The Auction Begins

(Note: Today's popularity: 65)

Besides the few ingredients needed for the Myriad-Forge Body-Burning Pill, the herbs Xiao Yan had asked Ya Fei to gather also included the materials for the Purple-Heart Barrier-Breaking Pill.

And the Purple-Heart Barrier-Breaking Pill was what he intended to have Ya Fei auction off.

The Purple-Heart Barrier-Breaking Pill was a rather special medicinal pill.

Its effects only applied to Great Dou Masters. If someone at that level took a Purple-Heart Barrier-Breaking Pill, they could directly raise their strength by one star.

More importantly, a person could take two of these pills consecutively at the same level without developing too much resistance.

In other words, as long as one could obtain two Purple-Heart Barrier-Breaking Pills, one could consecutively break through two stars at the Great Dou Master level, saving years or even more than a decade of arduous cultivation.

Xiao Yan had several considerations in handing this pill to Ya Fei for auction.

First, Ya Fei needed results.

He would definitely enter the Imperial Capital in the future and establish a force of his own. The Miter Clan was among the factions he had chosen, and Ya Fei had become the clan leader he selected.

The competition within the Miter Auction House was no easier than that outside. Although Ya Fei was a core member of the Miter Clan, she needed to produce sufficiently outstanding results to prove her abilities at this Wutan City branch.

Second, the Galie Clan had already been driven into a desperate situation by the Xiao Clan.

Galie Bi surely wanted to make one last desperate gamble, but his strength was not much different from Xiao Zhan's. Both were Six-Star Great Dou Masters, so the Galie Clan had little chance of victory if they moved against the Xiao Clan.

The appearance of the Purple-Heart Barrier-Breaking Pill would undoubtedly become kindling for the desires in Galie Bi's heart.

He would do everything possible to obtain those two pills, break through to a Seven-Star or even Eight-Star Great Dou Master, and then launch a fatal strike against the Xiao Clan.

And that was precisely what Xiao Yan wanted: to make Galie Bi stake all his chips on a single auction, then destroy the Galie Clan and utterly shatter his hopes.

Xiao Yan had not relied on Yao Lao to refine either of these pills.

He refined them repeatedly in the Martial Dao Space, constantly testing and failing, then starting over again and again.

Time in the Martial Dao Space was far more plentiful than in the outside world. He had enough time to study the heat required for every herb and sense the flow of Dou Qi each time the pill formed.

Through that patience and persistence, he had successfully mastered both pills completely. His rank as an Alchemist had also risen accordingly, and he had become a Fourth-Grade Alchemist.

He had long since handed the Purple-Heart Barrier-Breaking Pills and Qi-Gathering Powder to Ya Fei, and today was the day Ya Fei held the grand auction.

The Miter Auction House was packed with people, with crowds surging everywhere.

Before dawn had even broken, a long line had already formed outside the auction house.

Mercenaries stood together in groups of three or five, loudly discussing the items to be auctioned today.

Several merchants dressed in long silk robes huddled together and whispered among themselves, shrewd glints flashing in their eyes.

Quite a few unfamiliar faces also moved through the crowd, carrying swords and sabers, their auras far from weak.

As early as a day ago, Ya Fei had spread word that the Purple-Heart Barrier-Breaking Pill, Qi-Gathering Powder, and Foundation-Building Elixir would be auctioned.

By now, not only Wutan City, but even the somewhat larger forces in nearby cities such as Azure Firmament City and Heavenly Sun City had likely learned that the Miter Auction House would be auctioning medicinal pills such as the Purple-Heart Barrier-Breaking Pill, Qi-Gathering Powder, and Foundation-Building Elixir.

Under normal circumstances, any one of these items would have been a finale treasure. Now that they were appearing together at one auction, the news had caused no small commotion in several surrounding cities.

Wutan City, Azure Firmament City, Heavenly Sun City, and the other nearby cities were thrown into turmoil because of it.

The major factions all began gathering funds, selling off their stockpiles, and even taking loans, all so they would have enough financial power to compete at today's auction.

The Galie Clan and Oba Clan of Wutan City, in particular, had fully withdrawn their outside businesses and gathered every gold coin they possessed. The two clan leaders personally led their people to the auction house.

The purpose of the two clan leaders was naturally the Purple-Heart Barrier-Breaking Pill.

