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

Chapter 340 Thousand-Mile Traction Talisman! A thousand miles in an instant!

Zhou Yuan handed over the spirit stones and pocketed the Yin Jujube; the trade fair continued.

The items that followed were indeed rarer and more bizarre than the last.

Any one of these items would be the grand finale at a major auction, but here, they're just appetizers.

Such as "Ghostly Grass," a highly poisonous spiritual herb that grows in the core of an ancient mass grave, absorbing endless death energy and resentment.

The starting bid was 100,000 spirit stones, and it was eventually sold for 280,000 spirit stones.

There is also "Jade Rubber," which is the core sap that the "Jade Oak," a spiritual tree of heaven and earth, secretes only once every thousand years. It is an excellent material for refining magical artifacts, mechanical puppets, and even certain special talismans. As soon as it appeared, it sparked a fierce competition among several cultivators specializing in puppetry, and was eventually auctioned off for a sky-high price of 350,000 spirit stones.

One after another, items with names that sounded eerie or ancient were presented, and almost every one of them was immediately offered an astonishingly high price by connoisseurs.

Auctions of this caliber are indeed unmatched by ordinary large-scale auctions.

Those who can sit in this hall are all true elites of the Great Jin cultivation world, with abundant wealth and extremely high vision.

Zhou Yuan remained calm and collected, making frequent moves.

His current net worth is a mountain of spirit stones, amounting to hundreds of millions when converted to low-grade spirit stones!

This expense is nothing to him.

Zhou Yuan had already spent over six million spirit stones on these "appetizers" alone, bidding for more than a dozen rare materials, including Yin Jujube, Ghostly Grass, and Jade Rubber.

His extravagant spending, almost like a "shopping spree," drew the attention of many figures shrouded in green light in the hall, who secretly wondered which powerful faction he belonged to, possessing such immense wealth.

However, sensing the undisguised late-stage Nascent Soul aura emanating from Zhou Yuan, no one dared to harbor any covetous thoughts.

Finally, the auction organized by the organizers came to an end. The white-robed figure cleared his throat and announced loudly, "Fellow Daoists, the organizers' auction has now concluded. Next, it is time for your private transactions. If any of you have treasures you wish to exchange or sell, you may come up on stage in turn to display them. However, according to the rules, each Daoist who comes up on stage to trade, regardless of whether the transaction is successful, must pay the organizers 10,000 spirit stones as a venue and handling fee."

As soon as he finished speaking, a figure shrouded in gray light eagerly leaped onto the platform, took out several spiritually vibrant materials from his storage bag, and expressed his desire to exchange them for several specific medicinal herbs for alchemy.

Soon, a cultivator below the stage responded. After a brief exchange of voices, the two seemed to have reached an agreement and completed the transaction on the spot, to everyone's delight.

Once the first person took the plunge, other cultivators eagerly followed suit.

Rare and precious items, rarely seen in ordinary times, were brought up to the stage by the cultivators in turn. Some successfully exchanged them for their desired items, while others had to leave the stage with regret because the other party's asking price was too high or the required items were too uncommon.

Zhou Yuan did not rush to go on stage. He waited patiently, observing each treasure that was brought on stage, until the tenth person stepped down. Only then did he slowly stand up and walk behind the jade table in the center of the hall.

With a flick of his wrist, a fist-sized, crimson-red inner core of an eighth-level demon beast appeared on the jade table, radiating a dense demonic aura and oppressive power.

Immediately afterwards, he took out several ancient treasures that shimmered with spiritual light and had different shapes, including knives, swords, bells, mirrors, and rings. These were all spoils of war he had obtained over the years after killing various Nascent Soul cultivators, and they were all in pretty good condition.

Finally, he took out a square jade box and gently opened the lid.

As soon as the lid was opened, an extremely pure spiritual energy spread out like a tide!

Inside the jade box, twenty emerald-green spirit stones were neatly arranged—twenty high-grade spirit stones!

"hiss--!

"High-grade spirit stones! Twenty of them!"

"This person has quite the grand gesture!"

A collective gasp and suppressed gasps immediately rose from the audience!

High-grade spirit stones are something even late-stage Nascent Soul cultivators would covet.

It can be used to set up top-level formations, assist in breaking through cultivation bottlenecks, or quickly restore mana when it is exhausted!

Normally, it would be considered lucky to see one or two coins, but this person actually took out twenty at once!

"So many wonderful things—who on earth is this person? They must be incredibly wealthy!"

"Judging from his aura, he's undoubtedly in the late Nascent Soul stage—could he be a disciple trained by some reclusive old monster?"

"I wonder what you wish to exchange these treasures for?" the white-robed figure asked with a hint of curiosity.

Zhou Yuan's gaze swept across the entire hall, and his voice rang out calmly: "I wish to exchange these items for two materials, Radiant Crystals and Five Elements Jade! If any fellow Daoist possesses these two materials, please come up on stage and discuss the details with me; the price is negotiable!"

