Chapter 104, The Allure of Treasures and Foundation Establishment Pill

Translator: Raznick

 

To the east of the Red Rock Mountains lay an unusual peak shaped like a golden ingot, known as Primal Treasure Peak. For this underground auction, the organizers had chosen this peak as their gathering spot.

 

That morning, a masked Foundation Establishment cultivator and a cloaked Qi Refining cultivator arrived together at Primal Treasure Peak and made their way to where the welcoming cultivators were stationed. They handed over their invitations and were promptly escorted to a magically created stone pavilion on the mountain to wait.

 

The two individuals were Zhou Chun and his uncle, Zhou Jiarui, traveling all the way from the Nine Peaks. Stepping inside the pavilion, they found it spacious but already filled with twenty to thirty people waiting in advance. Most of them were Foundation Establishment cultivators, while Qi Refining cultivators like Zhou Chun were rare enough to count on one hand.

 

They should be like him, brought here by their elders to broaden their horizons. Regardless of who they were, all the cultivators present covered their faces with various items to hide their identities, fearing recognition.

 

When the uncle-nephew figures entered the hall, the cultivators already seated barely glanced up, resuming their meditation. The two didn’t make any attempts to greet anyone either. They simply found an empty spot and sat down cross-legged, joining the waiting game.

 

After a long wait, the number of cultivators gathered in the hall exceeded one hundred. It was then that a cold voice finally echoed from outside.

 

“It is time, fellow cultivators; you may now come out and board the ship to depart,” the voice announced.

 

At these words, the assembly within the stone chamber sprang to their feet and hurried out into the open air.

 

Before them loomed a massive black galley, its hull stretched nearly thirty-three meters in length, hovering motionless in mid-air. The sight of it was awe-inspiring—a vessel designed not for the seas but for the skies.

 

“Among third-grade flying artifacts, this galley’s value is comparable to several third-grade offensive magic items combined,” Zhou Jiarui whispered into Zhou Chun’s ear. His voice, carefully altered to avoid detection, carried an air of wonder.

 

He mused aloud, as if explaining something intricate or expressing personal astonishment.

 

Fortunately, similar exclamations were not uncommon among the crowd, so their words went unnoticed.

 

A robed figure emerged on the deck, their face obscured by a black hood. They gestured for the group to board, and one by one, the cultivators ascended the ship. The vessel’s hull was wide, its interior resembling a large ferry, spacious enough to comfortably accommodate several hundred passengers without feeling cramped.

 

Unlike ordinary galleys, this flying vessel lacked individual cabins. Instead, its vast hold offered ample room for all, much like the river passenger ships Zhou Chun had encountered in his previous life. The openness of the space, combined with the grandeur of the ship itself, spoke volumes of its advanced design and immense value.

 

At this point, the great ship’s windows and doors were all sealed shut, leaving Zhou Chun and the others completely disconnected from the outside world, totally unaware of where the ship was heading.

 

After spending roughly four hours inside the ship, its cabin door finally opened once more. Upon stepping out, they found themselves in a vast chamber.

 

There, the masked cultivator who had summoned them earlier spoke in a serious tone, pointing in a direction: “Friends, follow this passage and you’ll arrive at the auction hall at the end.”

 

The group turned their attention to where he was indicating. In one corner of the chamber, a stone door stood open, its interior illuminated by the radiant glow of the Solar Stone casting light upon the underground passageway.

 

It wasn’t clear who had initiated it, but soon after, Zhou Chun and the others filed through the stone doorway into the passage one by one. Once all of them had entered, the door closed with a thunderous boom.

 

At this point, the group merely glanced back once before continuing forward.

 

Now, there were over a hundred people gathered here, all from Mist Province and the surrounding provinces.

 

The organizers of the underground auction had to be crazy if they thought of using the event as an excuse to harm these individuals. Such a move would bring severe backlash even against a major sect like the Green Lotus Monastery cult.

 

Thus, everyone in the room felt relatively secure regarding their safety at the underground auction.

 

After walking through the tunnel for roughly half an hour, they arrived at another vast underground chamber. The chamber was rectangular in shape, with one side elevated by half a meter, where five auctioneers stood behind the podium. The rest of the space was filled with mats laid out on the ground, meant for the attending cultivators to sit upon.

 

Zhou Chun and the others entered the chamber. They briefly glanced at the five auctioneers stationed at the front before finding seats among the empty spots.

