66: Oh no, how come I'm richer than an auction house?

"This guard brother, are you very cold right now?" Zhou Yan just stared at the guard in front of him.

The guard forced a smile.

"Ho... how could that be!"

"This ge... generous guest, you are truly too concerned for this humble one."

Once these words were spoken, the people around who originally wanted to watch a show were a bit confused.

The usual scenes were always the overbearing guard bullying newcomers, either making them lose Face or lose money.

Why did they change their tune today?

Hearing the noisy discussion around him, the guard turned his head and shouted,

"You bunch of guys, what are you cheering for!"

"Are you full and have nothing to do? Don't you know that gathering a crowd will affect the mood of the customers participating in the auction!"

"Hurry up and get lost, or be careful that we fulfill our duties and start chasing people away!"

Many of these onlookers were stall owners and regulars of the Night Roaming Ruins.

Either their backgrounds weren't clean, or their strength wasn't high, or they lacked sufficient funds to go to formal markets and trading houses.

Therefore, they didn't dare to provoke the official personnel of the Night Roaming Ruins, even if it was just a guard.

After all, the other party had people behind them; if they paid the price to get the people behind them to act, they would be in trouble.

Thus, under the guard's intimidation, more than half of the crowd dispersed.

Feeling that it was much quieter around him, the guard turned his head back and continued to force a fawning expression.

"This distinguished guest, please come in. I was just joking with you earlier; it was truly my fault for not gauging the scale well, causing the joke to go a bit too far."

Afterwards, he handed back the item in his palm to Zhou Yan and quickly stuffed a Mid-Grade Spirit Stone into his hand.

Looking at the other party's gritted-teeth expression, this one Mid-Grade Spirit Stone was likely most of his net worth.

"Is that so? No wonder they say there are many talents in the black market; you also have quite a sense of humor."

After saying this, Zhou Yan smiled and patted his shoulder, and the guard could only nod repeatedly in agreement.

Watching Zhou Yan walk through the gate, the guard finally started to gasp for air.

His whole body felt as if he had tinnitus, his head buzzing, and sweat poured down, preventing him from concentrating.

The people nearby also noticed something was wrong and hurriedly came over to support him, asking what exactly had happened.

The guard, like someone suffering from heatstroke, said with a sway,

"Brothers, I think I just stepped on an explosive talisman."

Hearing him finish this sentence, the other guards became even more curious and began asking one after another if that person's identity was unusual.

The guard, leaning on the other guards, forced his body to stand up, his Face still very pale.

"No... I can't say. Take me to the deacon first; my legs are shaking a bit, and I can't stand."

After harvesting another windfall, Zhou Yan's mood improved quite a bit.

The charm of this little token was still increasing; it was simply too satisfying to use.

He rubbed the token, blew away the non-existent dust on it, and then put the fish tally back into his backpack.

And when Zhou Yan stepped into the auction, the interior was already bustling with activity.

"The next auction item is a pseudo-Tier 3 Formation created by a Foundation Establishment Stage Formation master who exhausted his life's efforts."

"Starting bid, 1500 Spirit Stones!"

"Heavens, it's actually a pseudo-Tier 3 Formation!"

"To bring out such good goods so early, I really came to the right place today!"

"Damn it, it actually requires 1500; if I buy it, won't the rest..."

"Does anyone need to make a fake seal?"

"Heh, interesting. It seems today's auction is going to stir up a bloody storm."

The voices here were loud and soft, some even used sound-isolation Spells, but these were all exposed under Zhou Yan's voice-to-text technique.

Relying on the sensitivity of his five senses at Qi Refining Perfection and his information processing ability, Zhou Yan was still able to record most of the converted text information in his mind.

Learning that the auction had already started for a while, Zhou Yan hurried to the front desk to get a number plate, found a suitable place to sit down, and prepared to observe carefully.

Just after Zhou Yan sat down, that pseudo-Tier 3 Formation was auctioned off by someone in the pavilion above for the price of 2230 Spirit Stones.

A pseudo-Tier 3 Formation?

Once I reach Foundation Establishment and learn the Legacy of that cheap master, it doesn't seem difficult to directly refine a Tier 3 one.

He didn't feel any regret for missing the Opportunity to bid on the Formation because he arrived late; after all, this pseudo-Tier 3 was indeed a bit of a chicken rib.

At this time, the auctioneer on stage had already begun to promote the next item.

