There were so many Golden Core cultivators in the Azure Feather Dao Sect. How many outer disciples and inner disciples, unable to break through to Nascent Soul, had no choice but to leave the sect in search of a fortuitous opportunity to break through, or, hearts turned to cold ashes, find a job within the Dao Sect to while away their remaining years?
Wu Gang was one of those whose hearts had turned to cold ashes. He was now over five hundred years old, yet only at the mid Golden Core stage, with no hope of advancing to Nascent Soul.
But when he saw the Nascent Soul Breakthrough Pill, he still rose from his seat in excitement. Had he not retained his reason, he might have tried to seize it.
Every so often, the Azure Feather Dao Sect would refine a batch of Nascent Soul Breakthrough Pills and award them to cultivators who had made major contributions to the sect.
There were not even enough to go around within the sect. How could any find their way outside?
Whenever someone obtained a Nascent Soul Breakthrough Pill from ruins or a cave abode, it would unleash a bloody storm.
Wu Gang closed his eyes and only calmed down after a long while. He cupped his hands toward Ye Xuan and said,
"I have disappointed you, fellow Daoist. Might you allow me to verify it?"
Ye Xuan had no objection and handed over the Nascent Soul Breakthrough Pill directly. Even if Wu Gang tried to seize it by force, Ye Xuan could kill him in an instant.
Wu Gang accepted the Nascent Soul Breakthrough Pill with utmost care and examined it closely in his hand, only returning it to Ye Xuan after a long while.
"It is indeed a Nascent Soul Breakthrough Pill. This truly is a major transaction, just as you said, fellow Daoist."
"Then how much is the Azure Feather Pavilion offering?"
Ye Xuan put away the Nascent Soul Breakthrough Pill and asked as he sipped his spirit tea.
"Might you be willing to trust our Azure Feather Pavilion, fellow Daoist? We happen to be holding an auction here tomorrow. Would you be willing to entrust the Nascent Soul Breakthrough Pill to us for auction? Our Azure Feather Pavilion will not take a single coin. We ask only to befriend you."
Wu Gang spoke solemnly. In his eyes, Ye Xuan was no weakling, and since he could resist temptation and bring out a Nascent Soul Breakthrough Pill to sell, his future accomplishments would certainly be considerable.
Wu Gang even thought greedily that perhaps this Nascent Soul Breakthrough Pill had been refined by Ye Xuan or someone behind him. If he could befriend Ye Xuan, there might be a second and a third Nascent Soul Breakthrough Pill in the future.
Wu Gang was right. Ye Xuan did indeed have more than one Nascent Soul Breakthrough Pill. He had obtained three in total from the Pill Cauldron on Wood Spirit Peak.
"All right! There are also these things. Pavilion Master, sorry for the trouble, but please help me gather them. Deduct the Spirit Stones from the Qiankun Bag and the Nascent Soul Breakthrough Pill."
Ye Xuan handed Wu Gang a long list containing large quantities of medicinal ingredients, formation materials, talisman materials, and artifact-refining materials. Quite a few were precious materials worth a considerable sum.
There were around four months left until the sect selection. During that time, Ye Xuan planned to put the abilities he had acquired through signing in into practice.
"Hiss, this much? It will probably take a long time to gather. We already have some of the low-grade materials in the pavilion, but I fear we can only gather the high-grade ones slowly."
Wu Gang sucked in a breath of cold air as he looked at the long list. Even the Azure Feather Pavilion dared not guarantee it could gather all these materials.
The materials included a large quantity of precious medicinal ingredients, further convincing Wu Gang that Ye Xuan or the person behind him was an Alchemist.
"No problem. Two days. Gather as much as you can."
Ye Xuan had not intended to gather everything in one go anyway. He probably would not even use a third of the materials on the list in four months.
After leaving the Azure Feather Pavilion, Ye Xuan casually found an inn to rest in and quietly waited for the next day's auction to begin.
Before night had even fallen, all of Tianyue City was in an uproar.
News that a Nascent Soul Breakthrough Pill would appear at the Azure Feather Pavilion's auction tomorrow spread like wildfire, and message jade talismans streaked over Tianyue City one after another.
