Testing the Elixir

Just then, Ya Fei spoke again from the stage. "I'm sure everyone is here today for the Foundation-Building Elixir. Although our auction house has promoted it extensively beforehand, no amount of advertising can compare to experiencing it firsthand. A wooden basin has been prepared onstage today. Ya Fei will select someone present who has not yet reached the Dou Zhe realm to try it personally, so everyone can witness the wonders of the Foundation-Building Elixir. Would Ya Fei have the honor of inviting Young Master Xiao Yan of the Xiao Clan to give it a try?"

When Ya Fei mentioned Xiao Yan, everyone in the auction house turned to look at him. Xiao Yan had become quite famous in Wutan City recently. Whether it was the sudden return of his cultivation talent or his defeat of Jia Lie Ao, who possessed Ninth Duan Dou Qi, both had become popular topics of discussion.

"What is this? Did they find a shill at the manufacturer?" Xiao Yan was slightly stunned when Ya Fei suddenly mentioned him.

Xiao Yan shook his head helplessly. He had originally intended to refuse outright, but Xiao Zhan beside him said with a smile, "Since Miss Ya Fei has invited you, go give it a try. We also want to see just how miraculous this Foundation-Building Elixir truly is."

Since his father had said so, Xiao Yan could only helplessly rub his nose and walk onto the stage.

Xiao Yan walked over to Ya Fei, removed his outer robe, and casually handed it to her.

Ya Fei accepted Xiao Yan's outer robe with a smile, then made an inviting gesture. Xiao Yan did not stand on ceremony. He removed his shoes, stepped into the wooden basin, and sat down cross-legged. His hands formed a strange seal as he entered a cultivation state.

Seeing that Xiao Yan had begun cultivating, Ya Fei took out a small jade bottle under the gaze of everyone in the auction house. She removed its stopper, gently tilted the bottle, and dripped a single drop of emerald-green liquid into the wooden basin. The liquid dissolved as soon as it touched the water, and the clear water in the basin gradually turned green.

When everyone saw wisps of pale green vapor rising from the liquid in the basin and gradually wrapping around Xiao Yan, their eyes widened. They could naturally sense that those strands of green vapor were rapidly being refined by Xiao Yan into Dou Qi.

Everyone present had experienced cultivating Dou Qi themselves. When they cultivated, they could only absorb the meager energy scattered through the air into their meridians, slowly refine it into Dou Qi, and then pour it into their Qi Sea. Compared to using the Foundation-Building Elixir, the difference was simply immeasurable.

After personally witnessing the wonders of the Foundation-Building Elixir, everyone present no longer had any doubts and eagerly awaited the start of the auction. Naturally, Xiao Yan did not continue cultivating for long. Putting on a show was enough; how could he keep being watched like a lab rat onstage? Xiao Yan's body shuddered, and all the pale green airflow enveloping him was blasted apart, spreading throughout the entire auction house.

When the people present inhaled the wisps of pale green vapor, their bodies trembled as they immediately felt incomparably comfortable. Those who had not yet reached the Dou Zhe realm were especially greedy in absorbing it. Some even began cultivating on the spot, wanting to refine the energy they had inhaled.

Ya Fei was slightly stunned when she saw that Xiao Yan had not continued cultivating and had instead dispersed this precious energy, but she was delighted. Xiao Yan's action was equivalent to allowing everyone present to experience it personally, making it easier for her to fetch a high price at the auction. She casually summoned a maid to take Xiao Yan to change clothes, then called over two servants to carry the wooden basin away.

Led by the maid, Xiao Yan entered a room and saw that a set of clothes had already been prepared inside, and they were quite valuable. Xiao Yan removed his water-soaked clothes, changed into the newly prepared ones, and followed the maid back to the auction house. The moment he entered, he heard Ya Fei's alluring voice.

