End of the Auction

Chapter 35: Auction Ends

Unknowingly.

The auction had begun.

In the center of the first floor, a circular platform rose. An old man in a black and white Daoist robe walked slowly onto the platform. He looked around and said in a booming voice:

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

"I am Mo Tiannan. Invited by the Thirty-Six Guilds, I have the honor of presiding over this rare auction in the Verdant Screen Mountain region."

Mo Tiannan!

He was a renowned Rogue Cultivator in the surrounding nine cities, already a Great Cultivator at the Foundation Establishment Stage. With his reputation, hosting this auction had a high chance of making the Sishui Town auction a resounding success.

If the auction was well-received, perhaps it could continue to be held. This was also the aspiration of the Thirty-Six Guilds of Sishui Town and Screen Mountain Town.

After all, auctions were quite profitable.

"Today, everyone is here for the items. I won't take up too much of your time. Since this is the first time the auction is being held, I must explain the rules in advance."

"For the auction items, the auction house will set a starting price. Everyone can bid freely, and the highest bidder wins. This auction will use Spirit Stones as the bidding unit. Those who do not have enough Spirit Stones on hand can also use other items of equivalent value as collateral. The specific value will be assessed by the Treasure Appraisal Masters of the Thirty-Six Guilds!"

"As this auction was organized in haste, if you have any treasures that you haven't had time to submit for auction, you can go over there. The Treasure Appraisal Masters stationed at the auction house will assess them for you. If they qualify for bidding, they will be added to this auction."

"And for those fellow Daoists who are purely here to bid, the auction will become more mysterious as it progresses, because no one knows if more precious treasures will be received during the auction!"

Mo Tiannan's voice was clear and resonant, reaching every cultivator in the auction hall, successfully stirring up the atmosphere.

Then, his voice rose—

"Enough talk. Next, let us invite the first auction item!"

As his words fell, someone brought out the first item.

It was a palm-sized, dark green model of a small boat.

Mo Tiannan took the boat and announced loudly, "This treasure is called the 'Divine Wind Boat.' It was refined by the well-known Han Sanren, who slew an Ink Flood Dragon and used its fins and tail to create this flying Magic Artifact."

"I don't need to say more about Han Sanren's reputation. This Divine Wind Boat is a Second Grade artifact, possessing fifteen Earth Fiend Restrictions. The starting bid is two hundred and twenty Spirit Stones!"

The first auction item was a Second Grade Magic Artifact, a strong opening move!

Many Great Cultivators at the Foundation Establishment Stage didn't even have a Second Grade Magic Artifact, let alone a First Grade one. They were still using top-tier Talisman Artifacts.

From the price of the Magic Artifact, one could see that the starting bid for the Divine Wind Boat was two hundred and twenty Spirit Stones. This price was enough to build more than forty Black Sand Pill Refining Room-sized alchemy rooms!

The preciousness of Magic Artifacts was evident!

Many Foundation Establishment Great Cultivators who had no means of making money might not even have tens of Spirit Stones in their entire fortune, so they could only sigh in regret.

"Han Sanren!"

"He is one of the few Second Grade Artifact Refiners in the Verdant Screen Mountain region. It is said that he has always been devoted to artifact refining, and his personality is neither wholly good nor evil, earning him the moniker 'Han Old Devil.' He is also skilled in evasion techniques, hence the nickname 'Han Run Run.' His flying Magic Artifacts are likely to cause a frenzy!"

As a top-tier Apprentice Artifact Refiner, Zhang Zong paid close attention to information in the artifact refining industry.

He had clearly heard of Han Sanren's name.

Lu Qingfeng, immersed in his cultivation, had little experience but felt that coming here was the right decision. Even if he couldn't acquire any suitable treasures, just hearing these strange tales made the trip worthwhile.

As Zhang Zong had predicted.

After the Divine Wind Boat was revealed, the price quickly soared from the starting bid of two hundred and twenty Spirit Stones to three hundred Spirit Stones before gradually slowing down.

Generally speaking, the price of a Second Grade Magic Artifact ranged between two hundred and four hundred Spirit Stones.

This Divine Wind Boat, with its fifteen Restrictions, was considered mid-tier among Second Grade Magic Artifacts. Three hundred Spirit Stones was roughly its market value. Since it was refined by Han Sanren, the price should have been even higher. However, going any higher would require considering its cost-effectiveness.

"These are the truly wealthy people!"

Lu Qingfeng exclaimed, watching these people bid without batting an eye.

Before coming, Zhang Zong and the others had teased him, saying he would dominate the auction. Now, seeing these true tycoons, Lu Qingfeng realized his own fortune was insignificant.

