Mortal: Starting with the Golden Jade Book

Six months later.

With another pill swallowed, Lin Zui activated his cultivation technique to refine it into wisps of spiritual energy, and the bottleneck of the sixth level, which had been stagnant for several days, was finally broken through in one fell swoop.

The dantian expanded once again, and a large amount of spiritual energy was drawn into the Five Elements Vortex within the dantian, where it was instantly refined into magical power.

A moment later, as the afterglow of the breakthrough faded, Lin Zui felt the surging magical power within his body and the empty dantian, a sense of relief mixed with a hint of helplessness.

"Breaking through to the next level requires even more magical power; I'm afraid it will take at least three to five years of accumulation."

Lin Zui shook his head and smiled bitterly. The seventh level of Qi Refining is the dividing line between the middle and late stages of Qi Refining. It requires more mana and the bottleneck is more difficult to break through than the other levels. For someone like him who cultivates all five elements, it is naturally even more difficult.

"However, relying on the Spirit Void Formation to accumulate mana is fine in normal times, but when breaking through a barrier, you still have to rely on yourself. If he hadn't decisively removed the formation this time and used pills to break through, it would have taken him a long time just to break through the sixth level."

He shook his head and put away the remaining pills.

"Forget it, the auction is about to start. Let's hurry up and restore the formation so we can go and witness this auction of rare treasures!"

three days later.

Seven Star Tower in Qingfengfang.

"The secret technique 'Transforming Shadows and Flowing Light' has been bid 1500 spirit stones by fellow Daoist No. 55. Is there anyone bidding higher?"

"Are there any higher ones...?"

Lin Zui sat in the crowd, watching the auctioneer on the stage gesticulating wildly and shouting, feeling both surprised and hesitant.

To my utter surprise, the auction had barely begun when the secret technique I needed appeared. This "Shadow Flowing Light" secret technique mainly focuses on close-range evasion and burst acceleration. For someone like me who has never practiced close combat skills and can only use shields to tank damage, it is undoubtedly a very good choice.

However, judging from the fact that most of the people present seemed uninterested, with only two or three people making token bids, it was easy to guess that this was not some rare secret technique.

Should I take a picture of it? Or should I wait and see? What if there aren't any better ones later?

A complete novice participating in an auction for the first time inevitably felt a sense of anxiety and uncertainty.

"1500 spirit stones, any higher bids? If not, this 'Transforming Shadow and Flowing Light' secret technique belongs to Fellow Daoist No. 55!"

Just then, the auctioneer on stage called out the price for the third time. Clearly, no one else was bidding, and the item was about to be sold.

"1600 spirit stones!"

In the end, Lin Zui still chose to make a bid. There might be better items later, but there would definitely be many competitors. What if he couldn't win the bid? Wouldn't that be a complete loss?

Although he had accumulated over 20,000 spirit stones by making and selling talismans in the past six months, he was probably only at an average level among the many Foundation Establishment cultivators present. He wasn't so arrogant as to think that he could look down on everyone just because of his wealth.

Hearing another bid, the auctioneer perked up and called out again, "1600 spirit stones! Fellow Daoist number 72 has bid 1600 spirit stones! Anyone else want to raise the price?"

The bidder who had previously placed the bid, number 55, hesitated for a moment before adding another hundred spirit stones. However, before the auctioneer could speak, Lin Zui followed suit and added another hundred.

"1800 spirit stones!"

"Fellow Daoist No. 72 has bid 1800 spirit stones! Is there anyone bidding higher? Is there anyone bidding higher?"

The Foundation Establishment cultivator, number 55, glanced back at Lin Zui, only to find that the other was wearing a cloak and a mask, his entire body shrouded in a layer of dark mist, making it impossible to discern his specific appearance or magical cultivation level.

Sensing the other party's divine sense probing, Lin Zui revealed a slight smile. The magical artifacts on his body that concealed his aura were enough to resist the intrusion of the divine sense of a late Foundation Establishment cultivator. In other words, unless the other party had cultivated a special divine sense technique like Han Li, it would be virtually impossible for them to see through his true appearance.

Sure enough, after a few attempts, the man frowned. Whether he was wary of Lin Zui or felt that the secret technique wasn't worth the price, he stopped bidding and gave up on the technique altogether.

The auctioneer called out the price several times, and after confirming that no one would bid higher, the price was finally settled.

