Chapter 35: Auction

A few days later, the news of the Yuanming Sect's upcoming auction was officially announced. It was set to begin in ten days at the Yunqing Market, and the primary focus of the promotion was, naturally, those three Foundation Establishment Pills!

However, Li Zhirui noticed that in the announcement released by the Yuanming Sect, the Foundation Establishment Pills were not the grand finale; there were several other auction items following them.

"Is the Yuanming Sect planning to auction off Tier 3 spiritual items?" Li Zhirui, who had previously held little interest in this auction, suddenly felt a flicker of curiosity.

But that was as far as it went, for Li Zhirui currently held only three to four thousand spirit stones. While this was a considerable fortune among Qi Refining cultivators, it amounted to nothing at an auction of this scale.

Thus, Li Zhirui quickly set the matter aside and returned to his life of alchemy and cultivation.

Time flew by, and in the blink of an eye, the day of the auction arrived. In the early morning, Li Zhirui followed two elders and arrived at the Yunqing Market via a spirit boat.

After paying an entry fee of thirty spirit stones, the three were escorted to a private room on the second floor.

The room was not particularly large, but it was certainly much better than the crowded hall on the first floor. They were able to enjoy such treatment solely due to the status of the two Foundation Establishment cultivators, Li Shilian and Li Shiren.

"The Yuanming Sect has already earned several thousand spirit stones before the auction has even begun," Li Shiren remarked with a click of his tongue.

The entry fee was ten spirit stones. The first floor could accommodate at least several hundred cultivators, and there were dozens of rooms on the second floor. If one were not a Foundation Establishment cultivator but still wished to ascend to the second floor, they could purchase access for one hundred spirit stones.

Furthermore, there was a third floor that was free for Golden Core cultivators; it was said that low-level cultivators had to pay a thousand spirit stones to go up there.

"Uncle Ren, if you work hard at your cultivation and break through to the Golden Core stage, the clan could host its own auctions and earn entry fees," Li Zhirui said with a smile.

It wasn't that only Golden Core powers could host auctions, but rather that Foundation Establishment powers often lacked high-quality items. Without sufficient attraction, not many cultivators would be willing to attend, and without cultivators, an auction simply could not be held.

"Rather than waiting for me to break through, you should look forward to the Clan Leader reaching the Golden Core stage as soon as possible," Li Shiren said, suddenly sighing. "It's just that because there are too many trivial matters, the Clan Leader has no time to cultivate at all."

A complex emotion flashed in Li Shilian's eyes. He then cast a seemingly casual glance at Li Zhirui, and seeing the boy lost in thought, he suddenly felt the urge to hear his perspective on the matter.

"Uncle Ren, why don't you persuade the Clan Leader to step down so he can focus on his cultivation, and then you take over as Clan Leader?"

Li Shiren was startled by these words and hurriedly replied, "It's not that I don't want to share the Clan Leader's burden, it's truly that I am not suited to be the Clan Leader!"

"Even though you are careless and not particularly clever, Uncle Ren, don't we have so many elders? You could leave the specific affairs to them to handle. If there is something you cannot decide on, you can discuss and decide it together with the elders."

Li Zhirui truly felt from the bottom of his heart that the clan's distribution of power and responsibility was irrational!

Although the clan had established several elders, due to Li Qing's personal prestige and formidable strength, no matter what happened, the person who ultimately made the final decision was always Li Qing.

The result of this was that Li Qing was extremely busy every single day, to the point where he had no time to cultivate.

However, these words were difficult for Li Zhirui to say directly, as they might make people think he was dissatisfied with Li Qing.

Li Zhirui was using Li Shiren as a mouthpiece to indirectly voice his thoughts, but he wasn't actually speaking to Li Shiren; he was testing Li Shilian.

"Let this matter end here. Do not speak of it again in the future!" Li Shilian glared at Li Zhirui. This brat actually wanted to use him as a tool, yet he had to admit that Li Zhirui was right.

"Yes," Li Zhirui chuckled. He knew Li Shilian would understand the deeper meaning of his words, and judging by his reaction, he would likely find an opportunity to discuss it with Li Qing.

If Li Zhirui hadn't known these two elders well enough to know they wouldn't be angry, he never would have said such things.

*Knock, knock—*

Just then, a knock sounded at the door.

"Seniors, these are some of the items for today's auction." A beautiful, elegant, and dignified female cultivator entered the room. Even her voice was pleasant to the ear.

After placing a jade slip on the tea table and pouring fragrant spiritual tea for the three of them, the female cultivator bowed slightly and said, "If either senior has any instructions, you may ring the bell to summon me." With that, she turned and left.

"The first auction item is a Tier 2 magical tool?" Li Shilian's eyebrows twitched slightly as he said with interest, "The Spirit Gathering Jade Pendant. It can gather nearby spiritual energy, acting like a portable Spirit Gathering Array."

Looking at the subsequent items, he added, "It seems the Yuanming Sect has put a lot of effort into this auction."

"Uncle Shilian, do you think there might actually be Golden Core cultivators attending?"

Although the jade slip did not explicitly state it, it mentioned several Tier 3 spiritual items. If there were no Golden Core cultivators, how could the Yuanming Sect bring out items that were prohibitively expensive and unusable for low-level cultivators?

"Whether there are Golden Core cultivators or not has nothing to do with us."

*Thump, thump, thump—*

On the auction stage on the first floor, a curvaceous and strikingly beautiful female cultivator had appeared at some unknown point. Dressed in a purple gown that accentuated her figure to perfection, every movement she made exuded charm. Some cultivators with weak mental fortitude were already becoming lost in her allure.

"This humble one, Zi Yan, greets all fellow Daoists!" Her voice was like a seductive melody, scratching at the hearts of the crowd.

However, on the second floor, Li Zhirui unconsciously frowned and whispered, "Has she studied Charm Arts?"

Charm Arts were not intended for seducing the opposite sex, but for confusing enemies, lowering their guard, or even enchanting them into puppets to be controlled.

However, one rarely saw cultivators practicing orthodox Charm Arts nowadays; most were evil cultivators practicing dual cultivation methods, using charm to lure targets for plundering. Consequently, the reputation of Charm Arts had become quite tarnished.

"Hmm, no wonder the Yuanming Sect had her host the auction." Using Charm Arts to stir the emotions of the cultivators would encourage more bidding, thereby achieving the goal of driving up the prices.

"I am honored by the affection of all fellow Daoists. I am privileged to serve as the auctioneer for this event. The upcoming auction will be presided over by me, and I hope all fellow Daoists can obtain the spiritual items of their hearts."

With that, she pulled away the red silk on the table, revealing the true appearance of the Spirit Gathering Jade Pendant.

The pendant was shaped like the Yin and Yang fish and was quite beautiful. However, because the cultivators on the first floor did not have a list, they did not know its function and had to wait for Zi Yan's introduction.

"This is a Tier 2 Spirit Gathering Jade Pendant. Its function is to gather spiritual energy to accelerate cultivation speed. But its use goes beyond that; during combat, if one possesses a Spirit Gathering Jade Pendant, the speed of mana recovery will also be faster, increasing one's chances of victory."

Following Zi Yan's introduction, many cultivators had already developed the desire to acquire the item.

"I believe you all understand the importance of this treasure, so I shall say no more. The Tier 2 Low-Grade magical tool, the Twin Fish Spirit Gathering Pendant, starts at a bidding price of three thousand spirit stones, with a minimum increment of one hundred spirit stones per bid."

The strike of the wooden gavel signaled that the bidding competition had begun.