Fish Mountain Treasure Fair
On the third day of the sixth month, the Fish Mountain Treasure Fair, held once every four years, was livelier than ever.
Not only had the various powers of Pingrong County come, but cultivators from the other counties of Cloud Horn Prefecture had also come drawn by its reputation.
After all, the immortal path had been in decline in Cloud Horn Prefecture since the mountain barbarian rebellion. Even in Kang Dabao's eyes, Pingrong County had only three Qi Refinement powers that amounted to anything, weaklings pecking at one another.
Yet such strength was enough to rank in the upper middle among the thirteen counties, enough to make cultivators from the lesser counties green with envy.
Whatever else one might say, the Fish Mountain Treasure Fair at least had some claim to being an auction. Some counties called their events treasure fairs, but in truth they looked just like junk exchanges. Any cultivator with a bit of wealth would fear for their eyes upon entering.
This time, the Fellow Cultivators Association had arranged a private room for the Chongming Sect, setting them slightly apart from the Rogue Cultivators in the main hall outside.
At least two pretty mortal maids stood waiting on either side, and a pot of spirit tea sent fragrant wisps curling up from the warming table.
Kang Dabao quietly extended his Divine Sense to look outside. There had to be at least five or six hundred people here.
Though most of them hovered around early or middle Qi Refinement, the turnout far surpassed previous years. The Fellow Cultivators Association had built such a grand stage this time-weren't they afraid someone would rob them?!
Kang Dabao opened the catalogue of lots for this Fish Mountain Treasure Fair. It contained beautifully printed illustrations of the lots, brief descriptions, and starting bids. The fair charged five Spirit Stone fragments for a copy, and nearly everyone who entered had one.
There was also the admission fee. Those sitting in the main hall had to pay two Spirit Stones apiece, and who knew how much a private room cost? From those two things alone, the association had earned at least half a Four Ghosts of the Liu Household. The money really did come fast!
Before long, an old man with white at his temples and two swords on his back walked onto the stage.
"This old man is Gui Xiang, honored to serve as host of this Fish Mountain Treasure Fair. Allow me first to thank all fellow Daoists for attending on behalf of the Fellow Cultivators Association." Gui Xiang's voice was soft and gentle, yet the hall's sound-amplifying restriction carried it clearly into the ears of everyone present.
"I know all my fellow Daoists are eager to pursue the Dao, so this old man will not waste words. The treasure fair now officially begins. Today's first lot is a first-tier supreme-grade Law Artifact, the Spirit-Striking Chain. This treasure was refined by Master Xie Yong, a third-rank Attendant of the Dingnan Niu Household. Its main material is Azure Silver Iron, a first-tier superior-grade treasure from Fish Mountain Lake, with six qian of second-tier middle-grade material mixed in. It took a full two months to refine.
"It bears the five restrictions of 'reinforcement,' 'armor piercing,' 'spirit striking,' 'Dragon imprisonment,' and 'spirit conservation.' Its power is boundless, making it an exemplary work among Law Artifacts of its tier. The starting bid is 1,500 Spirit Stones, with increments of at least fifty."
Two pretty female cultivators in revealing clothes came onto the stage, struggling to hold up a bright silver chain. Gui Xiang spared no words of praise for the Law Artifact.
"'Reinforcement,' 'armor piercing,' and 'dragon imprisonment' are nothing special. 'Spirit conservation' is uncommon, but hardly rare. But this 'spirit striking' restriction is no simple matter. It attacks the opponent's Divine Sense while attacking their body. Master Xie Yong really does have some skill, far more than Master Qi. That fellow may not have refined more than a few superior-grade Law Artifacts in his entire life."
Kang Dabao eyed the supreme-grade Law Artifact onstage, a full ten feet long, with some longing.
Who wouldn't like a reasonably priced, practical Law Artifact? Unfortunately, his pockets were empty.
"1,600!"
"1,650."
"1,800 Spirit Stones, going once! 1,800 Spirit Stones, going twice! 1,800 Spirit Stones, sold! Congratulations, fellow Daoist. Please come below the stage to settle the payment after the auction."
As the small hammer in Gui Xiang's hand came down hard, the Spirit-Striking Chain was sent to the Carefree Grotto's private room. The price of 1,800 Spirit Stones was no small sum, giving the fair a winning start.
