135: Signaling

In a private room of a pavilion at the Foundation Establishment gathering, Lin Shiming paced back and forth.

As soon as the Foundation Establishment gathering ended, his immediate thought was to leave.

After all, he had no more treasures to exchange; even the Mother-Child Swords would probably only fetch a little over one hundred thousand Spirit Stones.

He wouldn't sell any of his other Magical Artifacts.

When Xiao Chen, a Foundation Establishment Great Perfection Cultivator, sought him out, he was even more reluctant to get involved. The vast difference in cultivation levels meant that anything he did would undoubtedly be like playing with a tiger!

However, the latter mentioned the luring demon grass and, at a crucial moment, even called out his name, which was why he stayed.

This also served as a warning to him: in future trade fairs like this, he should prepare a spirit-concealing veil in advance. Clearly, the spirit-concealing veils provided by the Duo Bao Tower could be seen through by their own staff.

Lin Shiming waited in the room for over half an hour before Xiao Chen finally entered. Upon entering, the latter cupped his hands and apologized:

"Young Fellow Daoist Shiming has waited for a long time. This Xiao apologizes to Young Fellow Daoist here!"

"Senior Xiao, you're too serious!" Lin Shiming also cupped his hands, responding in a lukewarm tone.

The latter showed no surprise and slowly explained:

"Young Fellow Daoist need not worry. The reason I asked Young Fellow Daoist to stay is that I wish to partner with Young Fellow Daoist's Senior, the Azure Lotus Sword Master, for an Opportunity. If my predictions are correct, there will definitely be luring demon grass there!"

Only after Xiao Chen said this did Lin Shiming relax.

Since he was looking for his Seventh Grand Uncle, he was merely a messenger in this situation.

Even if his Seventh Grand Uncle was unwilling, he could simply refuse. Although Duo Bao Tower had immense backing, they couldn't force anyone, especially since their Lin Family was far away in Yunzhou.

As for the luring demon grass, he still maintained some rationality. If he could obtain it, he would; otherwise, he would have to give up on the Spirit Devouring Ant.

"Young Fellow Daoist, just hand this Jade Slip to your Seventh Grand Uncle, and he will make his own decision!" Xiao Chen took out a Jade Slip and handed it to Lin Shiming.

Then, he took out another token and gave it to Lin Shiming.

"Young Fellow Daoist Shiming, this is the Duo Bao Token of Duo Bao Tower. With this token, you can enjoy a 10% discount at Duo Bao Tower from now on!"

"Thank you, Senior Xiao. Shiming will surely deliver your message!" Lin Shiming repeatedly thanked him, collected the token, and then bowed to take his leave.

After leaving Duo Bao Tower, Lin Shiming returned to the Laiyue Restaurant and entered his room.

He then recalled all the events of the day, finally making a grand summary.

Fortunately, Xiao Chen seemed to have no ill intentions and even presented him with a Duo Bao Token.

Lin Shiming then took out the Mountain Ape Body Refining Art and began to try Cultivating it. If it were an ordinary Cultivator, he would be extremely cautious with a Cultivation Technique obtained from such a trade fair, perhaps waiting for his Senior to appraise it before Cultivating.

But for him, as long as he Cultivated, the System would provide a prompt. Even a Golden Core Cultivator might not be as accurate as the System's prompt.

The Mountain Ape Body Refining Art, in addition to its special Martial Skill techniques, also included a unique breathing method and a set of Body Tempering Pill Formulas.

He couldn't immediately discern anything about the Body Tempering Pill Formulas and Martial Skill techniques, but as soon as he practiced the breathing method, he heard the System's prompt, followed by an improvement to his breathing method.

This made him break out in a cold sweat. Indeed, in the cultivation world, if you think you've gotten a bargain, you must be extremely careful, or you might capsize in a gutter without even knowing it.

Lin Shiming stopped after Cultivating for about half an hour. Although the Laiyue Restaurant was safe, he truly dared not Cultivate with his full attention at this moment.

