Chapter 117
Chapter 117
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 117
Chapter Title: Purple Cloud Vermilion Fruit
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In the Treasure Pavilion, on the first floor overlooking the river street, Alchemist Zhuang sat in a long corridor pavilion, admiring the spirit carp in the Qinghe River.
At both ends of the Qinghe River, the market city had set up spiritual nets.
Therefore, these spirit carp could not escape Qinghe Market City and could only be admired by cultivators in the river.
Their fate was much better than that of the green-scaled fish.
After all, once the green-scaled fish had achieved their purpose, they were destined for the dinner table.
Not long after.
From the corner of his eye, Alchemist Zhuang saw the figures of his granddaughter and disciple, as well as Chen Jianghe, walking toward him.
“Fellow Cultivator Chen, it’s rare to see you emerge from seclusion!”
Alchemist Zhuang went to greet him, teasing, “But your timing for coming out is perfect.”
“Perfect?”
Chen Jianghe shook his head with a wry smile. “Not necessarily. I’m not like you, Alchemist Zhuang. Even if there are good things, my pockets are empty.”
“No matter. If it’s something useful, I can lend you some spirit stones for the time being,” Alchemist Zhuang said with a hearty laugh.
“Huh?”
Chen Jianghe was a bit surprised.
Who actively lent out spirit stones these days?
‘No, Jiang Ruxu said there’s a Life Extension Pill at the auction. What Alchemist Zhuang lacks most right now is lifespan. Logically, he should be doing everything he can to buy the Life Extension Pill, not lending out spirit stones.’
“Alright then, I’ll thank you in advance, Alchemist Zhuang.”
He wouldn't refuse Alchemist Zhuang's gesture of goodwill. He would accept it all, as he also had the intention of befriending him.
After chatting in the pavilion for a while, he glanced at the sky.
It was already a quarter past the hour of Xu.
By this time, the guard team had already begun clearing the streets. Cultivators who didn't reside in the market city were being escorted out of the city gates.
Those who lived within the market city also had to leave the streets and return to their own courtyards.
“Let’s go.”
Alchemist Zhuang said.
The four of them then headed towards the stairs of the Treasure Pavilion.
Normally, auctions were held in the morning. Only when rare treasures appeared would an auction be held at the hour of Hai.
And it required an invitation.
One also needed to arrive a quarter past the hour of Xu, otherwise, they would also have to leave Qinghe Market City.
The reason Qinghe Market City did this was simple: to protect the safety of the cultivators who successfully bid on valuable items.
After the auction ended, the city gates would be closed.
Only Foundation Establishment cultivators could fly out.
Qi Refining cultivators could only stay in the market city, thus avoiding being robbed by rogue cultivators.
As for Foundation Establishment cultivators?
If they chose to leave, Qinghe Market City would not be responsible for anything that happened to them.
They arrived on the fourth floor.
It was a spacious and bright, square-shaped venue. Directly ahead was an auction stage, with rows of seats below.
However, there were no private boxes.
Including the Foundation Establishment cultivators, everyone had to sit in the main hall. But the Foundation Establishment cultivators’ seats were closer to the front, more spacious, and individual.
The seats for Qi Refining cultivators were further back and in rows.
The style was completely different from Mirror Moon Market City, but what remained the same was the differential treatment between Foundation Establishment and Qi Refining cultivators.
“Please present your invitations.”
At the entrance stood four late-stage Qi Refining cultivators from the Treasure Pavilion, checking each cultivator’s invitation.
Only Foundation Establishment cultivators did not need an invitation and could enter directly.
“Here are two invitations, the four of us…”
“Senior Chen?”
Before Alchemist Zhuang could finish his sentence, one of the four late-stage Qi Refining cultivators checking tickets saw Chen Jianghe and immediately walked over.
“Welcome, Senior Chen. Please, come in.”
Uh…
Chen Jianghe recognized this person as the late-stage Qi Refining cultivator who had come to Alchemist Zhuang’s blessed residence to invite him.
“Thank you. Here is the invitation.”
Chen Jianghe naturally knew why the other party was letting him in without checking his invitation.
It was, of course, because of Gao Peiyao.
