Chapter 76 The Auction Held Once Every Thirty Years

In a teahouse within the Taihu Mountain Range, Chen Li swept his Divine Sense outward to gather information.

Today, Chen Li went out to the Beast Hunting Sect Market to sell a batch of Spiritual Plants, bought quite a few Materials for Artifact Refining as a side trip, purchased ten Spirit Pigs, and also stocked up on several hundred swift travel talismans and breath concealing talismans for household use.

This time, he sold three five-hundred-year-old Mirror-Breaking Grasses, earning thirty-three thousand Spirit Stones. He also sold three Low Grade mirror-breaking pills, earning forty-three thousand Spirit Stones. Including the Spirit Stones he kept at home, his total now exceeded one hundred thousand.

However, they were all Low-Grade Spirit Stones. A million Low-Grade Spirit Stones could only be exchanged for ten Mid-Grade Spirit Stones.

In this Cultivation World, the large Defensive Formation Arrays used by Sects consume Mid-Grade Spirit Stones just to activate once. If a Mid-Grade Spirit Stone Vein appears, forces below the Nascent Soul level don't even qualify to drink the soup.

The hottest news recently was that the Beast Hunting Sect Cultivation Market's auction, held once every thirty years, would take place at the Ten Thousand Treasures Tower in ten days.

He originally didn't want to go, but he heard that quite a few rare seeds would be auctioned. The biggest draw, however, was the spiritual items at the Golden Core level; rumor had it there were Magic Treasures personally refined by Golden Core Cultivators.

Chen Li planned to go to the Ten Thousand Treasures Tower to take a look.

...Ten days later, Chen Li arrived at the Ten Thousand Treasures Tower.

At the entrance, there were already quite a few Cultivators wearing masks, many concealing their cultivation with breath concealing talismans, and a crowd using illusion techniques to change their appearance.

Chen Li swept his Divine Sense across the entrance and immediately noticed dozens of Divine Senses sweeping around haphazardly, indiscriminately, making the area as chaotic as a pot of porridge.

Among them, Chen Li detected dozens of Divine Senses belonging to Late Foundation Establishment Stage Cultivators. He blended in, now wearing a mask himself, appearing to be at the Early Foundation Establishment Stage level.

The custom of wearing masks at the Ten Thousand Treasures Tower was inherited through generations, having learned from many lessons.

The purpose was to make it impossible for anyone to guess the identity of others—what if one of them was a Young Master out playing? What if someone pretending to be a Qi Refining Cultivator was actually a Golden Core Cultivator coming to buy things? What if they were a Nascent Soul Old Monster traveling the mortal world disguised as a Qi Refining Cultivator?

Therefore, unless one could be absolutely certain of the other person's cultivation and identity, and possess absolute certainty of victory, they would only dare to kill and seize treasures after the auction.

However, based on past experience, what was meant to happen still happened, though many people remained respectful and dared not take the risk!

Furthermore, entering the tower for the auction required paying an entrance fee: five hundred Spirit Stones. 'Get lost, you poor wretches!'

Everyone knew this was the auction held once every thirty years; why would a pauper come in and waste a spot!

Chen Li paid the five hundred Spirit Stones and entered the Ten Thousand Treasures Tower. Inside, it was a circular grand hall, with the treasures displayed in the center of the hall.

A Golden Core Cultivator from the Beast Hunting Sect was stationed inside the tower. One could vaguely sense the aura of this Cultivator, which served as a silent message to all the other Cultivators: 'Behave yourselves, I am here!'

Chen Li chose a seat. The people beside him were difficult to distinguish by gender, but everyone exuded an aura of Early Foundation Establishment Stage. Every single person was very friendly.

More and more people arrived until the seats in the Ten Thousand Treasures Tower were nearly full. At this point, a Cultivator resembling a middle-aged man came out to preside.

'Welcome everyone to the Ten Thousand Treasures Tower Auction. Held once every thirty years, this tower continues to seek out treasures from across the world for all of you. Enough pleasantries, the first treasure is coming up!'

From beneath the central display stand, a piece of white, glowing jade rose up!

'This is a remnant piece of the Green Light Seed Jade, which can accelerate the ripening of Spiritual Plants. If placed under moonlight for one day, this jade can condense one drop of Green Light Spirit Liquid. One drop, when diluted, can ripen three hundred Spiritual Plants by about a month in a single day.

Unfortunately, this is a remnant piece with too many Impurities. After appraisal, this remnant jade can still condense Green Light Spirit Liquid for about ten years. In ten years, one can cultivate a batch of three hundred five-hundred-year-level Spiritual Plants in bulk.

Starting bid for any interested Fellow Daoist is ten thousand Spirit Stones!'