The Carefree Grotto, which had bought the Spirit-Striking Chain, was a power from Feng Prefecture, which bordered Cloud Horn Prefecture. They had actually come all that way.
The Carefree Grotto had once been a major Foundation Establishment sect, but had since fallen into decline and become subordinate to the Feng Prefecture Ge Household. Who would have thought they still had such deep pockets!
Kang Dabao felt a pang of envy, but the next lot soon drew his attention.
"The second lot is a first-tier middle-grade Mirror-Breaking Pill. It can help cultivators below the sixth layer of Qi Refining break through bottlenecks. It was produced by an Alchemist of the Han City Yue Household and contains no pill toxins."
The Realm-Breaking Pill I took had pill toxins. Luckily, the spirit dew drew most of them out, but I still shouldn't take another breakthrough pill so soon. Second Brother, though, has been stuck at the Qi Refining Fifth Layer for quite a few years. Kang Dabao made his calculations.
The Han City Yue Household had a False Core Great Cultivator. With the Yue Household in the north and the Dingnan Niu Household in the south, the two had been quietly vying for the title of Cloud Horn Prefecture's foremost Aristocratic Clan for who knew how many years. As a result, the northern and southern cultivation worlds of Cloud Horn Prefecture had never had much contact.
The Fellow Cultivators Association had actually managed to extend its business all the way there? Perhaps the Demon Correction Office had lent a hand in the matter.
Tie Liuyun truly favored Qin Sufu. Kang Dabao felt a faint sourness in his heart. That Daoist brother of his made it impossible not to be jealous.
"The starting bid is 300 Spirit Stones." As soon as Gui Xiang finished speaking, someone below shouted.
"500 Spirit Stones!"
A clamor broke out below. "Whoa, what family's young master is squandering money like that?" Kang Dabao looked toward the private room that had raised its bidding paddle and murmured, "Mandarin Duck Hall? Who has Hua Yuanyang latched onto this time?" It was a power like a whorehouse, selling flesh, and its hall master Hua Yuanyang was only at Middle Qi Refinement. Yet they were actually willing to spend so freely.
That price was already sixty percent above market value, and it wasn't something he absolutely had to have today. Kang Dabao was unwilling to play the sucker.
He had better keep a closer eye on Second Brother and make him work harder. Damn it, he was good for nothing but making babies all day.
"500 Spirit Stones, sold! Congratulations, fellow Daoist!" Mandarin Duck Hall got its wish and bought the Mirror-Breaking Pill. After all, most of the cultivators present were experienced hands.
Who knew which family's fool had bought it for his sweetheart at Mandarin Duck Hall? To have a patron willing to spend so freely, that woman, whose lips had been tasted by ten thousand customers, was fortunate indeed.
In less than an hour, dozens more lots were sold, and not one went unsold. It showed just how lively this Fish Mountain Treasure Fair was.
Most of the lots, however, sold for only one or two hundred Spirit Stones, or even less than a hundred.
After all, most of the fair's audience were Rogue Cultivators with modest cultivation. If every lot were a supreme-grade Law Artifact or a rare pill, would everyone have paid two Spirit Stones to get in just to broaden their horizons?
Go fool a ghost! This Daoist master's Spirit Stones aren't so easy to earn!
"The sixty-sixth lot: one purple caltrop from the forehead of a second-tier lower-grade Purple Caltrop Colt. It can be used as a material for refining second-tier Law Artifacts, as well as a supplementary ingredient in more than a dozen second-tier pills. The starting bid is 800 Spirit Stones, with increments of thirty!"
This lot immediately brought the atmosphere, which had cooled somewhat, to another peak.
The Purple Caltrop Colt was a Demon Beast unique to the Cold Crow Mountain Range. It took a full three hundred years to mature from a young beast, and upon reaching adulthood it became a first-tier supreme-grade Demon Beast. Quite a few of the finest among them advanced to the second tier, and the purple caltrops between their brows were also excellent materials for mirror-type Law Artifacts.
This was because many Purple Caltrop Colts had once been tamed by the mountain Rong royal family, and the beasts had been caught up in the great turmoil two hundred years ago.
In recent years, Purple Caltrop Colts had grown ever rarer on Cold Crow Mountain. Even first-tier ones were seldom seen, let alone a second-tier specimen like the one onstage.