"The Foundation-Building Elixir not only increases the speed of Dou Qi cultivation, but also has excellent healing effects. Therefore, anyone with serious injuries should not miss this opportunity. The first bottle of Foundation-Building Elixir will now be auctioned. The starting price... is fifteen thousand gold coins." Ya Fei smiled at the crowd.

"Damn! Wasn't the original starting price eight thousand gold coins? It doubled just like that?" Xiao Yan had just sat down when Ya Fei's price startled him.

However, Xiao Yan's shock had only just begun. The moment Ya Fei's voice fell, people below the stage began bidding wildly.

"Twenty thousand gold coins, twenty-two thousand, twenty-five thousand... thirty thousand, forty thousand... fifty thousand."

When the price soared to fifty thousand, the voices in the hall gradually quieted. However, everyone present understood that this was only the beginning.

"Hehe, I bid sixty thousand gold coins. My grandson is currently at Seventh Duan Dou Qi. If he can break through successfully this year, he might even be able to enter Canaan Academy." Oba Pa announced his bid with a smile.

When they heard Oba Pa mention Canaan Academy, everyone present became even more tempted. Canaan Academy was renowned throughout the Dou Qi Continent, and many clans wanted to send their children there to study.

Canaan Academy not only possessed high-level cultivation methods and Dou Techniques, but also had famous teachers to guide its students. If one had the opportunity to enter the inner academy, the entire clan would soar to new heights. However, Canaan Academy's admissions were also extremely strict. The minimum requirement was reaching Eighth Duan Dou Qi before the age of eighteen, which had already eliminated a great many people.

"I bid seventy thousand gold coins!" The bidder was a burly middle-aged man, the owner of Wutan City's largest weapons supplier.

"I bid seventy-five thousand!" The owner of Wutan City's largest medicinal herb supplier immediately followed with his own bid.

Aside from the three great clans, these two families were the wealthiest in Wutan City. Their families all had younger members cultivating Dou Qi. Though they were still considered juniors, they were not far from eighteen years old. But now that there was the Foundation-Building Elixir, who would not want to take a gamble? Still, there were too many monks and too little porridge; these five bottles of Foundation-Building Elixir would most likely end up in the hands of these few families.

"Eighty thousand gold coins!" Xiao Zhan was somewhat surprised to see the price of the Foundation-Building Elixir rising so quickly, but the Xiao Clan definitely had to buy some as well.

"Ninety thousand gold coins!" Seeing Xiao Zhan bid, Jia Lie Bi announced his own price. The Foundation-Building Elixir actually had healing properties, and his son needed it badly too.

"One hundred thousand gold coins!" Xiao Zhan called out grandly.

Hearing one hundred thousand gold coins, Xiao Yan's heart thumped fiercely. He had never expected the Foundation-Building Elixir auction to be so heated. He had originally thought that fifty or sixty thousand gold coins per bottle would be the absolute limit.

But this was only natural. He had auctioned the Foundation-Building Elixir nearly a year earlier than Xiao Yan had in the original story, just when Wutan City's major clans needed it most urgently. In the original story, by the time Xiao Yan auctioned it, the younger members of the major clans had either already become Dou Zhe or had passed Canaan Academy's admission age.

Upon hearing Xiao Zhan offer the astronomical price of one hundred thousand gold coins, most people had already backed down. One hundred thousand gold coins had exceeded their expectations. This was only the first bottle, and there were still four more to come. Recently, the Xiao Clan's influence had grown increasingly powerful, so they did not dare offend it lightly. If they could yield, they would yield.

Jia Lie Bi still wanted to bid, but when he thought of his clan's current situation, he could no longer afford to spend recklessly. If Xiao Zhan tricked him again, he would be placed in an even more passive position, so he stopped bidding.

And so, the first bottle of Foundation-Building Elixir fell into Xiao Zhan's hands for one hundred thousand gold coins. Although he had bought the Foundation-Building Elixir, that price... He had originally wanted to buy two bottles, but now that seemed unlikely.