The profit from refining Low Grade Pills like the Yellow Dragon Pill in recent years had been extremely high, reaching a triple net profit.

Even after the Guild took a 20% cut, there was still a 240% profit. After mastering the refinement of intermediate and advanced pills like the Gold Marrow Pill, Qi Circulation Powder, and Harmony Qi Pill, the profit increased further.

By refining pills for two hours daily, Lu Qingfeng could earn over two Spirit Stone Shards.

There was also the commission from the apprentices and disciples he had trained.

Over time, after deducting the costs of cultivation, learning new Pill Formulas, and expenses for artifact refining, his fortune had reached twenty-eight Spirit Stones!

However, compared to the casual spending of two to three hundred Spirit Stones, Lu Qingfeng could be considered impoverished.

Wang Tao, hearing Lu Qingfeng's mutterings, turned and smiled, "These are pooled funds from the Guilds, aimed at enhancing their strength. For individual cultivators, even Great Cultivators at the Foundation Establishment Stage, it's rare for anyone to afford such a Magic Artifact."

Hearing this, Lu Qingfeng felt much better.

Individuals and Guilds were indeed incomparable.

The Yuan Yi Guild was considered mid-tier among the many Guilds in the Bingling Realm. It operated multiple businesses and had considerable income. Lu Qingfeng's fortune was far from comparable.

The bidding for the Divine Wind Boat was intense but soon drew to a close.

Ultimately, the Heaven River Guild on the third floor acquired the Divine Wind Boat for three hundred and twenty-seven Spirit Stones.

The first item up for auction sent the event into a frenzy. While subsequent items weren't as precious as the Divine Wind Boat, they were still quite rare.

Various valuable Magic Artifacts, Talisman Artifacts, Demon Beast materials, rare Talismans, rare Pills, and even incomplete Cultivation Methods and Spells were presented.

It was clear that the Thirty-Six Guilds had put considerable effort into this auction, gathering many treasures.

Lu Qingfeng wasn't interested in or couldn't afford the Magic Artifacts and Talisman Artifacts.

The Demon Beast materials were useless to him.

However, the incomplete Cultivation Methods piqued his interest. But upon seeing that the incomplete Cultivation Method itself was only Exquisite Level and could only be cultivated to the True Qi Stage, Lu Qingfeng lost interest.

He was currently cultivating the Orthodox Level Cultivation Method, the Azure Origin Sword Scripture, which was derived from an Exquisite Level Cultivation Method. He would only be tempted by a Side Gate Level Cultivation Method at the very least.

However, based on the current situation, the possibility of a Side Gate Level Cultivation Method appearing at a high-spec auction like this was extremely slim.

When the auction was halfway through, the Puppet Lu Qingfeng had been waiting for finally arrived.

Before Mo Tiannan, a humanoid Puppet so damaged that its internal structure was visible was brought up. This humanoid Puppet was about three zhang tall, with a hole running from its chest through its back.

In short, it was extremely damaged.

Mo Tiannan spoke with great passion, completely ignoring the Puppet's damaged state, and introduced, "This is a combat Puppet from the Six Ren Guild. It was unfortunately ambushed by a Demon Beast during the Beast Tide a few days ago, resulting in its damage. However, this Puppet still retains thirty percent of its integrity. If any Daoist friend were to purchase it and find an Artifact Refiner to make minor repairs, they would gain a Third Level Puppet for free!"

"Bidding starts now, with a reserve price of five Spirit Stones!"

A Third Level Puppet has a combat power equivalent to the first stage of Foundation Establishment—the Qi Guiding Stage. A complete Third Level Puppet would be valued above a First Grade Magic Artifact, even rivaling a Second Grade Magic Artifact, costing around one hundred and eighty Spirit Stones.

But the Third Level Puppet before them had an integrity not exceeding thirty percent. Most of its valuable parts were certainly dismantled, leaving at most an incomplete skeleton, an incomplete outer shell, and incomplete Talisman Arrays and various connections.

This nearly scrap Third Level Puppet was outrageously priced at five Spirit Stones as the reserve price. The auction hall, from the first to the third floor, fell silent for a moment.

"Has the Six Ren Guild gone mad for money?"

Zhang Zong glanced at a spot on the second floor and said to Lu Qingfeng, "Old Lu, this price is inflated. Don't bid. After it fails to sell, I'm confident I can get it from the Six Ren Guild for two Spirit Stones."

The Six Ren Guild was clearly trying to swindle unsuspecting newcomers who didn't understand the market. Zhang Zong was well aware of the tricks of the trade and, worried that Lu Qingfeng might act impulsively, couldn't help but remind him.

