https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-104-The-Auction-Where-Treasures-Appear/12831605/
https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-106-Old-Man-How-Dare-You-Treat-Me-Like-This/12831607/
Chapter 105: Alchemist Dust, the Four Symbols Cauldron
Chapter 105: Alchemist Dust, the Four Symbols Cauldron
Luo Tianhong of the Jade Peak Sword Sect truly knew how to run an auction.
The first item was a bold opening, instantly silencing the noisy crowd and capturing everyone's attention with a single magical treasure.
Ordinary wandering cultivators rarely experienced such a grand occasion.
For a moment, everyone was stunned.
As the bids were called out, many quietly checked their storage pouches, gauging whether they would ever have the means to participate in such high-level bidding in their lifetimes.
Fortunately, the initial bids were still within a reasonable range, and people gradually accepted this reality.
After all, those bidding were wealthy Foundation Establishment cultivators, many of whom had backing from sects or families.
But when a bid of eighty thousand spirit stones echoed through the hall, all eyes turned to Box Number Eight.
The bid had jumped from fifty thousand to eighty thousand spirit stones.
Such an unreasonable bidding strategy clearly demonstrated the bidder's determination to secure the item.
The entire hall erupted in excitement.
Only the Foundation Establishment cultivators who had been bidding fell into a silent contemplation.
Magical treasures were naturally much more expensive than magical weapons.
Even top-tier magical weapons rarely cost over ten thousand spirit stones.
But a low-grade magical treasure, and one that was purely offensive, was already priced over fifty thousand spirit stones, which was a significant premium.
Eighty thousand spirit stones could buy a decent defensive magical treasure.
For a moment, no one dared to bid.
On the white jade platform, Luo Tianhong smiled.
"Eighty thousand, first call!"
"Is there anyone else willing to bid? This is a magical treasure from Tianfan City, guaranteed to be of the highest quality."
"No one?"
"Eighty thousand, second call!"
In Box Number Eight, after Uncle Mi Hua suddenly bid eighty thousand, a heavy silence fell.
Everyone knew that as a Foundation Establishment cultivator, Uncle Mi Hua was wealthy.
But who could have expected him to bid such a high price on the first item?
Even Mi Junping couldn't help but wonder if her father was being too hasty.
But Uncle Mi Hua paid no heed to their thoughts. His usually gentle and kind eyes were now as cold and deep as an abyss, fixed on Luo Tianhong on the stage.
He longed to hear the words "sold."
But Luo Tianhong deliberately prolonged the suspense.
"Eighty thousand spirit stones, second call. This magical treasure has no historical issues. I guarantee, with the name of the Jade Peak Sword Sect, that buying it will not bring any enemies to your door."
"Moreover, this treasure's power is immense, making it perfect for Foundation Establishment cultivators."
As he spoke, he infused a strand of spiritual energy into the item.
The flying wheel in his hand spun rapidly, emitting a brilliant purple-golden glow.
Dozens of identical flying wheels flew out, forming a sea of hundreds.
Their sharp and powerful aura almost seemed to cut through the void, leaving the audience in awe.
The silent Foundation Establishment cultivators seemed to be reconsidering their positions.
"I've been at the Foundation Establishment stage for eighty years and have never owned a magical treasure. This is a rare opportunity. But eighty thousand spirit stones..."
"I already have an offensive magical weapon; what I need is a defensive one. This treasure, though excellent, is not what I need. Stay calm, stay calm!"
"No rush. Though I lack a magical treasure, there are several more to be auctioned later. Let's see!"
"The bidder from Box Number Eight must be Old Man Mi. With the Broken Mountain Gang collecting resources for him, his wealth far exceeds mine. I can't compete for this treasure."
In the end, no one bid.
Not even an additional spirit stone was offered.
Luo Tianhong sighed and smiled, retracting the flying wheels.
"Eighty thousand, third call!"
"Sold!"
"Congratulations to the bidder in Box Number Eight. This low-grade magical treasure is now yours. May it serve you well on your path to cultivation, protecting you and aiding you in your endeavors."
As he spoke, the atmosphere in the hall heated up again.
In Box Number Eight, Uncle Mi Hua, who had been annoyed by Luo Tianhong's delay, finally broke into a radiant smile, his face blooming like a flower.
On the white jade platform, Luo Tianhong handed the Heavenly Moon Purple-Golden Wheel to a servant and brought out the next item.
The second item was not as valuable as a magical treasure but attracted many Qi Condensation cultivators due to its unique function.
The atmosphere gradually became lively.
...
In the box, Uncle Mi Hua took the purple-golden flying wheel from the servant, his excitement barely contained.
Mi Hua had been striving in the Great River Market for nearly two hundred years, reaching the mid-stage of Foundation Establishment.
