325: Chapter 325 Auction

After bidding farewell to the two Loose Cultivators, Ye Jing took a moment to rest alone within the territory of the Guijian Immortal Sect.

He found an inn to stay at and spent some Spirit Stones to rent a room for a month.

Once everything was settled, Ye Jing entered the Immortal Willow.

Inside the Immortal Willow Space.

Three Storage Pouches wrapped in spiritual power slowly flew out and floated before his eyes. A wisp of flame condensed in his hand as he cautiously burned away the scent of sandalwood from the surface of the pouches.

Even though the Immortal Willow Space isolated him from the outside world, he remained cautious, unwilling to leave the slightest hidden danger.

After a moment, once the sandalwood scent was completely incinerated, Ye Jing raised his hand to open Wu Yuan's Storage Pouch.

A dense wave of Buddha Power and Spiritual Qi rushed toward him.

These Buddhist Cultivator certainly possessed many Magic Treasures and plenty of Spirit Stones; there were a full hundred thousand Low-Grade Spirit Stones and even a thousand Medium-Grade Spirit Stones.

Among them were the spirit soul lingzhi and the blood and bones of the Three-Tailed Demon Fox that Ye Jing wanted most.

Additionally, Ye Jing discovered a gold-plated Command Token engraved with the three characters for "Jinguang Temple," which was Wu Yuan's identity token. Beside it lay a scroll.

Ye Jing opened it and read: "Order Jinshan Temple Disciple Wu Yuan to proceed to Minglin Town to collect the merit offerings from the believers. In seven days, follow Revered Master Du Hua to Luohan City to attend the Xingsu Auction. You must secure the golden purple thunder essence!"

"golden purple thunder essence?" Ye Jing frowned. He thought it was no wonder this Wu Yuan carried so many Spirit Stones; it turned out he was heading to an auction.

Ye Jing continued to rummage through. Aside from a simple Beast Taming Secret Manual, there was also a Cultivation Technique called "Golden Body Imperial Armor."

He opened it to see the opening lines of the technique: "Buddha-nature is the foundation, golden light is the blade; to deliver oneself and others, yet also capable of suppressing and slaying."

The characters were gilded in gold, faintly exuding a majestic Buddha Power that actually caused the Thunderbolt Flame Art circulating within his body to stir with restlessness.

Body Cultivator techniques were inherently fierce and overbearing, the complete opposite of the pure and reserved nature of Buddhist Cultivator. As the two auras collided at the edges of his Meridians, Ye Jing hurried to restrain the flame power within him.

A wisp of spiritual power condensed on his finger, and he lightly tapped the pages of the technique.

The gilded characters instantly lit up, and a complex flow of Buddhist philosophy flooded into his mind. After studying it carefully for a moment, a judgment gradually formed in his heart.

This "Golden Body Imperial Armor" was by no means an ordinary Buddhist technique; it was a high-tier defensive technique from the Buddha Realm. If cultivated to Major Achievement, one could condense a Golden Light Buddha Armor that was impervious to blades and spears and could even withstand Divine Soul attacks. It was several degrees stronger than the Physical Body defense he currently relied on as a Body Cultivator.

Even more rare was a killing move hidden within the technique called the "Demon-Subduing Palm." It condensed Buddha Power into a palm that appeared merciful but was actually sharp and fierce, capable of breaking through evil spirits and slaying Cultivators alike.

However, as extravagantly as the technique was described, it was an incomplete manual. Ye Jing could only see its effects but not how to Cultivate it.

Seeing this, Ye Jing felt it made sense. If this technique were truly that powerful, why would Wu Yuan have kept using those beads in combat?

Thinking of those red beads, Ye Jing raised his hand and summoned the red beads Wu Yuan had left behind to the space before him.

He saw that the surface of the red beads was engraved with fine Buddhist patterns, yet they exuded a sinister black Qi. Clearly, these beads were not a proper Buddhist treasure.

Ye Jing instinctively used his spiritual power. As the power covered them, the black Qi on the surface of the beads instantly emitted a piercing shriek, and countless tiny, fragmented shadows churned within the beads.

It seemed like suppressed living souls were wailing. Ye Jing's brow furrowed slightly as he circulated his spiritual power to investigate closely, only to find that these red beads were refined from the inner cores of First-Order Demonic Beasts.

However, with so many souls inside, it seemed Wu Yuan had hunted many beasts to refine these evil beads. If they were to absorb the Primordial Spirits of a few Foundation Establishment Cultivators, heaven knows how powerful such beads could become.

