Auction

Chapter 34: Auction

"It's too difficult to refine a puppet out of thin air; even a normal, human-sized puppet isn't easy."

"If I had a puppet to take apart and study at my leisure, it might be of great help."

After his ninth failure, Lu Qingfeng found Mu Yuanyi and asked him to purchase two low-grade puppets from within the Spirit Opportunity Institute.

Mu Yuanyi readily agreed.

However, the Spirit Opportunity Institute was currently operating at full capacity, under the command of the Hundred Crafts Sect, constantly suppressing beast tides in various locations. They also had to contend with experts from the Ghost Spirit Sect hidden in the shadows. All disciples were in a state of constant peril, and puppets were a crucial part of their strength, so they certainly wouldn't be parted with easily.

Mu Yuanyi couldn't guarantee if they could even be bought.

"This Ghost Spirit Sect!"

Upon hearing this, Lu Qingfeng's dislike for the Ghost Spirit Sect grew.

If it were a time of peace, with Mu Yuanyi's connections, requesting two low-grade puppets would have been incredibly easy.

Now, it had become a challenge.

Furthermore, even if they could be bought, the price would be several times higher than usual.

No wonder Lu Qingfeng was displeased with the Ghost Spirit Sect.

Helplessly, since puppet samples were temporarily unavailable, and he obviously couldn't dismantle the puppets in the Yuan Yi Guild for research, Lu Qingfeng had no choice but to continue trying to refine them himself.

There were many classifications of puppets.

To be more specific, there were those that required a person to inhabit them to be controlled, those that could be remotely controlled via a Thousand Mechanism Stone, and those that could act autonomously according to instructions.

Based on their function, there were combat puppets, auxiliary puppets, special puppets, and so on.

Based on their appearance, they could also be divided into humanoid puppets, beast-shaped puppets, and others.

Lu Qingfeng's initial research focused on humanoid puppets.

To refine a humanoid puppet, one first needed to construct a human-like frame using metal, special materials, or demon beast skeletons. According to the design, puppets could be large or small.

For instance, the Giant Puppet controlled by Mu Yuanyi was massive, making it convenient to engrave various arrays. The more arrays, the greater the power, naturally.

Lu Qingfeng had learned about it.

That Giant Puppet was a Sixth-Level Puppet. When Mu Yuanyi inhabited it, he could unleash the power of the Fourth Realm of Foundation Establishment—the Body Tempering Stage, making him an invincible existence among Foundation Establishment cultivators!

However, this Giant Puppet was supported by the skeleton of a Mountain-Pushing Beast, its exoskeleton was made of Mystic Iron, its internal joints were refined with Cloud Essence Stones, and its connecting parts were reinforced with the sinews of Fifth and Sixth Grade demon beasts, as well as Thousand-Year Rubber from ancient oak trees.

Of these materials, Lu Qingfeng could barely obtain the Mystic Iron.

Everything else, whether it was the Mountain-Pushing Beast skeleton, Cloud Essence Stones, demon beast sinews of Fifth and Sixth Grade, or Thousand-Year Rubber, was very difficult to collect in Miao Yin City.

Not to mention that, besides these materials, the Giant Puppet also required Mithril for its arrays and spirit water for tanning the sinews!

Therefore, giant puppets were directly ruled out.

For Lu Qingfeng, small puppets were the most feasible to refine in reality.

Three days passed in the blink of an eye.

Lu Qingfeng had gained some experience in tanning the sinews of ordinary wild beasts and First and Second Grade demon beasts. However, he still needed to practice diligently to refine arrays within the sinews.

At this time, a small auction, jointly organized by the major guilds in Sishui Town, began.

Lu Qingfeng, along with Mu Yuanyi, Zhang Zong, Wang Tao, and other high-ranking members of the Yuan Yi Guild, headed over.

Since he began his cultivation journey, this was Lu Qingfeng's first time attending an auction, not in reality, but in the game!

Xianxia World!