 

Approximately an hour later, another forty or fifty cultivators arrived in their chamber. It was unclear where these newcomers had come from. Adding these individuals, the number of cultivators in the cave hall had already approached two hundred. Once this group settled down, one of the five black-clothed, masked figures on the auction platform finally stood up and made his way to the auction table.

 

Facing the seated crowd below, he bowed slightly and addressed them with a serious tone: “I am Jia Ming, the auctioneer for today’s event. I will now proceed to showcase the thirty items prepared by all parties involved.

 

“Should any of these items catch your interest,” he continued, “you may participate in the bidding process according to the rules.

 

“It is crucial to note that once a bid is made, it’s binding; there shall be no backing out.

 

“During the auction, monetary value supersedes everything else. Regardless of one’s background or achievements, you must refrain from flaunting influence over others or engaging in any form of intimidation or threats.

 

“I would also like to emphasize that prior to placing a bid, it is advisable to ensure you possess sufficient funds. Should there be any attempts at deception, not only will you lose the item, but also your life and possessions as the price for your lies.”

 

Having outlined all the auction rules, Jia Ming walked to the front of the stage, looking calm and composed. He gently patted the storage bag on his waist and took out a beautifully carved jade box. After placing the jade box on the table in front of him, he slowly opened the lid of the box, revealing a light blue pearl inside.

 

“This is a Blue Moon Spirit Pearl produced by a second-level Blue Moon Clam,” Jia Ming’s voice was clear and powerful. “It contains extremely rich and gentle water spiritual energy; whether it is for refining pills, refining tools, or treating certain special fire poisons, it has excellent effects.”

 

He held up the fist-sized pearl with one hand and showed it to the cultivators below. He didn’t need to deliberately activate his spiritual power; the pearl emanated a soft blue glow on its own, and the audience could sense the rich water spiritual energy within it.

 

After showing it for a while, Jia Ming carefully put the spirit pearl back into the jade box and closed the lid. Then, he made an inviting gesture: “The starting price of this item is 500 spirit coins, and each bid cannot be less than 50 spirit coins.”

 

His voice was firm and clear, as though he was announcing something of great importance.

 

The audience buzzed with excitement, clearly intrigued by the rare spirit pearl.

 

“I bid five hundred spirit coins for it.”

 

Hardly had Jia Ming finished speaking when an eager cultivator interrupted.

 

It remained uncertain whether this impulsive bidder genuinely needed the Blue Moon Spirit Pearl or if they were merely inflating the price at the auctioneers’ behest—a common tactic to drive up prices.

 

In any case, their offer hung in the air for a moment before others hesitated to match it.

 

After all, no matter how enticing Jia Ming’s words might have been, this was nothing more than a raw material extracted from a second-tier demon beast.

 

Such items were typically ignored unless they happened upon someone who truly needed them or someone clever enough to repurpose the pearl in ways that far exceeded its modest five hundred spirit coin value.

 

But this was business as usual.

 

If the Blue Moon Spirit Pearl was such a desirable raw material, why hadn’t the auction house processed it into pills or crafted it into a magical item for resale?

 

Wouldn’t that make it even more valuable?

 

After waiting for a bit with no one bidding, the Blue Moon Spirit Pearl was unexpectedly claimed by the first bidder at the starting price.

 

This wasn’t exactly a failed auction, but it set a bad precedent for the event.

 

Zhou Chun couldn’t see the auctioneer’s face, but he could tell the auctioneer wasn’t happy.

 

Sure enough, when presenting the second item, the auctioneer’s voice was noticeably more subdued:

 

“A set of portable superior first-grade array Phantom Trace Arrays, capable of protecting three hundred meters all around once activated. Its illusory techniques can easily deceive even the early Foundation Establishment’s cultivators’ Divine Sense, while also confusing and misleading the senses of anyone entering the array. It’s an essential item for temporary rest while traveling.”

 

Having finished his introduction, the auctioneer placed the array disk on the ground, then waved his hands to insert seven white flags into specific positions around it before proceeding to activate the array with a series of hand seals.

 

Immediately, a bright white light erupted from the array disk and flags, engulfing both the auctioneer and several cultivators below in its glow.

 

The stage became empty of all items, leaving only the illusory stone tables and other inanimate objects behind. Zhou Chun and the others observed that not even a Qi Refining cultivator like himself could detect anything amiss with their Divine Sense or through techniques such as Qi Sight. Even Zhou Jiarui, an early Foundation Establishment cultivator, could only barely sense something off when focusing his senses.

