Just after noon, Li Yun returned to the inn.
She changed her clothes, which were still light blue, but made of finer material, and the cuffs were embroidered with cloud patterns with silver thread. In addition to the sword, she also had a white jade pendant on her waist. The jade pendant was carved into the shape of clouds and water, glowing warmly in the sunlight.
"Let's go," she said, "I'll take you to open your eyes."
Qin Tiexin didn't ask any questions, and followed Edgeless behind her.
The two walked through the main street and walked towards the center of the Falling Star Pavilion. The further in, the wider the street and the larger the storefronts. The monks on the road were more and more luxurious, and their breath was deeper. Qin Tiexin could feel that there were at least five or six breaths of late-stage Qi refining passing by.
After walking for about a quarter of an hour, a huge palace appeared in front of us.
The hall is nearly ten feet high and is made entirely of gray-white stone. The eaves are raised and the tiles are pitch-black. On the front are twelve tall wooden doors, only three of which are open at the moment. Next to the door stand two stone sculptures, not lions, but some kind of strange beast that Qin Tiexin does not recognize, with long horns, sharp claws, and dark red gems embedded in its eyes.
There were four guards in black standing at the door, with iron hands embroidered on their chests. Seeing someone coming, one of them stretched out his hand to stop him. "Please show me your voucher."
Li Yun took out a jade plaque from her sleeve.
The jade token was about the size of a palm, light blue in color, with fine water ripples engraved on the edge. The guard took it, looked at it carefully, then raised his eyes to look at Li Yun, his eyes changed. "It turns out you are a distinguished guest. Please."
He handed back the jade plaque and took out a wooden plaque from his arms. "No. C17, Second Floor."
"Thank you." Li Yun took it.
Entering the main hall, the light suddenly dimmed.
The dome is extremely high, ring-shaped, and inlaid with countless luminous crystals, like stars in the night sky. Below are densely packed seats, arranged in a staircase shape, and there are already seven or eight people sitting there. Right in front is a stone platform, one foot high, with a long table on it.
The second floor is a circular box, separated by carved wooden railings and hung with dark curtains. Qin Tiexin followed Li Yun up the side stairs and found No. 17 Bing. This is a semi-open small compartment, about five feet wide and three feet deep, with two wooden chairs and a small table. The curtain is half-draped, so you can see clearly below from the inside, but you can't see clearly from the outside.
There was a faint fragrance in the air, like sandalwood, mixed with other grassy scents. Qin Tiexin took a sniff and felt a little calmer.
He sat down and Edgeless stood beside the chair.
The sound of people downstairs was buzzing like a swarm of bees. Some were talking in low voices, some were coughing, and some were moving chairs. Occasionally, chuckles came from the second-floor private room, the sound was not loud but clear.
After waiting for about half a quarter of an hour, a person walked up from behind the stone platform.
She was a female cultivator, she looked to be in her thirties, she had a plump figure, and she was wearing a dark purple dress that touched the floor. She walked behind the long table, looked around the room, and smiled slightly, "Good afternoon, fellow Daoists."
The sound was not loud, but it spread clearly to every corner. It became quiet downstairs.
"Today is the monthly auction of the Meteor Star Pavilion. There are thirty-six items in total. The rules remain the same." The female cultivator spoke in a steady voice, "The one with the highest price will get it, Spirit Stone. If there is any barter, it needs to be appraised by our appraiser."
She paused, "Now, the first item to be auctioned."
A maid came up to the stage holding a jade box. The female cultivator opened the lid of the box and found five pills inside. They were all milky white with cloud patterns flowing on the surface.
"Foundation Establishment pill, one pill." The female cultivator said, "It is of high quality. It takes less than three months to complete the pill. The starting price is five hundred Spirit Stone, and each increase in price must not be less than ten Spirit Stone."
As soon as the words fell, someone downstairs immediately raised a sign. "Five hundred and ten!"
"Five hundred and twenty!"
"Five hundred and fifty!"
The price keeps rising. Qin Tiexin stared at the pill, and the starting bid was five hundred Spirit Stone. A bottle of Qi Gathering Pill only cost thirty Spirit Stone.
"Six hundred!" A voice came from a private room on the second floor.
It was quiet downstairs for a moment.
"Six hundred and ten." Someone gritted his teeth.
"Six hundred and fifty." The voice in the box was calm.
No one bids anymore.
The nun waited for a moment, then tapped the gavel. "Deal."
The first auction item set the tone. Qin Tiexin watched the maid take away the jade box and then a new one. The next few items were all elixirs, with prices ranging from tens to hundreds Spirit Stone. Most of the bidders were Rogue Cultivator downstairs. Occasionally, there would be bids from the private rooms, which would often make the final decision.
