In the crisp, seductive voice of the woman, this deadly blade shone even brighter. The top-grade magical artifact, already quite expensive, continued to climb in price at a feverish pace after reaching its original value.
"Eight hundred spirit stones!"
"A thousand spirit stones!"
"Fifteen hundred spirit stones!"
"Eighteen hundred spirit stones!"
From his relatively good vantage point in the auction hall, Wu Tao's gaze swept over the beautiful woman on stage. With his eyesight, he could tell she was between thirty and forty years old. Her mature, alluring charm, her voluptuous curves, and her pretty face made it impossible for any man in the hall to look away.
However, for Wu Tao, who viewed the path of immortal cultivation as more important than his own life, she couldn't stir even a ripple in his heart.
Undeniably, this woman was a master at stirring up the auction's atmosphere. Every smile and glance from her caused the spirit stone prices below to surge.
And whenever the spirit stone price changed, she would send a charming and gentle smile to the person who had just bid. Instantly, those who had impulsively bid, now regretting their actions, would become re-energized and their spirits would lift.
The heated and tense atmosphere among the cultivators in the hall, under the cover of the alluring woman's suppressed laughter, continued to rise. Following this, several more auction items were sold at very good prices.
...
"Thank you all for your strong support of the Red Maple Auction House. The next item is a special, heavyweight auction piece. Please keep your eyes wide open!"
Seeing that the many cultivators below were already piqued with interest, the charming and seductive young woman offered a captivating smile.
With a slight smile on her rosy, cherry-like lips, the young woman's voice, like a phoenix's cry, resonated soulfully. She softly said, "Please bring the auction item to the stage!"
The next second, a graceful young girl, about sixteen or seventeen years old, dressed in a floor-length white gown, slowly walked onto the stage, holding a tray. On the tray was an auction item covered with a red silk cloth.
As the seductive woman unveiled the red silk cloth with her slender fingers, most of the cultivators in the hall let out a collective gasp.
"A cauldron!"
"A cauldron!"
"It's an alchemist's cauldron!"
It was known that the value difference between a cauldron magical artifact and a regular magical artifact was like the difference between a firefly's glow on the ground and the sun and moon in the sky.
The reason for this was not only that the ores and spiritual materials used to refine cauldrons were extremely rare and precious, but also that the difficulty of crafting a cauldron far surpassed that of a magical artifact of the same tier.
There was an even more important reason: for cultivators in the immortal world, a cauldron magical artifact symbolized the generational inheritance of the alchemist lineage.
...
The soul-stirring voice, like a phoenix's cry, echoed once more from the auction stage: "A low-grade cauldron magical artifact, refined with seven precious ores as its primary material, starting at one thousand spirit stones. Each bid must be no less than one hundred spirit stones."
The high starting price immediately deterred most of the cultivators present. Of course, many more knew that the threshold for the alchemy profession was too high, and talent was the most crucial factor.
What if they ended up buying it at a high price only to discover they lacked the talent to master alchemy? Wouldn't it just be stuck in their hands?
Without good alchemical talent, a cauldron bought at a high price would be useless.
However, in the end, due to the cauldron's unique nature, quite a few people participated in the bidding.
"I bid one thousand spirit stones."
"Thirteen hundred spirit stones."
"Fourteen hundred spirit stones."
"Seventeen hundred spirit stones..."
In the blink of an eye, the price of the cauldron had broken through fifteen hundred spirit stones and was heading towards the two-thousand-spirit-stone mark.
Wu Tao watched, dumbfounded. He had thought he was quite wealthy among Qi-refining stage cultivators.
He truly hadn't expected that there were so many affluent individuals with ample spirit stones.
Wu Tao had no desire to buy this cauldron, nor did he have enough spirit stones.
With a clear mind and an objective perspective, Wu Tao felt the increasingly tense and frenzied atmosphere in the auction hall. He couldn't help but watch the surrounding crowd with great interest.
The price of the cauldron continued to soar, eventually being purchased by a cultivator from another private room for two thousand three hundred spirit stones. This was the highest-valued auction item so far.
Following this, the Red Maple Auction House remained exceptionally lively, with hardly any items failing to sell.
