Chapter 167: Chapter 166: A Different Auction
’So the Spiritual Qi in a Du Family Core Formation True Man’s Cave Mansion is only on par with my White Jade Tower... From this perspective, although Black Mountain County is barren and dangerous, it has the entire Black Mountain Range to itself. As long as we can develop the Spirit Lands there, it will far surpass other Sects.’
Bai Zichen’s expression flickered. From this angle, Black Mountain wasn’t so bad after all.
Just as Ancestor Yang had said, if the Sect could produce one more Core Formation True Man, they could immediately seize Celestial Thunder Cliff and gain another Tier Three Spirit Vein.
The Black Mountain Range was actually a massive treasure trove; it just required its developers to be exceptionally strong.
’I knew it. The founding Ancestor cultivated the Five Crystal Glaze Body to the fourth layer and was said to be unrivaled among Core Formation cultivators, even able to hold his own against a Nascent Soul True Monarch... How could a figure of his stature have chosen a Mountain Gate with no future prospects when he decided to establish a Sect?’
A No-Fly Array hung over Zengguang Immortal City. Besides walking, the best mode of transport was the gigantic Ray Beasts.
Their bodies were flat, with long, whip-like tails. Their wingspan was as large as a palace, and they could easily carry several hundred people.
Despite their immense size, the Ray Beasts were only at the Tier One Peak Level. Combined with their docile nature, they were extremely easy to control, making them one of the most practical large-scale Flying Spirit Beasts.
Among the nearby countries, only Zengguang Immortal City had managed to raise over a thousand of them. Not even the Ten Thousand Beasts Sect possessed this type of Spirit Beast.
After paying a fare of ten Spirit Stones, Bai Zichen stood on the back of a Ray Beast, swaying for nearly an hour before arriving at the Ding Chou District and finding the auction house.
Jin Lu found a Guest Officer at the auction house, registered for next month’s auction under the Qingfeng Sect’s name, and paid a deposit of ten Mid-Grade Spirit Stones.
"Junior Brother Bai, would you like me to show you around the auction house? When there’s no auction, this place is like a large tourist mall... You can consign your own Treasures through the auction house, and they’ll have specialists evaluate whether they qualify for the auction."
Jin Lu pointed to the spacious hall. There were only a few rows of display stands, with a sparse few Cultivators stopping to appraise the items.
"If you see a Treasure you like, and it’s not a designated auction item or something that went unsold from the last auction, you can negotiate directly with the seller. If it is an auction item, then no matter how high a price you offer, you’ll have to wait and bid against others at the auction."
Bai Zichen glanced around and shook his head, declining the offer.
’It’s obvious,’ he thought. ’The Treasures I need are at least at the Top-Grade Spiritual Artifact level. Unless their attributes are utterly terrible, how could they possibly go unsold?’
"Alright then, let’s find a Cave Mansion nearby to stay in for now."
At the entrance of the auction house, Jin Lu waved over a loiterer, tossed him a Low-Grade Spirit Stone, and said, "Take us to the nearest rental Cave Mansion. We want something with good value... If we’re satisfied, we’ll hire you again tomorrow."
The loiterer took the Spirit Stone, bowed hurriedly, and carefully led the way.
There were quite a few of these Early-Stage Qi Refining loiterers in Zengguang Immortal City who had permanent residency thanks to their parents.
But even a Late-Stage Qi Refining Cultivator would find life in Zengguang Immortal City very difficult without a specific skill.
These loiterers made a living by using their familiarity with the area to guide and introduce places to out-of-town Cultivators, earning some Spirit Stones in the process.
A Tier Two Mid Grade Cave Mansion, with three Quiet Chambers, a living room, and a guest room, cost five Mid-Grade Spirit Stones to rent for a month.
’No wonder they say living in an Immortal City is no easy feat... You really can’t afford to live here without some wealth.’
