Rising from Small Cloud Rain Technique

...

The next day, early afternoon.

Ji An arrived at Yunhai Auction House. After presenting his invitation, he was led inside by a maid.

There were two auction halls here. The largest one catered to Foundation Establishment Stage and Chao Origin Stage cultivators, with an auction held every three months.

The smaller hall primarily served Golden Core level cultivators, with an auction held every three years.

Many Chao Origin Stage cultivators would also come because this auction featured a must-bid item — the Gold Core Pill.

For example, in this auction, Ji An contributed significantly as he had refined many Gold Core Pills and expected all of them to be auctioned.

The two arrived at a pavilion box, which was elegantly decorated, facing the auction stage with a large rectangular window.

Sitting by the window gave a sweeping view of the entire auction hall.

At this moment, about half of the seats in the venue were occupied. Because cultivators could communicate through sound transmission, the hall was not noisy but rather quiet.

A round table and three vermilion master’s chairs stood in the center of the room, flanked by Pine Crane Longevity Map and Seeking Immortal and Inquiry Map on either side.

Beside the paintings stood a tall stand, upon which was a jade-colored vase containing a bouquet of yellow flowers, exuding a subtle fragrance.

Ji An approached the window and observed that the windows of other boxes were obscured by a hazy mist, making it impossible to see inside.

Even with his eyes capable of penetrating fog, he couldn’t see through, likely due to some restrictions in place.

By this deduction, it was probable that his own room had similar protections to prevent prying eyes and maintain privacy.

The maid lit a plate of incense and placed it in the incense burner on the round table, where smoke gently curled upward.

Ji An could smell the Soul Nourishing Wood leaves in the incense, which appeared to be of Tier Two Top Grade.

She slightly bent her knees and, with downcast eyes, said:

"Senior, the auction will begin in half a double hour. I will be serving you.

If you find yourself lacking resources during the auction, you can offer Spiritual Objects, Pills, etc., and we will have appraisers to assist you.

Each box is equipped with restrictions, preventing eavesdropping, and can alter voices so that anything said sounds completely different outside."

Ji An smiled, "That’s great, allowing everyone to bid confidently and boldly."

I have to say, this setup is excellent, preventing awkward bidding encounters with acquaintances.

He returned to the round table and sat down, asking:

"What is the usual price for pills used in early-stage Golden Core cultivation?"

"If refined from Spirit Medicine, the Spirit Rhinoceros Quenching Essence Pill sells for around seventy Top-grade Spirit Stones per pill.

If refined from Monster Beast Inner Core, it’s slightly cheaper, around sixty Top-grade Spirit Stones per pill."

"How many early-stage Golden Core Pills are usually auctioned each time?"

The maid pondered briefly and replied softly:

"It’s uncertain. The most I’ve seen was thirty bottles auctioned at one time, generally around twenty bottles."

"Is the competition fierce?"

The maid smiled subtly, "It’s alright."

Pills are essential and regular resources. There’s an unspoken rule during auctions—once a cultivator wins a bottle of pills, they shouldn’t continue competing, ensuring everyone gets a chance.

If someone breaks this rule, they’d face collective opposition where everyone bids against them on all items.

The auction house despises this self-imposed rule but feels powerless to change it.

The maid could tell this Daoist Master was unaware of this unwritten rule, which the auction house finds favorable as it introduces variability.

Ji An stopped talking and began to meditate with closed eyes, his breathing becoming faint.

After a while, a middle-aged cultivator in an ocher Daoist Robe with a refined face gracefully descended onto the auction stage.

He picked up a small red hammer on the stage and struck the bronze bell.

"Dang!"

The melodious sound spread, with gentle light rippling over the surface of the bronze bell, revealing a dense array of symbols inside.

Ji An felt invigorated, his Sea of Consciousness clearing, as a warm and mellow voice echoed in his ears.

"Fellow Daoists, I am Master Dongxuan of the Cloud Sea Business Alliance, and I thank you all for attending."

Master Dongxuan cupped his hands around and continued:

"Firstly, let me state some well-known rules: one, malicious bidding is prohibited. If you maliciously increase prices, you’ll be fined half of your bid;

second, do not verbally threaten bidders.

