A day passed quickly. At midnight, the night was like water, and Yunmeng Mountain was ablaze with lights.
A five-story Cyan Pavilion stood there, its plaque bearing three large golden characters: "Yaming Pavilion."
The main hall was spacious and brightly lit. A Blue-Shirted Youth with ordinary features sat in a corner, quietly drinking tea. He was none other than Shen Long, disguised with an altered appearance.
A ruddy-faced green-robed elder stood behind the counter, flipping through account books.
The Underground Auction had quite a few good items, but their origins were questionable. They might have been stolen goods, or spoils obtained from murder and robbery.
Shen Long did not know what good items he might encounter, so he had deliberately changed his appearance.
He had arrived at Yaming Pavilion long ago and observed for more than half an hour. Several Qi Refining Cultivators had exchanged a few voice transmissions with the green-robed elder before entering the rear courtyard.
Shen Long walked over and transmitted, "Shopkeeper, I heard an Auction is being held here?"
"Fellow Daoist, go to the rear courtyard yourself. The entrance is there."
The green-robed elder spoke without even raising his head.
Shen Long nodded and strode toward the rear courtyard.
The rear courtyard was not large. There was a simple Cyan Wooden House, with a burly gold-shirted man standing at its entrance.
Shen Long walked over and asked politely, "Fellow Daoist, where is the entrance?"
The gold-shirted man pushed open the door. The room was small, and in its lower-left corner was a flight of cyan stone steps leading underground. Faint sounds of clamor could be heard.
"Go in yourself!"
The man in the golden shirt said.
Shen Long thanked him and descended the cyan stone steps. Before long, he reached the ground below. After walking more than ten steps, he emerged in an underground cave roughly three mu in size.
More than a hundred cultivators had gathered here, most of them Qi Refining Cultivators, though there were also several Foundation Establishment Cultivators.
At the center of the cave stood a circular platform more than ten zhang wide. A Cyan Wooden Table and a Cyan Wooden Stool had been placed atop it.
Shen Long found a spot near the front and waited quietly.
After the time it took to drink a cup of tea, a loud bell rang out. A pot-bellied golden-shirted man stepped onto the circular platform. Judging by his aura, he was merely at the Qi Refining stage.
"I am Wu Shan, and I will be presiding over this Underground Auction. The highest bidder wins. If you do not have enough Spirit Stones, you may use items as collateral. Bidding begins now."
After a brief introduction, the golden-shirted man took out three Golden Porcelain Bottles and said, "First-rank Purple Jade Pills. Their detoxifying effects are quite good. The starting price is twenty Spirit Stones, and each increase must be no less than two."
"Twenty-two!"
"Twenty-four!"
"Twenty-six!"
The price rose steadily, but Shen Long did not open his mouth to bid.
Purple Jade Pills were not particularly rare. Many pill shops sold pills with similar effects.
Wu Shan quickly auctioned off the three bottles of Purple Jade Pills, then took out two Cyan Porcelain Bottles. "Golden Spear Unfailing Pills. After taking one, even bedding five women in a single night will be no challenge. The starting price is twenty Spirit Stones, and each increase must be no less than five."
"Twenty!"
"Twenty-five!"
"Thirty!"
Wu Shan brought out one auction item after another—pills, refining materials, spirit herbs, beast hides, and more—and all of them sold for high prices.
Shen Long did not bid. It was not that he looked down on those items, but they were not necessities to him.
After the time it took to drink a cup of tea, following the sale of a High-grade Magical Tool, Wu Shan took out a Blue Jade Box. Opening it revealed a Blue Pill within, giving off a peculiar fragrance.
"Foundation Establishment Pill!"
Someone recognized the pill.
The moment those words were spoken, the Qi Refining Cultivators present stirred restlessly, their gazes turning fiery—especially those Qi Refining Cultivators who had failed the assessment.
"One Foundation Establishment Pill. The starting price is twenty thousand Spirit Stones, and each increase must be no less than two thousand."
