Chapter 258: Chapter 258

Mu Zi held the Embroidering Heaven Needle, and for a moment, he simply couldn't bear to let it go.

The women present all cast envious looks his way, knowing that in this world, there are many who cherish loyalty and many who lack it.

In times of love, vows as vast as the seas and mountains can be spoken, but it is in the real trials that true character emerges.

How many people in the world would really part with seventy million for their beloved? Some simply cannot afford it, while many others will not. Yet, even if they did have it, how many would actually part with that amount of money...

The auction reached a climax with the appearance of the Spiritual Artifact, and Thirteen, the master of controlling the rhythm, seized the moment to unveil more magnificent items.

It was an Upper Grade Magical Artifact, an armor.

The crowd showed great enthusiasm for the armor, but Ding Fan had no interest in it at all. Now in possession of the mighty Nine Luminaries Fire, Ding Fan could craft such armor within minutes, provided he had the necessary materials.

The armor eventually was purchased by Ghost Qianzi. Aside from Elder Kong, the auctioneer, he was the only Earth-Level Martial Artist in the room. If Ghost Qianzi decided to bid, no one dared to compete against him.

Subsequent lots at the auction failed to spark interest, and Ding Fan hardly paid attention anymore. If it weren't for the need to exchange for the Soul Gathering Herb, Ding Fan would have left much earlier.

"We have reached the final item of the auction, which is a Second Grade Foundation Building Pill. However, this time, the seller has specified an item for exchange. Anyone here who can produce a Soul Gathering Herb can exchange it for this Second Grade Foundation Building Pill," announced Thirteen from the auction podium.

"My God! A simple Spirit Grass can be exchanged for a Second Grade Foundation Building Pill!"

"Had I known about such a great deal, I would have collected some Soul Gathering Herbs earlier..."

"Although not a top-grade Spirit Grass, Soul Gathering Herb can be tricky to obtain..."

The crazy act of exchanging a Soul Gathering Herb for a Second Grade Foundation Building Pill had everyone in shock. After all, a Second Grade Foundation Building Pill was worth around a hundred million, while the Soul Gathering Herb was worth at most several hundred thousand.

Exchanging something worth a hundred million for something of a few hundred thousand, how could they not be astounded?

"My God, I actually have... I actually have it!" At that moment, a young man stood up.

Right then, the Male Cultivator was like a lottery winner who hadn't yet recovered from the shock, dizzily standing up.

A few hundred thousand for a billion! With just a common Spirit Grass, he had exchanged for a Second Grade Foundation Building Pill, a huge win indeed!

Seeing someone step forward, Ding Fan breathed a sigh of relief. His main purpose today was the Soul Gathering Herb; without it, treating Mei Li's injuries would be extremely difficult, despite his extraordinary medical skills.

On stage, Thirteen saw the young man stand up and immediately arranged for someone to verify the authenticity of the Soul Gathering Herb. It didn't take long for the assessors to confirm it was genuine.

Once the authenticity of the Soul Gathering Herb was confirmed, someone quickly delivered the Foundation Building Pill to the young man.

Without wasting any time, the young man swallowed the pill on the spot and immediately sat down cross-legged.

Seeing this, the crowd secretly praised the young man's astuteness. Knowing that the supply of Second Grade Foundation Building Pills was limited, and that Ghost Qianzi, having strived all night, hadn't managed to secure one, they knew Ghost Qianzi would surely attack the young man if he left the auction with it.

Thus, the safest approach was to consume it right there.

In this auction, although Ghost Qianzi was domineering, he dared not be too arrogant.

"Now, with that, today's auction has come to an end. All items have been sold. I hope everyone has a wonderful evening, and may we meet again..."

Though Thirteen was past her prime, her final words were delivered with charm and grace that lingered.

Following Thirteen's closing remarks, everyone stood and began to leave.

"Sir, Elder Kong requests your presence. Please follow me to the backstage," an attendant approached Ding Fan's group respectfully as they were about to leave.

Being indebted to the auction for the opportunity, Ding Fan felt it would be uncouth simply to leave.

Ding Fan, Mu Zi, and Cheng Bufan followed the attendant towards the backstage.

Passing behind the curtain, they were led to a secluded private room where the attendant knocked respectfully before the door was opened, and Thirteen was already waiting inside.

"Sir, please come in!"

Ding Fan, unhesitant, strode into the room.

Ding Fan briefly surveyed the private room, which spanned only about forty to fifty square meters. Adorned in an antique style, the walls were festooned with calligraphy and paintings. With a casual sweep of his Divine Sense, Ding Fan could discern that all these artworks were authentic originals.

