Chapter 949: Chapter 949
"The auction will begin soon. If any friends present have items to auction, please quickly head backstage to connect with our staff. We take a 20% commission on items sold, and the rest will be fully returned to the sellers."
Ding Fan immediately placed three pills he had recently refined onto the auction list.
Among the three pills, one was a Spirit Level Grade One Pill that Ding Fan intended to auction. Using this Profound Level Grade One Pill currently would be somewhat wasteful for him, so he decided to auction it off in exchange for cultivation resources he needed more.
In addition to the Spirit Level Grade One Pill, Ding Fan also submitted two Grade Seven Pills. Meanwhile, other martial artists gradually placed the magic artifacts they intended to auction, before returning one by one to their seats.
The elder gave a few brief instructions, and the auction soon officially began.
The elder was responsible for running the auction. Ding Fan, remembering the Longxi Auction from before, recalled that it had been organized by Wu Die at the time.
"Today's first auction item is a Grade Nine Artifact of Attack." The elder spoke briefly while reaching out with a gesture to grasp mid-air, drawing a longsword from behind him into his hands.
Just this technique displayed by the elder alone was enough to earn a wave of admiration from everyone present. It should be noted that even Beginner Level Profound martial artists couldn't achieve such a feat, making the elder's overwhelming cultivation unmistakable.
"Twin-Blade Sword, forged from Heaven and Earth Spirit Mine. Auction currency: Spirit Stones," the elder said concisely.
Right from the start, the auction featured a Grade Nine Artifact of Attack. Ding Fan rubbed his nose; this auction indeed seemed to carry substantial depth.
In ordinary auctions, even a Grade Five Artifact of Attack would attract a stir. So a Grade Nine Artifact of Attack at this point was an even bigger deal.
"Starting price: 10,000 Spirit Stones," the elder announced loud and clear.
Ding Fan couldn't help but gasp.
This Grade Nine Artifact of Attack was outrageously expensive. Despite slaying numerous powerful figures, Ding Fan had barely amassed less than 50,000 Spirit Stones.
This single longsword was being priced at 10,000 Spirit Stones as merely the starting bid.
"I bid 11,000 Spirit Stones."
"I absolutely must have this sword. I'll bid 15,000 Spirit Stones!"
The surroundings erupted in madness as though Spirit Stones were worthless. Within moments, the bid for the Twin-Blade Sword escalated to 20,000 Spirit Stones.
Finally, the Grade Nine Artifact of Attack was purchased by an elderly woman for 23,000 Spirit Stones.
Ding Fan originally thought his 50,000 Spirit Stones were already a decent sum. But now he realized it was only barely enough to buy two Grade Nine Artifacts of Attack at most in this auction.
Recalling how he had tossed away his Long Whip outside the forbidden grounds of Ice City to evade Gui Xing, Ding Fan felt a pang of regret. That whip had been worth over 20,000 Spirit Stones.
The subsequent items auctioned included various ores and rare materials.
Ding Fan wasn't particularly interested in these. After all, the starting prices here casually exceeded 10,000 Spirit Stones, making them somewhat difficult to stomach.
Ding Fan swept his Divine Sense around the venue.
Since entering the auction, Ding Fan hadn't noticed anyone from the Ghost Sect. Even now, not a single member of the Ghost Sect was visible.
For an auction of this scale, it made no sense for the Ghost Sect—one of the three major forces among the Hidden Sects—not to participate.
Something was clearly amiss. If the Ghost Sect was orchestrating some major upheaval, it remained unpredictably ominous.
"The next item for auction is a Grade Seven Spirit Pill…" At that moment, the elder on stage began auctioning Ding Fan's Foundation Building Pill.
Pills above Second Grade were already considered treasures. Within the Hidden Sects, Grade Five or Six Pills were exceptionally rare. Thus, a Grade Seven Foundation Building Pill appearing directly here was astonishing.
"With the right cultivation technique, a single Grade Seven Foundation Building Pill can help an Earth Level martial artist ascend to Heavenly Level," the elder announced in a booming voice.
Due to its rarity, the Grade Seven Foundation Building Pill's effects described by the elder had been annotated entirely by Ding Fan.
As the elder finished speaking, murmurs of excitement arose among the audience.
Ascending from Earth Level to Heavenly Level was a major hurdle for countless individuals, with many trapped in Earth Level for a lifetime.
Now, there appeared a pill capable of helping Earth Level martial artists directly break through to Heavenly Level cultivation.
Heavenly Level martial artists formed the backbone of the Hidden Sects. Adding even a few more Heavenly Level martial artists could significantly bolster a sect's strength.
"Does this pill really work?" came a skeptical voice from the crowd.
"Indeed. If it truly delivers its effects, I'd pay any price. But if it's a sham, wouldn't we just be wasting our Spirit Stones?"
The elder seemed to anticipate these doubts from the audience.
"The purchaser will be allowed to test the pill on-site. If it proves ineffective, we will refund all Spirit Stones," the elder declared calmly.
The elder had not previously discussed this arrangement with Ding Fan, but Ding Fan didn't mind.
After all, true gold fears no fire.
Upon hearing the elder's words, the audience perked up in excitement.
"Starting price: 10,000 Spirit Stones," the elder proclaimed directly.
"I bid 15,000 Spirit Stones," someone immediately called out.
