On the day of the Xie Clan auction, Shi Yu woke up early.
The auction house was quite a distance from the Chilie Cave Dwelling. Since she had not yet reached the Foundation Establishment Realm, she could not ride a flight light to travel, nor did she have any other means of transportation. She had no choice but to set out early.
Qingzhou was still busy preparing for the shop's grand opening, so he did not go with her.
Her Flowing Radiance spirit robe was a bit too eye-catching. Believing it best to keep a low profile in places like the auction house, Shi Yu slipped an ordinary dress over her spirit robe before leaving.
Today's event was merely a monthly small-scale auction, nowhere near as grand or lively as the last one, yet it was still densely packed.
By the time Shi Yu reached the plaza outside the auction house, it was almost time for the event to begin. Cloud boats continued to arrive across the horizon, their occupants clearly making a special trip for this occasion.
“I should collect some spiritual materials and refine a cloud boat for myself as well,” she thought.
Cloud boats consumed an extraordinarily large amount of materials and took a long time to craft. Fortunately, as her cultivation gradually deepened, undertaking such a refinement was no longer a daunting task for her.
Just as she was about to head inside, her eyes caught a few familiar figures, causing her to raise an eyebrow slightly.
Disembarking from a hovering cloud boat nearby were her old acquaintances from the Yuxu Sect: Lu Yujiao and Master Lu Yue, along with several others wearing the robes of sect elders.
Lu Yujiao froze for a moment when she saw Shi Yu. “It's her.”
She had heard rumors in the market earlier and knew Shi Yu had come to the main city.
Seeing Shi Yu dressed so plainly, arriving all alone without any means of transport, a trace of schadenfreude flickered in Lu Yujiao's eyes. “Looks like she isn't doing so well in the main city.”
However, the psychological shadow Shi Yu had cast over her was simply too deep. Staring at Shi Yu now, Lu Yujiao still felt an involuntary surge of dread from the depths of her heart, so she kept her satisfaction subtle, not daring to act too smug.
As for Master Lu Yue, he was speaking in hushed tones with the other elders and did not notice Shi Yu.
“Competition will likely be fierce this time. I wonder if the spirit stones we brought will be enough to win that Lesser Longevity Pill.”
“Hard to say.”
“Ah, for such a treasure, the participating prominent families definitely won't let it go easily.”
Lu Yujiao knew how desperately her father yearned for that Lesser Longevity Pill. Having only tagged along this time to broaden her horizons, she sensibly kept her mouth shut and followed the elders as they walked proudly toward the entrance.
However, the guards verifying identities at the entrance stopped them. “Hold on, everyone. Today's seats are nearly full, so we must verify your identities before letting you in.”
The Xie Clan Auction House occupied a vast area, capable of accommodating ten thousand people.
Normally, for small-scale auctions, this verification step was omitted unless it was a large-scale event. But because of the Lesser Longevity Pill, even though today's crowd could not match the grand scale of major auctions, it was still far larger than usual.
With seats in high demand, the organizers needed to screen the incoming visitors slightly.
Hearing this, Master Lu Yue and the elders politely produced tokens of the Yuxu Sect and handed them to the guard for inspection.
While waiting in boredom, Lu Yujiao saw Shi Yu walking over in the distance and thought to herself, Even if you made somewhat of a name for yourself back in the market town, you're nothing in the main city.
However, in the very next second, she saw several other guards spot Shi Yu and immediately crowd around her with obsequious politeness.
“Miss Shi, you've arrived!”
“Please, come inside! The manager prepared a VIP box for you long ago.”
Lu Yujiao's face filled with utter astonishment, and she stammered in disbelief, “How... how can she—”
Master Lu Yue also noticed the commotion. When he turned his head and saw Shi Yu, he froze. “It's her?”
Meanwhile, the guard inspecting the group's tokens casually shoved the items back into their hands, hastily tossed out a “You may enter,” and rushed over to Shi Yu's side to welcome her.
The manager had given explicit orders that if they saw Shi Yu, she must be treated with the utmost respect and courtesy.
After all, more than half the attendees at this auction had come specifically for the Lesser Longevity Pill she refined!
Their attitude toward her group was offhanded and casual, yet they were eager and attentive toward Shi Yu. Lu Yujiao clenched her sleeves tightly, watching helplessly as the guards surrounded Shi Yu and escorted her inside.
“Her background truly is extraordinary. Thank goodness we didn't offend her completely back then.” Master Lu Yue shook his head and spoke to the crestfallen Lu Yujiao, “Let's go, Yujiao.”
...
After Shi Yu stepped into the VIP box, a stream of gentle, beautiful maidservants entered file after file carrying tea and pastries. They poured tea for her and even picked up delicate snacks with their slender fingers to feed her personally.
