Chapter Fifty: The Stunning Appearance of a Spiritual Artifact

“Next, we come to our second item for auction—a hundred-year-old Soul Seizing Grass. Its uses are well known to all, and I need not elaborate further. The starting bid is fifty low-grade spirit stones. Let the bidding begin,” Qingying announced.

“I bid one hundred low-grade spirit stones! I am Meng Ke, the young master of the Meng family, one of the four great clans. I hope everyone will allow me to acquire this Soul Seizing Grass, and I will be most grateful,” called out a voice from Room Three. Lin Yanghao thought to himself, this too is a scion of a noble house, but how vast the differences can be between people! Contemplating the young master of the Meng family, Lin Yanghao’s face twisted into an expression of deep dislike.

After Meng Ke’s bid, no one else offered a higher price. Lin Yanghao understood why: the hall was filled with unaffiliated cultivators or those without status in their clans and sects, all fearful of retribution from the Meng family and thus unwilling to bid.

“Is there truly no one else? One hundred low-grade spirit stones, once. One hundred, twice. Two hundred, thrice. Sold!” After a while, seeing that no further bids came, Qingying reluctantly awarded the Soul Seizing Grass to Room Three, though inwardly she bore a grudge against the bidder.

Soul Seizing Grass was a rare spiritual herb, the main ingredient for crafting Soul Seizing Pills. Places where such spiritual herbs grew were often guarded by spirit beasts. Even ordinary spiritual herbs were precious, let alone one that had grown for a hundred years. Its value was self-evident.

Soul Seizing Pills aided cultivators in breaking through bottlenecks; a single pill fetched thousands of spirit stones. One Soul Seizing Grass could be refined into a furnace of pills. Though the success rate per batch was not high, five pills per furnace was quite achievable, and thus the herb itself often commanded a price of over a thousand spirit stones. This was why Qingying was so angry.

The auction continued with several magical artifacts and various pills, and soon the event approached its end. Lin Yanghao glanced at Tan Zhuo, whose face was full of anticipation. Lin Yanghao wondered if there was something Tan Zhuo desired among the auction items.

“Next, we have an item beyond price—a Foundation Establishment Pill. I suspect most here have yet to reach foundation establishment, so I will waste no words. The starting bid is five hundred low-grade spirit stones. Let the bidding commence!” Qingying said, her voice tinged with excitement.

“What! A Foundation Establishment Pill! I’ll bid everything I own to win it!” shouted the burly man who had earlier bought the Celestial Star Sword.

“Well, it comes down to who has the most spirit stones!” retorted a middle-aged man, unwilling to be outdone.

Even Lin Yanghao felt a surge of excitement upon seeing the Foundation Establishment Pill. It was the treasure he needed to advance, but he only possessed eleven spirit stones in total. He felt deeply the importance of wealth; without it, progress in cultivation was nearly impossible.

“The books were right: resources, methods, companions, and place—each is essential, and resources are listed first for good reason. I have the other three, but when it comes to resources, I am powerless,” Lin Yanghao thought helplessly.

---

“I bid five hundred low-grade spirit stones!”

“I bid six hundred!”

“I bid one thousand!”

...

“I bid two thousand!”

“Five thousand! That’s my final offer!” the burly man shouted, growing desperate.

After his call, those around glanced at each other—none could offer a higher price. As expected, the Foundation Establishment Pill was won by the burly man.

“Qingying thanks everyone for supporting Immortal Remedies Pavilion’s auction. There is one final item before we conclude, and I believe many of you have come for this grand finale,” Qingying said.

“What? There’s still a final item?”

“The Foundation Establishment Pill was already a rare treasure—could this last item be even better?”

No sooner had Qingying spoken than the audience buzzed with speculation. Even Lin Yanghao was curious about the grand finale. It seemed Tan Zhuo and the other great clans had come for this very item.

“Since everyone is so eager, I won’t keep you waiting. The final item is a rare spiritual artifact, and not just any—it’s a top-grade spiritual weapon, an offensive artifact called the Flame Sword. Opportunities like this are rare indeed. Starting bid: ten thousand spirit stones!” Qingying declared without further suspense.

---

The room fell silent. Though envy burned in the eyes of many, few had the means to compete for such a treasure.

“I bid one hundred mid-grade spirit stones!” The first bid came from Meng Ke, who had earlier seized the Soul Seizing Grass.

“I bid two hundred!” Room One quickly followed.

“Brother Lin, I’ve come specifically for this top-grade spiritual artifact. If I manage to win it, there will surely be those who try to snatch it from us. When that happens, we’ll head northwest—my clan’s people will be waiting to help us,” Tan Zhuo whispered suddenly to Lin Yanghao.

“I bid five hundred mid-grade spirit stones!” Tan Zhuo turned and called out, staking everything he had.

...

After several rounds of bidding, the price soared to a staggering two thousand mid-grade spirit stones—far beyond the actual value of the artifact. Yet a treasure of such rarity drew fierce contention from the great clans.

“I bid two thousand five hundred!” Tan Zhuo took a deep breath, wagering all his spirit stones.

“Young master, shall we bid further? Our remaining stones are few,” whispered a retainer in Meng Ke’s room.

“Oh? Then let’s stop. After he wins, we’ll ambush him and seize the artifact without spending a single stone! Hahaha!” Meng Ke burst into wild laughter at the thought.