"18,000…" Content orıginally comes from 𝓷𝓸𝓿𝓮𝓵✶𝕗𝕚𝕣𝕖✶𝓷𝓮𝓽
Amid the fierce bidding, the Grade Seven Foundation Building Pill quickly rose to 25,000 Spirit Stones, without signs of slowing down.
Ultimately, an elderly Taoist nun offered an astonishing bid that left many struggling to keep up.
"Grade Seven Foundation Building Pill, 30,000 Spirit Stones, first call… second call… Grade Seven Foundation Building Pill, 30,000 Spirit Stones, third call!"
Thud… The elder struck the wooden mallet.
"The Foundation Building Pill now belongs to this friend."
The Taoist nun rose to her feet. "I will now take my disciple backstage to test the pill."
The elder nodded, and the elderly Taoist nun led a young female disciple to the backstage.
A Grade Seven Pill auctioned for 30,000 Spirit Stones was beyond even Ding Fan's expectations. Even in the Cultivation World, Grade Seven Pills were worth no more than 10,000 Spirit Stones each at most. Yet here, this Grade Seven Pill sold for a staggering 30,000 Spirit Stones.
Ding Fan felt more than satisfied at this moment; he was absolutely elated.
After the Taoist nun and her young disciple went backstage to test the pill, the elder returned to the auction.
"Next item for auction: a Bronze Mirror." With a wave, the elder retrieved an ancient, aura-laden bronze mirror and gently brought it to his hand.
Instantly, all eyes turned toward the item.
"The usage and specific function of this bronze mirror remain unknown. However, one thing is clear: this was retrieved from the Emperor Pit," the elder stated calmly.
After the elder's declaration, murmurs and exclamations rippled through the audience.
"What's the Emperor Pit?" someone nearby, like Ding Fan, asked, unfamiliar with its lore.
"You haven't heard of the Emperor Pit? When Mount Hua revealed the Sky Pit long ago, countless treasures were unearthed from it. It's said that over dozens of Spirit Grade attack artifacts alone came out of that pit, along with countless other invaluable treasures. The pit earned the name Emperor Pit because a set of Golden Armor and a Dragon Banner were found within it," explained an elder seated nearby.
A skinny man added, "The items from the Emperor Pit are all extremely rare and valuable. If it's truly from the Emperor Pit, I can't believe such a piece is showing up here."
A woman scoffed, "Even if it's from the Emperor Pit, what's the point? If we don't know its function, are we just buying a piece of scrap to decorate our shelves?"
Listening to the discussions around him, Ding Fan realized the Emperor Pit was indeed extraordinary.
He immediately extended his Divine Sense toward the bronze mirror.
As soon as Ding Fan touched the mirror with his Divine Sense, a powerful force trapped his consciousness.
This mysterious, overwhelming power originated from the bronze mirror.
Ding Fan was startled. Divine Sense is linked to the Sea of Consciousness. Any damage to the Sea of Consciousness could significantly hinder future cultivation.
Ding Fan didn't dare linger and quickly attempted to withdraw.
However, the force was relentless, clinging tightly to Ding Fan's Divine Sense and refusing to release it.
Having run out of options, Ding Fan intensified his efforts to disengage. But no matter how much strength he added, the force remained unyielding.
For the first time, Ding Fan felt a hint of despair. If his Sea of Consciousness were severely injured, future cultivation would be impossible—he wouldn't even be able to live as an ordinary person.
Just as Ding Fan's thoughts began to spiral, the mysterious force suddenly dissipated.
Ding Fan managed to withdraw his Divine Sense.
He immediately checked on his Sea of Consciousness. To his shock, not only had it suffered no damage, but it seemed larger than before.
Ding Fan lightly activated his Divine Sense and discovered it was significantly stronger than before.
Ding Fan was highly intelligent, and he quickly pieced together what had happened.
The bronze mirror turned out to be a Magic Artifact capable of training the Divine Sense.
In the Cultivation World, apart from a select few sects, Divine Sense power was nearly impossible to cultivate. Ding Fan had once heard that a single Divine Sense cultivation technique could cost billions of Spirit Stones in the Cultivation World.
This highlighted just how precious cultivation techniques aimed at strengthening Divine Sense truly were.
And now, there was a bronze mirror capable of fostering Divine Sense cultivation. If such an artifact were brought back to the Cultivation World, it could cause a sensation.
Sects would likely fight to the death for the bronze mirror, unleashing bloodshed and chaos.
"Starting price for the bronze mirror is 10,000 Spirit Stones," the elder declared lightly.
"Its function isn't clear, but since it's from the Emperor Pit, I'll bid 11,000 Spirit Stones and take it back to study," a limping elder shouted.
His bid had barely been spoken when someone else countered, "Just because it's from the Emperor Pit, I'll bid 20,000 Spirit Stones."
Shortly afterward, multiple bids were placed, pushing the price rapidly to 30,000 Spirit Stones.
At the 30,000 Spirit Stones mark, the bidding finally slowed.
After all, placing massive bets on an unproven bronze mirror was a hard gamble for most.
As the crowd continued vying over the bronze mirror, the elderly Taoist nun, who had bought the Grade Seven Spirit Pill, emerged from backstage with her disciple.
Gasps erupted among the audience.
The Taoist nun's disciple, who had entered as an Earth Level Peak martial artist, had already broken through to Heavenly Level cultivation in such a short time.
The Grade Seven Pill's efficacy had been proven beyond doubt…