The Five Elements Pill Ignites the Bidding War
“Maybe I've already encountered my great fortune long ago.”
Baek Cheong had barely slept a wink, pulling an all-nighter with wide eyes, and now in the early dawn, she hurriedly prepared herself. She donned a neat robe woven from first-grade silkworm demon's jade silk, arranging her appearance to exude the utmost modesty and refined grace befitting a young lady of a prestigious house.
“Cheong-ah, are you all ready?”
As she stepped out into the inner hall, her uncle was waiting with his escorts in tow. Beside him stood the protector who had guarded her during yesterday's night patrol viewing, standing tall and imposing.
“Yes, Uncle!”
Baek Muyeong let out a hearty laugh at his niece's excited demeanor.
“Haha, that eager, eh? Mansang Pavilion isn't just the top auction house in Yeonha Fortress City—it spans the entire Water Immortal Realm with its merchant alliance. Though it's a regular auction held once a year, rumors are flying that this time there are quite a few rare treasures on offer.”
Baek Cheong's ears perked up. The words “rare treasures” were like a magic spell that always set her heart racing, no matter when she heard them.
“What kinds of items are coming up?”
“Who knows. Second-grade common spirit herbs and defensive treasures are a dime a dozen. If you're lucky, you might see rare artifacts coveted even by late-stage Core Formation cultivators or those at the early Gold Core stage. Our Baek Merchant Guild is putting up something important for this auction too.”
If the Baek Merchant Guild was offering something major, it was almost certainly the Five Elements Pill they'd secretly transported yesterday. The thought of the pill—born from the pill refiner's inspiration drawn from her self-invented(?) Five Elements compounding method—being auctioned off filled her with a strange mix of emotions.
“Let's head out.”
Following her uncle, Baek Cheong left the estate and made for the heart of Yeonha Fortress City. True to its name, Mansang Pavilion boasted the grandest scale and splendor in the city—a majestic seven-story pavilion that loomed imposingly. Its roof gleamed golden under the sunlight, and at the entrance, flags emblazoned with every color and crest fluttered proudly.
The area around the entrance teemed with cultivators eager for the auction. Ordinary loose cultivators could only peer in from outside, turning away with regret, while only those bearing the insignia of proper clans or sects passed the strict identity checks to enter.
“Baek Merchant Guild's Lord Baek, welcome! This way to the VIP room, please.”
A Mansang Pavilion receptionist spotted Baek Muyeong and rushed out barefoot, treating him with utmost courtesy. As blood of the Baek family that effectively ruled Yeonha Fortress City and head of a major merchant guild, he was top-tier VIP they couldn't afford to neglect.
Baek Cheong trailed closely behind her uncle, puffing out her chest with pride. She savored the jealous, envious stares from the crowd boring into their backs. This was the true flavor of being a golden spoon.
They were led to an independent VIP room on the sixth floor of the auction hall. From the wide railing, she had a clear view of the massive circular auction platform on the first floor and the packed general seats below.
The room itself featured plush chairs, a tea table laden with the finest spirit tea, and a crystal orb embedded with a projection formation for close inspection of auction items.
“Whoa! There are so many cultivators.”
“Haha, that exciting for you?”
“Of course—it's not every day you see this many.”
Leaning on the railing, Baek Cheong watched the auction hall's feverish atmosphere with keen interest. Moments later, a clear bell chimed three times, quieting the murmurs below.
A white-haired elder in splendid robes appeared on the circular platform.
“Honored guests of Mansang Pavilion, welcome. I am Cheon No, your auctioneer today. No long speeches—let's dive right into our first lot.”
With the seasoned auctioneer's lead, the main event began in earnest.
Early items were mostly run-of-the-mill: second-grade mid-tier spirit herbs, defensive treasures, silkworm demon inner cores. Loose cultivators and low-clan members in the general seats bid fiercely, but it was far too pedestrian to whet the appetites of Baek Muyeong or the VIP room cultivators.
Baek Cheong propped her chin, yawning inwardly with boredom. When's that ancient manual from the primordial era coming up?*
After hours of tedious waiting, as the auction hit its midpoint, a subtle power crept into Cheon No's voice.
“Now, the next lot—a rare treasure sure to heat things up. We present an ancient jade tablet unearthed from a deep-sea secret realm in the Southern Sea.”
A weathered jade tablet glowing faintly blue was brought out on a silver tray.
Baek Cheong's eyes snapped wide. Finally, something with that fateful stroke-of-fortune vibe.
“This jade tablet contains the incantation for Ice Dragon Shatter, a water-attribute attack spell. Appraised at first-grade superior quality, it packs enough punch to critically wound early-stage Core Formation cultivators depending on the user's skill. Bidding starts at two hundred low-grade spirit stones!”
