When the time arrived, Chen Lin returned to the Zhao Clan Trading House.
The clerk had an excellent memory; upon seeing him approach, he immediately led him upstairs and provided him with a mask in advance.
"This is a special magical tool capable of concealing detection spells. If our esteemed guest does not wish to have their identity known, you may wear this."
The clerk placed the mask in Chen Lin's hand, thought for a moment, and added, "A word of advice to fellow Daoist: this mask can only conceal the detection of Qi Refinement cultivators. It is useless against the divine sense of Foundation Establishment experts."
"Oh? Will there be Foundation Establishment experts involved?" Chen Lin asked in surprise as he put the mask on his face.
The clerk shook his head. "That is hard to say. They might come, but the possibility is very small."
Chen Lin nodded, asking no further questions, and walked straight inside.
The upper floor was spacious, furnished with rows of tables and stools. On one side, there was a high platform with a table, presumably used for the Zhao Clan Trading House's auctions.
By this time, several people were already in the room, most of whom were wearing masks.
There were also those not wearing masks, but each possessed a majestic aura, clearly being late-stage Qi Refinement cultivators, and even top-tier ones at that.
In a place where Foundation Establishment cultivators were scarce, top-tier late-stage Qi Refinement experts truly had nothing to fear, and Foundation Establishment cultivators would likely not care for the belongings of Qi Refinement cultivators.
Finding a seat near a corner, Chen Lin sat down and began to secretly observe the speech and behavior of every cultivator.
Among them, three individuals were particularly eye-catching.
One was a burly man covered in a thick beard, carrying an exaggeratedly large broadsword on his back; his face was fleshy and looked quite ferocious.
Another was a female cultivator dressed very provocatively, looking out of place in this ancient-style world; her every smile and glance carried an indescribable sense of seduction.
The last was a hunchback, thin and gaunt with a sorrowful expression. His exact age was impossible to judge; he looked as though he could be any age.
This person exuded a cold, sinister aura that could be felt from a distance. Furthermore, he wore a necklace made of some unknown kind of bone, with a small human skull dangling as a pendant!
This was the first time Chen Lin had seen such an outfit, and he couldn't help but steal a few extra glances.
As if sensing something, the man glanced toward him.
Chen Lin suddenly felt a surge of chilling energy rush into his mind, making his entire body go cold. He hurriedly withdrew his gaze, refusing to look again.
The man seemed to have only intended to give him a warning, letting out a cold sneer before ignoring him.
Following this interlude, Chen Lin stopped observing others and waited quietly for the exchange meet to begin.
More and more cultivators arrived, and soon the seats were almost full, with only a few chairs left empty around those three individuals.
Suddenly, Chen Lin's eyes flickered.
He spotted an acquaintance.
It was Han Lingyue, the beautiful daughter of the Han family he had seen at the market entrance last time!
The woman was not wearing a mask, and her outstanding beauty immediately attracted many gazes, some of which even carried lewd undertones.
"Hmph!"
Han Lingyue showed a look of indignation and let out a cold snort, as a powerful aura suddenly erupted from her body!
As soon as this aura emerged, it immediately suppressed all the staring eyes. Only a few people continued to stare, but they did so with visible apprehension.
Chen Lin was also shocked. Judging from the aura she emitted, her cultivation had likely reached the ninth level of Qi Refinement.
She was even stronger than Ye Jingyun.
Han Lingyue immediately reined in her momentum, scanned the hall, and finally walked over to sit in the empty seat next to the hunchback.
Just as she sat down, a few more people walked in.
Once they sat down, the room was essentially full; it seemed the invitation talismans were issued in limited quantities.
Shortly after, a dignified elderly man stepped out and went directly behind the table on the platform.
"Alright, fellow Daoists, please be quiet. Since time is limited, we shall proceed directly to the proceedings. First, this trading house will present ten rare items for auction, after which we will begin free trading."
The elder was very straightforward, getting straight to the point.
As soon as he finished speaking, a graceful female cultivator of the middle Qi Refinement stage walked up and placed a long, rectangular box on the table.
With a wave of his hand, the elder opened the box, revealing a bright red flying sword inside.
"The Blazing Fire Sword, a mid-grade magical tool of the fire attribute. It is incredibly sharp, indestructible, and can release flames along its blade to launch fire attacks against enemies!"
After a brief introduction, the elder manipulated the flying sword to make it hover. With a finger pointed at it, a layer of flame light surfaced on the sword.
"Good. You have all seen the condition of this sword. The auction begins now. The starting price is ten mid-grade spirit stones, and each subsequent bid must be no less than one mid-grade spirit stone. If any fellow Daoist is interested, please start bidding!"
The elder placed the flying sword back into its scabbard and announced loudly.
"Fifteen!"
Immediately, a cultivator in yellow robes placed a bid, his face full of excitement.
"Sixteen!"
"Eighteen!"
"Twenty!"
In the blink of an eye, the price reached twenty mid-grade spirit stones, but no one continued to raise the price, and it was purchased by a cultivator in black.
Chen Lin, who had remained silent, was stunned.
This price was much cheaper than in Kaiyuan City!
Although he had already noticed that everything except spiritual herbs and medicinal pills was cheaper than in Kaiyuan City, he hadn't expected it to be this much cheaper.
A mid-grade magical tool flying sword would cost at least fifty mid-grade spirit stones in Kaiyuan City!
While he was pondering this, the elder on the platform brought out another item.
It was two small porcelain bottles.
The elder opened the stoppers and poured out a pill about the size of a small fingertip.
As soon as the pill appeared, a fragrance filled the room, causing all the cultivators to fix their gazes intently on it.
It could be said that the vast majority of the cultivators here were here for the medicinal pills of the Zhao Clan Trading House.
"Nihua Pills, a pill for increasing cultivation during the Qi Refinement stage. There are ten pills per bottle, and two bottles will be sold separately. The starting price for one bottle is forty mid-grade spirit stones, with each subsequent bid being no less than three."
Chen Lin kept his eyes fixed on the pill. Its appearance was even worse than his own Chuyuan Pills, and he didn't know its specific effects, but the price was indeed a bit higher than in Kaiyuan City.
Although medicinal pills in Kaiyuan City were monopolized by the five great families, they still had prices. For a Qi Refinement cultivation-boosting pill like this, one would cost about three mid-grade spirit stones. Even if this Nihua Pill had better efficacy, it was still expensive.
After all, forty mid-grade spirit stones was only the starting price; there was no telling what the final transaction price would be.
Sure enough, while he was thinking, the price had already been raised to fifty, and it was still climbing.
In the end, it was bought by a female cultivator for sixty-five mid-grade spirit stones!
The second bottle was even more expensive, reaching seventy mid-grade spirit stones!
Ten pills per bottle meant seven mid-grade spirit stones per pill, which totaled seven thousand low-grade spirit stones.
This price was too exaggerated!
Chen Lin clicked his tongue in disbelief.
He secretly resolved to practice his alchemy skills diligently; this was a golden path to wealth.
If his skill level improved, he would no longer have to worry about cultivation resources!