"An honored guest graces our doorstep, forgive me for not greeting you from afar, please accept my apologies..." At this moment, the hunchbacked elder known as Elder Kong came over with an apologetic smile.

"You flatter me, Elder..." Ding Fan said as he bowed with his hands clasped together.

At this moment, Shianni had already ushered Mu Zi and Cheng Bufan into the private room.

Busy, Shianni soon had them seated.

"I have pressing matters to attend to, so please speak frankly..." Ding Fan said directly.

Mei Li's injury still awaited Ding Fan's treatment, and he didn't have time to engage in idle chatter. Moreover, Ding Fan believed that if Elder Kong had asked him to stay, it certainly wouldn't merely be for casual conversation and tea.

Elder Kong spoke from the side. "Since you're so direct, I won't beat around the bush. To be honest, alchemists are extremely scarce nowadays. As you've seen, my auction house has way too few items of real significance to showcase. What I mean to ask... is whether you might help us connect with some contacts to acquire more medicine pills for auction.

We won't take any commission; our aim is simply to lay a deeper foundation for my auction house..."

Ding Fan slowly nodded his head. It seemed that they needed him for the medicine pills.

After a moment of contemplation, Ding Fan responded. "Very well, I can agree to assist with the pill matter here. However, as for the commission, you should take what you normally take. Business is business, and we should keep it separate from friendship."

Being able to practice alchemy and exchange it for some money was a good approach for Ding Fan. As for the commission, he did not want to owe the auction house too many favors because of a marginal cost.

After all, favors are the most expensive commodities in the world—sometimes, one spends a lifetime unable to repay them.

Therefore, for matters that could be settled with a slight profit, Ding Fan preferred not to involve personal obligations.

Elder Kong was an extremely wise individual. Seeing Ding Fan insist on this, he did not press further.

"Young friend, here is a token of my appreciation, please accept it!"

As he spoke, Elder Kong handed a white stone to Ding Fan.

When Ding Fan received the stone, he was taken aback. Known as the Nuwa Stone in the Cultivation World, legend had it that Nuwa used this very ore when she mended the heavens.

Whether the stone could mend the heavens or was actually used by Nuwa was beyond verification, but this stone could enhance a storage ring and create realms.

This particular stone was called the Chaotic Heavenly Stone. Even Transcendance Tribulation Stage experts in the Cultivation World considered it an invaluable treasure, showcasing its extraordinary worth.

"We don't know the name of this ore, but I believe it should be of great assistance to you..." Elder Kong said as he handed the Chaotic Heavenly Stone to Ding Fan.

"Since that's the case, I won't be polite!"

Ding Fan then directly accepted the Chaotic Heavenly Stone.

Such a treasure would be top-notch even in the Cultivation World. With this meat right at his doorstep, how could Ding Fan let it slip away? Even pleasantries were unnecessary as he straightforwardly accepted it.

"Here is also a bank card, which represents the money you earned at the auction. Additionally, the Soul Gathering Herb has already been packaged."

As Elder Kong finished speaking, an attendant came over with a beautifully crafted Sandalwood box and handed it to Ding Fan.

With a sweep of his Divine Sense, Ding Fan saw that the Sandalwood box indeed contained the Soul Gathering Herb. ᴜᴘᴅᴀᴛᴇ ꜰʀᴏᴍ 𝕟𝕠𝕧𝕖𝕝~𝕗𝕚𝕣𝕖~𝕟𝕖𝕥

At this instant, Mu Zi, standing close by, looked on enviously at Ding Fan.

Ding Fan's influence was incredibly significant. Elder Kong, clearly a figure of high standing, was exceedingly attentive, elevating Ding Fan's reputation to the sky.

After accepting the items Elder Kong handed to him, Ding Fan didn't conceal them and directly took out some of the pill pellets he had recently refined from his storage ring.

"Here I also have two second-grade pill pellets, one third-grade pill pellet, and seven or eight first-grade pill pellets. You can take them on consignment here."

Lately, with the Nine Luminaries Fire, Ding Fan's alchemy skills had improved rapidly; producing a dozen or so first-grade pill pellets in a single batch was nothing special, and second and third-grade ones appeared occasionally.

Seeing Ding Fan take out these pill pellets in one go, Elder Kong's eyes lit up. A single first-grade pill pellet was a treasure, and to suddenly have so many appear...

Elder Kong felt secretly fortunate.

It seemed he had bet on the right horse!