 

The intricate array’s mystique naturally piqued the interest of many cultivators. When the auctioneer finally dismantled the array and announced the starting price, bidding immediately broke out among several participants. The initial asking price of eight hundred spiritual coins escalated dramatically during fierce competition, ultimately settling at one thousand four hundred fifty spiritual coins.

 

Zhou Chun pondered over the array’s popularity, his thoughts drifting back to the array formation tools he had acquired three years earlier from a black-robed elder of the Dragon Subduing Sect. Since those tools were confiscated by Second Elder Zhou Chongshan for research, no word had been heard from him since. He couldn’t help but wonder how far he had progressed in his investigations.

 

Compared to tools, which could be used immediately after being refined, arrays seemed a bit more complex and troublesome to assemble and control. Without knowledge of the arts required to activate and manipulate the array, even having a complete set of array artifacts would be rendered useless. In such cases, it was necessary to hand the tools over to an array master who could decipher them, deduce their functions, and determine proper usage methods.

 

The auctioneer’s confidence soared after successfully selling the second treasure. He wasted no time in presenting the third item: a demon beast egg, specifically that of a flying demon beast known as the Flame Eagle. Although the Flame Eagle was a lesser demon beast, its adult form possessed greater strength than a Steel Plume Falcon, and it could carry passengers while flying, making it an excellent mount and combat companion.

 

Zhou Chun’s interest was piqued when he saw the egg. For a moment, he almost considered purchasing it himself. However, remembering that his own Silver Thunder Python would be capable of flight once it reached second-grade, he decided against it.

 

In the end, he could only watch as this item was bought by a certain Foundation Establishment cultivator for twelve hundred spirit coins.

 

Then the fourth and fifth treasures, both of which were second-grade artifacts, were each auctioned for more than two thousand spirit coins.

 

The sixth treasure was an alchemy furnace, which was also auctioned for two thousand seven hundred spirit coins.

 

The seventh treasure was a seven-hundred-year-old Wind Bamboo Grass, which could not be refined into medicine and had a rare use, and was eventually bought for one thousand three hundred spirit coins.

 

The eighth treasure was a bottle of pills that could refine the spiritual power of an early Foundation Establishment cultivator; there were only five pills, but they were sold at a price of two thousand and one hundred spirit coins. Each was worth as much as a superior first-grade upper-grade artifact as the Thousand Hills Seal.

 

When it came to the ninth treasure, it was much more interesting.

 

The auctioneer reached out and slapped his storage bag; he took out a square wooden box and put it on the table, then opened the box and took out a pair of folded-up exquisite wings.

 

They looked like bat wings, green and black. It had silver carvings and green runes inscribed on it, making the original hideous wings become mysterious and elegant.

 

The auctioneer approached his presentation with a different tone this time, choosing not to demonstrate the item’s effects but instead unfolding the wings for everyone to inspect. He began his explanation:

 

“Implement art. I assume some of our more seasoned cultivators are familiar with this term. What we have here is an inferior second-grade implement, the Blue Bat Wings.

 

“For Qi Refining cultivators, using this will grant you a flight speed comparable to that of a Wind Travel Talisman, with an extremely long duration. For Foundation Establishment cultivators, it will significantly enhance your aerial mobility and endurance.

 

“Furthermore, being a brand-new implement, it guarantees at least three uses without any issues.”

 

After detailing its capabilities, he refolded the wings and placed them back into their wooden case. He then spoke with a note of seriousness: “Due to its unique nature, we won’t demonstrate its effects today. However, rest assured, this auction house never deceives our clients. You may bid with confidence.

 

“Starting bid is twelve hundred spirit coins, with increments of no less than one hundred each.”

 

The auctioneer’s voice carried authority as he announced the terms.

 

“That’s way too expensive!” A chorus of disbelief erupted around the room.

 

Zhou Chun’s heart skipped a beat at the thought of acquiring something that could save him in dire times. But the price tag was daunting—it wasn’t just about having the money; it was about whether it was worth the investment.

 

With heavy reluctance, he watched as the bidding escalated, ultimately selling for eighteen hundred spirit coins to an undisclosed buyer.

 

When he saw the pill, Zhou Chun clearly heard his uncle Zhou Jiarui shout out the words Foundation Establishment Pill in a low voice.

 

Zhou Jiarui had taken a Foundation Establishment Pill to successfully build his foundation. Of course he’d recognize it.

 

The auctioneer on the stage, as expected, quickly confirmed this point.

 

“There’s no need to introduce this treasure, one Foundation Building Pill. Starting price four thousand spirit coins, each increase shall not be less than two hundred spirit coins.”