Chapter Sixty-Six: The Spirit-Breaking Pill
“Five thousand two...”
“Five thousand three...”
“I bid five thousand five spirit stones. Let’s see who dares to compete with me...”
“Who do you think you are? I bid five thousand eight hundred spirit stones.”
...
Lin Cheng watched the bidding from all sides in silence, his curiosity about the Taibai Pavilion growing ever deeper. Three Shattering Spirit Pills had been casually tossed into the auction: even a true disciple of the Qingyang Sect would find it difficult to acquire even one of these, let alone three.
Old Master An and his companions were clearly getting restless. For their family, three cultivators at the Spirit Realm would mean a qualitative leap in establishing themselves.
An Zhan looked at Lin Cheng and smiled, “Nephew Lin, you truly are a bringer of fortune. Wherever you go, surprises follow...”
Lin Cheng replied, “Uncle An, what do you mean by that?”
An Zhan laughed, “Just look: in the decades before Nephew Lin arrived in Dragon City, the Taibai Pavilion had only ever produced a single Shattering Spirit Pill...”
“Now that Nephew Lin is here, we witness such a grand event. It must be said that Dragon City is basking in your good fortune...”
Everyone mulled this over and realized it was indeed so.
Qiu Nan said, “Ha ha ha! Brother Lin, you must be determined to win these Shattering Spirit Pills this time, aren’t you?”
Lin Cheng smiled lightly.
At this moment, Old Master An spoke, “Lin Cheng, you’ve done my An family a great service, and we have no way to repay you...”
“It happens that what you need has appeared here. My An family will do everything in our power to secure these Shattering Spirit Pills for you.”
He glanced at An Zhan.
An Zhan nodded, then called out in a booming voice, “My An family bids seven thousand spirit stones. I hope everyone here will show us some courtesy...”
A stir swept through the crowd.
Seven thousand spirit stones! An increase of one thousand in a single bid!
The hall immediately fell silent.
“The An family’s face must be given...” A hearty laugh came from a private room on the fourth floor.
“The Li family will not compete...”
“The Wu family congratulates Brother An in advance...”
“I thank my friends for their concessions...” An Zhan responded.
Just as everyone thought the three Shattering Spirit Pills would fall into the hands of the An family, a voice came from the private room directly opposite the auction stage on the third floor.
“Eight thousand spirit stones.”
The audience erupted in astonishment, staring at that private room on the third floor, eyes filled with surprise.
Who was this new force? So generous and unwilling to give the An family any face.
An Zhan squinted and looked at Old Master An, clearly unfamiliar with the voice.
Old Master An pondered for a moment and said, “It’s likely not a faction from around Dragon City. Bid as you wish...”
“This time, we must secure the Shattering Spirit Pills for Lin Cheng.”
Seeing Old Master An so considerate, Lin Cheng felt a surge of warmth in his heart.
He knew that even for the wealthy An family, eight thousand spirit stones would be a hefty blow.
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Considering he’d only amassed a little over forty thousand spirit stones after looting the Qiu family’s storage pouches, if the An family won these three Shattering Spirit Pills for him, their cultivation resources would be severely depleted.
“Old Master, your generous offer is much appreciated, but I still have some spirit stones of my own...”
“Let me try first. If it’s not enough, I’ll ask for your help then...”
Without waiting for a reply, Lin Cheng called out loudly, “I bid ten thousand spirit stones.”
A collective gasp went up.
Ten thousand spirit stones! Only a handful of families around Dragon City could afford such a price.
Inside the private room on the third floor.
Changsun Qingliu’s expression darkened as he set down the tea he’d just been about to sip.
“Changsun Wucai, do you know who this person is?”
“Reporting to Young Clan Leader, I only know the voice came from the An family’s private room, but I don’t know who it is...”
“I suppose it must be someone from the An family.”
The elderly man beside him frowned, clearly dissatisfied with Changsun Wucai’s performance.
“Our target this time is the technique and the spirit weapon...” the elder said.
Changsun Qingliu understood his meaning and ceased bidding.
And so, Lin Cheng won the three Shattering Spirit Pills for ten thousand spirit stones.
On the auction stage.
The woman named Zhiqing cast her beautiful gaze toward the fifth floor, as if she could see Lin Cheng’s silhouette through the private room.
“Why does he feel so familiar...” she murmured, her willow brows knitted.
Lin Cheng, meanwhile, failed to notice her gaze. He was busy mourning the loss of his ten thousand spirit stones.
Alas, it seemed he would need to find more enemies, or else how would he replenish his spirit stones?
He was startled by this thought.
How could he entertain such ideas of robbing and killing? No, absolutely not.
Even as he thought this, a small excitement stirred in his heart.
After this interlude, the atmosphere in the hall grew even more fervent.
Though most people couldn’t afford to bid, it didn’t dampen their excitement.
Zhiqing slowly opened her jade hand.
A technique manual, glowing with yellow light, appeared in her palm.
“The next item for auction: the Mountain Traversing Technique, a low-grade Profound-tier technique...”
Finally, a technique had appeared!
A hush fell over the crowd as many began whispering among themselves.
In the private room on the third floor, Changsun Qingliu frowned slightly.
“A low-grade technique?”
Disappointment tinged his words.
“Wait and see...” the elder said, closing his eyes once again.
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“Mountain Traversing Technique, starting bid: eight thousand spirit stones...”
“I bid nine thousand spirit stones...”
“Ten thousand...”
“The Ma family bids twelve thousand spirit stones. I ask my friends to let us have this one...”
The Ma family head’s voice came from a private room on the fourth floor.
But few were willing to concede.
“I bid thirteen thousand...”
...
The bidding continued fiercely.
As the bidding slowed, a rough voice rang out from an inconspicuous corner of the hall.
“I’ll take the Mountain Traversing Technique for sixteen thousand spirit stones...”
People turned quickly to locate the source.
They hadn’t expected a major player to be hiding in the first-floor hall.
A rugged-looking man, surrounded by several companions, glanced up at the crowd.
This was Pang Tong, the man who’d argued with Changsun Wucai at the Taibai Pavilion’s entrance earlier.
In the private room on the third floor.
Changsun Wucai whispered something into Changsun Qingliu’s ear.
Changsun Qingliu nodded slightly, his gaze shifting to Pang Tong, a flash of murderous intent in his eyes.
Meanwhile, Pang Tong and his companions were basking in the joy of winning the Mountain Traversing Technique, unaware they were now being targeted.
After the first three rounds of intense bidding, the subsequent auction items were relatively ordinary.
Many in the audience managed to snatch up their desired goods.
Some pills for enhancing female beauty were also auctioned.
Naturally, the two An family women eagerly won those.
Perhaps sensing a dip in the crowd’s mood, Zhiqing smiled with her beautiful eyes.
She opened her right hand, revealing a dazzlingly radiant treasure bottle.
“The next item: Glazed Bottle, a mid-grade spirit artifact...”
“Starting bid: fifteen thousand spirit stones. Please place your bids...”
With calm composure, Zhiqing stood at the center of the stage.
The crowd was stunned, taking a moment to react.
Clearly, no one expected another bombshell from the woman.
A mid-grade spirit artifact! In all of Dragon City, only the An family was rumored to possess a Golden Essence Brush.
“I bid eighteen thousand spirit stones...”
While everyone was still stunned, a voice came from the private room on the third floor.
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