45: On the way home, giving gifts

Here it comes!

The eyes of all the Cultivators turned red with greed.

"One thousand one hundred!"

"One thousand one hundred and ten!"

"One thousand five hundred!"

...In just a few breaths, the price broke through the two thousand Spirit Stone mark.

In the private booths on the third floor, only two people were still calmly raising the bids.

These were all Families ranked lower down; although they had one or two Alchemists capable of refining foundation establishment pills, their techniques were clumsy and their success rates low, perhaps not even producing one a year.

Of course, the main issue was that Spirit Medicine was hard to come by.

Lu Xian listened intently; those two voices were quite similar to the ones he had heard during the previous competition.

The Loose Cultivators below were even more frenzied, completely disregarding everything as they continued to shout prices with bloodshot eyes!

Ultimately, amidst the excitement, each foundation establishment pill was split among three audacious Loose Cultivators and two people in the booths at the sky-high price of over four thousand three hundred Spirit Stones.

"I hereby announce that this auction has come to a Perfection conclusion! Fellow Daoists who have purchased items, please move to the back stage for delivery!"

The gold-robed old man's face was glowing, his voice booming.

Having broadened their horizons, the crowd of Cultivators began to depart one after another.

Lu Xian pushed open the booth door and stepped into the corridor, preparing to head to the back stage on the first floor.

Just then, the door to the neighboring room, Second Room of the B-rank, also opened.

Tang Jingcheng walked out with his arm around Yao Xianger.

Yao Xianger's face was pale, her exposed skin covered in black and blue bruises, her eyes hollow.

Tang Jingcheng caught sight of a male Cultivator walking out of the third room and was slightly taken aback.

That's not right... the bidding voice just now was clearly a woman's... He stared at Lu Xian's departing back, suspicion suddenly rising: "Xianger, look at that person. Doesn't he look a bit familiar?"

"He's... he's the guest staying in the Medium Grade room. There is a bit of a resemblance..."

Yao Xianger had been suffering through torture for the past few days and was physically and mentally exhausted. Her voice trembled, yet she didn't dare to disobey in the slightest.

Her heart was filled with a mix of regret and resentment, wishing only to see off this brutal Third Young Master.

She was also quite clever, knowing she couldn't openly state her conditions; she only hoped the other party would be kind-hearted enough to give her some benefits, like a promotion to an inn manager.

"So it's him!" Tang Jingcheng also remembered, his heart filled with the shame and anger of being deceived.

"The one who snatched my formation map was actually a wild Loose Cultivator? But why was he in a booth... Hmph, he probably put something up for auction! Without any background, he dares to play me for a fool time and again? He's looking for death!"

A surge of violent killing intent rushed to his head.

A series of misjudgments made Tang Jingcheng doubt his own judgment.

Kill, kill, kill!

He suddenly crushed the bones in Yao Xianger's hand.

"Ugh, ah—!" Yao Xianger let out a low cry of pain.

"Go back and keep a close eye on him. The moment he checks out, report to me immediately!"

"Yes, Third Young Master." Yao Xianger complied verbally, but a flash of hatred flickered in her eyes... On the first floor, Lu Xian used the quasi-immortal jade token to receive the information imprint of A Bridge ofSo close yet so far.

He also took delivery of the returning yang wood marrow and Ghost Water Bamboo, paying 2,400 Spirit Stones before preparing to leave.

"Fellow Daoist Han, if you have any more rare treasures in the future, even outside of auction periods, you are welcome to come at any time!"

Lin Youlan was all smiles; this person had taken three auction items by himself, making him a major client.

"Oh? Is the demand for various spiritual items in the market city really that great?" Lu Xian asked casually.

"Naturally! As the first stop for those heading deep into the wilderness, there's a constant stream of Cultivators passing through. The demand for consumables like Medicinal Pills and Talismans is enormous, with some categories even far exceeding Qingyun City!"

"If you're interested, Fellow Daoist, you can also join our Lin Family's exclusive wilderness exploration team. Those who make significant contributions receive generous rewards! You might even... have the chance to marry into a branch of the Family and be granted part of the Family Legacy!"

Lin Youlan explained, timely extending an olive branch.

"Then... definitely next time!"

Lu Xian gave a perfunctory reply and cupped his hands in farewell.

Next time?

There might not be a next time.

These Families place great importance on Bloodline Legacy; he didn't want to be tied down to them.

In comparison, although the Cangye Sect also spoke of the bonds between master and disciple, there were far fewer constraints.

Marriage and children were not what he sought; as a person of the Dao, he was even less willing to take on weaknesses so early.

Once he attained Immortal Ascension and became an ancestor, living free and easy, he could play however he wanted.

Back at the inn, Du Qinghong had already completed his task.

