The prices of the medicinal pills left Chen Lin feeling both pained and joyful.
The pain stemmed from the fact that they were far too expensive for him to afford, while the joy came from the fact that he knew how to refine them himself, meaning he could sell them at high prices in the future.
He decided he would have to wander through the market again in a little while to see if he could scrape together enough materials to refine ten sets of Primordial Essence Pills!
Chen Lin could hardly wait.
Next, the old man on the stage brought out several other treasures, including magical tools, talismans, and the flesh and blood of demon beasts.
But Chen Lin merely watched.
While he had indeed made a profit from selling the snake skin and other items just now, all told, he only had a little over two thousand low-grade spirit stones on him. Converted to mid-grade spirit stones, that was only about twenty, which wasn't enough to buy a single item.
He could only satisfy his eyes.
The old man was efficient, and the auction process was very brief.
Soon, they reached the final three items.
This time, the old man brought out another magical tool, but it wasn't a flying sword; it was a dagger.
"The Blood Shadow Dagger, crafted from the leg bones of a Blood Crow. It is a high-grade magical tool with incredible speed and the ability to pierce defenses. It is an excellent weapon for sneak attacks and assassinations!"
After a brief introduction, he announced the price: "The starting bid is forty mid-grade spirit stones, with a minimum increment of three stones per bid. Let the bidding begin!"
This price was equivalent to a bottle of Condensation Pills, making Chen Lin's mouth water.
A high-grade magical tool, and one suited for stealth! If he possessed it, his combat power would increase instantly!
But he couldn't afford it!
The feeling of being penniless almost drove Chen Lin to madness.
The competition this time was quite fierce, but the final price did not exceed that of the Condensation Pills, closing at sixty-three mid-grade spirit stones.
This led Chen Lin to realize something: the wealth of the cultivators here was not particularly vast. While they certainly had more than the residents of the slums in Kaiyuan City, they were far behind the disciples of the five great families.
He remembered how the third young master of the Lu family, Lu Li, had offered a bounty of fifty mid-grade spirit stones just to refine a Soul-Restraining Talisman; that was true extravagance.
In contrast, even the more arrogant cultivators here bid hesitantly, adding only one or two mid-grade spirit stones at a time.
The Blood Shadow Dagger was purchased by a hunchbacked cultivator.
Next, the old man on the stage brought out a palm-sized box. Upon opening it, a shimmering golden talisman was revealed inside.
"A high-grade Tier 1 talisman, the Gold Escape Talisman. I believe everyone is familiar with this; it is a life-saving treasure. The starting bid is the same as the Blood Shadow Dagger. If any fellow Daoist is interested, please make your move!"
Chen Lin clicked his tongue again.
This talisman, like the Earth Escape Talisman given to him by Yu Yuehai, belonged to the Five Elements Escape Arts. Having used an Earth Escape Talisman before, he naturally knew how useful these were, but unfortunately, he could only watch.
Unless he brought out the valuable items he carried to sell, but doing so would be too conspicuous.
His mask could hide him from the scrutiny of those in the room, but it could not deceive the Zhao Merchant House.
In the end, the talisman went to an exposed female cultivator.
"Alright, we shall now begin the auction for the final grand finale item. Many well-informed individuals have likely already heard the news. To show our gratitude to the cultivators who have supported us over the years, this merchant house will present one grand finale treasure every day during this three-day small-scale exchange meeting! Today is the first day, and we cannot disappoint our fellow Daoists, so what we present today is one of our shop's most prized treasures: a single Marrow Cleansing Pill!"
As the old man finished his powerful announcement, a graceful woman brought out a tray holding a translucent jade bottle.
Furthermore, there were two cultivator guards.
One was middle-aged and the other elderly. As they stepped to the front of the stage, they simultaneously released powerful auras.
All the cultivators were shocked.
These two cultivators were actually both at the Great Perfection of the Qi Refinement stage!
The palpable pressure caused the restless cultivators to fall silent instantly.
Then, they turned their greedy gazes toward the jade bottle on the tray.
Chen Lin was no different.
Even if he couldn't afford it, he could not suppress the heat in his heart.
