"We've finally secured it safely."
Upon hearing the announcement from the Venerable Treasure Protector, Lu Qing smiled slightly.
Even Xiao Li couldn't help but show excitement in her eyes.
"Fellow Daoist Chen, your gesture is truly grand."
After a long struggle to calm himself down, the Taoist priest Wubao couldn't help but sigh.
He found that he understood this fellow Daoist Chen less and less.
Besides his unfathomable level of spiritual cultivation, he is now displaying astonishing wealth.
He had never heard of such a person before.
"It's just a small trinket I bought. These spirit stones are nothing. The real big deal will be the competition for those spirit artifacts later."
Lu Qing smiled and shook his head.
He knew very well that he had come out on top this time.
Although others cannot see the mysteries of the Void Core, the fact that even the power of the Nascent Soul Realm cannot damage it is likely to arouse the interest of many powerful beings.
However, because there were still high-grade spiritual artifacts to be acquired at the end of this auction, many people wanted to conserve their energy and not waste their spirit stones, which is why he managed to snag a bargain.
Otherwise, he would likely have to pay a considerable price to seize this void core.
Just then, Lu Qing sensed a fluctuation coming from outside.
A divine soul transmission came: "Distinguished guest of the Earth number nineteen, you have won the bid for the thirty-eighth treasure. Would you like the treasure to be delivered to you now, or after the auction ends?"
"You can do it like that?" Lu Qing was delighted upon hearing this and immediately said, "Then send it to me now."
The Void Core is too important; the sooner we get it, the sooner we can feel at ease.
"Please wait a moment, esteemed guest."
Not long after the divine voice transmission disappeared, a knocking sound came from outside the door.
However, the door to the VIP room is located at the back and is also protected by a protective array.
This is also to prevent the distinguished guests inside from being spied on when the door is opened.
The jade tablet in Lu Qing's hand was the key to controlling the array inside the room. He manipulated the array and opened the door.
Two Foundation Establishment cultivators, who appeared to be servants, were standing respectfully outside the door.
One of them was holding a silver sphere in his hands.
"Honorable guest, we have brought treasure number thirty-eight. Please take a look."
Lu Qing stepped forward, took the silver sphere, activated his supernatural ability, and pretended to examine it carefully.
After a while, when he saw the note appear in his field of vision, he nodded slightly.
"Yes, the items are correct. Shall we pay now?"
"Yes, please understand, esteemed guest," a waiter said respectfully.
Without hesitation, Lu Qing took out a bag from his Qiankun Yiqi Bag, removed some spirit stones from it, and handed the bag over.
"Here are 1,500 mid-grade spirit stones. Please count them and see if the number is correct."
Two waiters took the bag and carefully counted the contents in front of Lu Qing.
Soon, the two looked at each other and confirmed that there was no mistake.
One of them said respectfully, "The amount is indeed correct. Thank you, esteemed guest."
"It's alright."
"Then we will take our leave. We hope that our distinguished guest will be able to successfully bid for the treasures he desires."
Thank you for your kind words.
After the two waiters left, Lu Qing returned to his seat, playing with the silver sphere in his hand.
Then he discovered that even he couldn't see through the mysteries of the void core without using his special abilities.
Only that slight flutter of emotion remains in my heart.
However, that was only because he had refined the Void Flying Boat; otherwise, he probably wouldn't have been able to perceive its extraordinary nature.
"Has Fellow Daoist Chen discovered the mystery of this object?" Wu Bao Daoist asked curiously.
"It's not that simple," Lu Qing laughed. "Even the appraisers of Tian Shu City and so many powerful beings at the Divine Realm level couldn't decipher the mystery of this treasure. How could I possibly be more powerful than those senior experts?"
I only took a picture of this object because I found it quite peculiar, intending to study it later.
After saying that, he put the silver sphere into his Qiankun Qi Bag.
We don't yet know what kind of changes will occur when the Void Flying Boat and the core merge. There are many powerful people here, so it's not a suitable place.
If it weren't for the fact that leaving now would attract some attention, Lu Qing wouldn't want to wait until the auction was over.
The auction continued in full swing for the remainder of the day.
However, as the treasures that appeared later became more and more precious, the starting price for any one of them was tens of thousands of spirit stones.
The monks in the hall below gradually lost their right to bid, and the competition turned into one among the VIPs in the VIP rooms above.
Lu Qing simply watched without making any further bids.
