61: Fighting for the Foundation Establishment Pill

This was almost a public threat! Many people in the common seats glanced sideways.

Lin Feng's voice remained calm and unwavering, transmitted through the Restriction: "Auction, highest bidder wins."

Concise, yet carrying an undeniable persistence.

The young Sword Cultivator's face darkened, and he snorted coldly: "Hmph! Eleven thousand five hundred!"

"Twelve thousand!" Lin Feng did not yield an inch.

The price had exceeded the young Sword Cultivator's psychological expectation. He glared fiercely in the direction of the private room and no longer spoke, but the dissatisfaction and hostility in his eyes were undisguised.

"Twelve thousand Spirit Stones! Are there any Fellow Daoists who wish to bid higher?" Wan Baotong scanned the room. No one responded. "Sold! Congratulations to this Fellow Daoist!"

The atmosphere of the auction continued to heat up with the alternating bids for Medicinal Pills, Materials, and Talismans. When Wan Baotong's voice rose again, with a solemn, declarative tone, the entire hall instantly became silent enough to hear a pin drop, and countless fervent gazes focused on the high platform.

"Next up! Is the key to knocking open the higher halls of the immortal Dao!" Wan Baotong's voice was like a heavy hammer striking everyone's heart. "Foundation Establishment Pill! In this auction, there are a total of ten sets of Foundation Establishment Pills, with three pills per set! Now, we will auction the first set!"

A cold jade bottle was solemnly presented, its opening sealed with a Talisman, yet a refreshing pill fragrance subtly permeated from it.

Countless gazes—fervent, greedy, longing, despairing—like substantial flames, converged on the small cold jade bottle on the auction platform.

The Talisman Seal on the bottle's opening still couldn't prevent the refreshing pill fragrance, which seemed to contain the mysteries of life's transcendence, from subtly escaping in wisps.

"Starting bid—twenty thousand Low-Grade Spirit Stones! Each bid must not be less than five hundred Spirit Stones!"

"Twenty-one thousand!" Almost as soon as the words fell, a sharp voice, like tearing silk, rang out from the back row of the common seats, carrying a desperate madness. It was a Qi Refining Peak Loose Cultivator, his face flushed and his breathing unstable.

This bid was like a spark thrown into boiling oil, instantly igniting the entire venue!

"Twenty-three thousand!"

"Twenty-five thousand!"

"Twenty-seven thousand!"

The price, like a wild horse unbridled, soared wildly amidst the hoarse shouts of the Qi Refining Cultivators, reaching close to thirty thousand in the blink of an eye! Each bid was accompanied by heavy breathing and reddened eyes; it was the desperate charge of countless low-level Cultivators against their fate.

However, when the price broke through thirty thousand, the voices from the common seats suddenly became sparse. The real competition had just begun.

"Thirty thousand!" A an ancient yet powerful voice came from a private room on the left side of the second floor, as stable as a rock, carrying an undeniable sense of control. It was an Elder from the "Qingyang Sect"! A major Sect had made its move!

"Thirty-two thousand!" A cold voice immediately sounded from the private room on the right, directly opposing. It was the representative of "Xuan Shui Palace"!

"Thirty-five thousand!" The Qingyang Sect Elder did not give way.

"Thirty-seven thousand!" The Xuan Shui Palace representative's voice was even colder.

The confrontation between the two major powers instantly sent the price soaring! There was a suppressed gasp throughout the hall. The glimmer of hope that had just ignited in the eyes of many Loose Cultivators was silently extinguished under this terrifying financial suppression.

Just then, a hoarse voice, like sandpaper rubbing, with a heavy accent and a barbaric aura, came from an inconspicuous private room in the corner of the auction hall, like a venomous snake flicking its tongue:

"Forty thousand!"

This bid was not only high but also carried a naked domineeringness! The owner of the voice seemed to think it wasn't enough, and immediately added a sentence, like a thunderclap exploding in everyone's ears:

"Qiu Laoguai of the Western Desolate Qiu Family is here! Let's see who dares to compete with this old man for this first prize?!"

"Western Desolate Qiu Family! Qiu Laoguai?!"

