Someone exclaimed in disbelief, "It's a Foundation Establishment Pill! Damn it, I didn't bring enough Spirit Stones!"
"Liu Laosan, save it. Can your little family scrape together ten thousand Spirit Stones even if they sold everything? Don't even think about getting this Foundation Establishment Pill without thirty to forty thousand Spirit Stones."
In a private room on the second floor, Meng Hongji sat up straight.
He stared intently at the blue pill, his face a mixture of excitement and nervousness.
Ning Fa's eyes widened as he carefully examined the Foundation Establishment Pill.
The Foundation Establishment Pill was arguably the most sought-after among all pills, the object of desire for countless Qi Refining Cultivators.
It wasn't that cultivators absolutely needed a Foundation Establishment Pill to achieve Foundation Establishment.
It was just that without this pill, attempting Foundation Establishment was an extremely dangerous endeavor.
It was a matter of life and death, and a single mistake could lead to one's body exploding.
However, after taking a Foundation Establishment Pill, even if the attempt failed, at most, one's vital energy would be slightly depleted, posing no threat to their life.
Furthermore, a Foundation Establishment Pill could increase a cultivator's chances of success by about twenty to thirty percent.
Among the many pills for breaking through bottlenecks, this success rate was considered quite high.
Thus, by now, the Foundation Establishment Pill had become an essential item for cultivators attempting to break through to Foundation Establishment.
Only those cultivators who were nearing their sixtieth year, the limit for Foundation Establishment, and lacked a Foundation Establishment Pill would risk a forceful breakthrough.
However, the success rate for such attempts was almost one in a thousand.
As the pinnacle of Second-grade Pills, the Foundation Establishment Pill required Spiritual Materials so precious that they even surpassed some ordinary Third-grade Pills.
Rumor had it that some of the main ingredients for the Foundation Establishment Pill could only be found in secret realms and dangerous lands.
Ordinary cultivators rarely encountered them.
Only major sects had the ability to regularly venture into these secret realms and dangerous lands to collect the necessary Spiritual Materials.
Ning Fa finally understood that what he and Ning Shaohong had discussed at Tongbao Pavilion yesterday was about this very Foundation Establishment Pill.
Moreover, it seemed the Ning Family had discussed it internally and decided to forgo this particular Foundation Establishment Pill.
Otherwise, a Foundation Establishment Elder would have personally attended today.
And what Meng Hongji had said earlier was likely referring to this.
Seeing that only Ning Shaohong had come from the Ning Family, he naturally knew they hadn't intended to bid for this Foundation Establishment Pill, which was why he had breathed a sigh of relief.
And undoubtedly, Meng Hongji had come for this Foundation Establishment Pill.
The Meng Family was currently in a precarious situation, urgently needing another Foundation Establishment Cultivator to emerge.
And at this auction, it was clear that many cultivators had come specifically for this Foundation Establishment Pill.
Tongbao Pavilion had already begun its promotions, likely having informed many influential cultivators around Thousand Wave Lake about this Foundation Establishment Pill.
Ning Fa couldn't help but look at Ning Shaohong with confusion, not understanding why the Ning Family would give up on this Foundation Establishment Pill.
Ning Shaohong noticed Ning Fa's gaze and couldn't help but smile, "This isn't a normal Foundation Establishment Pill. Keep watching."
Ning Fa was taken aback, not understanding Ning Shaohong's meaning.
At this moment, Wei Shiqin said solemnly, "I must emphasize here that this Foundation Establishment Pill has some flaws. The most crucial main ingredient used in its refinement, the Heavenly Spirit Fruit, was ten years short of its optimal age."
"Therefore, the efficacy of this pill is not as good as a normal Foundation Establishment Pill. The increased chance of breakthrough is only about twenty percent, and it might affect subsequent realm breakthroughs after Foundation Establishment."
"However, it retains other abilities that a Foundation Establishment Pill should have, such as protective capabilities during bottleneck breakthroughs. These shortcomings are only due to a slight deficiency in spiritual energy."