"Sold! Congratulations to fellow Daoist No. 72 for winning this 'Transforming Shadows and Flowing Light' secret technique!"

"The next item up for auction is this top-grade magical artifact, the Heavenly Cloud Halberd! Starting bid..."

The auction continued, and as one exquisite item after another appeared, the atmosphere in the room gradually heated up.

Lin Zui made several more attempts, but in the fierce competition, the prices gradually exceeded his acceptable range, so he had no choice but to give up.

"There are plenty of good things, but there are also a lot of rich people."

Seeing that a mid-to-high-level Ice Prison Talisman had just been auctioned off for a high price of 1200 spirit stones, Lin Zui sighed helplessly.

He was still very interested in this talisman, but unfortunately the price was too high.

Of course, the main reason is that he has no hope of making intermediate or high-level talismans in the short term; otherwise, he would not have given up no matter how high the price was.

Just then, another item was brought up by the waiter.

"The next item up for auction is the secret technique passed down hundreds of years ago by the Nascent Soul cultivator, True Monarch Wanfu—the Myriad Manifestations Armor!"

As soon as the auctioneer finished speaking, several gasps of surprise suddenly rang out in the room.

"The Myriad Talisman True Monarch? Is that the Nascent Soul cultivator from the Tianluo Kingdom who is known as invincible among his peers due to his unparalleled talisman techniques?"

"Impossible! How could such a secret, unparalleled technique appear at an auction of this caliber?"

"That's right. If it's true, even Core Formation cultivators would flock to it."

The Foundation Establishment cultivators clearly didn't believe it, and the auctioneer wasn't in a hurry to explain. He listened quietly to their discussion before smiling and speaking.

"Hehe, fellow Daoists, you must have heard all the legends about this Nascent Soul True Monarch to have such questions. As you have said, if it were truly the complete secret technique of the Myriad Talisman True Monarch, it would naturally not appear here."

The auctioneer paused here, but those present naturally understood his implied meaning.

"Could it be that this secret technique is incomplete?"

"Indeed, this secret technique only covers the Qi Refining and Foundation Establishment stages; the rest is missing. However, the Myriad Talisman True Monarch was able to fight several cultivators of the same level without being at a disadvantage with his talismanic skills. His mastery of talismans is probably unmatched in Tiannan. Even though it is an incomplete secret technique, it is still of great reference value..."

Upon hearing that it only contained content from the Qi Refining and Foundation Establishment stages, some people immediately showed disappointment. For the many Foundation Establishment cultivators present, if there were any content from the Core Formation stage or later, they would try their best to compete for it. However, if it was only a part of the Foundation Establishment stage, its value would be greatly reduced.

The auctioneer didn't seem to mind and continued to talk at length, recounting the various achievements of the Myriad Mandates True Lord back then.

Lin Zui was greatly moved. For a spendthrift like him who had a large number of talismans but only knew how to use shields to withstand attacks and cover firepower, if he could have a systematic talisman combat method, the improvement in combat power would be far greater than that of one or two top-grade magic weapons.

Although he didn't know how much of it was embellished, even if it was only five or six parts true, he was absolutely determined to master this secret technique.

"Alright, next up, the auction for the Nascent Soul stage expert's unique secret technique—the Myriad Manifestations Armor—will begin. The starting price is one thousand spirit stones. Fellow Daoists, you may place your bids now."

"One thousand five hundred spirit stones!"

"two thousand!"

"Three thousand spirit stones!"

"..."

As soon as the first bidder appeared, the atmosphere quickly heated up, and the price soared, multiplying several times over in no time.

However, once the price reached 6,000 spirit stones, many who wanted to take advantage of the situation had no choice but to withdraw, leaving only three people still bidding.

"Eight thousand spirit stones! I am quite interested in this secret technique. I hope you two fellow Daoists will give me face. I am Huang Ming from Tianque Fortress, and I will repay you in the future."

Suddenly, one of the red-faced old men, who looked to be in his fifties or sixties, stood up, cupped his hands to the two men, and slightly revealed his late Foundation Establishment cultivation level, which even carried a hint of threat.

The auctioneer's face darkened upon seeing this. This was the worst thing that could happen at an auction. Without competition, how could they make money?

"Fellow Daoist Huang Ming, what is the meaning of this? Are you perhaps threatening these two fellow Daoists?"