Chapter 82: Igniting the Auction
Chapter 82: Igniting the Auction
The Southern City Market auction hall was vast, bird’s nest-shaped, holding over a thousand people yet still feeling intimate with the main stage. Private boxes hung directly above the stage, offering the best vantage point for a clear view below.
Casually picking up a bunch of spirit fruits, Lu Hangzhi walked to the one-way window. On stage, the item being bid on was a rugged, circular great-axe magical artifact. Its fearsome axe head featured three sharp, crescent blades, while its handle locked onto the wielder’s hand. Channeling magic power could activate arts like “Sword Control Art,” sending the blades flying in three directions to inflict devastating cutting damage, matching the full strike of a Peak Ninth Grade cultivator.
The artifact’s unique design and destructive prowess put it near top-grade. It was perfect against Ninth Grade Demon Beasts, quickly drawing fervent bids from High Insight Stage cultivators. Its price rocketed from the starting bid of fifteen Ninth-Grade Monster Cores to thirty.
After doubling, fewer bidders remained. It was finally claimed by a muscle-bound Strength cultivator for thirty-five Ninth-Grade Monster Cores.
“Thirty-five Ninth-Grade Monster Cores! Oh my!”
Sweet spirit fruit juice coating his tongue, Lu Hangzhi felt the auction’s excitement setting his blood on fire.
This was worlds apart from Violet Cloud Town’s auctions.
There, they dealt in Low-Grade Spirit Stones…
Here?
The currency was priceless Ninth-Grade Monster Cores! Every raise made his heart race.
“Wonder what price the Spirit Honey will fetch.”
Lu Hangzhi couldn’t help but look forward to it.
The Seven Great Sects ran their auctions interestingly. Magical artifacts, elixirs, talismans, art technique manuals, spiritual artifacts, and spirit beasts were auctioned in sequence. Many were truly remarkable, causing Lu Hangzhi to join the bidding several times.
One item was the “Blood Coagulation Elixir,” distilled from the essential blood of a hundred beast species. It could drastically enhance a cultivator’s physique, hardening the body to match a High Epiphany Stage demon beast. It went for the staggering price of one hundred twenty Ninth-Grade Monster Cores, grabbed by a Spirit Condensation Stage Venerable One.
Another was the top-grade defensive magical artifact “Violet Cloud Blazing Robe.” Besides projecting a barrier blocking Spirit Condensation Stage attacks, the robe had formations for “Advanced Swift Movement Art” and “Violet Fire Scorched Earth,” transforming a hundred-meter radius into fire. This multi-functional defense was particularly effective against Demon Beast Mist, keeping Brain-Eater Demon Worms at bay. Its price soared to one hundred fifty Ninth-Grade Monster Cores, astonishing the crowd.
Lu Hangzhi possessed hundreds of demon beast inner cores, yet barely two hundred Ninth-Grade ones. He dared not squander them on one artifact.
As one round ended, the auctioneer seemed to get a prompt. He paused subtly, eyes locking onto a jade plate holding a porcelain bottle presented by a young female cultivator. Taking a solemn breath, he addressed the audience:
“The next treasure up for auction was a late addition by our hosts. Recommended by Elder Honglian and meticulously appraised by our three senior appraisers—it is Spirit Honey! Its effects are truly astonishing!”
This Spirit Honey was recommended by Elder Honglian. Three of our senior appraisers have carefully evaluated its astonishing effects!”
Instantly, the cultivators buzzed with curiosity.
Elder Honglian held significant reputation in Southern City, and her personal recommendation was unprecedented. Even more surprising: the involvement of three appraisers confirmed it was special. People craned their necks, trying to glimpse through the porcelain bottle.
The auctioneer intensified the hype, feeding details to inflate the value:
“A rarity never before seen at auction, our appraisers examined it meticulously from every angle. They discovered it can instantly restore part of a cultivator’s magic power! Moreover… dissolved in water, its effect drastically eases the after-effects of the Imperial Wine Sect’s ‘Nectar Immortal Elixir’!”
Wham!
The auction hall exploded instantly!
Epiphany Stage cultivators felt puzzled, but nearly every Spirit Coalescence Elder present shot to their feet, faces tense, eyes fixed fiercely on the bottle now in the auctioneer’s hand.
“Prove it!” bellowed someone.
“How much ‘drastically ease’? Give specifics! Does it really neutralize the Nectar’s drawbacks? Don’t play word games!”
“And ‘instant partial magic power restoration’—how partial? Without specifics, how can we bid?”
Uproar surged. The auctioneer paled.
The challengers were all Spirit Condensation Stage cultivators, with powerful Elders from the Seven Great Sects among them. He panicked internally.
“Please, everyone, stay calm!” He projected his voice over the din.
