Auction (Seeking Recommendations and Bookmarks)

Auction (Seeking Recommendations and Bookmarks)

After leaving the Blackwater Mountains, Ye Yun spent two hours traveling straight to Azure Sun Town.

After entering Azure Sun Town, he went to the same inn as last time and rented a room. Once he had confirmed it was safe, Ye Yun could no longer hold on and collapsed onto the bed, falling into a deep sleep.

The two consecutive battles had already left him utterly exhausted, and with his relentless journey afterward, even a Qi Refining Realm martial artist could barely endure it.

The noon sunlight shone through the window onto Ye Yun's face. Feeling his face burning hot, Ye Yun woke from his sleep in a daze.

After washing up, Ye Yun sat on the bed and took out the Storage Bag he had obtained from Zhao Yu.

Ye Yun sent his consciousness into it along with his true qi and found that this Storage Bag was about the same size as his own. Inside were fifty thousand taels of gold, several bottles of cultivation pills, some demonic beast materials, and a few miscellaneous items.

Ye Yun was quite satisfied with these gains. He had not expected Zhao Yu to have so much money on him.

He moved everything into his own Storage Bag, then put on a black robe and headed out toward the Myriad Treasures Pavilion.

Ye Yun planned to sell this Storage Bag at the Myriad Treasures Pavilion. First, he already had one himself. Second, this Storage Bag had come from Zhao Yu. If the Zhao Family discovered it, it would bring him some trouble.

Upon entering the Myriad Treasures Pavilion, Ye Yun said to a maid who walked over, "I want to sell some things."

Hearing this, the maid led Ye Yun to the room where he had sold demonic beast materials last time. When they entered, Master Huang was sitting inside.

Master Huang looked at Ye Yun in his black robe and asked, "May I ask what this guest wishes to sell? Could you let this old man take a look?"

Ye Yun took the Storage Bag from his robes and handed it to Master Huang.

Seeing the Storage Bag offered to him, Master Huang's pupils contracted. He looked at Ye Yun with some uncertainty and asked, "Does this guest truly wish to sell this Storage Bag?"

Ye Yun said nothing, merely nodding in response.

Seeing that Ye Yun truly intended to sell it, Master Huang took the Storage Bag and carefully inspected it. After checking it over, he said to Ye Yun, "There is no problem with this Storage Bag, but this old man has a suggestion. Would this guest care to hear it?"

"Speak."

"Three days from now, Azure Sun Town will hold an auction jointly organized by several merchant associations. If you are not in a hurry, this old man can place this Storage Bag in the auction as one of the finale treasures. Its price will certainly be much higher than if you sold it directly. What do you think, guest?"

After hearing Master Huang's words, Ye Yun considered it inwardly before agreeing. He was not in any hurry for the moment, and this would be a good chance to see what an auction was like.

Seeing Ye Yun agree, Master Huang took out a receipt from a drawer nearby and wrote down the information Ye Yun had provided. After finishing, he handed it to Ye Yun. "Guest, this is a certificate from my Myriad Treasures Pavilion. Once the auction ends, you may bring this certificate directly to collect the money from the sale of the Storage Bag."

Ye Yun accepted the certificate. After checking that there were no issues, he turned and left the Myriad Treasures Pavilion.

After leaving the Myriad Treasures Pavilion, Ye Yun had nothing to do, so he decided to stroll around the place where Rogue Cultivator martial artists set up their stalls.

At the plaza near Azure Sun Town's entrance, many martial artists had set up stalls. Ye Yun casually walked in one direction.

"Come take a look! Top-quality pills!"

"Demonic beast materials from the Blackwater Mountains! Come take a look if you need any!"

Amid the clamor, Ye Yun stopped beside a stall selling martial arts manuals. Seven or eight manuals were laid out on display.

"Boss, may I take a look?" Ye Yun asked the stall owner.

"You can, but you may only read the first five pages."

Under the stall owner's watchful gaze, Ye Yun casually picked up a martial arts manual and flipped through it. After looking through three or four books, he picked up one called the Iceheart Formula and began reading it.

"Iceheart Formula, compatibility: twelve points."

After receiving the feedback from his special ability, a trace of delight flashed through Ye Yun's eyes. He then pretended to remain calm and looked through all the remaining martial arts manuals.

"Boss, how much are the martial arts manuals at your stall?" Ye Yun asked the stall owner.

"They're all low-grade martial arts manuals. How about one thousand taels of gold each?" The stall owner looked at Ye Yun with a flattering grin.

"One thousand taels of gold? Boss, if you don't want to do business, just say so. Why waste my time?" Ye Yun said as he rose to leave.

Seeing that Ye Yun was not taking the bait, the stall owner immediately said, "Don't be in such a hurry, guest. In business, I name a price and you make an offer. How much are you willing to pay?"

"Fifty taels of gold per book. How about it?" Ye Yun said, pretending to be dissatisfied.

"Fifty taels of gold is too low. One price: five hundred taels of gold. I've already knocked off five hundred taels for you. What do you say?" the stall owner countered.

After a round of haggling between Ye Yun and the stall owner, Ye Yun finally bought the low-grade martial arts manual called the Iceheart Formula from him for one hundred taels of gold.

With the Iceheart Formula successfully in hand, Ye Yun no longer had any interest in continuing to browse the stalls and headed straight back to the inn where he was staying.

After returning to the inn, Ye Yun took the Iceheart Formula from his robes and carefully read through it.

After reading the Iceheart Formula in full, Ye Yun discovered that it was not a martial art in the conventional sense. It was more like a secret technique. It taught one to keep the mind clear and prevent invasion by inner demons. It was a martial art that could reduce the risk of cultivation deviation.

Ye Yun sat on the bed and calmed his mind. When the thoughts in his heart gradually dwindled away, he began circulating his energy according to the method described in the Iceheart Formula.

"Heart as clear as ice, unshaken though heaven falls; amid ten thousand changes, remain steadfast; spirit at ease and qi at peace; forget the self and guard the one; six senses firmly stilled..."

Following the method of the Iceheart Formula, Ye Yun slowly stopped his first cultivation session of it an hour later.

Ye Yun discovered that once the Iceheart Formula began circulating, his entire body gradually became like a block of ice. This state could indeed suppress cultivation deviation, but for Ye Yun, the Iceheart Formula's greatest use was that it could aid his cultivation of the Selfless Realm, allowing him to comprehend the Selfless Realm more quickly.

This unexpected gain left Ye Yun somewhat beside himself with joy. After all, even with fifteen points of compatibility with the Selfless Realm and the aid of the Iceheart Lotus Platform, he had cultivated bitterly for three full months and was still lingering at the beginner stage.

Just like that, three days flashed by. Ye Yun did not go out during those three days, spending every day comprehending the Iceheart Formula and the Selfless Realm. Though there were no particularly obvious results, with such accumulation over time, a transformation would surely come one day.

(End of chapter)