Secured

"Three hundred thousand low-grade spirit stones!"

A domineering, bold voice rang out. With a wave of his hand, the Azure King Manor's chief Attendant raised the price by fifty thousand low-grade spirit stones in one go.

His display of treating money like dirt instantly intimidated the few people who had still been competing with him.

"Alas, three hundred thousand. It seems this old man isn't blessed enough to enjoy this Spirit Fire. I'm withdrawing from the bidding!"

An elderly man shook his head and closed his eyes, paying no further attention to his surroundings as though shutting himself off.

The others exchanged glances, and two more withdrew from the bidding.

In the end, only a gray-haired old woman remained. Gritting her teeth, she said, "Three hundred and ten thousand low-grade spirit stones!"

Her voice trembled as she spoke. Clearly, this was already a limit even she could hardly bear.

The chief Attendant glanced at her out of the corner of one eye and raised the bid as though it were no burden at all. "I bid three hundred and twenty thousand low-grade spirit stones!"

Disappointment filled the old woman's face, but inwardly she breathed a sigh of relief. During that last bid, she had steeled herself and raised the price, only to regret it the very next moment.

The old woman was the matriarch of a major Lineage in Myriad Phenomena City. Though it was nowhere near comparable to the four great spirit manors, it was still a major Lineage in its own right. To keep bidding that long, she had already counted more than half the money in the Lineage treasury.

It was easy to imagine that if she bought this wisp of Spirit Fire and failed to absorb it, her Lineage would be crippled. If its younger generation lacked resources, even the Lineage's future could be ruined.

Oh well. That kind of torment was unbearable. Losing has lifted a weight from me instead.

It was as though she had set down a thousand-pound burden, and her expression relaxed.

Ling Yun sat up straight, somewhat astonished.

So a manor's chief Attendant has such deep pockets. Madam Wang's private treasury can't be much worse. Besides the treasures in the manor treasury worth twenty or thirty million spirit stones, the combined wealth in the pockets of those Core Formation Realm higher-ups is probably a huge sum too.

In that case, I don't have to worry about the manor lacking wealth. What I fear is that even after spending a fortune, I still won't be able to obtain a Cold Essence Pill.

As Ling Yun thought this, he looked at Jiang Lian. Now it was a contest between the two of them, and he wanted to see what kind of treasure Alchemist Jiang could produce to win the bidding!

Under everyone's gaze, Jiang Lian remained calm. The ring on her hand flashed, and an oval object appeared in her hand.

Ling Yun looked over and saw that the oval object was a demon beast egg! The egg was glossy black all over, with faint red markings on its shell. They resembled blood vessels, and blood seemed to flow through them.

The moment the demon beast egg appeared, a powerful demonic presence spread in all directions, making everyone's eyes widen.

The Azure King Manor's chief Attendant looked particularly shocked, all trace of his earlier ease gone from his face.

"This is the egg of a fifth-tier demon beast-a Crimson Mystic Bird. A Crimson Mystic Bird can possess the strength of the Yuan Condensation Stage as soon as it hatches. If raised to adulthood, it's certain to become a fifth-tier great demon at the Primordial Spirit Realm!"

Jiang Lian raised her voice as she introduced it, looking at the chief Attendant with a hint of pride.

The chief Attendant's beard bristled and his eyes bulged with anger on the spot. He stared at Jiang Lian in disbelief, unable to believe that he, the dignified chief Attendant of the Azure King Manor, had been challenged by a fourth-tier alchemist.

"Preposterous! How dare you!"

Furious as he was, the chief Attendant could only watch as Jiang Lian handed the demon beast egg to the chief steward.

He was not foolish enough to interrupt a transaction at the Heavenly Treasure Tower, so he could only stand there by himself and let his anger subside.

The chief steward took it and examined it with his spiritual sense before nodding. "It is indeed a Crimson Mystic Bird egg. But raising a Crimson Mystic Bird in captivity is very costly, so this egg is worth less than other demon beast eggs."

"At the Heavenly Treasure Tower, this demon beast egg is worth four hundred and fifty thousand low-grade spirit stones."

As he spoke, he glanced at Jiang Lian, silently asking whether she was certain she wanted to bid it.

Jiang Lian nodded silently.

A smile immediately bloomed on the chief steward's face. He looked around the room and asked, "Does anyone wish to raise the bid?"

He had merely asked in passing and did not believe anyone could produce something more valuable. After all, raising the price again would require a genuine fifth-tier item. Who below the Primordial Spirit Realm had the means for that?

Today, however, the chief steward had miscalculated.

Seeing that Jiang Lian was once again the one who had held out until the end, Ling Yun could not help feeling sorry for her for a second. Then he swiftly called out, "I bid one fifth-tier low-grade Talisman-the Divine Wood Spell!"

Ling Yun's bid plunged the room into silence. Then one incredulous gaze after another turned toward him.

"No way. Didn't he just bid one hundred and fifty thousand low-grade spirit stones for the Simu Suppression Furnace? How can he still afford to bid?"

