447: The Road is Ruthless

Zhou Luo's bid truly brought a small shock to the people present, even those Immortal Sect Disciples had a hint of surprise flash across their faces.

What is this guy thinking?

Could he be a shill invited by the auction house?

They didn't believe an Immortal Sect Disciple would spend a fortune on something like this.

Some people even began to suspect if this was a show put on by the auction house.

The Foundation Establishment Experts in the hall also had complex expressions, unsure what to do for a moment.

"This distinguished guest has bid one hundred High-Grade Spirit Stones. Does anyone wish to continue bidding?"

Although the Old Man on the high platform was also a bit surprised, he didn't care at all and still smiled.

His goal was to auction this xuanming jade marrow at a high price, so he didn't care what the other party wanted to use it for.

"I bid one hundred and ten High-Grade Spirit Stones."

At this moment, a Foundation Establishment Expert finally couldn't help but stand up and shout.

It was an Old Man with an aged face. When he said this, his body was trembling.

There was no other way; with his Lifespan nearing exhaustion, he was relying on breaking through to the Golden Core to extend his Life.

Although one hundred and ten High-Grade Spirit Stones was already considered a sky-high price, compared to several hundred years of Life, it was nothing.

Furthermore, after he made his bid, he looked towards the private room representing the Azure Spring True Sect, cupped his fists in greeting, and said with utmost sincerity, "Daoist friend, this xuanming jade marrow is essentially a Life-saving item for me."

"I imagine the Sect where Daoist friend belongs would not lack this kind of thing. I implore Daoist friend to show compassion today and yield this item to me."

The Old Man named Zhu Zhifeng was a Loose Cultivator living in Golden Cloud Immortal City.

He was quite famous in the city and had accumulated considerable wealth over the years through his Pill Refining skills.

Now that his Lifespan was exhausted, if he wanted to extend his Life, he could only choose to break through.

Therefore, for this xuanming jade marrow, he was even willing to take out all his belongings.

But even all his belongings certainly couldn't compare to an Immortal Sect.

He didn't know if the other party was an Immortal Sect Disciple or representing the Azure Spring True Sect. If it was the former, it would be fine, and he might still have a chance to compete, but if it was the latter, then even if he poured out everything, it would be useless.

Facing such a situation, he didn't dare to gamble, so he could only swallow his pride and beg the other party to show mercy.

After all, this xuanming jade marrow was not that precious to an Immortal Sect, it couldn't even compare to that Tianmo Spear.

In the face of Death, dignity is the least worth mentioning thing.

The longer one lives, the more one fears Death.

Zhu Zhifeng's voice wasn't loud, but everyone present was an Immortal, so they heard it extremely clearly.

Most of them knew the other party. Thinking that someone of his status could be so sincere and put down his dignity to beg others truly surprised everyone present.

It seemed this was the first time such a thing had happened.

For a moment, some people looked towards the Old Man on the high platform.

The Old Man's expression was calm, and he spoke indifferently, "This distinguished guest has bid one hundred and ten High-Grade Spirit Stones. Is there anyone else adding a bid?"

His words were considered an implicit approval of this behavior.

After all, begging someone and threatening someone are completely incomparable.

And after his words, dozens of pairs of eyes looked towards that private room.

"Sorry, I need it too. One hundred and twenty High-Grade Spirit Stones."

After a moment, a mellow voice came from the private room.

Zhou Luo sat up straight, quietly watching the xuanming jade marrow on the high platform.

He was not a Azure Spring True Sect Disciple and could not rely on the Sect to provide Materials.

If he wanted to climb higher, he had to fight for every material that could help him advance.

The Great Dao is ruthless. In the face of Cultivation, if he yielded, it would be unfair to himself.

Even family members might fight fiercely and turn against each other when facing Cultivation opportunities. The other party was unrelated to him; even if he was truly about to die, what did it have to do with him?

So he didn't hesitate to announce his price.

As soon as he said this, Zhu Zhifeng's expression froze, and he leaned back weakly, sitting heavily on the nanmu armchair, a hint of despair appearing on his face.

"I bid one hundred and thirty," he had to bid again.

And Zhou Luo continued to increase the price.

He was fully prepared this time, having roughly understood the price the xuanming jade marrow could fetch in previous years before coming. This price was completely within his acceptable range.

Over the years, relying on his own businesses and the profits from the Heavenly Pavilion, he had already accumulated an unknown amount of wealth, and this didn't even include the Lin Family's assets.

So, facing a Loose Cultivator Alchemist, he could easily win.

Ultimately, he obtained the xuanming jade marrow at a price of two hundred High-Grade Spirit Stones.

This price set a new high for this auction, drawing sideways glances from others.

Zhu Zhifeng watched in despair as the exquisite wooden box was sent to the private room. A fierce glint flashed across his cloudy eyes, his aged hands clenched abruptly, he let out a cold snort, and actually flicked his sleeves and left directly.

Others shook their heads slightly.

Without this xuanming jade marrow, it would be too difficult for Zhu Zhifeng to form a Golden Core before his Lifespan was exhausted.

His fate seemed to have been sentenced to Death at this moment.

In the private room, the beautiful attendant brought the exquisite wooden box and placed it on the large table.

Zhou Luo opened it. Inside was a vessel, which emitted a chilling coldness around it. A light blue liquid flowed within, which was the xuanming jade marrow.

The xuanming jade marrow in this vessel looked to be about the size of a hand, enough for him and Ye Qian to use.

Upon seeing it, Ye Qian also breathed rapidly, her face showing joy.

Although there were still quite a few Materials needed to form a Golden Core, there was progress after all, rather than gaining nothing.

Outside, the appearance of the xuanming jade marrow was just a small interlude.

Soon after, the beautiful attendant brought up another item.

It was a small black figure about the height of a fist. It was unknown what metal it was made of; it had no luster, was very dull, and seemed nothing special.

Only the faintly emanating ancient aura made people feel somewhat peculiar.

In the world of Cultivation, the older the item, the more rare and better it is.

"What is this?" someone couldn't help but ask.

This time the Old Man didn't speak. Instead, the beautiful woman beside him smiled gently and slowly spoke, "This is a Puppet. It is estimated to be from ancient times. Although incomplete, it can display the strength of the Foundation Establishment Stage. If it can be repaired, it might reach the Golden Core Realm."

A Puppet belongs to a type of automaton.

As one of the hundred arts of Cultivation, puppetry, like Gu technique, is mysterious and powerful, but not many people practice it.

Mainly, this kind of thing is extremely dependent on talent, and the inheritance is mysterious, so ordinary people cannot access it at all.

When Zhou Luo was refining the Foundation Establishment Pill, he had to rent a Puppet containing Golden Core Divine Sense from the Hundred Treasures Pavilion because his Divine Sense had not reached the Foundation Establishment Realm and he couldn't refine the Foundation Establishment Pill alone.

Of course, that Puppet was relatively low-level.

Truly high-level Puppets might even possess individual consciousness.

This 'Puppet' is actually an automaton, but because its material is made of the same material used to create battle automatons, it is called a 'Puppet'.

A Puppet that can display the strength of the Foundation Establishment Stage. The value of this item is not low.

As she introduced it, many Cultivators instantly became eager to obtain this treasure.

The woman's gaze swept over the crowd, and her gentle voice slowly sounded.

"Starting price is five thousand spirit stones (mid grade), each bid must not be lower than five hundred. Let the bidding begin."