Foundation Establishment (Monthly Pass Request at the Start of the Month)

"Danqing Sword, starting bid: one hundred Low-Grade Spirit Stones!"

Hearing Zheng Yuan'ao's opening bid, Fang Xing's heart immediately sank.

Even though he was fairly good at making money, he had no more than a few dozen Spirit Stones on hand.

For a Postnatal Martial Artist, that was already highly conspicuous.

If he fought for the Danqing Sword as well, he would likely invite trouble.

Besides... now that I'm not leaving the market, it seems I have no use for such a fine sword...

Just as Fang Xing made up his mind, he saw an Innate Martial Artist rise to his feet excitedly. "One hundred Spirit Stones!"

"One hundred and one!"

The other martial artists also began bidding against one another.

A Blood Refined Magic Item!

For an Innate Martial Artist, if they cultivated to the Peak Realm of Innate and acquired a Blood Refined Magic Item, their status would be nearly equal to that of a Qi Refining Middle Stage Cultivator.

This was also the limit of mortal martial artists!

Unfortunately, martial artists were all poor, so the price of this Danqing Sword rose very slowly.

"One hundred and twenty Spirit Stones!"

A voice rang out, making Fang Xing's heart stir slightly as he looked toward the square.

The speaker wore black and had his face covered. His bearing was steady and grave, yet he lacked the robust vigor of an Innate Martial Artist.

"A Cultivator!"

"Why is a Cultivator competing with us for a Blood Refined Magic Item?"

"He's probably buying it for his descendants or servants."

The Innate Martial Artists all cursed inwardly.

But Fang Xing recognized the owner of that voice. "It's him? Chen Yi, the leader of the Five Heroes of Cangshan! He's here too? No, why does he want a Blood Refined Magic Item?"

"One hundred and thirty Spirit Stones! Heh heh, Fellow Daoist Chen, you've finally shown yourself. Hiding your head and tail—did you think I wouldn't recognize you?"

At that moment, a somewhat arrogant voice came from one of the private rooms. "Why are you buying a Blood Refined Magic Item? Are you hoping to reunite with those brothers of yours? What a pity. Two of your brothers seem to be dead, and the two women left behind aren't willing to keep company with you..."

"It's him? Fu Qing?"

Fang Xing's heart stirred. He did not really understand why Chen Yi had initially joined forces with Fu Qing to ambush Thousand Peaks Forest, only to fall out with him afterward.

The only thing that can turn Cultivators into mortal enemies is profit! Could there be some secret hidden in that nameless wilderness valley...?

"One hundred and forty Spirit Stones! I don't need to explain my affairs to you!" Since he had been exposed, Chen Yi simply stopped pretending. He tore off his veil, revealing an aged face.

After not seeing him for some time, he seemed to have grown much more haggard.

"One hundred and fifty Spirit Stones! Old man, if you've got the guts, leave the market!"

Fu Qing seemed to hate Chen Yi bitterly, but constrained by the market's rules, he did not dare make a move.

There was even considerable apprehension in his words, giving Fang Xing much to think about.

"Enough. This is the Zheng Family's Auction. Please do not bring your private grudges here..."

Zheng Yuan'ao suddenly spoke.

The deterrent power of a Foundation Establishment Family was still formidable, and Chen Yi immediately fell silent.

"One hundred and fifty Spirit Stones. The Danqing Sword goes to the guest in private room Jia Sixteen!"

With Zheng Yuan'ao's announcement, the little farce came to an end.

Yet as Fang Xing watched Chen Yi, he suddenly felt that the man had exposed himself deliberately.

Not only did he fail to disguise his voice, he openly made an enemy of the Black Tiger Gang... Is he fishing? Or... trying to draw some big shot into the game? Whether he wins the bid or not isn't important at all...

Forget it. It has nothing to do with me. Just enjoy the show...

Fang Xing leaned back against his chair with a relaxed expression.

But before long, he could no longer remain so relaxed.

