Chapter 656: Auction

If Wang Qingshan were not an unofficial disciple of Sword Master Xiaoyao, Lin Ruoyi would not have bothered with him.

Wang Qingshan had not formally joined the sect; he was merely an unofficial disciple. Strictly speaking, he wasn't considered a disciple of the Taiyi Immortal Sect because he didn't work for them. To be honest, there were quite a few unofficial disciples of high-level cultivators in the Taiyi Immortal Sect who, for various reasons, never became official disciples.

There was a difference in treatment between unofficial and official disciples. Since unofficial disciples didn't serve the Taiyi Immortal Sect, they naturally couldn't enjoy the same benefits as official disciples. However, given that Wang Qingshan was an unofficial disciple of Sword Master Xiaoyao, Lin Ruoyi couldn't ignore him.

She stepped forward to examine Wang Qingshan's injuries.

"His injuries aren't severe. He's been poisoned with a second-tier venom, but fortunately, not for long. Take these two Tri-Origin Clear Spirit Pills and rest well for a while; you'll be fine."

Lin Ruoyi took out a white porcelain bottle and placed it on Wang Qingshan's bedside table.

"Thank you, Senior Lin," Wang Qingshan expressed his gratitude, his tone sincere.

"Rest well. I can save you once, but not a second or third time. Take care of yourself."

Lin Ruoyi turned and left. She had made it clear that she couldn't repeatedly help Wang Qingshan, though things would be different if there were benefits involved.

"Senior Lin, I'll see you out." Wang Qingqing personally escorted Lin Ruoyi out, her expression respectful.

"Ah, if only Ninth Uncle-Grandfather were here," Wang Qiuyan sighed. If Wang Changsheng had been present, the Wang family cultivators wouldn't have suffered such heavy casualties.

"Qiuyan, Qiuxin, go guard near the Teleportation Hall. If fourth brother and the others teleport here, send them to this location. Also, notify other family members as much as possible not to return to Sea Cucumber Island for now, to avoid ambushes." Wang Qingshan instructed with a solemn expression, not ruling out the possibility of enemies setting traps on Sea Cucumber Island, waiting for the Wang family cultivators to walk into them.

"Yes, Seventh Uncle." Wang Qiuyan and Wang Qiuxin acknowledged the order and left the room.

"Yellow Dragon Island! I'll remember this grudge," Wang Qingshan murmured to himself, his eyes filled with a murderous aura.

Once Wang Changsheng returns, he will attempt to break through to the Core Formation stage. With two Core Formation spiritual items in his possession, his chances of success are relatively high.

***

Myriad Monster Sea Domain, Myriad Immortals Island.

Wang Changsheng sat cross-legged on a wooden bed. A huge yellow rat, the size of a small hill, was sprawled inside the room. On the floor was a large piece of blood-red beast meat, which the Twin-Eyed Rat was greedily gnawing on, its dark, beady eyes constantly darting around.

The Twin-Eyed Rat was still a third-tier low-grade beast. Every so often, Wang Changsheng would feed it monster beast meat. Its appetite was enormous, and its body grew larger, but its cultivation level remained stagnant.

This creature was still the same as before: timid, fearful, and fond of eating.

Not long after, the Twin-Eyed Rat finished the meat and lay on the ground, resembling a giant ball of flesh.

In another twenty-plus years, Wang Changsheng would explore the Zhenhai Sect ruins with Fairy Ziyue, and the Twin-Eyed Rat would come in handy then.

Wang Changsheng smiled faintly. With a flick of his wrist, the Spirit Beast Orb emitted a large burst of colorful light, enveloping the Twin-Eyed Rat and drawing it inside.

"By my reckoning, the auction should be starting soon," Wang Changsheng murmured to himself, then stood up and walked out.

As he stepped out of the room, he saw Fairy Ziyue and Tian Jiong approaching.

"Junior Brother Wang, the auction is about to begin. Let's hurry over and try to find a good spot."

Wang Changsheng nodded, and the three of them left their residence, heading straight for the auction hall.

The auction hall was located in the central golden pagoda of Myriad Immortals City, and a long queue had formed at its entrance.

Two Foundation Establishment cultivators guarded the entrance, and a fee was required for entry.

Wang Changsheng and the other two paid the spirit stones and successfully entered the golden pagoda.

The auction hall was on the second floor. In the center was a square white jade platform, surrounded by tiered seating arranged in a fan shape. Each tier was filled with seats, offering a clear, elevated view of the platform below.

On the white jade platform, there was a rectangular golden jade table, with a silver jade hammer about a foot long resting on it.