Gao Peiyao was now a manager at the Treasure Pavilion, the direct superior of all its cultivators, capable of controlling their fates.
This was not the first time Chen Jianghe had been invited by Gao Peiyao, so any cultivator who knew this would certainly not dare to offend him.
The late-stage Qi Refining cultivator from the Treasure Pavilion took the invitation Chen Jianghe handed over, which bore Gao Peiyao's signature.
He instantly breathed a sigh of relief.
He knew the relationship between Chen Jianghe and Gao Peiyao was not ordinary.
How could she not invite him to an auction with such rare treasures?
He secretly congratulated himself on his cleverness.
He then returned to the entrance, looked at Alchemist Zhuang, and said in a flat tone, “Right, two invitations. The three of you can go in.”
Alchemist Zhuang's old face flushed, and he walked in, feeling a bit awkward.
He had intended to use this opportunity to get closer to Chen Jianghe; after all, these invitations were not easy to come by.
But he had forgotten about Gao Peiyao's existence.
“The invitation in Fellow Cultivator Chen’s hand must have been personally written by Fairy Peiyao, right?” Alchemist Zhuang asked.
Chen Jianghe nodded.
Seeing this, Alchemist Zhuang was overjoyed.
The better the relationship between Chen Jianghe and Gao Peiyao, the greater the chance of obtaining another Beauty-Retaining Grass.
He had already gathered more than half of the materials for the Beauty-Retaining Pill, with only three spiritual materials remaining. The hardest to obtain was the Beauty-Retaining Grass.
Once he had all the materials, he could begin refining the pill immediately.
“Fairy Peiyao is so good to Senior Chen,” Jiang Ruxu said with envy.
Chen Jianghe didn't respond. He wouldn't proactively use Gao Peiyao's name to his advantage outside, as it would displease her.
The four of them then sat in the back rows.
After a short while.
Chen Jianghe was surprised to find that many cultivators were intentionally sitting in the back rows, as if the auction stage were at the rear instead of the front.
It didn't take long for him to understand why.
As the Foundation Establishment cultivators entered and took the single seats at the front, there were about a dozen of them.
No wonder no Qi Refining cultivators were willing to sit up front.
With so many Foundation Establishment cultivators in front of them, the pressure was immense.
At this moment, Chen Jianghe wished he could move to the very last row.
But there were no seats left.
Initially, he thought the other cultivators would sit in the front, so he chose a seat in the fourth-to-last row.
But looking now.
His seat was in the middle, even slightly towards the front.
At a quarter past the hour of Hai.
The entrance to the fourth-floor auction hall closed.
Chen Jianghe glanced around. Not many cultivators had come, only about a hundred Qi Refining cultivators.
Ninety percent were in the late stage of Qi Refining.
The rest were in the middle stage. As for the early stage, there wasn't a single one.
There were thirteen Foundation Establishment cultivators.
Among these Foundation Establishment cultivators, Chen Jianghe saw a familiar face.
“The Yun Clan Ancestor? He came too!”
Back when Yun Bufan was attempting his breakthrough to Foundation Establishment, the ancestors of the four major Foundation Establishment Immortal Clans had come to "offer congratulations," and the Yun Clan Ancestor had personally received them.
Chen Jianghe had seen his back from a distance on the fishing boat, and the powerful, terrifying aura was unforgettable.
“Could he be here for the Life Extension Pill?”
When he was in Mirror Moon Market City, he had heard rumors about the Yun Clan Ancestor. He was the great-grandfather of the clan head, Yun Xiaotian, and also the great-grandfather of Yun Xiaoqian.
He should be around one hundred and ninety years old by now.
Considering the two-hundred-and-twenty-year lifespan limit for Foundation Establishment, that meant he had about twenty to thirty years left.
It was indeed time for him to purchase a Life Extension Pill.
Of the thirteen Foundation Establishment cultivators sitting in the front, nine were old men, one was middle-aged, and three were young.
It was clear that most of them were here for the Life Extension Pill.
He stopped looking at the Yun Clan Ancestor, lest he be discovered. Even without releasing one's divine sense, the perception of a Foundation Establishment Ancestor was extremely sharp.
