Li Tan felt a tingle of excitement, but suddenly he seemed to recall something. A smile appeared on his face as he pressed the button of the amplifier beside his chair, allowing his voice to be heard outside.
“Would you consider bartering?”
Nalan Xiao was momentarily stunned, looking up toward the VIP room where Li Tan was located, puzzled. He should know everyone who possessed a Black Gold Card. Yet why was this young man’s voice unfamiliar to him?
Moreover, why barter?
It was merely sixty purple gold coins. Why would someone with a Black Gold Card choose to barter?
Saying he couldn’t afford the money was just too absurd.
Sixty gold coins were a lot, but for a pill master, it shouldn’t be a problem.
Who else but a pill master would buy a pill cauldron?
Shaking his head slightly, Nalan Xiao regained his composure and replied, “Please wait a moment, sir. I need to consult the owner of the item first.”
“Alright.”
Li Tan’s voice sounded again. Almost everyone in the auction hall turned their gaze toward that VIP room.
It was the first bid from a VIP, and it had caught everyone’s curiosity.
They all stretched their necks forward, but it was all in vain; nothing could be seen from outside, not even a silhouette.
Soon, a maid whispered something into Nalan Xiao’s ear and then left. Nalan Xiao then said to Li Tan, “Okay, but we need to see what you are offering.”
Without hesitation, Li Tan replied, “An Earth attribute Xuan-tier low-level martial arts technique, ‘Berserk Mountain!'”
As soon as the words left his mouth, the auction hall exploded with reactions.
“A Xuan-tier low-level martial arts technique to exchange for this unwanted pill cauldron? I must have heard wrong.”
“Heavens, no one was even competing for it. Why would someone use a martial arts technique of this level to exchange!”
“I must have a problem with my ears. I need to see a doctor immediately.”
“Almost all the reactions were filled with shock.
Meanwhile, in one of the other VIP rooms, an old man with white hair stared in the direction of Li Tan and muttered, “Who exactly is the person who bid for the pill cauldron?”
“Could it be one of our Dan Pavilion’s seniors?”
A boy about eleven or twelve years old guessed.
The old man shook his head, “No, impossible.”
“Why?”
“Near the Chize area, the only one with a Black Gold Card should be me. Even if there were people from other regions who came without prior notice, they wouldn’t use a Xuan-tier martial arts technique to barter. They could have simply charged it to the Dan Pavilion’s account, and the auction house wouldn’t have said a word.” The boy turned his head toward Li Tan’s direction, “How strange. If this senior has the Black Gold Card from the Norlan Auction House, he should be at least a Grade 3 pill master. Why hasn’t he registered with the Dan Pavilion?”
“Not sure. After the auction ends, we must find this person!”
The old man declared decisively.
On the auction stage, Nalan Xiao was stunned for a full five seconds before regaining his senses, forgetting even to call for a maid, he simply said, “Let me go check,” and ran off the stage. Moments later, he returned, and the answer was obvious.
Agreed.
The transaction was completed.
Li Tan leaned back in his chair, satisfied. His purpose for coming here today had been achieved. The last Xuan-tier low-level martial arts technique he bought cost two hundred and fifty gold coins. Exchanging it for a pill cauldron worth only sixty purple gold coins seemed like a loss at first glance, but it was not.
Firstly, the description Nalan Xiao gave about the pill cauldron’s functions was only partial. There was another feature, hard to detect by ordinary people: some complex patterns inside the cauldron, which appeared random but were actually ancient inscriptions left by sages, similar to codes.
Nowadays, there were very few people in the entire Jiuzhou who could understand these inscriptions.
Li Tan happened to be one of them.
These inscriptions were left by a Grade 6 pill master. Their function was to evade heavenly tribulations. A heavenly tribulation was something that cultivators would attract when breaking through certain cultivation stages or when creating certain extraordinary pills.
However, with these inscriptions, the heavenly tribulation summoned during pill refinement would either disappear completely, be deceived into dissipating, or have its power reduced.
Even the pre-reincarnation Li Tan would have been extremely envious of this pill cauldron. Exchanging a Xuan-tier martial arts technique someone else gave him for it—how could he not be happy?
He felt he had made a killing.
Moreover, if used properly, these inscriptions could greatly assist in pill refinement. However, ordinary people couldn’t use them, and appraisers naturally couldn’t discern their true functions.
After acquiring the pill cauldron, Li Tan was already somewhat reluctant to stay here any longer. The remaining items, including the so-called highlight pieces, had lost much of their appeal to him. However, leaving at this moment would attract too much attention, so he decided to stay. After all, the following proceedings wouldn’t take up much time.
Moreover, his own supreme-grade “Spiritual Clarity Pill” had yet to be auctioned.
The tenth auction item, the pill cauldron, pushed the entire auction hall’s atmosphere to its peak, causing many people’s attention to shift away from the next auction item.
The next item was Li Tan’s premium “Spiritual Clarity Pill.”
To be honest, when the red cloth was lifted and Nalan Xiao announced the top-grade “Spiritual Clarity Pill,” everyone was momentarily stunned.
Although the Supreme Pills were precious, the “Spiritual Clarity Pills” were only Grade 1. Why did they appear as the eleventh item?
Logically, it should have been the first item.
Li Tan was somewhat puzzled too, but Nalan Xiao’s words dispelled his doubts.
“Ladies and gentlemen, although what we are auctioning is a premium ‘Spiritual Clarity Pill,’ the customer who purchases this pill will also receive some additional gifts—other pills produced alongside this one.”
“Three high-grade, two mid-grade, and one low-grade Spiritual Clarity Pills, totaling six pills. The starting bid price is five purple gold coins.”
An Ultimate Spiritual Clarity Pill was worth about two purple gold coins. Five was definitely too high. However, once this was announced, the doubts and murmurs in the hall immediately quieted down.
“Didn’t I remember that a single furnace could only produce about eight pills at most?”
“Yeah, who could be so terrifying to ruin only one pill?”
“And the other pills’ quality isn’t low either. This senior pill master who refined them must be no ordinary person,” some voices emerged.
Meanwhile, the white-haired old man in the VIP room was also shocked.
“If I’m not mistaken, these pills should be the work of the person who previously exchanged the pill cauldron with a Xuan-tier martial arts technique!”
“Shall we buy it?”
The boy asked.
The old man nodded, “Buy it!”
So the boy pressed the amplifier button and, in his childish voice, said, “This Spiritual Clarity Pill is claimed by our Dan Pavilion. I hope all the uncles and elders will give us some face.”
After speaking, the boy looked at the old man.
After a moment of silence, the old man quoted a price, “Fifty purple gold coins!”
The auction hall erupted once again. Even the usually calm Nalan Xiao displayed a somewhat flustered expression.
Fifty purple gold coins for something worth only six—this was no less shocking than Li Tan’s previous bartering. However, the time it took for the crowd to calm down was much shorter than before, as most people understood that the old man wasn’t buying the Spiritual Clarity Pill itself but rather the favor of the pill master.
Inside the auction room, Li Tan slightly furrowed his brows. Indeed, just as he had expected, the knocking sound came not long after.
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