Xiao Zhan Takes the Stage, Forty Thousand Gold Coins for Foundation Establishment Spirit Liquid

The old man was around sixty, with a lean build and a stern face, but his eyes shone brightly.

The middle-aged man hurried to introduce him.

"Young master, this is our Mittel Trading Company's Alchemist, Master Gu Ni."

Then he turned to Gu Ni.

"Master Gu Ni, this is Young Master Xiao Baichuan of the Xiao Clan."

Gu Ni looked Ling Xi up and down, stroked his beard, and said with a smile.

"So this is the young man who defeated the Pill King's personal disciple?"

"You certainly carry yourself well."

He paused, swept his gaze over Ling Xi's cultivation, and shook his head slightly.

"Your cultivation realm is just a little lacking."

Gu Ni felt that his words seemed somewhat inappropriate, so he offered some encouragement. "Young fellow, cultivate diligently. You still have a very good chance of reaching the pinnacle of the Jia Ma Empire someday."

Ling Xi merely smiled faintly and said nothing.

Gu Ni did not mind. He walked straight to the table and picked up a bottle of Foundation Establishment Spirit Liquid.

He uncorked it and sniffed it first, then poured a drop into his palm and used Dou Qi to sense its medicinal potency.

A moment later, the casual look vanished from Gu Ni's face.

His pupils contracted slightly. He examined it carefully once more, then abruptly looked up at Ling Xi.

"This medicinal liquid... did you refine it?!"

Ling Xi hesitated before speaking.

"No, my teacher refined all these pills."

Only then did Gu Ni's expression relax somewhat, though the shock in his eyes had yet to fade completely.

"These pills are certainly beyond an ordinary Alchemist's ability to refine."

His voice carried heartfelt admiration.

"This refining technique, this concentration of medicinal potency-they're definitely above mine."

"At least a third-tier-no... only a Fourth-Tier Alchemist at the very least could achieve this!"

Then he patted his chest, as though letting out a breath of relief.

"You really gave this old man a fright just now. I thought you had refined these pills."

"I imagine this teacher of yours must be a high-tier Alchemist?"

He looked at Ling Xi, his tone now a little more respectful.

"I wonder... could you introduce this old man to him?"

A low-tier Alchemist seeking an audience with a high-tier Alchemist was perfectly normal on the Dou Qi Continent.

After all, an Alchemist who did not wish to improve was not a good Alchemist.

Ling Xi shook her head, refusing without hesitation.

"My teacher doesn't allow me to reveal his identity to outsiders."

Seeing this, Gu Ni looked somewhat disappointed, but did not press the matter. He merely nodded.

"I understand, I understand. Masters all have their quirks."

"Then, sorry for the trouble, young master, but please pass along a message. Tell him Gu Ni of the Mittel Trading Company will call on him another day."

After the pleasantries, Gu Ni picked up the bottle of Foundation Establishment Spirit Liquid again, studied it carefully for a moment, and gave his appraisal.

"Young Master Xiao, this bottle of Foundation Establishment Spirit Liquid is of superior quality. Its starting bid should be around eight thousand gold coins."

"Judging by demand in Wutan City, the final price should reach around twenty thousand gold coins."

Ling Xi did not reply.

She stood where she was, her eyes slightly lowered, as though pondering something.

When she remained silent, the smile on Gu Ni's face froze for an instant.

Could Young Master Xiao be dissatisfied with this price?

He gritted his teeth and ventured.

"If you feel that's too low, young master, I can take it upon myself to raise the starting bid by another thousand gold coins."

"How about a starting bid of nine thousand gold coins?"

Ling Xi still said nothing.

Sweat began to bead on Gu Ni's forehead. Just as he was about to grit his teeth and add a little more, Yao Chen's voice suddenly rang out in Ling Xi's mind.

"That's about enough."

"Pushing the price higher could backfire. People here can't afford overly expensive pills."

Only then did Ling Xi come back to her senses.

She had not been thinking about the price at all.

What she had been thinking was-what were gold coins?

She had never even seen what gold coins looked like.

What Dou Di bought things with gold coins?

But she let none of that show on her face, merely giving a calm nod.

"That's fine."

Gu Ni breathed a sigh of relief and wiped the cold sweat from his forehead.

Then he picked up the second porcelain bottle, opened it, and examined its contents.

"This bottle contains Qi Gathering Powder, correct? It's also of superior quality."

"A starting bid of... ten thousand gold coins, with an estimated final price of around thirty thousand."

Ling Xi nodded.

"That's fine..."

Soon, the two of them settled the prices of the pills one after another.

Controlling Xiao Baichuan's body, Ling Xi asked.

"Could I go and have a look at the auction hall?"

There was no helping it. Ling Xi's life was far too plain and unadorned; every day, she only had to open her mouth for medicine.

And auctions were generally not held in the Beast Region.

Even if one were held, she could not attend. There was no helping it-her cultivation realm was too high.

As a result, she was quite curious about things like this that she had never seen before.

Without the slightest hesitation, Gu Ni nodded repeatedly.

"Of course, of course!"

He turned and instructed the middle-aged man beside him.

"Take Young Master Xiao to the VIP box, the Heaven-designated one."

The middle-aged man immediately acknowledged the order and bowed as he led the way.

Watching "Xiao Baichuan" leave, Gu Ni's eyes flashed with eagerness.

At his age, his alchemy had been stuck at the peak of the second tier for years. There was no hope of breaking through by feeling his way forward alone.

If he could receive guidance from the Fourth-Tier Alchemist behind Xiao Baichuan, perhaps he might still have a chance to advance another step in the future.

That was why Gu Ni placed such particular importance on Xiao Baichuan.

Not only because of Xiao Baichuan's own talent, but even more because of the mysterious Alchemist behind him.

After Ling Xi left with the middle-aged man, Gu Ni picked up the three bottles of pills on the table and strode toward the auction hall's backstage area.

In the backstage corridor, a tall, slender woman was touching up her makeup in front of a bronze mirror.

The woman was in her early twenties, dressed in a fitted red qipao that traced the exquisite curves of her waist. The skirt was slit high on both sides, revealing a pair of long, fair legs as she moved.

She had delicate features and a tender look in her eyes. Her black hair was swept into a bun, with a dangling gold hairpin tucked into it at an angle, and her entire figure exuded an enchanting, seductive charm.

She was Ya Fei, the Mittel Auction House's chief auctioneer.

Gu Ni stepped forward and handed her the three bottles of pills.

"Ya Fei, these are today's new auction items. Take a look."

Ya Fei accepted the medicine bottles, opened a cap, and glanced inside, her willow-leaf brows lifting slightly.

"Foundation Establishment Spirit Liquid, Qi Gathering Powder, and Rejuvenation Pills?"

She closed the cap, her voice carrying a hint of curiosity.

"Master Gu Ni, who refined these pills? I've hosted so many auctions in Wutan City, but this is my first time seeing medicine bottles like these."

The medicine bottles each Alchemist used differed to some extent, or bore their own personal mark.

Not only could this prove that they had refined the pills themselves, it also counted as a little means of expanding their network.

A new Alchemist arriving in Wutan City was good news for the Mittel Merchant Guild.

A new Alchemist meant a new source of goods and new sales.

Gu Ni did not conceal anything.

He said to Ya Fei:

"These pills were brought by Xiao Baichuan, the Xiao Clan's young master who's been causing such a stir these past two days."

"According to him, his teacher refined these pills."

"By this old man's judgment, this Alchemist is probably around the fourth tier!"

Gu Ni paused, his tone certain.