As Fairy Jueqing announced the details of the auction item, Foundation Establishment True Cultivators joined the bidding one after another.
Luo Chen was among them.
As a Tier 3 spiritual tree, Warm Sun Wood possessed immense economic value.
During its growth, it naturally improved the local climate and environment, harmonizing yin and yang.
The vibrant vitality it emanated also attracted many ranked spiritual birds.
Avian beasts like roc birds especially favored building nests in Warm Sun Wood.
However, the tree had a limited ceiling. Typically, after reaching Tier 3, it ceased further growth and would instead begin damaging the local earth veins.
Therefore, once it reached Tier 3, people would fell it.
After being felled, the bark of the Warm Sun Wood could be used in medicine, its prime leaves could be crafted into dharma artifacts, and the core of the trunk was its single most precious material.
It was also the only material from the Warm Sun Wood capable of reaching Tier 3 quality.
When concocted into pills or medicinal decoctions, it could augment the soul's foundation and expand the range of one's spiritual sense.
For this trait alone, it was an item coveted by countless alchemists.
Naturally, pill recipes capable of bolstering the soul's foundation were extraordinarily scarce, and very few people could make proper use of it for that purpose.
The reason cultivators yearned for it also lay in its other, brutally straightforward effect.
When burned with Foundation Establishment True Fire, the spiritual fragrance produced could rapidly repair a portion of soul injuries.
The name "Warm Sun Gentle Fragrance" originated from this very attribute.
This piece of knowledge was not a secret, so many people were aware of it.
Consequently, whether people currently suffered from soul injuries or not, they would buy a portion as a backup whenever the opportunity arose.
"I simulated the future with the Heart-Inquiring Mirror, which overtaxed and depleted my soul.
"Even with the replenishment of the Nether-Passage Pill, it will take at least several months of gradual recovery.
"If I have the Warm Sun Gentle Fragrance to nourish my soul, it will surely hasten my recovery!"
Luo Chen set his mind on winning this treasure.
The bidding atmosphere was not particularly heated.
Yet the price steadily climbed, even without Fairy Jueqing fanning the flames.
Luo Chen took part consistently, without resorting to any risky auction tactics.
He simply bid steadily.
"Five thousand!"
"Six thousand!"
When the price reached 6,800, many Foundation Establishment True Cultivators chose to back out.
Spending too many spirit stones on an item meant merely as a contingency simply wasn't cost-effective.
Only two parties remained in the running.
Once Luo Chen called out 7,500 spirit stones, the cultivator competing against him wisely chose to stop following.
It was evident that Luo Chen was determined to have it.
The other bidder had items he was resolved to win later on as well, so there was no reason to squander his funds on a resource that wasn't urgently needed.
"Congratulations to the Luotian Association for securing this item.
"Next up for auction is a scarce spiritual material..."
Hearing the words "Luotian Association," Luo Chen frowned slightly, then let it go.
At auctions organized by major Core Formation sects, the identities of both bidding parties were typically made public.
There were many benefits to this.
If one ran into a wealthy, formidable rival, it helped avoid excessive counter-bidding and prevented unnecessary bad blood.
In addition, everyone knew who had acquired the auctioned resources.
This also made it convenient for parties to negotiate secondary transactions afterward.
As for whether a less frenzied bidding atmosphere might keep prices from peaking and eat into profits?
That was outside the concern of a major sect.
They looked down on such petty gains!
Ultimately, what they wanted was a harmonious commercial atmosphere.
They wanted a stable, sustainable operational model.
They couldn't afford a situation where every auction led to heated squabbles, followed by private ambushes, murder, and theft in a vicious cycle.
In the long run, what weaker cultivator would dare attend the Immortal City's auctions?
Publicizing information acted as a great deterrent against such conduct.
Even if there were marauders bent on hunting others down for their treasures, once exposed, they would readily end up on the Immortal City's blacklist.
Precious auction items appeared one after another.