There was a sword formation magic weapon in the middle, which consisted of nine high-grade magic swords, and he was somewhat tempted by it.
The 【Seven Star Sword Formation】 he is currently studying can come in handy.
Unfortunately, that sword formation was far too expensive, its value being no less than that of a top-grade magic weapon.
If he wants to win the bid, he probably won't have many spirit stones left.
So after hesitating for a while, Lu Qing finally gave up.
"We're still too poor."
Lu Qing couldn't help but sigh inwardly.
My ten thousand-plus mid-grade spirit stones seem like a lot.
However, even at this auction, it's not guaranteed that you can buy a truly powerful treasure.
Compared to those sects, powerful families, and aristocratic clans, his spirit stones were utterly insignificant.
"I should buy some refining materials when I have time and forge my own flying sword," Lu Qing secretly planned.
He possessed the Li Huo Cauldron, along with the weapon-refining heritage of the Li Huo Sect.
With the right materials, it's not difficult to craft magical artifacts yourself.
Moreover, magical artifacts that are personally crafted are easier to control.
Once he has fully comprehended the Seven Star Sword Formation, he can try to forge his own set of flying swords.
"Next up is what everyone has been most looking forward to, and it's also the last treasure of the night."
Just as Lu Qing was pondering this, the Treasure Guardian below auctioned off a low-grade spiritual artifact and began to announce it loudly.
Immediately, everyone's spirits lifted, knowing that the highlight of the night was finally about to begin.
Not only the cultivators in the hall, but also the many Nascent Soul experts in the VIP rooms above, straightened their postures and became serious.
Lu Qing also snapped out of his thoughts and began to look down.
"It seems everyone has already guessed it." After a pause, the Treasure-Suppressing Venerable continued, "That's right, the next item to be auctioned is this treasure."
With that, he waved his hand, and a treasure appeared, attracting everyone's attention.
It was a bell-shaped magical artifact, its golden body dazzling and exuding an air of immortality.
Although it looked only the size of a palm, the energy it emitted made everyone's mind tremble.
"This treasure is called the Immortal Golden Bell. It was given to us, Tian Shu City, for auction by a senior master."
The Venerable Zhenbao began to recount the origin of the golden bell magic weapon.
Everyone who listened was startled.
Those who can be respectfully addressed as senior masters by a powerful being like Venerable Zhenbao must be supreme beings who have traversed extremely far in the realm of the primordial spirit.
But that's normal. Only those kinds of beings have the audacity to put even high-grade spiritual artifacts up for auction.
"This Immortal Golden Bell is a flawless, top-grade spiritual artifact," Venerable Zhenbao continued. "It can be used for both offense and defense; it is a powerful spiritual artifact that combines both."
As for its specific power, that will only be known once a fellow cultivator acquires it and experiences it firsthand.
After giving a brief introduction to the golden bell magic weapon, Venerable Zhenbao paused, giving everyone some time to react.
Sure enough, after hearing his introduction, all the powerful figures in the VIP rooms were shocked.
"The Immortal Golden Bell, a top-grade spiritual artifact that combines offense and defense!"
"It wasn't the flawed high-grade spiritual artifact we suspected beforehand, but a perfect one?"
"A flawless, top-grade spiritual weapon that combines offense and defense—we must seize it!"
"Contact the family head immediately and spare no expense to acquire this treasure!"
The powerful figures were shaken to their core and immediately decided that they must do everything in their power to acquire this magical artifact.
"A flawless, top-grade spiritual weapon that combines offense and defense—Brother Lingxiao, I'm afraid we'll have to fight over it."
In the room where the Qiankun Sect disciples were, Gongshu Zheng sighed, "Those top-tier forces are probably going crazy now."
Qian Lingxiao's face was somewhat gloomy.
He understood that Gongshu Zheng's words made sense.
If this Immortal Golden Bell is truly as perfect as the Treasure-Suppressing Venerable described, those top powers will undoubtedly bid with all their might.
There was no way he could compete with Gongshu Zheng for the spirit stones.
However, Qian Lingxiao was still somewhat unwilling.
He asked in a deep voice, "If I inform the sect, and you inform your Gongshu family, is it possible for our two families to take down this Immortal Golden Bell by joining forces?"
"The two families working together?" Gongshu Zheng was taken aback for a moment, then shook his head. "Brother Lingxiao, you are joking. If the two families work together, it is indeed a possibility."
