In the blink of an eye, another week had passed. Ye Chen had nearly cleared out everything he no longer needed. Adding to that the rewards from Yun Qianyue, his high-grade spiritual stones had skyrocketed to a total of seven hundred and twenty!
What did that an? The average Foundation Establishnt cultivator would never accumulate so many spiritual stones in their lifeti.
Today was the day of the auction. Heavenly Evolution Pavilion's auction was a legitimate, highly secure event. With the backing of Heavenly Evolution Holy Land, they had no fear of disruptions. The venue was fortified with arrays that prevented any spirit sense probing, and there were nurous precautions in place for entry.
As long as bidders masked their identities and didn't reveal themselves, there was little to fear from bandit cultivators. The safety asures were top-notch.
Nurous cultivators were present, ranging from Qi Refining to Foundation Establishnt. They were already filtering into the venue.
Ye Chen had arrived early and taken his seat in the private box. The auction hall was located underground, and it seed that a spatial array had been used, making the area vast beyond expectations.
Most cultivators were dressed in black robes and wearing masks. However, a few local cultivators were openly displaying their faces, seemingly unconcerned about being targeted.
Ye Chen sat in his box, observing the gathered cultivators while the system's prompts continued to sound intermittently.
There was even a fifty-fold multiplier among the female cultivators present. It was clear that Divine Will City was full of talented individuals. The system cooldown had finally ended today. But Ye Chen wasn't about to run down there to hand out gifts just yet. When noon arrived, the auction began promptly.
The shopkeeper of Heavenly Evolution Pavilion stood on stage, smiling as he addressed the crowd. "The auction officially begins!"
"I won't bother explaining the rules, as I'm sure none of you would make the mistake of bidding recklessly without the ans to pay," he said, his tone casual.
"To save everyone's ti, I'll get straight to the point! First up is the most valuable item of today's auction. The Four-tier Golden Core breakthrough thod. It cos with the necessary spiritual items, and those who succeed in the breakthrough could reach a Four-tier Golden Core. If the cultivator has a strong foundation, they might even reach a Five-tier or Six-tier Golden Core!
"It's even been docunted that so Heavenly Evolution Holy Land cultivators used the Four-tier Golden Core breakthrough thod to achieve a Six-tier Golden Core. The starting bid is five hundred high-grade spiritual stones…"
Upon hearing this, Ye Chen was stunned. He had already seen the Golden Core breakthrough thod listed in the auction catalog.
However, on one hand, it was far too expensive—he simply couldn't afford it. On the other hand, he didn't need it for the ti being, so he hadn't considered it seriously. But now, the most valuable item of the entire auction was being brought out first? This was quite different from what he had read in his cultivation novels.
However, Ye Chen quickly realized that it made sense to auction the most valuable items first. After all, if the rare items were left for the end, cultivators might hesitate to bid on the earlier lots for fear of not having enough spiritual stones for the most valuable items. This would result in the prices of the earlier items being affected.
By putting the rarest items up first, the winner would be decided, and the remaining participants would simply use their remaining spiritual stones to buy what they needed, thus driving up the prices of the other lots as well.
This strategy seed to follow the principles of economics. It made sense. The Golden Core breakthrough thod was sothing Ye Chen didn't need for now. There weren't many people bidding for it—only about a dozen or so.
But the competition was intense, and the price steadily climbed. In the end, it was bid up to five thousand high-grade spiritual stones before being claid by a Golden Core elder from Divine Will Sect.
Yes, the person revealed their identity. Without that, the price likely would have risen even more. Such competition was probably the result of large families and major sects fighting for it. And Divine Will Sect, being the local dominant force, probably didn't want to upset anyone by letting it go to soone else.
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The shopkeeper, though only at the Foundation Establishnt stage, couldn't hide his displeasure. With a cold expression, he started the next round of bidding. The auction proceeded quickly, and it wasn't long before the fourth item ca up.
"Next, we have the Star Thunder Sound Foundation Establishnt thod from the ancient sect, Starry Sect. This is a mid-tier Earth-grade cultivation thod. This thod is extraordinary. After cultivating it, one can use the power of the stars to give birth to star thunder within the body, making the user's power unmatched, with combat abilities far surpassing others.
"If cultivated by those with certain special spiritual roots, the effects are even more miraculous! This is a one-ti-use thod and can only be used by one person. The starting bid: One hundred high-grade spiritual stones."
As the shopkeeper's words echoed, a voice imdiately rang out, "Two hundred high-grade spiritual stones…"
The voice didn't try to hide its tone, sounding cold and aloof, with a regal air, almost like that of a queen!
