Hunyuan Immortal Sect

Chapter 343 Hundred-Year Spirit Milk
Inside the private room, Song Xian watched as the Yunfei Xuan Stone was brought up, but he didn't rush to bid. This thing wasn't widely used, and few people used it. Given its high price, there was no need to worry about it being in high demand.

Sure enough, no matter how much the person on the stage called out, no one made a bid for a long time. Finally, when the bearded man started counting down, someone below raised their bidding paddle.

"Fellow Daoist No. 57 has offered 7,500 spirit stones. Is there anyone else who wants to raise the price? This 23-jin Cloud Jade Profound Stone is extremely rare and absolutely worth more than its price. Moreover, this item has no expiration date; the longer it is kept, the more valuable it becomes."

"This is a golden opportunity, and it won't come again. Are there any fellow Daoists willing to raise the price? Seven thousand five hundred spirit stones per round."

"Eight thousand spirit stones." At this moment, a slightly aged voice came from a private room on the second floor.

"The senior in room number five has offered eight thousand spirit stones. I must say, this senior has a keen eye. Even if this Cloud Jade Profound Stone is not used for the time being, it is definitely worthwhile to keep it as a collectible. It will surely appreciate in value in the future. Eight thousand spirit stones, is there a higher offer?"

Song Xian looked in the direction of the sound and saw that the fifth VIP box was right across from him. He could see an elderly man with white hair sitting by the window. If the person who had bid earlier might be the organizer of the auction or a shill hired by the owner of the item, then this old man was definitely not.

Although he didn't know what this person wanted the Yunfei Xuan Stone for, he was determined to get it.

“Cloud Jadeite is extremely rare in Xijiang County. This is the first time I’ve ever encountered one that I’ve hosted such an auction.”

"Eight thousand spirit stones once, eight thousand spirit stones twice."

The person on stage was still hawking their wares.

"Ten thousand spirit stones," Song Xian said, immediately raising the price to ten thousand to avoid anyone hesitating and trying to outbid him.

"The senior in room number twelve offered 10,000 spirit stones, which shows that he is determined to get this item. As expected of a Foundation Establishment senior, he saw through the value of this item at a glance."

"Eleven thousand spirit stones." The old man in the fifth private room across from them spoke slowly, raising the price by another notch. It was clear that he valued this item highly, as this price was definitely higher than the market price. If it weren't for a genuine need, but just for collection purposes, he wouldn't have paid such a high price.

"Fifteen thousand spirit stones." Song Xian immediately raised the price, adding four thousand spirit stones in one go, showing his firm resolve.

Song Xian waited for more than a month in Xijiang County before this auction finally came. He was determined not to miss this item and didn't care about paying a few thousand more spirit stones. With his current wealth, a few thousand spirit stones were nothing to him.

After so many years of cultivation, this was the first time he had participated in any kind of auction, or more accurately, the first time he had come to the auction site as a participant.

As for the first time, it was when I went to Guangxing City in Pingyuan County with George Lam to sell supplies for the sect leader Zhang Shilin to raise the funds for the Foundation Establishment Pill. Now that I think about it, it was a long time ago, and it feels like a lifetime ago.

He disliked these auction venues, which were crowded and chaotic, with people scrambling to grab the same item.

He prefers deals that end in a snap, but many things are only available in auction houses.

The market shops sell mass-market goods. Most shops won't put out truly rare items; they'll either keep them for themselves or auction them off.

"Fifteen thousand spirit stones! The senior in room number twelve has bid fifteen thousand spirit stones!" The bearded man raised his voice and shouted repeatedly.

"Is there anyone willing to offer a higher price? This Yunfei Xuan stone, weighing 23.8 jin, is extremely rare."

"Fifteen thousand spirit stones once. Fifteen thousand spirit stones twice. Fifteen thousand spirit stones three times. Deal." The bearded man kept his eyes fixed on private room number five, but the old man remained silent.

Song Xian flashed to the circular platform, pulled out a cloth bag containing fifteen fourth-tier spirit stones.

The bearded man opened the cloth bag, checked the quantity, and handed over the jade plate with a smile, saying, "Congratulations, senior, on acquiring your desired item."

Without saying a word, Song Xian put the item into his storage bag and then flashed back into the private room.

The auction continued, with items being brought up one after another, lasting for about two hours.

Finally, the last item kept at the bottom of the box was brought out.

In any auction, the most important item is usually saved for last, in order to retain VIP customers.

For example, many of the Foundation Establishment cultivators in the private rooms on the second floor came for a particular important item. If that item were brought out in advance, these Foundation Establishment cultivators might just leave without paying attention to anything else.

