Chapter 252: Jade Pure Pill

Wang Changsheng was filled with admiration. The Yang family truly was a cultivation family with thousands of years of heritage and profound foundations; no wonder they could produce Profound Nether Cold Water.

Zhao Yang took out a yellow jade box adorned with a yellow talisman. From it, he retrieved a palm-sized yellow seal, on whose surface was carved a lifelike yellow flood dragon. Spiritual light continuously flowed around it, exuding an imposing spiritual aura.

"The Yellow Dragon Seal, a proto-magic treasure. Starting bid is sixty thousand spirit stones, with each increment not less than five thousand."

A proto-magic treasure is one step away from becoming a true magic treasure. However, refining magic treasures is extremely difficult, making them incredibly precious and rarely encountered.

In a private room on the second floor, a man in a red robe held a teacup, deep in thought. Behind him stood several young men and women whose clothing bore a purple moon pattern, identifying them as disciples of the Yang family from Purple Moon Manor.

The red-robed man's surname was Yang, given name Zongwang, and he was at the first layer of the Core Formation stage.

"Ninth Uncle, it's a proto-magic treasure!" exclaimed a delicate-looking girl in a blue dress with a sweet smile. "If we can win this bid, our Yang family will have another magic treasure!"

"Speak less, observe more, and listen carefully. I brought you out this time to broaden your horizons, not to have you tell me what to do."

Yang Zongwang's tone was calm but carried an undeniable authority.

The blue-dressed girl playfully stuck out her tongue, nodded in agreement, and dared not speak further.

The bidding for this proto-magic treasure was fierce, and its price quickly rose to one hundred thousand.

In a private room on the third floor, a refined scholar in a yellow robe and a graceful young woman in a red dress sat around a tea table.

"That's strange, doesn't Yang Shengwen cultivate earth-attribute techniques? Yang Zongwang is skilled in artifact refinement. If he were to acquire this proto-magic treasure, the chance of it being promoted to a true magic treasure would be relatively high. Could it be that the Yang family ancestors left behind an earth-attribute magic treasure? Or does Yang Zongwang have other plans? He hasn't even bid."

"When we last met, Yang Shengwen was at the sixth layer of the Core Formation stage, so he might not lack magic treasures. Yang Zongwang hasn't been at the Core Formation stage for long; perhaps he wants to refine a magic treasure for his own use! It's best if he doesn't bid; that way, we can save some spirit stones."

After multiple price increases, the proto-magic treasure was finally acquired by the yellow-robed scholar for two hundred and ten thousand.

After the proto-magic treasure was sold, Zhao Yang took out a blue porcelain bottle. Everyone in the venue focused their gaze on it.

"A third-tier elixir? Or a third-tier material?"

"The final item of the auction, the Jade Purity Pill, a mid-grade third-tier elixir. This pill aids in Core Formation, increasing the chance of success by twenty percent. The starting bid is fifty thousand spirit stones, with each increment not less than ten thousand spirit stones."

As soon as Zhao Yang finished speaking, everyone present simultaneously looked on with fervent anticipation.

A third-tier elixir that aids Core Formation and increases the chance of success by twenty percent. Obtaining this pill would significantly boost one's prospects of reaching the Core Formation stage in the future.

"Young friend Zhao, is the third-tier item you advertised the Jade Purity Pill?" Yang Zongwang asked in a deep voice, his tone betraying a hint of disappointment.

Zhao Yang dared not be slow to respond. He quickly looked towards Yang Zongwang's private room and respectfully said, "To answer senior, yes, it is. We managed to obtain this Jade Purity Pill with great difficulty. This pill aids in Core Formation. With it, there's a good chance we could have one more Core Formation cultivator."

"Sixty thousand!" came a man's voice from a private room on the third floor.

"Seventy thousand!"

"Eighty thousand!"

Bids echoed continuously, and Yang Zongwang also participated in the auction.

The Jade Purity Pill, which aids in Core Formation, is far more valuable than other third-tier elixirs. After multiple price increases, this Jade Purity Pill finally sold for the exorbitant price of two hundred and thirty thousand, acquired by a VIP on the third floor.

Wang Changsheng was astonished. Foundation Establishment Pills cost over thirty thousand spirit stones, and rarely exceed fifty thousand. Yet, the Jade Purity Pill, which aids Core Formation, fetched an astonishing price of two hundred and thirty thousand. Such a sum of spirit stones would be impossible for an average Foundation Establishment cultivator to gather, even by selling everything they owned.

After the Jade Purity Pill was sold, the auction concluded, and the Foundation Establishment cultivators who participated gradually left the venue.

Yang Zongwang led his clansmen out of the private room, his face taut, seemingly having failed to acquire the item he desired.

After leaving the auction house, Wang Changsheng and Wang Ruyan visited several large material stores, purchasing a large quantity of artifact refinement materials in preparation for refining their natal artifacts.

