"No, no. I was too eager to make a name for myself when I first took on the job of refining the Condensing Golden Fruit. I rushed things, so you can't blame Fellow Daoist Lu," Wang Defeng said, hurriedly shaking his head.
After talking with Wang Defeng for a while, Lu Xiaotian learned that the past two years had not been easy for him. He had failed to establish a foothold with high-end pills like the Golden Core Pill, and one of the alchemists he had recruited had left. The alchemist he had trained himself was nowhere near ready to stand on his own; he was still just an apprentice. If Wang Defeng hadn't built up a few connections earlier, his business would likely have shut down by now. As a result, his standing within the Lineage had fallen considerably over the past two years.
"What's going on with this auction?" Lu Xiaotian asked.
"The Lineage got word that cultivators from the Skyvault Realm and the Southern Wastes have reportedly begun gathering at the border. A great war, the likes of which the cultivation world hasn't seen in a thousand years, is about to break out. Weapon shops, pill shops, and herb shops are all stockpiling supplies for the fighting. Plenty of cultivators are also looking to buy offensive or defensive magical artifacts, or sell spiritual items to get Spirit Stones. Everyone has their own needs. Moonwatch City hasn't held an auction of this scale in years. Nothing specific has gotten out yet, but anyone with eyes can tell there'll be plenty of good stuff. Of the pills you left with me, Fellow Daoist Lu, I still have an Essence-Nourishing Pill and a Foundation Establishment Pill. This time, I'm hoping to make a name for myself again." Wang Defeng chuckled,