Yuan Ming listened to the introduction and was astonished. The auction had barely started, and already the “Crimson Fire Heart Method,” a core technique of a sect, was up for bid.

He remembered when he had possessed Wu Lu’s body and saw him accept a mission from his clan to steal the “Crimson Fire Heart Method.”

Wu Lu had succeeded!

Yuan Ming worried for Wu Lu. He didn’t know much about the Fire Yuan Sect, but it was a sect with a rich heritage. Now, their core technique was being openly auctioned at the Tianxiang Auction. Wasn’t Wu Lu’s family afraid of attracting trouble?

As he pondered this, a red-faced elder in brocade stood up in the box, cupped his hands towards the entire venue, and announced loudly:

“I am Luo Tian, an elder of the Fire Yuan Sect. Unfortunately, a traitor recently stole our sect’s technique and put it up for auction. I ask my fellow cultivators to show some consideration and refrain from bidding. Our sect will offer a token of gratitude afterward.”

“Heh, no wonder the Tianxiang Auction is using anonymous bidding. They’re setting up the Fire Yuan Sect. This is going to be interesting,” Wang Chongshan chuckled, clearly enjoying the drama. He turned to Yuan Ming and said:

“I’ve heard that the Lord of Xiaohu City had a grudge with the Fire Yuan Sect before reaching the Elemental Infant stage. The specifics are unclear now, but it’s said that he played a significant role in the sect’s rapid decline. This time, the true organizer behind the Tianxiang Auction is him. He deliberately placed the Fire Yuan Sect’s technique first to stir up excitement and to spite them. But I reckon in the end, it’ll just cost the sect a fortune. The technique likely won’t fall into others’ hands. Otherwise, if other sects suffer the same fate, the city lord will have a hard time.”

“So, according to Brother Wang, the technique might have been stolen by someone hired by the city lord?” Yuan Ming asked knowingly.

“Most likely. But if it’s investigated, it’ll definitely have nothing to do with the city lord. Brother Ha Gong, you might not see this often, but in the Central Plains or elsewhere, there’s never a shortage of people willing to do the dirty work. With enough layers of outsourcing, the ones who actually do the job probably don’t even know what they’re doing. Even if caught, they couldn’t reveal the mastermind,” Wang Chongshan explained.

Meanwhile, Luo Tian’s statement seemed to have little effect. The price called out by the auctioneer kept climbing, never pausing, and Luo Tian’s expression grew increasingly grim as he kept bidding.

“…Twenty-one thousand four hundred spirit stones, is there a higher bid?” After calling out another price, the auctioneer looked around, waited a moment, then nodded, closed the wooden box, and placed it back on the stone platform.

Seeing this, Luo Tian breathed a sigh of relief, turned, and left the box without wanting to stay a moment longer.

Yuan Ming wasn’t sure if twenty-one thousand four hundred spirit stones was expensive for a technique that could be cultivated to the Core Formation stage, but for the Fire Yuan Sect, no amount of spirit stones was too much to prevent the spread of their technique.

Once the Tianxiang Auction ended, the news would spread, and many would surely laugh at the sect’s expense.

The Lord of Xiaohu City’s move was a blatant scheme, trampling both the dignity and substance of the Fire Yuan Sect. His Elemental Infant stage strength made the sect dare not speak out.

In the world of cultivation, strength was still the ultimate arbiter.

Yuan Ming sighed and refocused on the auction.

“Next up is the second item of the auction, three pieces of Moon Concealing Cold Iron, taken from…”

On stage, the auctioneer presented one unique item after another, including spiritual materials, elixirs, magical artifacts, and talismans. She praised each one extravagantly, as if missing out on them would be a regret in life.

Under her lead, many items sold for at least twenty percent above the usual price. Despite the anonymous bidding and no public callouts, the atmosphere grew hotter, surprising Yuan Ming.

But soon, he noticed something.

The auctioneer’s voice changed subtly with each bid, sounding as if different people were bidding. Additionally, the venue seemed to have special instruments continuously playing string music, weaving the auctioneer’s voice into a seamless flow, clearly disrupting normal thinking and fueling the fervor.

Yuan Ming, however, remained clear-headed. He showed interest in a few items and joined the bidding but stopped as soon as the price exceeded his expectations.

Thus, halfway through the auction, he hadn’t won a single item.

But as the auctioneer lifted another item from the rising stone platform, Yuan Ming suddenly sat up straight.

