Begin your practice with the crane-shaped stance.

Chapter 90 The Auction (6th Update)

The Yinling Mine is perpetually shrouded in a dark and malevolent aura.

Xia Dong arrived at the edge of the mine with ease and immediately spotted Qin Wan waiting at the edge of the formation.

After not seeing her for more than a month, Xia Dong keenly sensed that Qin Wan's magical power fluctuations had become much stronger, and she had already stepped into the sixth level of Qi Refining.

"I have to say, the cultivation speed of those with different spiritual roots is truly exceptional," Xia Dong thought to himself in amazement.

This reminded him of the lofty and aloof senior, Gu Yue.

It is said that Master Guyue possesses a "Heavenly Spiritual Root," a rare talent in the cultivation world, surpassing even the Other Spiritual Root.

In just a few years, he rose rapidly from the first level of Qi Refining, bypassing the mortal realm and successfully establishing his foundation.

Even after reaching the Foundation Establishment stage, her cultivation speed far surpassed that of other cultivators at the same level.

If it weren't for Master Guyue's attempt to forcibly open her Purple Mansion in a vain attempt to achieve a superior Golden Core, with her talent, she would naturally have already been a master in the Core Formation stage.

In comparison, Xia Dong silently examined his current efficiency in intercepting and transforming the spiritual energy of heaven and earth.

Although he has already transformed into a spiritual root, the efficiency is probably only about the same as the most common four-element mixed spiritual root, or even at the lowest level of five-element mixed spiritual root.

If he hadn't been able to refine a large number of pills with a 90% success rate and eat them like beans, relying on resources to build up his magical power, his current level of magical cultivation would definitely be far behind Qin Wan's.

"However, once I have fully mastered the 'Divine Treasury Chapter' of the 'Eternal Spring Qi Circulation Technique,' my innate divine treasury will be abundant, and my potential will surely experience another significant leap forward," Xia Dong comforted himself.

However, he still hasn't figured out what the true meaning of the word "emptiness" that the ancient bronze bell used to describe him when his spiritual root was first formed was.

"This word 'emptiness' is definitely not an evaluation of the level of spiritual roots, but a special attribute, right? Is it void? Or something else?" Xia Dong secretly guessed.

He shook his head, temporarily setting aside these complicated thoughts in his mind.

Xia Dong strode forward and looked at Qin Wan in front of him.

She wore a simple dress, and her once round and pretty face was now much thinner, with a pointed chin, and her eyes were shrouded in an unyielding melancholy and coldness.

"Wan'er, you've lost weight these days," Xia Dong said softly, her tone filled with genuine concern.

Qin Wan looked up, her eyes somewhat vacant. Only when she saw Xia Dong did a sliver of light manage to gather in them. She nodded slightly, saying nothing more, but softly replied, "Brother Xia, let's go."

Seeing her like this, Xia Dong knew that she was still deeply mired in the shadow of the changes in her family and had not been able to get out of it.

"How have you been lately?" As the two walked side by side down the mountain, Xia Dong couldn't help but ask her softly about her recent situation.

Qin Wan pursed her pale lips, her voice slightly hoarse: "It's nothing. After returning to the mine, whenever I stopped, all I could think about was my father and the things that happened at home. So, I locked myself in the meditation room and cultivated day and night, trying not to think about it or listen to anything. Whenever my magic power was exhausted, I would meditate, and once it recovered, I would continue cultivating—"

Xia Dong was secretly alarmed upon hearing this.

It turns out that her cultivation level of the sixth level of Qi Refining was forced out through this kind of numb, sleepless, and self-torturing cultivation.

The greatest taboo on the path of cultivation is being impatient and having extreme emotions of joy or sorrow.

If it were an ordinary cultivator, and they were to numbly cultivate under such immense psychological trauma, they would probably have lost control of their magical power and gone mad long ago.

"The foundation of a different spiritual root means you can really mess around. Despite all this recklessness, your meridians and dantian haven't suffered any problems." Looking at Qin Wan's calm face, Xia Dong felt sympathy but also a deep sense of envy.

Such talent is truly a gift from God.

"Wan'er," Xia Dong stopped and looked at her seriously, "The path of cultivation emphasizes a balance of tension and relaxation. Pushing yourself like this isn't a long-term solution. Consider this trip to the auction as a way to clear your mind."

Qin Wan lowered her eyes and remained silent for a moment before nodding slightly: "Yes, I'll listen to Brother Xia."

In this life, she will ultimately have a deep bond with Brother Xia and owe him a lot.

In the Qixia Immortal Sect Market, a hidden and spacious underground hall was brightly lit.

This is the venue for this auction.

This was an auction specifically for cultivators in the Qi Refining stage. The hall was filled with people, all of whom were at the Qi Refining stage, and there were even some experts at the late Qi Refining stage.

To be on the safe side, Xia Dong and Qin Wan both disguised themselves. Xia Dong wore a large black robe and a disguise mask from the Eagle Wolf Guard, which could block subtle spiritual detection; Qin Wan also covered her face with a veil that could block spiritual detection below the Foundation Establishment stage, thus concealing her true appearance.

Furthermore, because the exclusive token of the Lonely Moon Immortal that Qin Wan presented was of an extremely high level, the guards responsible for verifying their identities outside the door did not dare to examine them carefully at all. They even respectfully led the two to a private room on the second floor with a great view.

The auction began soon. Overseeing the proceedings was an elderly man with white hair and beard.

The old man exuded the aura of someone in the early stages of Foundation Establishment; he was an elder of the Qixia Immortal Sect.

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However, the old man had a kind face, spoke slowly and deliberately, and was always smiling; it was "clear" that he was a very good-tempered person.

Xia Dong brought plenty of valuables with her before entering the venue this time.