"Radiant Crystal? Five Elements Jade?"

A murmur of discussion immediately arose from the audience.

Both of these materials are among the most exquisite treasures in the world, extremely rare and hard to come by.

The former is an excellent material for refining certain top-tier illusion magic treasures or breaking through illusory supernatural powers, while the latter contains the power of the five elements and is a core material for refining top-tier magic treasures with five element attributes or repairing certain ancient treasures!

"Radiant Crystal—I happen to have one in my warehouse."

After a moment of silence, a slightly aged voice rang out.

Immediately afterwards, the white-robed figure sent someone to fetch something. A moment later, someone handed him a box. He flipped his hand and opened the jade box. Inside, lying quietly, was a strange crystal about the size of an infant's fist, with a warm, milky-yellow color and ripples of light purple light spreading across its surface.

The halo seemed to possess a magical power, causing anyone who stared at it for even a moment to feel dizzy and as if their mind was being sucked into it.

"It is indeed the Radiant Crystal!" Zhou Yuan was certain, confirming that there was no mistake.

The white-robed figure said, "I wish to use this item to exchange for half of your twenty high-grade spirit stones, that is, ten. In addition—that poisoned ancient flying knife."

Zhou Yuan glanced at the dark green ancient throwing knife. Although its power was considerable, it wasn't something he used often. Exchanging it for the dazzling crystal was entirely worthwhile. He nodded without hesitation: "Deal!"

He took out half of the high-grade spirit stone, along with the dark green flying knife, and pushed it in front of the white-robed figure.

The white-clad figure pushed the jade box containing the dazzling crystal in front of Zhou Yuan. Zhou Yuan took the jade box, scanned it with his divine sense, confirmed it was genuine, and was overjoyed!

Another core material for crafting puppets has been obtained!

"Now, only the Five Elements Jade remains." Zhou Yuan's gaze swept across the audience again.

"Five Elements Jade—I happen to have one here." A slightly cold female voice rang out.

A cultivator, shrouded in a dense purple light and whose figure and face were obscured, slowly spoke, "However, I wish to exchange this Five Elements Jade for your level eight demon core, plus—ten high-grade spirit stones!"

Upon hearing this, Zhou Yuan nodded without the slightest hesitation: "Deal!"

He put away the level-eight demon core, then took out ten high-grade spirit stones, and pushed them, along with the demon core, toward the purple-light female cultivator.

The female cultivator with the purple light readily tossed over a jade box. Zhou Yuan caught it and opened it, finding inside a piece of jade about the size of a palm.

The jade, with its body shimmering with five colors—blue, red, yellow, white, and black—as if containing the ever-flowing power of the five elements, is indeed the Five Elements Jade!

"Good! Good! Good!"

Zhou Yuan felt extremely pleased and couldn't help but praise himself three times in his heart!

As expected of an underground trade fair that gathers the top experts of the Great Jin Dynasty!

The two most essential materials for refining weapons that had troubled him for so long were gathered here so easily!

If he were to search for it himself, traveling all over the country, who knows how many years and how much energy it would take!

He bowed slightly to the female cultivator radiating purple light and the figure in white light, then stepped down from the platform and returned to his seat. One of the biggest goals of this trip had been achieved!

During the subsequent private trading session, many more cultivators went up on stage. Some successfully obtained what they needed, while others left disappointed.

During this time, some cultivators got up and left. They knew that they did not have the financial resources or strength to compete for the final prize, and rather than stay and stare blankly, they would rather leave early to avoid unnecessary trouble.

Later, fewer than a hundred people remained in the hall. But those few who remained were all truly at the top of the pyramid in the Great Jin cultivation world, either possessing immense wealth or having extraordinary backgrounds.

"clang--!"

Another clear chime rang out. The white-clad figure returned to the jade table, his voice carrying a hint of mystery and solemnity: "Fellow Daoists, the private trading session is now over. Next, we will proceed with the grand finale of this trade fair!"

As soon as he finished speaking, a figure slowly walked out from the side door of the hall and came to the jade table.

Unlike the others who concealed their figures with spiritual light, this person directly reached out and removed the concealment talisman from his chest, revealing a square, dignified, and composed face. He was none other than Ye Tianhua, the second elder of the Ye family of the Great Jin royal family!

Ye Tianhua cupped his hands in greeting to the four directions and said bluntly, "Fellow Daoists, I won't beat around the bush. My Ye family has spent a century of painstaking effort and used countless precious materials to refine a replica of the Heavenly Treasure Mountain-Opening Seal! Today, it will be auctioned off right here!"

He flipped his palm over, revealing a small seal, about the size of a palm, dark blue-black in color, square in shape, with an ancient-looking character "镇" (zhen, meaning town) engraved on the bottom.

As soon as Xiao Yin appeared, a calm and heavy, seemingly overwhelming pressure spread out, making everyone present feel a chill in their hearts!

