Seeing the situation was getting out of control, the tall, thin man had shrewdly already stored the pair of puppet mechanism beasts into his storage pouch.
Now, seeing this burly man take out a black, seemingly worthless piece of scrap metal and trying to force him to produce the now greatly appreciated auction item, he couldn’t help but roll his eyes and say bluntly, “You’d better calm down! We will assess the value of your item ourselves, but for now, please return to your seat! Otherwise, our shop will consider you to be causing trouble and will not be polite!”
Upon hearing the tall, thin man’s threatening words, the burly man was initially furious.
What status did he hold? In his own sect, he was someone who could command a hundred responses with a single call. When had he ever suffered such humiliation? Immediately clenching his fists, he was about to erupt.
But when his gaze swept over the strange man wearing a cloth bag over his head, he noticed the other party was motionless, staring directly at him with a hint of schadenfreude in his eyes. This gave him pause. After a moment’s thought, he forcibly suppressed his rage, suddenly turned around, and returned to his seat.
Some cultivators who had been expecting a good show couldn’t help but feel disappointed.
The auction for the puppet beasts still had to continue! However, the black object had already been handed over to the trio sitting on the rosewood chairs. At that moment, they were discussing the item in low voices. Although their exact expressions couldn’t be seen due to their masks, their extremely cautious attitude was obvious to all the cultivators present.
After repeatedly examining the palm-sized, black, cast-iron-like object several times, the trio finally reached a consensus. Then, the black-robed man in the middle stood up and announced loudly, “One piece of high-grade iron essence, valued at two thousand spirit stones!” After saying this, he sat back down without another word.
“Iron essence?” Upon hearing these words, all the cultivators were inwardly shocked! Those who had been planning to bid immediately shut their mouths.
Everyone was astonished, thinking, Could this person be a high-level expert at the Core Formation stage? Otherwise, how could he have obtained iron essence?
This was a material for refining magic treasures that could only be extracted using the Core Formation stage’s Dan fire. Moreover, under normal circumstances, any cultivator who refined such material would immediately integrate it into their own magic treasure to enhance its power! They would never allow such material to easily circulate outside.
If even a small amount of such material, like iron essence, were blended into an ordinary magical instrument, its power would definitely increase significantly, and it might even be possible to upgrade its grade! This made its value skyrocket even further.
As for the burly man from earlier, could he be a Core Formation stage cultivator deliberately suppressing his aura and pretending to be at the Foundation Establishment stage? After all, low-level cultivators couldn’t discern the depth of a Core Formation stage cultivator’s power!
Just as all the cultivators were feeling wary and suspicious…
Urged by the three men behind him, the tall, thin man finally spoke up again, shouting, “Is there anyone offering more than two thousand nine hundred spirit stones? If not, these puppet beasts will belong to this gentleman here!”
The tall, thin man seemed to want to drive the price even higher, so he deliberately spoke slowly, clearly trying to buy some time.
However, which cultivator in the hall dared to casually make a bid? Those who could participate in this auction were certainly not ordinary individuals. They were either important figures from immortal cultivation families or cultivators at the peak of Foundation Establishment. But in the presence of someone suspected to be at the Core Formation stage, who would dare to bring trouble upon themselves?
Even if this person wasn’t a Core Formation stage cultivator, he undoubtedly had someone of that level backing him. So, no matter how much they coveted the secrets of the puppet beasts, none were willing to be the first to take the risk and could only watch helplessly.
As for the strange man who had been confrontational from the beginning, he too sat there silently. It was unclear whether he was intimidated by the iron essence or simply couldn’t afford that many spirit stones.
When Han Li heard about the iron essence, he was also greatly surprised. His so-called master had lost two pieces of iron essence to that old怪 in a bet. Seeing his master’s frustrated expression at the time, he knew this material was extremely precious.
Thus, the pair of puppet beasts undisputedly fell into the hands of the burly man. When he received them, his hands were trembling with excitement!