"No wonder Wu Yuan could easily strip away a Primordial Spirit; it turns out he relied on this sinister method."

Ye Jing gave a cold laugh. But thinking of how his daughter-in-law tamed those corpse puppets, and with so many beast souls in these beads...

Making the best use of things, they could perhaps be used to refine even more Corpse Puppet Generals.

This harvest was not small at all.

Ye Jing calculated that since he had discovered an auction was happening, he might as well go join the fun; perhaps he would encounter some treasures.

Thinking of this, Ye Jing did some simple organizing. After resting for a few days, he headed toward Luohan City.

Luohan City was near Jinshan City, but it was extremely bustling. There were many shops and businesses along the way, and the flow of Cultivators was diverse and continuous. The oversight was relatively lax, and no Command Token was required.

This gave Ye Jing an opportunity. He paid five Low-Grade Spirit Stones and entered the city.

He dressed simply, and with his aged appearance, he looked like a Cultivator with one foot in the grave, making it easy to blend into the city.

Ye Jing did not linger. According to the records on Wu Yuan's scroll, the Xingsu Auction was held within the Qianji Pavilion in the center of Luohan City.

He asked around along the way and finally found the Qianji Pavilion before sunset. The entire building was constructed from ebony and stood ten stories high, with a gilded plaque hanging from the top floor.

In front of this Qianji Pavilion, a long queue of Cultivators had already formed.

Ye Jing found it a bit strange. According to the time on the scroll, the Xingsu Auction wasn't supposed to start until tomorrow. Why were there so many people now?

So he found an ordinary Cultivator to ask and finally learned the reason.

The Xingsu Auction was a rare large-scale auction in the southeastern region of the Canggu Realm, held once every three years.

Not only did it have the secret backing of the Guijian Immortal Sect, but Cultivators from top-tier powers like the Buddha Realm and Wandian Valley also came to participate. There were countless treasures, and occasionally even items coveted by Core Formation Cultivators would appear.

Most of the Cultivators in line were there to collect their bidding tokens in advance, and many were there to participate in the "Preview" held early by the Qianji Pavilion.

Ye Jing pulled aside a sallow, thin Loose Cultivator with a weak aura at the Late Stage of Qi Refining, deliberately feigning a senile appearance.

He continued to ask in a raspy voice, "Young friend, what is this Preview? Could it be there are extra treasures to be had?"

Seeing his simple clothes and his cultivation level seemingly only at the Peak of Qi Refining, the Loose Cultivator didn't guard himself and sighed, "Senior, is this your first time at the Xingsu Auction?

This Preview isn't for just anyone to watch. The Qianji Pavilion brings out some of the ordinary treasures from this auction for Cultivators to view. Firstly, it's to show off their foundation, and secondly, it's to let everyone plan their Spirit Stones in advance so they don't get flustered during the auction.

More importantly, one can also consign their own treasures at the Preview to exchange for some Spirit Stones for turnover. Many Loose Cultivators come specifically for this!"

As he spoke, the Loose Cultivator pointed toward the side gate of the Qianji Pavilion, where another line of Cultivators stood. Though fewer in number, each was dressed flamboyantly, with bulging Storage Pouches at their waists.

"See that? That's the queue for consigning treasures. I heard the Qianji Pavilion only accepts spiritual materials and Magic Artifacts of the second rank or higher, and they take a ten percent commission fee. But even so, people are still scrambling to get in. After all, selling at the Xingsu Auction gets a much higher price than at a market."

Ye Jing's eyes narrowed slightly as he inconspicuously scanned the consignment line, thinking to himself:

If he took Wu Yuan's evil beads and the incomplete "Golden Body Imperial Armor" to the Preview for consignment, he might be able to exchange them for many Spirit Stones and take the opportunity to scout out the details of the golden purple thunder essence.

But on second thought, the evil beads were a sinister item from the Buddha Realm, and the "Golden Body Imperial Armor" was a high-tier Buddhist technique. Once exposed, it would inevitably attract the attention of Jinguang Temple Cultivators, which would instead ruin his disguise.

"Thank you for telling me, young friend."

Ye Jing cupped his hands, deliberately coughed twice, and hunched his back as he shuffled toward the end of the line.

"This old man is just a poor Loose Cultivator with no treasures to consign. I only seek to go in and broaden my horizons; perhaps I can pick up a bargain to get some Spirit Stones for my retirement."

Hearing Ye Jing say this, the Loose Cultivator showed a bit of disdain, waved his hand, and turned back to squeeze toward the front.