Luo Chen calmly bid multiple times.
A portion of Tier 3 ore cost 12,000 spirit stones; it was another primary material needed for Duan Feng's magic treasure embryo.
With that, together with the Heavy Profound Netherwater Luo Chen had previously scavenged from the street stalls, Duan Feng could begin completing it once they returned.
The Tier 2 body refinement cultivation technique also appeared.
The starting price was not high—only 5,000 spirit stones.
Few participants bid on it, as the path of body refinement was, after all, in decline.
However, one person kept bidding against Luo Chen with stubborn persistence.
The price climbed steadily until it reached 8,000 low-grade spirit stones.
"It's Lu Rong from the Divine Craft Sect," Duan Feng murmured with a frown.
Sima Huiniang expressed her concern, "Due to various past trivialities, the Divine Craft Sect's relationship with our Luotian Association hasn't been harmonious. President, should we forfeit this body refinement technique to avoid deepening the enmity?"
Deepening the enmity?
A smirk touched the corner of Luo Chen's lips.
He had never proactively offended them. If they harbored a grudge over a matter like this, the fault certainly did not lie with him.
What was more...
Glancing from the corner of his eye at Wang Yuan, who was visibly tempted, Luo Chen remarked indifferently:
"It's common knowledge in the Immortal City that Lu Rong also practices body refinement.
"A body refinement technique that catches his eye, even if only Tier 2, must possess distinct merits.
"Such a treasure naturally belongs to whoever can afford it!"
As he spoke, he decisively called out an overwhelmingly high bid.
"Ten thousand!"
It surged directly from 8,000 to 10,000.
Bidders had already been sparse, and this sudden jump instantly silenced any further interest.
Fairy Jueqing glanced toward Luo Chen's private box and announced calmly, "For the Qi and Body from the Same Source technique, the Luotian Association bids 10,000, once!"
Over in the Divine Craft Sect's seats.
They had no private box and could only sit in the main hall, showing that their status in the Immortal City was indeed modest.
The Luotian Association had only secured a secluded small private box thanks to their cooperation with Tantai Jin.
Lu Rong's expression was grim as iron.
Ten thousand spirit stones was neither an astronomical sum nor a negligible amount.
The Divine Craft Sect had never been very efficient at earning spirit stones, and what trickled down to him was less still.
Ordinarily, renting a cave dwelling alone cost 1,000 spirit stones a month.
At yesterday's auction, he had already bought numerous cultivation pills.
Consequently, his purse was running thin.
His pleading gaze turned to the man beside him.
"Sect Master, could you lend me—"
Fei Changqiu, the sect master of the Divine Craft Sect, frowned displeasedly. "Cultivators of our path should either refine qi or cultivate the body. You always insist on muddling the two. With the meager wealth you possess, do you ever hope to form a core in this lifetime?"
"But..."
"No buts. If you want to buy it, buy it yourself; lending spirit stones is out of the question."
Seeing that Lu Rong was still reluctant to give up and wanted to raise the bid, Fei Changqiu cautioned him, "If you bid recklessly and can't produce the spirit stones when the time comes, don't blame me for not warning you about how severe the consequences will be."
Lu Rong instantly clenched his fists.
He shot a venomous glare at the Luotian Association's box before finally withdrawing from the bidding.
As the host, Fairy Jueqing, called out, "Ten thousand spirit stones, going three times!"
The Tier 2 body refinement manual titled *Qi and Body from the Same Source* fell into Luo Chen's hands.
Inside the box.
Wang Yuan smiled.
"Luo Chen, let me reimburse you for the spirit stones now."
Luo Chen waved his hand.
"Why talk about that between the two of us?
"Just lend it to me to study when the time comes."
Wang Yuan smiled and dropped the subject of reimbursing him.
Watching this unfold from the side, Kang Xianqiong felt completely out of place.
She was growing curious about Luo Chen's relationship with these people.
He had granted Sima Huiniang a Foundation Establishment Pill.