Wang Changsheng and his companions found seats near the front and sat down.

The seats were crafted from a type of white spirit jade, incredibly smooth and radiating a faint coolness.

After about the time it takes to brew a cup of tea, hundreds of high-level cultivators had gathered in the hall, including several Nascent Soul cultivators.

Wang Changsheng wasn't surprised; Myriad Immortals Island naturally had a high concentration of high-level cultivators, and many more had specifically traveled to attend. It was rumored that a spiritual treasure would appear at this auction.

After a fierce beast's roar echoed, the entrance closed. A man in a green robe, appearing to be in his early thirties, flew onto the platform. He possessed cultivation at the eighth level of the Core Formation stage.

"Welcome, fellow Daoists and seniors, to this auction. I am Lu Yang, and I will be presiding over this event. Without further ado, as everyone knows the rules of the auction – the highest bidder wins. The first item is a complete, undamaged hide of a third-tier high-grade monster beast, the Ice Carp Beast. The starting bid is thirty thousand spirit stones, and each bid increment must be no less than five thousand."

The man in green briefly introduced the item, then took out a white beast hide, about five or six zhang long and wide, and placed it on the golden jade table.

"Thirty thousand!"

"Thirty-five thousand!"

"Forty thousand!"

Such a large hide could easily be refined into several ice-attributed magic treasures, though its ultimate quality would depend on the artificer's skill.

The hide of a third-tier high-grade Ice Carp Beast was completely undamaged, indicating that the high-level cultivator who hunted it was experienced, likely using flying needle-type magic treasures to kill the Ice Carp Beast.

Wang Changsheng bid ninety thousand spirit stones and won the hide. He intended to use it to refine magic treasures and improve his artificing skills.

"Next are two inner cores of a third-tier mid-grade Snow Cloud Eagle, excellent materials for refining third-tier ice-attributed pills. The starting bid is forty thousand spirit stones, with increments no less than five thousand." Lu Yang said, pointing to the two snow-white monster cores.

"Forty thousand!"

"Forty-five thousand!"

"Fifty thousand!"

One after another, auction items appeared on the golden jade table: monster cores, monster beast souls, third-tier talismans, and third-tier pills. The final price for each item was very high, and the atmosphere in the hall gradually warmed up.

Tian Jiong spent one hundred fifty thousand spirit stones to bid for a bottle of fire-attributed spiritual liquid, beneficial for cultivating fire-attributed cultivation methods.

Fairy Ziyue spent two hundred thousand spirit stones to bid for several metal ores, which could be used to refine mirror-type magic treasures.

"We have five bottles each of Heavenly Flame Fire Liquid and Profound Cold Jade Water. When Foundation Establishment cultivators attempt to break through to the Core Formation stage, applying Heavenly Flame Fire Liquid and Profound Cold Jade Water to their entire body can increase their chances of success by ten percent. The starting bid for one bottle of Heavenly Flame Fire Liquid and one bottle of Profound Cold Jade Water is fifty thousand spirit stones, with increments no less than five thousand spirit stones."

Wang Changsheng's eyes lit up. Wang Qingshan was already at the ninth level of Foundation Establishment, and he already possessed two Core Formation spiritual items. If Wang Changsheng acquired a bottle of Heavenly Flame Fire Liquid and Profound Cold Jade Water, Wang Qingshan's success rate in Core Formation should be even higher.

Even though Heavenly Flame Fire Liquid and Profound Cold Jade Water could increase the chance of Core Formation by ten percent, the competition remained quite fierce.

Wang Changsheng spent one hundred thirty thousand spirit stones to acquire a bottle of Heavenly Flame Fire Liquid and a bottle of Profound Cold Jade Water.

"Next, five third-tier Dustfall Pills. Each pill can increase the chance of Core Formation by twenty percent. They will be auctioned separately. The starting bid is sixty thousand spirit stones, with increments no less than five thousand."

The Dustfall Pills were more effective than the Heavenly Flame Fire Liquid and Profound Cold Jade Water. Wang Changsheng participated in the bidding but failed to acquire a Dustfall Pill. The Ten Thousand Bone Twin Fiends, however, participated and successfully bid for one.

"Finally, a nascent magic treasure, the Azure Scale Robe. It offers extremely strong defense, refined from the scales of a third-tier monster beast, the Jade Scale Beast. The starting bid is one hundred thousand spirit stones, with increments no less than ten thousand."

Before Lu Yang, a light blue spiritual robe floated, appearing to be woven from many blue scales, shimmering with spiritual light.