The auction

Two days passed quickly, and in the blink of an eye, the day of the auction house's annual grand auction arrived. Xiao Yu used a simple disguise technique to make himself look like a middle-aged man, then headed to the auction house.

Unlike the deserted entrance two days earlier, today a steady stream of people came and went, creating a bustling scene both inside and outside.

Xiao Yu entered the auction house and saw several Foundation Establishment cultivators who had arrived before him buying Magic Tools such as bamboo hats and masks at a counter.

He swept his spiritual sense lightly over the face of a cultivator wearing a tiger-head mask and discovered that he could not see through it. A thought stirred in Xiao Yu's mind. So these are Magic Tools for concealing one's appearance!

After a little thought, Xiao Yu understood. Most of the items offered at the auction were valuable treasures!

Most cultivators taking part in the bidding had some wealth, and they might well clash over an item. Once the auction ended, someone might even murder another bidder to seize their treasures!

A Magic Tool that concealed one's appearance could prevent quite a few unpleasant surprises!

Xiao Yu's eyes shifted slightly as he approached the counter and said to a delicate-featured young woman, "Give me a Magic Tool for concealing my appearance. My surname is Lu."

"Of course, Senior!" the woman replied in a clear, pleasant voice after glancing at Xiao Yu. She then placed several masks and a bamboo hat on the counter. "All these Magic Tools conceal your appearance. Their effectiveness is about the same; only their designs differ. Each costs two hundred Spirit Stones."

Xiao Yu looked them over, then casually picked up a jet-black bamboo hat Magic Tool!

Black gauze hung around the hat's brim, with a faint black glow flickering through it!

After examining it with his spiritual sense, Xiao Yu confirmed that the hat could indeed block spiritual probing!

"I'll take this one!"

As he spoke, he took two hundred Spirit Stones from his Storage Bag and handed them to the young woman, then put the hat on his head!

He then followed a passage into a hall that could accommodate several hundred people.

The hall was brilliantly lit! Its walls, carved beams, and painted pillars were lavishly decorated! At the far end stood a square wooden table several yards across. Dozens of Foundation Establishment Stage cultivators, wearing various appearance-concealing Magic Tools, sat in tiered seats arranged in a semicircle around it. Several were even at late Foundation Establishment!

As Xiao Yu entered the hall, some of the cultivators turned to look at him!

His nerves immediately drew taut!

Fortunately, the Foundation Establishment cultivators only gave him a brief once-over. Seeing that he was merely at early Foundation Establishment, they lost interest and withdrew their gazes.

Xiao Yu let out a soft breath, inwardly shaken. Being stared at by so many Foundation Establishment Stage cultivators at once was far from pleasant!

After steadying himself, he walked to an empty seat in a corner and sat down to wait quietly, while secretly sizing up the dozens of Foundation Establishment cultivators present!

Over the next two hours or so, more than a hundred additional cultivators arrived one after another.

Four hours later, as the hall doors slowly closed, three cultivators-one man and two women-emerged from a side door at the far end of the hall!

The man was an elderly cultivator of about sixty at late Foundation Establishment, while the two women were only at the tenth level of Qi Refining!

After entering the hall, the three went straight to the host's position at the wooden table!

The old man swept his gaze over the more than two hundred Foundation Establishment Stage cultivators present, then smiled faintly and cupped his hands. "My surname is Li! I will be presiding over this auction. We will begin shortly. Any fellow cultivators who have not arrived will have to wait until next time!"

Just then, a black-robed late Foundation Establishment cultivator said impatiently, "Fellow cultivator, just get on with it! Stop rambling! We've already been waiting for hours!"

The old man surnamed Li showed no anger at these words. Instead, he smiled faintly and said, "Very well! I won't waste any more words. But I must still explain the auction's rules, as this may be some fellow cultivators' first visit.

"The auction has two parts. First, we organizers will present treasures and set starting prices, after which you may bid with Spirit Stones. If you do not have enough Spirit Stones, you may offer items in exchange, though naturally, their assessed value will be slightly below market price! Once the bidding ends, you will have time to trade freely among yourselves! Anyone wishing to buy or sell an item may come forward and announce it!"

"That concludes the necessary explanations. The auction now officially begins! Our first treasure is a top-grade Magic Tool, the Windshadow Sword. Even among top-grade Magic Tools, this sword is an exceptional piece, ranking among the fastest of its kind! It is also extraordinarily hard. The starting price is three hundred Spirit Stones!"

As the old man surnamed Li spoke, one of the women who had entered with him opened a brocade box, revealing a small blue-green sword for everyone to see.

The moment he finished speaking, an impatient bidder called out a price. Many others, unwilling to be outdone, joined the bidding!

Seeing that the very first item was an exceptional top-grade Magic Tool, Xiao Yu nodded inwardly. The standard of this auction was quite respectable.

It seems this auction house has considerable resources! He also began looking forward to obtaining what he wanted!

A top-grade Magic Tool was not something Xiao Yu urgently needed, so he had no intention of bidding. Instead, he sat in his chair and watched with interest!

The cultivators present continued bidding, driving the price steadily upward-three hundred, four hundred... It finally stopped at six hundred and fifty Spirit Stones! The sword went to a gray-clad man at early Foundation Establishment!

"Now, please take a look at our second auction item."

The old man surnamed Li waved a hand, and the other woman turned her palm over, producing a jade tray holding nine jade bottles.

"The second item in today's auction is the Qi-Gathering Pill."

"Qi-Gathering Pills are among the best pills for Foundation Establishment cultivators to strengthen their magical power and advance their cultivation. Their medicinal potency is mild, they are easily absorbed, and their effects are pronounced."

"Each bottle contains five Qi-Gathering Pills. There are nine bottles in total, which will be auctioned in three lots of three bottles each."

"The starting price is four hundred Spirit Stones, with each increase no lower than ten Spirit Stones."

The old man pointed at the jade tray in the woman's hands as he loudly explained.

With a roar, the hall erupted into a clamor, and the Foundation Establishment cultivators' enthusiasm instantly surged. Pills that strengthened magical power and advanced cultivation were always in short supply. Whenever they appeared, there was simply no reason to let them slip away.

"Four hundred and ten Spirit Stones!"

A cultivator in white robes, looking every bit a young nobleman, immediately called out a bid from the front row.

"Four hundred and twenty Spirit Stones!"

Qi-Gathering Pills are among the better pills suited to Foundation Establishment Stage cultivation. They usually sell for thirty Spirit Stones each. The auction house set the starting price a little lower to encourage bidding, Xiao Yu thought silently as he listened to bids rising one after another throughout the hall.

"Five hundred and fifty Spirit Stones!"

Once the price reached that figure, the hall fell quiet, and no one made another bid.

Although these three bottles of Qi-Gathering Pills would normally cost only four hundred and fifty Spirit Stones, their mild medicinal potency made them easy to absorb and refine. They often had a listed price but none available to buy. As soon as they were produced, people reserved them in advance, leaving very few in circulation.

The old man surnamed Li was all smiles. He addressed the winning cultivator amiably. "These three bottles of Qi-Gathering Pills are yours, fellow cultivator. Please come forward to settle the payment."

As the auction continued, the three lots of Qi-Gathering Pills sold for five hundred and fifty, five hundred and forty, and five hundred and seventy Spirit Stones, respectively.