The Auction

It had to be said that Jiang Qihe's publicity was remarkably thorough. In just a few days, nearly every cultivator in the market city had heard the news about the auction of the Spirit Wandering Talismans. Everyone was filled with excitement, and many who were out adventuring made a special trip back just to attend.

Spirit Wandering Talismans were rare and hard to come by, so the price was bound to be steep.

But as Tier-2 spirit talismans, how expensive could they really get?

The path of cultivation was arduous and full of peril. Used at a crucial moment, a single Spirit Wandering Talisman could save one's life. Naturally, many were willing to grit their teeth and tighten their belts to fight for one.

While rumors of the Spirit Wandering Talismans spread like wildfire throughout the market city, Shi Yu, who was secluded in her courtyard immersed in cultivating the 《Soul Tempering Art》, would occasionally catch wind of the buzz.

Seeing how merely a few spirit talismans could cause such a massive stir, she was reminded once again of the high standing that auxiliary arts—artifact refining, alchemy, array formations, or talismans—held in this world.

On the day of the auction, Shi Yu woke up early, meditated to adjust her breathing, and cultivated for a brief spell. As the time drew near, she stepped out of her door and headed toward Tongyi Pavilion.

Now that Duize Tower's manager was dead and the opposing side was in chaos, it was the perfect opportunity for Tongyi Pavilion to firmly establish its foothold in the market city.

Jiang Qihe knew that this small market city could not hold Shi Yu forever, and that such an opportunity might rarely come again. Thus, he simply brought out some of his finest, prized treasures to thoroughly establish Tongyi Pavilion's reputation through this auction.

This, in turn, attracted yet another large crowd of cultivators.

Jiang Qihe was exceptionally busy at the moment, with several store clerks bustling around him while he himself stood outside Tongyi Pavilion, welcoming the arriving guests.

Before anyone realized it, the entire street had grown packed with people, and the area around Tongyi Pavilion was nearly impassable.

When Shi Yu arrived, she was blocked outside as well, unable to enter.

Fortunately, a clerk had been specifically stationed outside to keep watch. Upon seeing her arrive, he hurried over to greet her and led her through the crowd via a reserved pathway.

She was then personally escorted by Jiang Qihe to a private room on the second floor of Tongyi Pavilion.

Seeing Jiang Qihe personally ushering someone inside, those nearby who had never seen Shi Yu's face before marvelled in astonishment.

“What's that young girl's background? To think Manager Jiang is personally escorting her in.”

Looking at the others, even the Yuxu Sect personal disciples who had arrived were merely escorted inside by ordinary clerks.

“Whoa, those Spirit Wandering Talismans for this auction were provided by her!”

“That's her? She's way too young!”

“A formidable youngster indeed...”

Naturally, some spoke sourly, “She's just lucky to have landed a good master, that's all!”

After showing Shi Yu into the private room, Jiang Qihe brewed a pot of tea for her. “This isn't a dedicated auction house, so we can only temporarily borrow the second floor space for this event. Please don't laugh at our modest setup.”

“Not at all,” Shi Yu said with a slight smile. “Manager, please feel free to tend to your duties.”

Jiang Qihe complied, but didn't forget to add before leaving, “Regarding the spiritual materials you need, I emphasized in our promotional announcements that those who offer those spiritual materials will have priority in trading for the spirit talismans.”

Shi Yu voiced her thanks.

After Jiang Qihe left, she lifted her teacup and took a sip. “I hope I can gather all the spiritual materials for the Spirit-Gathering array plate this time.”

Being in such a barren place presented many inconveniences. Right now, even for just a single Spirit-Gathering array plate, she had been delayed until today without gathering all the materials.

Setting down her teacup, she glanced outside.

She saw that the seats arranged in the second-floor hall were gradually filling up, making the place feel somewhat cramped and noisy.

After all, this was merely a hastily hosted, small-scale auction. Its venue size and scale were far inferior to the auctions held in the main city of Lingtai Prefecture that Jiang Qihe had mentioned before.

