Nuwa, the goddess of immortality, said that cultivating immortality does not require spiritual energ

Time flows quietly by, and another half month has passed in the blink of an eye.

That morning, Qin Le went out after breakfast. He had made plans with a few friends last night to go to the auction together today.

Auctions are actually not very meaningful to them.

Qin Le is almost otherworldly and has very little need for external things; Chen Yun has the support of the alliance's scientific research resources, and the good things he has may be more valuable than the final item at an auction.

Although the others had some needs for external items, most of them could be obtained by exchanging academy credits. The treasures at the auction were too low in cost-effectiveness for them.

Moreover, with Qin Le's bi-weekly sermons, their reliance on external items such as magical treasures and elixirs has been further reduced.

This trip was purely out of boredom; I wanted to see what was going on and soak up the atmosphere.

Upon arriving at the entrance of the largest shopping mall in the capital, Qin Le immediately spotted Luo Qiuyue, who was already waiting there.

She was dressed in a sleek black outfit that accentuated her tall and straight figure. She was leaning against a pillar with her arms crossed, gazing at the street scene in a daze.

"You're here really early." Qin Le smiled and walked over to greet him.

Luo Qiuyue turned her head upon hearing the voice, a faint smile appearing on her face: "It's alright, if you don't want to stay at home, you might as well come out earlier."

"I see..." Qin Le nodded without asking any further questions.

He walked over to Luo Qiuyue and leaned against a pillar. The two chatted idly while waiting for the others.

Before long, Lu Qingshuang, Chen Yun, Chu Xiaonan, and the inseparable Wang Zhiheng and Li Yanran also arrived one after another.

Once everyone was present, Qin Le checked the time; it was only a little past nine in the morning. He smiled and asked, "The auction doesn't start until two in the afternoon. There's still plenty of time. What are your plans? We can't just sit here and wait until the afternoon, can we?"

The reason we agreed to meet so early was so that we wouldn't forget the time when we got busy.

"How about... we just wander around this mall?" Li Yanran suggested with a smile.

Qin Le looked at the others: "What do you guys think?"

Everyone agreed. This shopping mall is enormous; you could spend a whole day there and still not see everything, let alone a morning.

Moreover, the auction organized by the alliance is located on the top floor of the mall. You can shop in the morning, have lunch in the mall, and then go upstairs for the auction – the timing is perfect.

There are two main types of auctions in the mortal realm: one is officially organized by the Alliance, which is large in scale, has a large number of treasures, and occasionally even includes rare items that have fallen from the heavens.

Another type is organized by private individuals or chambers of commerce, with the auction items mainly derived from explorations of the Mysterious Realm of Treasures.

Qin Le and his group were going to the former today, of course.

The group wandered aimlessly around the mall.

The area is lined with shops offering a wide variety of products.

Sometimes they would walk into shops specializing in all kinds of magical artifacts to see the latest models; sometimes they would step into pill shops to smell the fragrance of freshly made pills; and occasionally they would browse talisman shops and array shops to comment on the exquisite array plates and talismans.

Although the mortal realm is generally peaceful, the celestial realm has opened up many trial and battle realms to hone the skills of cultivators.

Therefore, items that enhance combat power, save lives, and heal injuries are always in high demand in the market.

Having just left a shop selling magical artifacts, Chen Yun's eyes lit up, and he suddenly suggested, "Hey, speaking of which... how about we check out the 'Spirit Ore Shop'?"

The group was taken aback upon hearing this, for they certainly knew what a spirit ore shop was.

Since the passage between the celestial realm and the mortal realm was reopened more than 500 years ago, under the continuous nourishment of spiritual energy, scattered spiritual stone veins finally began to emerge in the mortal realm more than a decade ago.

However, these mineral veins are newly formed, with extremely low yields, and most of the spirit stones that are formed are encased in stubborn rocks, resembling the gambling stones of the mortal era.

The Lingkuang Shop emerged as a result, and its nature and gameplay were quite similar to the old-fashioned jade gambling shops.

"What, you want to try your luck again?" Qin Le smiled and looked at Chen Yun.

Chen Yun chuckled: "Just cutting it for fun, it's not expensive anyway, just consider it an experience."

