Chapter 104: Awakening Spirit Pill
Song Yan stared at her blankly upon hearing this. This little girl…
Was she a cultivator of the Eastern Abyss Sect?
How did she know he was a fellow sect disciple…
His thoughts were somewhat muddled.
Song Yan knew that in this cultivation world there were many bizarre techniques capable of making people young again.
So he did not believe this little girl was truly so young.
Perhaps she was like Granny Qin—an old senior who liked to appear young.
But how had she recognized him as a sect disciple at a single glance?
Puzzled in every way, he looked himself over.
Where exactly had he gone wrong…
The most critical thing was, she could recognize him…
Did that mean many others could too?
Unfortunately.
Not a single question could be answered.
The auction had already begun.
With his mind unsettled, he did not hear a single word of the opening speech by the elderly host on stage.
Gathering his scattered thoughts, Song Yan made up his mind—he would bid only for the Awakening Spirit Pill, then leave immediately.
“The first auction item is a Seven-Leaf Mystic Ginseng.”
The old man’s withered fingers tapped lightly on the jade box presented by his assistant, opening it.
The deep blue ginseng roots of the spiritual herb within faintly glowed.
“This herb grows in mystic yin energy and can be used to refine auxiliary pills for Foundation Establishment Pills. Starting price: one hundred spirit stones.”
“Each bid increase must be no less than twenty.”
Song Yan chuckled inwardly.
As expected, hosts at every auction were silver-tongued.
At first listen, this spiritual herb seemed to be connected to the incredibly precious Foundation Establishment Pill.
But in reality, it could only be used to refine an auxiliary ingredient.
So-called auxiliary pills, when taken together with a main pill, could slightly enhance the main pill’s effectiveness.
But only by a tiny margin.
Song Yan had no intention of bidding.
Are you kidding?
He had never even seen a Foundation Establishment Pill, and spending several hundred spirit stones on a material for an auxiliary pill…
That would truly be madness.
“One hundred twenty…”
“…”
“Two hundred…”
As expected, compared to the reputation of “Foundation Establishment auxiliary pill material,” its price was somewhat mismatched.
Not many people bid.
Ultimately, the cultivator whose entire head was wrapped in cloud mist won it for two hundred spirit stones.
Song Yan simply closed his eyes again to rest.
He did not bid on a single one of these auction items, peacefully waiting for the Awakening Spirit Pill to appear.
During this time, the girl beside him also bid on a few things.
However, they were spiritual insects.
An insect cultivator?
So far, he had never heard of any insect cultivators among the sect disciples…
Pondering, time slowly passed.
Following the principle of attracting as little attention as possible, even when items he was interested in occasionally appeared on stage, he did not spare them an extra glance.
Soon, it was time for the second-to-last item.
The elderly host lifted a small jade box from his assistant’s tray.
“This next treasure is likely something many late-stage Qi Refining cultivators desire.”
His fingertip tapped lightly, and the jade box slowly opened, revealing a pale yellow spiritual pill.
“The Awakening Spirit Pill.”
Song Yan slowly opened his eyes.
“This pill can increase the breakthrough success rate by thirty to forty percent when surmounting the three barriers of late-stage Qi Refining.”
“Presumably, most of the fellow Daoists present today are independent cultivators or idle outer disciples.”
“Alchemists capable of refining this type of pill mostly supply only to major sects.”
“It rarely flows out to the market.”
“This particular pill comes from Hanging Sword Mountain. Its quality and potency are both at the mid-grade standard.”
“This old man will say no more. Starting price: one hundred spirit stones. Each bid increase must be no less than twenty spirit stones.”
“Two hundred!”
The words had barely left his mouth when a black-robed cultivator in the front row called out the first bid.
“Two hundred sixty.”
“Two hundred eighty.” “…”
Up to this point, Song Yan still had not spoken.
He glanced with some worry at the mysterious girl beside him.
This person was deeply hidden—if she chose to bid, he feared he would not be a match.
“Five hundred!”
The black-robed cultivator suddenly raised the price by a large margin.
The auction hall fell silent for a moment.
As the old man on stage had said, most of the cultivators bidding here were independent cultivators of the mountains in the Qi Refining Stage.
Where would they get so many spirit stones?
This Awakening Spirit Pill selling for five hundred was probably the limit for many.
After a brief pause, the old man gently tapped his small hammer.
“Five hundred spirit stones, going once.”
At that moment, Song Yan spoke.
“Five hundred fifty.”
Hmm?
The black-robed cultivator turned his head slightly, casting a glance back at Song Yan.
At the same time, another cultivator hidden in black robes beside him seemed to be with him.
Both of them looked back slightly.
“Six hundred.”
“Six hundred twenty!”
Song Yan was determined to win.
“…”
The two black-robed cultivators exchanged a glance and did not continue bidding.
The girl Song Yan had been worried about showed no intention of competing with him, which put him somewhat at ease.
Three taps of the small hammer fell.
“Congratulations to this fellow Daoist for winning the Awakening Spirit Pill.”
The Lingxi Market auction was slightly different from the Spirit Source Marsh Night Market—once the transaction was completed, one could leave at any time.
Song Yan had no interest in watching the final item.
Even if he wanted it, it was not something he could afford now.
He immediately rose, paid the spirit stones in the side hall, and obtained the Awakening Spirit Pill.
He then left the auction hall through the side exit.
The exit was a small alley of blue stone bricks. Song Yan used the shadows to quickly walk toward the exit of Lingxi Market.
Along the way, there were no disturbances, and his heart settled somewhat.
But just after he had truly left the market area, his divine sense, stretched to its maximum, suddenly detected two auras heading straight for him.
“!”
A warning blazed in his heart.
Several faces flashed through his mind in an instant.
That girl, and those two black-robed cultivators.
He simultaneously pushed his spiritual energy to its limit, leaping through the forest, rushing toward the Eastern Abyss Sect, not daring to stop for even a moment.
“It should be those two… killing for spoils?”
Three spiritual talismans at his fingertips were released at once, and his body was immediately surrounded by a powerful gust of wind.
His speed increased dramatically while running.
However.
Those two auras were still getting closer and closer.
Song Yan believed he had made thorough preparations and taken precautions—he had even anticipated this possibility in advance.
Yet when he truly faced such a situation, he still felt that no amount of preparation was excessive.
This was, after all, a matter of life and death.
He should be even more cautious.
However, he did not panic.
“One is approximately at the eighth level of Qi Refining, the other at the seventh level.”
As the two auras were about to close in, Song Yan retreated into concealment while silently activating the Hidden Sword Spirit-Concealing Stance, completely masking his aura.
The opponent likely had means similar to his wind-riding talisman; in that case, he would eventually be caught regardless.
Saying he had made thorough preparations was no empty talk.
Song Yan naturally had means to ensure his safe retreat.
However…
Just in case, he needed to find an opportunity.