Soon, the auction began.

Jiang Qihe didn't waste much time on opening remarks, directly bringing out a bottle of Tier-2 Vitality-Restoring Pills to warm up the crowd.

“Vitality-Restoring Pills! Their quality reaches mid-grade, with minimal pill toxicity and impurities. A bottle contains five pills, starting at a bid of one hundred low-grade spirit stones. Each bid increment must be no less than ten spirit stones.”

Healing pills were the most commonly needed. The effects of a Tier-2 Vitality-Restoring Pill far exceeded those of a Tier-1 Rejuvenation Pill, and being mid-grade, it was perfectly suited for warming up the atmosphere.

As soon as Jiang Qihe finished speaking, bids began ringing out. Before long, the atmosphere throughout the entire hall grew increasingly enthusiastic.

In the end, this bottle of Vitality-Restoring Pills sold for one hundred and eighty low-grade spirit stones.

Subsequently, more items were brought out. In this tiny market city, none of these were common sights, so naturally, they fetched high prices.

Shi Yu didn't see anything she needed, so she didn't place any bids, preferring to sit relaxed in her private room, sipping tea.

Among them were a few auction items that were spoils of war she had claimed after killing Wu Hao. She had tossed all those useless items to Jiang Qihe to manage, and he had selected a few good ones to include in this auction.

Gradually, many of the people who had come specifically for the Spirit Wandering Talismans grew somewhat impatient.

Seeing that the next item presented on a tray was still not a spirit talisman, but rather another bottle of pills, quite a few people called out, “Manager Jiang, you've teased our appetites enough! Why haven't we seen the Spirit Wandering Talismans yet?”

Jiang Qihe smiled faintly, ignoring the restlessness and dissatisfaction of the audience below as he introduced the bottle of pills: “Dew-Condensing Pills.”

Many people jeered, feeling even more dissatisfied.

Why bother bringing an ordinary pill like a Dew-Condensing Pill to an auction?

“Mellow pill fragrance, a pill halo like clouds—its quality reaches high-grade!”

However, as soon as these words fell from Jiang Qihe's mouth, the crowd fell silent.

High-grade pills enveloped in a pill halo were something most cultivators present had never even laid eyes on, let alone personally consumed.

Jiang Qihe didn't rush to open the bidding, allowing the crowd a moment to take it in.

His gaze couldn't help but drift toward the private room where Shi Yu was seated.

Previously, Shi Yu had visited Tongyi Pavilion under the alias “Miss Yu” to purchase spiritual plants and sell pills, but she hadn't come often. Jiang Qihe had been reluctant to sell those pills right away.

Of the pills she had provided, Jiang Qihe had only sold the mid-grade ones, while carefully preserving all the high-grade Dew-Condensing Pills precisely for an occasion like this.

“A bottle of five pills, starting bid at fifty low-grade spirit stones, with each increment no less than five spirit stones,” Jiang Qihe said with a smile. “I trust there's no need for me to elaborate on the benefits of high-grade pills.”

Dew-Condensing Pills were merely Tier-1 pills, and a single low-grade Dew-Condensing Pill could be bought for just one spirit stone. Yet at high-grade quality, its price was multiplied at least tenfold, showing just how vast an impact pill quality made.

The cultivators present no longer harbored any dissatisfaction, eagerly placing their bids one after another.

“Seventy stones!”

“Ninety stones!”

“Ninety-five stones!”

Bids rang out continuously in fierce competition until the price rose to one hundred and twenty stones, at which point the bidding finally began to slow.

Shi Yu clicked her tongue in amazement. At this rate, the price of a single high-grade Dew-Condensing Pill had reached over twenty spirit stones, rivaling that of ordinary Tier-2 pills.

By the time the bidding finally ceased, the final price for this bottle of high-grade Dew-Condensing Pills reached one hundred and forty-five spirit stones, pushing the atmosphere in the hall to its peak.

At this point, Jiang Qihe stopped teasing their anticipation and finally brought out the long-awaited Spirit Wandering Talismans.