I'm in Yellow Maple Valley, and I have one equipment slot!

Twenty days have passed in the blink of an eye.

Zhou Yuan calculated the days, left the Boundless Cave, and returned to the first level of the market, where he found the "Soaring Cloud Residence" mentioned by Master Mulong.

This is a quiet and elegant teahouse, where Master Mulong is already waiting in a private room.

"Fellow Daoist Zhou, please have a seat," Master Mulong greeted with a smile. "The auction is in two days, so we're taking a short rest here."

The two days passed in the blink of an eye.

On this day, Zhou Yuan and Mu Long Zhenren arrived at the most central area of ​​the market.

A magnificent seven-story circular building, covering a vast area, stands before you. It is the Fengle Auction House, the headquarters of one of the four major business alliances, the "Fengle Alliance," located in Tianxing City!

After presenting their auction invitations, the two were respectfully led into the venue.

The venue was arranged in a circular, tiered layout, with a spacious auction platform in the center and densely packed seats around it. At this time, about 70-80% of the cultivators were already seated.

Zhou Yuan scanned the area with his divine sense and felt a chill run down his spine—the number of Core Formation cultivators gathered in the arena actually exceeded fifty!

There are countless Foundation Establishment cultivators.

Such a grand occasion is simply unimaginable in a place like Kuixing Island.

The two sat down in the middle of the hall, near the front, and waited for the auction to begin.

After waiting for about half an hour, the venue was almost full.

The curtain behind the auction stage was lifted, and a plump old man in a brocade robe, with a full moon-like face and a kind smile, slowly walked out.

The spiritual pressure emanating from his body had reached the mid-stage of Core Formation!

"I am Li Pao, Elder of the Fengle Alliance stationed in Tianxing City. Welcome, fellow Daoists, to this auction!"

The portly old man's voice was loud and clear, carrying a strange penetrating power that clearly reached every corner of the venue: "The rules for this auction are the same as always: the highest bidder wins!"

Bidding must be in spirit stones. For a few special treasures, barter is also possible if the owner requests, but this requires negotiation between both parties and authentication by our Fengle Alliance.

After a brief opening, Li Pao got straight to the point without any hesitation:

"Today's first item, a mere appetizer—a complete inner core of a level-six demonic beast, the 'Infant Carp Beast'! This core contains pure water and lightning dual-attribute demonic power, making it a primary ingredient for refining various top-tier Core Formation stage pills, and it can also serve as the core of certain special magical treasures. Starting bid: 60,000 low-grade spirit stones! Each bid must increase by at least 1,000 spirit stones!"

The very first item was such a heavyweight treasure, instantly igniting the atmosphere of the entire venue!

"Sixty-three thousand!"

"Sixty-five thousand!"

"Seventy thousand!"

"Seventy-eight thousand!"

……

Bidding was in full swing, and the price climbed steadily, soon breaking through the 90,000 mark.

"Ninety-five thousand!"

"One hundred thousand!"

Finally, a mid-stage Core Formation cultivator sitting in the front row, shrouded in a faint black mist, outbid everyone else and successfully won the bid for the demon core with a price of 100,000 spirit stones.

Zhou Yuan remained calm, but in his heart he couldn't help but think of the demon core in his storage bag, which also came from a level six infant carp beast.

He naturally wouldn't put it up for auction. Such rare materials might come in handy when he tries to break through the bottleneck of the late Core Formation stage in the future.

"The second item is a fine magical artifact personally crafted by Master Gu, a guest elder of our alliance and a master craftsman—the Dark Cloud Pearl! This treasure combines offense and defense; it can transform into dark clouds to trap enemies, and it can also condense lightning pearls to attack. Its power is considerable. Starting bid: 50,000 spirit stones!"

Another round of fierce bidding began, and the magic weapon was eventually sold for 76,000 spirit stones.

The auction continues.

Rare talismans, magic weapons, demon cores, array tools, materials, and even rare cultivation technique jade slips were presented on the auction stage, attracting frequent bids from the cultivators present, creating a lively atmosphere.

Zhou Yuan remained calm and did not make a bid, waiting for his target.

Finally, after the auction was more than halfway through, Li Pao cleared his throat and solemnly took out a palm-sized jade box that emitted a soft white light.

"The next item to be auctioned is a high-grade wood-attribute spirit stone!" Li Pao opened the jade box, revealing a spirit stone the size of an egg, with a smooth, emerald-green color, seemingly with liquid flowing inside, and radiating pure and powerful wood-attribute spiritual energy. This drew a murmur of surprise from the crowd.

"The value of high-grade spirit stones is self-evident. Whether used to break through bottlenecks, quickly restore mana, set up high-level formations, or as the core of certain heirloom treasures, they are all invaluable treasures! Starting bid—90,000 low-grade spirit stones! Each bid must be at least 5,000!"

The words had barely left his mouth when bidding erupted in quick succession:

"Ninety-five thousand!"

"One hundred thousand!"

"110,000!"

"120,000!"

Before long, the price was raised to 130,000!

"140,000!"

Zhou Yuan raised his bidding paddle for the first time and clearly announced the price.

"Fellow Daoist Zhou is indeed incredibly arrogant!"

Upon hearing this, Master Mulong, who was standing to the side, couldn't help but turn his head and sigh softly.

Fourteen thousand low-grade spirit stones is a huge sum of money that even a late-stage Core Formation island lord like him needs to carefully consider.

"145,000!" From another direction, a scholar dressed in a Confucian robe and holding a folding fan calmly raised the price.