Shi Yu felt waves of sweet fragrance wafting around her, causing the tips of her ears to blush slightly.
Seeing this, the young women pursed their lips in amusement, their actions growing even sweeter and more affectionate as they addressed her fondly as “Miss” and “Sister,” making her feel thoroughly pampered.
Last time, with Master Ji present, he had dismissed everyone early on. Only now did Shi Yu truly experience such gentle attentiveness.
Amidst the fragrant breezes and soft laughter, the auction finally commenced.
The auctioneer was still the same woman in the green dress from last time. Without wasting time on lengthy opening remarks, she brought out a Tier-2 artifact to warm up the crowd.
The artifact possessed four nested restrictions and boasted exceptional quality, making it more than sufficient to set the mood. Soon, bids rose one after another across the venue, and the atmosphere steadily grew lively.
In the end, the artifact sold for 3,200 low-grade spirit stones, making for a grand opening.
More items were presented afterward. Although most were inferior in quality compared to the previous auction, they were all fine items in their own right and far from ordinary.
However, the highlight of today was the Lesser Longevity Pill, and many had come solely for it. Unless an offered item was urgently needed, attendees exercised immense restraint in their bidding, rarely engaging in head-to-head price wars.
This turned out to be a boon for Shi Yu, allowing her to smoothly secure several items.
She acquired spiritual materials useful for refining a cloud boat, several high-quality spiritual plants, and a Tier-2 technique jade slip: 《Burning Push Palm》.
Her foundation in cultivation techniques was simply too thin compared to the disciples of major sects and prominent families.
Among the techniques she currently possessed, 《Soul Tempering Art》 was unique with an unknown grade. Aside from that, her 《Swallow Walking Art》 movement technique was Tier 2, while the rest were Tier-1 techniques with limited power. She needed to update her repertoire as soon as possible, lest she fall at a disadvantage in future battles.
Because 《Burning Push Palm》 was contained within an original jade slip rather than a transcribed copy, its price was quite high. Shi Yu engaged in a bidding war that reached six thousand spirit stones before she finally secured it.
Her current wallet was rather tight, and she did not actually possess that many spirit stones on her person. The reason she dared to bid so boldly was entirely due to the grand finale—the Lesser Longevity Pill.
When the woman in the green dress opened the jade box in her hands to reveal the Lesser Longevity Pill—crimson and translucent like crystal glass—the atmosphere in the venue instantly erupted. Before she could even announce the starting price, countless bids echoed from every direction.
The woman in green was not surprised in the least. She tapped her small gavel lightly against the desk, sending a sharp, crisp sound echoing across the entire auction hall.
The hall instantly fell silent.
She smiled softly. “Tier-2 Lesser Longevity Pill, capable of extending lifespan by ten years. Starting price: six thousand low-grade spirit stones.”
“Seven thousand!”
“Eight thousand!”
Shi Yu nibbled on a snack, resting her chin on her hand as she watched the fierce bidding war below, clicking her tongue in amazement.
Right out of the gate, it was charging straight past ten thousand spirit stones.
The primary herb for the Lesser Longevity Pill had been bought by Zhou Yang and his group for less than four thousand spirit stones, and even after adding a few supplementary herbs herself, the total cost did not exceed five thousand spirit stones.
Now that it had been refined into a pill, its price had multiplied several times over. And... she had not refined just one, but a total of three.
Such profit margins were truly...
Consumables like medicinal pills and spirit talismans were usually far less expensive than artifacts or array plates of the same tier. A Tier-2 artifact could easily fetch over a thousand spirit stones, whereas an ordinary Tier-2 pill, such as a healing Vitality-Restoring Pill, cost merely dozens of spirit stones, and spirit talismans were similarly priced.
Yet there were exceptions. For something like the Lesser Longevity Pill, with its private pill recipe, astounding efficacy, and inherently costly spiritual herbs, the combined factors naturally drove its price far beyond ordinary pills.
Regrettably, Blood Cloud Ginseng was difficult to come by. So far, Shi Yu had only seen the single stalk acquired by Zhou Yang and his companions.
Otherwise, she could generate a non-stop stream of spirit stones solely by refining Lesser Longevity Pills.
Down in the hall, the bidding voices gradually began to thin out.
Shi Yu noticed Master Lu Yue's unsightly expression in the distance. He had submitted a few bids, but overwhelmed by the immense wealth of the prominent families, he had bowed out of the competition early on.
The final two families locked in the bidding war eventually came to a halt as well.
The winning bid ultimately settled on the figure of fifteen thousand five hundred.
Rate on N.U.
