Chapter 36: The Auction

The ambitious plan stirred the group’s excitement, making even Mu Chihuai’s heart race with anticipation.

After all, who wouldn’t want their sect to prosper?! If their sect became renowned, it would bring them prestige too, and no one would mistake them for poor, rogue cultivators without a sect anymore.

Su Chen’an pondered for a moment before speaking softly, “I recall overhearing our Sect Master mention once that, ten thousand years ago, Lingqing Sect was one of the top sects, with countless properties stretching across the entire cultivation world.”

“Now our sect has fallen into decline, but not all of our properties were destroyed. Some still exist but have been abandoned for years, and I’m unsure of their current state…”

Sikou Qiu sent Cheng Ying to the Sect Master’s study to retrieve a map.

The map displayed the current layout of Lingqing Sect and its remaining properties.

They soon discovered that the once-vast Lingqing Sect was now reduced to a single shop on the outskirts of the marketplace at the foot of the mountain.

A sense of foreboding settled over the group as they hurried to check it out. Upon arrival, they found the shop even more rundown and dilapidated than they had imagined.

It seemed no one had lived there for decades. Dust covered every surface, spider webs clung to corners and beams, and weeds grew through the cracks of broken stone slabs at the entrance. A slight push on the shop’s walls caused dust to fall, as if the whole place would collapse at any moment.

In front of the shop hung a faded wooden sign, covered in cobwebs. The barely legible three characters read: Treasure Pavilion.

With a gust of wind, the rickety sign could no longer bear the strain and fell to the ground with a crack, splitting in half.

Chu Sang was speechless. “…The sect’s remaining property is even worse than I thought.”

The group hesitated but eventually decided to enter.

Just past the entrance stood a supporting pillar that seemed to have long since rotted, covered in moss, and marked by several visible cracks. Chu Sang, testing the waters, lightly tapped it… She really only just touched it, but the next moment, a loud cracking sound echoed through the air. “Run!”

They barely escaped before the entire building collapsed behind them in a cloud of dust and debris.

Silence fell over the group.

Finally, Tantai Ming weakly raised a hand, “…How about we just go back to farming?”

The shop was too far gone to repair, so Sikou Qiu ended up paying to have it rebuilt.

However, the area had changed. What was once a prime location had become remote, and the streets were desolate, with barely any passersby. They hadn’t seen a single potential customer the entire day.

The saying ‘fragrant wine fears no dark alley’^[1]fragrant wine fears no dark alley (idiom) quality goods need no advertising came to mind. Moreover, Lingqing Sect was now just an obscure sect, and there was no way they could compete with major stores like Wanbao Pavilion, Zhenling Pavilion, or Treasure Forging Pavilion.

“If we lack an advantage, we’ll just create our own,” Chu Sang snapped her fingers confidently.

“Create our own advantage? How?” Tantai Ming leaned in, sensing that their junior sister was about to hatch another wild idea.

It was always fun following their junior sister around!

“I heard that Treasure Forging Pavilion is holding an auction next month, featuring many spirit tools crafted by master forgers. They invited our Fifth Senior Brother a few days ago, likely to help plan for the event.”

“But that’s Treasure Forging Pavilion’s auction. What does that have to do with us?” Tantai Ming, who had vowed never to spend a single spirit stone at their rival’s auction, frowned. “That’s our competition! Are we going to go there and throw our spirit stones at them?”

Chu Sang shot him a calming glance and turned to Su Chen’an. “Fifth Senior Brother, you’ll craft a spirit tool and send it to the Treasure Forging Pavilion for auction. The rest—just follow my lead.”

Though uncertain of what their junior sister had in mind, everyone felt a strange surge of excitement.

That afternoon, Su Chen’an sent a message to Treasure Forging Pavilion and submitted a mid-grade spirit tool. After negotiating the commission terms, the grand auction rolled around a month later.

Held only once every ten years, the auction was organised by Treasure Forging Pavilion’s main branch, which spared no expense in promotion. As the largest weaponry marketplace in the Central Region, the event drew cultivators from across the realm.

On the day of the auction, the crowd was immense. Whether on the ground floor or in the private rooms on the second through fifth floors, every seat was filled. It was estimated that over ten thousand cultivators were present.

And this was only for cultivators who possessed Treasure Forging Pavilion’s purple-gold card and were qualified to enter.

Even more cultivators watched from outside, eagerly refreshing the latest updates on their communication jade slips with every new development.

Treasure Forging Pavilion’s large-scale auction would last for three full days. Any weapon or treasure that could be brought to the auction was crafted by famous masters. The later items were increasingly important, and Su Chen’an’s mid-grade spiritual weapon [Shattered Jade Blade] was scheduled for the morning session of the second day.

