Chapter 205: Fellow Daoist “Double It,” Please Have Mercy

The auction continued in an orderly manner. One rare treasure after another was revealed, leaving everyone present in awe.

What appeared completely ordinary in Jiang Li’s eyes were treasures utterly out of reach to others.

“This is a modified version of spiritual rice launched by the Wind and Rain Spirit Herb Sect. Its spiritual energy content is three to five times that of the widely circulated varieties. It can be harvested twice a year and retains its properties for twenty harvests before turning into regular spiritual rice.”

“Starting bid, 1,200 mid-grade spirit stones.”

A small bag of modified spiritual rice sparked fierce competition from many factions—even some of the major powers joined in.

After all, who didn’t have younger disciples?

Those who hadn’t practiced fasting techniques still needed food. Even those who had could eat—it just wasn’t necessary.

This high-spiritual-energy rice even had benefits for cultivators who had already mastered fasting.

Jiang Li, however, wasn’t interested.

After all, the weakest members of the Human Sovereign Hall were at the Soul Formation stage—and extremely gifted ones at that. They didn’t need spiritual rice.

The Pure Land of the Mortal World did need such rice, but as one of the Six Great Sects, they bought the best rice directly from the Wind and Rain Spirit Herb Sect.

The rice being auctioned wasn’t the best—it was a failed product from their research process.

They wouldn’t auction their top products; it wasn’t like they lacked spirit stones.

They were attending the auction as a form of advertisement.

Even so, these “failures” were still better than what was widely circulated.

“Skin shed by a flood dragon just one step away from becoming a true dragon. The inside still retains flood dragon mucus that aids in body refinement.”

“Starting bid, 5,000 mid-grade spirit stones.”

The flood dragon skin displayed on stage was incomplete—otherwise, it would’ve been worth far more.

“This item has caught my eye. I am Yu Quan. I hope all present will give me some face. 5,000 mid-grade spirit stones!” A domineering voice rang out from a VIP room. Though he said “give me face,” his tone sounded more like a threat.

“That’s Young Master Yu of the Yu Clan! Their clan has two Soul Formation peak ancestors! Anything he fancies has never been taken by anyone else!” someone exclaimed. “Whoever competes with him is basically digging their own grave!”

Jiang Li perked up. What a great opportunity. He immediately raised the bid: “6,000 mid-grade spirit stones.”

“Hmm!” Yu Quan was displeased that someone dared defy him. He memorized Jiang Li’s face, a cruel smile creeping up. “6,500 spirit stones! Let’s see who dares go higher!”

“12,000 mid-grade spirit stones,” Jiang Li said without a second thought, doubling the price.

Yu Quan’s expression turned ugly. Where did this upstart come from? Who bids like this?!

“Thunderwood, starting bid, 8,000 mid-grade spirit stones.”

“This item is to my liking. I am Ma Hua. I hope everyone will show me some respect.” Another arrogant voice came from a VIP room.

“That’s Young Master Ma from the Ma Clan! The Ma Clan has…”

“16,000 mid-grade spirit stones,” Jiang Li interrupted. He worried Yu Clan’s young master wouldn’t make a move and wanted to draw in Ma Clan’s young master next.

Didn’t quite catch his name—Ma something?

Didn’t matter. Just bid.

“Fellow Daoist, we are all cultivators. It’s easy to get injured when walking dark paths at night,” Ma Hua said darkly. “I bid 16,001 spirit stones.”

“32,000 mid-grade spirit stones.” Jiang Li grinned. Perfect—walking dark paths and getting injured is exactly what I was hoping for. He doubled the bid again, delighted by the veiled threat.

“Very good. You’re good,” Ma Hua gritted his teeth, angrily sitting down, already thinking about how to deal with Jiang Li afterward.

“Soul-Severing Grass, starting bid: 7,500 mid-grade spirit stones.”

“This item, I, Zhang…”
“That’s Young Master Zhang from the Zhang Clan! The Zhang Clan has…”
“15,000 mid-grade spirit stones.” Jiang Li heard the familiar phrasing and reflexively bid.

“This item, I, so-and-so…”
“That’s so-and-so from…”
“Double it.”
“This item is fated for me, Zhu Yi…”

Jiang Li waited, but no one exclaimed. He turned curiously to the guy who had been exclaiming earlier.

“Brother, you haven’t told me who Zhu Yi is. I can’t bid properly without knowing.”

That man looked ready to cry. “Fellow Daoist, we have no enmity. Please, let me go. You’ve offended half the noble heirs in this city—don’t drag me down with you. The way they’re looking at us… they all think we’re in cahoots.”

Jiang Li looked up and saw that all the heirs he’d deliberately provoked were now glaring murderously at him—and at the man beside him.

That guy, well-connected and well-informed, usually sat at auctions shouting out identities with dramatic flair—“This is so-and-so,” “That is so-and-so”—to show off his knowledge and feel good about himself.

After today, he swore never to do that again.

Jiang Li figured he’d made enough enemies—plenty of people were now eager to teach him a lesson—so he decided to stop.

He felt a little bad for the guy beside him and secretly slipped him a Spirit-Gathering Talisman to aid his cultivation later.

“White Bone Vitality Pill. Opens meridians, refines marrow, and unblocks acupoints.”

“Starting bid: 10,000 mid-grade spirit stones.”

A pleading voice came from a VIP room: “Let me introduce myself. I am Jin Shi from the Jin Clan. We have three Soul Formation ancestors. My younger brother was born with blocked meridians. This pill would really help him. I beg you, ‘Fellow Daoist Double-It,’ please spare me this once.”

Jiang Li didn’t bid again. Soon, someone else called out 11,000 spirit stones, and the auction returned to order.

Jiang Li’s rampant bidding naturally caught the attention of those running the auction. They asked him to prove he could afford the bids. Jiang Li casually took out a small mountain of high-grade spirit stones, easily confirming his identity as a rich upstart.

The arrogant heirs of noble families knew they couldn’t outbid him and completely gave up competing—now they only wanted to beat him up after the auction ended.

“Millennium Flesh Ganoderma. An excellent medium for nurturing souls, also capable of reshaping the physical body.”

The auctioneer did his best to promote the rare Millennium Flesh Ganoderma, drawing attention from those whose family elders had lingering souls but intact lifespans—hoping to grant them another hundred years of life.

Rather than body-snatching, they preferred crafting a new body themselves.

Ruyi Gourd watched with wide eyes as the Millennium Flesh Ganoderma was auctioned off but dared not speak.

It was starting to feel that being human was better, so it secretly began supporting the Spirit Herb Sect, urging them to accelerate their research on spiritual treasure transformation baths.

But just then, it received a secret transmission from the Spirit Herb Sect Master: Jiang the Human Sovereign had forbidden that line of research, so they had to abandon it.

With the sect no longer reliable, Ruyi Gourd figured it had no choice but to depend on itself. It had come to the auction today specifically for the Millennium Flesh Ganoderma. Who knew it would run into Jiang Li here?

Could my plan have been discovered? Ruyi Gourd was nervous.

“Why aren’t you bidding on anything?” As the auction approached the final three mysterious items, Jiang Li asked out of curiosity.

“Just looking around, broadening my horizons. I wasn’t planning to buy anything,” Ruyi Gourd answered nervously.

“Is there anything you want? I’ll buy it for you,” Jiang Li offered kindly.

“No, no, absolutely not.”