"The item below is Law Artifact." The female cultivator took a wooden box from the maid and opened it. Inside lay a palm-sized boat with a silver-white body and engraved with flowing cloud patterns.
"Flowing Cloud Shuttle, medium-grade flying Law Artifact." The female cultivator held up the boat, "It can be lifted up to a hundred feet above the ground and can travel thousands of miles in a day. It is equipped with a wind-proof and invisible spiritual pattern formation. The starting price is eighty Spirit Stone."
Qin Tiexin took a second look. Flying Law Artifact He had only seen it in classics. This Liuyun Shuttle was exquisite in workmanship and had complex spiritual patterns. It was indeed no ordinary product.
"Eighty-five!"
"Ninety!"
"One hundred!"
The bidding was more intense than before. Flying Law Artifact is both a means of transportation and a means of life-saving for Rogue Cultivator. The price soon exceeded one hundred and twenty Spirit Stone, and is still going up.
"One hundred and fifty." A voice came from a private room on the second floor.
The downstairs was quiet for a moment. A few Rogue Cultivator who originally wanted to increase the price opened their mouths, but finally made no sound.
The gavel fell.
Qin Tiexin calculated silently. One hundred and fifty Spirit Stone was enough for him to buy five bottles of Qi Gathering Pills or thirty kilograms of red heart copper. But here, it was only the price of one Law Artifact. And the price of this flying Law Artifact was much higher than weapons of the same quality.
"The next thing is a living creature." The female cultivator clapped her hands.
Two strong men carried an iron cage onto the stage. There was a mouse in the cage. It was all white and only the size of a palm. Its eyes were pale gold and it was turning its head warily.
"Treasure-hunting rat, young." The female cultivator said, "This beast has a special sense of spiritual materials and is especially good at finding low-level ores buried underground. After being domesticated, it can be recognized as its owner and has a lifespan of about twenty years. The starting price is two hundred Spirit Stone."
Qin Tiexin The body leans forward slightly.
The treasure-hunting mouse... was somewhat similar to his [Spirit Material Sensing]. He concentrated on trying to sense the mouse - there was no response in the sea of consciousness. It seemed that this ability was only effective on dead objects.
"Two hundred and ten!"
"Two hundred and thirty!"
"Two hundred and fifty!"
Most of the bidders were Rogue Cultivator who were in the middle and late stages of Qi Refining, and there were also a few monks who were younger than Lineage. The price soon exceeded 280 Spirit Stone.
"Three hundred." A voice came from a private room on the second floor.
Someone downstairs sighed and put down the number plate.
Deal.
Qin Tiexin withdrew his gaze. Three hundred Spirit Stone would buy a mouse. He thought of the seven hundred and fifty spiritual crystals he spent at the Bone Forging Hall yesterday, and suddenly felt that it was not too expensive.
The auction continued. Cultivation Method, secret techniques, talismans, formation plates... The price of each item made Qin Tiexin silent. He saw Rogue Cultivator downstairs fighting for dozens of Spirit Stone, and also saw the distinguished guests in the box casually throwing out hundreds of Spirit Stone.
"The thing below is a secret technique." The female cultivator took out a black Jade Slip, "The invisible technique can hide the body's aura after being used for ten breaths. Jade Slip is incomplete, only the first three levels of mental skills can be practiced to a small degree. The starting price is one hundred Spirit Stone."
The bidding this time was particularly fierce. Although the concealment technique is incomplete, it is a good means of escaping with your life, especially suitable for Rogue Cultivator. The price has soared from 100 to 170, and is still going up.
"One hundred and eighty." A hoarse voice came from the corner downstairs.
Other competitors hesitated. One Hundred and Eighty Spirit Stone It was a bit expensive to buy an incomplete secret technique.
The gavel fell.
The female cultivator took the new jade box handed by the maid and opened it. Inside were ten jade bottles. The bottles were transparent and the ice-blue elixirs inside could be seen.
"Ice Soul Condensing Yuan Dan, ten pills." The female cultivator said, "It is suitable for water and ice Spirit Root monks. Taking it in the later stage of Qi refining can refine pure spiritual power and assist breakthroughs. The final Alchemist is 'Han Mei True Person'. The starting price is thirty Spirit Stone."
Qin Tiexin noticed that Li Yun sat up straight.
"Thirty-five." Someone held a sign downstairs.
"Forty."
The price rose steadily. Qin Tiexin glanced sideways at Li Yun. She stared at the stage and tapped the back of the chair with her fingers.
"Eighty." She said and doubled it.
The sound was not loud, but clear. A few monks downstairs who still wanted to increase their fares turned to look at the second floor and saw the half-draped curtain of cubicle No. 17. They hesitated for a moment and put down their number plates.
The female cultivator waited and asked, "Eighty Spirit Stone, is there any increase in price?"