"Then thank you, Big Brother Zhang!"

Lu Qingfeng didn't really need a large Puppet anyway. He had no intention of bidding on this three-zhang-tall, severely damaged, and exorbitantly priced Puppet.

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

In the latter half of the auction, several other Puppets appeared, all of them quite severely damaged.

Their prices were not as exorbitant as the Six Ren Guild's.

Lu Qingfeng successfully bid on one Puppet, standing just over two zhang tall with only twenty percent integrity, for just one Spirit Stone.

To his delight, as the auction approached its end, two consecutive items were exactly what he desired most.

One was a miniature humanoid Puppet that Lu Qingfeng had been longing for. It had seventy percent integrity and was a remotely controllable Puppet. After refining its core, the Thousand Mechanism Stone, he could control this humanoid Puppet to move within a five-zhang radius.

However, this Puppet's strength was too low, only Second Level. Even in its complete state, its combat power was only equivalent to the True Qi Stage, making it a 'chicken rib' for many people present.

Lu Qingfeng easily acquired it for thirty Spirit Stone Shards.

The other item, seemingly sent for auction at the same time as the humanoid Puppet, was said to be the lifetime insights of a high-level Artifact Refining Apprentice named 'Huang Tiangu' in the art of artifact refining.

Huang Tiangu was not interested in refining conventional Magic Artifacts; he was solely dedicated to refining Puppets.

His research philosophy was somewhat similar to Lu Qingfeng's, as both aimed to develop Puppets that could be remotely controlled or even fight autonomously.

After nearly a hundred years of research, he achieved neither great success nor complete failure.

The Puppets he refined could only be remotely operated within a five-zhang radius. Furthermore, the Puppets' strength did not exceed Second Level, making them somewhat useless even to True Qi Stage cultivators, and the market was small.

It was rumored that this person had disappeared for over a decade. Unexpectedly, his Huang's Puppet Manual appeared at this auction.

While the humanoid Puppet attracted little attention, many people were interested in the Huang's Puppet Manual.

Huang Tiangu had researched Puppets for nearly a hundred years and had even achieved some results. If one could continue following his ideas, perhaps they could truly develop Puppets that could be controlled remotely or even act on commands autonomously.

Therefore, the Huang's Puppet Manual started at a reserve price of fifty Spirit Stone Shards and quickly escalated to eight Spirit Stones!

Ultimately, it was acquired by Lu Qingfeng.

Eight Spirit Stones!

Buying the refining insights of a high-level Artifact Refining Apprentice at this price was more than just inflated!

It was only because many Artifact Refining Apprentices and even Artifact Refiners felt they could gain some inspiration for Puppet refining from this manual that they drove up the price.

However, their confidence in gaining inspiration and breakthroughs from the Huang's Puppet Manual was severely lacking; they were merely willing to spend money to buy a possibility.

Reaching seven or eight Spirit Stones was already a sky-high price.

Unlike Lu Qingfeng, who bid with certainty. With the 'Derive' technique, Lu Qingfeng had far more confidence than these people!

After purchasing the miniature Puppet and the Huang's Puppet Manual, Lu Qingfeng also acquired a Pill Formula for a 'Spirit Feeding Pill'. It was said to be a Spirit Medicine used by ancient cultivators specifically for raising and nurturing Spirit Beasts, capable of promoting their advancement.

Unfortunately, during its transmission, the Pill Formula became damaged and incomplete, and some of the medicinal herbs became extinct over time. It was impossible to refine the Spirit Feeding Pill with just the formula.

Lu Qingfeng acquired it, planning to try using his Derive Arts Trait to complete the Spirit Feeding Pill.

It only cost a little over twenty Spirit Stone Shards anyway.

Shortly after bidding on the 'Spirit Feeding Pill' Pill Formula, the auction entered its final stage.

With the final item auctioned off to a Rogue Cultivator, the first auction hosted by the Thirty-Six Guilds, named the 'Profound Mysteries Auction House,' came to a successful conclusion.

The auction featured over two hundred items in total, making it a rare grand event in recent times.

Judging by the momentum, the Profound Mysteries Auction was well-received and would likely become a permanent fixture.

However, these were matters for Guild bigwigs like Mu Yuanyi to worry about. Lu Qingfeng didn't concern himself with such things.

Having acquired his desired item, he didn't linger in Sishui Town. He returned to Yuan Yi Mountain with his friends Zhang Zong, Yue Ran, and others who also disliked crowds.

A 3700-character chapter!

One chapter to conclude the auction. This is probably the shortest auction in history.

Requesting recommendation tickets!