Cultivation Begins From The Desert Chapter 317 - 304: Fiery Sun Divine Iron [Celebrating 1 Mill

After nearly two monts of haggling, Zhouyang finally left the shop with a pained expression on his face.

Judging by his pained look, it’s clear that he did manage to get what he wanted in the end.

However, the cost of exchanging for the "Illusory Cloud Ship" was not insignificant.

To exchange for this Magical Artifact, he traded the only Tier Five Spirit Elixir he had, the "Thousand-year-old Earth Polyporus" that Huang Yi had previously offered, to the shop owner.

It’s hard to say whether he gained or lost in this transaction.

If judged purely by value, the three-thousand-year-old "Thousand-year-old Earth Polyporus" is definitely worth more than a Tier Four Lower-Grade Flying Spiritual Artifact.

But in terms of practicality, the "Illusory Cloud Ship" is evidently more useful to Zhouyang than the "Thousand-year-old Earth Polyporus."

This is the charm of bartering.

Cultivators barter not to earn Spirit Stones, but to find what they urgently need.

Especially at the level of Nascent Soul Stage Cultivators, ordinary Middle-grade Spirit Stones and Low-grade Spirit Stones are really just numbers to them.

If they could use Spirit Stones to buy a crucial treasure, those Nascent Soul Stage Cultivators wouldn’t hesitate to pay even if it ant a one, two, or even three to five tis premium.

With the acquisition of the "Illusory Cloud Ship," Zhouyang’s interest in shopping was piqued once again, and he continued to frequent various shops, hoping to find what he needed.

Unfortunately, until the big auction approached, he didn’t find the materials needed for refining his Lifebound Spiritual Artifact.

And by the ti he entered the auction venue, it was already eighty percent full, capable of holding thousands of people, which showed the influence of this big auction.

Zhouyang’s gaze swept across the auction venue, spotting so familiar figures, including both Xu Zhengyang and several stewards from the Profound Sun Pavilion, as well as cultivators like Duanmu Yong and "Fairy Yunxiang," whom he saw at a previous exchange eting.

But as the auction was about to begin, although Xu Zhengyang and others also noticed him, they rely nodded in greeting without engaging in further conversation.

After he entered the venue, it was less than two monts before the mist that had brought them into the "Illusion Hall" the other day reappeared.

However, unlike the previous experience in a grand and magnificently decorated hall, this ti the illusion they were in had transford into a blue sea with gentle ripples, and the cultivators participating in the auction stood in the water just like that.

"What a remarkable illusion!"

Zhouyang dipped his hand into the seawater, feeling a genuine wetness transmitted to his hand, then gently flared his nostrils, detecting the salty, briny scent lingering at his nose tip.

Illusions are all false, there’s no doubt about it.

But a masterful illusion can deceive one’s senses completely.

Just like the seawater Zhouyang touched now, if he hadn’t known beforehand that he was in an illusion, he would never have distinguished this water from real seawater.

He hadn’t tried it, but he was sure if he drank a mouthful of seawater, the sensation of drinking it would surely manifest in his mind.

But he didn’t take that action; soone else did.

"Ah, it’s really so salty—is this truly the seawater described in books?"

A female Foundation Establishnt Cultivator exclaid in astonishnt, opening her mouth and sticking out her tongue dramatically.

Whether it’s Zhouyang, who found himself in the Boundless Desert Sea, or the cultivators of the Liuyun Continent Cultivation Realm, more than ninety-nine percent of them have never seen the oceans of this world, their understanding coming only from the travelogues and autobiographies of senior cultivators.

Now finding themselves in seawater, even though they knew it was illusionary, many cultivators, like Granny Liu visiting the Grand View Garden, curiously scooped the seawater to "taste" its flavor.

Seeing this scene, Zhouyang was both amused and helpless.

However, he had to admit, the organizers of the auction were shrewd in business.

By transforming the illusion into an ocean that inland cultivators have never seen, they satisfied the desire of most cultivators to see the sea—sothing that cost nothing to execute yet readily garnered custor favor, which would elude ordinary people.

Because he had often seen the ocean in his past life, after the initial surprise, the ocean-sky illusion no longer interested him.

So he glanced at the water, using it as a mirror, to find that he had once again beco a rugged-looking middle-aged man with the aura of a Seventh-Layer Foundation Establishnt Cultivator.

"Welco, fellow Daoists, to attend this grand auction. I am Yun Yiyi, the auctioneer for today’s event."

Just as Zhouyang was examining his appearance in the illusionary mirror, a light and ethereal pleasant female voice suddenly resonated through the illusion.

He looked up towards the sound to find an unexpected cloud platform above the sea, where a graceful and stunningly beautiful young woman appeared.

Gazing at the young woman on the cloud platform, Zhouyang couldn’t help but compare her to his own Dao Companion, Xiao Ying.

As a result, he discovered with so regret that in terms of appearance and figure, Xiao Ying should be no less than this woman nad Yun Yiyi, but in terms of temperant, Xiao Ying was far behind.

This woman nad Yun Yiyi might be the most fitting definition of "Fairy" he had ever seen in his life.

The ethereal and otherworldly aura she possessed, coupled with the cloud-covered high platform, made her seem like an immortal descending into the mortal realm, worthy of admiration from afar but not to be profaned.

And just as Zhouyang was captivated by the beauty and aura of the woman on stage, the woman nad Yun Yiyi, without a wasted word, directly took out the treasure for auction.

"For today’s grand auction, our trading group has prepared eighty-one precious treasures for all Daoist friends."

