In normal circumstances, these items would fetch at least sixteen thousand spirit stones.
If auctioned normally at an auction house, these items could easily be sold for over twenty thousand spirit stones.
But there was no help for it, these items were too hot to handle and could not be seen in the open.
The difference of several thousand spirit stones was the fee the underground black market earned for secrecy and for fencing stolen goods.
As Wu Tao’s cultivation grew higher and higher, his divine sense strength became more and more formidable, allowing him to perceive more and more things.
The instant the teleportation ended, Wu Tao sensed that there were as many as eight or nine people arriving simultaneously, which indicated that there were several other ways to reach this underground black market.
Cultivators who came to this underground black market usually teleported in at different times and from different locations. They did not know each other and rarely spoke.
This was to minimize the risk of their identities being exposed.
The venue for the underground black market's trading fair was built underground. Anyone who had participated in a trading fair before knew this.
However, the exact location was unknown.
Only a maximum of a hundred people could participate in the underground black market trading fair at one time. After all, it was not an open auction, and there were restrictions in other aspects.
However, these hundred-odd people were basically at the Foundation Establishment stage or above.
Wu Tao chose a secluded corner seat near the venue and sat down, waiting for the trading fair to begin.
About an hour later, several more batches of cultivators arrived, bringing the total number of cultivators underground to around one hundred. Wu Tao’s heart stirred, and he looked towards the center of the underground venue.
A divine sense, with the pressure only a Nascent Soul elder possessed, instantly enveloped the entire underground trading fair, causing the loose and chaotic atmosphere within to become solemn.
...
This was the usual procedure before the underground black market held an auction. First, they would issue a show of force to subdue these unruly rogue cultivators and demonic cultivators, preventing anyone from causing trouble at the auction.
It had to be said, this method was quite effective. To this day, no one dared to cause trouble here.
The first auctioned item was a top-tier defensive magical artifact called the “Mother-Child Seven-Colored Flowing Light Shield.” The auctioneer requested exchange for pills that could enhance the spiritual power of the Foundation Establishment stage. If not, a large amount of spirit stones would also suffice.
This top-tier defensive magical artifact had decent performance. It consisted of a main shield and six sub-shields, which could fully protect the user. Its value was around thirteen hundred spirit stones.
With this Mother-Child Seven-Colored Flowing Light Shield, one could exchange for four or five bottles of pills that enhanced the Foundation Establishment stage.
Although Wu Tao also lacked a protective treasure, he was no longer interested in such top-tier defensive magical artifacts. What he desired were treasures left behind from the Primordial, Desolate, and Ancient eras. This item, the “Mother-Child Seven-Colored Flowing Light Shield,” was eventually exchanged for thirteen hundred and ninety-seven spirit stones.
Following this, various spirit materials, spirit ores, spirit herbs, magical artifacts, pills, secret techniques, pill formulas, cultivation methods, spells, and so on were successively displayed and snatched up by the cultivators below. Wu Tao, however, was largely uninterested in these items, resulting in meager gains.
It wasn't until the next auctioned item that Wu Tao's eyes lit up.
“The next item is a beast egg. It was obtained after someone killed a pair of Silver Moon Snow-Backed Wolf demons. We hope to exchange it for some rare top-tier magical artifacts, or other rare treasures. Of course, spirit stones are also acceptable for bidding.
In the cultivation world, rare items like beast eggs are generally very expensive.
This is because when the mother beast is unable to defeat human cultivators, she would rather destroy her own eggs than leave them behind.
Given this situation, the value of beast eggs is naturally very high.
Especially for cultivators who wish to raise a beast for guarding their homes or protecting themselves.
Particularly for demons like the Silver Moon Snow-Backed Wolf, whose nurturing potential is quite good.
Wu Tao recalled that this was a variant of the Grey-Haired Giant Wolf demon, possessing excellent speed and attack, as well as good defense. It was a well-rounded demon with offense and defense, almost without any apparent weaknesses.
Calming his mind, Wu Tao silently waited for the crucial moment of the final bid.
“One thousand spirit stones!”
“Thirteen hundred spirit stones!”
“One piece of Fallen Flame Iron plus a top-tier offensive magical artifact.”
“A secret technique inheritance plus a top-tier magical artifact.”
“Fifteen hundred spirit stones plus an auxiliary high-grade magical artifact.”
“Two thousand spirit stones plus three invigorating pills that temporarily increase combat power.”
Until the very end, when he understood the bottom line of the cultivators present, Wu Tao made a bold move. He spent two thousand seven hundred spirit stones, plus a top-tier defensive magical artifact he had no use for, to acquire this unhatched Silver Moon Snow-Backed Wolf demon egg.
The next auctioned item was also quite valuable.
A complete thick hide from a Nascent Soul stage demon.
“The material for this hide comes from the Iron Armored Giant Rhinoceros. As everyone knows, the Iron Armored Giant Rhinoceros is famous for its defense and is a material for refining the finest top-tier defensive magical artifacts and defensive magic treasures.”