But do you think your sect leader and elders of the Qiankun Sect, and our Gongshu family's ancestors, would agree?
Even if we manage to acquire this magical artifact, who will own it?
Is it possible that it will fall into our hands?
Qian Lingxiao remained silent.
He knew that Gongshu Zheng was right.
The two were good friends and trusted each other, so it was no problem for them to work together to compete for the Immortal Golden Bell.
However, it is impossible for the Qiankun Sect and the Gongshu family to trust each other in this way.
Therefore, what he just said is simply impossible to achieve.
Even if the two families did join forces to seize the Immortal Golden Bell, such a powerful treasure would never fall into their hands.
Having thought all this through, Qian Lingxiao gave a wry smile: "Brother Zheng is right, I was too attached to appearances."
“No wonder Brother Lingxiao lost his composure. High-grade spiritual artifacts are too precious; who wouldn’t be tempted by them?” Gongshu Zheng laughed.
Ye Qingzhu, who was standing behind the two, had been observing them silently. As she listened to their conversation, her gaze flickered slightly.
"The Immortal Bell?"
Lu Qing activated his special ability and looked at the Golden Bell magic weapon when the Treasure-Suppressing Venerable released it.
After a while, I saw the intense purple energy surging from the golden bell, almost solidifying into a tangible form, along with several floating messages.
Gradually, a strange light appeared in his eyes.
"This high-grade spiritual artifact seems to be quite extraordinary..."
Looking at the few notes in his field of vision, Lu Qing's face showed an interesting expression.
He was already somewhat looking forward to what would happen next.
"Fellow Daoists, please be quiet for a moment."
Below, Venerable Zhenbao, estimating that everyone had digested the information sufficiently, spoke again.
The entire room fell silent, everyone staring intently at him.
"It seems everyone is already anticipating the starting price of this treasure."
The Venerable Treasure Guardian smiled as he sensed the gazes of the crowd.
"Then the old man decided not to keep us in suspense any longer."
The starting bid for this immortal golden bell is ten million low-grade spirit stones.
But that senior also said that he only accepts high-grade spirit stones.
In other words, the starting bid for this treasure is one thousand high-grade spirit stones!
Each bid must be at least one hundred high-grade spirit stones!
Ten million low-grade spirit stones!
But the cultivators below the hall were all greatly shocked when they heard this number.
Although they had anticipated that the price of top-grade spiritual artifacts would be terrifying.
But when I heard the number ten million, I couldn't help but be shocked.
It should be noted that this number of spirit stones is equivalent to the entire accumulation of some mid-level sects.
Even some top-tier sects, if they are not good at managing their affairs, probably won't accumulate much more spirit stones than this.
And this is just the starting price.
Wait a minute, the VIPs in those VIP rooms will definitely be bidding even more aggressively.
It's hard to imagine how low the final transaction price will be pushed.
The powerful figures in the VIP rooms, however, had a different reaction.
"Only accepting high-grade spirit stones? The owner of this Immortal Golden Bell wants so many high-grade spirit stones, could it be that he is about to make a further breakthrough?"
A powerful being with a primordial spirit was deeply shaken and murmured to himself.
One of the Nascent Soul experts remarked thoughtfully, "It seems that the one who brought out the Immortal Golden Bell for auction is at least a fourth-tribulation being."
"To need to auction off such a treasure to raise high-grade spirit stones, could the owner of this Immortal Golden Bell be a rogue cultivator?"
When they heard that bidding for the Immortal Golden Bell required payment in the form of high-grade spirit stones, many Nascent Soul cultivators immediately began to speculate.
Some powerful beings with primordial spirits showed hesitation on their faces.
High-grade spirit stones are strategic resources and one of the standards for measuring the strength of a power.
Mobilizing so many high-grade spirit stones at once is a matter that deserves careful consideration, even for top forces at the upper echelons of the Tianyuan Great World.
More importantly, the news that a top-tier expert who might need to use a large number of high-grade spirit stones to break through was also very important to them.
However, sensing the aura emanating from the golden bell magic weapon below...
The hesitant great power's expression hardened again.
A flawless, top-grade spiritual weapon is extremely rare.
There aren't many of these in the entire Tianyuan Great World.
If you miss this opportunity, who knows when you'll get another chance?
Spirit stones can be accumulated again, but such a treasure is extremely rare to encounter a second time.
Immediately, the bidding began as the Venerable Treasure Guardian called out.
The frenzied bidding has begun.
