Chapter 62 - 62 62 Auction

62: Chapter 62 Auction 62: Chapter 62 Auction The price kept climbing higher and higher, and the Sea Spirit Herb had already soared to 10,000 Spirit Stones.

Family Head Huang silently sighed to himself, realizing that the cultivators around here were all quite wealthy.

“As a family, and as a clan leader, I don’t feel as well-off as they are,” he thought.

It made sense—they didn’t have the burden of a family to support and could spend as much as they earned.

Using his spiritual power to scan the area, he found that every cultivator present was of a higher cultivation than him.

If he bought the Spirit Grass and spent a fortune, he might be killed for his treasure as soon as he left the auction.

This trip would have been better off not taken.

Just as Family Head Huang was about to give up, he discreetly observed the people around him.

However, the rules of this place made it impossible to clearly see the faces of the people inside because of illusions.

He could only watch as a spectator, something he wouldn’t normally do in his free time.

But today, for some reason, he felt that this place was particularly strange, as if something or someone was attracting him.

Family Head Huang didn’t understand this feeling, but he followed his heart.

He stayed seated, watching as the bidding for the Sea Spirit Herb reached 17,000 lower-grade Spirit Stones.

Just then, a man in the venue who had been still the whole time, raised his sign.

“Twenty thousand lower-grade Spirit Stones.”

Many people gasped at the bid.

Twenty thousand lower-grade Spirit Stones to buy a single Immortal Herb that hadn’t even been used in Alchemy was equivalent to 1,000 medium-grade treats or 100 high-grade Spirit Stones—truly an exorbitant price.

Some felt it was unnecessary and decided they would wait until they reached the required cultivation level to buy it.

Consequently, many gave up, leaving only one or two Nascent Soul Stage cultivators still competing with the man.

Eventually, as the price hit 25,000 lower-grade Spirit Stones and everyone else folded, the Sea Spirit Herb went to that man.

“Next up for auction is a type of Magnetic Trinket.

Its specialty lies in its ability to refine a Ghost Cultivator’s Treasure.

If you haven’t reached the Spirit Movement Stage or are already in the Spirit Movement Stage, Spirit Awakening Stage, and haven’t cultivated a Spirit Pill as a Ghost Cultivator, you can supplement your energy with the treasure refined from this Magnetic Trinket while resting, avoiding exposure to sunlight.

It can also be used to fight at night.

Moreover, with this Magnetic Trinket-refined treasure, even low-level Ghost Cultivators can travel during the day.”

With the auctioneer’s introduction, Family Head Huang’s spirits were lifted.

Wasn’t he precisely in need of some special materials to make unique magical treasures for his grandson to avoid dangers in the days to come?

“The starting bid for this Magnetic Trinket is 1,000 lower-grade Spirit Stones.”

After the auctioneer’s announcement, those interested in Artifact Refining or desiring to possess a Magical Treasure began to stir.

This time, Family Head Huang wanted to outbid them all.

It was a contest of Spirit Stones, was it?

He was determined to secure this treasure.

After all, he was the head of a first-rate family, possessing many top-grade Spirit Stones, not to mention a considerable amount of medium and lower-grade ones.

Although many had been supplied to his grandson and sent to his master over the years.

The Spirit Stone Mines owned by his family continuously produced high-quality Spirit Stones, so they truly didn’t lack in financial resources.

He hadn’t competed with others before because he felt that even if he won the auction, he wouldn’t have the means to protect the Spirit Grass.

But the Magnetic Trinket was different.

It was something that could give his family a new lease on life, and he was willing to risk everything to buy it.

There was someone in the venue who had bought the Sea Spirit Herb and hadn’t left.

He just frowned and observed quietly as others fought over the treasure.

After observing for a bit, he noticed there were no Ghost Cultivators in the auction hall.

Why were so many fighting over this Magnetic Trinket?

Could it be that these people were secretly refining soul artifacts, a kind of Spiritual Artifact that greatly damages one’s virtue?

Some even kill others to make magical treasures, using their victims’ souls as Artifact Spirits.

The man merely suspected and didn’t compete with the others.

“Ten thousand lower-grade Spirit Stones”

“Twenty thousand lower-grade Spirit Stones”

Seeing the bid reach twenty thousand, with others still vying for the item, Family Head Huang took note of the people.

Their cultivation was higher than his, but he sensed a gloomy aura around them.

He suspected that these people might be cultivating some sort of demonic magic.

He didn’t give up; such items were hard to find.

The auction presented items that weren’t typically accessible to ordinary people.

In the end, Family Head Huang purchased the Magnetic Trinket for thirty thousand Spirit Stones.

After making the purchase, he followed protocol and went to a concealed room to collect the item and make the payment.

Family Head Huang went into the dark room and took a box.

Upon opening it, he verified the contents—a rare Magnetic Trinket that resembled a metal but wasn’t one; it looked more like a type of meteorite.

He placed the box in his Storage Bag and left the place quietly.

He had initially thought about staying a while longer, but since he had completed his purchase, it was no longer necessary.

Family Head Huang thought he had left quietly without being followed, but out of caution, he took secret passages and left the small commoner village.

He summoned his flying staff and headed towards his home.

Suddenly, he sensed danger behind him.

So he changed direction, for danger was approaching and he must not lead it to his family.

Indeed…

“The one ahead, you can’t escape.

With your level of cultivation and all that money you’ve got, you’re just asking to be robbed…”

Family Head Huang looked back upon hearing the voice and realized that not just one, but several groups of people of higher cultivation than him were trailing him.