For more than a decade, Wutan City had maintained a three-way balance between the Xiao Clan, Galie Clan, and Oba Clan. They had advanced side by side and developed peacefully.

The most fundamental reason was that the strength of all three clan leaders was around the Six-Star Great Dou Master level. The three were evenly matched, with none able to overpower the others.

If any two clans fought fiercely, the only one to benefit in the end would be the third clan watching from the sidelines.

Thus, although the three great clans had secretly competed and fought over business for more than a decade, they had never truly torn all pretense aside and come to bloody blows.

Now, the appearance of the Purple-Heart Barrier-Breaking Pill had directly stirred up a huge uproar in Wutan City.

If Galie Bi or Oba Pa obtained one or even two Purple-Heart Barrier-Breaking Pills, they could quickly break through to a Seven-Star or even Eight-Star Great Dou Master, directly saving several years of cultivation.

At that time, whichever side greatly increased its strength would have the ability to swallow the other two clans, completely changing Wutan City's three-way balance.

That was why the two great clans were willing to go bankrupt just to obtain the Purple-Heart Barrier-Breaking Pill.

Of course, besides the two great clans, some powerful mercenary groups were also gathering gold coins everywhere.

Although their strength was weaker than that of the three great clans, that did not stop them from giving it everything they had.

If they were lucky enough to win a Purple-Heart Barrier-Breaking Pill, and their leader broke through to the Great Dou Master level, the status of their entire mercenary group would rise with him.

Because of Xiao Yan, the Xiao Clan had received the news in advance. They understood that this setup had been arranged for the Galie Clan and Oba Clan to see, so naturally they would not participate.

With Xiao Yan's help, Xiao Zhan had already converted the Intermediate Mystic Tier cultivation technique he practiced, Wild Lion Fury, into a High Mystic Tier wind-attributed cultivation technique. His strength had improved considerably from before.

Once Xiao Zhan broke through to a Seven-Star Great Dou Master, Xiao Yan would give him two Purple-Heart Barrier-Breaking Pills to help him break through to a One-Star Dou Spirit.

At that point, no one would be able to shake the Xiao Clan's position in Wutan City.

But since they had said they would show their support, they naturally could not go back on their word.

Xiao Zhan therefore brought the chief steward, Xiao Yan, Xiao Xun'er, and the others to the Miter Auction House.

By the time Xiao Zhan and the others arrived at the Miter Auction House, it was already completely full.

The ordinary seats on the first floor were packed, and even the private rooms on the second floor were nearly full.

All kinds of sounds blended together in a deafening roar. The air was filled with the smell of sweat and wine, along with the scents of various incense.

As soon as Xiao Zhan and the others entered the auction house, a maid immediately came forward. After bowing, she led the Xiao Clan members through the crowded first floor with a bright smile and up the stairs to a luxurious private room on the second floor.

Ya Fei had specifically instructed that if members of the Xiao Clan arrived, they were to be brought immediately to the prepared private room on the second floor. No waiting in line, no registration, just straight upstairs.

The private room was even more spacious than Xiao Zhan had imagined.

A thick carpet covered the floor. A long table stood in the middle, with tea and fruit platters upon it, while a row of cushioned chairs lined the wall.

The side of the room facing the auction platform was an entire transparent glazed window. From inside, they could clearly see every movement throughout the auction house, but those outside could not see the people within.

Xiao Zhan stood before the glazed window and looked at the bustling, packed scene on the first floor. He turned to Xiao Yan and teased with a smile, "Yan'er, you and Ya Fei seem quite close. She even reserved the best private room for us. Are you interested—"

Before Xiao Zhan could finish, Xiao Xun'er suddenly gave a light cough.

"Uncle Xiao."

Hearing that, Xiao Zhan's smile stiffened slightly. He immediately dropped the subject, cleared his throat, and said seriously, "From the looks of it, not only has the Galie Clan come, but people from the Oba Clan have come as well.

Even those major forces from several surrounding cities have sent people. I can sense at least several auras no weaker than those of Six-Star Great Dou Masters."

"Of course," the chief steward took over from the side. "After all, who wouldn't want a Purple-Heart Barrier-Breaking Pill that could save months or even years of cultivation? Under normal circumstances, even money couldn't buy something like that."