Bang!
The circular array of gilded crystals lit up, brightly illuminating the auction stage.
Chen Jianghe’s gaze was fixed on the stage, wondering who would be hosting this auction.
Back in Mirror Moon Lake, the auction had been hosted by the manager of the Treasure Pavilion himself.
The next moment.
An old man walked onto the auction stage and began the opening remarks for the auction.
It wasn't Gao Peiyao hosting, which was within his expectations. After all, she was a Foundation Establishment cultivator. How could she stand on stage explaining auction items to a group of Qi Refining cultivators?
Even for fellow Foundation Establishment cultivators, it wouldn't be enough to warrant such an honor.
Gao Peiyao was a Foundation Establishment cultivator from a sect, not an ancestor from a cultivation clan.
“…This auction features a total of thirty-two precious items. Ten of them are spiritual objects and materials needed by late-stage Qi Refining cultivators. The remaining twenty-two are all treasures required by Foundation Establishment cultivators.”
“Now, let the bidding for the first precious item begin.”
“First-tier, high-grade Spirit Nurturing Liquid. As everyone knows, Spirit Nurturing Liquid is more easily absorbed than Spirit Nurturing Pills and is extremely helpful for enhancing the soul and spirit.”
“There are ten bottles in total. The starting bid is one thousand spirit stones, and each increment must be no less than ten spirit stones.”
As soon as his voice fell, cultivators began to call out their bids.
“One thousand and twenty spirit stones.”
“One thousand and seventy spirit stones.”
“…”
“One thousand one hundred and ninety spirit stones.”
“…”
The bidders were all late-stage Qi Refining cultivators, and all were at the ninth level. They must have started practicing spiritual cultivation techniques.
That was why they were willing to spend a fortune on first-tier, high-grade Spirit Nurturing Liquid.
Moreover, these cultivators were most likely from cultivation clans, because demon hunters simply couldn't afford Spirit Nurturing Liquid.
The starting price alone was daunting for them.
Buying it bottle by bottle was practically impossible, as it was a seller's market.
Just like the Spirit Nurturing Pill, it could only be bought in sect market cities. In other places, it would only appear at auctions.
“Alchemist Zhuang, is Spirit Nurturing Liquid really better than Spirit Nurturing Pills?”
Chen Jianghe sent a voice transmission.
Logically, spiritual pills should be more effective than spiritual liquids. It was strange to hear the auctioneer say that Spirit Nurturing Liquid was better than Spirit Nurturing Pills.
This was somewhat peculiar.
“The efficacy of Spirit Nurturing Liquid is slightly lower than that of Spirit Nurturing Pills, but it can be absorbed and refined by cultivators by over ninety percent.”
“Spirit Nurturing Pills, on the other hand, can only be absorbed and refined by about seventy to eighty percent.”
Alchemist Zhuang glanced at Chen Jianghe's puzzled expression and explained via voice transmission.
“Both Spirit Nurturing Pills and Spirit Nurturing Liquid are only sold in sect market cities. Other market cities can only acquire them through auctions.”
“The price of a Spirit Nurturing Pill in a sect market city is eighty spirit stones per pill. At auction, the premium can go as high as one hundred and twenty spirit stones.”
“A bottle of Spirit Nurturing Liquid costs one hundred spirit stones in a sect market city, and at auction, the premium can reach up to one hundred and fifty spirit stones.”
“However, if you buy Spirit Nurturing Pills or Spirit Nurturing Liquid in a sect market city, you are required to consume them before leaving the city.”
Hearing Alchemist Zhuang's voice transmission, Chen Jianghe was surprised to learn that sect market cities had such a rule.
But it made sense. The price premium was so high.
If one could buy them from a sect market city and resell them in other market cities, wouldn't that be an easy way to get rich?
“Alchemist Zhuang, the profit margin for Spirit Nurturing Pills is so high. Can you refine them?”
Chen Jianghe asked.
He would need Spirit Nurturing Pills in the future, so it was better to ask now. If Alchemist Zhuang was still around then, he could buy them directly from him.
He wouldn't have to find a way to get to a sect market city.
