The Auction Ends

Before they knew it.

The auction had begun.

A circular platform rose in the center of the first floor. An old man in black-and-white Daoist robes walked slowly onto it, looked around, and spoke in a resonant voice:

"Welcome, fellow Daoists, to this grand auction."

"I, Mo Tiannan, have been invited by the Thirty-Six Guilds to preside over this auction, a rare occasion in the Emerald Screen Mountain region. It is a great honor."

Mo Tiannan!

He was a renowned rogue cultivator throughout the nine surrounding cities and had long since become a Foundation Establishment Grand Cultivator. With his reputation, there was a strong chance this auction would launch the Sishui Town auction's name with a single resounding success.

If the auction received a good response, they might be able to keep holding it. That was what the Thirty-Six Guilds of Sishui Town and Pingshan Town hoped for.

After all, there was plenty of profit to be skimmed from an auction.

"Everyone is here today for the auction lots, so I won't take up too much of your time. Since this is our first auction, however, I must explain the rules beforehand."

"The auction house will set a starting price for each lot. Everyone may bid freely, and the highest bidder wins. Bids will be made in spirit stones. If you haven't brought enough spirit stones, you may also put up other items of equivalent value. Their precise value will be jointly assessed by the master appraisers of the Thirty-Six Guilds!"

"As this auction was organized in a hurry, anyone with treasures they haven't yet had time to submit may take them over there for appraisal by our resident master appraisers. If they qualify, they will be added to this auction."

"And for those fellow Daoists who have come solely to bid, this auction will grow ever more mysterious as it progresses. No one knows whether even more precious treasures will arrive while the bidding is underway!"

Mo Tiannan's clear, ringing voice reached every cultivator in the auction hall, successfully stirring the atmosphere.

Then his voice rose—

"Without further ado, let us bring out the first lot!"

As soon as he finished speaking, someone brought up the first auction lot.

It was a palm-sized model boat, dark green all over.

Mo Tiannan took the little boat and declared, "This treasure is called the Divine Wind Boat. The widely renowned Han the Rogue forged this flying dharma artifact from the fins and tail of an Ink Flood Dragon he slew."

"I need hardly elaborate on Han the Rogue's reputation. This Divine Wind Boat is second-rank and contains fifteen earthly fiend restrictions. The starting price is two hundred and twenty spirit stones!"

A second-rank dharma artifact as the very first lot—it was an opening salvo that seized everyone's attention!

Many Foundation Establishment Grand Cultivators did not even own a first-rank dharma artifact, let alone a second-rank one. They were still using top-tier talisman artifacts.

The price of dharma artifacts made this clear as well. The Divine Wind Boat's starting price alone was two hundred and twenty spirit stones, enough to build over forty alchemy rooms of the same standard as the Black Sand Alchemy Room!

One could well imagine how precious dharma artifacts were!

Many Foundation Establishment Grand Cultivators with no way to make money might not even possess a few dozen spirit stones in total. All they could do was gaze at the ocean and sigh at its vastness.

"Han the Rogue!"

"He's one of the few Second-Order Artifact Refiners in the Emerald Screen Mountain region. I hear artifact refining is his sole passion. He walks the line between righteousness and evil, so people call him 'Han Old Devil.' He's also especially skilled at fleeing, which earned him the teasing nickname 'Han Run-Run.' A flying dharma artifact he forged is bound to spark a mad scramble!"

As a top-tier artifact-refining apprentice, Zhang Zong paid close attention to news about the trade.

He had clearly heard of Han the Rogue as well.

Lu Qingfeng was absorbed in cultivation and knew little of the wider world. He felt he had made the right choice in coming. Even if he failed to buy any suitable treasures, hearing these strange stories alone would make the trip worthwhile.

Sure enough, things unfolded just as Zhang Zong had predicted.

Once bidding opened on the Divine Wind Boat, its price rapidly soared from the starting bid of two hundred and twenty spirit stones to three hundred before gradually slowing.

Generally speaking, second-rank dharma artifacts cost between two hundred and four hundred spirit stones.

With fifteen restrictions, the Divine Wind Boat was middling among second-rank dharma artifacts, making three hundred spirit stones roughly its proper price. Since Han the Rogue had forged it, the price could climb a little higher. Beyond that, however, buyers would have to consider whether it was worth the cost.

"Now these are the truly wealthy!"

Watching them bid without so much as blinking, Lu Qingfeng could not help remarking.

