Void Merging Pill

The VIP private rooms on the second floor of Lingxiao Workshop numbered at least forty or fifty, but perhaps because this was a small auction, only a little over twenty of them appeared occupied. Most of those people kept a low profile and sat farther back, unlike Li Honglin, who had deliberately shown his face as though he wanted Wei Suo to see him.

Before long, once nearly two hundred cultivators had gathered in the hall, Shopkeeper Tian of Golden Jade Pavilion, dressed in a purple robe, slowly stepped onto the platform. After loudly greeting everyone, he dispensed with unnecessary formalities and officially began the auction.

"This is Silver Gang Essence, superior refined metal for artifact forging. The starting bid is five hundred Low-grade Spirit Stones."

A richly dressed youth carried a jade box to Shopkeeper Tian's side and opened it. The first item of the auction was a fist-sized chunk of silver refined metal, glittering inside the jade box and giving off a cold, heavy aura.

"Damn, so this is Silver Gang Essence?!" Wei Suo's attention was instantly completely drawn to it.

Silver Gang Essence was an exceptionally tough refined metal. As long as even a small amount was mixed into ordinary refined metal, the toughness of the entire piece would rise dramatically. It was also a material that ordinary cultivators would go to great lengths to find when forging flying swords. If even a little Silver Gang Essence was added to a flying sword made from common refined metal, the quality of the entire sword would greatly improve, becoming several times tougher and sharper.

For cultivators on Tianxuan Continent, flying swords were currently a relatively simple kind of magic treasure to forge. Wei Suo had also seen powerful cultivators wield flying swords, and their might had been truly astonishing. However, even the most ordinary flying sword required a cultivator at the Circulation Realm Second Level or above to wield it. Otherwise, the True Essence of a cultivator below the Circulation Realm Second Level could only control the flying sword to stab and slash within a very short distance around their body, making it of little use. With Wei Suo's current cultivation, he simply could not wield a flying sword, but thinking of their power and looking at this piece of Silver Gang Essence that could substantially enhance an ordinary flying sword, he still coveted it greatly.

There were quite a few powerful cultivators above the Circulation Realm at this auction, so it was impossible for it not to sell.

"Five hundred Low-grade Spirit Stones. I'll take it!" Sure enough, as soon as Shopkeeper Tian finished his brief introduction and announced the price, a gaunt middle-aged cultivator in red robes with a somewhat sinister face immediately raised his hand and spoke coldly.

At once, many people's gazes gathered on the gaunt red-robed cultivator.

"Six hundred Low-grade Spirit Stones!"

Suddenly, a slightly hoarse voice from a VIP private room almost directly opposite Wei Suo calmly named a price.

"Six hundred and fifty Low-grade Spirit Stones!" The sinister-faced, gaunt red-robed cultivator snapped his head around, his gaze exceptionally sharp as he stared toward that VIP private room.

Yet the slightly hoarse voice from the VIP room seemed utterly unmoved and said evenly, "Seven hundred Low-grade Spirit Stones."

"Eight hundred Low-grade Spirit Stones!" A savage grin appeared on the gaunt red-robed cultivator's face, while threads of killing intent surged into his eyes.

"One thousand!" The person in that VIP private room still spoke calmly.

One thousand!

The entire hall erupted in an uproar. Although Silver Gang Essence was not especially rare, a thousand Low-grade Spirit Stones was nothing to someone who urgently needed it. Yet raising the bid by two hundred Low-grade Spirit Stones in one breath, that unremarkable voice from the VIP room made it clear that no matter how many Spirit Stones the opponent added, they were determined to obtain this piece of Silver Gang Essence.

After freezing for a moment, the fierce light in the gaunt red-robed cultivator's eyes instead faded considerably. He did not bid again. After all, he understood very well that someone who could casually name one thousand Low-grade Spirit Stones without caring might not be someone he could afford to provoke.

Since no one else raised the price, the richly dressed youth standing beside Shopkeeper Tian, holding the piece of Silver Gang Essence, walked off the stage and delivered it directly into that VIP private room, while Wei Suo clutched his Spirit Stone pouch and watched with covetous eyes.

The very first auction item had already sparked a fierce contest, thoroughly stirring up the atmosphere of the entire auction hall.

"This is the inner core of a mid-tier level-four Stone-Eating Beast. The starting bid is three hundred Low-grade Spirit Stones."

"Damn, it's all good stuff!"

The second auction item was an earthy-yellow demon core that gave off a heavy smell of soil. An ordinary mid-tier level-four demon core was worth around two hundred Low-grade Spirit Stones, but the inner core of a Stone-Eating Beast contained a unique earth-element aura that was highly beneficial to some cultivators who practiced Earth Element Spells. Furthermore, Stone-Eating Beasts were naturally skilled at earth escape and would burrow straight underground the moment things looked bad, making them difficult to capture. The instant Shopkeeper Tian called out a price of three hundred Low-grade Spirit Stones, Wei Suo knew the price was definitely still too low.

