I've already become a god, and you're telling me about the ancient demon invasion?

The fierce bidding for the first "Ten-Thousand-Year Vermilion Fruit" had barely subsided, and the air in the hall still seemed to retain the scorching heat of the burning spirit stones. Master Ziyang remained composed, giving everyone little time to process what had happened. He waved his hand lightly, and the Nascent Soul attendant stepped forward again, the jade plate still covered with red silk, but this time emanating a completely different, chilling aura that seemed capable of freezing the very soul.

The red silk was lifted, revealing a fruit that was as clear and translucent as ten-thousand-year-old ice, with what appeared to be flowing icy marrow inside, and emitting wisps of white, cold smoke. As soon as the fruit appeared, the temperature in the hall dropped sharply, and a thin layer of white frost even formed on the ground near the jade platform, a stark contrast to the intense heat of the previous Vermilion Fruit.

"The second item," Master Ziyang's voice remained steady, yet carried an undeniable weight, "is the Ten-Thousand-Year Ice Marrow Fruit. This fruit, like the Vermilion Fruit from before, originates from the core of the Lingmiao Garden's icy pool, nourished by the ten-thousand-year-old Xuanbing Qi. Its effects are similar to the Vermilion Fruit, making it a treasure for fellow cultivators of ice, yin, and even water-attribute techniques. I will not elaborate further on its effects on enhancing cultivation and assisting in breaking through bottlenecks."

His gaze swept almost imperceptibly toward one side of the main hall, toward the icy, aloof fairy from the Northern Night Little Extreme Palace, dressed in a snow-white gown. The Little Extreme Palace's cultivation methods were renowned for their ice-based techniques, and its disciples were mostly cultivators with ice or other spiritual roots. This "Ice Marrow Fruit" held extraordinary significance for them, no less than the Vermilion Fruit for fire cultivators.

As expected, although the face of Fairy Hanyue, which was as if sculpted from ice and snow, still did not reveal much emotion, her beautiful eyes were firmly locked on the Ice Marrow Fruit, and the chill emanating from her body seemed to resonate with the Ice Marrow Fruit in some way.

Bidding began, and the price steadily climbed. The participants were mostly cultivators practicing ice and yin-attribute techniques, as well as some alchemists intending to purchase the fruit to refine special elixirs. While the process wasn't as fiery as that of the Vermilion Fruit, the competition was still fierce.

"One hundred and eighty!"

"Two hundred and twenty!"

"Two hundred and eighty!"

Once the price surpassed 300 high-grade spirit stones, the number of competitors gradually decreased. At this moment, a slightly stiff voice with an exotic accent joined in:

"Three hundred and fifty high-grade spirit stones."

The bidder was one of the Nascent Soul cultivators from the Seven Star Realm whom Wang Tianlong had previously noticed—a middle-aged Daoist with a stern face and dressed in a star-blue Daoist robe. His participation drew considerable attention. The fact that cultivators from outside the realm were bidding for local spiritual herbs meant that they were determined to acquire them and possessed substantial financial resources.

The Fairy of Cold Moon frowned almost imperceptibly, but without hesitation, she spoke in a cool and clear voice: "Three hundred and eighty."

"Four hundred."

The cultivator from the Seven Star Realm remained expressionless as he raised the price again, demonstrating his determination to win.

This price had already caused the last few competitors to shake their heads and give up. Only Fairy Hanyue and the cultivator from the Seven Star Realm remained to compete.

Fairy Hanyue's gaze narrowed slightly, sensing the other party's determined aura. However, as someone representing the Beiye Xiaoji Palace, she could not afford to lose this item either. She took a deep breath, as if ice crystals were condensing in the frigid air: "Four hundred and sixty high-grade spirit stones."

After quoting this price, her aura grew even colder, and she calmly looked at the cultivator from the Seven Star Realm. This was already a large portion of what she could use; if the other party followed suit, she would have to weigh whether to use the sect's reserves or consider other consequences.

The Seven Star Realm cultivator exchanged a glance with the ancient-looking Taoist leader, pondered for a moment, and finally slowly shook his head, remaining silent. It seemed that 460 high-grade spirit stones had exceeded their expectations for this spirit fruit, or perhaps their goal was something else entirely.

After waiting a moment and seeing that no one else was bidding, Master Ziyang announced loudly, "Four hundred and sixty high-grade spirit stones, sold! Congratulations, Fairy Hanyue!"

Fairy Hanyue nodded slightly in response, her aloof face revealing neither joy nor anger, but her tense aura eased somewhat. This Ice Marrow Fruit was crucial for stabilizing her peak early-stage Nascent Soul cultivation, and even for her future breakthrough to the mid-stage bottleneck.