But he had never possessed a suitable magical treasure, leaving him with the name but not the power of a Foundation Establishment cultivator.
Wang Haichao of the Great River Gang, a mere upstart, dared to challenge him—wasn't it because he lacked a magical treasure?
Now, he was a genuine mid-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator, armed with a magical treasure, unafraid even of late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivators.
From now on, who wouldn't show him more respect?
Seeing his father's excitement, Mi Junping couldn't help but feel happy for him.
From now on, the Mi family would be a Foundation Establishment family with a magical treasure to pass down!
Sikong Shoujia, who was well-informed, couldn't help but ask, "Lord, a typical low-grade offensive magical treasure costs only fifty to sixty thousand spirit stones. Isn't this item overpriced?"
"Overpriced?"
"Haha, that's because they can't recognize a true treasure when they see one."
Mi Hua laughed and stored the magical treasure in his storage pouch.
He would nurture it in his dantian with his own spiritual energy and consciousness once he returned.
After saying that, he didn't elaborate further, leaving Sikong Shoujia and Luo Chen curious.
Could it be that this Heavenly Moon Purple-Golden Wheel had some hidden function, more than just an offensive treasure?
If so, why didn't the Jade Peak Sword Sect mention it to get a higher price?
Where did Mi Hua get his information?
Perhaps sensing their speculations, Mi Hua pondered for a moment before changing the topic.
"Bidding at an auction has its own strategies."
"If you are financially strained, there's nothing to say—bid within your means. If you can't compete, you never will."
"But if you are wealthy, you can afford to play the long game. What's yours will always be yours."
“
But if you’re in a middle ground, you need to use strategy. You can either take the initiative and set the tone, or wait and strike last. In my case earlier, I instantly raised the price within my capabilities, showing my determination and creating the impression of a premium value."
"Perhaps it is a premium, but what kind of setting is this?"
"Auction!"
"Amidst intense competition, most items naturally fetch a higher price. Instead of waiting for others to gradually drive up the price, you can take the lead."
"Of course, this applies to resources you absolutely need. What about those that are optional?"
"Take the magical tools being auctioned now, for instance. How would you bid on them?"
Under Uncle Mi’s guidance, Luo Chen and the others put themselves in the buyers’ shoes, contemplating their bidding strategies.
It must be said that these insights truly provided them with significant inspiration.
The subsequent items were sold at prices that closely matched Uncle Mi’s predictions.
As the saying goes, experience does bring wisdom!
After about half an hour, the first round of the auction concluded.
During the intermission, the jade platform was bustling with activity.
One by one, the Sword Pavilion cultivators laid out a myriad of items on the platform, as if setting up a market stall.
Seeing those items, Luo Chen and the others instantly understood.
Unsurprisingly, this was the stage for the auction of resources from independent cultivators!
The magical tools submitted by Wang Yuan were displayed in one corner.
Soon, Luo Tianhong took the stage.
The second round of the auction differed from the previous item-by-item introductions.
Luo Tianhong mostly glossed over the details, stating the item’s grade, name, general purpose, and starting bid.
Then came the bidding.
He didn’t try to build suspense; whenever the price paused, he quickly declared the sale.
Sikong Shoujia’s second-grade spirit herb was the first to sell, to a concealed Foundation Establishment cultivator.
Wang Yuan’s magical tools also performed well, with most of them selling, netting him several thousand spirit stones.
In contrast, Luo Wudi and Mi Junping’s items had few bidders, and many of them went unsold.
They were quite helpless about this.
In such a setting, resources that seemed decent under normal circumstances were often overlooked.
The reason Wang Yuan sold more was that he set his starting bids relatively low.
After the second round, during the intermission, a group of female cultivators performed a dance.
The Jade Peak Sword Pavilion cultivators also provided various pastries for all the attendees.
Luo Chen could only marvel at how the Jade Peak Sword Sect managed to earn spirit stones.
Even if one didn’t buy anything, it was still worth it to gain some insight.
If Luo Chen had known that attending the auction required a spirit stone as an entry fee, he wouldn’t have praised the Jade Peak Sword Sect’s fairness.
"The third round of the auction is now beginning."
"The first item is a collection of rare spirit herbs provided by Daoist Brother Mi Shuhua of the Mountain Breaking Gang."
"A total of three second-grade demon cores, three pieces of steel heart, one third-grade silver-maned foal, which can be tamed... and ten bottles of mid-grade jade marrow pills, personally refined by the Mountain Breaking Gang’s Alchemy Hall Master, Alchemist Dust of the Alchemy Hall."
"Ladies and gentlemen, you may now place your bids!"
The third round featured items provided by the major local forces for auction.
