I'm in the Demonic Sect, but my cultivation techniques are being used for palace intrigue!

Gazing at the faintly flowing crimson patterns on the surface of the Ganoderma lucidum, Wang Meng immediately called out, "Five spirit stones—I'll take this!"

"Five spirit stones and you think you can get this 'Crimson Blood Spirit Mushroom'? Ha!" Poison Hand Li San sneered, then coldly raised the price, "Six spirit stones!"

"I'll offer seven dollars... If you raise the price again, then you can take it!" Wang Meng glared angrily at Li San.

"Seven dollars... it wouldn't be worth it to raise the price any further!" After a moment's thought, Poison Hand Li San decided not to raise the price any further.

Seeing that Poisonous Hand Li San had stopped, Wang Meng immediately looked at the Crimson Blood Spirit Mushroom on the auction stage with great delight, as if he had already acquired this precious material.

But unexpectedly...

"Eight pieces!"

At the crucial moment, a bald, shirtless man offered to raise the price by one spirit stone.

"What?" Wang Meng immediately turned his head and glared fiercely at the man who had spoken.

Facing Wang Meng's gaze, the bald man was completely unafraid and glared back fiercely.

Meanwhile, Zhu Jingguang sat quietly to the side, observing everything with a cold eye.

  

He was actually quite interested in the Crimson Blood Ganoderma, after all, one of the techniques he cultivated, "Blood Explosion Burning Technique," was extremely taxing on his blood and qi. If he had this Ganoderma in hand, he could replenish his blood and qi at crucial moments, thus making him more resilient when burning his blood and qi to increase his strength.

But... eight low-grade spirit stones, and if you add another one, it will be nine, which is really not worth it!

"I remember, Senior Sister Tan and the man in blood only had a few spirit stones in their storage bags before... Now, this bald man is throwing away eight spirit stones in one go..."

Zhu Jingguang glanced at the bald man with some surprise, and couldn't help but become cautious.

"Nine pieces!"

After hesitating for a while, Wang Meng gritted his teeth and added a spirit stone—clearly, this was the limit of what he could offer!

"Ten yuan!"

Unexpectedly, the bald man shouted out such an "exorbitant price" without any hesitation!

It is indeed an astronomical price. After all, this Crimson Blood Ganoderma is definitely not worth ten low-grade spirit stones!

Wang Meng's face flushed red, but in the end, he lowered his head in dejection.

"Alright! Fellow Daoist Dingguang has bid ten spirit stones. Any higher bids?"

Zhao Shigang asked the people present with some excitement.

He couldn't help it; he couldn't help but get excited!

The very first item up for auction fetched a price of ten spirit stones... double the starting price he had set!

This means that it is very likely that the number of spirit stones that the cultivators present can produce today is definitely more than they initially expected!

Unable to contain his excitement, Zhao Shigang licked his slightly dry lips.

After looking around, Zhao Shigang, seeing that no one else was bidding, immediately declared, "Sold!"

The transaction was completed quickly—the bald man who took out ten spirit stones from his storage bag flicked his finger, and the ten spirit stones were neatly stacked on the sandalwood table in front of Zhao Shigang.

"Next up is the second item."

Zhao Shigang waved his hand, and the maid replaced the tray with a new one.

This time, instead of spiritual herbs, there was a yellowed ancient scroll made of animal hide.

"This second item is somewhat special."

Zhao Shigang lowered his voice and said mysteriously,

"This is a tattered scroll of talisman diagrams, called the 'Blazing Fire Talisman'!"

"Although it's only incomplete, according to Zhao's research, the Fiery Talisman recorded on it is 30% more powerful than the Fiery Talismans commonly found on the market!"

"If someone is proficient in this art, they could buy it and study it; perhaps it would help them improve their skills in talismans!"

"The starting bid remains five low-grade spirit stones!"

…………

These words immediately caused a stir in the previously quiet side hall.

Talismans are an important tool for cultivators in combat!

A more powerful talisman can often determine life or death at a critical moment.

"let me see!"

Many people couldn't help but stand up, wanting to go forward and check the authenticity of the ancient animal skin scroll.

Zhu Jingguang's gaze also narrowed slightly—the way of talismans is profound and extensive, and the original body of his current body had also ventured into this path!

Unfortunately, although the original owner had ventured into this field, he only knew some low-level water talismans and lightness talismans. As for offensive talismans... he was willing to get involved, but unfortunately, he lacked resources. Until he transmigrated here, he had never exchanged for any offensive talismans for research!

"Now that I've reached the sixth level of Qi Refining, attacks from talismans like the 'Blazing Fire Talisman' are no longer a threat to me!"

"After all, this talisman is completely ineffective against enemies I cannot defeat, while I can easily suppress enemies who can be severely injured by it with a single palm strike..."

"If this talisman weren't too expensive, I could auction it off and do some research, but the starting price is only five low-grade spirit stones... Emmm... I think I'll pass!"

…………

While Zhu Jingguang was pondering these things, on the other side, Zhao Shigang allowed those who were interested in bidding for the talisman to come forward and examine the "Blazing Fire Talisman" without making any attempt to stop them.

Then, this "Blazing Fire Talisman" diagram was eventually auctioned off to a slightly gloomy-looking man for a starting price of five spirit stones.

Several more items were then brought to the auction stage—these items were consigned to Zhao Shigang by some of the cultivators present, including damaged magical artifacts, unknown animal bones, and some rare spiritual herbs…

Zhu Jingguang did not make a move.

He simply observed quietly, listening to the discussions around him, piecing together a rough picture of the prices in the cultivation world... or rather, the demonic sect!

"Next up is today's final auction item."

Suddenly, at that moment, Zhao Shigang's voice rose a few decibels, and his expression... suddenly became solemn.

"This thing was something I obtained by chance from the body of a deceased cultivator of my sect in a secret realm. After making inquiries, I discovered that it was actually a 'key'!"

"A key?" Everyone was taken aback.

"Yes, it is indeed a key!"

At this moment, Zhao Shigang's eyes gleamed with excitement, agitation, disbelief... and a complex light mixed with a hint of incomprehension...

"You might not believe it, but this is indeed a key that can open the 'Crimson Secret Realm'!"

"It is said that within that crimson secret realm, not only are the legacies of ancient cultivators found, but more importantly... there are even clues to the Foundation Establishment Pill!"

"but……"

boom!

The moment the words "Foundation Building Pill" were uttered, the entire side hall erupted in excitement, to the point that no one paid any attention to what followed Zhao Shigang's "but"!

There's no way around it; for Qi Refining stage cultivators, the words "Foundation Establishment" are just too tempting!