He made up his mind that he would do his best to buy anything he needed.

As each item was presented for auction, Xia Dong made frequent bids.

First, there was a small bag of "Spirit Blood Vine" seeds.

Once mature, this Spirit Blood Vine not only increases blood and qi, but is also an excellent elixir to aid cultivators in body tempering and bone strengthening, which will naturally be of great benefit to Xia Dong's upcoming martial arts cultivation.

Without hesitation, he took a picture of it, intending to take it back to Lingyouli outside Tiger Hill Cave to try growing it himself.

Immediately afterwards, he photographed a fragment of a bamboo slip containing the "Art of Feeding Spirits".

This secret method involves consuming one's own essence and blood, combined with special incantations, to feed demonic beasts. Over time, the demonic beasts, subtly influenced by the essence and blood, will be controlled by the feeder as if they were their own limbs.

However, this method has a major drawback: it depletes the user's essence, energy, and spirit. If used excessively, it can even lead to a drop in cultivation level.

But Xia Dong is not afraid of falling from his current level.

Perhaps we can try catching a monster in the Tiger Hill forest at that time.

As for the snake brother, he had already been tamed by him using the Profound Yin Gathering Qi Pill, so there was no need for the Spirit Feeding Technique.

Subsequently, he successfully mastered the "Basic Fire Control Technique," which became an essential foundation for his later in-depth study of alchemy.

In addition to these, he also bought a specific recipe for the "Spirit-Guiding Pill".

In the world of cultivation, pill formulas below the Core Formation level are not actually very valuable. What's truly valuable are the alchemists who can guarantee a high success rate.

Therefore, Xia Dong obtained the elixir formula quite easily.

Xia Dong made frequent purchases of cultivation techniques and spiritual items from cultivators, which Qin Wan watched silently from the side.

In fact, after the life-or-death struggle in the Yinling Mine that night, coupled with Xia Dong's familiarity with these cultivation resources, Qin Wan had already guessed that Xia Dong was also a cultivator.

She wasn't surprised at all by his large-scale purchase. Xia Dong, too, was fully aware of the meaning behind Qin Wan's gaze.

The two maintained a peculiar tacit understanding, neither of them taking the initiative to break the unspoken barrier.

During this time, Qin Wan herself also made a purchase of some spiritual items.

Before he knew it, Xia Dong had reaped a satisfying harvest and was no longer planning to participate in the remaining auctions. Of course, his possessions weren't enough to cover everything.

When it came time to settle the bill and hand over the goods at the back, Xia Dong had already mentally prepared herself for a huge financial loss.

But before he could even take out the spirit stones, Qin Wan stepped forward and handed the token of True Person Lonely Moon directly to the cultivator in charge of collecting payments, whispering a few words to him.

The cultivator took the token, examined it, and immediately nodded with a smile. With a flourish of his pen, he waived the bill for all the items the two had purchased!

Xia Dong watched in stunned silence.

After Qin Wan explained it to him telepathically, Xia Dong finally understood.

It turns out that this kind of Qi Refining level auction is nothing to a Foundation Establishment stage cultivator.

As long as you have Master Guyue's exclusive token, you can basically sign up and take away anything inside the venue.

At that time, the sect's internal affairs hall will have someone specifically responsible for reconciling the accounts, and the deduction will be made directly from the high annual tribute to True Person Lonely Moon.

After figuring out what had happened, Xia Dong couldn't help but feel embarrassed and annoyed.

If he had known he could use Senior Lonely Moon's credit limit for free like this, he should have just swallowed his pride and ordered more stuff!

That was too conservative!

Looking at Xia Dong's slightly distorted expression of regret for missing the "freebie" opportunity, Qin Wan's gloomy mood, which had been due to the changes in her family, miraculously dissipated.

Her eyes crinkled into a smile, and she couldn't help but tease him mischievously, "Brother Xia, judging from your expression, how about we go back and continue filming?"

Xia Dong rolled her eyes at her, annoyed, and waved her hand, saying, "Never mind, I've already taken enough pictures of so many things."

Seeing Xia Dong's forced serious demeanor and her embarrassed expression, Qin Wan finally couldn't help but burst into laughter.

That smile, like a gentle spring breeze, finally swept away the gloom that had been weighing on her brow for days.

After leaving the market, the two did not linger and flew back to the Yinling Mine.

After returning to her private, secluded room protected by an array, Qin Wan poured out all the items she had bought at the auction, carefully separated most of them, and pushed them in front of Xia Dong.

"Brother Xia, these spirit items were all purchased for you. I didn't tell you earlier, so please don't be mad at me," Qin Wan said lightly, blinking her eyes.

Xia Dong stared in astonishment at the pile of valuable resources on the table: "Huh? These were taken for me?"

Qin Wan stopped smiling, nodded seriously, and explained, "Actually, I have a unique spiritual root. During the Qi Refining stage, I don't need any external aids to help me cultivate. As long as I meditate and absorb spiritual energy continuously, my cultivation level will naturally increase."

As for protective items, the high-level talismans and magical artifacts bestowed upon me by my master are more than enough for me.

At this point, Qin Wan's eyes hardened: "Having gone through this ordeal, I've come to understand that only strength is fundamental. From now on, I should continue my seclusion in the mine. I won't emerge until I've reached the late stage of Qi Refining."

She looked at Xia Dong, her eyes gleaming, her tone carrying a rare hint of arrogance and challenge: "So, these resources are just gathering dust for me, it's better to give them to Brother Xia to make the most of. When I come out of seclusion, Brother Xia, you mustn't fall behind me in cultivation!"

Xia Dong: "————"

Afterwards, Qin Wan escorted Xia Dong to the outside of the mine and then turned to leave.

Xia Dong watched Fang Chen leave, shook his head, and rode the wind away.

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