Any first offense is met with a stern warning, and a second results in expulsion.

Thirdly, auctions start with Top-grade Spirit Stones as the base, with each increase no less than ten Top-grade Spirit Stones;

If a fellow Daoist finds themselves short on Spirit Stones, they may use resources for exchange..."

"Alright, let’s present the first auction item now."

A maid placed a tray covered with red silk on the auction stage, and Master Dongxuan lifted the red silk, revealing several jade bottles, three green and two yellow.

"Gold Core Pills always take the stage first, with five pills in this auction, two of which are high-quality.

First, we’ll auction a regular Gold Core Pill, starting at eight hundred Top-grade Spirit Stones."

The price of a Realm-breaking pill is far more expensive than one that enhances cultivation.

As soon as he finished speaking, a cultivator immediately placed a bid, "Eight hundred fifty!"

One was unwilling to be outdone, "Nine hundred!"

Master Dongxuan lifted the small hammer and struck the bronze bell, laughing:

"Hold your horses; I haven’t officially started yet! Allow me to finish my words.

This auction’s five pills have extraordinary effects, which I’ll demonstrate."

He picked up a green bottle, poured out a pill, and raised it in his palm:

"As everyone knows, a cultivator can refine Heaven and Earth Spirit Fire for use, with each Spiritual Fire having different effects.

Fortunately, we’ve partnered with a cultivator possessing the Cyan Lotus Heart-Burning Fire.

The Cyan Lotus Heart-Burning Fire takes three lifetimes to mature into its most perfect form, and this Alchemy Master possesses that perfect form..."

In the box, as Ji An listened to the explanation, his gaze turned somber, suspecting that someone from the Certification Association had leaked his information; otherwise, how would the auction house know the type of his Spiritual Fire?

"Perfected Cyan Lotus Heart-Burning Fire-refined pills will have three additional transformations of medicinal power.

If refined into other pills, it can enhance their efficacy, but for Gold Core Pills, which inherently have multiple effects, these transformations can directly increase a cultivator’s Core Formation success rate!

Normally, a regular Gold Core Pill increases the Core Formation success rate by twenty percent, while high-quality pills can boost it by thirty percent.

Though this pill in my hand is of ordinary quality, it can assuredly enhance the Core Formation rate by thirty percent, with high-quality pills boosting it by forty percent!

This can be verified by any Tier Three Alchemy Master."

Murmurs filled the hall, with Ji An stroking his chin, unaware of the truth in the man’s claims, despite being a Tier Three Alchemy Master himself.

As emotions surged, someone shouted:

"How do you prove the Alchemy Master holds the perfected Cyan Lotus Heart-Burning Fire? Unless you invite them to confirm it on-site, I dare not believe it."

"Indeed, how can you prove the pill actually has these effects?"

Once refined, pills look similar in appearance.

Master Dongxuan struck the bronze bell again, explaining:

"The Alchemy Master is humble and prefers not to appear publicly, but I can prove it with a secret technique.

If a pill is refined with Earth Fire or ordinary Pill Fire, it leaves no trace; however, any pill refined with Heaven and Earth Spirit Fire will bear the unique imprint of that Spiritual Fire, so watch closely."

With that, he pinched the pill in his left hand, rapidly changing Dharma Seals with his right hand, and a flame rose above the pill, vanishing quickly afterward.

Everyone saw clearly that the flame had three layers, colored azure, red, and white from inside to outside.

In the box, Ji An scratched his head, surprised by this ability of the Cyan Lotus Heart-Burning Fire, internally lamenting his limited knowledge.

Knowledge is power, no matter the world.

Master Dongxuan put away the pill again and called out:

"Is there any Daoist Master skilled in alchemy here today to confirm whether my words are false?"

A hoarse voice spoke up:

"I am a Tier Three Four-star Alchemy Master; what Brother Dongxuan said is true.

Alas, I’ve been refining pills for over three centuries, tirelessly seeking Heaven and Earth Spirit Fire to no avail. I wonder which fellow Daoist is so fortunate."