Chapter 52 – 51: Another Auction_1
In the private room, Lin Tianming picked up the Golden Sword Talisman, inspecting it over and over, feeling the furious spiritual power within the talisman paper, and looking completely infatuated with it.

With this talisman paper in hand, even if he encountered a Great Completion Cultivator who was completely unguarded, he might be able to inflict fatal damage.

Thinking of this, spending 350 spirit stones seemed entirely worth it. He didn’t feel the slightest sting of regret, and suddenly became very generous.

The maid attending him had a rosy complexion and looked on with envy, occasionally throwing sultry glances at Lin Tianming. She had witnessed his lavish spending; such a wealthy client must have an extraordinary fortune!

After storing the Golden Sword Talisman in his storage bag, Lin Tianming breathed a sigh of relief and continued to pay attention to the progression of the auction.

“The sixth treasure, a Second Order inferior Alchemy Furnace—the Cloud Dust Furnace!”

A blue pill furnace stood on the stage covered with densely packed inscriptions, delicately intricate. Spiritual energy swirled around its surface, making it very attractive to look at. Its quality was not inferior to the Four Symbols Furnace that Lin Tianming used.

Upon seeing this item, the atmosphere in the auction hall heated up.

Ruan Jingtian silenced the crowd and began the introduction.

“The Cloud Dust Furnace, a Second Order inferior Alchemy Furnace, starting at 900 spirit stones, each bid must be at least 10 spirit stones higher than the previous!”

No sooner had his voice faded than a cultivator in a private room bid.

“950 spirit stones!”

“1000 spirit stones!”

…

“1300 spirit stones!”

The entire place buzzed with shock. Some cultivators who weren’t serious about bidding inhaled sharply; raising the bid by 300 spirit stones in one go was likely an attempt to intimidate those with covetous eyes, showing a determination to win.

Sure enough, after the dramatic price increase, many cultivators who had intended to bid gave up. A normal Second Order inferior pill furnace was worth just over 1000 spirit stones, so the current price was already somewhat inflated.

In the end, only three cultivators in private rooms continued to bid, and after two rounds of competition, the Cloud Dust Furnace was won for 1400 spirit stones.

The auction wasn’t even halfway through its final items, and there had already been Second Order talisman paper and a Second Order Alchemy Furnace on offer.

This auction had indeed brought forth many valuable items, and each treasure presented was a rare find for a Qi Refining Stage Cultivator. Lin Tianming couldn’t help but wonder what the remaining five items would be.

“The seventh treasure, a set of Second Order inferior Array Plates, capable of setting up a Two Yi Four Symbols Formation, which can trap and kill enemies. Even a Foundation Establishment Cultivator trapped inside would not die but would be certainly flayed, starting at 1300 spirit stones, with each bid increasing by at least 20 spirit stones.”

As soon as Ruan Jingtian finished introducing it, someone placed a bid.

“1400 spirit stones!”

“1550 spirit stones!”

…

After more than a dozen rounds of bidding, almost all came from cultivators in private rooms, likely family clan members given their frenzied bidding.

A Second Order inferior formation was more than enough to serve as a Protective Clan Formation for a family of Qi Refining Cultivators. Even many families with Foundation Establishment Cultivators used Second Order medium-quality formations.

The Lin Family’s Protective Clan Formation was only a Second Order superior formation, acquired at great cost by an ancestor.

Thanks to this formation, they had repelled attacks several times, preserving the clan from annihilation.

Therefore, every time formations appeared at an auction, they would incite intense bidding from numerous families, pushing the final price to astonishing heights.

“1900 spirit stones!”

A brief silence fell over the hall, and no further bids were placed. Finally, a cultivator in one of the private rooms won the bid.

Lin Tianming had spent over three hundred spirit stones on a Second Order talisman, which could only be used once, while a formation could be used over a long period, even though maintaining the formation’s operation required quite a few spirit stones. Spending nearly two thousand spirit stones on the Array Plates was indeed worth it!

The auction continued, and seven items had already been auctioned off. The appearance of several Second Order Treasures had already been an eye-opener, and with three more treasured items remaining, they were sure to be even more precious.