“To provide clear, detailed information about this Spirit Honey, we invited Venerable Lu, Head of the Pellet Hall from the Danxia Sect—one of our Great Sects—to explain its magic power restoration properties.”
“Additionally! We asked the Vice Sect Leader of the Imperial Wine Sect, also one of us, to detail its effects on the Nectar Immortal Elixir!”
“Please welcome both Venerable Ones to the stage!”
The mention of such heavyweights calmed the crowd. The Seven Great Sects’ Elders sat down, followed by others. Yet eager anticipation blazed in every eye.
First, Venerable Lu spoke. A renowned expert on elixirs, he announced: The effect was very potent for Insight Stage disciples. For an Initial Spirit Condensation Stage Elder, however, it was weaker. Swallowing half a bottle at once would restore roughly one-third of their magic power.
Even so!
The Elders roared with interest!
So what if it’s only one-third? Just buy more bottles! At the Two Realms Mountain’s Core Battle Zone, sufficient magic power meant safety even in the direst peril.
But…
They waited for the other verdict.
The Imperial Wine Sect Vice Sect Leader had arrived sceptical and dismissive, informed of a supposedly hangover-curing spirit item. Sampling it changed everything instantly: shock, then pure regret that his sect didn’t control it!
“Dissolving twenty units in water will counter most of the Nectar’s negative effects. Thirty units fully restores control over magic power.”
With that, he turned and rushed back to the VIP box.
“Dispatch a batch of Ninth-Grade Monster Cores immediately!” he ordered his disciple. “Urgent!”
“Yes, Master!”
The disciple vanished.
Back on the floor, the crowd was totally frenzied!
The explicit details from both heavyweights erased all doubt. Relieved, the auctioneer announced the starting price:
“The first set: five bottles, five hundred units of Spirit Honey. Starting bid: one Ninth-Grade Monster Core per bottle! Minimum increment per raise: one Ninth-Grade Monster Core!”
Silence.
Total shock.
After three appraisers and two supremely powerful Venerables confirmed its rarity, every Spirit Condensation Stage Elder prepared for a fierce, costly battle just for one bottle. Yet here was that astonishing treasure offered at rock-bottom starting prices! Utterly unexpected.
An awkward stillness held for seconds…
Finally, a tentative voice broke the silence.
“I bid… one Ninth-Grade Monster Core.”
It came, hesitant, from some High Insight Stage cultivator. Instantly, he felt scalding stares like knives digging into him.
The next moment roared with tidal waves of shouts:
“All five bottles! Ten Ninth-Grade Monster Cores!”
“Don’t insult us! Fifteen!”
“Thirty Ninth-Grade Monster Cores!”
“Thirty-five!”
The price skyrocketed.
It shot six times over the starting point, showing no signs of slowing. Lu Hangzhi beamed, grin stretching wide.
The auctioneer fanned the fire:
“Everyone sees the Spirit Honey’s incredible value—beyond its critical role at the Two Realms Core Battle Zone! As a hangover cure alone, it speeds cultivation breakthroughs! How can life-saving magic power AND accelerated cultivation NOT be worth more than some Top-grade Magical Artifact?”
Well said!
I approve!
Lu Hangzhi mentally applauded the auctioneer 10,086 times.
The price hit fifty Monster Cores. Below, the hall simmered hotly with constant raises.
Nearby, inside another large VIP box, over twenty whispered excitedly:
“Only Honglian could uncover such a precious find.”
“Incredible! Ten cores per bottle already!”
“Still climbing…”
“Any actual bidding, or just chatter?”
Honglian rolled her eyes.
“Obviously bidding! I rotate into the Core Battle Zone next month. This lifesaving Spirit Honey? The more, the better. Try me.”
“Uh-oh, you’re not the only one changing posts next month.”
“Haaaa. Precisely.”
A flurry of bids ensued. Their moves ignited another price explosion!
Determined for their share, they doubled the current bid instantly: twenty-five Ninth-Grade Monster Cores per flask! Then five-core increments shot straight past fifty cores per bottle, silencing every Insight Stage cultivator below.
The hammer fell at seventy-five Ninth-Grade Monster Cores… per single bottle.
Sitting back, Lu Hangzhi easily netted three hundred seventy-five Ninth-Grade Monster Cores. A faint, satisfied smile touched his lips.
The auction masters timed it perfectly: releasing only five bottles first sparked mad competition. Many now bore faces full of bitter regret. Let that burn awhile… the regret would fester. Groups two and three? Higher prices were virtually guaranteed.
When the auction manager brought the Qiankun Pouch, holding the three hundred fifty Ninth-Grade Monster Cores after fees, Lu Hangzhi’s usable reserves surged past six hundred ten Monster Cores.
Finally, he had real bidding power.