Before Lu Qingfeng transmigrated, he had learned about it through various online novels. What left the deepest impression were the bustling markets and the ubiquitous large and small black and white markets and auction houses in the World of Cultivation.

Lu Qingfeng felt a sense of anticipation.

"At this auction, besides various demon beast materials, there will also be many damaged puppets and magic artifacts. Old Lu, you've been obsessed with puppets lately, so you can take a look," Zhang Zong said, walking alongside Lu Qingfeng.

"Old Zhang is right."

"Although those puppets may not be worth repairing, buying them to study or to salvage parts for repairing other puppets would be making the best use of them."

Mu Yuanyi heard Zhang Zong's words and turned back to smile at Lu Qingfeng, "Old Lu, if you manage to acquire any, after you're done studying them, you can consider selling the parts to the guild at a low price."

The Spirit Opportunity Institute governed three hundred miles of mountains and nine major cities.

The various guilds served as the vanguard in dealing with beast tides.

Even puppets with strong defenses could be destroyed or suffer irreparable damage and become scrap if not careful during the endless beast tides.

Discarding scrap puppets would be a waste.

If they belonged to the guild, useful parts would be salvaged and reused. Some people also directly sold damaged puppets through various channels.

This small auction in Sishui Town would undoubtedly feature these damaged puppets.

Lu Qingfeng's anticipation grew as he listened.

Soon, Sishui Town arrived.

The auction house was located in the central square of Sishui Town. This place was no longer what it looked like when Lu Qingfeng first arrived.

"A ten-thousand-zhang tall building rises from the ground!"

"What a grand undertaking!"

Lu Qingfeng looked up at the tall building before him, unable to help but sigh.

The originally empty square had been built into a large pagoda-like structure over the years. The first floor below remained open, with various guilds stationed there.

The second and third floors were filled with individual seating areas.

When there was no auction, these seats served as small stalls, similar to the market in Black Sand Town. Once the major guilds decided to hold an auction, these seats would be temporarily requisitioned to serve as VIP seating.

Lu Qingfeng and the other high-ranking members of the Yuan Yi Guild entered on the third floor.

On the same floor as them were the seven established guilds of Sishui Town, the top eight guilds from Screen Mountain Town, and disciples from the Spirit Opportunity Institute.

The second floor housed the emerging guilds from the two towns in recent years, as well as renowned rogue cultivators from the vicinity.

The first floor was for rogue cultivators without any background.

Lu Qingfeng glanced at the first floor and saw that within a short time, hundreds of rogue cultivators had already arrived. He asked in surprise, "There are so many rogue cultivators near Sishui Town?"

He didn't often go out, so he was indeed unaware of these circumstances.

"Naturally, there are."

"Since the Spirit Opportunity Institute occupied Verdant Screen Mountain for three hundred li, and then Sishui and Screen Mountain towns gradually formed, the number of rogue cultivators gathered nearby has been on a steady rise. After the major guilds were established, the rise and fall of guilds led to the proliferation of cultivation methods, causing a surge in rogue cultivators, which formed the scale we see today," Mu Yuanyi explained from the side.

If one or two of these rogue cultivators were to succeed and establish a family, and by chance, their lineage was passed down, it could form the prototype of a cultivation family.

Besides this source, cultivation families also arose from disciples of the Spirit Opportunity Institute who married and started families, supporting their descendants in cultivation and the path to immortality. Over time, this could also form a family lineage bound by blood.

Currently, the Spirit Opportunity Institute had not been established for long, and cultivation families had not yet emerged.

However, within the Hundred Crafts Sect, there were quite a few such cultivation families that existed both inside and outside the sect.

Furthermore, in cities like Dusk Mountain City, there were established cultivation families. The strength of these cultivation families was often not great. Although they had many offspring, very few could truly embark on the path of cultivation and achieve the Foundation Establishment Great Cultivator stage.

"So that's how it is."

Listening to Mu Yuanyi, Wang Tao, and the others explain and elaborate, Lu Qingfeng understood this world more deeply and felt more integrated into it.