Nie Kong followed the sound and saw a tall, white figure appear at the entrance of the Sheng Huang Hall. With delicate features and handsome looks, this person drifted towards the high platform in flowing robes.

His steps were slow and his demeanor was relaxed, yet his speed was utterly extreme; in the blink of an eye, he was already standing at the periphery of those Inner City disciples. What surprised Nie Kong was that this person exuded an inherent elegance that was simply incomparable to Xiao Yao’s affected airs.

“Liu Heming!”

Those Inner City disciples had initially wanted to see who was interested in that ‘Nine Heavens Azure Nether Pill.’ But upon clearly recognizing the white-robed man’s face, looks of astonishment involuntarily surfaced, and the name was automatically murmured from their lips.

Liu Heming?

Nie Kong’s heart stirred. In the days since arriving at the Inner City, he had often heard the names of certain people mentioned by passing disciples. The Inner City Chief, Lan Shang, was one; Liu Heming was another. Rumor had it that although he was only twenty-six, he had already reached the eighth grade of the Spirit Transformation realm and was also a Spirit Pharmacist.

That Inner City Chief, Lan Shang, was only one year older than Liu Heming but had already reached the ninth grade of the Spirit Transformation realm last year. Both Lan Shang and Liu Heming possessed heaven-defying talent; even compared to Nie Fenglei of the Nie family, they were no less impressive, both being astonishingly exceptional prodigies.

Moreover, among the Inner City disciples, there were still quite a few outstanding figures like Lan Shang and Liu Heming. Nie Kong hadn't expected that the spirit medicine auction he organized would attract Liu Heming to the Sheng Huang Hall.

Disciples like them, who had already reached the Spirit Transformation realm and were not far from the Spirit Control realm, generally kept a low profile and were rarely seen. They wouldn't be like the disciples in the Spirit Fusion realm who came to the Sheng Huang Hall to earn points by sparring.

Therefore, when Nie Kong prepared for this auction, he hadn't considered them at all.

Of the eight types of spirit medicines, perhaps only the ‘Nine Heavens Azure Nether Pill’ with a 97% medicinal fusion rate could truly attract them. After all, it was only a third-grade spirit medicine. If it were a fourth-grade spirit medicine closely related to Spirit Transformation Masters, the situation would be quite different.

But Nie Kong had placed the ‘Nine Heavens Azure Nether Pill’ last. By the time they heard the news, the auction would already be over, and if they wanted to find Nie Kong, they would have to go to the pavilion over there.

Just as Nie Kong was speculating, Liu Heming had already passed the Inner City disciples, his figure flashing as he lightly floated onto the high platform: “Junior Brother Nie Kong, might I have a look at this ‘Nine Heavens Azure Nether Pill’?”

“Of course.”

Nie Kong composed his thoughts and handed over the spirit medicine.

Liu Heming took the medicine into his hands, brought it gently to his nose, and his expression moved: “It is indeed the ‘Nine Heavens Azure Nether Pill’ with a 97% medicinal fusion rate…”

As soon as these words were uttered, the Inner City disciples in the Sheng Huang Hall had no further doubts about the spirit medicine. Could the words of Liu Heming, a fourth-grade Spirit Pharmacist, be false?

For a moment, the gazes of the crowd turned even more surprised as they looked at Nie Kong.

Liu Heming was still at the eighth grade of the Spirit Transformation realm, yet he had successfully refined fifth-grade spirit medicines multiple times. Once his cultivation ascended to the Spirit Control realm, he might immediately become a fifth-grade Spirit Pharmacist. Whereas Nie Kong was only a third-grade Spirit Pharmacist in the Spirit Fusion realm, yet he had successfully refined a ‘Nine Heavens Azure Nether Pill’ that even a fourth-grade Spirit Pharmacist dared not easily touch… and the fusion rate was as high as 97%, a feat even Liu Heming couldn't achieve.

Nie Kong currently could not compare to Liu Heming, but Nie Kong's future potential would absolutely surpass his.

Liu Heming inhaled the fragrance of the medicine once more, closed his eyes to savor it for a moment, then suddenly opened his eyes, smiling broadly: “Junior Brother Nie Kong, I will take this ‘Nine Heavens Azure Nether Pill.’ How many points do you want to sell it for?”

“Four hundred!”

Nie Kong stated without hesitation.

Although Liu Heming’s expression revealed nothing, Nie Kong could guess his intention for buying the ‘Nine Heavens Azure Nether Pill’—to take it back for research. This situation was the same as when everyone scrambled to bid for the two high-fusion-rate ‘Purple Lotus Pills’ at the Thousand Spirit Medicine Convention.

Thus, Nie Kong immediately made an exorbitant demand.

In the Inner City, four hundred points was definitely an astronomical price.

At this moment, the Inner City disciples in the Sheng Huang Hall were generally not wealthy; this could be seen from the time points were collected earlier. After deducting the points required to purchase the spirit medicine, several disciples’ waist tokens only held single-digit points, and one person even had zero points.

The previous spirit medicines like ‘Spring Sun Frost Charm Dew’ and the ‘Pill’ managed to sell for forty to fifty points only because their fusion rates were high enough to make the disciples grit their teeth and make the purchase. If Nie Kong had refined spirit medicines with only 70% or 80% fusion, not only would the auction have failed, but he might have been driven off the high platform by the disciples. Then, those who wanted to spar would spar, and those who wanted to watch would continue watching.

As for Nie Kong, he would just have to hide sadly in a corner drawing circles.