However, this only made the other cultivators even more curious and itching to get their hands on the toys to study their secrets.
The burly man wearing a cloak immediately left his seat and headed for the stone door as soon as he received the puppet beasts. But when he reached the door, he found it was shut tight from the outside! He pushed against it a couple of times, but the stone door didn’t budge.
“What is the meaning of this? Are you not letting people leave after they’ve made a purchase?” The man’s voice turned gloomy, and his already strange tone became even more unpleasant.
“Of course not! Once the trading meeting concludes, we will immediately open the door for you to leave. But not now.” The speaker this time wasn’t the tall, thin man hosting the auction but the sharp-tongued black-robed man on the far left.
“What? There’s no such rule. I want to leave now!” The man grew angry, raising his voice.
“Unfortunately, this is indeed our shop’s rule. It’s just a small measure to prevent any unpleasant accidents! Surely you can wait a little longer?” The low, hoarse voice of the black-robed man on the right spoke up, his tone sinister.
“Hmph! Of course I can wait. Do you think I’m afraid of you? I’d like to see what other good items appear next!” For some reason, the man’s attitude suddenly changed, and he swaggered back to his seat.
This left everyone else stunned and surprised. What was he planning? Didn’t he know that staying here any longer would only increase his danger?
By then, most cultivators present could tell that this man was indeed at the Foundation Establishment stage. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have been so compliant. However, the people from the secret shop seemed to have known the burly man’s true level from the start and showed no intention of backing down.
Since the burly man didn’t leave, the auction in the hall continued! But most people’s minds were no longer on the bidding, resulting in two items in a row with no bids, much to the tall, thin man’s embarrassment.
However, the auction was nearing its end. The truly top-notch items, the finale, were finally about to appear!
“Top-grade spiritual medicine, one Millennium Yellow Essence Ganoderma. I won’t waste words; I’m sure all of you understand the value of this herb better than I do!”
As soon as the tall, thin man finished speaking, a jade-green box appeared in his hand.
After pretending to glance at the cultivators and seeing that everyone’s attention was captured by the Millennium herb he mentioned, he continued with hidden delight, “This Millennium spiritual medicine is one of the few to appear in the past hundred years. If you buy it and refine it into spiritual pills, it will undoubtedly be your best chance to break through realms and enhance your magic power. The starting price is five hundred spirit stones!”
After saying this, the tall, thin man pulled open the lid of the jade box and held it up for the cultivators to see.
Instantly, a rich medicinal aroma filled the entire hall, astonishing and delighting the cultivators!
They were shocked because they never expected such a treasure to appear at this auction! They were delighted because, if they could buy it and refine it into medicine, wouldn’t it be as the host said—better than any top-grade magical instrument? After all, this would enhance their own cultivation, not rely on external forces!
Thus, as soon as the tall, thin man announced the starting price, someone immediately couldn’t wait to speak up!
“One thousand spirit stones!”
The first bid immediately doubled the price of the spiritual grass, infuriating many who had planned to bid after him! But soon, others continued to drive the price higher.
“One thousand two hundred spirit stones!”
“One thousand…”
…
Bids came one after another, and in the blink of an eye, the price broke through two thousand. Han Li, however, was staring blankly at the Millennium herb on the table, lost in thought.
When he first heard about the Millennium herb, he didn’t pay much attention, thinking it was just another Millennium herb discovered elsewhere.
But when the tall, thin man revealed the Millennium Yellow Essence Ganoderma in the box, Han Li immediately recognized it as one of the two spiritual herbs he had sold to the Myriad Treasures Building. After all, he had personally accelerated its growth; how could he mistake it?
However, since the spiritual medicine was already in the hands of the Myriad Treasures Building, whatever they did with it was none of Han Li’s concern! So, after a momentary daze, he regained his composure and continued watching the cultivators compete indifferently.
Listening to the urgent bids of the cultivators, Han Li felt a sense of pride!
After all, something from his own hands could make others so anxious—that was something to be proud of!
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