Nor would he have to fight tooth and nail for them at an auction.
Alchemist Zhuang looked at Chen Jianghe in surprise, then fell silent. After a long while, he finally replied to Chen Jianghe.
“I don’t have the recipe.”
“Uh!”
Chen Jianghe gave an awkward smile.
He suddenly remembered that alchemy was different from talisman drawing.
Talisman Dao inheritances usually included the designs for various types of talismans.
But Alchemy Dao inheritances did not include all pill recipes.
Many pill recipes were exclusive.
Unless it was a recipe for which the main ingredient was monopolized, like the Beauty-Retaining Pill. Every alchemist knew that recipe.
But what was the use of knowing it?
The main ingredient, Beauty-Retaining Grass, was monopolized by the Tiannan Sect. Could you just storm the Tiannan Sect and snatch it?
“What about high-grade Qi and Blood Pills? Can you refine those, Alchemist Zhuang?” Chen Jianghe asked again.
He was about to start body tempering, and this was a desperately needed pill.
“There are many recipes for Qi and Blood Pills, but their effects are roughly the same. I have two Qi and Blood Pill recipes myself, so I can refine Qi and Blood Pills, Meridian Opening Pills, and Body Forging Pills.”
“Alchemist Zhuang, you are truly knowledgeable.”
Chen Jianghe praised him sincerely.
He would need all of these in the future, so his praise for Alchemist Zhuang came from the heart.
As for Spirit Nurturing Pills and Spirit Nurturing Liquid, he would figure something out when the time came.
As they chatted via voice transmission, the auction raged on, having already reached the twenty-sixth precious item.
The precious items for Qi Refining cultivators at the beginning were just appetizers; the real treasures came later.
Main materials for crafting top-tier spirit tools.
The horns, spiritual blood, and claws of second-tier spirit beasts.
And the main materials for crafting top-tier defensive spirit tools were being fiercely contested by the Foundation Establishment cultivators.
Especially the precious item currently being auctioned, the carapace of a second-tier demon beast, the Stone Rock Turtle, had already been bid up to one thousand one hundred spirit stones by the Foundation Establishment cultivators.
The Stone Rock Turtle had a third-grade, high-tier bloodline. Its entire body was a treasure, especially its carapace, which was the most valuable part.
With just a little refinement by a weapon refiner, it could easily become a top-tier defensive spirit tool.
“Fellow Cultivator Chen, do you know how this carapace was obtained?”
Alchemist Zhuang asked Chen Jianghe via voice transmission in a profound and mysterious tone.
“Please, do enlighten me.”
“A Core Formation expert from the Beast Taming Immortal Zhou Clan ventured deep into the Youxian Mountain Range and encountered a Stone Rock Turtle. He originally intended to capture and tame it as a spirit beast, but it escaped, leaving this carapace behind.”
“??? It shed its shell to escape, and it can still live?”
Chen Jianghe was stunned.
“Of course it can live, but its defense is lowered. And since the Stone Rock Turtle’s attacks are not strong, it will eventually be devoured by other demon beasts.”
Hearing Alchemist Zhuang's words, a thought involuntarily surfaced in Chen Jianghe's mind.
If Xiao Hei breaks through to the second tier, and if times get tough in the future, he could sell Xiao Hei's carapace to make ends meet.
In the end, the Stone Rock Turtle carapace was bought by a Foundation Establishment cultivator from the faction backing Qinghe Market City for one thousand six hundred spirit stones.
“Now, we will auction the twenty-seventh precious item, the Purple Cloud Vermilion Fruit.”
As the auctioneer's voice fell.
The cultivators in the auction hall were all stunned. They took a sharp breath, looking in astonishment at the object covered by a red silk cloth on the stage.
Purple Cloud Vermilion Fruit?
Chen Jianghe was bewildered. The *Yun Clan Miscellaneous Records* had no entry for the Purple Cloud Vermilion Fruit, but he saw that the expressions of most cultivators in the auction hall had changed.
Even Alchemist Zhuang, sitting next to him, couldn't help but widen his eyes.
“Alchemist Zhuang, what is this Purple Cloud Vermilion Fruit?”