At this mont, Ye Chen finally encountered a cultivation thod. He was about to raise his bid, but his expression shifted. The system prompt suddenly sounded in his mind.
"System has detected a feedback target!"
"An Miaoli: Two hundred tis feedback!"
What the hell…
Ye Chen's eyes widened. Two hundred tis? The highest multiplier Ye Chen had seen up to now was his master, Gu Yun Yun, with a full one hundred tis. That was already the pinnacle of the system.
Now, though, another female cultivator with a two hundred tis multiplier had appeared? This was outrageous. Moreover, she just so happened to need this Foundation Establishnt thod.
All the conditions made Ye Chen's heart race. He had originally planned to bid for this Foundation Establishnt thod and gift it to Yao Xi.
But now, Ye Chen had a new plan. However, the key was to first secure the auction for this Foundation Establishnt thod. There were many participants in the auction, as Foundation Establishnt thods were in high demand by both families and sects.
Unfortunately, this was a one-ti-use thod. If it weren't for that, the bidding would have been even more intense. The price quickly rose to five hundred high-grade spiritual stones.
"Six hundred high-grade spiritual stones!" Ye Chen called out, directly raising the bid by one hundred.
At this price point, most of the original bidders had fallen silent and stopped participating. While the mid-tier Earth-grade Foundation Establishnt thod was precious, Divine Will Sect had its own Earth-grade low-tier thods that could be studied an unlimited number of tis.
The bidders were mostly from large families affiliated with Divine Will Sect, and their disciples could enter Divine Will Sect. There was no need to invest such a huge amount of high-grade spiritual stones for a one-ti-use thod.
The bidding continued, and the female cultivator who had initially raised the bid didn't back down.
With an unstoppable determination, she called out, "Six hundred and fifty high-grade spiritual stones."
Ye Chen felt a little uneasy. Who exactly was this cultivator nad An Miaoli? How could she be so wealthy? Was the amount he had prepared enough?
Though he felt a little nervous, Ye Chen still maintained his composure and countered, "Seven hundred!"
There was a mont of awe in the crowd.
The female voice responded a little slower this ti: "Seven hundred and ten high-grade spiritual stones."
Hearing this, Ye Chen felt a bit relieved. It seed he wasn't the only one feeling pressured. That made things easier.
"Seven hundred and fifty!" Ye Chen called out without hesitation, his tone still as firm as ever.
This ti, the female voice did not respond.
After the shopkeeper on stage asked three tis with a smile, he finally announced, "The Star Thunder Sound Foundation Establishnt thod has been sold to Fellow Daoist Ye!"
In the private box, Ye Chen sighed in relief as he had managed to scare off his competitor. He began rummaging through his storage ring, looking for items to make up the remaining amount.
Ye Chen only had seven hundred and twenty high-grade spiritual stones, but that wasn't a problem. With a few items to exchange, he would easily make up the difference.
Exchanging items for debt was a common practice at Heavenly Evolution Pavilion, but the value would be at a discount—around seventy percent of the market value. It wasn't ideal, but it would work.
Before long, the deacon arrived and knocked on the door. He didn't find it strange when Ye Chen wanted to use items to make up the thirty high-grade spiritual stones.
Soon, a qualified appraiser was called in.
"Six top-grade Foundation Establishnt Pills? Unfortunately, they've been stored for too long, and the dicinal power has faded by a fifth, but they're still decent..." the appraiser said.
"Not many alchemists can refine top-grade Foundation Establishnt Pills. I'll value them at twenty high-grade spiritual stones. It's a sha they're not perfect. Otherwise, they would be worth at least fifty high-grade spiritual stones."
The top-grade Foundation Establishnt Pills were highly valued, especially since they could prevent damage to one's vitality in case of a breakthrough failure. They were highly sought after by large families and sects. After all, even prodigies might fail to break through. Having top-grade Foundation Establishnt Pills made breakthroughs more reliable.
Ye Chen easily made up the thirty high-grade spiritual stones, using the six specially aged pills and a few system rewards he had bought earlier.
With the Star Thunder Sound Foundation Establishnt thod now in hand, Ye Chen smiled. The primary goal of his trip to Divine Will City had finally been achieved.
At that mont, there was another knock at the door of the private box. The deacon entered, speaking calmly. "Fellow Daoist, the cultivator who was bidding against you earlier is an elder of Divine Will Sect. She wishes to speak with you… I am rely passing on the ssage! There's no need to worry about accepting or your safety. Heavenly Evolution Pavilion will never reveal any guest's identity."
Ye Chen raised an eyebrow at this.
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