Mortal: The Path to Immortality

Lu Nanzhu returned to the inn, sat cross-legged, and laid out the magical artifacts he had bought that day. He then took out the withered vine from his storage bag, paused for a moment, and then took out the "small inkstone." He placed the withered vine on the inkstone...

The next day, at 9:00 AM.

Cultivators from all walks of life had already gathered outside the Qianjin Pavilion in the north of the city, and various magical artifacts were constantly falling onto the open ground not far away. Lu Nanzhu and his group also arrived at the entrance of the auction house early.

Lu Nanzhu habitually activated his divine sense and silently scanned the surroundings.

"Is business always this brisk?" The cultivator surnamed Chen looked at the large number of cultivators rushing towards Qianjin Pavilion with surprise and doubt on his face.

"Junior Brother Chen, you may not know this, but it's rumored that the 'Thousand Gold Pavilion' is auctioning off a genuine talisman today, which has attracted many cultivators to come here," Song Ji explained.

Upon hearing this, everyone's breathing quickened involuntarily. However, thinking about their own empty storage bags, they all sighed and gave up on the idea of ​​the "talisman treasure."

With a deep, resonant chime of a bronze bell, the gilded and silver-inlaid gate of the Thousand Gold Pavilion slowly opened.

"Let's go in and see what's going on." Song Ji led the way, and the group filed in. Lu Nanzhu brought up the rear, walking slowly.

The auction hall on the second floor was spacious and bright, with curtains hanging around it to block divine sense. Lu Nanzhu chose a seat at the back, sitting quietly like a stone statue, a stark contrast to the whispering and excited cultivators around him.

"when--"

The bronze bell rang again, and a steward with a long beard slowly walked onto the circular platform in the center of the pavilion, his face beaming with smiles. "Fellow Daoists, I am deeply grateful for your support of Qianjin Pavilion today. I'm sure you all know the rules, so I won't waste any more words. The opening prize—three fine iron flying swords, each inlaid with magic-breaking artifact patterns!"

As the exhibition stand located at the center of the circular platform slowly rose, the atmosphere below was instantly ignited.

Disciples affiliated with sects or cultivation families quickly made their bids, and after several rounds of bidding, these decent-quality items for the event were snapped up by them. The accompanying senior brother surnamed Chen also joined in with a few bids, and although he didn't succeed, his determined demeanor attracted considerable attention.

Lu Nanzhu remained silent until the fifth item was presented on the central display stand.

As the jade box slowly opened, the herb inside, with its lush green body, white flowers, and leaves drooping like slender willow branches, was revealed to everyone.

"Nine-Leaf Wind-Riding Orchid!?" A cultivator in the audience who recognized the plant exclaimed in surprise.

The steward stroked his beard and smiled smugly, saying, "Indeed, this is a fifty-year-old Nine-Leaf Wind-Controlling Orchid, a top-grade spiritual plant of the wind attribute. The starting bid is three hundred spirit stones."

Upon hearing the manager's introduction, the crowd below began to discuss among themselves, but few actually placed bids.

"Wind spirit root cultivators are already rare, and none of us here want to buy something we can't use," a blue-robed cultivator joked.

An old man next to him stroked his beard and shook his head, commenting, "Yes, the medicinal power of a fifty-year-old 'Wind-Controlling Orchid' is difficult for ordinary Qi Refining stage cultivators to handle; but if a Foundation Establishment stage senior were to refine it, it would be of little use without a hundred years of refinement. It's a useless thing, truly useless."

The crowd began to chime in, and the bidding became increasingly quiet. Song Ji also curled his lip, clearly uninterested in something that was "neither too high nor too low."

Just as the manager thought the herb was about to go unsold and was about to remove it from the auction, a bid came from the back of the stage.

"Three hundred and five spirit stones." Lu Nanzhu calmly raised his hand and announced the price.

Just now, Lu Nanzhu activated his divine sense and carefully observed the spiritual herbs on the platform, vaguely sensing a slight breeze swirling around the jade box. He was very interested in this item, for no other reason than that it was the wind-attribute spiritual herb needed to cultivate the second level of the "Soaring Record," although it was indeed a bit old, but that didn't matter to Lu Nanzhu.

