Chapter 105, Elevating Spirit Fruit and Heaven Spirit Order

Translator: Raznick

 

The appearance of a Foundation Establishment Pill immediately changed the atmosphere of bidding in the underground cavern.

 

“I offer five thousand spirit coins!”

 

A cultivator wearing a face cover spoke in a deep voice, announcing a high price.

 

But before his words had barely faded, someone beside him called out, “Five thousand five hundred.”

 

Hearing this, he glared at the person and immediately raised the price, “Five thousand seven hundred.”

 

“Six thousand two hundred!”

 

Another voice joined the bidding, directly raising the price to another level.

 

Generally speaking, the price of a single Foundation Establishment Pill would not be lower than five thousand spirit coins but would usually not exceed seven thousand spirit coins.

 

After all, this was only a pill consumed by a Qi Refining cultivator.

 

So at this time, Zhou Jiarui, beside Zhou Chun, also raised the price.

 

“Seven thousand!”

 

He directly added several hundred spirit coins, driving the price to a new height.

 

At this point, many of those calling out fell silent.

 

It wasn’t that they couldn’t afford so many spirit coins, but that they needed to weigh whether it was worth it.

 

But in an auction, there would always be a cultivator who didn’t care about money.

 

“Seven thousand two hundred.”

 

Another bid drove down the price that Zhou Jiarui had offered.

 

Then it attracted a competition among several cultivators.

 

In the end, the transaction price for this Foundation Establishment Pill was fixed at eight thousand seven hundred spirit coins.

 

Zhou Jiarui had given up the bidding when the price exceeded eight thousand.

 

Before coming, Clan Leader Zhou Daoyi had also given him a bottom line: once the price exceeded that limit, there was no point to go further.

 

As the bidding for this Foundation Establishment Pill concluded, the auction host quickly produced the eleventh treasure.

 

That was a superior second-grade artifact, with a starting bid of five thousand spirit coins, and the final transaction price reached nine thousand eight hundred, almost breaking ten thousand.

 

Subsequently, the several treasures brought out were mostly artifacts, pills, and arrays.

 

Because the starting prices were all slightly lower than the market price, these treasures were all successfully auctioned off.

 

When it came to the eighteenth treasure, the host brought out another Foundation Establishment Pill.

 

“Foundation Establishment Pill. The starting price is the same four thousand spirit coins, and the bid must be increased by no less than two hundred spirit coins each time.”

 

Hearing the host’s words, the cultivators who had previously regretted not buying a Foundation Establishment Pill also began to bid again.

 

“Could there be a third or fourth Foundation Establishment Pill coming up next?”

 

Zhou Chun muttered softly, feeling that the auction house was playing mind games.

 

The host had said at the beginning that only thirty treasures were prepared for this auction.

 

But now, the number of cultivators participating in this underground auction in the cavern hall was five or six times that number, and most of them were carrying large sums of money.

 

Having come this far and having raised the money, if they were to leave with nothing, wouldn’t that be a wasted trip?

 

Therefore, the competition for the second Foundation Establishment Pill was even more heated than the first.

 

The final transaction price was marked at nine thousand five hundred spirit coins!

 

Zhou Chun could only shake his head repeatedly and sigh at how many rich people there were.

 

He had killed a Foundation Establishment cultivator before and knew clearly how much wealth a Foundation Establishment cultivator generally possessed.

 

The possessions from that black-robed elder from the Dragonized Sect, including the two second-grade artifacts that were stolen from him, would only amount to a little over ten thousand spirit coins.

 

Even if the other party left something in his cave inside the Dragonized Sect, and even if he was considered a poorer Foundation Establishment cultivator, his total fortune would not be able to exceed twenty thousand spirit coins.

 

And now, a Foundation Establishment Pill almost took up half the worth of a mid-Foundation Establishment cultivator!

 

This was outrageous!

 

But also reality.

 

The scarcity of supply and the high demand caused the Foundation Establishment Pill to be a pill that only a few people could afford.

 

With so many Foundation Establishment cultivators in the underground hall, not all of them achieved Foundation Establishment by taking a pill.

 

Even in a large sect like Green Lotus Monastery, many of its numerous Foundation Establishment cultivators did not take one.

 

One might rush to think these people competing to snatch the Foundation Establishment Pill were loaded.

 

But the spirit coins they used was likely accumulated wealth of a faction, rather than personal property.

 

Unless it was for a close relative, why would any Foundation Establishment cultivator spend half their fortune on pills that were completely useless to them?

 

After selling the second Foundation Establishment Pill, the host brought out the second implement.

