Begin your practice with the crane-shaped stance.

Yinling Mine.

The arrival of the Lonely Moon Immortal caused a great commotion.

The aura of a Foundation Establishment Perfection Grand Cultivator was so tangible that it poured down without reservation.

For a time, everyone—from the domineering overseers in the mines and the poor miners to the thieves who lurked in the shadows and lived on the edge of death—was shaken to their core.

Faced with this absolute power, everyone was filled with awe and fear, and dared not even breathe loudly.

However, this high-ranking cultivator ignored the worship of the people in the mine. She did not even meet with anyone from the mine, but instead took Qin Wan and went straight to the abandoned mine shaft.

At this moment, Xia Dong was sitting cross-legged in the quiet room inside the house, meditating.

When that overwhelming and terrifying pressure spread over, he felt a sudden tightness in his chest. The surging blood and qi and the pure Xuan Yin magic power in his body suddenly stagnated and became extremely sluggish.

"Is this the aura of a Foundation Establishment Perfected Grand Cultivator?" Xia Dong was deeply shocked.

He tightly concealed his aura, not even daring to extend a sliver of his divine sense to spy on the Lone Moon True Person who was approaching the Yin Spirit Mine.

Only now did he truly realize just how terrifying the difference in cultivation realms between cultivators really was.

After the initial shock, Xia Dong fell into deep hesitation: should he take the initiative to go out and pay his respects to Master Gu Yue?

It seems reasonable to pay a visit to an elder who has come to visit, especially since I have received kindness from her.

Moreover, if the other party were to summon him directly, he wouldn't even have the right to refuse. Xia Dong knew very well that meeting Master Gu Yue was inevitable.

He tried to convince himself that with the double blessing of the "Netherworld Hibernation" talisman and the flesh and blood breath-concealing talisman, combined with the "Divine Treasury Chapter" to lock down the energy, his breath-concealing method should be flawless and would not be seen through by True Person Lonely Moon.

Even so, he still had a struggle deep inside.

Ultimately, the cautious nature prevailed.

Xia Dong made a decision in his heart: since Master Gu Yue had not summoned him by telepathy, why should he rush to risk being exposed?

Facing a Foundation Establishment cultivator at the Great Perfection stage was incredibly stressful for him. It felt like being forced to strip naked and expose himself completely.

"Just pretend that you are completely immersed in the circulation and regulation of your Qi and blood, and that you know nothing about external things."

Xia Dong found himself a plausible excuse.

Then, he held his breath and concentrated completely, forcibly casting aside all distracting thoughts and immersing himself entirely in martial arts cultivation, manipulating his qi and blood, and circulating it throughout his body.

I don't know how much time passed.

Outside the quiet room, Qin Wan's soft voice called out, "Brother Xia."

Xia Dong slowly calmed the surging blood and qi within her body, regulated her breathing, and then called out, "Wan'er, come in."

Qin Wan pushed open the door and walked up to Xia Dong, her tone tinged with regret: "Brother Xia, I originally planned to invite you to see Master. But Master didn't want to linger in this Yinling Mine. She just used 'Taiyin Divine Light' to completely freeze the nest of those Yinming insects in the abandoned mine, and she has already left."

Hearing this, Xia Dong's tense nerves finally relaxed completely, and he breathed a long sigh of relief.

On the surface, he remained calm, feigning regret and sighing, "That's such a pity, I didn't have the honor of meeting her. If there's a chance next time, Wan'er, please remember to pay my respects to her for me."

Hearing him address her like that, Qin Wan couldn't help but smile and said coquettishly, "Brother Xia, don't keep calling me 'old man' all the time. My master has a knack for preserving her youth; she looks even younger than me. She hates hearing that kind of talk the most."

Xia Dong coughed awkwardly, then said seriously, "I did this out of politeness and respect for my elders."

After making a joke to ease the tension, Xia Dong quickly steered the conversation back on track, his expression serious: "By the way, what is your opinion on the Wusheng Sect assassination attempt? Tell me about it."

Upon hearing this, Qin Wan also suppressed her smile, sat down next to Xia Dong, and meticulously recounted to Xia Dong the most important parts of Gu Yue Zhenren's reaction to the Wusheng Sect assassins after breaking open the storage bag.

Xia Dong listened quietly, pondered for a moment, and then a look of understanding flashed across her face: "In that case, True Person Gu Yue must have a deep understanding of the Wusheng Sect. Perhaps she already knows the mastermind behind it and the truth of the matter."

Qin Wan nodded in deep agreement: "I think so too. After checking the storage bag, Master didn't ask too many questions, seemingly because of some entanglements. However, Master specifically told me that no one would dare to come to the mine to assassinate me again."

"This is a good thing." Xia Dong said calmly. "If the sky falls, the tall ones will hold it up. As for the power struggles at the top, let's try not to get involved. Let's put this matter behind us for now."

Qin Wan obediently replied, "Okay, I'll listen to Brother Xia."

Then, Qin Wan brought up the auction again, and casually took a delicate brocade pouch from her waist and handed it to Xia Dong.

Xia Dong took the bag and opened it, his eyes narrowing slightly. The bag didn't contain the low-grade spirit stones usually used for trading, but a full thirty crystal-clear, spiritually aura-filled mid-grade spirit stones.

In the cultivation world, the amount of spiritual energy contained within a mid-grade spirit stone is equivalent to that of one hundred low-grade spirit stones. However, because its spiritual energy is purer and more concentrated, and is extremely easy to absorb, its actual purchasing power on the market far exceeds this ratio.

Even if an ordinary rogue cultivator had 120 or 130 low-grade spirit stones, it would be extremely difficult to exchange them for a single mid-grade spirit stone.

Xia Dong usually uses only low-grade spirit stones when buying medicinal herbs or trading talismans. This is the first time he has actually seen so many mid-grade spirit stones.

Clearly, these thirty mid-grade spirit stones were "compensation" that True Person Lonely Moon used to buy out the storage bags of those three demons from the Wusheng Sect.

Xia Dong secretly estimated that, in Gu Yue Zhenren's opinion, the three storage bags, along with the magic weapons, cultivation techniques, and other odds and ends inside, were worth about three thousand low-grade spirit stones. That's why he casually tossed out thirty mid-grade spirit stones.

"What a wealthy woman! She can just casually pull out thirty mid-grade spirit stones." Xia Dong didn't show it on his face, but a hint of envy rose in his heart.

Thinking back on the past few years, I've worked myself to the bone refining pills and drawing those talismans that consume my spiritual energy, and I've only managed to save up a little bit of wealth through careful budgeting.

Now, upon comparison, I realize that my entire fortune is probably only a fraction of what Master Guyue possesses.

The wealth gap in the cultivation world is comparable to that of his previous life!

After carefully storing the spirit stones, Xia Dong calmed down and then inquired about the details of the auction from Qin Wan.

Qin Wan patiently explained:

This auction, hosted by the Qixia Immortal Sect, was divided into two levels: Foundation Establishment and Qi Refining. Naturally, the two of them could participate in the Qi Refining level auction.

However, even at the Qi Refining level, there are many rare resources that cannot be bought in ordinary markets outside, which are of great benefit to the daily cultivation and breakthrough of bottlenecks for Qi Refining cultivators. It is said that if you are lucky, you may occasionally find "Foundation Building Pills" that have been officially registered with the government and sects.

Moreover, this auction is backed by the Qixia Immortal Sect, so it's very safe. There's no need to worry about being cheated, not getting the goods, or being scammed...

Xia Dong's heart stirred. It seemed that this auction was worth attending; perhaps he could encounter some unexpected opportunities.