Therefore, after Nie Kong displayed the last ‘Nine Heavens Azure Nether Pill’ with 97% fusion, he decisively stopped without even setting a starting bid. Because no matter how he teased the disciples for bidding, the final transaction price would absolutely not exceed sixty points.

It wasn't that he didn't want to raise the price, but they didn't have the points to bid higher.

But now, the situation was different. Liu Heming was a fourth-grade Spirit Pharmacist; his accumulated points couldn't possibly be less than those of the Inner City Chief, Lan Shang!

“Fine, four hundred points it is!”

Nie Kong named the price decisively, and Liu Heming agreed without the slightest hesitation. He raised his hand, and the waist token hanging from his belt was inserted into the fourth slot of the jade plaque.

A vibrant emerald green glow flickered across Nie Kong’s fingers as he rapidly traced the spirit runes on the surface of the jade plaque. Soon, Nie Kong was stunned by the number displayed—a three followed by four zeros. This fellow actually possessed a full thirty thousand points, far more than Lan Shang.

Looking at that string of shining zeros, Nie Kong felt envious, but he had no regrets. If the surrounding Inner City disciples had been wealthier, two hundred points would have been the absolute limit for this ‘Nine Heavens Azure Nether Pill.’ Now that its price had doubled, he should be content.

After deducting four hundred points, Nie Kong withdrew his waist token and handed it, along with the medicine box and other items, to Liu Heming.

“Junior Brother Nie Kong, if you can advance to the fourth-grade Spirit Pharmacist level, perhaps we will have opportunities to cooperate, and you will earn even more points then.” After placing the ‘Nine Heavens Azure Nether Pill’ into a vial, Liu Heming gave Nie Kong a meaningful smile before leaping off the high platform and gracefully departing.

In a flash, his figure vanished past the hall entrance.

“Heh.”

Nie Kong chuckled and shook his head. He was currently only at the sixth grade of the Spirit Fusion realm. Even with the ‘Heavenly Dust Pill’ in hand, he estimated it would take until next year to reach the Spirit Transformation realm. If he waited until then to cooperate with Liu Heming to earn points, Xiang Xiang would already be growing in his belly by then.

Scanning the disciples below the platform, the smile on Nie Kong’s face deepened. This morning’s spirit medicine auction was only the beginning. Next, he guaranteed it would leave these Inner City disciples even more dumbfounded. By then, very few of the high-ranking figures in Spirit Imperial City would be able to sit still.

“Senior Brothers and Senior Sisters, this concludes this auction.

In ten days, in the morning, I will be holding an even larger spirit medicine auction here in the ‘Sheng Huang Hall.’ There will be more spirit medicines then, and their fusion rates will certainly not be lower than today’s. I hope everyone can attend and show your support.”

Nie Kong jumped down from the high platform, cupping his hands in greeting to the surrounding Inner City disciples as he walked towards the exit of the Sheng Huang Hall, a smile plastered on his face, while behind him arose a hubbub…

“……”

“This guy still wants to rake in points here! Ugh, one bottle of ‘Spring Sun Frost Charm Dew’ nearly exhausted all the points I’d saved. I won't be able to enter the ‘Spiritual Cultivation Illusion Realm’ to train for several days now!”

“You’re better off than me. I don't have a single point left. Even if this fellow has better spirit medicines to auction in ten days, I won’t be able to afford them.”

“Being a Spirit Pharmacist is truly great. Eight spirit medicines sold for seven hundred thirty-four points. If the cost was around one hundred thirty, that’s a net profit of six hundred! Tsk tsk!”

“Stop envying. That depends on the kind of Spirit Pharmacist. If Nie Kong refined medicines with only around 80% fusion like other Spirit Pharmacists, those eight medicines would be lucky to net a hundred points. I wonder how he refines them—even 97% came out!”

“That’s right. Like me, if I successfully refine a spirit medicine, the points I earn are only between five and ten. If I encounter a refining failure…”

“……”

The Inner City disciples chattered amongst themselves, filled with envy.

Generally speaking, most Inner City disciples had only one way to earn points: going to the ‘Senluo Ancient Cave’ in the eastern part of the Inner City to search for Illusion Spirit Stones. Finding one stone yielded three points. Deep within that ancient cave, there was a river whose source and destination were unknown, and Illusion Spirit Stones constantly floated down from upstream.

The disciples needed only to jump into the river and feel around for the stones. This sounded simple, but it was incredibly difficult to do because the river water was extremely frigid. Even circulating spiritual energy for protection, the cold could penetrate to the bone marrow, making it hard to find a single Illusion Spirit Stone under such conditions.

Of course, the Spirit Imperial City wasn’t just tormenting the disciples for fun; picking up stones in that river was actually a very good method of cultivation, even if the experience was agonizing. It was certainly more comfortable than cultivating in the ‘Spiritual Cultivation Illusion Realm,’ right?

Of course, it depended on the person. Take Bai Yuqing, who had only entered the Inner City half a year ago; she was remarkably enthusiastic about going to pick up stones there. When others struggled to gather one or two stones with all their might, she had collected more than ten, making others so envious their eyes turned red.

After accumulating points by picking up stones, most of it was used for cultivation in the ‘Spiritual Cultivation Illusion Realm,’ leaving very little behind. It was already quite a feat for some people to come up with forty or fifty points to buy Nie Kong’s high-fusion-rate refined medicines, and many more were reluctant to pay such a price.

If Nie Kong held this kind of spirit medicine auction once or twice, it might be acceptable. But if he did it too often, the Inner City disciples would likely hurry away the moment they saw him bringing out the medicines. To stay and watch, only to see so many good medicines they couldn’t afford, wouldn't that just be seeking self-inflicted misery?

Nie Kong knew this point clearly!