 

This second implement was a piece of inner armor, crafted from the hide of an unknown demon beast. It was of average second-grade quality and was said to be able to deflect three attacks from a mid-Foundation Establishment cultivator.

 

This item was custom-made for Foundation Establishment cultivators as a form of personal defense and thus attracted much competition from the cultivators present.

 

These late Foundation Establishment cultivators often had considerable personal wealth and could afford items worth over ten thousand spirit coins.

 

And they typically risked going to dangerous places to acquire spiritual treasures that could help them in opening the Violet Palace.

 

Naturally, there would be a high demand for such defensive and life-saving items.

 

Eventually, this artifact sold for the high price of six thousand seven hundred spirit coins.

 

So when the twenty-fourth treasure came out, Zhou Chun and Zhou Jiarui were stunned, and many of the cultivators present were stunned.

 

They saw that it was five spirit fruits, encased in a jade box. The spirit fruits were shaped somewhat like white pears, completely white and crystal clear, as if carved from jade.

 

“As you fellow Daoists can see, these are five Elevating Spirit Fruits. While this item lacks a Foundation Establishment Pill’s effect of protecting a cultivator on a failed attempt, it does offer half the effect of the Foundation Establishment Pill in assisting one’s breakthrough.”

 

Before Zhou Chun could figure out what kind of fruit it was, the host had already revealed the answer.

 

Then he saw the host extend his hand, opening his fingers and saying, “Five Elevating Spirit Fruit are being sold together; the starting bid is five thousand spirit coins, and each bid must be no less than two hundred spirit coins.”

 

With this announcement, the hall immediately echoed with enthusiastic bidding.

 

Just as the auction host said, the Elevating Spirit Fruit’s support for Foundation Establishment, though only half that of a Foundation Establishment Pill, lacked the effect of protecting a failed attempt from harm.

 

But it was plentiful!

 

There were a total of five Elevating Spirit Fruits, allowing five cultivators at the Twelfth Layer of the Qi Refining Stage to dare to challenge the Foundation Establishment Stage.

 

This was absolutely very worthwhile for each cultivating clan.

 

Therefore, the number of people bidding at this moment was even more than those who had previously competed for the Foundation Establishment Pill.

 

“Zhengchun, how many spirit coins do you have?”

 

Zhou Jiarui suddenly sent a query about his money.

 

Hearing this, he immediately knew that this elder had made up his mind.

 

Therefore, after pondering for a moment, he sent, “I only have about two thousand four hundred spirit coins.”

 

“So many!”

 

Zhou Jiarui looked at Zhou Chun with a look of surprise, never expecting him to have such a vast fortune.

 

He knew that even he, who had reached Foundation Establishment, without the second-grade artifact bestowed by the clan, did not have half as much wealth as Zhou Chun!

 

Then he nodded repeatedly and said, “That’s enough. With your spirit coins, there should be more than enough to secure these five Elevating Spirit Fruits!”

 

Saying this, he did not immediately speak up to bid but waited for the bidding to die down.

 

“Ten thousand eight hundred going once.”

 

“Ten thousand eight hundred going twice.”

 

On the auction stage, the host, seeing that no one had bid higher within several breaths, had begun to enter the final bidding procedure according to the rules.

 

It was only then that Zhou Jiarui spoke in a deep voice, “Eleven thousand.”

 

He did not raise the bid by much; he only spoke the bid with the minimum bidding increment.

 

But after this bid was announced, it caused the person in front to hesitate for nearly thirty breaths before he spoke again: “Eleven thousand two hundred.”

 

“Eleven thousand four hundred.”

 

Zhou Jiarui promptly called out a higher price, his tone even and unhurried, yet putting considerable pressure on his opponent.

 

After staring at him in silence for nearly sixty breaths, he spoke in a deep voice, “Eleven thousand six hundred.”

 

“Eleven thousand eight hundred.”

 

Zhou Jiarui equally raised the price the moment his opponent’s voice fell, without a hint of hesitation.

 

This time, his opponent was silent for an even longer duration, around three hundred breaths by the auctioneer’s account, and had no choice but to restart the final bidding process according to protocol.

 

“Eleven thousand eight hundred going once.”

 

“Eleven thousand eight hundred going twice.”

 

“Sold!”

 

Even as he announced sold, there was still no one willing to up the price.

 

After borrowing one thousand spirit coins from Zhou Chun, Zhou Jiarui also successfully took the stage and completed the transaction with the auction host, securing the five Elevating Spirit Fruits in his possession.

 

With that, this underground auction was of no further interest to them, and they were destined to become mere spectators.

