Chapter 57: Auction

Tianhe Tower had three floors. Due to the immense number of cultivators attending the auction, only cultivation families with stronger capabilities were permitted to stay in the private rooms on the upper floors. The Wang family, having only one Foundation Establishment cultivator, naturally did not qualify. Wang Changsheng and others watched from the grand hall alongside various rogue cultivators.

In the center of the grand hall stood a circular stone platform about a zhang high, upon which rested a square wooden table and a green wooden chair.

Hundreds of tables and chairs were arranged around the circular stone platform.

Wang Mingzhan led Wang Changsheng and the others to seats near the front. Disciples from the Zhao and Liu families sat beside them.

Chen Hu sat in a back position. He showed no intention of speaking, merely closing his eyes to rest.

He was there specifically for the Foundation Establishment spiritual item. Of course, the meager spiritual stones he possessed were insufficient for him to bid on anything else.

The auction had not yet begun, and Wang Changsheng was chatting with Zhao Ningxuan.

Zhao Ningxuan was twenty-three years old this year, but only at the fifth level of Qi Refinement, far behind his younger sister Zhao Ningxiang.

He and Zhao Ningxiang practiced the same cultivation method. However, his main spiritual root sensitivity was only forty, so his cultivation speed was not fast.

Wang Changsheng secretly guessed that Zhao Ningxiang's main spiritual root sensitivity must be over seventy; otherwise, her cultivation speed would not be so quick.

Half an hour later, a clear copper bell chime echoed throughout Tianhe Tower.

The previously noisy hall quickly quieted down, and everyone looked towards the circular stone platform.

A bearded middle-aged man, with a composed expression, strode onto the circular stone platform under the gaze of the cultivators.

The middle-aged man cupped his hands to the four directions, took out a fist-sized crystal ball, placed it on the wooden table, smiled slightly, and announced loudly: "Fellow Daoists, I am Lin Huaigang. It is my great honor to host this auction. On behalf of the Lin, Ye, and Zhu families, I welcome all of you to participate. The rules for this auction are the same as elsewhere: the highest bidder wins. If spiritual stones are insufficient, treasures can be used as collateral or auctioned on the spot."

Although his voice was not particularly loud, a blue spiritual light illuminated the crystal ball as he spoke.

It was a Sound Amplification Crystal, a low-grade spiritual artifact used to amplify sound.

With the Sound Amplification Crystal, everyone present could hear him clearly.

"Without further ado, let's begin with the first item."

Lin Huaigang pulled out a blue storage bag from his embrace and took out a two-foot-long, fist-thick piece of purple wood.

"This is a piece of Hundred-Year Purple Cloud Wood, originating from the depths of the Hundred Beasts Mountain Range. It's an excellent material for crafting talisman brushes or wood-attribute magical artifacts. The starting price is thirty spiritual stones, with each bid increment no less than ten spiritual stones."

"Forty!"

"Fifty!"

"I bid sixty spiritual stones."

...

Hundred-year-old spiritual wood was already a Tier 2 material, suitable for crafting magical artifacts.

After seven or eight consecutive price increases, it was finally purchased by a minor family for one hundred and forty spiritual stones.

Lin Huaigang was very pleased with the price. He took out a brocade box, two feet long and one foot wide, its surface carved with exquisite patterns.

He opened the brocade box, revealing five identical green short blades lying inside, each with a spider motif on its hilt.

"The second item is a set of spiritual artifacts, the Azure Spider Blades. Crafted from the legs of a high-grade Tier 1 Azure Wolf Spider, each blade is a mid-grade spiritual artifact. The starting price is one hundred spiritual stones, with each bid increment no less than ten spiritual stones."

Sets of spiritual artifacts were relatively rare. After several rounds of bidding, this set of Azure Spider Blades was eventually acquired by the Song family from Pingyang Commandery for a high price of three hundred and twenty spiritual stones.

"Next is a mid-grade defensive spiritual artifact, the Golden Silk Armor. It's crafted from the silk spun by high-grade Tier 1 Golden Silk Silkworms, offering extremely strong defense. Even high-grade spiritual artifacts cannot easily destroy it. The starting price is one hundred spiritual stones, with each bid increment no less than ten spiritual stones."

