Two black-robed cultivators stood guard at the entrance like imperial palace guards, spirit saber magical artifacts hanging at their waists. They remained motionless, watching everyone who approached with predatory eyes.
"Password!"
As Liu Yu approached, they scrutinized him. One spoke, his attitude ice-cold.
The black-robed cultivators carried a chilling aura of slaughter.
They seemed like warriors ready to die, veterans of countless battles who had seen life and death in all their forms, quite unlike some sect cultivators.
"With my back to all living beings."
"Fishing alone through the ages."
"An ominous old age."
Liu Yu remained expressionless. Inwardly, he grumbled incessantly about the "password," but his answers came promptly.
After confirming the password, the black-robed man opened the door, stepped aside, and fell still.
Without further hesitation, Liu Yu strode inside.
Beyond the door lay a spacious hall, its aisles carpeted in red.
At the far end stood a raised platform roughly fifty or sixty feet across.
Lanterns hung along the surrounding walls, casting a soft glow that brightly illuminated the hall.
Several rows of chairs stood neatly arranged, but they were not joined together. Each was separated from the next by roughly five feet, seemingly positioned according to some rule.
The second and third floors consisted of elegant private rooms, each with a small window overlooking the hall.
After passing through the doorway into the hall, Liu Yu glanced around.
He discovered identical doors in the other three directions, with cultivators emerging through them one after another.
It looks like there's more than one entrance.
The thought flashed through his mind.
At this point, cultivators sat scattered throughout the hall, most with their faces concealed.
Some rested with their eyes closed, while others looked around.
Few spoke to one another, however. Those attending an underground auction like this clearly did not want to reveal their identities.
It seemed there was still plenty of time, as many seats remained empty.
Without betraying anything, Liu Yu walked to a row near the back and chose a chair at random.
To his right sat a female cultivator wearing a rabbit mask.
She wore a simple, elegant pink dress, her lustrous black hair falling naturally over either shoulder.
At a glance, he could see her slender neck, delicate collarbones, and neatly arranged bangs.
The woman in the red dress pinched the hem of her clothing, looking around curiously.
With an unfamiliar cultivator suddenly sitting beside her, her movements became rather awkward, and she seemed somewhat wary.
When she noticed the stranger looking her way, her eyes flickered, and she quickly turned away.
Judging by her behavior, she probably isn't very old?
Sitting upright, Liu Yu noticed her reaction and thought to himself.
He had no intention of striking up a conversation, however, and instead silently surveyed his surroundings.
Liu Yu discovered that everyone in the hall was in the Qi Refining Period. There were relatively few at middle Qi Refining like himself; most were at late Qi Refining.
He therefore ventured a guess: were all the Foundation Establishment Realm cultivators in the private rooms upstairs?
After a while, having observed enough, Liu Yu closed his eyes and quietly regulated his breathing.
About half an hour passed. The seats gradually filled, and more and more figures appeared.
At a rough glance, there seemed to be two or three hundred cultivators.
"Dong, dong, dong!"
With three tolls of the bell, the underground auction officially began.
"Bang!"
Two breaths after the bell fell silent, the doors slammed shut with a tremendous crash.
Liu Yu swiftly glanced around. Seeing all four doors tightly shut left him somewhat uneasy.
After the doors closed, a fair, plump, prosperous-looking middle-aged man strode out from behind the stage onto the platform.
Dressed in a black robe threaded with gold, he cut a conspicuous figure at the center of the platform.
"Thank you, fellow Daoists, for coming to support us!"
"I am Ji Guanglin, the host of this auction."
As he spoke, Ji Guanglin cupped his hands toward everyone around him with practiced ease.
"Let me put the unpleasant words first. Before the auction begins, there are several points I must make clear."
"This auction prohibits all forms of coercion and collusion that interfere with normal bidding."
"Anyone who violates this rule will face punishment from us. In serious cases, offenders may even be seized on the spot and have their cultivation crippled!"