Seeing from Jin Lu’s expression that he considered the price quite a bargain, he promptly produced the Spirit Stones from his storage bag.
In any case, all expenses incurred while escorting the Golden Crown Reishi were covered by the Sect.
After they settled into the Cave Mansion, Jin Lu made an excuse about visiting an old acquaintance who lived in the Immortal City and rushed off, leaving Bai Zichen alone in the residence.
’Could it be that Brother Jin has an old flame in the Immortal City?’
Bai Zichen watched Jin Lu’s retreating figure, recalling his senior’s strange longing for Zengguang Immortal City throughout their journey, and speculated internally.
He didn’t go far, just strolled down the streets on either side of the rented Cave Mansion, but he quickly lost interest.
’These shops are about the same standard as the Ten Thousand Treasures Pavilion’s Black Mountain Sub-Pavilion. There isn’t much of value... I heard those loiterers say that the real Treasures are in the shops in the inner city, or can only be seen at the auction. I got my hopes up for nothing.’
Bai Zichen was hoping to find a Top-Grade Spiritual Artifact, or perhaps even a flawless one, so of course he wouldn’t find anything worthwhile in the outer city shops.
In the inner city, every single shop was backed by a power that could not be ignored.
For instance, the Ten Thousand Beasts Sect’s Spirit Beast Pavilion and the Ten Thousand Treasures Pavilion’s Zengguang sub-pavilion had both secured a place in the inner city.
It wasn’t just powers from Liang Country; the Core Formation Powers from the other three countries bordering Zengguang Immortal City also tried every means possible to acquire a small shop.
As for Nascent Soul Level powers, if they were willing to establish a presence in Zengguang Immortal City, the Du Family would take the initiative to select a complete Pearl Palace in the inner city and gift it to them to serve as their headquarters.
’The auction is approaching, so all the finest Treasures have already been selected as auction items. That’s why the quality of goods in the shops has plummeted... Rather than visiting each shop one by one, it’s better to just wait for the auction. Each auction is divided into three rounds: the warm-up, the main event, and the finale. Even the Golden Crown Reishi is only listed as an item for the main event.’
After some thought, Bai Zichen decided it was best to wait and only make a move if he encountered a Treasure he desired at the auction.
’The finale’s items in the last round will probably all be Tier Three Treasures.’
The Spiritual Energy Level in this temporary rented Cave Mansion was only Tier Two Mid Grade. For Bai Zichen, who was accustomed to a Tier Three Mid-Grade Spiritual Land, the difference was palpable the moment he tried to circulate his Cultivation Technique.
This slow rate of refining nature’s spiritual energy was the true speed expected of a Three Spiritual Roots Cultivator.
He struggled through a single Circulation of the Fire Dragon Returning Essence Scripture before giving up on Cultivation in Zengguang Immortal City.
He decided to continue practicing the Divine Casting Technique instead. At least Cultivation within his Sea of Consciousness wasn’t affected by the level of ambient Spiritual Qi.
...
「Twenty-six days later.」
In front of the auction house, Cultivators were packed shoulder to shoulder. Powerful auras flared up one after another; it was inevitable that old enemies would cross paths, and tensions ran high.
However, looking at the on-duty Du Family Cultivators and the Honored Guest Loose Cultivators recruited by the Immortal City, no one dared to start a fight. They could only snort coldly at each other and trade a few sarcastic remarks.
Jin Lu didn’t return to the rented Cave Mansion until this morning. The two of them then went to the auction house together.
Bai Zichen felt increasingly certain that his guess was correct. Who visits an old friend for that long?
"We’re in private room B-37 on the second floor. We can go straight up."
Jin Lu took out a white Jade Ring. Only after it was inspected by a Du Family Foundation Establishment Cultivator were they allowed to ascend to the second floor.
The Qingfeng Sect attended almost every auction in Zengguang Immortal City. Besides the Thousand-Year-Old Golden Crown Lingzhi, they would also purchase some Spiritual Artifacts to restock the Artifact Refining Hall’s inventory whenever they had ample Spirit Stones.