"One hundred and ten!"

"One hundred and thirty!"

"One hundred and forty!"

...

Lin Huaigang successively presented item after item: elixirs, talismans, and spiritual artifacts. Most were items needed by Qi Refinement cultivators. The final transaction prices steadily rose, and the atmosphere in the hall gradually became more enthusiastic.

Wang Changsheng could not help but show an envious expression as he watched items being bought.

After three bottles of elixirs were auctioned off, six burly young men carried a large iron cage onto the circular stone platform.

Inside the iron cage were three yellow ponies, half a zhang tall, each with a one-inch-long yellow horn on its head.

"Three Horned Spirit Horses. These three spirit horses are low-grade Tier 1 spiritual beasts, full of endurance, making them perfectly suited for travel. Although Qi Refinement cultivators can fly, their speed is pitifully slow, and they cannot sustain it for long. If you acquire a Horned Spirit Horse, future journeys will be much more convenient. Besides serving as mounts, Horned Spirit Horses can also assist cultivators in combat, as they understand the Stonefication technique, and even mid-grade spiritual artifacts cannot harm them in the slightest. The starting price for each Horned Spirit Horse is one hundred spiritual stones, with each bid increment no less than twenty spiritual stones."

Rogue cultivators were not yet luxurious enough to buy spiritual beasts for travel. Cultivation families, however, often needed to transport goods to large market cities for sale, and using flying spiritual artifacts for travel simply could not last long. Horned Spirit Horses, therefore, were an excellent choice.

After intense bidding, the three Horned Spirit Horses were sold for three hundred, three hundred and twenty, and three hundred and fifty spiritual stones respectively. The Liu family and Zhao family each successfully bid for one Horned Spirit Horse, while the third was acquired by the Zhang family.

A young maidservant walked onto the circular stone platform, carrying a tray covered with red silk cloth. Lin Huaigang lifted the red silk cloth, revealing two giant red eggs, each the size of a watermelon.

"Two spiritual eggs laid by a Tier 2 Fire Feather Eagle, still capable of hatching. The starting price is two hundred spiritual stones, with each bid increment no less than ten spiritual stones. Fire Feather Eagles are exceptionally fast flyers; a Tier 2 Fire Feather Eagle's flight speed is even faster than a low-grade flying magical artifact. Raising them as a clan's guardian spiritual bird is also an excellent option."

"Fire Feather Eagle spiritual eggs!"

Wang Mingzhan's eyes lit up, and his expression showed a hint of excitement.

The Wang family had a guardian spiritual bird, a Golden-Beaked Eagle, which had already reached Tier 2. The Wang family had always wanted to raise another spiritual eagle so they could mate and produce offspring to continue guarding the family. For many years, the Wang family had searched tirelessly, but either the spiritual eagles' innate abilities were too low, or their genders were incompatible.

The Golden-Beaked Eagle raised by the Wang family was male, so they needed to find a female spiritual eagle.

The Fire Feather Eagle's innate abilities were good, but they needed a female Fire Feather Eagle. Since the spiritual eggs had not hatched yet, their gender could not be determined.

Fire Feather Eagles lay two clutches a year, and each time they lay eggs, it is always two: one male and one female. This was common knowledge in the cultivation world.

As long as they successfully bid for these two spiritual eggs, mating was guaranteed.

With this thought, Wang Mingzhan called out, "Two hundred and twenty spiritual stones!"

"Two hundred and thirty!"

"Two hundred and forty!"

...

After over a dozen increments, Wang Mingzhan successfully bid for these two spiritual eggs at the high price of four hundred spiritual stones.

These two spiritual eggs were laid by a Tier 2 Fire Feather Eagle, and the spiritual energy they contained was incomparable to that of spiritual eggs laid by Snow Cloud Chickens.

Wang Mingzhan quickly walked onto the circular stone platform, paid the spiritual stones, placed the two spiritual eggs into two wooden boxes, and then put them into his spiritual beast bag.