Hundred Birds Forest is located at the border between the Chu and Qin states. To guard against Qin, the Four Sects of Chu established a market city in Hundred Birds Forest, guarded by two Core Formation cultivators.

Lin Shouyi was one of these Core Formation cultivators, at the seventh layer of the Core Formation stage.

He had been stationed in Hundred Birds Forest for a century, and the market city had always been peaceful. On normal days, he would cultivate calmly in his secret chamber.

On this particular day, he was cultivating in a quiet pavilion, as usual.

Suddenly, the pavilion shook violently.

Lin Shouyi was startled and immediately flew out of the pavilion.

Just as he flew out, a massive roar instantly reached his ears.

Inside the market city, flames soared into the sky. Dozens of cultivators in unified black robes appeared on the streets. They either unleashed spells or manipulated artifacts, destroying buildings within the city, causing fires to rage everywhere.

Zombies, ghosts, and skeletons ran rampant, and one cultivator after another fell in pools of blood.

To Lin Shouyi's horror, seven Core Formation cultivators appeared high in the sky. The leader was Song Wuya of the Nether Corpse Sect, and the third-tier formation array established in the market city had not been activated.

Without the array, he couldn't possibly withstand seven Core Formation cultivators.

"Fellow Daoist Lin, are you looking for Fellow Daoist Li?"

Song Wuya smiled faintly, shook his sleeve, and a bloody human head flew out, dropping in front of Lin Shouyi.

"Fellow Daoist Li!" Lin Shouyi exclaimed, his face draining of color. All fighting spirit vanished from him, and he hurriedly transformed into a streak of red light, breaking through the air and fleeing.

"Thinking of leaving now? It's too late."

Song Wuya sneered, flipping his hand to produce a long black bow. Several white skull heads were carved onto the bow's limbs, making it look terrifying.

He took out three gleaming white bone arrows, nocked one onto the bow, and drew the string.

With three whistling sounds, "whoosh, whoosh, whoosh," three white bone arrows shot straight towards Lin Shouyi.

At the same time, the other six Core Formation cultivators also made their moves, either unleashing spiritual arts, sacrificing magic treasures, or releasing spirit beasts.

Amidst deafening roars, Lin Shouyi's figure was engulfed by multi-colored spiritual light. After the light dissipated, Lin Shouyi was gone, and a dimly glowing red flying sword fell towards the ground.

"Fellow Daoist Song's strategy was superior. By having his disciples bring Core Formation stage ghost creatures into the market city to eliminate one Core Formation cultivator first, he prevented them from activating the full power of the third-tier array. Otherwise, it would have taken us much longer to capture this market city."

A young woman in a red dress praised him.

"Once a Core Formation cultivator dies, their sect will quickly find out. There's no time to lose; we'll divide our forces into two routes to attack the Chu state and weaken their power as much as possible."

One Core Formation cultivator and dozens of other cultivators remained to guard, while the rest split into two groups, heading deep into the Chu state.

Simultaneously, various other states, including Western Jin, Western Liang, Tang, and Han, also came under attack from demonic cultivators. Because the demonic cultivators were well-prepared, orthodox cultivators suffered more defeats than victories.

The Wei state, being surrounded by other countries, was ironically the safest and had not yet been attacked by demonic cultivators.

The states invaded by demonic cultivators simultaneously dispatched troops to resist them and sent envoys to other nations for aid.

The orthodox and demonic paths had always been at odds, with minor conflicts continuously occurring in private over the years. Faced with the demonic cultivators' invasion, the orthodox cultivators naturally banded together.

Upon receiving a plea for help from the Four Sects of Chu, the leaders of Wei's Five Sects unanimously agreed to send troops to resist the demonic cultivators.

They swiftly dispatched a portion of their disciples to the front lines and simultaneously conscripted cultivation families to counter the demonic cultivators.

Upon receiving the conscription order from Hundred Spirit Gate, Wang Mingjiang immediately went to Wang Changfeng's residence and explained the situation.

"Changfeng, I will lead a group of clansmen to join the battle. You stay behind to guard the clan. Also, give the two Foundation Establishment Pills from the storeroom to Changhao and Changyue; I hope they can successfully establish their foundations. Furthermore, transfer the women, children, elderly, and infirm members of the clan to Qingyue Market City. We don't know if Chu can withstand the demonic cultivators' attack. If the demonic path captures Chu, Ningzhou and our Wang family will be in grave danger."

The Wang family currently controlled three second-tier spirit veins and leased one. They also wished to acquire another second-tier spirit vein in the rear, but spirit veins were incredibly precious cultivation resources, not easily sold. Without a third-tier array, they couldn't even take one, and even if one were for sale, the price would be at least tens of thousands of spirit stones, which the Wang family could not afford.

In their helplessness, the Wang family had no choice but to disperse their clansmen to different locations to preserve their bloodline.

The Wang family was backed by the Hundred Spirit Gate and was also related by marriage to the Wang (汪) family, making them highly regarded.