"Now, let introduce to all Daoist friends the first treasure, the rare deep-sea wonder [Thousand-Year Clam Pearl]!"

With an ethereal and lodious voice, Yun Yiyi raised her jade-like hand, and in it appeared a jade box. She used her other jade-like hand to unseal the Spirit Talisman sealing the Spiritual Qi of the treasure and then opened the jade box to reveal the true form of the treasure within.

Zhouyang fixed his gaze and saw that within the jade box was a pearl the size of an adult’s fist, moon-white in color.

Yun Yiyi extended her jade hand, took the pearl from the jade box, and cast a bit of magical power onto it, causing the pearl to imdiately emit a brilliant radiance like moonlight.

From that brilliant radiance, Zhouyang felt an incomparably pure and refined strong spiritual power.

At this mont, Yun Yiyi used her delightful and pleasing voice to introduce the origin of the treasure in her hand.

"In the deep sea, there is a type of giant clam that only surfaces on nights of the full moon to absorb the moonlight power to enhance its cultivation. This [Thousand-Year Clam Pearl] is a precious spiritual object ford by a Tier Five Clam Demon absorbing a thousand years of moonlight power, combined with its own water spiritual power, making it even more precious than an ordinary Tier Five Demon Pill!"

"The Clam Demon is proficient in illusion techniques and water elent divine techniques, and this clam pearl is the perfect material for water elent cultivators to refine lifebound spiritual artifacts of the pearl category. This item is only found in the deep sea and is rarely seen even once in a thousand years in the Liuyun Continent Cultivation Realm, so any Daoist friends in need must not miss it."

After introducing the origin of the pearl, she returned it to the jade box and then, with a slight parting of her lips, announced the starting bid: "The starting bid for the [Thousand-Year Clam Pearl] is 200,000 low-grade spirit stones, with each incrent not less than 5,000 spirit stones. Daoist friends may now start bidding!"

"210,000 spirit stones!"

"230,000 spirit stones!"

"270,000 spirit stones!"

...

As soon as Yun Yiyi’s words fell, the sound of bids echoed continuously.

Indeed, as she herself ntioned, the "Thousand-Year Clam Pearl," such a rare deep-sea treasure, is truly hard to co by in the Liuyun Continent Cultivation Realm, so those in need certainly wouldn’t mind sparing a few spirit stones to obtain it.

Thus, the price of this treasure soared all the way up, finally settling at the staggering price of 420,000 low-grade spirit stones!

The price of the first treasure doubled the starting bid, undoubtedly a good on. Even Yun Yiyi, a woman of ethereal disposition, couldn’t help but reveal a faint smile on her charming face after announcing the closing of the bid.

Then she raised her jade hand again and took out the second treasure for auction.

"Now auctioning the second treasure, the exotic treasure [Celestial Thunder Magnet Stone] from the restricted area Thunder Marsh in the Donghua Continent Cultivation Realm, where celestial thunder endlessly rages year-round. This [Celestial Thunder Magnet Stone], continually nourished by heavenly thunder power, is an excellent material for refining thunder attribute magical artifacts... starting bid at 150,000 low-grade spirit stones, each incrent not less than 3,000 spirit stones!"

"The fourth treasure, an exclusive secret elixir [Life-extending Golden Pill] crafted by the top sect Longevity Hall of the Donghua Continent, can extend life for nine days for those below the Nascent Soul cultivation who consu it as long as they have a breath left, and it also possesses miraculous effects of regrowing severed limbs and reviving from deadly situations. Starting bid at 250,000 low-grade spirit stones, each incrent not less than 5,000 spirit stones!"

"The eighth treasure, a Tier Five Lower Grade Magical Artifact [Cold Ice Chilong Mace], refined by a Tier Five Refining Master using a spine section of a Tier Five Dragon Descendant Demon Beast [Cold Qilin] and a Tier Five Spiritual Object [Thousand-Year Cold Iron], capable of freezing hundreds of miles upon a single strike... starting bid at 300,000 low-grade spirit stones, each incrent not less than 10,000 spirit stones!"

...

...

The grand auction truly lives up to its na, as each treasure Yun Yiyi presented was worth tens of thousands of spirit stones, with ordinary Tier Four Spiritual Objects having no qualification to appear in such an auction.

Regarding the quality of the treasures, this auction was far superior to the Immortal Sun City auction Zhouyang had attended in the past.

But of course, that’s to be expected, as even though the Immortal Sun City auction had garnered a grand spectacle during Master Cyan Yang’s Nascent Soul Ceremony, only the Profound Sun Immortal Sect stepped up to offer treasures for sale.

However, today’s grand auction was supported by dozens of sects from the Donghua Continent Cultivation Realm, with each sect owning shares in the East Splendor United Trading Group, contributing one Tier Five treasure per sect amounting to dozens of treasures.

Though the treasures were excellent, Zhouyang held back and didn’t bid.

Although he had quite a number of spirit stones, judging by the transaction prices of various treasures at the auction, he could only purchase two treasures at most, so he had to reserve them for crucial monts.

He waited until the auctioneer Yun Yiyi brought out the thirty-second treasure to finally make his move.

"The thirty-second treasure is the Tier Five Spiritual Object [Fiery Sun Divine Iron], a top-grade material for refining fire attribute lifebound spiritual artifacts, whose value requires no further words from . Starting bid at 280,000 low-grade spirit stones, each incrent not less than 5,000 spirit stones!"

On the cloud-covered high platform, Yun Yiyi waved her jade hand, and a human-head-sized piece of scarlet tal was suspended in mid-air, lifted by her magical power.