Back at his residence, Li An prepared himself mentally in case someone came to snatch the Purple Soul Grass.
He had already given Gu Hong a Soulbeast Core.
He still had two left in his possession.
But to his surprise, the next few days passed in complete silence. Luo Yong never showed up again.
Had he been overthinking it?
That didn’t seem likely...
He decided to stick with a strategy of inaction and calm observation.
Either way, Luo Yong was no longer someone he could trust.
In the blink of an eye, half a month passed.
That day, Li An left early in the morning and headed for the Treasure Pavilion!
The Treasure Pavilion was renowned throughout White Tiger City. Whether pills, cultivation manuals, materials, or talismans, they carried everything. Moreover, they regularly held auctions featuring precious items.
It was said the organization had powerful backing across the entire Great Dawn Dynasty, even White Tiger Mountain had to show them some respect.
A few days earlier, Li An had already paid the “deposit” to participate in the auction and received his admission qualification. Led by an attendant, he was soon guided to the second floor and into a private booth.
This booth was typically reserved for special “VIPs” and not freely accessible. Li An had spent five hundred spirit stones to rent it.
It pained him greatly, but the expense was necessary.
On the first floor, everything was out in the open—anything one bought could easily expose their identity.
Soon, the auction began.
A woman in a qipao walked to the center of the auction platform. The lighting formation in the venue directed all light to the stage.
The surrounding area dimmed.
“Welcome, everyone. I will be the auctioneer for today’s event—Jiaru.”
After introducing herself, she continued, “Today’s auction now begins. The first item is a First-Rank High-Grade magic artifact—‘Heaven and Earth Twin Swords’...”
The auction started quickly.
A First-Rank High-Grade artifact was just an appetizer. After several such warm-up items, the event finally moved into the highly anticipated section.
“The next item is a Second-Rank forging material, Sky-Silver Ore. A total of three jin, enough to craft a Second-Rank artifact!”
“Starting bid is 500 spirit stones, with a minimum increment of 100 spirit stones per bid!”
With the appearance of Second-Rank materials, the crowd finally grew lively.
“600 spirit stones!”
“800 spirit stones!”
… The price kept climbing and soon broke the thousand-mark.
“1,400 spirit stones!”
A rough, booming voice called out a high bid.
Most of the crowd fell silent.
That was essentially the price ceiling. Unless one was a Second-Rank Artifact Refiner themselves, paying so much for raw materials only to spend more to hire someone else to forge it made little sense. The combined cost would rival buying a ready-made artifact.
Moreover, many had already recognized the voice—it belonged to Gao Jun, a renowned Second-Rank Artifact Refiner in the city.
“1,500 spirit stones!”
Just then, a woman’s voice rang out clearly.
Inside his booth, Li An froze the moment he heard it.
He turned toward the source of the voice. It was pitch black—he couldn’t make out the figure.
But he was absolutely certain…
It was Chen Qingling!
She was still alive?!
He frowned.
Five years ago, after the Zhao family incident, he had gone straight to White Tiger City. He never went looking for revenge against Wang Dazhu or Chen Qingling—he had considered it a waste of time.
Especially since he had already poisoned Chen Qingling; she shouldn’t have lived beyond three months.
And yet here she was, appearing in a White Tiger City auction?
Had she encountered some miraculous opportunity that delayed the effects of the poison?
“1,600 spirit stones…”
Gao Jun raised the price again, though his tone now carried some urgency.
“1,700!”
“1,800…”
“1,900!”
Chen Qingling’s voice remained steady—soft but forceful.
“Fine, fine, fine. I’ll let you have this one!” Gao Jun ultimately gave up, his voice tinged with resentment.
Chen Qingling won the Second-Rank forging material.
More Second-Rank talismans and artifacts followed, keeping the crowd buzzing.
Li An silently observed, never placing a bid.
“Next up is a Second-Rank Soulbeast Core—highly effective for nourishing the soul. If used properly, it could even help a Qi Refining cultivator form spiritual consciousness...”
The auctioneer spoke again as a translucent crystal core was brought to the stage. Li An took a distant glance—its quality was far inferior to the ones he possessed.
Definitely unsuitable as a primary ingredient in Foundation Establishment Pills.
“Starting bid: 2,000 spirit stones!”
The crowd stirred in surprise.
That was expensive!
After all, even Foundation Establishment Pills—priceless as they were—sold for around 6,000 spirit stones in White Tiger City.
That was the plight of wandering cultivators. Back in Clear Sun Sect, Li An had enjoyed abundant resources and cheap prices, with no shortage of alchemists. A Foundation Establishment Pill there would’ve cost barely half as much.
In contrast, while a Soulbeast Core was rare and valuable, it wasn’t worth even a third of a Foundation Establishment Pill.
“2,200!”
From a private booth on the second floor, a woman’s calm voice rang out.
Li An’s heart tensed.
That was Xu Qiuhui...
She was purchasing a Soulbeast Core?
Could she be the powerful figure Manman had mentioned, who was gathering soul-nourishing treasures?
Xu Qiuhui was only at Foundation Establishment; she couldn’t possibly need that many soul-nourishing items.
She must be working for White Tiger Mountain.
Sure enough, no one else in the hall placed a bid.
Xu Qiuhui secured it for 2,200 spirit stones.
“So the Treasure Pavilion knew no one would dare compete with her—hence they set a high starting bid to avoid a loss...”
Li An saw through it clearly.
“The next item is a Second-Rank Fire Spirit Fruit, known to all as a key ingredient for Foundation Establishment Pills. Starting bid: 800 spirit stones, with a minimum increment of 100 spirit stones!”
The Fire Spirit Fruit finally appeared.
“900 spirit stones!”
“1,000!”
“1,300!”
…
Eventually, an elder called out 1,600 spirit stones.
That price seemed to hit the ceiling.
No one else wanted to compete.
“1,800!”
But Chen Qingling’s voice suddenly rang out again.
“1,900!”
The elder, unwilling to give up, called out another bid.
“2,000!”
Chen Qingling remained calm—clearly determined to win.
The elder sighed heavily and gave up.
In the second-floor booth, Li An was deep in thought…
The Second-Rank Fire Spirit Fruit—most likely, it was meant for Wang Dazhu.
Five years on, he had probably reached the threshold of Foundation Establishment.
As a Second-Rank Artifact Refiner, Wang Dazhu certainly wouldn’t be short on spirit stones.
“2,000 going once…”
“2,000 going twice…”
The auctioneer was about to bring down the gavel—
“2,100.”
Li An finally opened his mouth, his voice hoarse and gravelly.
…
(End of Chapter)