Trouble

The Foundation Establishment Pill was a Second-Rank Low-Grade pill that increased a cultivator at the Great Perfection of Qi Refining's chance of breaking through to Foundation Establishment by thirty percent.

Of course, the pill's true value lay in more than just increasing the chance of a successful breakthrough.

More importantly, when a cultivator took a Foundation Establishment Pill before attempting a breakthrough, success would naturally make everyone happy.

Even if the attempt failed, it would greatly reduce the risk of death and preserve all the cultivator's meridians, allowing them to recover and attempt Foundation Establishment again. In other words, it gave Qi Refining cultivators room for trial and error.

Attempting to reach Foundation Establishment was no easy task. Countless cultivators at the Ninth Layer of Qi Refinement had rashly attempted the breakthrough only to fall short at the final hurdle. In the best cases, all their meridians were severed and their cultivation was ruined; in the worst, they died on the spot. Such examples were everywhere.

It was precisely the lessons countless cultivators had learned in blood and tears that made the Foundation Establishment Pill so precious.

For small lineages incapable of refining Foundation Establishment Pills, in particular, whenever word got out that one would appear at an auction, numerous lineages would spring into action at the news.

Yet a Foundation Establishment Pill had appeared at this Golden Moon Pavilion auction without any prior word. That was strange.

"Brother Jin, why did a Foundation Establishment Pill suddenly appear at this auction? Why was there no word beforehand?"

Yang Tianyou was puzzled. It made no sense. The whole point of an auction was surely to sell the lots at high prices.

If word of the Foundation Establishment Pill had gotten out beforehand, many lineages would surely have prepared Spirit Stones in advance. The auction would have been livelier, and the pill could have fetched a higher price. Bringing it out so suddenly left people scratching their heads.

"Hehe, I happen to know a thing or two about what went on behind the scenes."

Jinge swirled the spirit wine in his cup and chuckled softly.

"Oh? I'd like to hear the details!"

"As far as I know, the final showpiece lot for this auction was originally a Rebirth Flower."

"A Rebirth Flower?"

Yang Tianyou frowned. After a moment's thought, his eyes lit up. "Could it be that supreme healing treasure said to reattach severed limbs and bring the dead back to life?"

"It can indeed reattach severed limbs. As for bringing the dead back to life, that's merely an exaggeration. It shouldn't be taken as truth!"

"Then why is a Foundation Establishment Pill on the auction stage instead?"

"It's because the great-grandson of the Three Rivers Sect's Golden Core True Person, Mo Chengkong, had an arm bitten off by a Demon Beast while out tempering himself. The situation was urgent, so at great expense, he reached a private deal with the Rebirth Flower's owner. As for the final lot, True Person Mo also paid out of his own pocket, providing a Foundation Establishment Pill to replace it."

"Since it happened three days ago, the Golden Moon Pavilion didn't publicize it. They only notified some Great Perfection of Qi Refining cultivators who remained in Yellowstone Market. Whether they can obtain the Foundation Establishment Pill depends on their own luck."

As Jinge related the story, Yang Tianyou came to understand what had happened.

"So that's how it is."

Yang Tianyou took a deep breath. Many thoughts scattered through his mind, but he slowly pressed them down.

He glanced at the Foundation Establishment Pill on the auction floor and shook his head slightly. The Yang Household had missed its chance this time.

Still, it wasn't a great loss. The Yang Household was strong, and it was only a Foundation Establishment Pill. There would always be a way to get one.

He turned back to watch the auction.

While the two had been talking, the Foundation Establishment Pill's price had soared from the starting bid of three thousand Spirit Stones to fifty-three hundred.

Yang Tianyou couldn't help clicking his tongue. It really was worthy of being a Foundation Establishment Pill. At this rate, wouldn't it exceed ten thousand?

Sure enough, after the last few Foundation Establishment cultivators joined the bidding, the Foundation Establishment Pill's price soared again, reaching the nine-thousand-Spirit-Stone mark.