For late Qi Refining cultivators, it was like rain in a drought—a superb spell. And from a secret realm? Bound to have something special.
Bids flew not just from the general seats but some second-floor VIPs too, firing up the hall.
That looks pretty good. Baek Cheong licked her lips at the item. Her current spells were all basic, lacking raw power. Ice Dragon Shatter would make a fine addition to her arsenal.
She glanced slyly at her uncle.
“Uncle, that one...”
“Want it?”
Baek Muyeong saw right through her, chuckling heartily and nodding. Without hesitation, he infused energy into the VIP room's bidding plaque.
“Baek Merchant Guild bids five mid-grade spirit stones!”
An overwhelming sum—five hundred low-grade equivalent. The Baek family's wealth on full display crushed the competition; other bidders smacked their lips and backed off.
“Five mid-grade spirit stones! No further bids? Sold!”
With Cheon No's crisp call, they secured it easily. The Baek name deterred interlopers.
Soon, Mansang Pavilion's chief manager personally delivered the Ice Dragon Shatter jade tablet.
“Thank you, Uncle!”
Baek Cheong thanked him profusely, tucking the jade away preciously. Having tasted the auction's thrill, her eyes now greedily fixed on the platform.
But no more fateful items appeared. Second-grade superior flying swords, thousand-year fire ginseng—rare treasures found new owners one by one. As boredom set in...
“Baek Merchant Guild bids one mid-grade spirit stone!”
“Baek Merchant Guild bids three mid-grade spirit stones!”
Baek Muyeong snagged a few items useful for guild interests but showed no excessive greed.
As the auction neared its close, Cheon No's expression turned unprecedentedly solemn.
“Honored guests, now for the finale—the crowning lot of today's auction, a stroke of fortune unprecedented in Mansang Pavilion's history.”
The hall fell deathly silent. All eyes locked on the platform.
A ornate jade box was carefully placed on a jade tray. As the lid opened, a rainbow glow bathed the stage, and a pure pill fragrance wafted through the entire hall.
Just inhaling it made their spiritual roots stir—a bizarre sensation that left cultivators entranced.
“This pill is called the Five Elements Pill.”
Cheon No's grave voice broke the hush.
“A masterpiece crafted with utmost care by Grandmaster Yeokseon, a near-fifth-grade pill refiner! This revolutionary pill artificially grows cursed five-element spiritual roots, granting absorption capacity rivaling triple roots in one go!”
The hall erupted in cheers and gasps.
“Grows spiritual roots? Impossible—that's heaven-defying!”
“Grandmaster Yeokseon's work... I must have it!”
“It's my son's only lifeline from his five-element trash roots! I'll mortgage everything!”
Even the poised VIPs leaped up, drawn irresistibly to the stage. In the Water Immortal Realm, spiritual root quality decided a cultivator's—and a clan's—fate. The Five Elements Pill that defied it was truly heaven-defying.
“Bidding starts at fifty mid-grade spirit stones!”
Bids exploded wildly.
“Seventy mid-grade!”
“One hundred!”
“One hundred thirty! The Supreme Clan claims it!”
Bids soared by tens, then hundreds. Baek Muyeong watched the frenzy with a relaxed smile, arms crossed—already calculating the massive profits for his guild as the pill's sponsor.
Baek Cheong, meanwhile, felt oddly conflicted. The pill she'd scarfed for free was now a hotly contested miracle by the realm's elite.
I got something this insane for free...Now that's a stroke of fortune.
It hit home anew: the perks of her golden spoon status. And she couldn't help imagining the explosive backlash on Moomyeongbang if she trolled with the pill recipe someday—her wicked fantasies spiraling.
“Two hundred! Heavenly Luck Manor bids two hundred mid-grade spirit stones!”
Bids peaked at the astronomical two hundred mid-grades, stalling the frenzy. Heavenly Luck Manor was a Gold Core clan wielding influence near Yeonha Fortress City.
“Two hundred mid-grade! No more? Then the Five Elements Pill goes to Heavenly Luck Manor...”
As Cheon No raised the gavel, a low but heavy voice laced with immense energy from the seventh-floor VIP room crushed the hall.
“Three high-grade spirit stones. And... one Sword Tomb sword manual illustration.”
The hall froze as if doused in ice. Three high-grades were insane enough, but “Sword Tomb” carried otherworldly weight.
Gazes of fear and awe turned to the top VIP room. Even her uncle's face stiffened.
“That voice... that overwhelming presence...”
Baek Muyeong swallowed dryly, murmuring.
“Heavenly Sword Sect's Supreme Elder... the Sword Sovereign Pacheon.”