Before coming, Zhang Zong and the others had teased him about sweeping all before him at the auction. Now that he had seen these truly extravagant spenders, Lu Qingfeng realized his modest wealth was nowhere near enough to take the stage.

Over the years, he had earned extremely high profits refining low-grade pills such as Yellow Dragon Pills, with net profits reaching three times his costs.

Even after the guild took twenty percent, he still made a 240% profit. Once he mastered refining intermediate- and high-grade medicines such as Golden Marrow Pills, Qi-Circulating Powder, and Qi-Harmonizing Pills, his profits rose further.

By refining pills for four hours each day, Lu Qingfeng could earn more than two portions of spirit stone fragments.

He also received a cut of the earnings of the few apprentices he had trained.

As these accumulated day after day, his wealth had reached as much as twenty-eight spirit stones, even after deducting his cultivation expenses, the cost of mastering new pill formulas, and his expenditure on artifact refining!

Yet compared with people who casually spent two or three hundred spirit stones, Lu Qingfeng practically belonged among the utterly destitute.

Hearing Lu Qingfeng's mutter, Wang Tao turned toward him and smiled. "These are all purchases funded by guilds to strengthen themselves. Individual cultivators, even Foundation Establishment Grand Cultivators, can rarely afford an artifact like this."

That explanation made Lu Qingfeng feel much better.

Individuals and guilds were indeed incomparable.

The Yuanyi Guild ranked in the middle among the many guilds of the Bingling World, yet it operated numerous businesses and earned a considerable income. Lu Qingfeng's modest wealth could not compare.

Bidding for the Divine Wind Boat was fierce, but it soon drew to a close.

In the end, the Celestial River Guild on the third floor pocketed the Divine Wind Boat for three hundred and twenty-seven spirit stones.

The first lot had already brought the auction to a climax. Although the subsequent lots were not as precious as the Divine Wind Boat, they were still quite rare.

There were all manner of precious dharma artifacts, talisman artifacts, demonic beast materials, rare talismans, rare pills, and even incomplete cultivation methods and spells.

Clearly, the Thirty-Six Guilds had put considerable thought into this auction and gathered quite a few treasures.

Lu Qingfeng had no interest in the dharma artifacts and talisman artifacts, nor could he afford them.

The demonic beast materials were of no use to him.

The incomplete cultivation methods did perk him up somewhat. But when he saw that the method offered was only refined grade and could only take him as far as the true qi realm, he lost interest.

He currently practiced the orthodox-grade cultivation method Azure Origin Sword Art, which had been extrapolated from an exquisite-grade cultivation method. Only an unorthodox-grade cultivation method or better could tempt him.

As things stood, however, the chances of an unorthodox-grade cultivation method appearing at an auction of this scale were vanishingly small.

More than halfway through the auction, the puppet Lu Qingfeng had been waiting for finally appeared.

A humanoid puppet so badly damaged that its internal structure was visible was carried up before Mo Tiannan. It stood roughly thirty feet tall, with a hole piercing its chest from front to back.

In short, it was utterly wrecked.

Mo Tiannan spoke with fervor, completely ignoring the puppet's ruined condition as he introduced it. "This is a combat puppet from the Liuren Guild. During the beast tide a few days ago, a demonic beast caught it by surprise and damaged it. However, this puppet remains thirty percent intact. Any fellow Daoist who wins it need only find an artifact refiner to make a few repairs, and you'll have yourself a third-level puppet!"

"Bidding begins now, at five spirit stones!"

A third-level puppet had combat strength equivalent to the first stage of Foundation Establishment—the qi guiding realm. An intact third-level puppet was worth more than a first-rank dharma artifact and could even approach the price of a second-rank dharma artifact, costing around one hundred and eighty spirit stones.

But the third-level puppet before them was certainly no more than thirty percent intact. Most of its valuable parts had surely been stripped out already. At best, all that remained was an incomplete frame, an incomplete exoskeleton, and incomplete talisman formations and assorted connections.

To brazenly demand a starting price of five spirit stones for a third-level puppet that was practically scrap was sheer madness. For a moment, all three floors of the auction hall fell silent as crows and sparrows.

"Has the Liuren Guild gone money-mad?"

Zhang Zong glanced at a spot on the second floor, then turned to Lu Qingfeng. "Old Lu, that price is inflated. Don't bid. Once it fails to sell, I'm confident I can get it from the Liuren Guild for you for two spirit stones."

The Liuren Guild was openly trying to fleece greenhorns who did not know the market. Zhang Zong knew all the tricks of the trade, and, worried that Lu Qingfeng might act impulsively, he could not help warning him.

