Chapter 74: Sheathe the Edge, Conceal the Blade, Await the Moment
However, he quickly dismissed that thought.
Back then, when the Mountain-Pressing Seal sank into the mud, he was gravely wounded and had no mind to search for it.
That Mountain-Pressing Seal was already buried in the mud.
“It should just be a coincidence…”
“I trust that everyone is familiar with the renowned Mountain-Pressing Seal.”
Luo Sheng’s tone was quite relaxed: “Today’s first auction item is a replica of this Mountain-Pressing Seal.”
A replica actually offered excellent value for money.
It possessed a weakened and simplified version of the original’s effects, yet it could be wielded by cultivators at lower cultivation levels.
Moreover, the price would not be too high.
“If you are not familiar with it, that is fine. Allow me to give a brief introduction…”
He provided a general description, identical to what Song Yan had seen Wang Xi use within the secret realm that day.
Luo Sheng’s explanation was clear and concise.
His sales pitch was tempting, making even Song Yan somewhat tempted.
“Very well, then. The starting bid is sixty spirit stones. Each increment must be no less than ten.”
“Everyone, please begin.”
The jade hammer tapped lightly, signaling that the bidding had officially begun.
“Seventy.”
Someone placed a bid. The voice was calm, and the words were brief.
“I bid eighty spirit stones!”
The replica of the Mountain-Pressing Seal only required late-stage Qi Refining to wield normally. In the eyes of those young masters who were not lacking in spirit stones to spend, bidding one or two hundred spirit stones to acquire it was well worth it.
Thus, the calls for higher bids rose one after another.
The relatively low starting price was mainly to encourage more people to bid.
“One hundred spirit stones.”
“Two hundred.”
The first person who had placed a bid earlier called out this number, suddenly raising the price by a full double.
The hall fell silent at once.
A price of two hundred spirit stones was acceptable—a slight premium—but if one were to bid any higher, it would not be quite worth it.
“Dong…”
“Dong…”
“Dong…”
“Congratulations to this fellow Daoist for winning today’s first auction item.”
“You may leave your seat at any time, proceed to the side hall, and after paying the spirit stones, you may collect your item.”
“The second auction item: Green Spirit Pills.”
“These pills should be quite familiar to fellow Daoists who cultivate wood-element techniques.”
“They naturally contain pure spiritual energy, and after consumption, they can briefly improve the efficiency of wood-element techniques in absorbing spiritual qi.”
“The Green Spirit Pills being auctioned today come in sets of three bottles, with seven pills per bottle.”
“Today, there is only this one set.”
“The starting bid is one hundred spirit stones. Each increment must be no less than five spirit stones.”
…
The voices of bidders calling out prices rose and fell throughout the venue.
Various auction items, all manner of spiritual materials, were brought to the stage one by one. One by one, they were taken away by bidders.
Song Yan merely watched the excitement, broadening his horizons.
Sometimes, the private boxes on either side would call out outrageous spirit stone numbers that left one dumbfounded.
“Truly worthy of the VIPs sitting in luxury boxes…”
He paid little attention to the later auction items. After hearing Luo Sheng’s sales pitch so many times, he no longer felt any particular stirrings.
He had come this time solely to bid for the Qi Replenishing Pills and the Ren Water Spirit-Dissolving Talisman.
The current Song Yan was quite confident.
Although he had spent nearly all his spirit stones before exploring the Foundation Establishment cave mansion together with the others.
However, his journey into the painting world had netted him eight mid-grade spirit stones alone.
Song Yan had sold two of them at the highest black market price available at the time, converting them into over two hundred and ninety low-grade spirit stones.
As long as these two items were not outrageously expensive, acquiring them himself would not be a problem at all.
If worst came to worst, he could simply pay with mid-grade spirit stones.
As he pondered, a graceful female cultivator brought forth a water-blue talisman.
“Now this next auction item is quite interesting.”
Luo Sheng added a remark.
Song Yan’s heart skipped a beat. The moment this man opened his mouth, he would likely have to spend another sum of spirit stones.
His heart was bleeding.
“A first-tier, upper-grade talisman: the Ren Water Spirit-Dissolving Talisman.”
“The talisman paper is made from cold pond spirit algae. The blood of a first-tier demon beast, the Cold Water Toad, is blended with moonlit spirit dew to create the ink used to draw the talisman’s inscriptions.”
“In the center, a Water Convergence pattern is drawn, flanked by a Fire-Sealing Charm and a Spirit-Dispersing Seal.”
“Once activated, it can suppress wood-element spiritual qi within a radius of fifteen zhang by approximately forty percent, lasting for a full thirty breaths.”
Forty percent?
Song Yan’s heart stirred.
He recalled that day when Wan Songran had unleashed the Wood Spirit-Sealing Talisman, which had nearly cut off the earth-element spiritual qi within the range of the mud pool.
Judging by the efficiency with which a Qi Refining Stage cultivator could channel heaven-and-earth spiritual qi, the earth-element spiritual qi had been reduced by at least sixty to seventy percent.
