Translator: AnubisTL
After careful consideration, Li Qing decided to attend the auction hosted by Daoist Qingyang.
Having just broken through to a new cultivation level, he knew that continued solitary cultivation would be inefficient. Attending the auction would broaden his horizons, which was a worthwhile endeavor in itself.
As Li Qing used the Wandering Dragon Dagger to trim the unruly hair and beard on his face, he murmured to himself, "It seems Senior Qingyang has fully digested the spoils of war from the remnants of the Shi Clan over the past four years."
"Now that he's organizing this auction, he's probably planning to sell off the items that are useless to him, either to acquire what he needs or to exchange them for other valuable resources."
Once he was done grooming, Li Qing shed his wild mountain man appearance and transformed back into a handsome young man.
However, after some thought, he decided to subtly alter his appearance. He deliberately made himself look slightly more weathered, adding a hint of aging to his features.
While immortals age much more slowly than ordinary mortals, the fact that his face hadn't changed at all in over a decade, still radiating youthful vigor, would inevitably draw attention.
Daoist Qingyang was especially familiar to Li Qing, having known him for over a decade. It had been at least ten years since Ye Feng first introduced him to the secret trade fair.
Li Qing pondered for a moment, then mussed his hair further, adjusting his Vital Energy to give his face a somewhat gloomy appearance.
In moments, the image of a cultivator struggling to survive in the lower echelons of the immortal world materialized!
Since he planned to attend the auction, Li Qing naturally intended to consign some items for sale.
Among the storage pouches he had acquired, he still possessed a number of Magic Artifacts. While Li Qing found them unimpressive, that didn't mean other rogue cultivators would.
The joint auction was sure to attract the rogue cultivators residing outside the Azure Radiance Pool's outer layers. These low-level cultivators certainly couldn't afford high-grade magical artifacts, and even mid-grade ones might be beyond their reach.
Thus, the Low-Grade Magic Artifacts and other items Li Qing considered unremarkable would be highly sought after by these rogue cultivators.
In addition, he could sell off any pills he no longer needed, such as the Guangling Pill or the Qi Transformation Pill.
The Azure Radiance Pool was located in a remote area, making it necessary for rogue cultivators residing there to travel far to purchase this pill. This was quite inconvenient for many of them.
Therefore, if Li Qing simply lowered the starting price of his pills, he wouldn't have to worry about finding buyers. After all, pills that enhanced mana were a universally sought-after commodity.
And so, ten days passed in a flash, and the auction hosted by Daoist Qingyang arrived as scheduled.
The auction was held by the Azure Radiance Pool's waterside. An open-air stage had been erected there, surrounded by dense spiritual energy and picturesque scenery, making it an elegant venue.
One after another, figures flew in, their movements accompanied by continuous whooshing sounds. Their auras were quite formidable, and among them were even several cultivators in the Foundation Establishment Realm.
Of course, these Foundation Establishment cultivators were mostly invited guests, either through Daoist Qingyang's connections or as friends of the other Foundation Establishment cultivators residing at the Azure Radiance Pool.
In short, the auction's prestige was quite high. Including the local Foundation Establishment cultivators, a total of eleven Foundation Establishment cultivators were in attendance.
Li Qing drifted gracefully from his cave abode, casting a discreet glance at the Foundation Establishment cultivators seated in the front row before quickly averting his gaze.
To his surprise, he recognized several familiar faces among them.
They were the same young Foundation Establishment Elders from the Heavenly River Sect he had seen at Nine Heavens' Foundation Establishment Celebration. These individuals were the backbone of the sect.
Their presence here was clearly due to Daoist Qingyang's influence.
With so many Foundation Establishment cultivators in attendance, Li Qing decided to keep a low profile, observing more than speaking.
Once he was seated, several rogue cultivators nearby greeted him warmly.
"Master Li, congratulations! It seems your mana has improved even further after this seclusion!"
"It's been years, but Master Li's demeanor remains as impressive as ever."
"Greetings, Master Li!"
Li Qing responded to these flattering greetings with a smile, returning each greeting with proper courtesy.
There was nothing Li Qing could do. It wasn't that he wanted to keep a low profile, but over the years, he had become quite well-known among the rogue cultivators of Azure Radiance Pool.
His identity as an artifact refiner was already widely known. Moreover, many people knew that Li Qing had connections with several Foundation Establishment cultivators.
For example, Daoist Qingyang, and Liu Hanyue, who had successfully reached the Foundation Establishment Realm here four years ago, after Li Qing had attended a Foundation Establishment Celebration for a Heavenly River Sect Elder.
This network of connections alone was something many low-level rogue cultivators wouldn't even dare dream of.