"Fellow Daoists, today, let us use three 'Qingyuan Qi Nurturing Pill' as the prelude to completely ignite the climax of the auction!"

"This pill was created by a Tier 2 Alchemist using Qingming Grass and Yuan Sui Flower as the base, supplemented with 300-year-old Purple Leaf Ganoderma, and tempered in Earth Fire for 49 days."

"Observe its form: like glaze containing dew, with a cyan halo throughout. Smell its fragrance: like orchids and iris drifting, refreshing the spirit upon entering the nose."

"Cultivators at the Foundation Establishment Early Stage often encounter the trouble of Spiritual Qi stagnation.

This pill melts upon entering the mouth; it can smooth the Meridians, nourish the Dantian, and help everyone make up for three months of bitter cultivation within one month.

Furthermore, it can nourish the Spiritual Root, laying a solid Foundation for subsequent Breakthroughs to the Foundation Establishment Mid-Stage."

"With such quality and such efficacy, looking across the entire Jiang Prefecture, it is a rare treasure."

"Without further ado, the Qingyuan Qi Nurturing Pill comes in a set of three, starting bid at 300 Low-Grade Spirit Stones!"

"Everyone, the bidding may begin!"

"300 Low-Grade Spirit Stones!"

As soon as the voice fell, a hoarse voice rang out from the western viewing stand.

A man dressed in black tight-fitting attire slammed the table and stood up, his knuckles turning white from the force.

"This pill is just right for my son's Foundation Establishment; if everyone gives my Black Tiger Hall some Face, then do not compete!"

"Heh, the Face of Black Tiger Stronghold? In front of an Opportunity, it is worthless!"

A cold laugh suddenly came from the eastern private room, and as the beaded curtain swayed, a jade token was thrown out.

"400 Low-Grade Spirit Stones! Does my Jiang Prefecture Chen Family not deserve this Qingyuan Qi Nurturing Pill?"

"And what of the Chen Family?"

In the crowd of Cultivators downstairs, a figure in green robes slowly stood up, holding a folding fan that swayed gently, their gaze sweeping across the entire venue.

"500 Low-Grade Spirit Stones. My Sect Disciple has a dull Spiritual Root; this pill can help him stabilize his Foundation. This Opportunity, my Green Wood Sect is determined to have!"

"600!"

"650!"

The bidding voices rose and fell one after another.

The veins on the forehead of the Black Tiger Stronghold man on the western stand bulged, and he gritted his teeth and shouted,

"700 Low-Grade Spirit Stones! If you compete again, it will be an enemy of my Black Tiger Hall!"

"And what if I am your enemy?"

The old man in brocade robes in the front row finally spoke.

Although his voice was slow, it carried an unquestionable pressure:

"800 Low-Grade Spirit Stones. My grandson has been stuck at the Foundation Establishment Early Stage for over three years; this pill, this old man is determined to obtain!"

The whole venue went quiet instantly.

Everyone looked at the "Jiang Prefecture Pill Workshop" token at the old man's waist, all showing hesitation.

Just at this moment, a cold female voice suddenly came from the deepest private room on the second floor, the jade-like sound piercing through the noise:

"1000 Low-Grade Spirit Stones."

As the voice fell, the whole audience was silent.

The Black Tiger Stronghold man clenched his fists and eventually sat down dejectedly.

The old man in brocade robes looked in the direction of the private room, pondered for a moment, and also slowly shook his head to give up.

The Cultivator in green robes put away his folding fan and sighed softly.

"As expected of the Qinglan Sect's handiwork; such financial resources are beyond our reach!"

Seeing this scene, Zhou Yan was dumbfounded the whole time.

This is a Tier 2 Medicinal Pill, right?

Those who didn't know would think they were fighting over some Immortal Medicine here.

Zhou Yan had always traded with Mid-Grade Spirit Stones, using Low-Grade Spirit Stones only as pocket change.

Although he knew that Low-Grade Spirit Stones corresponded to silver, because there were very few places to actually spend money, Zhou Yan only knew the concept of money but was not clear about the specific consumption levels.

Now seeing them fighting to the death, he had a feeling of watching a low-end version of a domineering president.

It was like auctioning a bucket of luxury instant noodles, throwing money around two or three yuan at a time.

Zhou Yan felt that if he went up there and fell, the scraps spilled from his profound ring would be enough to raise this auction by more than one grade.

Good grief, it's my turn to say "Why don't they eat minced meat?"