Moreover, the range of that talisman’s effect that day should have been slightly larger than fifteen zhang.
If that was the case, the grade of that talisman was likely still above this Ren Water Spirit-Dissolving Talisman.
“Although this talisman has no direct offensive effect, if prepared in advance to ambush and kill fire-element demon beasts, its effectiveness would be superb.”
Luo Sheng tossed out a hint, suggesting the talisman’s potential use.
Incidentally, he also informed any interested parties present.
The talisman was a legitimate talisman, after all. As for how it was to be used, that was hardly something the auction house could concern itself with.
“The starting bid is fifty spirit stones. Each increment must be no less than five spirit stones.”
“Dong.”
The jade hammer sounded, and the bidding began.
Song Yan immediately placed a bid: “Fifty-five.”
“Sixty spirit stones.”
“…”
Song Yan bid only once, after which he did not rush to bid again, but waited quietly.
“Two hundred and seventy-five.”
“…”
Once the number two hundred and seventy-five was called, most people stopped bidding.
This price was already quite high. Unless one had a specific use for it, most people would not consider it further.
“Two hundred and eighty.”
If he did not use mid-grade spirit stones for payment, the amount of low-grade spirit stones Song Yan currently had available was three hundred and sixty-two.
The price of Qi Replenishing Pills would not be very high. If sold by the bottle, it would be at most forty or fifty spirit stones per bottle.
If he could acquire the Ren Water Spirit-Dissolving Talisman for under three hundred, he might still have a chance to bid on a bottle of Qi Replenishing Pills as well.
“Two hundred and ninety.”
The one still competing with him was a young man with sharp brows and bright eyes, brimming with an heroic air.
He was sitting not far from Song Yan.
Seeing Song Yan looking at him, he actually grinned and nodded at him in a show of friendliness.
“…”
“Three hundred spirit stones.”
Song Yan was determined to win.
The young man looked slightly regretful, as though his funds were not quite sufficient, so he ultimately gave up on the bidding.
With no further competition, the matter was settled.
“Excellent! Congratulations to this fellow Daoist for winning the treasure talisman. You may proceed to the back to complete the transaction at any time.”
There was still some time before the Qi Replenishing Pills came up. Song Yan decided to collect the talisman first, then return to the auction hall.
The auction house’s mechanism was well-established, and the transaction went very smoothly.
The treasure talisman was now in hand, its surface shimmering with faint water-blue ripples.
Song Yan stored it away and returned to his seat in the auction hall.
The subsequent auction proceeded smoothly, but unfortunately, the Qi Replenishing Pills were sold in sets of three bottles. A total of three sets were auctioned, and Song Yan ultimately won one set for the price of one hundred and twenty-five spirit stones.
He paid using a single mid-grade spirit stone.
In just a single day, money flowed away like water.
At this moment, his Cosmos Bag contained only five mid-grade spirit stones and sixty-two low-grade spirit stones.
“These spirit stones are just too easy to spend.”
After the trip to the Foundation Establishment cave mansion, he had thought he was wealthy.
He had seemed rich, but in reality, becoming poor had taken but an instant.
The auction proceeded without incident. There was none of the disruption that Song Yan had imagined might occur.
Come to think of it, this auction house was backed by the Eastern Abyss Sect.
However the undercurrents might surge beneath the surface, it had nothing to do with him, Song Yan.
As long as he could safely and steadily obtain the things he wanted, that was enough.
Having obtained what he wanted, Song Yan quietly waited for the auction to end.
Then, following the crowd, he slowly departed the venue. He noticed that two cultivators who appeared to be rogue cultivators were trailing some distance behind another cultivator.
That cultivator wore a standard-issue uniform, looking quite familiar. He was likely a cultivator from a nearby small sect.
When Song Yan came back to his senses, the figures had already vanished.
“…”
He could not help but sigh inwardly. Someone was probably going to die.
He did not know whether it would be the one being followed or those two rogue cultivators.
The Eastern Abyss Sect’s name was great, protecting its disciples too well.
The darker aspects of the cultivation world were only now gradually beginning to reveal themselves to Song Yan’s eyes.
But he did not feel there was anything wrong with that.
The dead would not ask whether it was right or wrong.
…
That day.
Shan Zifeng strode toward the Mission Hall.
His cultivation of the Complete Fire Scripture had encountered a small bottleneck. He had seen the Indigo Fire Flower at the auction house before, but had not managed to win it.
Remembering that bright, sunny smile on Ba Demon Peak, Shan Zifeng wished he could skin him alive and pull out his tendons.
Unfortunately, he only had schemes and methods, not the actual strength.
Today was the final deadline within three months for him to accept a mission.
Inner disciples could be excused from menial tasks.
But they still needed to complete one mission from the Mission Hall within a given period.
“Mm…”
A summary of each mission appeared on the jade wall of the great hall.
Shan Zifeng wanted to find the simplest mission possible to complete, saving time.
