Early the next morning, the dappled shadows of the tall bamboo grove were cast into the courtyard!
A few spirit beasts that had previously seemed sickly also started to let out joyous roars.
In Ye Jingcheng's yard, upon seeing Ye Jingcheng get up, the Jade Ring Rat wagged its large ears and climbed onto Ye Jingcheng!
Ye Jingcheng also patted the Jade Ring Rat's round, bulging belly.
"Don't just grow your belly; you should grow those ears longer!" Ye Jingcheng put the Jade Ring Rat into his Spirit Beast Bag, then also put away the Red Flame Fox that was dozing on the table.
The Red Flame Fox still appeared a bit lazy, letting out low sounds as Ye Jingcheng stroked it.
Ye Jingcheng then infused some Treasure Light into it and fed it a Spirit Nourishing Pill.
"Your aura is nearing the late stage of the first tier, isn't it!" Feeling the spiritual power of the Red Flame Fox, Ye Jingcheng was filled with joy!
It's truly worthy of being a demon beast that can reach the late stage of the second tier as it grows!
It's worth noting that when he started raising the Red Flame Fox, it was probably only at the mid-stage first tier.
After the Red Flame Fox slowly nibbled on the Spirit Nourishing Pill, Ye Jingcheng also put it back into the Spirit Beast Bag!
Today is the day of the auction!
Currently, he has exactly two hundred and seventy Spirit Stones in his Storage Bag.
When he stepped out of the yard, Ye Xinghe, Ye Xingyu, and Ye Jingli were already prepared to depart.
Because they needed to guard the shop, Ye Jingyun, Ye Jinhao, and Ye Xinghong stayed behind to watch over it.
Lately, Ye Family's spirit beast business has improved significantly; if manpower were short, it would be quite challenging to manage.
"At this auction, if there's something you want, bid for it yourself; the family might not be able to assist you much," Ye Xinghe reminded the three of them before leaving.
After saying that, the four headed to the center of the market, towards a massive hall.
This hall was located next to the Celestial One Pavilion; its grandeur was just slightly less imposing than the former, with carvings of flying dragons and exotic beasts on the tower, each with a Treasure Bead in their mouths.
At the moment, various cultivators were walking inside.
"Ye Xinghe, have you prepared plenty of Spirit Stones today?" A middle-aged man with a small mustache, dressed in green satin and wearing a crown, walked out from afar and laughed.
This man was none other than the Li Family's representative at Taihang Market, Li Mutian.
"No need for Li Daoist to worry; how's your Spirit Stone preparation? Do you need me to lend you some Spirit Pills to sell for Spirit Stones?" Ye Xinghe countered sarcastically.
After exchanging a few jabs, they both entered the main hall.
The hall was exceptionally spacious, enough to seat over a thousand people!
There were also second and third floors.
However, only members of the Purple Mansion Clan or Purple Mansion Cultivators were allowed in the rooms on the second floor!
Families like the Ye Family, being a Foundation Establishment Clan, sat in the compartment behind those rows of seats.
At this moment, the compartment was already filled with cultivators, and the four Great Foundation Establishment Clans of Taihang Market had already taken their seats.
"Xingyu, take these two and sit first; I'll be right back!" Ye Xinghe glanced at Ye Xingyu, patted his shoulder, and then headed towards the auction hall's backstage.
The Ye Family also had a share in the auction and needed to submit some auction items and give some instructions.
Of course, Ye Xinghe also wanted to investigate whether the Blood Heart Pill was real.
Ye Xingyu nodded at this, leading the two to settle in their seats.
When Ye Jingcheng sat down, he noticed that the members of the Li Family kept glaring over with disdainful eyes.
"Ignore them. Back when our Ye Family was dominant on Taihang Mountain, their Li Family was still flattering and calling us Immortal Masters!" Ye Xingyu said softly after taking a glance.
The Ye Family had been a Foundation Establishment Clan for a long time, whereas the Li Family only started to prosper over the past one or two centuries after a genius joined the Taiyi Sect.
Of course, even though Ye Xinghe's voice was low, to cultivators, it was naturally still quite loud!
Li Mutian immediately puffed his mustache in anger, and the two younger cultivators also stood up, glaring at the Ye Family!
But the three from the Ye Family remained nonchalant; in this market, if the Li Family dared to make a move, they would truly admire them!
"No need to stand on ceremony!" From afar, Ye Xinghe approached with a wide smile.
The two cultivators wanted to keep glaring but immediately backed down when Ye Xinghe gave them a look.
Li Mutian spoke up:
"Hope your Ye Family isn't all talk!"
After speaking, he said nothing more, instead looking towards the auction hall's central stage.
Ye Xinghe glanced towards the private boxes above; seeing no expected cultivators inside, he breathed a sigh of relief.
Yet at the same time, he was a bit puzzled. Li Mutian wouldn't usually provoke him during an auction.
Today's provocation could have hidden motives.
After all, provoking the opponent during an auction could only force one to pay more for what they wanted, or let the opponent forcibly take what they desired.
"That Blood Heart Pill…" Ye Xinghe contemplated further.
"Thank you all for coming to the Taihang Market auction, I am Luoxiang, the auctioneer for this event!"
"The auction rules are the same as before: the highest bidder wins. If you don't have enough Spirit Stones, you can use treasures as collateral, or offer direct bids!"
Wearing a green dress, Luoxiang's gentle speech caused several cultivators to breathe heavily, even without seeing any treasures yet!
Especially those loose cultivators.
"Jingcheng, this isn't quite like a little lady!" Even Ye Jingli whispered to Ye Jingcheng beside him.
"Alright, no more rambling, or else the seniors present will blame this little lady!"
"The first auction item is a Tier One High-Grade Five-Child Ring Spiritual Artifact, a set artifact. When all five rings are released, even top-grade spiritual artifacts might not be able to withstand it. The starting bid is eight hundred Spirit Stones, with increments of no less than ten Spirit Stones each time!!"
Luoxiang took out five Silver Rings, and under the Spiritual Light, they immediately burst into a blazing silver glow.
Ye Jingcheng couldn't help but chuckle; his Spirit Stones couldn't even match the starting price of this upper-grade spiritual artifact!
"Eight hundred and fifty!"
"Nine hundred!"
The Five-Child Ring Spiritual Artifact drew the most bids from those loose cultivators; such set artifacts were very powerful yet cheaper than top-grade spiritual artifacts!
Surprisingly, none of the four major clans made a bid.
Soon, the Five-Child Ring sold for thirteen hundred Spirit Stones.
It made the auction hall quite lively, with those large numbers stimulating the cultivators even more!
"Next is a Tier One High-Grade Spirit Fruit, the Celestial Leaf Fruit, the main ingredient for refining Celestial Leaf Pills, with a starting bid of one hundred fifty Spirit Stones, and increments of no less than five Spirit Stones each time!"
After the first auction item, the enthusiasm for the second one waned significantly.
However, upon hearing this, Ye Jingcheng became somewhat excited; this Celestial Leaf Fruit was of similar value to the Red Dragon Fruit he wanted.
The Celestial Leaf Fruit finally sold for two hundred thirty.
Sure enough, after auctioning off two middle-grade first-tier defensive spiritual artifacts, Luoxiang received a red tray from the side.
The golden silk cloth on the tray was lifted, revealing a nearly transparent white jade box.
Inside was the Red Dragon Fruit that had been on Ye Jingcheng's mind.
"A Tier One High-Grade Red Dragon Fruit, invaluable for its Fire Attribute properties, starting bid is one hundred fifty Spirit Stones, with increments of no less than five Spirit Stones each time!"