Instead, he sat quietly in meditation, reading the Family's Artifact Refining introductory manual.

After stepping into Foundation Establishment, he had resolved to pursue a Cultivation art.

With abundant Yao Beast Materials and a Glinting Metal Stone Vein now available, his first choice was to become a true third-rank Artifact Refiner.

Three days passed, and Lin Shiming's door opened as he stepped out.

At this moment, Lin Houwei, Lin Shiyi, and others were already waiting outside the door.

"Fifth Grandfather, Thirteenth Uncle, Fifteenth Uncle, Second Brother, let us depart!"

The group walked towards the Auction hall, only to find that almost all the Cultivators in the entire Qingxuan City were converging on the Auction.

An Auction hosted by the Three Sects gave all the Cultivators a sense of broadened horizons, fearing that if they arrived late, there would be no seats left.

Along the way, Lin Shiming and the others saw many Spirit Beast Sect Disciples carrying storage bracelets, and also Spirit Talisman Sect Disciples wearing talisman robes.

The price to enter the Auction was the same as ten years ago. Lin Shiming paid the Spirit Stones and proceeded to the VIP box area for Foundation Establishment Families.

This Auction was exceptionally popular. When the Lin Family and others took their seats, they saw that the ordinary seating area in front was packed, and the adjacent Foundation Establishment Cultivator box areas were also overflowing with people. The Huang Family's spot had been replaced by a new Family.

In the area where the Qian Family was located, Qian Bosheng was also there. As Lin Shiming looked over, the other party returned a smile.

Even the Purple Mansion Family private rooms on the second floor were already full.

The atmosphere of the Auction was unprecedentedly high!

At this time, people were still entering the Auction hall.

Finally, the Qingxuan Auction stopped allowing Qi Refining Cultivators to enter, otherwise, there might not have been enough space.

Just then, a Middle-aged cultivator walked onto the stage, followed by several beautiful female Cultivators.

This Middle-aged cultivator was someone he knew extremely well; it was none other than the auctioneer from over a decade ago, He Xuan, who was also a Foundation Establishment Great Perfection Cultivator.

"Fellow Daoists and Seniors, I am He An, the host and steward for this Auction. I first wish to thank all Fellow Daoists and Seniors for your presence. This Auction has also been jointly provided with treasures and Foundation Establishment Pills by the Three Sects, totaling 150 pills. Ninety pills for Purple Mansion Families, and sixty pills for Qi Refining and Foundation Establishment Auctions! The starting price for the Foundation Establishment Pills has also been halved this time, so all Fellow Daoists can bid with confidence!"

When He Xuan announced the halved starting price, the entire Auction immediately erupted in continuous applause.

Especially since there were a full 150 Foundation Establishment Pills this time, which was three times more than the Auction Lin Shiming attended over a decade ago.

And it's worth noting that the Qingxuan Sect had just concluded a Qingxuan Assembly two years prior.

"Enough with the pleasantries. Let's start with the first item: one third-rank barrier breaking pill! The starting price is eighty thousand Spirit Stones! Each bid must not be less than five hundred!"

As the third-rank barrier breaking pill was presented, Lin Shiming was stunned. He knew that at the previous Auction he attended, the first item was only a top-grade second-rank Magical Artifact.

This time, it was actually a Low Grade third-rank barrier breaking pill. One must know that this was a Medicinal Pill that could help Cultivators break through the Bottleneck of the Foundation Establishment Early Stage, perfectly suitable even as a minor finale item.

But for it to be the first item, it likely meant that this time, second-rank treasures would be surprisingly few. Those Qi Refining Loose Cultivators or Qi Refining Cultivators might only be able to compete for the Foundation Establishment Pill!

"One hundred thousand!"

"One hundred and ten thousand!"

..."Two hundred and twenty thousand!"

The final price directly reached two hundred thousand, more than doubling. Lin Shiming was tempted for a moment, but after seeing the price, he had no choice but to smile wryly and give up.