Nowadays, the ordinary spiritual resources he desired could all be obtained through some rather unorthodox means.
Saving the time spent traveling outside was what mattered.
Some missions were quite time-consuming.
For example, collecting demon beast materials.
If one did not have similar materials already on hand, one would need to search the world over for traces of demon beasts to complete the mission.
However, among the supplies he had embezzled and seized, there happened to be a great many miscellaneous materials.
If these “trash” could be used to complete a mission, that would certainly be ideal.
But the probability of such a match was too low. It obviously required a certain amount of luck.
To save time, escorting items was also a relatively common, time-saving, and effort-saving mission.
“Oh?”
A mission summary suddenly appeared on the jade wall.
“Escort a magical artifact. Southern Cliff Mountain foothills.”
“Requires a late-stage Qi Refining cultivator to accept.”
“The mission reward is…”
“Forging Fire Pills!”
Shan Zifeng was startled.
A set of Forging Fire Pills was not cheap.
He had profited quite a bit by embezzling and reselling spiritual resources for spirit stones.
But the Forging Fire Pills were not something one could take every day during cultivation.
They were among the more outstanding categories of fire-element cultivation resources.
However…
Shan Zifeng furrowed his brow.
“How can it be such a coincidence…”
That he had come to the Mission Hall today.
That there happened to be such a simple escort mission.
That the reward happened to be the cultivation pill he needed.
“…”
Shan Zifeng’s expression did not change, but his divine sense casually swept the surroundings.
He should not have offended any inner disciples.
As for the outer disciples…
Most of the outer disciples in the hall at the moment were quite unfamiliar, and their cultivation levels were merely at the fourth or fifth layer of Qi Refining.
“…”
After a moment of deliberation, he still stepped forward and accepted this mission.
The mission issuer was an outer disciple named “Tong Chuping.”
The information he had left was comprehensive and detailed.
“Forging Fire Pills are quite valuable. If such a thing is offered as a reward, then the treasure being escorted on this trip must not be some worthless junk either.”
“An outer disciple with quite a deep pocket.”
Even Shan Zifeng himself did not realize it.
Under the urging of his evil thoughts, the focus of his thinking gradually shifted from whether there was anything wrong with this mission to another direction entirely.
Among the outer disciples, there were indeed those who possessed abundant spiritual resources.
It was just that such cultivators typically had cultivator family members.
It was the accumulation of generations that allowed for such wealth.
Shan Zifeng stroked his chin, contemplating the possibility of extracting resources from this outer disciple.
When accepting a mission, the commissioning party was not required to appear in person.
For missions involving the escort of treasure, the item to be escorted could also be deposited in the Mission Hall in advance.
But when the mission was completed, if the issuer was a sect member, they still needed to be present in person to hand over the mission reward.
Having accepted the mission, Shan Zifeng left the Mission Hall.
“…”
In the Mission Hall, everything was as usual.
Approximately half a day passed.
Song Yan, wearing a human-skin mask, finally emerged from the crowd and headed out of the sect.
With the Hidden Sword Spirit-Concealing Stance activated, his aura was now merely at the fourth layer of Qi Refining.
When to complete the mission was Shan Zifeng’s own decision, and the timeframe would not be long.
Song Yan still had much to do.
The fastest route between the sect and the Southern Cliff Mountain vicinity was this path passing through several major towns.
Following his earlier plan, he arrived in advance near a small town.
This major town, like Linxi County, prohibited cultivators from flying in its vicinity.
However, to prevent any accidents, he had also prepared a No-Flight Talisman Formation.
Even if Shan Zifeng, for some reason, did not choose to pass through here on his way to Southern Cliff, he would still pass through here on his return to the sect.
“Phew…”
Everything was prepared.
Song Yan concealed himself among the trees and brush of the forest. He took a deep breath, and the Hidden Sword Spirit-Concealing Stance slowly circulated.
He lowered his spiritual energy fluctuations to the absolute minimum.
Aside from his faint breathing, he looked like a lifelike sculpture.
Spiritual energy, sword qi, even his vital energy—
All were restrained to the extreme.
In this cultivation world, there were simply too many unknown techniques and abilities.
No matter what, it was impossible to account for every possibility.
He only sought to do his best; the rest he left to heaven’s will.
“Next, it is simply a matter of waiting for the rabbit to come to the tree stump.”
…
One day.
Two days.
Song Yan sat motionless here, unmoving.
Fortunately, this place was remote.
Over the past few days, no one had come near, save for a single cultivator at the third layer of Qi Refining who had passed by.
His attire was not that of a sect; he was likely a member of some small family.
Not until the third day.
He finally arrived.
Shan Zifeng’s body’s spiritual energy fluctuated faintly as he used spiritual energy to hasten his travel speed.
He should have already delivered the magical artifact to the lakeside cabin at the Southern Cliff Mountain foothills, as described in the mission.
He was getting closer.
Very close…
He was just about to step into Song Yan’s ambush.
Yet Shan Zifeng suddenly stopped.
He stood perfectly still.