He had bid on ore materials for Duan Feng.
He had bid on a body refinement manual for Wang Yuan.
Wasn't this overly generous?
*Perhaps that's precisely why so many people are willing to follow him of their own accord!*
...
The auction continued.
The later it went, the more precious the items presented became.
Luo Chen also stepped in to bid more frequently.
However, not every attempt ended in success.
For instance, he had particularly wanted to win a large Tier 2 Spirit Gathering Array.
Set up on Danxia Peak, it would have elevated the spiritual energy concentration to a whole new level.
Every cultivator in the Luotian Association would have benefited.
Yet there were numerous contenders for the array formation, with five cultivation families practically staking their life savings on it.
Midway through, Luo Chen bowed out.
In the end, Zheng Kejian of Gunlong Ridge secured the item for 28,000 spirit stones.
At that price, one could almost purchase an ordinary offensive low-grade magic treasure.
Only a pill-refining clan like the Zheng family, flush with wealth, could pull off such an acquisition.
Shaking his head, Luo Chen turned his attention to the next item on the block.
"Ice Silkworm Prayer Mat, a supreme-grade dharma artifact!
"A specialty of our Ice Fort, crafted from the silk spat by ice silkworms of the Great Snow Mountain. A support-type cultivation dharma artifact.
"During cultivation, this mat helps a cultivator maintain a mind as pure and clear as ice, unflinching even if the heavens were to collapse...
"Starting price: 5,000 spirit stones!"
Hearing the miraculous effects of the Ice Silkworm Prayer Mat from Fairy Jueqing, Luo Chen was tempted!
Support-type cultivation dharma artifacts were exceedingly rare.
The Ghost Spirit Heart-Inquiring Mirror in his possession was one such treasure.
Such treasures either boosted cultivation efficiency, shielded against outside interference, or provided unique enhancements to certain secret arts.
And this Ice Silkworm Prayer Mat clearly possessed the miraculous ability to clarify the mind and suppress the emergence of inner demons.
*Looking back along the path I've walked, my progress has been relentlessly swift without a single pause.*
*Though I consider my foundation solid at every stage, the total time I've spent cultivating is simply too short... In the short term it may be fine, but over time, succumbing to qi deviation is a very real possibility.*
Regarding his own state:
In the past, Luo Chen might not have seen it so clearly.
However, after the simulation in the Heart-Inquiring Mirror, he had gained a lucid understanding.
If he wanted to advance both swiftly and steadily, every angle had to be accounted for.
Moreover!
*Ever since the simulation in the Ghost Spirit Heart-Inquiring Mirror, my thoughts have strayed uncontrollably, and my emotions swing wildly at times. This state is hardly conducive to cultivation.*
*With the help of this treasure, I might spare myself a great deal of trouble!*
For this auction, Luo Chen's primary targets were the Warm Sun Gentle Fragrance and a Tier 3 healing pill.
The former could repair the soul exhausted by his simulation.
The latter was his promise to Kang Xianqiong.
This Ice Silkworm Prayer Mat had not been listed among the special treasures noted on the invitation.
Ice Fort had likely brought it out on short notice.
Luo Chen did not hesitate and promptly joined the bidding.
In the end, after spending the steep price of 9,000 spirit stones, he successfully secured it!
Once he won the Ice Silkworm Prayer Mat, quite a few Foundation Establishment True Cultivators in the hall began to take serious note of him.
Counting it up, Luo Chen had bid several times since the auction began.
And in most cases, he had won!
This not only showed his shrewd bidding sense, but also threw his deep pockets into sharp relief.
As a result, if he set his sights on any of the upcoming treasures, contending for them would likely cost a fortune!
Cultivators with modest backgrounds were already praying that such a scenario wouldn't come to pass.
Fairy Jueqing's voice rang out calmly once more.
"An unrefined sword pill, produced by the Jade Cauldron Sword Sect.
"Those interested may enter the bidding.
