As soon as Lei Dong glanced around, he found it impossible to discern the cultivation or appearance of anyone present, secretly musing that this grey-robed figure indeed possessed some subtlety. Of course, this was also because he refrained from using his divine sense to probe. However, if he were to employ his divine sense, it would very easily invite conflict and disputes. According to the seat markers, Lei Dong and his companion settled into Seat Number Twenty-Three and closed their eyes to recuperate. The chirping sounds of conversation around them seemed utterly disconnected from him.
People trickled in, and in less than an hour, the great hall was completely full. Even the dozen or so private boxes on the second floor were packed to capacity. At this moment, on the auction platform, a middle-aged man in purple robes and fine brocade seemed to materialize out of thin air. Lei Dong’s brow twitched slightly; this purple-robed man possessed an extraordinary bearing, and his spiritual pressure was imposing, silencing all idle chatter the moment he appeared. Without needing to guess, Lei Dong knew this was a Golden Core Ancestor. There was a customary rule for auctions: auctions aimed at Qi Refining cultivators were usually presided over by Foundation Establishment cultivators, while those targeting Foundation Establishment cultivators were almost always hosted by Golden Core cultivators. The reason was simple: deterrence.
“Greetings, fellow Daoists…” Seeing the profound silence that had fallen over the venue, the purple-robed man withdrew his spiritual pressure, revealing a kind expression. He clasped his hands and said, “My name is Bei, Mingjie. Regardless of your venerable ages, Daoists may simply call me Old Bei. Here, I represent the Myriad Treasures Pavilion in thanking all you Daoists for honoring us with your presence. I trust everyone is familiar with the auction rules: if you cannot afford the offered price, please refrain from baseless bidding, or our Pavilion will certainly enforce the rules impartially. Furthermore, if you wish to offset the price with items, please declare it in advance; our Pavilion certainly has experts to appraise the value, calculated strictly at seventy percent of the market price.” Among those present, with the exception of perhaps one or two in the private boxes, nearly everyone was a Foundation Establishment cultivator. Seeing a Golden Core cultivator speaking to them so courteously caused a measure of vanity to swell in their chests, bringing a wave of inner comfort. However, even though he introduced himself as Old Bei, no one dared actually call him that. Instead, a chorus of “Elder Bei, Elder Bei” greeted him. It was evident that quite a few attendees were not first-timers at this auction, including procurement agents from various major sects.
“No more pleasantries,” the purple-robed man, Bei Jie, said with a warm smile after greeting everyone, moving straight to the main topic: “The hall is full, and from now until the auction concludes, no one is permitted to enter or leave. Now, the auction begins. The first treasure up for auction today is a single Star Brilliance Stone, weighing three taels, four qian, and five li. As widely known, Star Brilliance Stone is an extremely rare material for artifact refinement. Just mixing a little into the process can exponentially increase the power of a spiritual artifact or magic treasure while conserving true essence.” As Bei Jie spoke, a strikingly beautiful woman in red robes, at the eighth or ninth level of Qi Refining, gracefully drifted onto the stage from the back room. Her long sleeves undulated without wind, quite a pleasing sight. In her hands, she held a wooden tray—a tray steeped in purple miasma, heavy and ancient, clearly fashioned from the extremely precious Purple Sinking Wood. Upon this tray rested the Star Brilliance Stone, dark and brilliant, about the size of an infant’s fist. The beautiful cultivator carried the Purple Sinking Wood tray in a circuit around the hall, displaying the auction item.
Watching this scene, Lei Dong mused that the Myriad Treasures Pavilion truly knew how to conduct business. Employing an attractive female cultivator to display the goods, and using a tray potentially more valuable than the item itself, all served to highlight the item’s worth. These tactics brought to mind the commercial strategies of his previous life.
Upon hearing it was a Star Brilliance Stone, many straightened their backs, showing signs of eagerness. Clearly, this item held great appeal. Lei Dong, too, couldn’t help but think of the Star Brilliance Stones that paved the roads in his inner demon trial, feeling a pang of emotion. If those were real, wouldn't he be wealthy beyond measure?
Seeing the Star Brilliance Stone attract considerable attention, Bei Jie smiled faintly and announced, “The starting bid for this item is thirty thousand low-grade spirit stones, with each subsequent bid increasing by no less than one thousand low-grade spirit stones.” “Thirty-five thousand…”
“Forty thousand!” “Forty-one thousand…”
The prices soared continuously upward, demonstrating the popularity of Star Brilliance Stone as an artifact material, especially crucial for refining high-grade or supreme-grade spiritual artifacts.
However, Lei Dong had two reasons for not bidding: firstly, he had no immediate interest or involvement in artifact refinement. Secondly, he needed to reserve his spirit stones for the coming contest over the supreme-grade spiritual artifacts. For now, he merely watched the spectacle. In the end, this Star Brilliance Stone was won by the cultivator at Table Sixteen for the price of sixty-three thousand.
Next, item after item was sold off. The seventh item up for auction was a Foundation Establishment Pill, which sold for one hundred and seventy thousand spirit stones. Seeing the atmosphere grow so heated, as if everyone possessed inexhaustible spirit stones, Lei Dong couldn't help but feel a slight worry that his own supply might run short later.