"Dragon Blood Pills are refined primarily from the quintessential blood and marrow of the Azure Blood Dragon Carp. Though the Azure Blood Dragon Carp is not high-ranked, legend says that it is Dragon Kind and possesses a trace of Flood Dragon Bloodline. Thus, Dragon Blood Pills contain dragon power and can help martial artists or Cultivators temper their bodies..."

Holding a Jade Bottle, Zheng Yuan'ao spoke calmly. "Because the Zheng Family exterminated a school of Azure Blood Dragon Carp, these pills will be sold through the Zheng Family's pill shops in the future. Today, we will first release ten bottles. Each bottle has a base price of fifty Spirit Stones! You may submit sealed bids. The ten highest bidders will successfully purchase them..."

To the Zheng Family, this was merely a little game during the Auction's intermission, as well as an opportunity to promote their own pills.

After exterminating the Azure Blood Dragon Carp, they had kept some fry and were attempting to breed them, intending to develop the venture into an entire industry chain.

"Flood Dragon Bloodline?"

Fang Xing was somewhat interested.

"Ever since my Great Dragon Stance reached the proficient level, its progress has slowed... I wonder whether this pill will have any effect?"

"The Great Dragon Stance merely imitates dragons, while the Dragon Blood Pill might truly contain a trace of Flood Dragon blood. Even its aura would be good enough... At the very least, it must be suitable for helping me comprehend Dragon Artistic Conception!"

What was a dragon?

If one had never even seen a Flood Dragon, claiming to comprehend Dragon Artistic Conception would be a joke, would it not?

After giving it some thought, he placed a slip of paper into the tray brought over by a maid. On it, he wrote the maximum number of Spirit Stones he could offer, as well as his seat number.

If he succeeded, he could make the transaction later using his seat number.

Not long afterward, Zheng Yuan'ao accepted a sheet of slips with a smile on his face. "Congratulations to the following ten fellow Daoists on successfully bidding for Dragon Blood Pills: Ding Twenty-Seven, Bing Sixty-Five..."

"Not bad. I actually got one."

Fang Xing, seated below, nodded slightly before smiling bitterly inwardly. Sixty-seven Spirit Stones. It's actually more expensive than an Innate Pill. If it doesn't work, I'll have suffered a huge loss...

But an Innate Pill only lets someone advance to Innate, while a Dragon Blood Pill might allow someone to comprehend Artistic Conception, an ability of the Fourth Realm... So if it works, it will still be worth it.

He continued watching as one precious auction item after another appeared.

From Breakthrough Pills for the Qi Refining Stage to puppets and Spiritual Plants... there was practically everything imaginable.

Unfortunately, most of it was only suitable for Cultivators.

"Next is one of the three grand finale items of this Auction!"

Suddenly, Zheng Yuan'ao's voice became solemn, tinged with excitement. He had a maid present a small, dull-gray pouch.

"One Low-Grade Storage Bag. It contains three cubic meters of space and can store objects, but not living creatures... Starting bid: three thousand Low-Grade Spirit Stones!"

Before he could even finish, the auction hall erupted into commotion.

"A Storage Bag? It's actually a Storage Bag?"

"So expensive. For a storage treasure like this, few Qi Refining Stage Cultivators besides Foundation Establishment Great Cultivators could possibly qualify to own one..."

"A spatial item?"

Fang Xing's eyes lit up.

The Blue Star Federation was actually rather mediocre in spatial technology. It was only after those Extraterrestrial Evil Gods invaded from Imaginary Space that it had been forced to catch up, yet it still could not intercept every attack with complete certainty.

For such a compact spatial item, even Federation Martial Saints and Martial Gods... might not be qualified to possess one!

"More importantly... this represents another civilization's interpretation of the path of space... If I sold it to a top conglomerate or laboratory, even a trillion Star Dollars would be nothing... All right, I wouldn't dare!"