Wu Shan announced loudly.
"Twenty thousand!"
"Twenty-two thousand!"
"Twenty-four thousand!"
The competition was fierce, but Shen Long could not produce that many Spirit Stones.
After multiple rounds of bidding, the Foundation Establishment Pill was ultimately sold for the sky-high price of forty-six thousand Spirit Stones.
A Yellow-Shirted Man of average build strode onto the circular platform and exchanged voice transmissions with Wu Shan. Wu Shan nodded.
"This Fellow Daoist does not have enough on him and intends to sell some items. We only provide the venue and do not guarantee authenticity."
After saying this, Wu Shan stepped aside.
The Yellow-Shirted Man took out more than twenty items. A red Spirit Beast Egg caught Shen Long's attention.
Shen Long walked onto the circular platform and picked up the red Spirit Beast Egg. It felt as though he were gripping a ball of blazing fire, scorching hot, but the egg's life force was extremely weak.
"What kind of Spirit Beast Egg is this?"
Shen Long asked curiously.
"I do not know either. I found it in an extinct Volcano. If Fellow Daoist is interested, I'll sell it to you for five hundred Spirit Stones."
The Yellow-Shirted Man said.
"Five hundred Spirit Stones? Its life force is so weak. Whether it can hatch is still uncertain. Otherwise, you could hatch it yourself and sell it afterward. One hundred Spirit Stones."
Shen Long haggled.
"Three hundred at minimum. Quite a few people have offered me high prices for it."
The Yellow-Shirted Man said.
"One hundred and fifty. If you do not want to sell, forget it."
Shen Long set down the Spirit Beast Egg and turned to leave.
The Yellow-Shirted Man hurriedly called Shen Long back and agreed to the deal.
He had possessed this Spirit Beast Egg for many years and had never managed to hatch it. Otherwise, he would have hatched it first and sold it for a higher price.
Shen Long paid the Spirit Stones and put away the Spirit Beast Egg.
The others had also noticed the Spirit Beast Egg, but its life force was extremely faint, making it very difficult to hatch.
The Yellow-Shirted Man sold quite a number of items, even selling two Mid-grade Magical Tools. He barely managed to scrape together enough Spirit Stones to purchase the Foundation Establishment Pill.
He hurriedly left the venue. Several cultivators tried to follow him out, but they were stopped.
"According to the rules, others may only leave after he has been gone for half a quarter-hour. This is for the bidder's safety."
Wu Shan said.
Hearing this, those cultivators returned to their original spots.
After auctioning off the Foundation Establishment Pill, Wu Shan took out three Blue Porcelain Bottles. "Black Moon Spirit Water has much the same wondrous effect as a Foundation Establishment Pill. Of course, its effectiveness is certainly inferior to a Foundation Establishment Pill, but it can be taken together with one to increase the success rate of Foundation Establishment. They will be auctioned separately. The starting price is ten thousand Spirit Stones, and each increase must be no less than one thousand."
Shen Long was not interested. He had the Spirit Control Token and could exchange it for a Foundation Establishment Pill.
By using the Spirit Control Token to join the Spirit Control Sect, he could obtain a Foundation Establishment Pill. Passing the assessment to become a disciple of the Spirit Control Sect was only the beginning; obtaining a Foundation Establishment Pill afterward required a large amount of Merit Points.
He had great use for the Spirit Control Token, though he had no need for it at present.
"Ten thousand!"
"Eleven thousand!"
"Twelve thousand!"
The competition was especially fierce. All three bottles of Black Moon Spirit Water were auctioned off at high prices, with the lowest final price being twenty-five thousand Spirit Stones.
"This Underground Auction has come to an end. We will prepare even better auction items next time."
Wu Shan said.
The cultivators present left the venue one after another. Shen Long had bought only a single Spirit Beast Egg.
He wandered around the streets for a while before returning to the Gathering Immortals Inn.
After returning to his room, Shen Long activated the restrictions within and entered the Spirit Control Tower.
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