Chapter 170: Chapter 169: A Demon Cultivator Appears
’According to the auction catalog, there should still be one more Spiritual Artifact in the second round that hasn’t appeared yet...’
Feeling a little anxious, Bai Zichen flipped through the auction catalog he had tossed aside.
The catalog only gave a rough description of the item categories in each round, without any specific details.
The item just auctioned was a Top Grade Spiritual Artifact called the Purple Cloud Barrier.
It was a purple screen like fine ice-silk that could conjure illusions to deceive the senses and disturb one’s Divine Sense. It could also emit a purple glow to defend against enemy attacks.
This Top Grade Spiritual Artifact, balanced in both offense and defense, had a starting price of seven thousand Spirit Stones.
Bai Zichen considered it, but decided it wasn’t a good fit for him, so he didn’t bid.
Such Spiritual Artifacts were quite popular in the Cultivation Realm, mainly because their dual offensive and defensive nature meant one could save Spirit Stones by not having to buy a separate artifact.
He possessed the Sound Bamboo Sword and the Celestial Xin Sword. With both swords in hand, each one was equivalent to a Top-Grade Spiritual Artifact.
In their Dual Swords Unification state, they could unleash power equivalent to twenty or thirty percent of a Low-Grade Magical Treasure’s might.
Ordinary offensive Spiritual Artifacts were no longer worthy of his attention.
"The final item of the second round is the Top-Grade Spiritual Artifact, the Seven-Quartet Profound Bead! The starting price is fifteen thousand Spirit Stones, and it comes with a complimentary Sacrificial Refining Secret Technique."
The moment Du the Twelfth Son’s voice fell, Bai Zichen’s finger was already on the Water Mirror, eagerly tapping to view the item’s details.
The Seven-Quartet Profound Bead was as large as a wicker basket and the color of rich, black ink.
It had been discovered in a Water Eye a thousand zhang deep and was refined by a Tier Three Refiner.
Without adding any external materials, the refiner had simply added seven Forbiddens to the Treasure Bead, elevating it to a Top-Grade Spiritual Artifact.
It possessed a single ability, the Marvelous Application of Seven-Color Glow, which made it impervious to all evil. It also had the Water-Resistant Divine Power, allowing one to ignore the pressure of a thousand zhang of water as if walking on flat ground.
Additionally, it came with a scroll containing a Sacrificial Refining Secret Technique. By refining seven streams of Gang Sha into it, the Seven-Quartet Profound Bead could reach internal Perfection and be upgraded into a Low-Grade Magical Treasure.
’A Top-Grade Defensive Spiritual Artifact, and it has the potential to be upgraded into a Magical Treasure...’
Bai Zichen’s eyes lit up. No wonder the starting price was as high as fifteen thousand Spirit Stones.
’This item is perfect for me. The Sacrificial Refining Secret Technique is vaguely worded, only mentioning the possibility of upgrading its grade. I can ignore that for now...’
He analyzed the Seven-Quartet Profound Bead from all angles, preparing a basis for his bid.
’Bead-type artifacts are naturally suited for refining into defensive treasures, as they best bring out the inherent characteristics of the spiritual materials. This Profound Bead itself is a Tier Three Top-Grade Spiritual Material, completely suitable for Refining a Magical Treasure.’
’I’m not sure why the refiner would be so wasteful, squandering this Tier Three Top-Grade Spiritual Material and merely preserving its potential for advancement... But I can be certain that this Seven-Quartet Profound Bead is among the finest of Top-Grade Spiritual Artifacts.’
Bai Zichen had seen the price lists the Ten Thousand Treasures Pavilion provided to its Thousand Treasures Level VIPs. Top-Grade Defensive Spiritual Artifacts usually cost between thirteen thousand and eighteen thousand Spirit Stones.
The quality of the Seven-Quartet Profound Bead was easily worth eighteen thousand Spirit Stones.
Plus, with the addition of its Water-Resistant Divine Power and the potential to be upgraded to a Magical Treasure, it wouldn’t lack for buyers even if the price reached twenty thousand Spirit Stones.
’This silent auction is no less thrilling than a public one. You can’t see the other bidders’ offers at all; it all comes down to your own estimate...’
Bai Zichen had originally picked up his brush to write down a price of twenty-four thousand Spirit Stones, but after a moment’s thought, he erased it and entered a new bid of twenty-six thousand.
Besides strategic resources like Top-Grade Spirit Stones, other Spirit Stones were only useful when circulated and converted into resources beneficial to oneself. Otherwise, they were just being wasted.
He had always held this view, so he didn’t mind paying a slight premium.
Of course, going too far beyond that would be unnecessary.
"Junior Brother Bai, do you have enough Spirit Stones on you?"
Jin Lu, who had been staring blankly at his junior brother’s bid, asked as if waking from a dream.
"According to the auction house rules, if you make a reckless bid and win but can’t produce enough Spirit Stones, it’s considered disrupting the event... Not only will your entire deposit be confiscated, but they’ll also blacklist us, and we’ll be banned from participating in any auction in the Immortal City for a hundred years!"
The two had registered as disciples of the Qingfeng Sect. If they broke faith and were held accountable, it would bring trouble upon the Sect.
"Rest assured, Brother Jin. Since I made the bid, I certainly have the Spirit Stones prepared."
Bai Zichen had originally planned to purchase two Top-Grade Spiritual Artifacts and had even used his Sect Contribution to exchange for Mid-Grade Spirit Stones specifically for this purpose.
He could easily afford a single Seven-Quartet Profound Bead with his current wealth.
Jin Lu sucked in a sharp breath and sat back down, saying no more.
He clicked his tongue silently. ’Could farming really be this profitable?’
He had long heard that this Junior Brother Bai had earned a great deal of Spirit Stones by contracting Spirit Fields and growing Spirit Rice.
But this extravagant display still made his heart pound with fear.
’Hasn’t anyone ever taught this Junior Brother Bai that on the path of Cultivation, all kinds of Elixirs are a bottomless pit of expenses? You should always save up more Spirit Stones for later.’
Take Jin Lu himself, for example. Back when he was trying to break through to Early-Stage Foundation Establishment, the Spirit Stones he spent had totaled well over tens of thousands.
And now, at the bottleneck of Late-Stage Foundation Establishment, ordinary Elixirs no longer had any effect on him.
The Great Barrier-Breaking Pills had long since lost their effectiveness, so he had switched to the more potent Celestial Wisdom Pills, which cost six thousand Spirit Stones each.
In the past few years, he had already taken his third one.
After consuming and undergoing Refinement with each Celestial Wisdom Pill, he could feel himself take a step forward.
But he was still separated from the next realm by an unbreakable barrier.
Bai Zichen waited quietly. The image on the Water Mirror changed, and the picture of the Seven-Quartet Profound Bead suddenly lit up.
Twenty-six thousand Spirit Stones. The bid was successful!
’Thank goodness. It seems no one else felt they absolutely had to have this bead.’
A smile appeared on Bai Zichen’s face. Once he completed the Refinement of the Seven-Quartet Profound Bead, he could shore up another one of his weaknesses.
Before reaching Core Formation, he wouldn’t need to consider any other defensive treasures.
As for collecting the seven types of Gang Sha to upgrade its grade, he would just keep an eye out for them.
If it really became a Tier Three Magical Treasure, it would be just like the Nine Yang Divine Fire Mirror—unusable with his current level of Cultivation.
