The Auction Begins

Shi Yu strolled among the various stalls but found nothing of real value. On the few occasions she spotted decent spiritual plants or materials, the vendors noticed her young age and immediately demanded absurdly high prices.

Finding it quite dull, she decided not to waste any more spirit stones here and simply waited patiently for the auction to begin.

Half an hour later, everyone gathered back at their meeting spot empty-handed, clearly having found nothing worth buying.

However, since their main purpose was the auction anyway, none of them felt disappointed.

After waiting a short while, a beautiful woman with a beaded veil covering her face stepped onto the high platform before the auction house.

Dressed in cyan robes, light silk ribbons draped over her arms fluttered without any wind as she walked with light, effortless steps.

A grand bronze drum hung high on the platform. Holding a small mallet, the woman in cyan struck it gently. A deafening boom reverberated across the entire plaza, instantly hushing the noisy crowd into silence.

“Querying mountains and seas, referencing scriptures and history, questioning heaven and earth—what under the sun cannot be collected?” The woman in cyan recited slowly, displaying all the confidence and pride of the Xie Clan.

Cheers of applause erupted from the audience below.

“Since everyone has traveled from afar, I shall keep my words brief.” The woman offered a graceful smile as her tone softened. “Every item featured in this auction is of superior quality. May all fellow Daoists obtain what you desire and fulfill your expectations.”

With that, the grand doors of the reception hall behind her swung open one after another, creating multiple entrances.

Master Ji called out to the group, “Let's go.”

He navigated the foyer with familiar ease. Immediately recognizing Master Ji's identity, an attendant deferentially led him and the group behind him up to a private box on the upper floor.

Whispers could be heard all along the way.

“Isn't that girl following behind Master Ji the one who concocted an entire batch of high-grade pills the other day?”

The cultivators who had taken the exam alongside Shi Yu that day had spread word of what they saw after leaving. After several days of fermenting, the story was already creating quite a stir.

Anyone in the city with an intelligence network had thoroughly investigated her details—her age, appearance, and the exact yield of high-grade pills from her batch.

The moment they spotted Shi Yu beside Master Ji, they recognized her at once. Eyes flickered with varied thoughts.

“Remarkable, truly.”

“Let's find a chance to make her acquaintance once the auction ends.”

Glancing over, many heads of influential families felt a desire to recruit her, thinking to themselves, I wonder if she belongs to a sect or serves a prominent clan...

Only after they entered the private box and the silk curtains fell shut were those gazes and voices cut off.

Inside the box, a maid in fine brocade robes respectfully poured tea. Master Ji waved a hand at her, and she bowed low before turning and leaving the room.

Master Ji chuckled. “Little Yu, for any alchemist to achieve greatness, they require a mountain of resources, which inevitably calls for backing from a major faction... I noticed several family heads looking at you with interest just now. What are your thoughts?”

When concocting pills, mastering heat control and understanding the transformation and integration of medicinal properties demanded firsthand trial and error, even with guidance from a master.

And behind this exploration lay a tremendous need for resource support, especially with the heavy expense of spiritual plants.

However, Shi Yu was no novice to alchemy; her experience was virtually maxed out. What she lacked was primarily cultivation realm. Unlike ordinary alchemists who required hundreds or thousands of trial runs, her resource requirements were naturally far lower.

Holding a cup of fragrant tea, Shi Yu said helplessly, “I have no such intentions for now.”

She disliked being bound or constrained. Whether joining a sect or serving a prominent clan, neither compared to the freedom of being on her own.

Master Ji nodded in understanding, choosing not to push her. He simply said, “As your fame spreads, people will inevitably seek you out to concoct pills. The compensation for an alchemist's service is handsome, and selling a few extra pills on ordinary days should easily cover your expenses.”

Shi Yu nodded dutifully and smiled. “Thank you for the advice, Master Ji.”

Several auction booklets lay on the table. The three members of the Zhou family silently flipped through them nearby, careful not to interrupt Master Ji and Shi Yu's conversation.

Shi Yu also picked up a copy and began browsing page by page.

Inside were detailed descriptions of each item's name, specifications, and origin, along with reasonable estimates and starting prices.

She turned to the page featuring the Heavenly Tone Lotus. This was her primary objective for coming here.

The Heavenly Tone Lotus was the core ingredient for concocting Foundation Establishment Pills.

White as pure snow, the flower featured delicate cyan filaments at its center, possessing an extraordinary beauty.

Its growing conditions were extremely harsh, and its vitality was extraordinarily fragile. Any light wind or rain, touch of metal or stone, or subtle shift in sunlight or moonlight that failed to suit its delicate nature would cause it to wither instantly.

Consequently, mature Heavenly Tone Lotuses were exceedingly rare. Even if one encountered one by sheer luck, picking it hastily did not guarantee preserving its potency.

Because it was indispensable for refining Foundation Establishment Pills, its price naturally skyrocketed.

This particular lotus was young and of average quality, its medicinal efficacy barely sufficient. But for Shi Yu, who possessed the Fate-Tapping Bell, that posed no problem.

Planted in the medicinal field inside the bell, it would be more than ready by the time she approached Foundation Establishment.

On the auction booklet, the estimated price was two thousand low-grade spirit stones, with a starting bid of fifteen hundred.

When arriving in the main city, she had over seven thousand low-grade spirit stones in total. Renting the Chilie Cave Dwelling a few days ago had cost nine hundred, and after buying Heavenly Scent Rice and its seeds, she currently had a little over six thousand left.

I must secure it, she thought to herself.

Master Ji, sitting nearby, noticed her eyes fixed on the Heavenly Tone Lotus page and paused in surprise.

Realizing something, Master Ji shot her a strange look. “You want the Heavenly Tone Lotus... Don't tell me you intend to concoct Foundation Establishment Pills yourself?”

Shi Yu nodded, shifting her eyes from the booklet. “I do indeed.”

“Concocting Foundation Establishment Pills is no simple matter.” Master Ji hesitated.

He waved his hand. “Ah, forget it, forget it. I originally intended to place a bid on it myself, but since you want it, I won't compete with you.”

Saying this, he wore a comically aggrieved expression.

Shi Yu smiled softly, not standing on ceremony. “Then I shall thank Master Ji in advance.”

Before long, the auction officially began.

The auctioneer was still the woman in cyan robes. After a brief opening remark, she added, “For this auction, besides the items listed in the catalog, we also have several unlisted items. Please look forward to them!”

The auction opened with a few warm-up items.

Two Tier-2 artifacts—a hairpin and a bracelet—were of decent quality, but their exquisite designs caught the fancy of many female cultivators present. Competitive bids poured in, quickly warming up the atmosphere.

Truth be told, Shi Yu liked delicate trinkets as well, but since she could refine them herself, there was no need to spend spirit stones bidding on others' work, so she skipped them entirely.

Next were a few spiritual plants, which were also quite good. However, Shi Yu needed to reserve enough spirit stones to secure the Heavenly Tone Lotus. Before it appeared, she bid cautiously unless something truly caught her eye, pulling back decisively as soon as a price exceeded her limit.

Consequently, though she called out a few bids, she ended up winning nothing.

Following those was a small porcelain bottle of spiritual dew.

She had previously consumed a bottle of Tier-1 Qingming Dew, which produced sublime celestial visions that helped her comprehend profound mysteries to great effect.

The bottle now on offer was a Tier-2 spiritual dew, Xianyun Dew. Being of a higher rank, its effects were bound to be even superior.

Shi Yu felt instantly tempted and decided to bid for it.