A Marrow Cleansing Pill! It was something every Qi Refinement cultivator dreamed of. In terms of value, it was second only to the Foundation Establishment Pill!
It was said that this pill could only be used during the Qi Refinement stage to cleanse the physical body and reshape the marrow, thereby improving one's cultivation aptitude to a certain extent.
However, there were restrictions: a cultivator could only use it once in their lifetime, and it became ineffective if used after the Qi Refinement stage, because once Foundation Establishment was achieved, the foundation became fixed and unchangeable.
As soon as the pill appeared, the competition reached a fever pitch.
The price jumped from a starting bid of sixty mid-grade spirit stones to eighty almost instantly, and soon reached one hundred!
Chen Lin watched, clicking his tongue in amazement.
He retracted his previous theory that the wealth of Qi Refinement cultivators was meager; it wasn't that they weren't wealthy, it was just that they weren't *insanely* wealthy!
However, once the price hit one hundred, the momentum slowed, and very few people continued to compete.
Ultimately, Han Lingyue bought it for one hundred and twelve.
Chen Lin couldn't help but grumble inwardly; this woman had likely scavenged quite a bit in the city before fleeing Kaiyuan City, as she didn't even blink at spending over a hundred mid-grade spirit stones.
He also noticed that after the pill was handed over, many people looked at her with somewhat strange expressions, but Han Lingyue seemed completely unbothered.
She must have great confidence in her own strength.
Immediately following this, it was time for free trading.
One treasure after another was brought out by the cultivators in the room, leaving Chen Lin's eyes spinning and his horizons greatly expanded.
Although he gained nothing, he benefited significantly.
Chen Lin felt that if he had the time, he should participate in such occasions more often; broadening one's horizons was very useful for cultivation, as mindless bitter training could lead to a stagnant mind.
Taking advantage of a lull in the proceedings, Chen Lin took out a spiritual herb he had collected in the Duanmeng Mountains, placed it on the table, and said, "One stalk of Moon-Reflecting Grass in exchange for a defensive or escape-type spell. Similar magical tools or talismans are also acceptable."
Although Moon-Reflecting Grass was merely a supplementary alchemy ingredient, its value was not low; exchanging it for a spell should be no problem.
As for magical tools, he was just testing the waters.
Despite having wandered the mountains for so long, he hadn't actually collected many natural treasures. Aside from that fruit, this spiritual herb was quite good, much higher in grade than Red-Pattern Ginseng.
However, Chen Lin underestimated the scarcity of spiritual herbs. As soon as he produced it, the eyes of the merchant house elder on the stage lit up.
"Not bad. This stalk of Moon-Reflecting Grass has some age to it. This merchant house will take it. Fellow Daoist, see if this item satisfies you!"
The old man walked over to Chen Lin, tapped his storage bag, and produced a talisman.
"A Blood Escape Talisman, high-grade Tier 1. Although it cannot compare to the Five Elements Escape Talismans and has some side effects upon use, it is still an excellent tool for escaping death!"
Chen Lin froze for a moment.
With a look of surprise, he took the talisman and examined it closely.
As a veteran talisman maker, although he only knew how to craft and cast two types of talismans, he knew of many others, including this Blood Escape Talisman.
This talisman could be considered the cheapest among the escape-type talismans; in Kaiyuan City, it sold for around ten mid-grade spirit stones.
The reason was that the cost of using it was extremely high, requiring a massive consumption of blood and essence to activate. Once activated, the user could transform into a streak of blood light to escape a certain distance, the range of which depended on the strength of their blood and essence, but they would become extremely weak afterward.
It couldn't be compared to the Five Elements Earth Escape Talismans.
After a moment of deliberation, Chen Lin accepted the trade.
Regardless, it was a means of survival, and that was exactly what he lacked right now. While the Five Elements Escape Talismans were powerful, their prices were simply too high.
"Then I thank your esteemed merchant house. In the future, when I purchase cultivation resources, your house will certainly be my first choice!"
Chen Lin took the talisman in hand and handed over the Moon-Reflecting Grass.
The old man smiled, very satisfied with Chen Lin's attitude, and returned to the stage after stowing the herb.