"What do you guys think?" Qin Le asked, seeking the opinions of the others.

After Chen Yun said that, the others also became interested.

As Chen Yun said, the price of ore in the spirit mine shop is low, and the most expensive one usually does not exceed ten low-grade spirit stones. If it is more expensive, no one will be willing to buy it - after all, everyone knows that the quality of newly formed spirit stone veins in the mortal world is limited.

Even if there are indeed spirit stones in the rough stones, their size and value are limited. If they can be multiplied several times or even ten times, that would be considered extremely lucky. It's purely a small gamble for fun.

"Sure, let's go take a look."

"Anyway, I'm just idling around."

"..."

The group unanimously agreed.

They strolled leisurely towards the specially designated area for rare stones and spirit mines within the mall. The moment they stepped into a rather large spirit mine shop, an invisible wave instantly enveloped everyone.

Spirit-suppressing formation.

The shop is equipped with a powerful spirit-suppressing array, designed to isolate all spiritual power and divine sense, allowing customers to select ores solely based on their eyesight, experience, and pure luck, thus eliminating any possibility of magical cheating.

After all, if everyone could use supernatural powers to see through the surface of the stone, the shopkeepers would have lost everything long ago.

The formation had no effect on Qin Le—he didn't have any spiritual power to begin with. However, he didn't intend to use any other methods; he was just here for fun.

The store's interior space has been expanded using a magic array, making it several times more spacious than the outside. It displays raw mineral stones of various sizes and shapes, arranged in sections according to their quality and price.

By this time, there were already quite a few customers in the store, gathered in twos and threes, some squatting on the ground to examine the items carefully, others exchanging their opinions in hushed tones. The atmosphere was quite lively, and they were all obviously there to pass the time and try their luck.

At this moment, Li Yanran's eyes lit up, and she revealed a sly smile, saying to everyone, "Just picking stones is too boring, how about we play a little game with stakes?"

"Oh? Yanran, how do you want to play?" Wang Zhiheng asked curiously.

"Simple!" Li Yanran said enthusiastically, "Each person chooses a piece of raw stone and cuts it open on the spot. In the end, whoever cuts out the lowest-value spirit stone—or doesn't cut anything at all—loses. The loser... has to help each of the winners complete a 'small task.' How about it?"

"A trivial matter?" Chen Yun immediately seized on the key point and pressed, "What exactly do you mean by 'trivial matter'? What is its scope?"

"It's just some really small things," Li Yanran waved her hand and smiled, "like helping carry a bag while shopping, running errands to buy a milk tea or drink, or helping with a simple task, or collecting some materials. It's definitely not an unreasonable request, how about it?"

Hearing her say that, the scope was indeed not large; they were all harmless jokes or mutual assistance among friends.

"Okay, I agree."

"Sounds interesting, no problem."

"Sure, I'll give it a try."

The group exchanged smiles, all agreeing that the suggestion was good.

"Okay! It's a deal then!" Li Yanran clapped her hands and laughed.

Afterwards, the group dispersed and began searching for their lucky stones among the dazzling array of minerals.

Qin Le and Chu Xiaonan walked towards the area with the cheapest price without prior arrangement. Seeing each other's tacit choice, they both revealed knowing smiles.

One of the rules of this little game is: if everyone cuts out a spirit stone, the value is compared; if someone doesn't cut out one, the loss is compared—that is, the amount of spirit stones spent to buy the raw stone.

Qin Le and Chu Xiaonan had exactly this idea in mind: to buy the cheapest rough stones!

Even if you're so unlucky that you can't cut anything out, your losses will be minimal, and you're unlikely to be the one at the bottom.

After all, even expensive rough stones don't necessarily guarantee a sale.

"Tch, two cowards!"

Chen Yun saw their movements from afar and gave them a disdainful look without any politeness.

Lu Qingshuang, Luo Qiuyue, Wang Zhiheng, and Li Yanran naturally guessed the two's cautious strategy, but they didn't care.

If they can cut out the spirit stones themselves, and Qin Le and Chu Xiaonan buy the cheapest raw stones but return empty-handed, their loss ratio might actually be even higher, still placing them firmly in last place.

When the punishment segment comes... that'll be quite a show.