The Mountain Breaking Gang, being the largest and oldest independent cultivator gang in the Great River Marketplace, naturally took the first slot.
Hearing about the auction items, there was some commotion in the hall.
The second-grade demon cores were definitely valuable, and some Foundation Establishment cultivators immediately bid on them.
The steel hearts were also good, and the Ten Thousand Treasure Tower’s private box didn’t hesitate to offer a high price.
The silver-maned foal was even more eye-catching.
If properly raised, it could become a third-grade demon beast comparable to a Golden Core cultivator in a few hundred years!
It must be said that the veteran Foundation Establishment cultivator, Uncle Mi, indeed had considerable wealth.
He had previously bid 80,000 spirit stones for a magical tool.
Now, he was putting out a large number of valuable items, likely to recoup some of his costs.
Compared to the others who bid openly, Luo Chen in Private Box No. 8 was completely stunned.
"Alchemy Hall Master—Dust of the Alchemy Hall?"
"When did I get such a title?"
...
...
"What, you don’t like this dao name?"
Dao name!
Facing Uncle Mi’s smiling face, Luo Chen suddenly realized.
This wasn’t some casual title like Downhill Tiger or Heart Devourer Tiger, but a more formal dao name.
Such titles were usually taken by major sects with long traditions or powerful independent cultivators.
The last dao name he had heard was Qingyuanzi, the author of Qingyuan Alchemy Manual.
The person had taken the dao name Qingyuanzi due to his significant achievements in alchemy.
He never thought he would have a dao name now.
Luo Chen couldn’t help but say, "It’s not that I don’t like it, but..."
"Curious why you gave me a dao name, right?" Uncle Mi seemed to know Luo Chen’s thoughts.
He slowly explained, "Although your existence isn’t a secret among some local forces in the Great River Marketplace, these forces generally follow the rules. However, among the independent cultivators participating in this auction, there are always some who don’t."
"Revealing your name and cultivation level too early will inevitably attract trouble."
That made sense.
"Moreover, to sell the jade marrow pills better, we need a reputable alchemist’s name. I feel Alchemist Dust of the Alchemy Hall is quite fitting."
Luo Chen opened his mouth, speechless.
It turned out Uncle Mi was using the same trick he had used before!
Back then, he had used the name of Yunhe Shangren from the Joyful Union Sect to sell the Wondrous Pill.
Now, Uncle Mi had fabricated a grand-sounding Alchemist Dust of the Alchemy Hall, all to sell the jade marrow pills.
His gaze fell on the crowd, and sure enough, some people were inquiring about the effects of the jade marrow pills.
Upon learning that the mid-grade jade marrow pills were only effective for early- and mid-stage cultivators, many lost interest.
However, the few Foundation Establishment families were quite interested.
Each of them bid for one or two bottles, intending to test their effects.
Luo Chen realized that Uncle Mi had held back the jade marrow pills he had previously refined, instead putting them up for auction.
The goal wasn’t to fetch a high price but to build a reputation.
"Indeed, these Foundation Establishment cultivators are all smart people!"
He had never thought about this before.
It wasn't that he wasn't intelligent; it was just that his cultivation level hadn't reached a point where he could understand higher-level matters.
To be able to auction a Jade Marrow Pill, which was only moderately effective, Uncle Mi must have secretly negotiated some conditions with the Jade Cauldron Sword Sect cultivators.
Thinking about this, Luo Chen suddenly connected it to the previous incident with the magical artifact.
Perhaps Uncle Mi had learned about the additional benefits of the Celestial Moon Purple Gold Wheel from a Jade Cauldron Sword cultivator.
If he thought deeper about it:
"Is the Jade Marrow Pill hard to sell?"
"Because there are giants like the Spirit Medicine Pavilion and the Medicine King Sect watching over it."
"But what if the Mountain Breaker Gang leveraged the name of the Jade Cauldron Sword Sect?"
"Even if the connection isn't deep, just one or two Foundation Establishment cultivators from the Jade Cauldron Sword Sect being involved would be enough."
"In that case, the profits from the Jade Marrow Pill might also benefit a certain Foundation Establishment cultivator in the auction."
These thoughts sprouted like bamboo shoots after the rain.
Luo Chen's mind became increasingly clear.
Unconsciously, the pills he had refined had already caught the attention of many Foundation Establishment cultivators!
Thinking about this, he was somewhat relieved that he had joined the Mountain Breaker Gang early on.
At least, he still had relative freedom.
While he was deep in thought, the third round of the auction had already ended.
The fourth round, featuring sect cultivators, was gradually approaching.
This time, Wang Yuan and the others around him began to make their moves one by one.
