixirs aiding Nascent Soul formation cost over a million spirit stones, it was reasonable for the Seven Star Jade Essence Pills, which assisted God Transformation, to be more expensive.

Ximen Yu then produced ten blue porcelain bottles and announced loudly: "Next, we have ten fifth-tier Dry Sun Pills, designed to enhance magic power. These are refined primarily from three-thousand-year-old Dry Sun Grass. The starting price is one million spirit stones, with each subsequent bid not less than five hundred thousand."

"One million!"

"One million five hundred thousand!"

"Two million!"

Wang Qingshan did not place a bid. As per custom, the initial items at an auction were typically common goods; more valuable treasures usually appeared later in the event.

If Wang Yuanwei and the others were interested, they could freely place bids. With Wang Qingshan and Wang Yingjie accompanying them, they could bid boldly without fear of being targeted by rogue cultivators.

As time continued to pass, various types of fifth-tier elixirs appeared at the auction. These diverse pills, each with different effects, all commanded high prices.