Although there were no high-level auction items like the cauldron among the subsequent offerings, the quality of the items was generally guaranteed.
"A high-grade flying escape magical artifact, the Wind Chasing Patterned Spirit Carriage. It is of excellent quality, extremely fast, and can carry five people. Starting at five hundred and fifty spirit stones, with a minimum bid increment of fifty spirit stones."
Wu Tao, who had been absent-minded moments before, suddenly's eyes lit up, and he looked eager to try.
In fact, even among the disciples of top sects that dominated a region, a Qi-refining stage cultivator possessing one or two high-grade magical artifacts and having hundreds of spirit stones in their storage bag was considered a prominent figure.
Don't be surprised that Wu Tao now possessed several high-grade magical artifacts, top-grade magical artifacts, and a considerable number of spirit stones in his storage bag. All of this had its reasons.
Over these twenty-odd years, he had faced death numerous times, engaged in double-crosses, pushed himself to his limits, and occasionally stumbled upon fortunate encounters, which had led to his current savings.
The value of this type of special high-grade flying escape magical artifact was not much inferior to that of an ordinary top-grade offensive magical artifact.
The price of the Wind Chasing Patterned Spirit Carriage quickly surpassed seven hundred spirit stones, but it slowed down upon reaching one thousand spirit stones.
Ultimately, the Wind Chasing Patterned Spirit Carriage was bought by a young cultivator in the hall for one thousand two hundred spirit stones.
...
On the other hand, Wu Tao, after the Wind Chasing Patterned Spirit Carriage's value reached the one-thousand-spirit-stone mark, hesitated for a long while before sighing softly and abandoning further bidding.
For the next period, defensive top-grade magical artifacts, special top-grade magical artifacts, advanced talismans, rare spiritual materials, exquisite elixirs, precious cultivation techniques, unique secret arts, and other rare and valuable treasures were successively brought to the stage for auction.
The auction was approaching its climax. Many cultivators in the hall had acquired what they desired, and the prices paid were good. Buyers were satisfied, and sellers were also satisfied.
...
One of the压轴 items!
The next auction item was an exquisite box made of three-hundred-year-old spiritual wood. The inscription and restrictive formations carved all over it were extremely detailed, with spiritual light occasionally flashing.
The Spirit-Containing Box could preserve the spiritual energy and medicinal properties of elixirs, spiritual herbs, ores, and spiritual materials within it for over a thousand years without loss.
The seductive woman, changing her previously alluring and enchanting expression, carefully opened the wooden box and displayed a dark blue, dragon's eye-sized elixir to the crowd below.
"Foundation Establishment Pill!!!"
"It's a Foundation Establishment Pill!!!"
Upon seeing the Foundation Establishment Pill, the crowd below collectively gasped. After a brief silence, waves of excited shouts nearly ripped the roof off the hall.
Everyone began to speculate, their expressions growing serious. The cultivators with financial means had expressions that shifted repeatedly, and an extremely heavy atmosphere gradually permeated the air.
Wu Tao also sat up straight, looking as if he were facing a formidable enemy.
The appearance of the Foundation Establishment Pill caused an eerie quiet to fall upon the scene, yet everyone could feel the immense power brewing within it.
Wu Tao was determined to obtain this Foundation Establishment Pill at all costs.
Clearly, some cultivators with deep backgrounds and extensive connections had received advance notice.
Of course, Wu Tao was among them.
"One Foundation Establishment Pill. I need not introduce anything else. Starting at fifteen hundred spirit stones, with each bid increment no less than one hundred spirit stones. Bidding begins now!"
"Fifteen hundred spirit stones!"
"Seventeen hundred spirit stones!"
"I bid two thousand spirit stones, and don't you dare compete with me!"
Some impatient cultivators were even speaking incoherently. Wasn't the rule of the auction that the first to act gets it?
This is too black-hearted, this auction is too black-hearted. It would be better to go back to my own Taiyi Immortal Sect and exchange spirit stones for contribution points to buy a Foundation Establishment Pill.
The reason Wu Tao was rushing to bid for the Foundation Establishment Pill here instead of returning to the sect to purchase it with contribution points was not only that his own cultivation was nearing the threshold of the Foundation Establishment stage, but also for another reason.