Chapter 15

Yin Taohong’s delicate hand gave a slight tremble, and suddenly a tray appeared on the empty stone table before her. It was covered with a red cloth. Li Mengze, acting on instinct, swept it with her spiritual sense, only to discover she could perceive nothing—apparently, it even blocked spiritual probing.

“This treasure is, in its own way, both extraordinary and commonplace. Cultivators like us cannot do without it when absorbing spiritual energy; it is essential to our cultivation. The reason we’re offering such a common item today is that its quantity is truly rare.” With those words, she lifted the cloth, revealing a set of small jade-green bottles, the kind typically used to hold pills. Yet to see more than a dozen at once was a rarity at any auction. The very fact that these were up for bid spoke to their scarcity and value—such things are precious precisely because they’re seldom seen. Presenting so many at once could even lower their price, as bidders might suspect something amiss.

“As you all can see, these contain the Qi Gathering Pills we use in our cultivation, suitable for anyone below the Golden Core stage. What is unusual here is not the pills themselves, but that there are ten bottles this time, each containing ten pills—and…” Yin Taohong paused here, glancing at the unimpressed cultivators below, a subtle smile playing at her lips.

“…and every single pill is of the highest grade. According to the owner’s request, all ten bottles are to be sold together, with a starting bid of thirty thousand lower-grade spirit stones; each raise must be no less than one hundred spirit stones.” Qi Replenishing Pills, Spirit Nourishing Pills, Qi Gathering Pills, Spiritual Gathering Pills—all are common supplements for spiritual power, carried by almost every cultivator. Yet those found on the market are usually of lower or middle quality and contain pill toxins. Only top-grade pills are free of toxins and even help expand the meridians—a rare and coveted benefit. So while the pills themselves are ordinary, a batch of high-grade pills of this quantity is enough to be considered a novelty.

As expected, Yin Taohong’s words had barely fallen before the auction floor erupted with bids. She herself had little interest in such pills; her mother was an accomplished alchemist, and if she wished, she could have high-grade pills as casually as sweets. Moreover, Li Mengze was herself an alchemist, albeit one who could only refine lower-grade pills for now, though she could still manage Qi Gathering Pills, even if high-grade ones were rare.

As for Ba Yicheng and Wen Yuanyuan, both disciples of Kunlun in the Golden Core stage, they had never once lacked for pills.

The bidding climbed from thirty-one thousand to over fifty-six thousand spirit stones, and the price continued to rise. Li Mengze patted her own pouch of pills with clenched teeth. As an alchemist, she knew the ingredients for Qi Gathering Pills: aside from the main herb—three-hundred-year-old Qi Gathering Grass—the rest were common as dirt. Even the main herb was not especially rare, costing only fifty or sixty spirit stones per stalk, and earth fire and spiritual energy cost nothing. It was pure profit—a business with no overhead.

Finally, the ten bottles were won by a Foundation Establishment disciple on the first floor. Judging by the looks from those around him, it was clear he would not walk away with his prize so easily. Still, if he weren’t confident, he wouldn’t have flaunted his wealth so openly; perhaps he was baiting others.

In the world of cultivation, aside from alchemists, artifact refiners, and array masters, another lucrative “profession” was highway robbery. It wasn’t just rogue cultivators—many disciples of major sects took pleasure in such “business” when out training, knowing it was all profit with no loss. To avoid harming innocents, they’d have their own people act wealthy at various gatherings to attract attention. Those with ill intent would take the bait, only to suffer for it in the wilderness.

Incidents like these had become so common that they even served as a deterrent, for no one could tell who was genuine prey and who was laying a trap. Those seeking unearned wealth had to think twice before acting.

Li Mengze knew well that her senior brothers and sisters had often engaged in such activities, justifying it as “upholding justice.”

After the Qi Gathering Pills, the next items failed to incite the same fervor. At the beginning of an auction, it was easy to stoke desire, but as time passed, people became more cautious with their spirit stones.

The following items did not interest Li Mengze, so she picked up a spiritual fruit from the table and began to munch on it. The second-grade Water Spirit Fruit was unattractive—lumpy and misshapen—but juicy and sweet. Even if it lacked much spiritual energy, many female cultivators adored it, and Li Mengze was no exception. She was always interested in anything edible and had planted plenty of spirit fruits in her own space.