No one answered.
The gavel fell.
The maid held the jade box and walked to the second floor. Li Yun took it, checked it, and put it in Storage Bag. The whole process was very calm, like buying an ordinary thing.
Qin Tiexin Forget it. Eighty Spirit Stone is equivalent to more than ten times his entire net worth.
The auction was coming to an end. The smile on the female nun's face became even brighter, "The next is the last item of the day, but before that, there is another gadget."
She took out a bronze mirror from a brocade box.
The mirror is only the size of a palm, made of bronze, with a dragon pattern carved on the edge, but the dragon head has been worn. The surface of the mirror is full of cracks, as if it has been hit hard. There is some dark green patina on the back of the mirror.
"This mirror was obtained from an ancient monk cave abode in the southwest." The female cultivator said, "The specific function is unknown, but the material is special, unusual bronze. The starting price is fifteen Spirit Stone."
There were several chuckles from the audience. A broken mirror with unknown purpose, number 15 Spirit Stone, is obviously not a serious auction item.
Qin Tiexin didn't care at first, but the moment the female cultivator finished speaking--
Deep in the sea of consciousness, Illustrated Catalog of Ten Thousand Artifacts shook violently.
Like a sleeping giant suddenly awakening. The pages of the book flipped wildly, and finally stopped on a incomplete map. The lines of the map were blurred, and it could only be barely seen to be in the shape of a mirror. A strong desire surged out of the catalog, pointing directly at the bronze mirror on the stage.
Qin Tiexin Fingers clenched the back of the chair.
He forcibly suppressed the impulse and his breathing was slightly erratic. Li Yun glanced at him sideways and said nothing.
"Fifteen Spirit Stone, is there anyone bidding?" the female cultivator asked.
The audience was silent.
"Fourteen?" The female cultivator smiled, "Then thirteen?"
"Fifteen." A voice came from a box on the first floor.
The female nun looked towards the second floor. "Is there any increase in price?"
Qin Tiexin's throat was dry. He wanted to raise his hand, but there were only four pieces of Spirit Stone left in Storage Bag. Even if there were any, he couldn't buy them - paying a lot of money for a broken mirror with no known purpose would be too eye-catching.
"Sixteen." Another box said.
"Eighteen." The price of the first box will increase.
The second box was silent for a moment. "Give it up."
"Eighteen Spirit Stone, deal." The female cultivator tapped the gavel.
Qin Tiexin let go of his hand, his palms were covered with sweat. The longing for the mirror still echoed in the sea of consciousness, but it gradually subsided. The shadow of the book pages slowly closed, and calmness returned.
The final item was a top-grade Law Artifact, which sold for a high price of three hundred and fifty Spirit Stone. At the end of the auction, the female monks left the stage. The monks in the audience stood up one after another, chatting in low voices and left.
Qin Tiexin and Li Yun followed the flow of people out of the hall.
The sun was dazzling outside. People were coming and going on the street, and the sound of hawking was still there, as if the transaction that easily cost hundreds of Spirit Stone had never happened.
The two walked for a while, and then Qin Tiexin said, "That elixir... is very important to you?"
"Yeah." Li Yun said, "It's necessary for cultivation."
"Eighty Spirit Stone..."
"It's not expensive." Li Yun said calmly, "If it's a big quarterly sale, the Ice Soul Ning Yuan Dan can fetch more than 100."
Qin Tiexin is silent.
"You seem to be familiar with this place." He added.
Li Yun glanced at him. "The elders in the family have some business dealings with Tie Shou Men."
She didn't elaborate, and Qin Tiexin didn't ask any more questions. The two of them continued to walk forward, and when they passed a teahouse, they heard discussions inside:
"Today Foundation Establishment Dan was only 650, but it sold for 700 last month!"
"The big quarterly auction is coming soon, I've saved all the good stuff..."
Qin Tiexin Listening, I suddenly thought of that bronze mirror.
"That broken mirror just now," Li Yun said suddenly, "You seem to care about it?"
Qin Tiexin felt a shiver in his heart, but his face remained unchanged. "I just think the shape is strange."
"Really?" Li Yun did not ask further.
The two returned to the inn. Qin Tiexin entered the room, closed the door, and stood with his back against the door panel for a moment.
Illustrated Catalog of Ten Thousand Artifacts in the sea of consciousness has completely calmed down. But he remembers that feeling - strong desire, clear guidance. That mirror must be related to Illustrated Catalog of Ten Thousand Artifacts.
He walked to the window and opened it a crack.
The streets are still lively.
Qin Tiexin looked at it for a while and then closed the window.
He sat cross-legged on the bed and closed his eyes.
Practice. Become stronger. Earn Spirit Stone.
These three thoughts rotated in my mind.