The Auction, Part 3

“Twenty-eight thousand six hundred spirit stones.”

“Twenty-nine thousand!”

After a few simple rounds of bidding, Su Qing lingered behind, continuing to raise the price. “Add another, twenty-nine thousand one hundred spirit stones.”

Her disguise was done very well, without blind spots. Even her voice had undergone special processing, sounding like the obscure texture of frosted glass.

Watching as the price was about to break thirty thousand spirit stones, the other bidders truly couldn’t discern the origin of this item. Their bidding voices gradually weakened, like water that had boiled, returning to calm.

This was the item that sold for the lowest price since the auction began.

It showed that there were still many people in the world who didn’t recognize valuable goods.

The true treasure was right before their eyes, yet they were blinded by a single leaf, unable to see its mysteries. No wonder the world was filled with mediocre people, trapped in its mundane affairs.

Even the person who acquired it probably did so by sheer luck, unaware of the item’s true nature.

It was truly like casting pearls before swine, a wanton waste of treasure.

Song Yunzi subtly swept her gaze over the fragments, even smiling faintly, clearly pleased. She tapped the jade hammer in her hand, producing a crisp sound of colliding jade, “Twenty-nine thousand one hundred spirit stones, sold.”

After acquiring these fragments, with the treasure in hand, Su Qing’s heart settled, and she felt a sense of “it was worth the trip.”

However, the climax of this auction was far from over; it lay precisely in the subsequent exhibits.

These fragments of unknown origin were appraised to be between Tier 2 top-grade and Tier 3.

From this item onwards, the remaining auctioned goods were all above Tier 2 top-grade, even gradually rising towards Tier 3.
This meant that Golden Core spirit items were about to appear.

Yet, Song Yunzi seemed to be deliberately building suspense, consecutively auctioning many Tier 2 top-grade, less than Tier 3, spiritual items and spiritual ores.

Although they were all good things and were quickly sold, for those who came for Golden Core spirit items, it was akin to scratching an itch through a boot, making them increasingly impatient and eager.

“Tier 2 top-grade Dual-Horned Green Swallow Scaled-Eyed Serpent Bone, fifty-eight thousand spirit stones, sold.”

“Tier 2 top-grade Geng Metal Protective Talisman, ninety-three thousand spirit stones, sold.”

“Tier 2 top-grade Silt Pond Jade Bone Mud, one hundred forty-nine thousand eight hundred spirit stones, sold.”

“Tier 2 top-grade Ninety-Nine Ring Nested Mistrack Formation Mother-Son Array, two hundred eighty-seven thousand spirit stones, sold.”

Song Yunzi’s elegant speech was still as melodious as jade beads falling onto a tray.

She auctioned off a hundred items in a flowing manner, her jade hammer continuously tapping, producing crisp sounds one after another, forcibly escalating the atmosphere in the hall, higher and higher.

Visibly, the atmosphere throughout the venue became fervent. Even those cultivators who prided themselves on their immortal demeanor couldn’t help but straighten their backs, their temples flushed, their hands clenched into fists, their gazes fixed intently on Song Yunzi and the display stand beside her.

They were like vultures snatching at bloodied food, trying to seize the opportunities, resources, and luck within their sight.

“Come!”

Someone was burning with impatience, “Why aren’t the Golden Core spirit items coming out yet? Could it be that those in the internal area have already picked them?”

Someone lost patience, aggressively demanding, “This young master didn’t come here for these scraps! Quickly present something good!”

Song Yunzi was already accustomed to these menacing gazes.

Seeing that the cultivators present were inadvertently releasing their auras, the air pressed and coiled, as if sparks might fly.

She spread her palm, and the jade hammer spun in mid-air in her hand.

She then gripped the small hammer with a backhand grip and gently struck the air with its reverse side, as if hitting an invisible barrier.

A point of golden light burst forth, spreading outwards across the venue like ripples in water in the blink of an eye.

In that instant, Su Qing felt a Sanskrit chant surge from deep within her cranium, permeating her ears.

Her previously excited nerves were plucked by this cold Sanskrit sound, and she was forcibly calmed.

A steady sigh unconsciously emerged from her throat.

Her entire being felt as if she were standing before a temple in the snow, her spiritual platform returning to clarity.

Su Qing’s divine sense swept across her surroundings, and she found everyone stirring as if waking from a deep dream, shivering and staring blankly ahead.

‘What kind of magical treasure could possess such immense power?’ Although most of the people in the outer area were Foundation Establishment cultivators, there were also many Golden Core cultivators.

As she observed, when the jade hammer struck and the Sanskrit chant sounded, it effectively crowd-controlled almost everyone in the hall.

Even Golden Core cultivators were stunned for a few instants.

This could certainly be considered an indiscriminate attack, something no ordinary magical artifact could achieve.

Even if it was just a branch, the strength of the Nine Heavens Pavilion, the number one merchant guild in the world, was truly not to be underestimated.

However, that tiny glimmer of golden light, like the first spark struck between two pebbles in the primordial chaos amidst the mist, radiated an extraordinary significance.

Su Qing meticulously recalled that tiny golden light in her mind.

The advantage of sharp divine sense lay precisely here.

That flash of golden light amidst the lightning and thunder was imprinted into her Sea of Consciousness, allowing her to carefully ponder and deduce its true nature.

She belatedly realized that the spreading golden light resembled a blurry character.

A guess surfaced in her mind: ‘Could it be that what was carved on the hammer’s surface was also one of the unrevealed Ancient Divine Languages? The Song family’s foundation was truly profound.’

Although she knew it was impossible, Su Qing still wanted to see it more clearly.