“The eighth auction item, the Great Sun Sword Qi Art, is a secret technique. Only half of it is available, it’s not the complete secret technique, and its utility is still unknown. It is a consigned item by a fellow cultivator. The starting price is one thousand two hundred Spirit Stones, and each bid must increase by no less than twenty Spirit Stones.”

At this moment, the entire hall fell silent; everyone was calculating whether to bid or not, and Lin Tianming was also caught in thought.

If this were a complete secret technique, even the lowest Yellow Grade Secret Technique could easily auction off for tens of thousands of Spirit Stones, but it was unclear whether it could be cultivated.

Lin Tianming calculated that one thousand two hundred Spirit Stones was already quite a lot. If he bought it and couldn’t cultivate it or find the other half of the secret technique, it would be like throwing money into the water.

After a good ten breaths of time with no one bidding, Lin Tianming considered and decided to bid. If he could cultivate it or find the other half, he could make a fortune.

“One thousand two hundred and twenty Spirit Stones!”

“One thousand two hundred and fifty Spirit Stones!”

Right after Lin Tianming spoke, another cultivator increased the bid, presumably sharing the same thought as him, looking to see if they could pick up a bargain. The risk was substantial, but so was the potential reward, and there were quite a few clever people indeed!

“One thousand three hundred and fifty Spirit Stones”

Lin Tianming raised the bid by a hundred Spirit Stones in one breath. If that person bid again, he planned to give up, as he had less than one thousand eight hundred Spirit Stones left.

As expected, the other party did not seem very keen on auctioning for this item and stopped raising the bid.

Eventually, Lin Tianming got his wish and acquired the incomplete secret technique for one thousand three hundred and fifty Spirit Stones.

He paid the Spirit Stones on the spot, obtained the secret technique, and put it into his storage bag, planning to consult it once he returned to his cave dwelling.

The auction continued. Surprisingly, the eighth treasure was a Water Attribute Yellow Grade Technique, which fetched fierce bidding and eventually sold for twenty-three thousand Spirit Stones, causing Lin Tianming to be taken aback and quietly marvel at the insanity.

The ninth treasure was three Jiuyang Fruits. Consuming one Jiuyang Fruit could increase the probability of breaking through by twenty percent, making it one of the few Spiritual Objects that directly enhance the chance of Foundation Establishment and was extremely precious.

The final price was also quite terrifying, with each fruit fetching no less than thirteen thousand Spirit Stones.

The ten ultimate treasures were down to the last one, and it was estimated that the hearts of the cultivators present already had an idea, with the vast majority of the cultivators in the private rooms there for this item.

“The tenth treasure, three Foundation Establishment Pills, to be auctioned separately, starting at twenty thousand per pill, with each increase not to be less than fifty Spirit Stones.”

“Twenty thousand one hundred Spirit Stones!”

…

“Twenty-seven thousand eight hundred Spirit Stones!”

Within just over ten rounds, the price had already approached twenty-eight thousand Spirit Stones.

Lin Tianming, sitting in the private room, watched the excitement, with probably over ninety percent of the people in the auction hall looking on eagerly for excitement.

“Twenty-nine thousand Spirit Stones!”

Finally, no one else made a bid. The person who had made the bid heaved a great sigh of relief and couldn’t help but feel secretly elated.

When Ruan Jingtian announced the result, the bidding cultivator wiped the cold sweat from his forehead. Having spent all his resources, he finally obtained a Foundation Establishment Pill.

The first Foundation Establishment Pill ended up selling for a high price of twenty-nine thousand Spirit Stones.

The subsequent two also sold for over twenty-eight thousand Spirit Stones each, with the average price of the three Foundation Establishment Pills being nearly twenty percent higher than the auction price at the grand gathering ten years ago.

All treasures were successfully auctioned off, with not a single item passed up, and with prices almost one to two percent higher than ten years prior. Thinking of the commission he could draw, Ruan Jingtian couldn’t help but reveal a pleased expression.

“Thank you, fellow Daoists, for your patronage. We will continue at our next auction!”

With the auction ended, the cultivators in the main hall rose to their feet and slowly walked outside.

Lin Tianming took out three Spirit Stones and rewarded the maid waiting by his side, then left the private room without looking back.