The soul nurturing jade and heaven formation stone had been successfully purchased.

Even more pleasing was that the location of the Thunder Cloud Tiger's territory had been scouted out, and there was even news about the spirit condensing black soil!

"You're saying the spirit condensing black soil is in a place called 'Mirror Lake Valley,' and there's a black bone tree in the valley? And that Thunder Cloud Tiger is guarding the tree, waiting for the fruit to ripen so it can eat it to increase its demonic power?"

Lu Xian was slightly surprised.

This coincidence was a bit too much.

"Yes, it's said that the Tiger Beast is at the first-rank Perfection and is just waiting for the fruit to break through its Bottleneck. However, the fruiting cycle of the black bone tree is long, so it should still be some time. The Cultivator who reported it didn't see if there were any cubs..."

Du Qinghong paused and added, "But before a Yao Beast advances, it usually leaves offspring to preserve its Bloodline. It might be soon."

A Perfection Yao Beast... Lu Xian made a prompt decision:

"Post a reward starting at five hundred Spirit Stones. The requirements are to capture a Thunder Cloud Tiger Cub and collect at least 8 catties of spirit condensing black soil."

Mirror Lake Valley was still two thousand miles away, and the risk was too great; it was better to pave the way with Spirit Stones.

After all, he wasn't asking people to go head-to-head with a great demon or cut down the tree; just stealing a cub and digging some soil. With a heavy reward, there would surely be brave souls.

He had 1,800 Spirit Stones left from this trip, which was enough.

"Alright, I'll go post the task on the local bounty board right away. We can discuss the specific handover once they reach Qingyun City."

In less than half an hour, Du Qinghong had it settled.

With the return journey in sight, Lu Xian felt completely relaxed.

Once back, he could set up the teleportation array and build the [teleportation room]!

The [bedroom] and [formation chamber] that had been stuck at level 2 for a long time could finally be upgraded together.

Even one of the Materials required for a level 3 [Spirit Field] has been obtained, and news of the other has been discovered.

This trip could be called a Perfection!

Coming downstairs, Yao Xianger, who was applying ointment, had her eyes light up: "Guest, are... are you checking out?"

Her right arm hung limply, and her aura was weak.

The rest of the bruising had faded quite a bit.

"Yes." Lu Xian tossed out the room token and turned to leave.

But then he heard Yao Xianger's voice transmission: "Fellow Daoist, wait! Listen to Xianger; that Tang Jingcheng is waiting at the intersection outside the market city to ambush and kill you! If you want to return to Qingyun City, it's best to pay a high price to hire Lin Family guards for protection!"

Hearing this.

Lu Xian's footsteps paused.

"Go on!"

The hatred in Yao Xianger's eyes grew even stronger. After the auction ended, Tang Jingcheng showed no intention of fulfilling his promise regarding her manager position!

After all these days, she had been played for nothing.

She wanted revenge; she wanted to make sure that Third Young Master didn't get his way!

Only in this way could she temporarily vent the hatred in her heart.

Yao Xianger spoke rapidly: "Tang Jingcheng has been digging for information ever since he saw you that day..."

She laid out Tang Jingcheng's suspicions, anger, killing intent, and current arrangements, along with her own motive for informing, holding nothing back.

Yao Xianger instinctively felt that this masked Cultivator had a calm and steady air, and in every gesture, he was a hundred times better than that fake Young Master Tang Jingcheng.

After listening, Lu Xian understood everything.

She was sabotaging the guy named Tang's plan as revenge.

Unfortunately... her vision was still too small; she didn't even dare to dream of a bolder revenge.

In the perception of ordinary Cultivators, how could a Loose Cultivator contend with a direct descendant of a Family?

"Thank you for the warning, Miss Xianger, but I'm afraid this matter won't go as you wish." Lu Xian smiled slightly.

"Ah?" Yao Xianger's beautiful eyes widened, and she covered her cherry lips, saying in surprise, "Fellow Daoist, are you going to your death? Please don't, that Tang..."

She had seen too many people afraid of death, including herself.

But those who actively sought death were too few.

"Not at all. Miss Xianger, you should take the opportunity to find somewhere else. This Han is afraid of what might happen after the fact... Of course, you can just notify him according to the original plan."

Lu Xian's tone was calm as he flicked out a small bag of Spirit Stones, about ten of them.

"Though it's not much help, thank you for the information."

With that, he didn't stay any longer and left directly with Du Qinghong.

The voice transmission just now had only taken a moment. Du Qinghong was bewildered: "Brother Han, why did you give her Spirit Stones?"

"It's nothing, just some unexpected news. Someone is coming to give me a big gift, worth quite a lot—I'm afraid it can be converted into nearly ten thousand Spirit Stones..."

Lu Xian's pace was steady.