"Make a Fucking Fortune in One Go!"

As an elderly man with a wrinkled, aged face stepped onto the auction stage, the venue immediately fell silent.

Bang.

The auction hammer in his hand tapped lightly against the square table on the stage like a judge's gavel. Soon, five veiled women in qipaos filed out from behind the stage, each carrying a rosewood tray.

Each tray was covered with a layer of red cloth.

The old man walked to the first woman, pulled away the red cloth in one motion, and casually waved his right hand. Streams of spiritual energy formed several lines of large characters in the air.

"First auction item."

"Spirit treasure: Foundation Establishment Realm middle-grade pill furnace, the 'Eight Trigrams Cauldron Furnace.' Pills refined with this furnace will have a higher success rate."

"Starting bid: 20 Spirit Stones. Each increment must not be less than 10 Spirit Stones."

That casual display alone had proven his strength. To release spiritual energy from one's body and manipulate it with such precision, he had to be at least at the Seventh Level of the Foundation Establishment Realm.

The sort who was just one step short of Foundation Establishment Great Perfection.

As long as he had enough lifespan remaining, breaking through a major realm and becoming a Golden Core powerhouse was practically a nail hammered into a board.

A middle-grade Foundation Establishment Realm pill furnace was, in the underworld jargon, a Yellow Grade, Middle Class spirit treasure. Yellow Grade, Middle Class spirit treasures were not worth much to begin with—one was only worth around 50 Spirit Stones, not even enough to qualify for an auction.

But this spirit treasure was a pill furnace, so its price was another matter entirely.

Spirit treasures like pill furnaces were exceedingly difficult to forge, and their prices were several times higher than other spirit treasures of the same grade.

Very quickly—

Quite a few people began calling bids.

"50!"

"60!"

"100!"

In the end, a middle-aged man in the hall raised his bidding plaque and stood up, shouting the high price of 200 Spirit Stones. He took the first auction item. That price was more or less reasonable; after all, alchemists were money trees, and a pill furnace was the tool they ate with. Naturally, it would not come cheap.

Yet no one in the private rooms bid. Those qualified to sit in private rooms generally had powers backing them. They had long since begun cultivating alchemists, and a middle-grade Foundation Establishment Realm pill furnace was somewhat beneath their notice.

They had not come for the items appearing at the beginning anyway. The main event was still to come.

Chen Qiu, meanwhile, looked down at the auction stage in bored fashion. He had little interest in the several auction items that appeared one after another. They were either for alchemy or talisman crafting, and he had no intention of pursuing either of those arts.

Until—

When the red cloth covering the fifth auction item was lifted, Chen Qiu straightened up. At last, he had encountered something he wanted.

"Fifth auction item."

"Trait Jade Slip, Green Trait 'Self-Severing Root.' Sever one's own organ to obtain one random White Trait or Green Trait. The greater the number severed, the more random traits obtained."

"Starting bid: 50 Spirit Stones. Each bid increment: 10 Spirit Stones."

"500 Spirit Stones!"

Chen Qiu picked up the Voice-Transmission Talisman on the table beside him. After channeling spiritual energy into it, he spoke softly. When his voice reached the air above the hall, it was automatically altered to sound like that of an old man.

To him, this trait was equivalent to a full-force strike from the First Level of the Golden Core Realm. 500 Spirit Stones was absolutely a fair price.

A talisman with power equivalent to a full-force strike from the Ninth Level of the Foundation Establishment Realm cost 300 Spirit Stones. He did not know the price of a talisman equivalent to a full-force strike from the First Level of the Golden Core Realm, but it certainly would not be less than 1,000 Spirit Stones.

After all, the gap between the Golden Core Realm and the Ninth Level of the Foundation Establishment Realm was simply too vast. They were not on the same level at all.

The old man raised his head toward the second floor. Seeing the jade embedded outside private room Number 7 of the Heavenly Section flash red, he picked up the auction hammer and tapped the square table. "Heavenly Section Number 7 bids 500 Spirit Stones."

Only then did he sweep his gaze over the crowd. Seeing no one raise a plaque, he continued.

"500 Spirit Stones, first call!"

The people in the hall began discussing it with strange expressions. It was not that they were surprised someone had spent 500 Spirit Stones on a Green Trait. Trait Jade Slips were exceptionally rare on the market; so long as one was not utterly worthless, any that made it onto the market could easily sell for 2,000 Spirit Stones.

It was just that—

Would someone qualified to sit in private room Number 7 of the Heavenly Section actually use this trait?

Or was it meant for someone beneath him? That would make sense.

Among the crowd in the hall, a young man looked anxiously at the middle-aged man beside him and said in a rush, "Master, what are you hesitating for? Bid already!!!"

"I'm telling you, this trait is absolutely priceless to you. Forget 500 Spirit Stones—even 2,000 Spirit Stones would be worth bidding for!"

After thinking uncertainly for a while, the middle-aged man still did not raise his bidding plaque. By then, the hammer had already come down for the second call at 500 Spirit Stones. The middle-aged man looked worriedly at the young man beside him.

"Attendant Liu, it's not that I don't trust you. You know my initial trait is 'Strength of Nine Oxen.'"

"This trait can indeed give me eight random traits, but they would only be random White Traits or Green Traits. Whether their effects would be useful to me is still unknown. Even if they are useful, it would still be difficult for me to break through to the Golden Core Realm. If I cannot break through to the Golden Core Realm, it will be hard to earn back so many Spirit Stones."