Someone cried out in astonishment.

"You're focusing on the wrong thing. Didn't you hear what he said? A fifth-tier low-grade Talisman-the Divine Wood Spell!"

"Hiss-"

A chorus of sharp intakes of breath rang out.

Jiang Lian stared at Ling Yun, whose entire body was concealed beneath a black robe, her composure gone. At last, she could not help asking, "You... how do you have something like that?"

Ling Yun shrugged. "It's the last of my reserves. Can't it be?"

That was naturally a lie, meant to dispel everyone's suspicions that he still had more trump cards.

There were two reasons for that: first, he did not want to draw attention; second... great skill gave one great daring. Those who understood would understand.

Hearing this, everyone felt a little better.

Jiang Lian, however, looked at him and said, unwilling to admit defeat, "The Divine Wood Spell is only the most ordinary kind of fifth-tier low-grade Talisman. It isn't necessarily worth more than my demon beast egg. Aren't you being too confident?"

At that, the chief steward recovered from his shock and nodded. "Indeed. Why don't you let this old man examine the Divine Wood Spell first? I'll be sure to give you a fair and reasonable price."

Ling Yun had no objection. A light flashed in his hand, and he used Spiritual Yuan to carry one of his Divine Wood Spell Talismans over to the chief steward.

The chief steward caught it and immediately examined it. After a long while, he exclaimed in amazement, "This... this Talisman was inscribed by a high-grade talisman master using divine sense. Its effect is much stronger than a Talisman made with spirit cinnabar!"

The chief steward clicked his tongue in wonder, then went on, "Made by a high-grade talisman master, this Divine Wood Spell is worth fifty thousand-no, five hundred thousand low-grade spirit stones!"

A high-grade talisman master!

Everyone was deeply shaken.

Although great Primordial Spirit Realm cultivators gained much greater control over their divine sense after refining a Primordial Spirit, not everyone could become a high-grade alchemist who made Talismans using divine sense!

An ordinary Primordial Spirit Realm cultivator could easily make fourth-tier Talismans with divine sense, but making fifth-tier Talismans was a major hurdle. Only upon succeeding could one become a high-grade talisman master.

Thus, everyone guessed that the Divine Wood Spell had undoubtedly come from a Primordial Spirit Realm talisman master with profound cultivation. They could never have imagined that the Talisman had been made by Ling Yun, a mere Core Formation Realm cultivator.

So high-grade talisman masters are worth that much? Ling Yun thought, his heart stirring.

With the Heavenly Talisman Great Emperor's inheritance, making Talismans really is much easier for me than for most people. I made this Talisman before I condensed my Life-bound Talisman. Now that I have one, the amount of divine sense I possess has already reached the Early Primordial Spirit Realm. I can definitely make higher-tier Talismans now.

While Ling Yun pondered this, Jiang Lian spoke again. "I'll add sixty thousand spirit stones!"

A demon beast egg plus sixty thousand spirit stones came to exactly five hundred and ten thousand low-grade spirit stones, ten thousand more than Ling Yun's bid.

Ling Yun was taken aback. He truly could not understand where Jiang Lian found the courage to spend so much bidding on a wisp of sourceless Spirit Fire. He had only started bidding because he possessed the Spirit-Nurturing Method.

For a fourth-tier alchemist like Jiang Lian, even if she obtained this wisp of Spirit Fire, unless she had some extraordinary stroke of luck, she would ultimately be left drawing water with a bamboo basket-all for nothing.

Though Ling Yun did not understand, he could not possibly give up the bidding. He decided to spend the last fifty thousand in his crystal card in one go.

"Then I'll add fifty thousand spirit stones."

When Ling Yun spoke, the crowd was no longer shocked. Their numb gazes held a trace of the way one might look at a fool.

Five hundred and fifty thousand? What a blockhead! At three or four hundred thousand, I could have called you generous, but now I can only call you a spendthrift.

Quite a few people thought this.

Jiang Lian's gaze hardened, and she was about to raise the bid again. The sight of her ready to risk everything made even Ling Yun feel that he was in serious trouble.

In the end, however, Jiang Lian did not raise the bid. Instead, she frowned and sat down without another word.

Seeing this, everyone knew the outcome was decided.

Seeing that Jiang Lian had not raised the bid, the chief steward felt regret for a second, but immense joy immediately filled him.

Although the sale prices at this auction were nowhere near those of the auction more than a decade ago, in which even Primordial Spirit Realm cultivators had participated, they were higher than at most auctions in recent years!

At that thought, he looked kindly at Ling Yun and struck his gavel three times. "Sir, this wisp of Spirit Fire now belongs to you. The winning bid is five hundred and fifty thousand low-grade spirit stones!"

Ling Yun did not feel that he had lost out. He knew he had made a great profit! So, without the slightest heartache, he handed his last fifty thousand spirit stones to the chief steward.

When money was spent where it counted, it was no loss.