“Damn it, is it all just for buying a Magnetic Trinket?”

Indeed, it wasn’t safe to flaunt wealth.

Having walked the Martial World for over a hundred years, today might be the day he’d meet his end.

Family Head Huang slightly regretted not bringing the Golden Core Immortal Elder along.

If he had, he could have given them the item to carry away safely.

Then he thought, if he should die, his son could take over the family business, but if the three Immortal Elders died as well, their position as a first-rate family wouldn’t be secured.

What should I do?

There are two or three groups of people whose cultivation is even higher than mine.

What should I do?

I’ll have to spend money to avoid disaster!

Family Head Huang secretly placed the purchased Magnetic Trinket in another box and put the original trinket box out with another piece of artifact refining material roughly the same shape as the Magnetic Trinket.

“Immortal Elder, do you want money or the Magnetic Trinket I just sold?”

“Of course I want the money, and that kind of Magnetic Trinket material.”

“Immortal Elder, my cultivation isn’t as high as yours, I’ll give you the Magnetic Trinket and everything I have on me, please spare me, Immortal Elder.”

“Throw all your things over here, I’ll consider it.”

“Immortal Elder, you must keep your promise.”

Family Head Huang threw his Storage Bag to that Immortal Elder.

“Hmm, not bad.” The person checked the contents of the bag with spiritual power and saw that it indeed contained many Spirit Stones and the auction house’s box.

Upon opening the box, it was indeed artifact refining material.

While the Immortal Elder was examining the Storage Bag, Family Head Huang summoned the Reducing Tower and with a surge of spiritual energy thrust into it, the tower rapidly descended towards the ground.

Then he summoned another Magical Treasure, the Earth Drilling Dragon, and together with the treasure, he burrowed into the ground.

“You…” The treasure-snatching Immortal Elder did not expect the man with lower cultivation than his to have so many magical treasures; in just a breath’s time, he vanished without a trace.

Although he had the ability to catch up with this man, there were attacks from both sides hounding him.

“Hand over what you have.”

This man noticed that the attackers from the left and right were wearing the same clothes.

They might be together, and they each had a chilling, sinister aura.

“No way, I’ve just seized these items.

If you want them, you’ll have to taste my power.”

The two groups began fighting.

The Immortal Elder, receiving attacks from both sides, had his own treasures too: a Buddha Dust in his right hand and a ruler in his left hand.

During their battle, within 500 miles in the sky, nearby birds and raptors dared not fly through.

Wherever the magical treasures’ qi reached, fierce winds blew and the white clouds in the sky scattered outward while dark clouds covered the sun.

“This is bad, you’re Ghost Cultivators?” The Immortal Elder didn’t expect that the two he was fighting were not humans but had cultivated to the same Nascent Soul Stage as him, in the Heart Refinement Stage.

“Hahaha, you just realizing it now?”

“It’s a bit too late for him now.”

While the two Ghost Cultivators spoke, they launched even fiercer attacks.

Previously, their eyes had looked almost normal.

At this moment, high up in the gloomy clouds, their eyes were red.

“You…

thinking of killing me won’t be so easy, hahaha!”

The Immortal Elder took out a Jade Flute.

He channeled it towards the sky, and the dense clouds that filled the sky suddenly scattered, revealing the sunlight.

“Ah…!”

The Ghost Cultivators didn’t expect this man to possess such a treasure.

Caught off guard, the sun’s rays nearly blinded them.

They summoned Ghost Flames, intending to burn the Taoist to death.

“Hmph, taste my Bright Sun Fire.”

The Immortal Elder summoned a flame, and the two fires collided – one a grey fire tinged with smoke, the other a fire accompanied by sunlight.

The two types of fire struggled against each other.

Both parties leaped away from the fires.

The Ghost Cultivators’ fire gave the Immortal Elder a sensation of his soul being pulled from his body.

The Taoist’s fire made the Ghost Cultivators feel as though their cultivated physical forms might be extinguished.

In the sky, the “sizzling” collision of the fires sounded as if something were being burned, and there was a thick smell of smoke.

In the end, both parties were left badly injured from the fight; the Ghost Cultivators didn’t get the items.

The Immortal Elder, gravely injured, returned to his cave dwelling.

Enduring his wounded body, he poured out everything from the Storage Bag; it contained many Spirit Stones of high quality, useful for cultivation or as currency for transactions outside.

When he opened the box with the so-called Magnetic Trinket, he found that there was something odd about it; he couldn’t pinpoint the peculiarity, and he urgently needed to heal his serious injuries.

Once he had recovered, he took the strange Magnetic Trinket to the artifact refining place, seeking help in refining it.

“You say this should be a Magnetic Trinket?

It’s not, it’s material for refining Magical Treasures that can be used to make a flying ship.”

“What?

Impossible!

The auction house people definitely wouldn’t deceive us, could it be?”

The Immortal Elder recalled how the man had given him the items and then fled.

He had glanced at the contents of the box, which seemed similar in shape, and assumed it was the Magnetic Trinket.

“Damn it, the next time I see that guy, I’ll tear him to shreds.”

“Well, using this item to refine a flying ship is pretty good too!”

The artifact refiner didn’t know that the Immortal Elder had fought at the risk of his life for these items.

“I’ll give you Spirit Stones, just make sure the flying ship is well-crafted.”

After contemplating, the Immortal Elder thought that despite risking his life, he still acquired money and magical treasures, so he hadn’t suffered a great loss.

However, he had made enemies of the Ghost Cultivators!

In the future, they might meet again, alas…