"The power of this treasure is self-evident, and I need not elaborate further. The rules are as follows—"

""

Ye Tianhua took out a jade slip and announced loudly, "My Ye family has prepared a list of rare materials that my family urgently needs. Fellow Daoists, you can use the materials on the list to submit your quotes!"

"Whoever can provide the most diverse and highest-value materials will receive this treasure! Of course, if the value of the materials provided is clearly too low and does not meet the Ye family's expectations, the Ye family has the right to refuse the transaction. In that case, we will hold another auction using spirit stones, with a starting price of three million spirit stones!"

As soon as he finished speaking, he projected the contents of the jade slip into the void with his magic power, making it visible to everyone present.

Zhou Yuan's gaze swept over the list, and his brows furrowed slightly.

The materials listed are all the most exquisite treasures in the world!

He had only seen the names of many of these materials in ancient books, but had never actually seen them in person!

There were even a few names he'd never heard of! Trying to exchange materials for this treasure was practically an impossible task.

"It seems I have no choice but to fight with spirit stones," Zhou Yuan thought to himself.

He remained calm.

When it comes to spirit stones, he is confident that no one present is richer than him.

As long as the Ye family ultimately chooses to bid for the spirit stones, he is absolutely confident that he can acquire this treasure!

Next, as expected, three or four figures, shrouded in spiritual light, stepped forward one after another and had a private telepathic exchange with Ye Tianhua.

Two of them possessed the aura of late-stage Nascent Soul cultivators! Clearly, they were determined to obtain the Mountain-Opening Seal.

However, after some consideration, Ye Tianhua finally reached an agreement with a figure whose aura was shrouded in a dense blue light and whose peak was at the mid-stage of the Nascent Soul realm!

The two apparently completed the transaction using some extremely rare material!

"Sigh, someone beat me to it." Zhou Yuan felt slightly disappointed, but he didn't dwell on it too much.

Although the Mountain-Opening Seal is incredibly powerful, it is ultimately just a replica and not something he can do without.

Since it was replaced by someone else, it's just that our time together wasn't meant to be.

He didn't linger. While the others were still focused on the transaction of the Mountain-Opening Seal, he quietly got up, left the hall, and used the teleportation array he had come from to leave the underground trading venue.

After leaving the underground trading venue and reappearing in the desolate mountains, Zhou Yuan determined his direction and then used his movement technique to fly tens of thousands of miles in one breath.

Only after confirming that there were no signs of being followed or spied on did they land in a secluded valley.

He found a naturally formed cave, set up several layers of concealment and defensive restrictions, then sat cross-legged and took out the jade box that sealed the Nascent Soul of the Yinluo Sect Master, Li Gu.

He opened the seal on the jade box, and the ethereal, terrified Nascent Soul of Li Gu immediately floated out, trembling and kneeling before Zhou Yuan, its voice choked with sobs and pleading: "Fellow Daoist Zhou! Spare me! Spare me!"

"If you spare my life, I'm willing to offer up my entire life savings! I have a large quantity of spirit stones, magical treasures, and cultivation techniques hidden in several secret caves! I can offer them all to you, senior!"

Zhou Yuan looked at him expressionlessly without saying a word.

He stretched out his hand, his five fingers spread, and an invisible divine power surged out like a tide, instantly enveloping Li Gu's nascent soul!

"Soul Search!"

With Zhou Yuan's current powerful divine sense, comparable to that of an early-stage Nascent Soul cultivator, searching the soul of a forbidden mid-stage Nascent Soul cultivator is as easy as taking candy from a baby.

Li Gu Nascent Soul let out a shrill scream, and his consciousness was forcibly read and copied by Zhou Yuan like a flood that had burst its banks!

Numerous fragments of memory flashed before Zhou Yuan's eyes like a revolving lantern: the Yinluo Sect's cultivation techniques and secret arts, the power struggles within the sect, the location of its treasure vault, and the locations and opening methods of Li Gu's several secret cave dwellings—all of which Zhou Yuan clearly acquired.

A moment later, Zhou Yuan withdrew his hand, a knowing glint in his eyes.

With a flick of his finger, a wisp of azure ice flame flew out, instantly freezing and annihilating Li Gu's nascent soul, turning it into nothingness.

"Yinluo Sect—I will settle accounts with you slowly after I have refined the Thousand-Mile Guiding Talisman."

Zhou Yuan muttered to himself.

He took a deep breath and calmed himself down.

Now, all the materials needed to refine the Thousand-Mile Traction Talisman, including the Broken Jade, are complete. "It's time to refine this life-saving trump card."

"9

Zhou Yuan's eyes gleamed with anticipation.

Once the Thousand-Mile Traction Talisman is successfully crafted, he can traverse a thousand miles in an instant!

Even if he were to encounter a Nascent Soul stage monster, he would be confident that he could escape with ease using this talisman!

Without further hesitation, he began to adjust his state and prepare to refine this heaven-defying talisman that would change the course of his destiny.