After some pleasantries, Daoist Qingyang finally ascended the open-air platform. His face still wore that amiable smile, which had become his signature expression.
"Hehehe, fellow daoists, thank you for honoring me with your presence at this auction. Some of you have traveled great distances to be here. I am deeply grateful!"
"The reason for this auction is simple. I've acquired some valuable items in recent years, but they've merely accumulated as personal wealth. So, I decided to host this auction to share them with my fellow daoists, hoping we can all advance on the path to immortality together."
As soon as Daoist Qingyang finished speaking, gentle laughter rippled through the crowd.
"This is a truly benevolent act! If everyone in the Immortal Cultivation world were like Senior Qingyang, the Immortal Path would truly be worth striving for!"
"Hahaha, I've long heard that Senior Qingyang wiped out several remnants of the Shi Clan four years ago, clearing a major nuisance for our Heavenly River Sect and restoring peace to the Immortal Cultivation world!"
"I'm curious to see how much of the Shi Clan's core inheritance these remnants still possess. Shi Fan's divine abilities were quite formidable back then."
"..."
Seeing the crowd's enthusiasm, Daoist Qingyang nodded with a light smile and cleared his throat. "Ahem, I won't waste any more time with formalities. Let's begin the auction!"
With that, Daoist Qingyang retrieved a tray from a prepared storage pouch. Three white jade porcelain bottles rested upon it.
"Each of these bottles contains twelve pills. They include both Guangling Pills and Qi Transformation Pills. I trust their effects need no further explanation?"
"The starting bid for each bottle is one hundred spirit stones!"
Twelve pills that enhance mana in the Mid Qi Refining Realm, starting at just one hundred spirit stones—this was an absolute bargain!
In an instant, the Qi Refining Realm rogue cultivators seated further back began bidding fiercely, each vying for a bottle to aid their cultivation.
Watching the fervent excitement around him, Li Qing couldn't help but rub his nose. This item was his creation. He no longer needed these pills, so he had consigned them to the auction to exchange them for spirit stones.
"I bid three hundred and ten spirit stones!"
With that resounding voice, the other rogue cultivators fell silent, watching with regret as the last bottle of pills—far below market price—was snatched up by another.
In a corner of the auction hall, Xu Sanniang's expression was a mixture of desperation and frustration. Lacking sufficient funds, she could only watch helplessly as three bottles of pills were sold to different rogue cultivators.
She wasn't bidding for herself; she wanted to buy them for her son, hoping they would aid his cultivation and allow him to go further on his path.
Alas, her financial resources were limited. Even though the pills were priced low, she still couldn't afford them.
"Ah, if only they had auctioned them off one by one, Cao'er, your path to cultivation would have been much smoother," Xu Sanniang sighed, her voice tinged with disappointment.
Cao Xiu's fair, youthful face was resolute. "Mother, it's alright. Even without the pills, I can still cultivate."
The other rogue cultivators who had failed to secure any pills wore expressions of regret. "Ah, what a pity. I went to the Heavenly River Market half a year ago. If I had known these pills would be so cheap today, I should have saved my spirit stones."
"Same here. The Heavenly River Market just opened last year, and I couldn't resist visiting the Spirit Phoenix Pavilion. I spent all my spirit stones there."
"Let's wait and see. Senior Qingyang has shown great sincerity at this auction. I'm sure there will be more suitable items for us later."
"..."
Listening to the chatter around him, Li Qing felt a sense of satisfaction.
The three bottles of pills had sold for over eight hundred spirit stones in total. After deducting the commission Daoist Qingyang and the other Foundation Establishment cultivators would take, Li Qing pocketed over seven hundred spirit stones.
It was a small fortune.
"The second item up for auction: a four-hundred-year-old Earth Yellow Essence! Starting bid: six hundred spirit stones!"
As he spoke, Daoist Qingyang produced a Spirit Herb from his hand. It resembled a yellow ginger root, roughly the size of a fist and remarkably dense.
The moment he revealed it, gasps of surprise rippled through the crowd.
"Hiss! A four-hundred-year-old Earth Yellow Essence! That's a rare sight!"
"It can extend one's lifespan by forty years. If it could be refined into an Earth Yellow Longevity Pill, the effects would be even more astounding."
"Daoist Qingyang, are you truly willing to sell such a precious Spirit Herb instead of consuming it yourself?"
The Earth Yellow Essence, a longevity-enhancing Spirit Herb, grants a cultivator one year of extended lifespan for every decade of its age. A four-hundred-year-old Earth Yellow Essence could directly add forty years to one's lifespan!
