Chapter 10 The Auction Ends

“250,000 essence stones,” Elder Xiao of the Xiao Family was the first to raise the price.

“300,000 essence stones,” Elder Lan of the Lan Family followed suit.

“350,000 essence stones,” Elder Lu of the Lu Family chimed in, not wanting to fall behind.

“400,000 essence stones,” Elder Bai of the Bai Family announced.

“450,000 essence stones,” Elder Zhao of the Zhao Family bid confidently.

Those old men were all Core Formation Cultivators, their sole purpose at the auction being to secure items that could aid in their cultivation. The mid-grade Core Essence Pill was naturally worth their attention.

“500,000 essence stones,” Elder Yan of the Yan Family bid confidently.

There might be many Core Formation Cultivators in Xi'an, but none of them were mid-grade master pill refiners. In other words, there were no mid-grade level 3 pills available in Xi'an City.

Therefore, the mid-grade Core Essence Pill was extremely scarce in Xi'an. It was a rare opportunity to come by, appearing only at the five-year auctions. Every time, the price was exorbitantly high.

"My cultivation progress has been very slow recently; I must obtain this mid-grade pill," Liu Yong said with determination.

"600,000 essence stones!" He raised the price to another level.

The auction hall fell silent. Many elders in the private rooms hesitated, weighing the pros and cons.

Though they were elders of the ten great families and the three great sects, their wealth was limited. Cultivators required vast resources for cultivation, and for Core Formation Cultivators like them, spending 600,000 essence stones on a single mid-grade level 3 pill seemed unwise.

“600,000 essence stones going once. Is there anyone going to bid more?” Lin Tao's voice echoed through the auction hall, stirring a palpable tension.

Seeing no immediate response, he raised his voice, emphasizing the urgency.

Meanwhile, in private room number 20, Old Wang sighed. "Every time a mid-grade Core Essence Pill is on the auction, the price soars higher than the last. Even I couldn't have predicted this. If only the Azure Cloud Pavilion Master became a mid-grade pill refiner, I might have had a chance to obtain this pill," he lamented, shaking his head in dismay.

In the private room of the Liu Family, Liu Yong clenched his fists and held his breath. Though he had confidently bid 600,000 essence stones, only he knew the true cost. It would take him years to recover this wealth.

“I paid such a high price, there shouldn’t be anyone daring to raise it further,” Liu Yong muttered to himself, trying to quell his nerves.

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Unfortunately, the more you fear something, the more likely it is to happen. Just then, a middle-aged man's voice emerged from the private room of the Hong Family.

"650,000 essence stones," Hong Junxiao's voice rang out confidently.

"Oh, someone actually raised the price," Liu Yong muttered with a hint of surprise.

He snorted coldly, "That little brat from the Hong Family dares to compete with me!"

Although Hong Junxiao was a Core Formation Cultivator, his youth set him apart in the social hierarchy of Core Formation Cultivators. Being newly initiated into this rank, his ability to compete with others in wealth was solely attributed to his status as the son of a patriarch of the Hong Family.

Despite saying that, Liu Yong refrained from immediately raising the price, causing the auction to fall into a tense silence.

"650,000 going once. Is there anyone bidding more?"

Silence enveloped the room, with no one uttering a word.

"650,000 going twice."

"650,000 going th-"

"700,000 essence stones," Liu Yong declared through clenched teeth, his resolve firm. He had decided that if anyone dared to offer a higher bid, he would bow out.

"Sigh, I really can't compete with those old guys," Hong Junxiao lamented, shaking his head in resignation, realizing he couldn't match their financial prowess.

In the end, the mid-grade Core Essence Pill was sold to Liu Yong for the hefty sum of 700,000 essence stones.

"The final item up for auction is the key to the Xuan World, with a total of five available. Bidding for each will start at 100,000 essence stones," Lin Tao announced.

"Oh? I wonder what benefits the Xuan World holds," Shangguan Yi inquired, his curiosity piqued. Having recognized all the items in the auction except for the Xuan World, he sought clarification.

Old Wang wasn't surprised by the question and proceeded to explain. "It's understandable that you haven't heard of it, especially since you've only recently broken through to the Foundation Establishment Realm. The Xuan World is a mysterious realm that opens every five years. Within it lies an opportunity for all Foundation Establishment Cultivators, particularly those at the 10th level, to potentially break through to the Core Formation Realm."

"However, access to that world isn't granted to just anyone; one requires a key. Additionally, those with Core Formation Realm cultivation or higher are barred from entry. Hence, it's regarded as an opportunity exclusively for Foundation Establishment Cultivators," Old Wang elaborated.

Shangguan Yi nodded in acknowledgment.

"So, that's it. Then, why are there so many keys in the auction? Isn't it possible that a key is easily obtained? But that's not right, if it's easy to find, why put it up for auction?"

"Well, it's because a single key can accommodate ten people. Therefore, a single force only needs one key for all their best to that world in order to find the opportunity," Old Wang replied.

"Xuan World? Ah, if I could enter that world, I might be able to break through to the Core Formation Realm and join a high-grade family's social circle."

"It's really Xuan World's keys, and five of them at that. That's much more than last time."

"Five keys! We must get one of them!"

Many elders from the great families and sects made their plans. Five keys were impossible for all of them to obtain individually. Therefore, two or three great families would join forces to acquire one key.

“200,000 essence stones!”

"Tsk, your Xiao Family is so stingy. My Liu Family will bid 500,000 essence stones."

"My Mu Family will bid 600,000 essence stones."

"My Yan Family will bid 800,000 essence stones."

"900,000 essence stones."

The price increased very quickly; after all, whoever acquired the first key would benefit the most. They could interfere with the bidding for the second or third key by raising the price to an extremely high level, forcing others to pay a hefty price for it.

"1 million essence stones! Both my Liu Family and Gui Family will bid for it."

"1.2 million essence stones! My Xiao Family and Mu Family will also bid for it."

"1.5 million! Both my Corpse Sect and Bai Family will bid for it."

"2 million essence stones," Liu Yong shouted.

The auction fell silent for a while before giving up on the bidding for the first key.

The auction continued, with the remaining keys being sold for 3 million each, and the last key fetching 4 million. Although the Liu Family and Gui Family wanted to create trouble for others, they couldn’t push too far and risk offending too many enemies, so they stopped at 1 million.

The auction came to an end, and Shangguan Yi’s group was among the last to leave.

Inside the room, Shangguan Yi checked the system, where he found that his cultivation technique had progressed by 10% due to the acquisition of a flame crystal. It seemed that he didn’t need to gather all the materials in one go; he could slowly accumulate them and contribute them to the system.

——-

Cultivation Realm:

-Body Refining Realm (mortals / practitioners)

-Foundation Establishment Realm ( genuine Cultivators)

-Core Formation Realm

Technique/Pill/Artifact/Array/Beast/Herb/Talisman Level

-Warrior (level 1)

-Elite (level 2)

-Master (level 3)

Each level divided to 4 grades: low, mid, high and supreme.