Chapter 46 – Auction (2)
The cauldron’s price continued to soar. The winning bid came from the cultivator in Room 6 at the price of 820 spirit stones. This was already the price of an ordinary high-grade mystic instrument.
Afterwards, even when the subsequent items were not as good as the cauldron, they were still guaranteed in quality.
“A mid-grade flying sword mystic instrument, high in quality and available at an opening price of just 150 spirit stones. The increment for each bid shall not be less than ten spirit stones.”
Putting Dabao away, Lu Ping saw the flying sword he plundered from Lin Sheng being displayed on the stage.
In fact, even among late-stage Blood Refining Realm sect disciples, only the notable ones would have one or more low-grade mystic instruments.
One shouldn’t take Lu Ping as a standard for the rest. He was only able to sell so many mystic instruments because he plundered them from those notable disciples.
The weaker Ninth-Layer Blood Refining Realm cultivators couldn’t even cast mid-grade mystic instruments multiple times before running out of arcane energy. Hence, mid-grade mystic instruments became a symbol of the elite and wealthy for Blood Refining Realm disciples.
The flying sword’s price quickly soared above 250 spirit stones before slowing down at 270 spirit stones.
In the end, a young cultivator from the auction floor bought it for 300 spirit stones.
The price was still within a reasonable range. After all, Lu Ping couldn’t take it out to use, and it would be troublesome to keep as well. It was better to sell it off entirely.
After that, Lu Ping’s handkerchief mystic instrument and the flying-specialized sword mystic instrument were put up for auction.
As the handkerchief mystic instrument was mainly used for defense, and in addition to its form, it attracted the attention of many female cultivators and womanizers.
Its opening price started at 220 spirit stones and broke through 300 spirit stones in the blink of an eye. Not another second passed before the price reached 400 spirit stones. Only then did the bidding ease a little.
Eventually, a female cultivator from Room 11 won the bid with 430 spirit stones.
In stark contrast, the flying sword wasn’t that popular, but it still sold for 360 spirit stones.
As per Lu Ping’s request, the Multi-Treasure Pavilion’s cultivator delivered the spirit stones earned from these sales to his room.
After subtracting the 5% premium to the auction house, Lu Ping had now earned over a thousand spirit stones.
“A charm brush made with the tail fur of a Three-Layer Blood Condensation Realm Silver Moon Rabbit. It’s usefulness will last you long after advancing into the Blood Condensation Realm.”
“The opening price is 300 spirit stones and each incremental bid shall not be less than 20 spirit stones.”
Manager Pang’s words caught Lu Ping’s attention.
Lu Ping’s charm-crafting skill had reached a level where further advancement wasn’t possible in the near future. In order to craft stronger and better charms, his only options were to upgrade his charm brush, charm papers, and ink.
The Silver Moon Rabbit’s tail fur has always been the best material used to make charm brushes. They greatly increased the success rate and quality of the charms.
Although the tail fur was just from a Third-Layer Blood Refining Realm Silver Moon Rabbit, it would still meet Lu Ping’s needs for the early stages of the Blood Condensation Realm.
Just when Lu Ping made up his mind to bid for the charm brush, its price had already been pushed from 300 spirit stones to over 400 spirit stones, with the price still rising steadily.
“430 spirit stones!” Lu Ping said decisively.
“450 spirit stones!” Another cultivator from the floor bid a higher price.
“470 spirit stones!” The cultivator from Room 5 followed closely.
“500 spirit stones!” Lu Ping bid again without hesitation.
As of now, they were the only ones bidding for the charm brush.
“520 spirit stones.” After some hesitation, the cultivator from Room 5 raised their bid, yet their voice lacked confidence.
“550 spirit stones!” Lu Ping didn’t back down.
His resolution caused a furor among the cultivators in the auction house. This was the second highest bid today.
No one thought the item was worth it. After all, the level of the charm brush was strange and awkward compared to other charm brushes. It was a little wasteful in the hands of Blood Refining Realm cultivators and practically useless to Blood Condensation Realm cultivators.
However, they would be stunned if they knew Lu Ping’s current charm-crafting skill level.
Lu Ping rarely failed in crafting Blood Refining Realm charms nowadays. On top of that, more than half his charms were high grade, almost 20% were top-grade, and the remaining 30% were mid and low-grade charms.
With the help from this charm brush, Lu Ping was confident that he could increase his success rate of top-grade charms to almost 30%.
Although 30% sounded like a lot, he didn’t actually craft charms that frequently these days. Especially after the improvement of his cultivation base—Lu Ping would sometimes carry out closed-door cultivation. Lately, he could craft about ten charms every week.
“Room 7 raises the price to 550 spirit stones—would anyone else like to bid?”
“550 spirit stones, going once!”
After Lu Ping increased the price to 550 spirit stones, Room 5 stopped bidding. After all, one could buy an ordinary high-grade mystic instrument for roughly the same cost.
“550 spirit stones, going twice!”
“550 spirit stones, last call!”
“Sold!”
“Congratulations to Room 7 for their precious charm brush!”
The auction continued while Lu Ping examined his newly acquired treasure.
The brush stick was made from a hundred-year-old Jade Bamboo. Jade Bamboo was a slow-growing spiritual material and an excellent conductor of arcane energy. The gleaming brush was extremely smooth, it was made from the tip of a Silver Moon Rabbit’s tail fur.
The more he looked, the more he admired the charm brush. With this, his charm-crafting skill would definitely improve to a higher level.
As of now, the auction was already halfway through. Most auction items had been sold and many cultivators won treasures at reasonable prices. That said, none of the items had caused a bidding spree yet.
At this time, a cultivator who looked like a manager walked up the stage and whispered into Manager Pang’s ears.
As the crowd speculated on this new development, Manager Pang looked visibly excited and he announced loudly to the floor, “In order to show our appreciation for your support, the pavilion master and managers have decided to auction one of the final items in advance.”
The sudden decision made by Multi-Treasure Pavilion was like a stone thrown into a pool of dead water. It stirred up the atmosphere in the auction house, rousing the cultivators’ interest. Eyes bright with anticipation, the crowd looked forward to the Multi-Treasure Pavilion’s surprise item.
Lu Ping had stopped playing with the charm brush and shifted his focus to the stage, waiting patiently for the final item to be brought forward.
The item was placed on a tray covered with a red silk cloth. The red silk was removed, revealing an exquisite wooden box made from spiritual wood. The carvings on the wooden box were extremely detailed.
This was a Spirit Retaining Box, an item that could preserve the spiritual energy of any spiritual materials, herbs, and medicinal pellets stored inside for a hundred years.
Manager Pang carefully opened the wooden box and a purplish medicinal pellet the size of a lychee entered the eyes of the cultivators.
The auction house instantly turned dead silent for a split second. In the next moment, the clamor that arose from the crowd filled every corner of the building.
“A Blood Condensing Pellet!”
“It’s real, there really is a Blood Condensing Pellet in this auction!”
“If even a Blood Condensing Pellet is listed as one of the final items, then what will they announce next?”
“…”
While the crowd was busy speculating, their expressions gradually turned solemn. Meanwhile, some of the other stronger and more knowledgeable cultivators appeared greatly affected as they thought about something. All of a sudden, the atmosphere in the auction house became incredibly grave.
Even Lu Ping’s demeanor turned somber as he sat up straight, as if he was about to face an enemy.