The surging atmosphere was forcibly suppressed. Song Yunzi calmly spoke, “Please do not be impatient, esteemed guests. Next, we have Tier 3 spiritual items.”

To break through Qi Refining and reach Foundation Establishment, ordinary people definitely needed Tier 2 spiritual items as foundational spiritual items to assist in breaking through the realm.

Su Qing herself had consumed three Tier 1 beast cores given by Zhu Xing’er (two wood-attribute early Foundation Establishment beast cores, and one metal-attribute mid-Foundation Establishment beast core) to quickly and smoothly break through to the Foundation Establishment stage.

Generally, the better the spiritual item, the more it helps solidify the foundation, setting a good start for subsequent cultivation.

Of course, all things in the world follow the principle of “too much is as bad as too little.” Too potent a spiritual item can also easily cause self-detonation, leading to failed breakthroughs.

The proper measure requires personal mastery.

Forming a core was much more demanding than Foundation Establishment.

Therefore, for Su Qing, suitable Golden Core spirit items should ideally be between Tier 3 low-grade and Tier 3 mid-grade, possessing both metal and wood attributes.

If that wasn’t possible, she could only choose two spiritual items, one metal and one wood, and they must not clash but complement each other to jointly form the Golden Core.

For Tian Ning, it would naturally be the most difficult-to-obtain mutated attribute spiritual item: an ice-attributed spiritual item. And since she had already formed a pseudo-core, the grade of the spiritual item would have to be even higher, at least Tier 3 top-grade, and its attributes must be compatible. Only then could it provide a glimmer of support for her to shatter and reform her core.

Su Qing focused intently on the stands.

The remaining items were where the true battle would be.

It wasn’t just her paying attention to this.

Tang Yueling and Tian Ning were as well.

Although the three of them participated in the same auction, their positions were completely different.

The private boxes reserved for aristocratic families, the internal VIP area for honored guests, and the ordinary outer area were like three concentric rings, with higher positions signifying greater prestige.

Tang Yueling was in the uppermost private box, where spiritual energy was most abundant and the view was most expansive.

The room was fully furnished with seats, side tables, and screens.

A soft couch of purple agarwood was separated by a screen adorned with flowers and birds.

A six-sided bronze censer quietly released thin tendrils of incense. In a jade porcelain bowl, with an ice-cold spiritual stone as its base, lay out-of-season spiritual fruits, emitting a refreshing cold mist from above.

The room was also thoughtfully arranged with a spiritual gathering array, and the spiritual energy concentration indoors was adjusted to be extremely comfortable, leaving one feeling refreshed in body and mind.

If she saw an exhibit she fancied, she merely needed to wave her hand, and a Nine Heavens Pavilion manager would promptly deliver it to her, for her to examine and appreciate.

In this auction, all exhibits were first presented to the people in the internal private boxes for their appreciation.

Only those not selected would then move to the internal arena. And those not selected by the internal arena would then appear on the exhibition stands in the outer arena.

Those so-called opportunities, left to fate, were thus casually collected by the Song family.

They were then scattered across the water like fish food; the large fish floating above could feast, the middle-tier fish could also get half-full, while only the small fish, shrimp, and insects below could pick up scraps and barely survive.

Tang Yueling then said she would pay extra attention for them, because truly rare resources rarely flowed down below.

The Nine Heavens Pavilion, having existed for tens of thousands of years, had a foundation far beyond anyone’s imagination.

Its family appraisers were trained within the clan, meticulously cultivated from a young age, and would not overlook any spiritual item.

Therefore, if someone found a bargain in the Nine Heavens Pavilion, they should think twice.

The direct descendants of the host, the Song family, also attended this auction.

Tang Yueling saw Song Huiyi and Song Huisi from afar. Both sisters smiled faintly and greeted her.

Both sisters wore purple ruqun robes with light-colored stoles.

Song Huiyi cradled a budding purple jade Qionghua flower, while Song Huisi had a fully bloomed Qionghua flower pinned in her hair.

‘What was the effect of that flower again? It looked quite beautiful, but the people didn’t quite suit it.’ Tang Yueling curled her lips, taking it as a return greeting. Tang Shitao, beside her, said, “I saw people from the Qi family also came, but only Qi Liwei.”

Qi family members were all quite difficult to get along with. Daozi of the Qi family was nowhere to be seen all day.

Qi Lifeng was outwardly warm but inwardly cold, a genuine smiling tiger.

Qi Libei was a mad dog. Only Qi Liwei, though proud, was relatively normal.

Tang Yueling replied noncommittally, “Is that so.”

As she entered the private box, she vaguely remembered that this purple Qionghua flower seemed to be an extremely Yang item, countering yin evil spirits. She just didn’t know its tier. Otherwise, it would be quite suitable for Su Qing.

After a few rounds, an exhibited item quickly caught Tang Yueling’s attention.

“A Cold Moon Carp Pearl, late Golden Core stage.”

The Cold Moon Carp only lived beneath the ice lakes of the Northern Ice Plain, feeding on lake-bottom ice crystals and moon lotuses on the lake surface, growing under moonlight.

It was an extremely rare Tier 3 spirit beast. Furthermore, this carp pearl was extracted from a late Golden Core Cold Moon Carp, which showed its preciousness.

Tang Yueling was about to wave her hand to claim this item, but she first heard Qi Liwei’s voice from the adjacent private box, “Keep this carp pearl for me.”

Tang Xueshan looked at Tang Yueling, her brows slightly furrowed, clearly indicating that at her command, she would immediately throw spirit stones wildly to secure the item.

Tang Yueling’s thoughts spun for a moment, her eyelashes subtly fluttering. “Never mind, let her have it. I’m curious to see what she wants it for.”