"150,000!" Zhou Yuan replied without hesitation.

"155,000!" the middle-aged scholar echoed again.

"160,000!"

"One hundred and fifty thousand!"

'

"170,000!" Zhou Yuan raised the price to a new round number.

The middle-aged scholar frowned and glanced in Zhou Yuan's direction, seemingly trying to figure out who was competing with him.

After hesitating for a moment, he finally shook his head and gave up bidding.

The price of 170,000 spirit stones had exceeded his expectations.

"170,000 spirit stones once! 170,000 spirit stones twice! 170,000 spirit stones three times! Sold! Congratulations, fellow Daoist!" Li Pao brought down the gavel, his smile widening. The price of 170,000 for this high-grade spirit stone far exceeded expectations.

Zhou Yuan felt a weight lifted off his shoulders. Although it was 30,000 less than the expected 200,000 limit, the key was to successfully win the bid.

He immediately got up and, guided by an auction house attendant, went backstage to complete the transaction.

After paying 170,000 spirit stones, the gleaming, high-grade wood-attribute spirit stone finally came into his hands.

It felt warm to the touch, and the pure wood spirit energy almost penetrated his body, giving him a mental boost.

He didn't equip it immediately, but carefully put it into a specially made jade box and put it back into his storage bag.

Returning to his seat, Master Mulong smiled and said, "Congratulations, Fellow Daoist Zhou, on achieving your goal. However, I am still curious, what great use do you have for this high-grade spirit stone, which you spent such a huge sum of money to acquire? Could it be for cultivating some kind of special supernatural power?"

"Fellow Daoist Mu, you flatter me. It's mainly to provide an extra layer of protection when I break through bottlenecks in the future," Zhou Yuan replied vaguely.

The auction lasted for about an hour before finally coming to a successful conclusion.

Stepping out of the auction house, it was still early. Master Mulong asked, "Fellow Daoist Zhou, what are your plans next? Will you return to Kui Xing Island with me, or…?"

"Fellow Daoist Mu, I plan to travel to the Outer Seas for some training in a while, to see if I can find any opportunities." Zhou Yuan had already prepared his words. "It may be a few years before I return to Kui Xing Island. Island Master Mu, have a safe journey."

Although Master Mulong was somewhat surprised, he understood the cultivators' desire for opportunities and nodded, saying, "The outer seas are dangerous, fellow Daoist, please be careful. In that case, we shall part ways here, and meet again someday!"

The two bowed and said goodbye.

Master Mulong transformed into a streak of azure light and flew towards the teleportation array area of ​​the Holy Mountain.

Tianxing City has long-distance teleportation arrays connecting to various outer islands; however, under normal circumstances, only one-way teleportation access is available.

Zhou Yuan stood still.

I watched him leave, then turned and strolled alone through the still bustling streets of the market.

He did not return to Wuya Cave immediately.

Instead, they just wandered around aimlessly.

He was already planning his next steps.

First, we definitely need to wait for Yuan Yao and Yan Li to arrive so they can familiarize themselves with the environment of Tianxing City.

And then... now that the alchemy quests in the Six Palaces are gone to accumulate wealth, making money is too slow.

Perhaps we should really consider exploring the edge of the outer sea to collect some higher-level monster materials and resources rarely found in the outside world.

While I was pondering this.

A sweet, cloying fragrance suddenly wafted from ahead, and a petite figure blocked his way.

"Is that Senior Zhou up ahead?"

A girl who looked only eighteen or nineteen years old, with a sweet face and eyes that held a seductive charm beyond her years, spoke timidly. At the same time, her big, watery eyes stared straight at Zhou Yuan, subtly employing some kind of low-level seductive technique.

Zhou Yuan frowned, a cold glint flashing in his eyes, and coldly shouted, "Get lost!" His voice wasn't loud, but it carried the divine soul pressure of a Core Formation cultivator, directly shattering the insignificant seductive technique.

The girl screamed in surprise, her face turned pale, and she staggered backward, almost falling.

"Senior Zhou, please calm down!"

A gentle, sweet female voice rang out just in time. A beautiful woman stepped gracefully out of the shadows of a nearby shop. .

She looked to be around twenty-five or twenty-six years old, with a plump and graceful figure, wearing a well-tailored light purple dress.

Her skin was as white as snow, so delicate it seemed to break at a touch; her oval face was exquisitely beautiful; her hair was as black as clouds, styled into an elegant bun.

What is most striking are her bright eyes, clear as water, yet seemingly containing a myriad of charms. With each glance, Chengzi's unique allure is naturally revealed.

"Junior Fan Jingmei of Miaoyin Sect pays respects to Senior Zhou."

She bowed gracefully to Zhou Yuan, her voice soft and melodious, "My young disciple Yu'er is young and ignorant, and has offended you greatly just now. I hope that you, senior, will be magnanimous and forgive me."

As she spoke, she glared at the girl named Yu'er, "Hurry up and apologize to Senior Zhou!"

The young girl, Yu'er, immediately knelt down, her voice trembling:

"This junior knows his mistake, please forgive him, senior!"

"The Gate of Wonderful Sounds?"

Zhou Yuan's heart skipped a beat, and a perfectly timed look of surprise appeared on his face.

The name of this sect instantly stirred up his deep-seated memories. In the original story, it seemed that this sect, which was mainly composed of female cultivators, obtained a Heavenly Thunder Bamboo, a supreme treasure of the cultivation world, by some twist of fate at some point in the future.