Luo Chen saw with his own eyes that Wang Yuan spent two thousand spirit stones to buy a pill.
According to Luo Tianhong, the pill was extremely beneficial for physical cultivation.
"This round is provided by the Ten Thousand Treasures Pavilion."
"The name of the Ten Thousand Treasures Pavilion needs no introduction, I'm sure."
"There are ten items in total, including two large storage bags, each with a capacity of ten cubic meters, starting at ten thousand spirit stones each..."
A large storage bag with a ten-cubic-meter capacity!
Luo Chen's eyes lit up.
But when the final price was only twenty thousand spirit stones, he was puzzled.
"Aren't one-cubic-meter storage bags in the Ten Thousand Treasures Pavilion priced at ten thousand spirit stones each? Why are large storage bags so cheap?"
Uncle Mi smiled slightly, "That's just the retail price, and it's aimed at independent cultivators. The true value of storage bags isn't that high."
"Hmm?"
"Storage bags are indeed valuable, but only to ordinary low-rank independent cultivators. In reality, sect cultivators buy them in bulk, and the individual price doesn't exceed a thousand spirit stones."
Seeing Luo Chen's confusion, Uncle Mi explained, "If you get a second-hand storage bag and try to sell it, no one will offer a high price. The Ten Thousand Treasures Pavilion won't even buy them back."
Luo Chen frowned, "Then why do they mark the price so high?"
"To make it unaffordable for low-rank independent cultivators, of course."
Luo Chen was even more confused. Shouldn't a product have a relatively reasonable price?
Uncle Mi sighed and enlightened him, "Low-rank cultivators don't have much wealth, maybe just one or two magical artifacts and a few talismans, which are easy to carry. The only thing others might covet is the spirit stones they earn. But spirit stones come in different sizes, and carrying more than two hundred is very inconvenient."
"Nor would anyone leave their spirit stones at home when they go out, waiting for someone to steal them."
"In this situation, if they can't afford a storage bag, what would they do?"
Luo Chen hesitated for a moment and replied, "Use the spirit stones to buy pills, magical artifacts, talismans, and other resources to enhance themselves. Or perhaps exchange them for more convenient medium-grade spirit stones?"
"Leaving the latter aside, let's talk about the former. Where would most independent cultivators go to buy these resources? The market? The black market? Or sect shops?"
Luo Chen wasn't stupid.
He quickly understood, especially with Uncle Mi's guidance.
To avoid being robbed, low-rank independent cultivators would definitely convert their spirit stones into their own strength.
And when they buy these cultivation resources, the spirit stones would flow back to the major sects.
Seeing Luo Chen's enlightened expression, Uncle Mi sighed, "The ten-thousand-spirit-stone price is actually very reasonable. Early-stage cultivators can't afford it, while late-stage cultivators have the means to protect their wealth and can save up to buy it. For us Foundation Establishment independent cultivators, buying such items isn't a strain, and with internal channels, it would be even cheaper."
Damn, greedy merchants!
Whether it was the Ten Thousand Treasures Pavilion or the sects that made the storage bags, they were all greedy merchants!
Luo Chen cursed inwardly.
Then his gaze was drawn to an item the greedy merchant had put up for auction.
"The Four Symbols Cauldron, a high-grade magical artifact!"
"This cauldron has many remarkable uses. It can serve as an offensive magical artifact and also has some defensive capabilities. Additionally, it can be used for refining pills!"
"This cauldron was crafted by Elder Huyan Zhuo of the Golden Dan Senior in Tianfan City. It was originally intended to be a magical artifact, but the array inscriptions were incompatible, resulting in a high-grade finished product."
"If any fellow cultivators are interested, you can participate in the bidding."
"The starting price is three thousand spirit stones!"
As Luo Tianhong described the cauldron's origin, uses, and grade, some murmurs arose in the audience.
But they quickly fell silent.
The cauldron had many uses, but in essence, the Four Symbols Cauldron was a jack-of-all-trades, master of none.
For Qi Cultivation cultivators pursuing a single powerful ability, they wouldn't be interested.
For Foundation Establishment cultivators, only the best high-grade magical artifacts or magical artifacts would catch their eye.
But in Box 8, Luo Chen's eyes gleamed.
"This item belongs to me!"
He then fixed his gaze on Uncle Mi.
"Boss, there's still an empty pill room in the Pill Hall!"
"If I have this cauldron, I can refine more pills for the gang each month, earn more spirit stones, and ensure the brothers have enough food and warm clothes during the cold winter."
"Boss, this cauldron isn't expensive, and there are few bidders. We can't miss this opportunity."
"Opportunities like this don't come often..."
Uncle Mi's face twitched. This damn familiar tone was too recognizable!
(End of Chapter)
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