"All bids are in low-grade spirit stones. Fellow Daoists who lack sufficient spirit stones may offer other items in payment."
Ji Guanglin's voice had initially been gentle, but by the end, an undertone of firmness had crept into it.
As his words fell, two bursts of spiritual pressure at the Foundation Establishment late stage flashed in succession from the second-floor private rooms, warning anyone harboring ulterior motives.
Liu Yu listened carefully to the rules, sitting upright without a word.
Among the cultivators in the hall, some frowned, while others showed disdain.
Yet even those with some backing were only Qi Refining Period cultivators, and ultimately none spoke up.
"Very well, that is all I have to say. The auction officially begins!"
As he spoke, Ji Guanglin took a small hammer and a small bell from his storage pouch, then gently struck the bell.
"Dong!"
After the chime, a brightly dressed maid emerged from behind the stage, swaying as she walked.
She carried a jade tray holding nine jade bottles.
"The first auction lot-the Jade Spirit Pill."
"The Jade Spirit Pill is one of the best pills for late Qi Refining cultivators to strengthen their magical power and advance their cultivation."
"Its medicinal potency is gentle and easily absorbed, allowing cultivators to complete their Qi Refining Period cultivation sooner and have more time to prepare for Foundation Establishment."
"Each bottle contains five Jade Spirit Pills. Three bottles make one lot, and there will be three lots."
"The opening bid is one hundred spirit stones, with each increase no lower than five spirit stones."
Pointing to the jade tray in the maid's hands, Ji Guanglin loudly explained the Jade Spirit Pill before announcing the start of bidding.
"One hundred and ten spirit stones."
A cultivator in the front row, dressed in white robes like a young gentleman, immediately called out a bid.
"One hundred and fifteen spirit stones."
As Ji Guanglin had said, the Jade Spirit Pill was one of the best pills for advancing cultivation at late Qi Refining, ranked among first-tier superior-grade pills.
Its usual market price was eight spirit stones apiece. The auction had set a lower starting price to whet the cultivators' appetite for bidding.
Listening to the bids rising and falling throughout the hall, Liu Yu pondered silently.
"One hundred and fifty spirit stones!"
Once the price reached that figure, the hall immediately quieted. No cultivator offered another bid.
Normally, three bottles containing fifteen Jade Spirit Pills would cost only one hundred and twenty spirit stones.
But their medicinal potency was gentle and easy to refine, so although there was a market for them, they could rarely be bought. Batches were often reserved well in advance of being refined, leaving very few in circulation.
Ji Guanglin's fair, plump face glowed as he politely addressed the cultivator who had won the pills.
"Excellent!"
"These three bottles of Jade Spirit Pills belong to this fellow Daoist. You may go to the side hall at any time to complete the transaction."
As the auction proceeded, the three lots of Jade Spirit Pills sold for one hundred and fifty, one hundred and fifty-five, and one hundred and sixty spirit stones respectively.
"Now, let us welcome the second auction lot."
Ji Guanglin waved a hand. The maid carrying the Jade Spirit Pills withdrew, and another beautiful maid stepped forward with a jade tray.
"The superior-grade magical artifact, the Blazing Fire Halberd, was forged by a Foundation Establishment cultivator using true fire over seven days and seven nights."
"Our auction has verified that its power surpasses ordinary superior-grade magical artifacts and approaches that of a top-grade magical artifact."
"Fellow Daoists who practice fire-attribute cultivation methods must not miss this opportunity!"
"The opening bid is four hundred spirit stones, with each increase no lower than ten spirit stones!"
Bids rose and fell, and treasures appeared before him one after another, yet Liu Yu's heart remained unruffled.
He had come this time solely for the Yellow Dragon Pill.
Adhering to his principle of keeping as low a profile as possible, he refrained from bidding even when a treasure occasionally caught his fancy, after giving it some thought.
Still, the endless stream of treasures at the underground auction broadened his horizons.
As the bids climbed higher and higher, the wealth of some cultivators truly left Liu Yu astonished.
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