The Auction (Four)

"Huh?" Shen Jingchuan was stunned for a moment. "Sister, what use could this pile of scrap metal possibly be?"

"Are you stupid?"

Xian'er said irritably:

"Have you forgotten what your Heaven and Earth Ring is for? Putting it in will fix it, right? Let me tell you, although I can't identify exactly what it is, I can sense that this thing is suitable for cultivators with Five Spirit Roots."

"Once you've fixed it, I'll be able to understand it. I can't see through it yet, but the more I can't understand it, the more complex it is. No matter the price, you'd better get it; this is a great fortuitous opportunity for you."

Shen Jingchuan immediately perked up. He trusted Sister Xian'er's judgment; if she said fortuitous opportunity, then it must be fortuitous opportunity.

On the stage, the auctioneer has already announced the price, "The starting price for this item is one thousand Spirit Stones."

The audience erupted in uproar.

"A thousand Spirit Stones? That's highway robbery!"

"A pile of scrap metal for a thousand?"

The auctioneer remained calm and composed.

"Don't worry, everyone. Although it's ruined, it's still a High Antiquity relic. What if there's a chance it can be restored? Wouldn't you all be making a huge profit?"

"Tch, if it could really repair it, why don't you keep it yourselves? Why put it up for auction?"

The auctioneer was momentarily speechless and didn't respond.

The room fell silent for a moment; no one raised their placard.

Just when the auctioneer thought the item was going to go unsold, a burly man in the audience raised his hand:

"One thousand." He said in a loud voice, adding, "I'm a weapon refiner; I'll buy it to study."

Shen Jingchuan didn't hesitate and raised his sign. "1500."

The burly man glanced up at the VIP room upstairs, hesitated for a moment, then raised his sign again:

"One thousand six hundred."

He genuinely wanted it—he was a weapon refiner, and even if he couldn't repair the artifacts from these High Antiquity ruins, he could still learn a lot by taking them apart and examining the enchantment patterns and material proportions. He was taking a gamble on this.

"Two thousand," Shen Jingchuan readily agreed.

"Two thousand one." The burly man gritted his teeth.

"Two thousand five hundred." Shen Jingchuan jumped a notch.

The burly man frowned, hesitant, but ultimately reluctant, he tentatively added, "Two thousand six."

"Three thousand." Shen Jingchuan shouted "three thousand" without even thinking.

There was a moment of silence in the room. The burly man stared at the building for a long time, then finally shook his head and put down his number plate.

Buying a bunch of scrap metal that might not even be repairable for three thousand Spirit Stones isn't worth it. He just wanted to study it; there's no need to spend that much.

"Three thousand once -- three thousand twice -- three thousand three times, deal!"

The auctioneer brought down the gavel, his face beaming with joy. This item, which he had thought would go unsold, had actually sold for three thousand Spirit Stones! "Congratulations to VIP number three on the second floor!"

Xiao Mingshu had been watching from the side the whole time. She wanted to stop them—why spend three thousand Spirit Stones on such a pile of rusty scrap metal? But she swallowed her words back.

She knew her younger brother always acted differently; what seemed absurd often had its reasons afterward, and she guessed he knew what was going on this time too. So she simply kept quiet.

Huan'er was also watching from the side. She couldn't understand why the young master wanted to buy such a thing, but she always trusted Shen Jingchuan and believed that he had his reasons for doing things, so she stood there obediently without saying a word.

Not long after the deal was made, there was a knock on the door, and two ordinary men laboriously carried in the five rings. As soon as they entered the room, they placed them on the floor with a thud, making the floor tremble.

Shen Jingchuan handed over the Spirit Stones. As the two shop assistants left, they were still wondering to themselves—people here buy only dazzling treasures.

How could anyone pay such a high price for such a Big Black, rough, rusty piece of junk? Of course, they didn't understand these things and dared not comment. They pocketed their reward money, closed the door, and left.

With no one else in the room, Shen Jingchuan squatted down and reached out to touch the cold, rough ring.

"Put it away first, don't rush to upgrade it."

Xian'er's voice echoed in my mind, carrying a hint of solemnity:

"I feel like this guy who's leveling up is going to devour a lot of Spirit Stones. You'd better stock up on Spirit Stones first. Otherwise, if you act rashly and it sucks the Ring dry in one gulp, that would be a huge problem."

As she spoke, her voice still carried a hint of lingering fear. Shen Jingchuan had done something similar before, and when they ran out of Spirit Stones, the Ring almost became unusable due to the deficit, which terrified her.

"Okay, I understand."

Shen Jingchuan also remembered that incident, and his heart skipped a beat. He raised his hand and put the five rings into his Storage Ring, planning to make further plans after he had enough Spirit Stones.

Only then did Xiao Mingshu speak and ask:

"Why did you buy something like this?"

"Sister, you don't know."

Shen Jingchuan stood up and clapped his hands:

"This thing is ruined, but I think the raw materials are really good, unlike ordinary iron. I'll just treat it as a pile of junk, and maybe I can find a blacksmith to reforge it someday. You know the capabilities of the Shen Household."

Xiao Mingshu understood now; he was betting that the thing could be fixed. She nodded.

"This is something from High Antiquity ruins. If your Shen Household can really repair it, then you've truly struck gold."

Shen Jingchuan chuckled inwardly—his Shen Household was currently residing within his Ring. He didn't voice his thoughts aloud, only offering a smile:

"Hopefully, it can be fixed."

Huan'er, standing beside her, nodded earnestly, her tone resolute:

"Young master, I think you can definitely do it!"

Shen Jingchuan was amused by her and turned to ask her:

"Huan'er, what about you? Have you seen anything you like? I noticed you haven't said a word the whole time."

"No, no," Huan'er quickly shook her head. "I don't lack anything, young master, please don't spend money on me."

Shen Jingchuan didn't press the matter. He already had a plan in mind—he would go to an ordinary shop in the market, pick out a mid-grade magic Law Artifact, put it into his Ring to upgrade it, and then give it to Huan'er. It would be the same thing, but he could save a lot of Spirit Stones.

Shen Jingchuan was pondering what kind of magical Law Artifact to choose for Huan'er when he suddenly realized he didn't know her Spirit Root, so he casually asked:

"Oh, right, Huan'er, I still don't know what kind of Spirit Root you have."

Huan'er was unguarded with him, but upon hearing this, she lowered her head shyly, her voice barely audible:

"Young master, my Spirit Root is very poor... I have Five Spirit Roots."

"What's wrong with Five Spirit Roots?" Shen Jingchuan reached out and patted her shoulder, his tone serious, "Don't be discouraged, you have a chance to reach Foundation Establishment in the future."

Huan'er was amused by him and burst out laughing. She looked up and waved her hand.

"Alright, young master, stop trying to fool me. I'd be perfectly content if I could cultivate to the Middle Stage of Qi Refining, Foundation Establishment? I wouldn't even dare to dream of it."

"You—" Xiao Mingshu interjected with a laugh, glancing sideways at Shen Jingchuan:

"You're just good at making young girls happy. I've figured it out, you're definitely starting to have bad ideas about Huan'er."

"Miss!"

Huan'er gripped the hem of her clothes tightly with her little hands and lowered her head:

"Why do you always make fun of me?" she said, then shyly hid behind Xiao Mingshu.