Of course, this divine treasure had its limitations: a cultivator could only consume one Earth Yellow Essence in their lifetime; subsequent consumption would have no effect.
Therefore, many powerful cultivators went to great lengths to find Earth Yellow Essences with sufficient age. Those under a century old rarely caught their attention.
But this four-hundred-year-old Earth Yellow Essence was enough to make every Foundation Establishment cultivator in attendance who had never consumed one feel their hearts race.
Hearing the teasing, Daoist Qingyang could only force a bitter smile. "I wouldn't have put it up for auction if I didn't have to. Unfortunately, in my younger days, I consumed a two-hundred-year-old Earth Yellow Essence. Otherwise, why would I be selling a four-hundred-year-old one now?"
As he spoke, his tone was filled with genuine regret. This exchange meant he had effectively lost over twenty years of life. For a Foundation Establishment cultivator of his age, this was indeed a significant loss.
Before long, someone eagerly shouted out a bid.
"Eight hundred spirit stones!"
"An Earth Yellow Essence of this age is already an extremely rare treasure! It's worth fighting for! Eight hundred and fifty spirit stones!"
"One thousand spirit stones!"
The final bid came from an Elder of the Heavenly River Sect. His voice was firm, his posture resolute, as if victory was already assured.
"Junior Brother Ma, I thought you had already consumed an Earth Yellow Essence. Why are you bidding again?"
Junior Brother Ma merely smiled without answering his Senior Brother's question.
But soon, another Heavenly River Sect Elder realized what was happening.
"I remember Ancestor Wanshan said a few years ago that he wanted to obtain Earth Yellow Essence. Could it be that he never actually consumed it?!"
"Hiss! I remember that Ancestor Wanshan's five-hundredth birthday is coming up in a few years!"
As soon as these words were spoken, the price of the Earth Yellow Essence skyrocketed, immediately driven up by the Heavenly River Sect Elders. They began bidding against each other, forcing the rogue cultivators to smile wryly and retreat.
Finally, the Earth Yellow Essence sold for 1,800 spirit stones, falling into the hands of the Heavenly River Sect Elder surnamed Ma.
With the first two auction items sold, the atmosphere of the auction finally reached a fever pitch.
Whether they were Foundation Establishment cultivators or Qi Refining cultivators, everyone present eagerly anticipated the remaining items.
"A matched pair of Low-Grade Magic Artifacts, the Ice-Fire Twin Blades! When combined, they unleash power comparable to a Mid-Grade Magic Tool!"
"Starting bid: 200 spirit stones!"
"A mysterious treasure map fragment. I found this in the storage pouch of a remnant of the Shi Clan. However, it's incomplete."
"Starting bid: 50 spirit stones."
"Phoenix Snow Wood, a crucial spiritual material for array formation..."
One after another, the auction items proved to be exceptionally precious, truly opening the eyes of the Qi Refining Realm rogue cultivators in attendance.
Some of these items were things many had never even heard of, yet that didn't stop them from letting their imaginations run wild.
Especially the cheap treasure map. Quite a few Qi Refining Realm rogue cultivators participated in the bidding, and it ultimately sold for 150 spirit stones to one of them.
Though inexpensive, the other Foundation Establishment cultivators tacitly refrained from bidding, all seasoned foxes who knew better than to compete for such trifles.
During the auction, Li Qing's Low-Grade Magic Artifacts were sold off in batches, netting him another 400 spirit stones.
The atmosphere grew increasingly heated, and occasionally, auxiliary ingredients for the Foundation Establishment Pill would appear. Whenever he lacked one, Li Qing naturally seized the opportunity to bid.
He was in a comfortable position—not quite at the level of the Foundation Establishment cultivators, but far above the other Qi Refining Realm rogue cultivators. He dared not compete for the items the Foundation Establishment cultivators coveted, while those cultivators showed little interest in the auxiliary ingredients for the Foundation Establishment Pill.
Li Qing successfully bid on the item, and the other Qi Refining Realm rogue cultivators all backed down.
However, as the auction neared its final items, one spiritual object made Li Qing clench his fist tightly!
"This is a section of the Treasure Origin Tree's main trunk, estimated by this old man to be nearly five hundred years old. It's rich with Spirit Wood Essence."
"The value of such spirit wood, I believe, needs no explanation. It's an excellent material for artifact refinement, even suitable for refining into a top-grade magical artifact."
"Starting bid: one thousand spirit stones!"
As Daoist Qingyang's voice fell, the lively atmosphere in the hall momentarily quieted before erupting into a wave of murmurs.
A material that could be refined into a top-grade magical artifact—its value was truly immense!
Even the usually composed Li Qing found his breath quickening.
(End of the Chapter)
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