"Starting price: 10,000 spirit stones!"
When the lot was announced, an eerie silence settled over the auction hall.
A sword pill!
This was the signature armament exclusive to the Sword Sect in the Jade Cauldron Domain.
While a few might occasionally leak out, the Jade Cauldron Sword Sect never officially produced them for outside supply!
Yet here were cultivators of Ice Fort, openly putting one on the auction block?
Of course, it could have been consigned by someone else.
Still, why would Ice Fort agree to host it?
Could it be...?
Subtly, several sect cultivators and Foundation Establishment True Cultivators belonging to affiliated forces began reading deeper into the matter.
Though thoughts raced, the enthusiasm for bidding didn't diminish in the slightest!
After all, sword pills were widely known as magic treasure embryos.
They could be nurtured as early as the Foundation Establishment stage, wielded like high-grade or even supreme-grade dharma artifacts.
Upon forming a core, one even had the chance to elevate it into a life-bound magic treasure.
As everyone knew, magic treasures had their own hierarchy!
Aside from differences in tier and type, they were also divided into ordinary magic treasures and life-bound magic treasures.
For the former, anyone with enough spirit stones and opportunity could acquire one or two.
Even a Foundation Establishment True Cultivator could unleash a fraction of their might.
The latter, however, was an entirely different story!
A "life-bound" treasure was tied to one's very vitality and intertwined with the Grand Dao.
From the outset, it was custom-tailored to the cultivator, its grade possessing innate growth potential.
So long as the cultivator kept progressing, a life-bound magic treasure could remain in use through the Nascent Soul stage, the Soul Formation stage, and even after ascension.
Ascension was too far off to dwell upon.
Within the realm of Core Formation alone, the power of a life-bound magic treasure generally surpassed that of an ordinary magic treasure of the same tier.
After all, it was forged specifically for its master and nurtured with painstaking effort.
Not only did it respond as smoothly as an extension of one's own limbs, but it also brought out the full scope of a cultivator's abilities without the slightest awkwardness or resistance.
"An unrefined sword pill?"
Luo Chen's eyes lit up.
It wasn't that he wanted to switch to sword cultivation.
Rather, he recalled that gray scabbard resting in his storage bag.
That was a magic treasure embryo that likewise possessed growth potential.
Initially just a low-grade dharma artifact, it had leaped to middle-grade after the addition of a single sword pill.
If even more sword pills were incorporated, what height might its grade reach?
After all, that scabbard required no time to nurture, and its method of activation was exceedingly simple.
He joined the bidding.
However!
As the price soared all the way to 30,000 spirit stones, he decisively let it go.
*The premium is too steep!*
*At this price, it's far too marginal of an investment for me.*
*Besides, buying it might invite trouble from Yuding sword cultivators. Better not force it.*
As he bowed out, the cultivator from the Shaohua Mountain Yue family, who was leading the bids, cast him a grateful glance.
Luo Chen smiled and nodded.
Everything was understood without a word.
This Yue family of Shaohua Mountain was a cultivation clan renowned for the sword path.
Although sword pills were not their primary weapon, the sword scripture passed down within their clan made their flying sword manipulation far superior to that of ordinary cultivators.
Their determination to obtain this sword pill was meant to bolster the strength of their clan's cultivators.
Luo Chen's earlier display of deep pockets had genuinely caused them anxiety.
Bailing out early served as a favor to the Yue family cultivators.
Once he withdrew, the other competing faction proved less resolute than the Yue family and quickly backed off as well.
Thus, the brand-new sword pill became the property of the Yue family.
"Next up for auction are middle-grade Qi Harmonizing Pills concocted by the Medicine King Sect. A total of one hundred bottles, divided into ten lots of ten bottles each.
"Starting price: 10,000 spirit stones!"
The instant Fairy Jueqing finished speaking.
At that very moment.
Luo Chen held his breath!
He was determined to have these—and the more, the better!
Chapter 258