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Chapter 38: The Talisman Manual and the Seven-Star Spirit Fruit
Chapter 38: The Talisman Manual and the Seven-Star Spirit Fruit
Chu Ning sat down with Qiu Shuny and the others in the empty seats, while more cultivators continued to arrive in the grand hall.
As time passed, Chu Ning noticed that higher-level cultivators were arriving and being escorted upstairs.
He looked up and saw a series of small rooms encircling the second floor, each separated from the hall by a thin, translucent veil. Yet, despite his efforts, he couldn't discern anything within them.
Evidently, these rooms were protected by intricate restrictions.
The true participants of the auction were those seated in those rooms above.
After a while, a beautiful young woman in a graceful, brocade-patterned dark robe emerged from behind the counter on the stage.
"Welcome, fellow cultivators, to the Yunhai Pavilion auction. I am Si Konglan, and I will be presiding over today's event.
Our auction is about to begin, and we seek your enthusiastic participation."
Si Konglan's voice, though not loud, seemed to resonate clearly in Chu Ning's ears, a testament to her profound cultivation.
The rest of the audience seemed to realize this as well, as the previously boisterous hall fell into a respectful silence.
Si Konglan smiled gracefully at the crowd and waved her hand. A long, brocade box appeared on the table in front of her.
"The first item up for auction is a set of the Jin Yu Sword, a high-grade metal-attributed spiritual artifact.
Aside from being a high-grade artifact, this set is particularly valuable because it is a mother-and-child sword combination, which can greatly enhance its power when used together.
The starting bid is 400 low-grade spirit stones, and each subsequent bid must increase by no less than 30 spirit stones."
Si Konglan's introduction left Chu Ning, a first-time attendee, astonished.
The starting bid for this artifact was 400 spirit stones, far beyond what he and other low-level disciples could afford.
"450 spirit stones!"
As soon as Si Konglan finished speaking, a voice rang out from one of the second-floor rooms.
The voice was clear, yet it gave Chu Ning a surreal feeling, leaving him quite bewildered.
"480 spirit stones!"
Soon, another voice joined in, giving him the same ethereal impression.
Hearing this, Chu Ning realized that the restrictions in these rooms even altered the sound of voices.
"This Yunhai Pavilion certainly goes to great lengths to protect the privacy of its cultivators."
Chu Ning thought to himself that if he had enough spirit stones in the future, he could consider participating in Yunhai Pavilion's auctions to acquire rare treasures.
As he mused, the metal-attributed artifact was eventually won by a cultivator who bid 700 spirit stones.
"700 spirit stones..."
Hearing this price, Chu Ning sighed inwardly.
Among the new disciples, and even within the entire Ding District disciples, he was among the top earners due to the bonuses provided by his Yin Wood Spirit Body for wood-based spells.
Additionally, his talent as a Fu Yuan Spirit Body, which enhanced the power of talismans, further bolstered his income.
Currently, he had only 52 spirit stones and 5,250 talismans on him.
He intended to give Mu Ling 1,000 talismans, so he could sell at most 4,250.
Even if Mu Ling bought all of them, it would only amount to 85 spirit stones, bringing his total to 135—his entire season's earnings.
With his moderate spiritual rice field, he could only grow two seasons of spiritual rice and one season of Zi Ling grass, limiting his income.
Moreover, he could only cultivate Mo Ling bamboo twice a year, so his current annual earnings were capped at around 300 spirit stones.
"It's truly difficult for a low-level disciple to make a name for themselves," Chu Ning mused inwardly.
However, he soon felt resigned to the situation, reasoning that these artifacts were mostly intended for Foundation Establishment cultivators.
The auction continued in the hall.
The next item Si Konglan brought out was a rare spirit herb, with a starting bid of 300 spirit stones.
While the herb was indeed precious, it wasn't as coveted as the artifacts.
Moreover, such rare herbs were usually more effective when refined into pills, and a single herb had limited use.
Thus, the competition wasn't as fierce.
In the end, a cultivator won the bid at 500 spirit stones.
Subsequently, Si Konglan presented several other items—pills, artifacts, spirit herbs, and spell manuals—seemingly covering all bases.
However, in terms of value, none of them exceeded 1,000 spirit stones, giving Chu Ning a rough idea of the auction's standard.
Evidently, for items rarer than 1,000 spirit stones, Yunhaige would likely opt for a more exclusive auction setting, rather than a large-scale event like this.
"The next item is a bit more precious—a manual for crafting talismans.
This manual primarily focuses on lower-grade talismans and includes instructions for crafting three types of them. Additionally, it also contains methods for crafting one offensive and one defensive middle-grade talisman.
The starting bid is 600 spirit stones! Each subsequent bid must increase by no less than 50 spirit stones."
Si Konglan's introduction caused Chu Ning's heart to stir with excitement.
A talisman-crafting manual! Ever since he had learned how to make talisman paper, he had been eager to take the next step and learn how to craft talismans.
However, obtaining such knowledge from the sect wasn't easy. As far as he knew, none of the menial disciples had access to it.
And now, here in the market, a manual had appeared.
But Chu Ning's excitement quickly turned to dismay as he heard the starting price.
600 spirit stones—even if he sold everything he had, he couldn't afford that amount, and this was just the starting bid. The final price would surely be higher.
As Chu Ning expected, as soon as Si Konglan finished speaking, the cultivators in the second-floor rooms began bidding.
The price of the talisman manual soared, eventually being won at a bid of 1,000 spirit stones.
It became the first item in the auction to reach that price.
However, it made sense when one thought about it. Talisman crafting, among the four arts of pills, artifacts, arrays, and talismans, was relatively easier to get into.
If one could master it, earning spirit stones could be quite swift.
Moreover, this manual included methods for crafting two middle-grade talismans.
And the bidding had only been between a few people.
Apparently, the higher-level cultivators in the rooms above had already dabbled in talismans and knew whether they were suited to learning this art or not.
If anyone could use the manual, the price would undoubtedly be much higher.
Chu Ning shook his head, sighing at his lack of fate with the item, and turned his attention back to the auction.
At that moment, Si Konglan was holding up a small transparent case, inside which was a tiny jade box.
As Si Konglan used her magic to open the box, the item within revealed itself.
Chu Ning's expression turned somewhat stupefied as he beheld the item.
Simultaneously, Si Konglan's voice echoed through the hall.
"The next item for auction is the Seven-Star Spirit Fruit..."
(End of Chapter)
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