Although Su Chen’an was a rising young Artifact refiner who had gained some fame in recent years, he still lacked the reputation of those well-known great master refiners. Most cultivators in the cultivation world had not heard of him, so the arrangement seemed reasonable.

Many cultivators expressed interest in the Shattered Jade Blade and started bidding competitively.

However, most of the wealthier cultivators were saving their bids for the finale on the last day. While spirit tool refiners were rare, there were enough that most people preferred to wait for better-known masters.

“Three million spirit stones!”

“Three and a half million!”

“Five million!”

“I’ll bid six million spirit stones!”

“Nine million!”

“Ten million!”

“…”

“Twenty million spirit stones.”

“Twenty million spirit stones going once, twenty million spirit stones going twice, is there anyone who wants to continue bidding?”

The cultivators called out prices one after another, and the price quickly broke through twenty million spirit stones.

Twenty million spirit stones to buy a mid-grade spiritual weapon was a relatively reasonable price. The previous few mid-grade spiritual tools had sold for about the same.

The auctioneer was satisfied with this price and was about to hammer down the sale when another clear and beautiful voice came from a private room on the fourth floor, “I bid thirty million spirit stones!”

There was some commotion in the crowd. Thirty million spirit stones for a mid-grade spiritual weapon was slightly overpriced, especially since this was just a small dagger-shaped spiritual weapon. It was good for self-defence and as a hidden weapon, but not enough to be a primary weapon. Thirty million spirit stones was really not worth it.

But it was possible that person really liked this spiritual weapon and was willing to pay a high price for it. Some people looked up at the fourth-floor private room, wondering which rich young lady it might be.

The auctioneer’s beard quivered, and he said with a smile, “Thirty million spirit stones going once, thirty million spirit stones going twice, thirty million spirit stones going thrice. Are there any more bids?”

“I bid fifty million spirit stones!”

Another lazy young voice came from a private room on the fifth floor, directly raising the price by twenty million spirit stones! What an incredibly generous offer!

Only Treasure Forging Pavilion’s most distinguished guests were qualified to enter the fifth floor. They had to be both extremely wealthy and of high status to be honored as VIP guests by Treasure Forging Pavilion.

Many had been watching the fifth floor, trying to guess the identities of its occupants.

This guest had never bid before.

Everyone thought these esteemed guests were waiting for the third day’s finale, but they didn’t expect them to directly bid fifty million spirit stones. Could there be something mystical about this spiritual weapon? Or was the refiner truly skilled?

Besides being amazed, people also became curious about the refiner behind the spiritual weapon. After all, to make someone willing to buy a mid-grade small spiritual weapon for fifty million spirit stones, apart from weapons made by those few well-known great master refiners, probably no one would be willing to pay such a price and become a fool.

“I heard that this Shattered Jade Blade was forged by an artifact refiner named Su Chen’an.”

“…Su Chen’an? Is he from the Alchemy Sect or one of the Four Great Forging Families? I’ve never heard this name before.”

“I’ve heard a little about him before. It seems he has no sect or school, and he’s not a descendant of the Four Great Forging Families,” someone said. “Although he’s just an amateur, he’s very talented in the art of forging. Many cultivators go to him to request natal weapons/tools.”

“He sounds like quite a capable young refiner, and the quality of his weapons looks good too. But selling a mid-grade spiritual blade for fifty million spirit stones still seems inappropriate. I wonder what’s so special about his spiritual weapons to justify this price?”

“Didn’t the auctioneer say earlier that this person’s forged spiritual weapons have unique weapon patterns inscribed on them, which are said to greatly enhance the weapon’s power!” the person continued, sounding excited. “Although it’s only a mid-grade spiritual weapon, its power is comparable to a high-grade spiritual weapon. If that’s true, then fifty million spirit stones is really not a loss!”

“…Weapon patterns??” A nearby cultivator was shocked. “Are they really weapon patterns!?”

Most of the cultivators present were prominent figures in the cultivation world and naturally had some experience. Quite a few had heard of the existence of weapon patterns, but that was something that only existed in the ancient cultivation world ten thousand years ago.

Ten thousand years of changes had passed, and although some fragments remained in the world, no one had ever heard of any great master refiner truly mastering the dao of weapon patterns. Could it be…

The crowd was half-believing, half-doubting. The bidding from the two private rooms continued, with the price steadily climbing to eighty million spirit stones, showing no signs of stopping. Instead, each bid was higher than the last.

“Ninety million spirit stones.”

“I bid one million mid-grade spirit stones.”

“Two million mid-grade spirit stones.”

“Five million mid-grade spirit stones!”

“Ten million mid-grade spirit stones.”

“…Two hundred thousand high-grade spirit stones!” The young man’s voice from the fifth floor could barely contain his composure.