Wait, that price?
"A purple caltrop from the forehead of a second-tier lower-grade Purple Caltrop Colt, starting at 800 Spirit Stones? Is your Fish Mountain Fellow Cultivators Association running a charity?" someone below asked sarcastically, prompting a chorus of jeers.
"You jest, fellow Daoist." Gui Xiang cleared his throat. "This purple caltrop is slightly damaged at the edge." As he spoke, he took out a palm-sized mirror Law Artifact and placed the purple caltrop on it.
Before long, it projected an image of the purple caltrop as large as the auction stage. Sure enough, a nearly imperceptible pinhole could be seen on the surface of the brilliantly shimmering crystal.
"This purple caltrop appears to have been pierced by a sharp Law Artifact as fine as an ox hair. The Purple Caltrop Colt was likely killed by that same strike," Gui Xiang said.
"It's damaged, and you still dare sell it for 800?" The clamor below grew louder rather than quieter.
"According to Elder Jiang, this pinhole should slightly affect the flow of Law Power through the purple caltrop. Even so, if used in artifact refining, it will still be more effective than a first-tier supreme-grade purple caltrop. Moreover, if used to refine pills, it will be unaffected." Gui Xiang's words completely subdued the uproar below.
Jiang Xue, the Fellow Cultivators Association's chief Attendant, had originally come from the Jiang Household Trading Company and had sought shelter with the association only after the company met with disaster seven years ago.
Not only had he lived to the venerable age of 140, but he was also a second-tier spirit appraiser, a rarity throughout Cloud Horn Prefecture.
A figure like him, though only a Qi Refinement cultivator, could have joined the Hall of Attendants at either the Dingnan Niu Household or the Han City Yue Household.
His word was enough to convince the Qi Refinement cultivators present.
"850."
"880."
"2,050 Spirit Stones, going once!"
The bidding was in full swing. As the purple caltrop's owner, Kang Dabao watched from his private room, delight written all over his face. He had pried it off Second Sister Song's Venomous Bee Stinger.
Who could have imagined that the most valuable thing among that pile of corpses would come from Second Sister Song, who had the lowest cultivation?
The Fellow Cultivators Association had invited powers from all over in the hope that everyone would bring out some good things to put up for auction. It was mutually beneficial.
He had been worrying about what to bring out, only to turn up this treasure.
It was all thanks to Kang Dabao's good habit of never throwing away a single spirit item, maintained over many years. Even if he picked up a Foundation Establishment female cultivator's menstrual cloth or foot wrappings, as long as they had anything "spirit" about them, Sect Master Kang would put them away safely and try to find some fool to sell them to the next time he set up a stall!
Spirit appraisal was unquestionably a rather important art among the hundred arts of cultivation!
If he hadn't honed his eye over so many years of running a stall, how could he have recognized the second-tier purple caltrop set into Second Sister Song's Venomous Bee Stinger?
At the very least, the artifact refiner who had made it for her hadn't recognized it, treating it as an ordinary mortal gemstone and setting it there as decoration. For a less successful artifact refiner, losing those 2,000 Spirit Stones would have meant losing nearly twenty years of future income.
"2,050 Spirit Stones, going twice!" Gui Xiang brought down the hammer again, not forgetting to stir up interest. "A second-tier lower-grade purple caltrop-after this, one will be hard to find on the Cloud Horn Prefecture market for the next ten years. Fellow Daoists who urgently need one mustn't miss this chance."
"2,100 Spirit Stones."
"2,200."
"2,230."
"2,260."
Gui Xiang's enticing words sent the bidding into another deadlock.
"2,550 Spirit Stones, sold! Congratulations, fellow Daoist." Both Gui Xiang and Kang Dabao were beaming.
Scarcity really did make things precious. Go back sixty years, and even an entire first-tier supreme-grade Purple Caltrop Colt would have struggled to fetch that price.
"With this many Spirit Stones, it's not as if this Daoist master can't afford a visit to Mandarin Duck Hall." Kang Dabao crossed his legs and sipped the coarse spirit tea, his eyes narrowing with delight.
"Pah, why go to Mandarin Duck Hall? Let's see if there are any cultivation cauldrons for sale. This Daoist master will buy a couple to take home."
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