Conversely, by saving this important item for last and ensuring that the VIPs at the auction don't leave, they might be able to buy other items during the auction.

"The...last...item... in this auction." On the circular platform, the bearded man raised his voice and drew out his words to create an atmosphere of suspense, before lifting the red cloth.

A palm-sized, dark-colored bottle with intricate black patterns appeared on the jade plate.

"A century-old spiritual milk!" the bearded man shouted in a loud voice.

"As you all know, spiritual milk is a creation of heaven and earth. It must be formed in a place where spiritual energy gathers over many years, absorbs the essence of the sun and moon, is impacted by the energy of the earth's veins, and is melted by the pure energy of heaven."

"This small bottle of spiritual milk is enough for a Foundation Establishment cultivator to instantly go from having no spiritual energy to being at full strength."

"Imagine, in the midst of a life-or-death battle with an enemy, both of you have exhausted your spiritual energy. If you take out this bottle of spiritual milk and swallow it in one gulp, your spiritual energy will be instantly replenished. How can your opponent possibly fight you then?"

"This bottle of spiritual milk, according to our professional assessment, can replenish the spiritual power within a late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator from emptiness to fullness. It can also be used twice by a mid-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator, and needless to say, it's enough for a Qi Refining cultivator."

"The starting price is now 60,000 spirit stones, and each bid must be at least 5,000 spirit stones higher. Fellow Daoists, please place your bids."

Inside the private room, Song Xian's eyes lit up upon hearing this. He hadn't expected such a treasure. He hadn't known beforehand that the prized item was this century-old spiritual milk. He just wanted to see what other good things were there. Since the most valuable item would be the last to be offered, he wasn't in a hurry to leave.

Unexpectedly, this thing appeared.

The value of this thing, well, it can be big or small, depending on the person using it.

Compared to a mid-grade second-tier spirit-replenishing pill or a pill that helps break through bottlenecks, this thing's effects aren't as immediately noticeable.

However, under special circumstances, this item can be even more expensive than Spirit Replenishing Pills and pills that help break through bottlenecks.

This thing can absolutely save lives in critical moments, helping to turn defeat into victory when life hangs in the balance.

For Song Xian, this century-old spiritual milk was simply perfect for him.

Firstly, in terms of cultivation level, he is at the mid-Foundation Establishment stage.

Secondly, his cultivation technique greatly enhances the power of fire attributes. If others expend 100 points of spiritual energy to cast a fire spell and achieve 100 points of attack power, he can achieve 280 points. Consuming the same amount of spiritual energy, the power of his fire spells is three times that of others.

Furthermore, the Hundred-Year Spirit Milk can quickly restore depleted spiritual energy. If this item were in his possession, it would be able to exert its maximum effect, and it could even be said that it would be like having an extra life.

"Seventy thousand spirit stones." Song Xian was still in a state of surprise when someone in the auction room made a bid. It was the old man from the fifth VIP room opposite. It seemed that he had come for this item and that bidding against him earlier was just a casual gesture, driven by greed.

The price of the century-old spirit milk, which had a base price of 40,000, was directly raised to 70,000 spirit stones.

"Seventy-five thousand spirit stones." Before the bearded man could shout, another deep voice rang out, belonging to a Foundation Establishment cultivator from the second-floor private room.

"Eighty thousand spirit stones." Immediately afterward, a voice rang out, and the three of them spoke in quick succession without any pause. In an instant, the price soared to eighty thousand spirit stones.

"The senior in room number three has bid 80,000 spirit stones." The bearded man finally spoke up at this moment, and then fell silent.

His attitude was completely different from when he had been vigorously exaggerating and fanning the flames to promote other items. The reason for this was that this was a truly good product, not only a hard currency but also a hot commodity, and there was no shortage of bidders.

While the previous items were all decent, they weren't particularly sought after.

Just like the Cloud Jadeite, although it is rare and scarce, its uses are too narrow, and most of them are not very useful, so it needs to be loudly proclaimed.

However, everyone needs this century-old spiritual milk, and the reason why this auction has attracted so many Foundation Establishment cultivators is that most of them are after this century-old spiritual milk.

Everyone knows its value, so there's no need for him to keep nagging.

Inside the private room, Song Xian still didn't rush to make a move. Making a move now would be futile; this thing couldn't possibly be acquired for 80,000 spirit stones.

Although he wasn't the wealthiest man in the region, his financial resources far surpassed those of the rogue cultivators. Even the Foundation Establishment disciples of major sects like the Beast Taming Sect and the Profound Origin Sect wouldn't be as wealthy as him.

Among these people, he definitely had a good chance of acquiring this item, but he was also observing that although this hundred-year-old spiritual milk was good, it was not priceless. If the price was too high, he would not be a sucker.