The entire auction hall instantly erupted in an uproar! Countless gazes, filled with fear, disgust, and apprehension, turned towards that corner private room. The Western Desolate Qiu Family was notoriously ferocious! They were famous for their domineering actions and holding grudges!

This Qiu Laoguai was even more famously a rogue of the Qiu Family, a Foundation Establishment Middle Stage Cultivator, with a violent temperament and numerous blood debts on his hands! His shout was not just a bid, but an undisguised threat!

The meaning was clear: This first set, this old man is taking it! Whoever dares to raise the price is an enemy of the Qiu Family!

Both the Qingyang Sect and Xuan Shui Palace private rooms fell into a brief silence.

While the two major Sects were not afraid of the Qiu Family, was it worth it to tear off their masks with this madman-like Qiu Laoguai for one set of Foundation Establishment Pills right now? Especially on the Golden Scale Merchant Guild's territory?

During this brief silence, a triumphant, owl-like low laugh seemed to come from Qiu Laoguai's private room. A sense of suppressed humiliation pervaded the hall, and countless Loose Cultivators dared not speak their anger.

Amidst this suffocating silence, a clear, calm voice, like jade striking together, faintly sounded from a private room on the other side of the auction hall:

"Forty thousand five hundred."

The voice was not loud, but it clearly penetrated the silence, carrying an indifference that ignored the threat.

Boom!

It was like pouring a ladle of cold water into boiling oil! The entire hall completely exploded! Countless gazes, shocked, disbelieving, and even with a hint of enjoying the show, simultaneously turned towards the private room from which the voice came!

"Who?! Which suicidal bastard?!" A furious roar instantly erupted from Qiu Laoguai's private room, and a violent, ferocious aura, like a tangible entity, rushed out of the private room, fiercely crashing against the private room's Restriction!

Although weakened by the Restriction, that naked killing intent made nearby Cultivators feel a suffocating sensation!

Facing this impact of tangible killing intent, the owner of that clear voice seemed completely unfazed, not even a slight change in his tone, still calmly bidding again:

"Forty-one thousand five hundred."

Disregard! Naked disregard!

Qiu Laoguai was almost exploding with rage! His hoarse voice, filled with fury and venom, sounded like a curse in everyone's ears: "Good! Good! Good! Kid, you've got guts! This old man remembers you! Forty-two thousand!"

"Forty-two thousand five hundred." The clear voice remained calm.

"Forty-three thousand!"

"Forty-three thousand five hundred."

...

Ultimately, the first set of Foundation Establishment Pills was acquired by the owner of that clear voice for the exorbitant price of forty-five thousand Spirit Stones. The atmosphere in Qiu Laoguai's private room was as gloomy as ten thousand years of cold ice, and that violent, man-eating killing intent seemed to lower the temperature of the entire auction hall by several degrees.

The competition for the subsequent second, third, fourth, and fifth sets remained extremely fierce. The Qingyang Sect, Xuan Shui Palace, and several other Families and forces all made their moves. Qiu Laoguai finally succeeded in acquiring the fourth set, paying a price of forty-three thousand Spirit Stones. After bidding, he immediately used his hoarse, piercing voice to sweep the entire venue with a menacing tone:

"Hmph! Consider yourselves sensible! For the rest, you'd best weigh your own strength! Don't think that just because you're hiding in a private room, this old man can't find you!"

This naked threat, like a dark cloud, hung over the auction, casting a shadow over subsequent bids. The fifth set ultimately sold for a relatively "gentle" forty-one thousand Spirit Stones.

When Wan Baotong announced the start of the auction for the sixth set of Foundation Establishment Pills, Lin Feng knew he could no longer wait!

TheSold Price of the previous five sets clearly told him that forty-five thousand Spirit Stones was likely a "psychological threshold" under the effective deterrence of Qiu Laoguai. He had to seize this fleeting "window of opportunity"!

"The sixth set of Foundation Establishment Pills, starting bid twenty thousand! Begin!"

"Thirty thousand!" A private room immediately bid, attempting to replicate the strategy of the first set.

"Thirty-two thousand!" Another voice followed.

The price quickly climbed to thirty-eight thousand.

Lin Feng took a deep breath, making his voice sound steady, calm, and with an undeniable resolve, clearly transmitted through the private room's Restriction:

"Forty thousand!"