Sure enough, only moments later, the Stone-Eating Beast's inner core was purchased for five hundred Low-grade Spirit Stones by a cultivator with a somewhat sallow complexion, who looked as though he cultivated some kind of Earth Element Spells.

"Next is a Sky Frost Armor..."

The next treasure was a suit of armor forged from the shell of a level-four Ice Centipede. This armor possessed formidable defensive power and could also unleash icy cold energy. However, it was quite heavy and seemed better suited to cultivators like Ye Xiaozheng, who followed a fierce, close-combat path. Although Wei Suo was somewhat tempted, he was not especially interested.

As the auction continued, the next five or six items were all special materials for forging magic treasures and magical artifacts. There was Fire Dragon Crystal, containing astonishingly intense true fire; Thousand-Year Iron Banana Wood, which had excellent affinity with vital energy and could be used to forge Wood Element Magic Treasures; Wind Spirit Stone, which could grant a magic treasure buoyant force and reduce its own weight; and other such items. Wei Suo guessed that the Green Robe Old Man knew quite a few methods for forging ordinary magic treasures, but because Wei Suo's cultivation was still insufficient, the Green Robe Old Man would not tell him. Thus, like Silver Gang Essence, these items were of no use to him.

"Next is a Void Merging Pill, personally refined by Ji Ya, the alchemist of Treasure Pavilion. Cultivators below the Mind Splitting Realm can directly break through one level after taking it. However, its medicinal effects will have certain side effects on a cultivator's divine sea and physical body, and their cultivation may be unable to advance at all over the next five years. The starting bid is one thousand Low-grade Spirit Stones."

After another five or six items, the object Shopkeeper Tian presented caused nearly every cultivator present, including Wei Suo, to let out a low cry of surprise.

It was a smooth, blood-red pill the size of a pigeon egg, placed within a golden box.

The Void Merging Pill was a medicinal pill refined from the demon cores of the Wind Merging Beast and the Heaven Void Blood Bird, together with other spiritual medicines. It was extremely difficult to refine, yet it was renowned throughout Tianxuan Continent. For example, if a cultivator was fighting a demon beast or another person and was just barely unable to defeat their opponent, on the verge of being killed, a pill that could directly raise their cultivation by one level could turn heaven and earth upside down. Compared to one's life, forget five years without any progress in cultivation—even fifty years without progress would still be worth it, for life was more important. Besides, some people might not even be able to break through a single cultivation level in five years.

This kind of pill would certainly provoke a scramble, and its price was bound to be astonishing. What was more, this pill had been refined by Ji Ya, known as the Ice and Snow Beauty of Lingyue City. Wei Suo had never met Ji Ya, but he had heard that the Ice and Snow Beauty was hailed as Lingyue City's number one beauty. Her name alone would surely draw many admirers.

"One thousand five hundred Low-grade Spirit Stones!"

Wei Suo desperately wanted to buy this pill as well, but just as he had expected, the first price called from the western VIP rooms had already put it beyond his reach, even if he sold his underwear.

"Four thousand Low-grade Spirit Stones!"

In the end, the Void Merging Pill refined by the famous Ice and Snow Beauty Ji Ya sold for the astonishing price of four thousand Low-grade Spirit Stones.

Wei Suo, who wanted that pill badly enough to die, was practically reduced to tears.

Wei Suo had made several fortunes in succession and had begun to feel a little like a newly rich upstart, but compared to the cultivators at this auction, he felt he was still so poor that his pockets jingled.

Looks like I still need to earn Spirit Stones desperately. I need to earn more Spirit Stones!

"Golden Silk Talisman Brush! Refined from the tail hair of a level-four Golden Mane Beast, a fine product of Heavenly Crafts Workshop in Luoyue City. The starting bid is three hundred Low-grade Spirit Stones."

But the very next item made Wei Suo involuntarily freeze.

A straight golden talisman brush lay quietly atop red brocade in a tray. The entire golden brush, as thick as a little finger, had been carved and polished from a single coarse hair as pure gold. It was truly difficult to imagine that one hair from a demon beast could be so thick.

After spending so much time with the Green Robe Old Man, Wei Suo's knowledge had grown considerably. He now knew that a good talisman brush would absorb Fire Scorpion Blood more evenly and move more smoothly across talisman paper, greatly improving both the quality of talismans and the success rate of talisman crafting.

"What do you think, Great Talisman Master Wei? Tempted?" Seeing Wei Suo's expression, Nangong Yuqing chuckled softly by his ear.

"What's the use of being tempted? Even if I want it, I can't afford it." Wei Suo said gloomily.

"If you want it, then buy it. If you need to borrow a few hundred Spirit Stones, I can still manage that." Nangong Yuqing smiled faintly.