Chapter 118: Chapter 118: Demon Flame Crystal
"Sigh."
Chen Bufan shook his head slightly, glanced at Chen Ling’er, and finally gave up on the bidding.
’Could it be that Chen Bufan wanted to buy this Foundation Establishment Pill for Chen Ling’er? But can she reach Foundation Establishment before this Elixir expires?’ Zhang Chi wondered, feeling a little doubtful.
He had obtained this first Foundation Establishment Pill from Patriarch Xie, and he’d inspected it back then. The Elixir had been freshly refined.
The Elixir had a shelf life of ten years. Since he’d had it for a year and a half, it clearly had less than eight and a half years left.
Yet, Chen Ling’er was only at the Qi Cultivation Eighth Layer. Based on her progress of advancing from the Seventh Layer to the Eighth Layer in a year and a half, it would take her another twenty years to reach the peak of Qi Cultivation and attempt to break through to Foundation Establishment, even without considering any Cultivation Bottlenecks.
Besides, Chen Ling’er could always exchange for a Foundation Establishment Pill from the Sect, and the wait probably wouldn’t be very long.
But on second thought, Zhang Chi wasn’t surprised anymore.
After all, even if Chen Ling’er couldn’t use the Foundation Establishment Pill in time, she could sell it or give it to another family member before it expired.
Furthermore, Chen Bufan surely had ways to speed up Chen Ling’er’s future cultivation.
As for getting a Foundation Establishment Pill from the Sect, it didn’t conflict with winning one at auction.
Many Cultivators failed their first attempt at Foundation Establishment; one Foundation Establishment Pill was rarely enough.
Moreover, Chen Ling’er’s family and status couldn’t compare to Lan Xuan of the Spirit Control Sect. When exchanging for a Foundation Establishment Pill from the Sect, not only would she have to wait in line, but she would also likely only get one chance.
If she could reach Foundation Establishment using this purchased pill, she could then hide her Cultivation, exchange for another pill from the Sect, and sell that one to recoup the cost entirely.
Unfortunately, it was clear that Chen Bufan didn’t have enough money, or perhaps he felt the price exceeded his budget.
Seeing this, Chen Ling’er couldn’t help but feel dejected, but she said nothing.
"Heh heh!"
The old man who had bid fifty thousand was smug, thinking the Foundation Establishment Pill was as good as his.
"Sixty thousand!"
But just then, Zhong Yu, clad in red, smiled faintly, raised her hand, and called out a higher price.
"Damn it!"
The crowd erupted in an uproar. All the Cultivators gave up on the bidding, including the old man who had offered fifty thousand.
"Sixty thousand going once! Sixty thousand going twice! Sold, for sixty thousand!"
And so, the first Foundation Establishment Pill quickly ended up in Zhong Yu’s hands. The price was twenty thousand more than Zhang Chi had expected.
’Turns out she’s loaded!’
Zhang Chi was secretly surprised, but happy to see it happen.
"Junior Sister Ling’er, here."
Zhong Yu took the Foundation Establishment Pill, inspected it, and then handed it to Chen Ling’er.
"Ah, Martial Aunt, this... this isn’t right, is it?" Chen Ling’er exclaimed in surprise.
"It’s fine. If I’m giving it to you, you should take it. Also, just call me Senior Sister. I believe it won’t take you ten years to become a Foundation Establishment Cultivator," Zhong Yu said with a smile.
"Alright, thank you, Senior Sister!"
Moved and overjoyed, Chen Ling’er finally accepted the Elixir.
"Thank you, Junior Sister Zhong. Rest assured, Junior Sister Zhong, the Chen Family will consider this a loan of Spirit Stones. I will pay you back later; I’m just a little short right now."
The surrounding Cultivators were incredibly envious. Even Chen Bufan was stunned and only snapped out of it after a long moment, immediately offering his solemn thanks and promise.
"There’s no need. This is between me and Junior Sister Ling’er. You and the Chen Family don’t need to get involved. Ling’er and I hit it off, and she even gave me a great gift. This is just my way of repaying her."
But Zhong Yu waved her hand, immediately refusing.
"Very well!"