"Then thank you in advance, Brother Zhang!"

Lu Qingfeng had little need for large puppets to begin with. He truly had not intended to bid on this thirty-foot-tall puppet, so badly damaged and so expensive.

But since Zhang Zong said he could get it for two spirit stones, that was within Lu Qingfeng's acceptable range.

Several more puppets appeared during the latter half of the auction, all severely damaged.

Their prices, however, were not as extortionate as the Liuren Guild's.

Lu Qingfeng bought one standing over twenty feet tall and only twenty percent intact for just one spirit stone.

To his delight, as the auction neared its end, two consecutive lots turned out to be exactly what he wanted most.

One was the miniature humanoid puppet Lu Qingfeng had been longing for. It was seventy percent intact and could even be controlled remotely. After refining its core Thousand Mechanisms Stone, he would be able to control its movements from within fifty feet.

Unfortunately, this puppet was too weak, being only second-level. Even intact, its combat strength would only match the true qi realm, making it as unappealing as chicken ribs to many of those present.

Lu Qingfeng easily secured it for thirty portions of spirit stone fragments.

The other lot seemed to have been submitted alongside the humanoid puppet. It was said to contain the lifetime insights and experiences in artifact refining of an advanced artifact-refining apprentice named Huang Tiangu.

Huang Tiangu had no interest in refining conventional dharma artifacts and devoted himself entirely to puppet refining.

His research philosophy was somewhat similar to Lu Qingfeng's: both wanted to develop puppets that could be controlled remotely or even fight autonomously.

Yet after nearly a century of research, he had achieved neither lofty success nor practical results.

The puppets he refined could only be operated remotely from within fifty feet. Their strength never exceeded second-level, making them of limited use even to true qi realm cultivators. There was little market for them.

Rumor had it that the man had disappeared without a trace over a decade ago. No one had expected Huang's Puppet Notes, which he had compiled, to appear at this auction.

No one had cared about the humanoid puppet, but quite a few people were interested in Huang's Puppet Notes.

Huang Tiangu had researched puppets for nearly a century and had worked out a few results. If someone continued along his line of thought, they might truly develop puppets that could be operated from a distance or even carry out instructions on their own.

Thus, bidding for Huang's Puppet Notes began at fifty portions of spirit stone fragments and soared all the way to eight spirit stones!

In the end, Lu Qingfeng still secured it.

Eight spirit stones!

For the artifact-refining insights of an advanced apprentice, calling that price inflated was an understatement!

The price had only been driven up because quite a few artifact-refining apprentices, and even artifact refiners, felt they might gain some inspiration for puppet refining from the notes.

But they had very little confidence that Huang's Puppet Notes would give them inspiration or a breakthrough. They merely wanted to spend some money on a possibility.

Seven or eight spirit stones was already an astronomical price.

Unlike them, Lu Qingfeng raised his bid with absolute conviction. With his method of extrapolation, he had far more confidence than any of them!

After buying the small puppet and Huang's Puppet Notes, Lu Qingfeng also purchased a formula for a medicine called the Spirit-Nourishing Pill. It was said to be a spiritual medicine ancient cultivators had used specifically to feed and raise spirit beasts, helping them advance in rank.

Unfortunately, the formula had suffered damage and omissions as it was passed down, and some of its ingredients had gone extinct over time. It was impossible to refine Spirit-Nourishing Pills from the formula as it stood.

Lu Qingfeng bought it, intending to try using the Evolving Method feature to restore the Spirit-Nourishing Pill formula when he returned.

After all, it only cost a little over twenty portions of spirit stone fragments.

Not long after he won the Spirit-Nourishing Pill formula, the auction drew to a close.

With the final lot won by a rogue cultivator, the first auction jointly held by the Thirty-Six Guilds under the name of the Mystic Mechanisms Auction House came to a successful conclusion.

With more than two hundred lots in total, it was a grand auction rarely seen in recent times.

Judging by this momentum, the Mystic Mechanisms Auction had received a good response and would probably become a permanent fixture.

But those were matters for guild leaders such as Mu Yuanyi to worry about. Lu Qingfeng did not concern himself with them.

Having secured the lots he wanted, he did not linger in Sishui Town. Together with Zhang Zong, Yue Ran, and other friends who likewise disliked crowds, he returned to Mount Yuanyi.

A hefty chapter of 3,700 characters!

An auction wrapped up in one chapter—mine is probably the shortest auction in history.

Please send recommendation votes!