'Green Light Seed Jade'? This single item surprised Chen Li. This ripening effect seemed quite low; compared to the Great Sun Seed Jade, it was like a tiny speck against a vast mountain. However, the appearance of such a jade made him wonder what connection it had with the Great Sun Seed Jade?

Chen Li harbored doubts; this auction had some substance!

At this moment, quite a few people started calculating. It was indeed possible to cultivate a batch of five-hundred-year-level Spiritual Plants. Many people began raising their paddles.

Chen Li wasn't interested. Those Early Foundation Establishment Stage Cultivators next to him seemed quite keen, raising their paddles continuously.

The Spirit Stones bid for this piece of jade kept rising, eventually reaching one hundred thousand Spirit Stones. Finally, a Cultivator whose aura suggested Late Foundation Establishment Stage won it, selling for a final transaction price of one hundred thirty-nine thousand Spirit Stones!

'Congratulations to this Fellow Daoist! Next up is our Heavenly Thunder talisman treasure, with power capable of reaching the Early Stage Golden Core. Starting bid for any interested Fellow Daoist is thirty thousand Spirit Stones!'

Chen Li thought it was decent and bid fifty thousand Spirit Stones, but his bid was quickly surpassed by others. Once the price went over one hundred thousand, Chen Li fell silent.

Ultimately, this talisman treasure was taken by a Cultivator whose aura was Third Level of Qi Refining. It sold for three hundred sixty thousand Spirit Stones. However, the crowd dared not entertain any ideas; this person was definitely a master pretending to be weak!

A Third Level of Qi Refining Cultivator possessing three hundred sixty thousand Spirit Stones was as strange as a sow climbing a tree. They wouldn't gamble on that slim chance.

What if he really was an Old Monster? Damn it, they wouldn't even dare to flee!

The auction continued. Next were some Fourth and Fifth Grade Magical Artifacts, along with a few spiritual items at the Early Stage Golden Core level. Chen Li was interested in all of them, but he didn't have enough Spirit Stones.

He comforted himself, thinking that his self-refined Fifth Grade 'Five Grade Toad Poison Formation' used Materials from Sixth-level Yao Beasts and could achieve the attack power of a False Core.

It was a pity he didn't possess the Legacy for a Sixth-level Formation. If he had one, he would definitely refine this Fifth Grade 'Five Grade Toad Poison Formation' to its peak, reaching something like the 5.8th Grade.

'Next up are not the heavyweight treasures, but rare seeds. Fellow Daoists who are interested can listen up!'

Upon hearing this, Chen Li's attention returned to the auction; this trip's purpose lay here!

'This is the seed of a thousand-year Spiritual Plant, named Longevity South Spiritual Plant. It can be used to refine longevity-type Medicinal Pills. Starting bid is three thousand Spirit Stones!'

Ultimately, Chen Li took this one for sixteen thousand Spirit Stones. Indeed, very few people were interested in it, though some wanted to buy it to plant, thinking, 'What if it grows for a hundred years, that's something!'

Next were two other types of longevity-extending thousand-year Spiritual Plants, which Chen Li acquired one after another. Quite a few people looked over, observing Chen Li's Early Foundation Establishment Stage cultivation and his mask. Could the person under the mask be a Foundation Establishment Old Man, aged and nearing the end of his lifespan?

However, it didn't attract too much attention because of the age requirement. What was the use of buying it if it couldn't immediately become a thousand-year Spiritual Plant?

'Next, we have the heavyweight seeds obtained from the Taixuan Sect: seeds for the golden core formation Spiritual Medicine Grass. There are five types in total. Fellow Daoists who are interested can bid!'

Hearing about the golden core formation Medicine Grass seeds, many people in the auction hall began whispering, muttering amongst themselves.

'I heard the Taixuan Sect's secret technique for golden core formation only requires one pill to achieve golden core formation. This rumor has spread for hundreds of years, yet we don't see Golden Core Cultivators running rampant from the Taixuan Sect!'

'Haha, the Taixuan Sect only has about a dozen Golden Core Cultivators, not much more than other Sects. If one pill truly led to golden core formation, the Taixuan Sect would probably have unified the Southern Border!'

'This is probably just the Taixuan Sect deceiving the world. I don't believe it!'

Someone loudly asked, 'Tower Master, when will you procure the Pill Formula for golden core formation? Even with these Spiritual Plant seeds, we still don't know how to perform the Alchemy!'

'Yeah, this is useless!' many people echoed.

Chen Li heard the murmurs and information from the few people, which also contained quite a few doubts.

According to Li Daoan's final testament, the letter also mentioned the rumor that one pill could lead to golden core formation. If it was just a rumor, it wouldn't have been passed down for several hundred years.

Could there be some conditions involved?

The manager smiled, ignoring the teasing from these people, and continued to introduce the specifics of these five types of seeds.