Seeing that Zhong Yu wasn’t feigning, Chen Bufan finally gave up. He couldn’t help but look at his cousin, Chen Ling’er, in a new light.
He suddenly realized that his little sister actually had some good fortune on her side.
’Is this Zhong Yu just an idiot with too many Spirit Stones? Probably not, right? Could it be that the other Beauty Pill was actually a gift from Chen Ling’er? Or were the Pill Formula and materials hers to begin with?’
’No, that can’t be right. They must have belonged to Chen Ling’er. Otherwise, if Chen Ling’er only helped find a Pill Master and got a Beauty Pill for free, she would be the one indebted to Zhong Yu. Zhong Yu wouldn’t have any reason to be this good to her again.’
From a distance, Zhang Chi hadn’t heard the conversation between Chen Bufan and the others, as they had set up a sound-insulating Restriction around themselves before talking.
However, Zhang Chi saw their movements and immediately made some deductions.
He just didn’t know if he was right.
But soon, he stopped caring. In any case, it had little to do with him anymore.
After that, the auction for the second Foundation Establishment Pill began. The Cultivators had assumed this one would be a bit cheaper, and Zhang Chi thought so too.
But in the end, perhaps because it was the last one and now or never, or perhaps because everyone had been waiting for it, the result was different.
This one actually sold for sixty-four thousand, a bit higher than the first.
This made Zhong Yu and her group happy, and even a little relieved that they had acted decisively and bought the first one.
’Not bad! Holding onto these Elixirs to sell them here was definitely a wise move!’
Zhang Chi was pleasantly surprised and secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
The two Foundation Establishment Pills had brought him a direct income of 124,000, while the three Lifespan Extension Pills combined had only fetched 107,000.
But this was actually normal. The Demon Abyss was more dangerous, so Qi Cultivation Cultivators were more desperate to grow stronger, and relatively fewer Foundation Establishment Pills flowed out of the region.
Therefore, every time a Foundation Establishment Pill appeared, it would be fiercely fought over, and the price would inevitably be driven up.
Of course, this time it was also thanks to Zhong Yu’s "assist," which raised the psychological ceiling for what the other Cultivators were willing to pay.
’I still have seventeen thousand left, which should be enough to buy a Top Grade Magical Artifact Flying Sword. But there’s another item on this list that might be even more suitable for me than a Top Grade Flying Sword.’
Zhang Chi had intended to leave immediately, but after calculating his remaining Spirit Stones and looking at the auction list again, he ultimately decided to wait.
"Next up is a mineral called Demon Flame Crystal. It’s a Tier Three Low Grade Artifact Refining Material. It can be used for refining Magical Treasure Flying Swords and the like, or it can even be directly added to a Magical Artifact to greatly enhance its Mighty Power."
"According to our tests, adding it to a typical Upper Grade magical artifact flying sword can give it a Mighty Power that surpasses some Top Grade Magical Artifacts. However, this mineral has a small problem: its Demonic Qi is too dense. It must be purified before use."
"Of course, you could also choose not to purify it. Its Mighty Power would be even greater, but you must not use a Magical Treasure or Magical Artifact enhanced with this Demon Flame Crystal for extended periods."
"The starting price for this item is ten thousand, and each bid increment cannot exceed one thousand. We welcome all our fellow Daoists and seniors to place their bids..."
After a while, the item Zhang Chi was interested in finally appeared. It was a black crystal the size of a fist.
Black Demon Flames burned ceaselessly on its surface, and it continuously emitted a dense Demonic Qi.
"So it’s this thing. It’s fine for refining a Magical Artifact or Magical Treasure to be used as a trump card, but forget about long-term use."
"Exactly. Purifying this Demon Flame is no easy task, and after purification, it loses most of its value."
"Stop being so picky. If it weren’t so impractical, would it be this cheap?"
Hearing this, the Cultivators broke into a flurry of discussion, but very few were actually interested enough to bid.
"Ten thousand!"
Zhang Chi, however, immediately made his bid.
"Eleven thousand!"
He started the bidding, and soon a second person raised the price.
"Twelve thousand."
Zhang Chi wasn’t concerned, calmly competing with the other bidder.
Soon, he and a few others had driven the price of the Demon Flame Crystal up to fourteen thousand.
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