“The next item comes from the Xuanhua Spiritual Incense Shop in Xiaohu City.”

“These three sticks of incense I hold are the shop’s secret formula for enchanting incense, made from extremely rare materials. Remarkably, when lit, they release no spiritual energy fluctuations and are completely silent.”

A murmur ran through the crowd at her words, and some began to whisper among themselves.

“Anyone who inhales the smoke will fall unconscious in a short time, even if they are at the Foundation Establishment stage, leaving them at the mercy of others. The only downside is that the incense is less effective in open spaces. How to use it is up to the individual. At the request of the Xuanhua Spiritual Incense Shop owner, only three sticks will be sold at this auction, each starting at one hundred spirit stones. Due to limited materials, this enchanting incense is not sold in the shop.”

No sooner had the auctioneer finished her introduction than she quickly said, “Alright, a bid of one hundred and ten spirit stones has already been made… It seems many are interested in this incense, the price has risen to one hundred and twenty spirit stones, no, one hundred and fifty. Any more bids?”

Yuan Ming listened to the changing prices and a smile appeared on his face.

Soon, the three sticks of enchanting incense he had put up for auction were sold, fetching higher prices than expected. After commission, he netted nearly six hundred spirit stones.

Yuan Ming’s incense had proven effective in actual combat. Now, he put it up for auction to test its value. Making extra spirit stones was secondary; his main goal was to capitalize on the gathering of cultivators in the city to establish the reputation of the Xuanhua Spiritual Incense Shop.

On the high platform, after selling Yuan Ming’s spiritual incense, the auctioneer immediately presented the next item.

“The following item is perhaps the most special of this auction.”

As she spoke, she opened the box holding the item and displayed its contents.

Inside lay a vibrant green wooden stump, freshly cut yet showing no signs of decay or wilting. On one side of the stump, several small, uneven buds were sprouting, emitting a faint glow, appearing quite magical.

“This stump once hosted five Purple Wood Mushrooms, which grew alongside it. Not only are the mushrooms themselves of exceptional medicinal quality, but the stump, imbued with their essence, is filled with vigorous life. The mushrooms have been harvested, and after special treatment, this stump has become an excellent spiritual material, particularly suitable for refining wooden magical artifacts. Most notably, it has been identified as a thousand-year-old spiritual wood,” the auctioneer explained enthusiastically.

This was the first thousand-year-old spiritual material to appear at the auction, and all the cultivators fixed their eyes on the item in the auctioneer’s hands, their eager gazes as if they wished to swallow the stump whole.

Just then, from a private box, a hoarse voice of an elder said, “The introduction of this item seems incomplete, doesn’t it? If I’m not mistaken, this stump comes from a thousand-year-old Water Crown Tree, which contains conflicting water and wood spiritual energies, making it impossible to use as the main material for refining artifacts!”

“Senior Song indeed has keen eyesight. However, after a thousand years, even if it cannot be used as the main material for artifact refining, it still holds value as a supplement for upgrading high-quality artifacts, especially since everyone here is an elite from various fields who might find even more ingenious uses for it. Therefore, the starting bid for this item is set at three thousand spirit stones, which is quite fair,” the auctioneer admitted and then explained, quickly stating the starting price.

After hearing her, the cultivators regained their composure and began to discuss among themselves.

Yuan Ming learned from the discussions that the Water Crown Tree was a very special spiritual wood. As the elder in the box had said, it possessed both water and wood spiritual energies that were always in conflict. Despite its age, using it as the main material for artifact refining was not valuable since the artifact would likely be ruined during the process. Its medicinal value wasn’t high either, and using a thousand-year-old spiritual wood as a supplement was too extravagant when there were other alternatives.

The auctioneer began the bidding after the discussions died down, but this time the room was unexpectedly quiet, with no bids for a long time.

“It seems that our fellow cultivators are not very interested in this spiritual wood. No matter, there are still many treasures waiting for you. So, I declare this auction… wait, someone has bid three thousand spirit stones! Three thousand spirit stones for the first time, any other bids? Three thousand spirit stones for the second time…” Just as the auctioneer was about to declare the item unsold, she paused and then continued.

However, her last efforts were in vain. Aside from the anonymous cultivator who bid the reserve price at the last moment, everyone else watched with indifference, and no one followed with a bid.

In the end, the thousand-year-old Water Crown Tree spiritual wood was sold at the reserve price of three thousand spirit stones.