Fang Xing shook his head and listened with interest to Zheng Yuan'ao's introduction. Only then did he learn that a Storage Bag was an extremely special magic item, crafted from the tanned hide of a certain Void Attribute Demon Beast. Ordinary magic items could hardly damage it, but the key was... using it required mana and even Spirit Sense!

"I can feel the malice of the world. This Cultivator world is far too unfriendly to me..."

He complained inwardly as he watched the Storage Bag's price steadily rise. In the end, a Cultivator in one of the private rooms bought it for six thousand eight hundred Spirit Stones.

"This second-to-last grand finale item... is a contract. Someone is willing to sell a shop within the market, formerly the Azure Cloud Shop. The base price is four thousand five hundred Spirit Stones..."

Zheng Yuan'ao said with a broad smile.

"A property deed? Something like that is only useful to major powers, right?"

Fang Xing shook his head as he watched the major powers in the private rooms compete for it, eventually bidding it up to an astronomical price.

Though the price appeared high, great powers passed down through generations. Once they obtained a market shop, a hen that laid golden eggs, they would eventually earn it all back.

It reminded Fang Xing of infrastructure projects—high investment, high return, only requiring a longer time frame.

"Hm? Why does the atmosphere feel a little off?"

Just as Fang Xing was about to enjoy the spectacle, he noticed that something was amiss with the Auction's atmosphere.

An inexplicable pressure seemed to have appeared in the air.

It even made him feel as if a ferocious beast were right beside him, watching him at all times!

"A Foundation Establishment Great Cultivator!"

"Ancestor Zheng has arrived. It seems the rumors are true... In that case, the owner of Azure Cloud Shop may also be selling off his assets for the sake of this final auction item..."

Hearing the two Cultivators beside him talking, Fang Xing could not help but feel his heart stir.

Buzz buzz!

Lines of formation patterns emerged across the auction stage, gathering into a translucent silver-white bowl that descended upside down, tightly shielding the entire platform.

Then Zheng Yuan'ao, his expression incomparably solemn, personally carried a tray forward.

"The final auction item: one bottle of the Foundation Establishment Spiritual Item—Qian Yuan Fire Fiend!"

There was only a Jade Bottle on the tray. Inside seemed to be a mass of viscous crimson Essence Liquid. Streaks of scarlet radiance passed through the bottle and directly seeped outside, carrying waves of scorching heat...

"A Foundation Establishment Spiritual Item!"

"This Auction really has a Foundation Establishment Opportunity?"

The Cultivators present seemed to go mad at once. In particular, the Qi Refining Late Stage and Qi Refining Completion Cultivators stared with blazing eyes at Zheng Yuan'ao on the platform—or rather, at the Jade Bottle in his hand.

Had Ancestor Zheng not deliberately leaked his aura earlier to intimidate them, and had the formation not been in place, someone would likely have already rushed up to seize it by force!

Foundation Establishment!

It was the lifelong pursuit of every Qi Refining Stage Cultivator. Once successful, one could live beyond two hundred years, achieve Physical Flight, establish a sect or clan, and wield authority at will!

But breaking through to Foundation Establishment was extraordinarily difficult. Without the aid of a Foundation Establishment Opportunity, the chance of success was practically less than one in a hundred, and failure could even mean certain death!

The finest Foundation Establishment Opportunity was naturally the Foundation Establishment Pill, said to raise the success rate by twenty to thirty percent.

After that came the various Foundation Establishment Spiritual Items useful for the Three Foundation Establishment Barriers.

Even Zheng Yuan'ao's voice trembled faintly. It was unknown how much willpower it took for him to shift his gaze away from the Qian Yuan Fire Fiend. "Qian Yuan Fire Fiend can cleanse and refine the physical body and mana. It is greatly beneficial for overcoming the Physical Body Barrier among the Three Foundation Establishment Barriers, and offers a slight benefit to the Mana Barrier... Overall, it can raise a Qi Refining Completion Cultivator practicing a fire-attribute cultivation method's chance of Foundation Establishment by five to ten percent. The base price... is ten thousand Low-Grade Spirit Stones!"