This was why they were able to reserve a private room; otherwise, they would have had to squeeze in with everyone else in the first-floor hall.
"This is today’s auction catalog. So it’s finally out..."
The two were led into a quiet private room, which was equipped with an Array that blocked both sound and Divine Sense, ensuring the identities of the VIPs inside would not be revealed.
Bai Zichen flipped open the catalog and discovered that there were several hundred items in the warm-up auction alone.
Moreover, there were quite a few high-quality items among them.
"Our target is in the second round. Junior Brother Bai, you can take a look and see if there’s anything you like in the earlier rounds. The first round of the auction is about to begin."
Jin Lu was also holding a catalog and began reading it with great interest.
Bai Zichen knew that the Sect’s Spirit Stone reserves had grown considerably due to developing the Spirit Stone Ore Vein and defeating the Mo Family.
Therefore, the Elders had conferred and decided to temporarily reduce their reserve of Spirit Stones.
They had brought several times more Spirit Stones for bidding than usual, striving to bring back a few more stalks of Golden Crown Reishi.
"Five hundred lots of Tier Two Red Copper, one hundred catties per lot! The starting bid is one hundred Spirit Stones. Fellow Daoists, please place your bids within a quarter of an hour."
Before long, a resonant voice echoed from the center of the hall, reaching the ears of every Cultivator.
At the same time, a Water Mirror rose up in the private room. It displayed an image of the Red Copper being auctioned, and beside it was a brush for writing down one’s bid directly.
Bai Zichen was confused. Weren’t auctions supposed to have a silver-tongued auctioneer who could stir up the crowd’s emotions and sell an item for more than it was worth?
Why was what he was seeing completely different from his understanding of auctions?
"The Immortal City’s auction is different from others... Most auctions are open-bidding, where everyone openly competes for a Treasure. But here, the first two rounds are a silent auction. It places more emphasis on the bidder’s appraisal skills."
Jin Lu picked up the brush and casually wrote down a price of one hundred and ten Spirit Stones.
Seemingly noticing Bai Zichen’s confusion, he began to explain the Immortal City’s auction process.
"Take this hundred-catty lot of Red Copper, for example. The starting bid is one hundred Spirit Stones. You can bid any amount over that price. In the end, the highest bidder among all participants wins the item."
"Doesn’t that mean if no one else is interested in an item and I’m the only bidder... I could just add one Spirit Stone and win it?"
Bai Zichen sharply caught onto this. ’In that case,’ he thought, ’I could bid on every single item, adding just ten Spirit Stones to the base price each round. Sooner or later, I’m bound to get lucky and hit the jackpot on one.’
"It’s not that simple. How could the auction house leave such an obvious loophole? The seller can set a reserve price. For instance, let’s say the reserve price for this Red Copper is two hundred Spirit Stones. If no bid reaches the seller’s reserve price, then even if my bid of one hundred and ten Spirit Stones is the highest, the item will still be returned to the seller."
This process, where you couldn’t see your opponents’ bids, greatly increased the mystery of the auction. It was no longer just a simple game of who had the most Spirit Stones.
The initial warm-up items were all things like Tier Two Spiritual Materials, Elixirs, and Talismans, sold in lots of hundreds, clearly targeted at Sects or Cultivation Families.
A normal Cultivator would only need to buy one or two. Only a Sect would have the need to, for example, purchase tens or even hundreds of thousands of sheets of the same type of Talisman Paper at once.
"Ten bottles of Tier Two Sword Tempering Spirit Water, starting at one thousand Spirit Stones per bottle!"
Several more rounds passed before Bai Zichen’s eyes lit up. An item that interested him had finally appeared.
Sword Tempering Spirit Water was used to soak a Flying Sword, repair its hidden damages, and effectively extend its lifespan.