Sure enough, after a few moments of silence, someone immediately raised the price.

"Ninety thousand spirit stones." It was the same old man from room number five again.

"Ninety-five thousand spirit stones." Immediately afterward, someone else raised the price.

The auction hall fell silent once again. For a moment, no one made a bid, and everyone was watching each other. Only the Qi Refining cultivators below whispered and discussed among themselves, creating a noisy commotion.

“120,000 spirit stones,” Song Xian finally spoke.

This price is his bottom line. If he can get it for 120,000, he will grit his teeth and take it. If not, he will not be willing to raise the price any further.

A sudden price increase can deter hesitant buyers from following suit.

"Senior in room number twelve, the price is 120,000 spirit stones!" the bearded man shouted.

A gasp rang out from below the auction hall. For those Qi Refining cultivators, tens of thousands of spirit stones were undoubtedly an astronomical figure.

"120,000 spirit stones! Is there any senior who can offer a higher price? I'll count down from ten now. If not, this bottle of century-old spirit milk will belong to the senior in room number twelve." After a while, when no one made a bid, the bearded man picked up a hammer and shouted.

"Ten, nine, eight, seven..."

"130,000 spirit stones." At this moment, a clear and melodious voice rang out; it was Wang Qingyao, the queen of the Beast Taming Sect.

"The Foundation Establishment senior in room number two has offered 130,000 spirit stones."

When Song Xian heard that Wang Qingyao had made a move, he gave up on the idea. On the one hand, the price exceeded his bottom line, and on the other hand, he did not want to offend Wang Qingyao.

After one or two more rounds of bidding, Wang Qingyao finally won the bottle of the Hundred-Year Spirit Milk for 150,000 yuan.

.........

In the dimly lit room at the Yunxuan Sect's mountain gate in Xijiang County, an elderly man with white hair and beard sat with his eyes closed, while a knocking sound came from outside.

The old man opened his eyes, waved his hand, and the stone door opened by itself without wind. A middle-aged man with sword-like eyebrows and bright eyes strode in, bowed and said, "Master, Uncle-Master Lü Lin has arrived and is already outside the mountain gate."

Qi Yunxuan suddenly stood up: "Where is he?"

"Uncle Luo has invited him to the hall."

Qi Yunxuan strode out and entered the brightly lit hall of the mansion. Two people were already seated inside. One was a burly man dressed in the robes of the Yunxuan Sect, who was Elder Luo Ziquan of the Yunxuan Sect. The other was of average appearance and medium build, wearing a magnificent robe of blue and green.

"Junior Brother Lü, it's been a long time since we last met. I didn't expect you to come today. I'm so sorry for not welcoming you properly."

"Senior Brother Qi, you don't need to be so polite. I'm here on Master's orders."

Qi Yunxuan immediately straightened his expression: "What instructions does he have?"

The man surnamed Lü flipped his hand and handed him a jade token. Qi Yunxuan examined it with his divine sense, and his expression gradually became complicated. He muttered, "How could this be?"

Luo Ziquan, who was standing to the side, was unaware of what had happened, but seeing Qi's expression, he knew that something serious must have occurred, and couldn't help but ask curiously, "Senior Brother Qi, what happened?"

Qi Yunxuan made no attempt to hide anything, and with a wave of his hand, threw the jade slip in front of him. After Luo Ziquan picked up the jade slip and examined it, he also showed a stunned expression.

The man surnamed Lü said solemnly, "The attitude of the Xuan Yuan Sect is very important to us. Senior Brother Qi, Master has entrusted this task to you. In your opinion, will the Xuan Yuan Sect stand on our side?"

“I have failed the old man’s trust. Those old foxes in the Xuan Yuan Sect are very cunning. I have visited them several times but have been evaded. Even though I caused a great uproar in Xijiang County, they have turned a blind eye and remained silent. To this day, they are still acting as bystanders. I am really not important enough. If I want to know their clear attitude and gain their support, I think my uncle will have to take action himself.”

"Senior Brother Qi, there's no need to blame yourself. Master sent you here not expecting you to be able to force the Xuan Yuan Sect to make a statement. Originally, he wanted you to be a spies, planted in Xi Shu County for future use. He didn't expect things to develop so quickly, so it's not your fault. However, now that you've settled in Xi Shu County, you still need to play a role. From now on, you need to keep an eye on the Xuan Yuan Sect and try to find out as much as possible about the internal situation. If there are any changes, report them immediately so that Master and the others can make timely adjustments."

"Please tell my uncle, Junior Brother Lü, that he can rest assured that I know what to do."

(End of this chapter)