"Nine thousand two hundred!"

"I bid nine thousand four hundred!"

"Nine thousand seven hundred!"

"Damn it, I don't have enough Spirit Stones! Daoist Friends Liang, could you lend me three thousand? How about I give you this Fire Cloud Sword as collateral?"

"Daoist Friends Deng, do you have any Spirit Stones left? Quick, lend me two thousand! I'll give you this bottle of Clear Wind Jade Dew Pills as collateral!"

A single Foundation Establishment Pill brought the auction's atmosphere to a peak. The many cultivators who needed it rushed to borrow Spirit Stones from Daoist Friends they knew.

"Nine thousand eight hundred Spirit Stones!"

"Ten thousand Spirit Stones!"

"Eleven thousand Spirit Stones! Whoever wants to bid higher, I'll see it through to the end!"

At that moment, a red-robed elder in VIP room seven called out angrily.

Beside him, a gentle young woman in a long blue dress hurriedly grabbed his arm and said urgently, "Grandpa, we don't have enough Spirit Stones! Why did you bid so much?"

"Not enough? Didn't we bring eighteen thousand Spirit Stones? How could that not be enough?"

The elder widened his eyes and blew at the whiskers at the corners of his mouth, speaking in disbelief.

At that, the gentle young woman stamped her foot in exasperation and said irritably, "Didn't those two jars of Tier 2 spirit wine and that bottle of Tier 2 Wound-Healing Pill you bought earlier cost Spirit Stones?"

"Oh, my head!"

The elder slapped his forehead. Only then did he remember that he had already spent quite a few Spirit Stones.

"Grandpa, what do we do now? We don't have enough Spirit Stones."

The young woman shook the red-robed elder's arm, her voice anxious.

"Don't worry. Someone here might keep bidding. After all, a Foundation Establishment Pill can normally sell for thirteen thousand Spirit Stones."

The red-robed elder sounded certain, but as time passed and no one spoke up to compete with him, his grip on his beard grew tighter and tighter.

After the auctioneer, Du Wensheng, confirmed the bid three times, the Foundation Establishment Pill was sold to him. The red-robed elder promptly pulled more than a dozen hairs from his own beard.

"Please wait a moment, Daoist Friends. An attendant will bring the Foundation Establishment Pill to your VIP room shortly."

Smiling, Du Wensheng handed the jade bottle containing the Foundation Establishment Pill to the attendant beside him.

"Oh no, Grandpa, the attendant's coming! What do we do?"

"Don't worry. At worst, I'll sell a few Law Artifacts. How could such a small matter stump your grandpa?"

The red-robed elder sounded calm, but inside, he was trembling at the thought of the loss.

"My Azure Cloud Lock, my Glazed Armor..."

Hearing her grandfather's words, the young woman breathed a sigh of relief. As long as they had the Spirit Stones, all was well. Otherwise, buying something at auction without the Spirit Stones to pay for it would be utterly humiliating!

Several rooms away, Yang Tianyou naturally had no idea that the Foundation Establishment cultivator whose voice had just brimmed with domineering force had been reduced to selling his own Law Artifacts to buy the Foundation Establishment Pill.

At that moment, Yang Tianyou was holding a communication talisman to his brow, absorbing the information it contained.

A moment later, his eyes sharp and his presence commanding, Yang Tianyou hurriedly took his leave of Jinge and was the first to leave the Golden Moon Pavilion.

Traveling swiftly, Yang Tianyou soon returned to the Purple Moon Pavilion and went to his thirteenth brother's room. In the sitting room, Yang Tianyun and Yang Tianjiu were listening to a Middle Qi Refinement cultivator's report, their faces grave.

Yang Tianyou recognized the cultivator. His name was Li Yunhao, one of the procurement department's deputy managers. He was at the Qi Refinement Sixth Layer, shrewd and capable. Three generations of his ancestors had been Affiliated Cultivators of the Yang Household, and he was highly reliable and loyal.