As she ate, she observed the surroundings. Their private box had similar rooms on either side. Though she knew nothing of their interiors, they were likely comparable. The adjacent boxes had shown no interest in the previous auctions, suggesting they were here for something else—hopefully not the same items she and her senior sister coveted, or competition would drive up the price.

She didn’t mind trouble but hated spending excess money. The mere thought of her beloved spirit stones leaving her was enough to make her heart ache.

After a flying artifact was auctioned off, Li Mengze incinerated the fruit core with a flash of fire, clapped her hands clean, and sat up straight. In her hand was a bidding device connected to a white spiritual sensor outside. A simple press would register her bid and the amount—no need to shout. This was far more dignified, for who could imagine a Nascent Soul ancestor bellowing bids like a street hawker?

Yin Taohong pressed the confirmation button, smiling brightly. Though she was a servant cultivator of the Wei family, she still earned a commission for guest-hosting such events—the higher the final price, the better for her.

“The next treasure up for auction was brought back by a Wei family elder from a secret realm. Though it hasn’t been cultivated for a century, it remains brimming with spiritual energy—a peerless treasure for any alchemist. This is the Form-Altering Grass, which blooms once every thousand years and fruits once every thousand years. Its fruit can be used to refine the Form-Altering Pill. Any of you with spirit beasts should not miss this opportunity—buy it, and perhaps you’ll soon have a Nascent Soul-level companion. Starting bid: ten thousand spirit stones, with a minimum increment of one hundred.”

Even as Yin Taohong spoke, she felt no confidence in her own words. After all, if it were truly as valuable as she claimed, why would anyone auction it? A thousand years to bloom, a thousand to fruit—who could wait so long? Moreover, this grass was notoriously finicky about its environment, requiring high-grade spiritual fields, and even the best growth elixirs of the cultivation world were useless. After buying it, one would still have to wait two thousand years—hardly feasible for anyone.

Furthermore, as far as she knew, the Wei family had already tried cultivating it twice, only to fail for various reasons. That’s why it was up for auction now.

This time, the atmosphere was subdued. After a long silence, no one bid. Yin Taohong thought it might become the first item to go unsold, but as she prepared to entice the crowd further, the spiritual sensor flashed—a bid from the second floor. Who knew which ancestor or prodigy from a major sect was interested? Still, as long as it sold, whether the grass would survive was no concern of hers.

Li Mengze had expected the item to provoke fierce competition, but was surprised to win it for a mere fifteen thousand spirit stones—an unexpected delight.

Soon the item was delivered to their box. After handing over the spirit stones, the vibrant Form-Altering Grass was hers. One look told her why there had been no other bidders—it was clearly a plant that had already been cultivated and then dug up, likely failing to thrive. No one wanted to wait two thousand years, time enough for a dozen spirit beasts to reach transformation. But with her own spatial realm, time was no issue. This acquisition added a valuable new member to her spiritual herb garden.

Li Mengze proceeded to win several more spirit plants, all with ease except for one—Twin Bloom, the main ingredient for Beauty-Preserving Pills—which drew fierce competition. The rest were hers without effort.

Having secured several spirit plants, Li Mengze couldn’t help but grin. Her harvest this time was richer than she could have hoped—so many new companions for her herb garden, a true windfall.

After the medicinal herbs were auctioned, it was finally time for the cauldron Wen Yuanyuan had her eye on. It was clearly a coveted piece: the bidding started at fifty thousand lower-grade spirit stones, climbing all the way to fifteen thousand mid-grade stones. By the end, Wen Yuanyuan had abandoned all pretense, one foot on her chair, clutching the bidding device and repeatedly pressing it. Her expression was one of determination, mixed with a rage that made onlookers tremble. After her final bid, she slammed the device onto the table and declared, “If anyone dares outbid me again, they’ll be saving me money—because I’ll just rob them afterward. That’s an even better deal.” Her brashness made Ba Yicheng and Li Mengze laugh and nod in agreement, knowing that if she failed to win, they’d be accompanying her that night to ambush the lavish victor.

Perhaps Wen Yuanyuan’s fury had radiated through the auction hall, because after her bid, no one else dared to compete. In the end, she won the cauldron for seventeen thousand three hundred mid-grade spirit stones. Those who refrained from bidding had likely escaped disaster, for had someone persisted, there’s no telling what this bold woman might have done. In this case, not buying was truly the profitable choice.