However, since this hide was merely a basic raw material, despite being rare, most people below were not interested.
This hide was finally auctioned for nine hundred and eighty-nine spirit stones, purchased by a male artifact refiner.
The subsequent auctioned items became increasingly better in quality.
Even a high-grade artifact refining furnace, rarely seen in the cultivation world, appeared at this trading fair.
While artifact refining furnaces are not as precious as pill refining furnaces, there are many more artifact refiners than alchemists in the cultivation world. With more wolves than meat, the competition was naturally fierce.
The starting price was fifteen hundred spirit stones, and after the competition in the venue, where bids increased by one hundred spirit stones at a time, the final auction price actually soared to three thousand and six spirit stones.
The next auctioned item was a bottle of pills.
Nine Revolutions Yin Infant Pill.
This pill was refined using the embryos and souls of nine infants born in September, along with nine types of spiritual herbs, to create a demonic pill.
These nine types of spiritual herbs, stimulated by both Yin and resentment energies, would undergo metamorphosis and transform into Yin bodies.
For ghost cultivators, taking it could increase their ghost energy, and for demonic cultivators practicing special demonic arts, it could assist in refining a divine ability.
There were not many cultivators who bid for this bottle of Nine Revolutions Yin Infant Pill, but the price it sold for was astonishing.
This bottle of Nine Revolutions Yin Infant Pill fetched over two thousand three hundred spirit stones.
...
The next auctioned item was a piece of wood that was entirely green.
This wood was called Spring-Autumn Wood.
One inch grown in a hundred years, one foot grown in a thousand years, and only after ten thousand years could a piece be formed.
Spring-Autumn Wood was an excellent spirit wood, often used for refining pills. Its wood also emitted a fragrance, making it a fragrant wood and an excellent spiritual material for refining incense.
This time, there were many more bidders, and the cultivators bidding were mostly alchemists. The auction price also doubled.
“Five hundred spirit stones!”
“One thousand spirit stones!”
“Two thousand spirit stones!”
“Four thousand spirit stones!”
“Six thousand spirit stones!”
Seeing these alchemists acting as if spirit stones were not money, as if spirit stones were worthless stones, desperately throwing them away.
Wu Tao couldn't help but smack his lips, gaining a deeper understanding of the wealth of these alchemists.
Finally, this piece of Spring-Autumn Wood was sold for six thousand spirit stones.
The next auctioned item was also a pill.
This pill was called “Uprooting Seedlings to Aid Growth Demonic Pill.”
As the name suggests, this pill had the effect of uprooting seedlings to aid growth. Any cultivator below the Nascent Soul stage who took it could break through a minor realm.
However, the price was that after taking this pill, they would be forever stuck at that realm and could never advance further.
“This Uprooting Seedlings to Aid Growth Demonic Pill is mixed with numerous secret medicines and refined using demonic secret methods. Its medicinal power is potent, with the effect of a thorough awakening.
The method of taking the Uprooting Seedlings to Aid Growth Demonic Pill is simple: just swallow the pill, and it will activate the mysterious substance sealed within, transforming into surging spiritual energy to help the user break through their bottleneck.
...
Facing a pill with such endless future consequences, the cultivators in the underground black market were not as enthusiastic.
Only two or three people were bidding, and they were only raising the price by a few spirit stones or dozens of spirit stones.
“Three hundred spirit stones!”
“Three hundred and five spirit stones!”
“Three hundred and fifteen spirit stones!”
“Three hundred and thirty spirit stones!”
“Three hundred and fifty spirit stones!”
“Four hundred spirit stones!”
...
In the end, this Uprooting Seedlings to Aid Growth Demonic Pill was sold for five hundred spirit stones.
The cultivator who bought this Uprooting Seedlings to Aid Growth Demonic Pill was an old man, who appeared to be quite advanced in age, with completely white hair.
...
The next auctioned item was somewhat special.
This auctioned item was actually a stick of incense.
This incense was called Immortal Sacrificing Incense.
The Immortal Sacrificing Incense was incredibly spiritual, possessing a mysterious spiritual aura within.
The mottled surface of the incense body exuded a layer of spiritual light, shining brightly on the stage like flowing flames.
In the cultivation world, during grand sacrificial ceremonies of large factions, this type of incense was always used.
When the person in charge of the underground black market presented this incense, a commotion erupted among the cultivators below.
Obviously, everyone was not foolish and guessed that this stick of Immortal Sacrificing Incense was definitely obtained by a ruthless demonic cultivator who had robbed a manager of a large faction and taken it from their storage bag.
...
In fact, the Immortal Sacrificing Incense had a very wide range of uses. Besides being used in grand sacrificial ceremonies, cultivators could also use it during closed-door cultivation to achieve concentration and insight, helping them break through bottlenecks.
After bidding, this stick of Immortal Sacrificing Incense was finally sold for one thousand three hundred and ninety-nine spirit stones.