Following the frenzy sparked by the Ten-Thousand-Year Vermilion Fruit and the Ice Marrow Fruit, True Person Ziyang successively presented more than ten kinds of rare spiritual fruits and herbs. Although these treasures were slightly inferior to the previous two herbs, they were all rare treasures of heaven and earth that had grown for thousands of years and were of great benefit to the cultivation of Nascent Soul cultivators. The atmosphere in the entire auction hall remained heated, with bidding rising and falling, and all the spiritual herbs were sold at high prices, with none going unsold.

Wang Tianlong mostly remained a calm observer until a spiritual fruit called "Heavenly Wind Fruit" was presented on the auction stage. This fruit was entirely green, shaped like a miniature whirlwind, and exuded pure wind spirit power.

"This fruit grows in a place where the Nine Heavens' fierce winds converge, and it ripens only once every three thousand years," Master Ziyang explained. "For cultivators who practice wind-attribute techniques, it is an excellent choice for improving their cultivation, comprehending the wind spirit, and refining their escape techniques."

Wang Tianlong's eyes flickered slightly. He knew that the medicinal power of this fruit was woefully inadequate for breaking through the bottleneck of the late-stage Nascent Soul realm. However, the trace of pure wind spirit essence contained within it would still be of some help to his daily nurturing of his nascent soul and refining his own wind-elemental magic power. It was an added bonus, and if the price was right, he could certainly acquire it.

After the auction began, several wind-attribute cultivators and demon cultivators placed their bids. When the price reached 380 high-grade spirit stones, Wang Tianlong spoke for the first time: "400."

His entry caused a slight pause in the bidding. After another cultivator raised the price to 420, Wang Tianlong no longer hesitated and directly announced, "460."

This price demonstrated his determination, and other competitors, after weighing their options, chose to give up. Wang Tianlong successfully won the bid for the Heavenly Wind Fruit.

After the elixirs section, the auction entered the "refining rare materials" stage.

The materials that Master Ziyang took out all ignited the eyes of the master craftsmen and cultivators who intended to forge magical treasures. There was "Hou Tu Sand," which was exceptionally heavy and could imbue a magical treasure with the magnetic power of earth element with just a single grain; there was "Ice Soul True Water," which was extremely yin and cold and could be used to forge ice-attribute flying swords or the core of array flags; there was "Thunder-Breaking Stone," which contained a trace of heavenly thunder origin and was domineering and fierce; there was "Soul-Nourishing Stone," which could nourish the spirit of a weapon and enhance its spirituality; and there was even a large piece of "Geng Gold," the size of a human head, with its sharpness concealed, making all the sword cultivators gasp for breath... Dozens of top-tier materials that were rarely seen in the outside world appeared one after another, and each one fetched an astonishingly high price.

Among them, the four Nascent Soul cultivators from the Seven Star Realm were particularly active. They seemed especially interested in materials that could nourish the soul and stabilize the spiritual body, as well as certain wood-attribute spiritual materials containing unique vitality. The leader, a Daoist in a star robe, personally made a move, bidding high prices for several pieces of excellent quality "Soul Nourishing Stones" and a section of "Eternal Green Spirit Wood" over ten feet long, radiating vibrant vitality, attracting the attention of many interested individuals.

Several powerful figures from the demon race were equally eager to compete. They also participated in the bidding for the "Eternal Green Spirit Wood," but ultimately couldn't match the wealth of the Seven Star Realm cultivators. However, they quickly regained their footing in subsequent auctions. A "Phoenix Stone," containing pure fire phoenix aura and extremely attractive to avian demons or demon cultivators who practice fire-attribute divine abilities, along with several pieces of "Taiyi Refined Gold," which could greatly enhance the hardness of bones, shells, or magical artifacts, were successively purchased by the Iron Ape King, the Azure Feather Demon King, and others, satisfying their needs for tempering their physical bodies or strengthening their natal demonic weapons.

Wang Tianlong sat calmly at his seat, observing the feast of spirit stones and treasures. While he wasn't completely ignorant of weapon crafting, he wasn't exactly an expert either, and he had no interest in spending a fortune collecting materials he didn't urgently need, materials that required advanced crafting skills to be of any use. His "Sky-Treading Boots" and "Wind-Riding Boat" were already top-tier, and he needed time to familiarize himself with his newly acquired "Four-Flame Fan." He currently had no plans to craft any new magical artifacts.

Therefore, throughout the entire process of crafting materials, he remained a pure observer, silently assessing the financial resources and needs of various factions, and making mental and financial preparations for the treasures he might truly need later. The atmosphere at the auction continued to heat up amidst the overt and covert competition among the various parties.