His name was Wang Tiedan. His bone age was fifty-six, and he was a Foundation Establishment Third Layer cultivator. Starting from nothing, he had built a small lineage of his own—a tiny Foundation Establishment lineage several hundred li from Windward City. Though it had no major industries, it could still bring in more than 200 Spirit Stones each year.

His days had been fairly comfortable.

Until a year ago, when he encountered the young man beside him. The man claimed that mountain bandits had raided his village and that he had fled for his life. Out of kindness, Wang Tiedan had taken him in. Only later did he slowly discover that this man, Liu Zide, had an exceptionally sharp mind.

He often spoke of strange new terms Wang Tiedan had never heard before.

Things like market operators, industry barriers, omnichannel strategies, endorsement harvesting, and the like.

He had given Wang Tiedan plenty of ideas. With the young man's help, Wang Tiedan's business had grown larger and larger. Winter was about to arrive, and it was estimated that this year's net income would reach 500 Spirit Stones—doubling his annual profits.

He had also formally hired the young man as an Attendant of his lineage, appointing him as a strategist to offer counsel and devise plans for him in daily matters.

He had basically never been wrong.

This time, after Attendant Liu saw the auction list for Heaven-Question Market's annual auction, he had insisted that Wang Tiedan bring every Spirit Stone the lineage could mobilize. They had rushed along for five days to reach Heaven-Question Market in time for the auction, all for the sake of this Green Trait, "Self-Severing Root."

"Master, you're being foolish!!!"

Seeing that the hammer was already coming down for the second call at 500 Spirit Stones, the young man said anxiously, "Master, can't you change the way you think? Who told you that buying this trait is meant to make you stronger?"

"Let me ask you: if someone stood in Heaven-Question Market right now and said he possessed both 'Strength of Nine Oxen' and 'Self-Severing Root,' and that he was about to start cutting himself up on the spot so everyone could watch what traits he randomly obtained, do you think people would want to see it?"

"Of course they would!"

"This is human nature! What lies deepest in human nature? The urge to gamble. Reason suppresses most people and makes them restrain themselves, but watching others gamble can also bring that same thrilling, nerve-racking enjoyment."

"For such a spectacular show, would charging one Spirit Stone for admission be too much?"

"We'll put on a show like this. Heaven-Question Market is holding its annual auction, and the Heavenly Dao Secret Realm is appearing in Windward City. Over the next few days, a huge number of cultivators will definitely gather in Windward City. We have heaven's timing, earth's advantage, and human harmony. For those sect and lineage disciples, one Spirit Stone to watch such a spectacle is simply too rare an opportunity!"

"One Spirit Stone means nothing to them, but if they miss this show now, there will never be another one."

"As long as we can promote it and draw 3,000 spectators, that's 3,000 Spirit Stones. If we get 5,000 spectators, then 5,000 Spirit Stones will flow straight into our pockets!"

"Leave the operation to me. I'm confident we can make a fucking fortune in one go!"

"I'm fucking going to launch an era-defining, fully livestreamed ox-chopping event right here in Windward City!!!"

"Those without much money can watch in the outermost area through the Mother-and-Child Mirror in real time. Charge one tael of silver. Those with a little more money can watch from the nearby rooftops for a better view—charge them ten taels of silver. As for the sect and lineage disciples, arrange the closest seats so they can watch live right in front of it. Charge one Spirit Stone!"

"The Great Xia Kingdom has no entertainment activities at all. With people's instinct to watch excitement unfold, there definitely won't be few who come."

"Master, trust me. As long as you buy this trait, I can give you a brand-new tomorrow!"

"And you don't need to worry about losing face, Master. This place is a full eight hundred li from our base. Once we finish this job, we'll go home. By the time we return to our base, no one will know about this!"

Perhaps the young man's fervent excitement infected the middle-aged man, or perhaps the young man's past accomplishments had earned his considerable trust. In the end, before the auction hammer could fall for the third call at 500 Spirit Stones—

The middle-aged man stood and raised his bidding plaque, roaring in a trembling voice, "1,000 Spirit Stones!!!"

"1,200."

Inside the private room, Chen Qiu glanced at the middle-aged man in the hall below. After pondering for a moment, he raised the bid again. This was already his bottom line. Any higher and it would not be worth it; buying a trait meant for self-destruction at that price would have far too poor a cost-performance ratio.

"1,500 Spirit Stones!!!"

Almost the instant Chen Qiu's voice fell, the middle-aged man raised his bidding plaque again and roared with nearly all his strength, "I bid 1,500 Spirit Stones!!!"

This was nearly all the wealth his lineage had accumulated over so many years. To him, this was a desperate gamble.

Perhaps he truly would become rich overnight as Attendant Liu had said, but perhaps in the blink of an eye, his family fortune would be wiped out.

"..."

Chen Qiu, seated in the private room, shook his head with slight speechlessness. This price was too outrageous. He would not bid again. 1,500 Spirit Stones for a Green Trait like this? Was that man insane?

Could the person bidding below also possess the trait "Strength of Nine Oxen"?

Still, he was rather curious. If that person truly had Strength of Nine Oxen, what traits would he randomly obtain after gaining "Self-Severing Root"? Unfortunately, every cultivator's traits were secret. Under normal circumstances, they would not easily reveal them to others.