"The starting bid for this pill is five thousand Spirit Stones, and each increment cannot be less than five hundred Spirit Stones."
Upon hearing this, the venue quieted down slightly.
But the gazes of many became even more fervent.
Although this pill had minor flaws, it was still a Foundation Establishment Pill after all.
And its price was expected to be significantly lower than a normal Foundation Establishment Pill, giving them a better chance to acquire it.
As long as they could break through to the Foundation Establishment realm, they would enjoy a lifespan of four Jiazi (240 years).
Even if they could only remain at the early stage of Foundation Establishment thereafter, it would still be completely acceptable.
After all, most Foundation Establishment cultivators remained at this realm for their entire lives.
"Six thousand Spirit Stones!"
"I bid seven thousand!"
In a short time, the price had surged past ten thousand Spirit Stones.
Ning Shaohong looked at Ning Fa and continued, "This Foundation Establishment Pill is rather redundant for our Ning Family. It might even affect the subsequent potential of the person who takes it, so the family elders have decided to forgo it and purchase a genuine Foundation Establishment Pill at the Black Marsh Immortal City auction in the future."
Ning Fa nodded.
The speaker inwardly sighed at the Ning Family's current wealth and influence.
Clearly, they looked down on this slightly flawed Foundation Establishment Pill.
While the Ning Family wasn't interested, others were eager to acquire it.
In a short time, the price had already reached over twenty thousand Spirit Stones.
At this price, only five or six people remained in a bidding war.
Slowly, the price climbed to twenty-six thousand Spirit Stones.
Only the Meng Family's ancestor, Meng Hongji, and the clear-voiced female cultivator were still bidding.
"Twenty-eight thousand Spirit Stones!"
The clear, cold female voice directly raised the price by two thousand Spirit Stones.
Meng Ruoqi's beautiful eyes showed worry.
Meng Hongji's brow furrowed, his eyes revealing hesitation.
While the price of a normal Foundation Establishment Pill fluctuated, it was generally around forty thousand Spirit Stones.
For this flawed Foundation Establishment Pill, this price was already a bit high.
The Meng Family could naturally afford these Spirit Stones.
However, since the family's Second Elder was injured, the Meng Family had already spent a large sum of Spirit Stones to purchase equally expensive second-grade healing pills.
Furthermore, nearby forces were stirring, and friction and conflicts had increased.
The Meng Family was also heavily stocking up on strategic reserves like Magic Tools, talismans, and pills.
All of these required a large amount of Spirit Stones.
"Twenty-nine thousand Spirit Stones."
Meng Hongji hesitantly offered another price.
He decided that if the other party raised the price again, he would give up.
At the same time, he even suspected if this woman was a shill hired by the Tongbao Pavilion to drive up the price.
However, the female voice unhesitatingly quoted, "Thirty thousand Spirit Stones!"
Meng Hongji sighed, a wry smile appearing on his face.
He gave up bidding.
Meng Ruoqi's starry eyes also showed a hint of disappointment.
Ultimately, this flawed Foundation Establishment Pill was won by the mysterious woman.
This auction also concluded successfully.
As Ning Shaohong was busy with affairs, the Ning Family group left the Tianshui Market immediately after the auction ended.
On the flying boat, Ning Fa was joyfully comprehending the Moon Gazing Art.
He was curious about what kind of cultivation technique the Mysterious Scroll would trace the Moon Gazing Art back to.
Given the scroll's strong reaction, the traced cultivation technique was likely extraordinary.
And this cultivation technique was his personal gain.
He could choose whether or not to contribute this cultivation technique to the family's scripture repository.
The Ning Family had relevant regulations.
If a clan member obtained a cultivation technique or scripture privately.
The family would reward the clan member with a certain amount of family contribution points based on its value.
Moreover, the contribution points were usually higher than the normal price of these cultivation techniques and scriptures.
This was to encourage clan members to contribute.
If Ning Fa submitted this Moon Gazing Art, he would likely receive a large number of contribution points.
However, Ning Fa had not yet decided whether to submit it.
Everything would depend on the scroll's tracing results.