Over the course of the night, Ye Xuan sensed more than fifty Golden Core realm experts entering Tianyue City, most of them at the Golden Core late stage.
There was also a Nascent Soul early stage cultivator who went straight to the Azure Feather Pavilion, hoping to buy the Nascent Soul Breakthrough Pill ahead of time, but they parted on bad terms.
The Azure Feather Pavilion had already spread the news, so naturally, it would not ruin its own reputation.
With the Azure Feather Dao Sect as its powerful backer, the Azure Feather Pavilion naturally thought nothing of a single Nascent Soul early stage cultivator.
Moreover, a Nascent Soul expert from the Dao Sect was stationed in Tianyue City. With the city's defensive formation as well, suppressing a Nascent Soul early stage cultivator would be effortless.
The next afternoon, people filled the queues outside the Azure Feather Pavilion. However, because so many high-level cultivators had come this time, Qi Refining realm cultivators were not allowed inside and could only stand on tiptoe outside the entrance, peering in.
"Hey, I've never seen so many big shots in my life. Nearly a hundred Golden Core cultivators, Nascent Soul big shots, and even the city lord is here."
"You're telling me. What a shame we can't go inside and take a look. If one of those big shots took a liking to me, I'd have hope of breaking through to Foundation Establishment."
"I heard there's a Nascent Soul Breakthrough Pill at this auction. That's a pill you might not encounter in a hundred years. I wonder how many Spirit Stones it'll fetch?"
"They say the Heavenly Eagle Elder is here too. He's a veteran Nascent Soul expert. He's probably here to buy the Nascent Soul Breakthrough Pill for his son."
"Heh heh, I'm afraid both the owner of this Nascent Soul Breakthrough Pill and whoever gets it will be in for trouble after the auction. There'll be a good show to watch then."
As the owner of the Nascent Soul Breakthrough Pill, Ye Xuan naturally entered the auction early. He declined Wu Gang's offer of a private room, concealed his cultivation at the Foundation Establishment late stage, and casually found a seat in the main hall.
Once Nascent Soul realm cultivators became involved, Ye Xuan decided to conceal his cultivation. If Qingyu City had also been a major city, he would definitely have auctioned the Nascent Soul Breakthrough Pill there. After the auction, he could have taken a flying shuttle straight back to the sect, unlike now, when he still had to cross ten thousand li of wilderness.
Even though the Azure Feather Pavilion had barred Qi Refining realm cultivators from attending, the entire auction hall was still packed and bustling. Most people had come to watch the excitement. Today's main contenders were the Golden Core realm experts and the two Nascent Soul realm experts.
As Wu Gang looked at the packed auction hall, he still felt somewhat dissatisfied. If the auction could have been postponed a few more days, it would probably have drawn an even greater crowd.
Unfortunately, Ye Xuan had insisted that it had to be completed today. Wu Gang could only hurriedly notify the major powers nearby. Those farther away could only miss out.
With a strike of the gavel, the auction officially began.
The early lots were merely appetizers, with only Foundation Establishment realm cultivators bidding. The Golden Core realm experts on the upper level all rested with their eyes closed, conserving their strength for the final battle.
At the auction, Ye Xuan also saw several Spirit Artifacts he had sold, all of which fetched considerable prices.
Ye Xuan also bid frequently, purchasing some formations and precious materials. This drew envious looks from those around him, with some greed hidden among them, but Ye Xuan took none of it to heart.
Soon, the auction approached its end, and some heavyweight items also sparked fierce bidding.
"Next is our final lot. I believe everyone already knows what it is: a Nascent Soul Breakthrough Pill, a genuine Nascent Soul Breakthrough Pill! And a flawless pill at that!"
The moment Wu Gang finished speaking, Ye Xuan felt the temperature throughout the hall rise sharply, while gasps rang out one after another.
Wu Gang could hardly contain his own excitement either. Before the auction began, he had specially sought out a nearby master Alchemist to verify the Nascent Soul Breakthrough Pill's medicinal efficacy. He had never expected it to be a flawless pill.
A flawless Nascent Soul Breakthrough Pill could increase the chances of successfully breaking through to Nascent Soul by at least ten percentage points. How could that not drive people mad?