 

The remaining six treasures were, as expected, more valuable than the last.

 

A Soul Nurturing Jade appeared when they reached the twenty-ninth item.

 

“One Soul Nurturing Jade, starting bid of ten thousand spirit coins, with each subsequent bid not lower than five hundred spirit coins.”

 

The host, holding a piece of pale purple jade the size of a thumb, showed it to the crowd below before returning it to the jade box and announcing the price in a deep voice.

 

The starting bid of ten thousand spirit coins was also the highest starting bid seen at this auction so far.

 

However, this did not stop other cultivators from vying for the Soul Nurturing Jade.

 

Soon, one high price after another came from the mouths of the late Foundation Establishment cultivators.

 

It was natural, for the cultivators participating in the bidding for the Soul Nurturing Jade were all late Foundation Establishment cultivators, and they had all come prepared.

 

For late Foundation Establishment cultivators, the most important thing was to open their Violet Palace and break through to the Violet Palace Stage.

 

While the Soul Nurturing Jade could not increase their chances of success, it could replenish and restore their soul after a failed breakthrough, giving them the opportunity to continue striving for the Violet Palace Stage.

 

Therefore, the importance of this item was no less than that of some spiritual treasures that could increase the success rate of breakthroughs.

 

And for clans lacking a Violet Palace Stage cultivator, nothing was more important than getting one, raising the entire clan’s status.

 

Therefore, the competition for this Soul Nurturing Jade would be fierce.

 

The price continued to climb, soon doubling to over twenty thousand spirit coins.

 

“Twenty-two thousand five hundred!”

 

A cultivator wearing a devil mask spoke in a deep voice, announcing the bid.

 

At this point, there were only a few remaining who were bidding, all of whom were reluctant to give up.

 

Therefore, after this person’s bid, less than twenty breaths of time passed before someone else bid again, saying, “Twenty-three thousand.”

 

“Twenty-five!”

 

The cultivator with the devil mask increased the price, raising it significantly, seemingly determined to win.

 

But this still did not cause the others to abandon the bidding.

 

Soon, another cultivator spoke in a deep voice: “Twenty-six.”

 

Zhou Chun watched these wealthy individuals open their mouths one after another until the price reached thirty thousand spirit coins!

 

At this point, no one bid higher.

 

Even for a cultivating clan with several Foundation Establishment cultivators, some would empty their coffers.

 

Initially, when the Zhou Clan first took root in Nine Peaks, their wealth didn’t come even close to that number.

 

When the Soul Nurturing Jade was sold, the last treasure of this underground auction was brought out.

 

“The final item is quite special, and its value is difficult for us to confirm. Everyone must decide for themselves whether to bid!”

 

On the auction platform, the host spoke as he opened the brocade box in front of him and took out a silver-white token.

 

The token was only the size of a palm, pentagonal in shape. One side was imprinted with Heaven Spirit in gold, and the other was carved with scenes of peaks, palaces, and other landscapes.

 

Before Zhou Chun could examine the token for any clues, the host introduced it. “One token for the Heaven Spirit Trial. This is a C-grade token, which can carry a Qi Refining cultivator into the trial ground when the Heaven Spirit Trial is opened.

 

“According to our information, the next Heaven Spirit Trial should be opened within three years.”

 

He didn’t explain what the Heaven Spirit Trial was and went straight to saying, “One Heaven Spirit Order, starting bid of one thousand spirit coins; each bid must not be less than one hundred spirit coins.”

 

An unexpected low price was called out by the auction host, which startled Zhou Chun.

 

Generally, the last treasure of an auction should be the most valuable.

 

Why did this underground auction place the Heaven Spirit Order, with a starting bid of one thousand spirit coins, last?

 

With such a low starting bid, even if it was multiplied by ten, it would only reach a little over ten thousand spirit coins at most!

 

“Eleventh Uncle, do you know what a Heaven Spirit Trial is?” Zhou Chun looked at the Heaven Spirit Order, which was already attracting bids, and asked Zhou Jiarui about the host’s mention of the Heaven Spirit Trial.

 

He had just searched through his memories and confirmed that he had never heard of this so-called Heaven Spirit Trial.

 

But from what the host had said, this Heaven Spirit Trial seemed to be of great importance.

 

However, after listening to his question, Zhou Jiarui gently shook his head and said, “I do not know. I reached Foundation Establishment only recently, and I know little about secrets of the cultivation world. The Heaven Spirit Trial is likely a secret matter within the Jing Kingdom.”

 

He then added, “If you are truly interested, you should ask the Clan Leader when you return.”