The bidding had soared to the terrifying price of two hundred thousand high-grade spirit stones. The crowd went from initial excitement to shock, and then to numbness.

Two hundred thousand high-grade spirit stones for just a mid-grade spiritual weapon was simply unheard of. With this price, one could buy a quasi-low-grade immortal artifact or a medium to high-grade spirit vein!

At the same time, cultivators from various factions became extremely curious about the refiner behind the spiritual weapon. What charm did this spiritual weapon possess to make two people willing to throw away two hundred thousand high-grade spirit stones to compete for it?

Many cultivators secretly sent people to investigate Su Chen’an’s identity and background.

“I bid three hundred thousand high-grade spirit stones. I must have this weapon made by this master artifact refiner. I hope the friend on the fourth floor can give me face!” The person in the fifth-floor private room finally revealed himself – a green-robed young man with an air of nobility and arrogance stepped forward.

People in the crowd immediately recognized him, “Isn’t that the young master of the Mu family?”

The Mu family was one of the Four Great Alchemy Families, with influence greater than the other three alchemy families combined. They could be called dominant, already world-renowned on their own, not to mention that the Mu family had produced a once-in-a-century alchemy prodigy.

It could be said that anyone with a bit of knowledge in the cultivation world knew Mu Chihuai.

Mu Chihuai’s appearance once again ignited the atmosphere of the auction. If some people were still half-believing and half-doubting about the Shattered Jade Blade at the beginning, now almost everyone present firmly believed that this spiritual weapon definitely had other magical uses, actually able to make this proud young master of the Mu family spend a fortune to acquire it!

Several major families’ young masters and ladies sent people to search for any other weapons this Su surname refiner might have made. Once discovered, they were determined to snatch… no, buy them back! No matter how much money it cost, they had to buy them back!

At this moment, everyone’s eyes were fixed on the two private rooms, holding their breath—

Then a crisp and pleasant voice was heard from the fourth-floor private room, “I’m terribly sorry, but weapons with weapon patterns are rare and hard to come by. Its true value has long surpassed that of a spiritual weapon. This Shattered Jade Blade, I must have it at all costs.”

She then said lazily,

“I bid one million high-grade spirit stones. Does anyone have a higher offer?”

The scene exploded into commotion once again, with shocked discussions everywhere. People saw a flash of shock and unwillingness in the young man’s eyes. Although this young master of the Mu family was pampered with gold and jade, the Mu family was very strict with their descendants. Apart from necessary cultivation resources, they would not cultivate habits of extravagance and waste. Spirit stones were also limited.

Even though Mu Chihuai was wealthy, one million high-grade spirit stones was an astronomical price for him.

In the end, the Shattered Jade Blade was bought by the mysterious young lady on the fourth floor.

The hall was silent for a long time, as if everyone was still in shock. Even the auctioneer and the backstage boss were beaming with joy, unable to speak for a long time.

One million high-grade spirit stones!

This was the highest price their Treasure Forging Pavilion had auctioned in nearly fifty years!

Treasure Forging Pavilion had proactively invited Su Chen’an earlier, seeing his potential and intending to win him over.

But placing the Shattered Jade Blade for auction on the morning of the second day actually showed that Treasure Forging Pavilion didn’t particularly value this spiritual weapon. They were simply letting it fill a spot. Who would have thought that a dark horse would emerge halfway, selling for the sky-high price of one million high-grade spirit stones!

Even because of this spiritual weapon’s unexpected performance, various cultivators lost interest in the quasi-low-grade immortal tool that was the finale on the last day. Its final auction price wasn’t even one-tenth of that spiritual weapon’s.

In the fourth-floor private room, which was now the focus of almost all the cultivators present, the atmosphere was somewhat silent.

Tantai Ming lay on the table, wailing, “Little Junior Sister, one million high-grade spirit stones, those are high-grade spirit stones! Didn’t that Mu Chihuai guy stop at three hundred thousand spirit stones according to the plan just now? You could have just bid three hundred and something thousand.”

“Wuwuwuwu, now we really have no money left, not a single spirit stone!”

“This is exactly the inspiring effect we wanted.” Chu Sang turned her head to see that Mu Chihuai had also come over.

Mu Chihuai also never imagined that little junior sister would dare to call out the sky-high price of one million high-grade spirit stones at the end. Even he wouldn’t dare to be so bold. “…Will this really work?”

Although Artifact refiners and auction houses split 70-30, with seven hundred thousand spirit stones returning to their hands, the remaining three hundred thousand high-grade spirit stones were still an astronomical price… If it was given away for nothing, even Mu Chihuai, a young master who usually spent money lavishly, couldn’t help but feel his heart bleed.

“Whether it works or not, we’ll know tomorrow.” Chu Sang looked out the window, resting her chin on her hand with a smile.

“Want to make a bet?”