Seeing someone make a bid, the manager was overjoyed and immediately checked with everyone present to see if there were any more bids. The few rogue cultivators who had originally hoped to snag a bargain all shook their heads, and the "Nine-Leaf Wind-Riding Orchid" ultimately fell smoothly into Lu Nanzhu's hands.

The auction then sped up dramatically, and the fellow cultivators in the group each made their own acquisitions. Senior Brother Liu won a bottle of "Rejuvenation Pills" to boost his mana, while another cultivator surnamed Wang chose a powerful and heavy black iron hammer.

"Ladies and gentlemen, that concludes the warm-up. Now, let's move on to the main event of this auction."

The manager clapped his hands, and a female cultivator walked out from backstage, carrying a wooden box sealed with many talismans as she stepped onto the round platform.

"The first and most anticipated item is a pseudo-talismanic treasure—the 'Coiled Dragon Armor.' It contains the power of a Core Formation cultivator's natal magic weapon, capable of withstanding two full-force attacks from a Core Formation cultivator. Starting bid: six hundred spirit stones!"

The room erupted in chaos. This was a genuine life-saving trump card. Although it couldn't compare to a real talisman, for an ordinary cultivator, obtaining it would be like having two extra lives, as long as they didn't encounter a Core Formation or Nascent Soul level monster.

"Seven hundred!"

"Nine hundred!"

Bidding erupted in succession. The cultivator surnamed Chen, who had previously failed to acquire his desired item, was now flushed, his eyes filled with fervor. He abruptly stood up and announced a price that silenced the entire room:

"1200 spirit stones! I'll take this treasure!"

Under the overwhelming presence of Senior Brother Chen, many rogue cultivators could only resentfully return to their seats. In the end, the dazzling "pseudo-talisman treasure" was acquired by Junior Brother Chen, whose face was practically beaming with joy. Song Ji, standing beside him, also grinned broadly.

However, the real climax was the "Mountain-Opening Scythe" talisman that appeared later.

It was a talisman radiating a dark red light; merely displaying it on the stage, the spiritual energy it emitted drew cheers from the crowd. Ultimately, this rare treasure was auctioned off to a cultivator in brocade robes from an upstairs private room for the astronomical price of three thousand spirit stones.

"Three thousand spirit stones... Is this what it means to be rich?" Song Ji looked at the talisman treasure that the brocade-robed cultivator had collected, his chapped lips moved, and his eyes were full of astonishment and envy.

As the auction came to a close, the noise in the room gradually subsided, and everyone left Qianjin Pavilion with their own thoughts.

Song Ji did not immediately follow. He smiled and cupped his hands in greeting to the crowd, saying, "Fellow Daoists, I still have some trivial matters to attend to. You may go ahead first, and I will catch up later."

Lu Nanzhu knew he wanted to ask the shopkeeper for some payment, so he didn't say much and just nodded slightly.

Stepping outside the gate, the cultivator surnamed Chen, still brimming with excitement, carried the "pseudo-talisman" in his arms and walked with a brisk pace. His companions had intended to return directly to the sect, but the cultivator surnamed Wang stopped at the crossroads, hesitatingly speaking:

"Gentlemen, I am about to break through to the next level, but I am still lacking some key Qi-replenishing spiritual plants. I will not feel at ease if I do not have them all. I would like to stay in this market for two more days to search for them."

The cultivator surnamed Liu suddenly stepped forward, his tone unusually enthusiastic: "Brother Wang, this won't do. The area around the market is a mixed bag these days. You just showed off your wealth at the auction, and if you're alone, you might easily attract trouble. Let's go back together, so we can look out for each other on the way."

As he spoke, Senior Brother Liu took out a porcelain bottle from his storage bag and shoved it into the hands of the rogue cultivator surnamed Wang without further ado: "This bottle of 'Qi Gathering Pills' isn't anything top-grade, but it's enough to handle the consumption during a breakthrough in cultivation. Consider it a loan, how about it?"

The cultivator surnamed Wang was stunned for a moment, then sighed with some emotion, "Brother Liu's righteousness makes me seem pretentious. Alright, then let's return to the mountain together!"

About half an hour later, Song Ji finally came out with a beaming smile. "Sorry to keep you all waiting. I had some important matters to attend to and was delayed a bit. Let's return to Spirit Beast Mountain without further ado?"

Everyone unleashed their magical artifacts and flew into the air, led by Song Ji, to return to the sect.