Qi Feifei, adept at reading expressions, noticed Lei Dong frown and sent him a private message with a chuckle, “Senior Brother Lei, do not worry. Most who dare attend this auction are the wealthier subset of Foundation Establishment cultivators. But compared to you, Senior Brother, they are far behind. In these recent days, Feifei has also managed to gather one million spirit stones. If that proves insufficient, Feifei has a spare Heart Cleansing Fruit to offset the price. With this much financial might, even a Golden Core cultivator could be outbid.” Lei Dong did not decline out of stubborn pride, merely replying in a private message, “Feifei, your thoughtfulness is appreciated.” Lei Dong considered it; ordinary Golden Core cultivators wouldn't possess immense wealth, especially not readily available cash. With the financial reserves he and Qi Feifei commanded, they could indeed outbid many Golden Core cultivators. Unless a Golden Core cultivator went mad, it was unlikely they would bankrupt themselves fighting over a supreme-grade spiritual artifact that offered him little direct benefit.
As the later auction items grew progressively more precious, when a high-grade spiritual artifact, starting at two hundred and fifty thousand and finally fetching five hundred and sixty thousand, was sold, Bei Jie’s voice grew somewhat excited: “Next, we present the three grand finale treasures of this auction. Old Bei believes many Daoists here have come specifically for these three items.”
Qi Feifei had already used her means to secure information for Lei Dong about the three treasures. Besides the supreme-grade spiritual artifact, the other two items genuinely astonished Lei Dong; they were far beyond his expectations.
“The first item, I believe everyone has heard of. The Heart Demon Palace, located within the territory of the Heavenly Dao Alliance, holds its centennial gathering soon, and our Pavilion has gone to great lengths to procure a single Heart Cleansing Fruit. This fruit possesses miraculous effects: for a cultivator in the early Foundation Establishment bottleneck stage, consuming it offers a near ninety percent chance of immediate breakthrough, along with purifying soul impurities and strengthening the spirit. The further one advances, the lower the chance of breakthrough, but even for late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivators, there remains a twenty to thirty percent chance of instant advancement. Of course, if you use it to attempt a breakthrough to the Golden Core stage, it proves somewhat lacking, with a low success rate.” Bei Jie began detailing the various uses of the Heart Cleansing Fruit, neither exaggerating nor downplaying its effects, presenting the facts plainly, which greatly increased the audience's goodwill.
The item was presented by a graceful and alluring female Foundation Establishment cultivator, meant to emphasize the fruit's extraordinary nature.
Lei Dong didn't know if this Heart Cleansing Fruit had leaked from the Heavenly Dao Alliance or from another source. However, this matter was irrelevant to him; he already possessed a Heart Cleansing Fruit, and only the first one ever consumed yields the full effect. His current focus remained solely on that supreme-grade spiritual artifact.
“Starting bid, seven hundred thousand spirit stones,” Bei Jie called out, his voice somewhat strained with excitement.
A collective gasp echoed around the room. The starting bid for the first of the three supreme treasures far surpassed the final sale price of the previous item. But everyone had to admit that the pull of the Heart Cleansing Fruit was overwhelming. Breaking through a bottleneck and strengthening the spirit—either benefit was extraordinary. Bottlenecks were terrifying; many Foundation Establishment cultivators could become permanently stuck at a single bottleneck for their entire lives. That was a truly tragic fate, where reaching the other side might lead to smooth sailing, but the bottleneck itself remained unbreakable.
“Eight hundred thousand,” someone immediately drove the price up. But this was definitely not the peak. Soon, it climbed from eight hundred thousand to nine hundred thousand, then one million.
The price continued to rise, and bidders continued to drop out. Once the price passed one million, the number of active bidders noticeably dwindled. Moreover, many began presenting treasures for the Myriad Treasures Pavilion to appraise and accept as partial payment, displaying a clear determination to secure the Heart Cleansing Fruit, even if it meant total ruin. Such individuals were often those stuck at bottlenecks for too long.
Lei Dong and Qi Feifei watched coldly, feeling a secret sense of relief. In any case, they no longer needed to fight desperately for the Heart Cleansing Fruit.
Eventually, the Heart Cleansing Fruit was sold for one million three hundred fifty thousand—a sky-high price, even higher than what Lei Dong had received when he sold his own. Of course, Lei Dong harbored no regret. Even if he had entrusted the Myriad Treasures Pavilion to auction it for him, at least twenty percent would have been deducted, making the net return comparable. The normal pure price for this item throughout history hovered around one million.
The second item left Lei Dong even more speechless. Although he knew it was a high-grade spirit ghost, when he saw the alluring Foundation Establishment woman fly out carrying a Soul Sealing Orb, his heart involuntarily clenched a few times.
Following another round of fierce and frenzied bidding, the high-grade spirit ghost ultimately sold for one million eight hundred thousand spirit stones, purchased by one of the Golden Core Ancestors from the boxes upstairs. Indeed, in the eyes of some Golden Core Ancestors, the value of a high-grade spirit ghost surpassed that of a supreme-grade spiritual artifact. Seeing the high-grade spirit ghost fetch such a price, Lei Dong was momentarily ecstatic. He dared not boast about other things, but as for high-grade spirit ghosts, he could conjure as many as he wished. It was a pity his current strength was too low, and he was too close to the Yin Fiend Sect. Otherwise, he could sneakily sell one or two high-grade spirit ghosts.
Next was the final auction item.
“Supreme-grade spiritual artifact, the Blood-Colored Cloak…” Bei Jie’s voice was also filled with intense excitement: “This cloak has two major functions. The first is defense; it possesses terrifying defensive power, capable of withstanding two full-strength strikes from a cultivator at the first layer of the Golden Core realm. The second is speed enhancement; it can boost the movement speed of a cultivator at the fifth layer of Foundation Establishment by about thirty percent. The starting bid for this item is one million five hundred thousand spirit stones…”