Cultivation begins with alchemy and collecting runes.

Dressed in a magnificent black robe, a Foundation Establishment cultivator, dressed like a young master from a noble family, strolled through the streets of Biyue Market.

This person was none other than Li Xiuyuan in disguise. He was using the physical secret technique of the Yi Jin Jing to "change his appearance" and slightly modify his face. In addition, he cultivated the ancient breath-concealing technique, so only a Golden Core cultivator could see through his disguise.

This auction was convened by the Azure Water Sect.

It is said that many Golden Core cultivators will attend this auction, and the large number of outside cultivators seen on the streets shows that this is a grand feast for cultivating immortality.

Most of the cultivators who came to participate in the auction were in the mid-to-late stages of Qi Refining.

Even Foundation Establishment stage "great cultivators" appeared frequently, one could be seen every few steps.

As Li Xiuyuan walked down the bustling street, when he encountered Qi Refining cultivators who bowed respectfully or greeted him politely, he would nod slightly and smile.

He walked at a leisurely pace to the core area of ​​the market, which was the "Lingshui Pavilion" that he had first seen outside Biyue Market.

When he finally stood in front of the building, he could see its grandeur and magnificence, and that it was built entirely of wood he did not recognize.

The exquisite craftsmanship and intricate patterns of the building materials are visible to the naked eye, and the overall appearance is magnificent, reflecting the grandeur and elegance of its owner.

As one of the most important money-making tools of the Azure Water Sect, it pays a large sum of spirit stone tax every year.

Four late-stage Qi Refining cultivators stood in a group at the entrance of the auction.

They were dressed in standard spirit armor, wielding long swords, and their eyes were bright and piercing.

They were clearly well-trained warriors; they all had law enforcement authority and could kill any cultivators who caused trouble on the spot.

The auction was still some time away from starting, and the Ling Shui Pavilion had already arranged for maids and servants to greet guests at the entrance.

They even put up banners on both sides of the road to promote their auction and attract monks to the event.

The banner listed the items to be auctioned and detailed information, even mentioning that strategic resources like Foundation Building Pills would be included.

The many Qi Refining cultivators passing by on the street looked towards the 'Spirit Water Pavilion' with longing and anticipation.

A sense of sympathy welled up in Li Xiuyuan's heart at that moment. If it weren't for the awakening of his cheat ability, wouldn't he, Li Xiuyuan, be just like these cultivators?

Wasting one's life in the Qi Refining stage means having no hope of building a foundation in the future.

Now that he has a cheat code, he must seize this opportunity and pursue the path to immortality with unwavering devotion, step by step achieving the highest level.

The threshold for this auction is extremely high. Either you need an invitation from the auction organizer, or you need to verify your storage bag for spirit stones on-site, with a minimum of three thousand spirit stones or equivalent spirit items; or you need to be a Foundation Establishment cultivator from one of the five major sects.

"This auction is of a higher level than the one in Shanyang Market. Most of the cultivators here are at the Foundation Establishment stage. It's too difficult for Qi Refining cultivators to get an official invitation or even just verify their funds with 3,000 spirit stones."

Looking at the magnificent, towering pavilion before him, Li Xiuyuan inwardly grumbled, then turned and left.

The auction hasn't started yet, so Li Xiuyuan plans to set up a stall as a freelance cultivator and try his luck, hoping to snag a bargain.

While they were at it, they also sold off the spoils of war captured by Huang Zhongren and his group for spirit stones; even a small amount is still something.

After all, the influx of so many cultivators from other places would surely bring some novel and original ideas.

However, things didn't go as planned. After wandering around for a while, Li Xiuyuan gained very little.

He sold the five people's magical artifacts, talismans, pills, and even cultivation techniques, earning a total of 3,500 spirit stones. He then used these to buy some first-tier spirit plants and herbs.

He discovered that the market had seen an increase in cultivators from the five major sects and even from the surrounding cultivation kingdoms of Chu, who brought with them a considerable number of new cultivation items.

It greatly broadened Li Xiuyuan's horizons and brought a unique vitality to the market.

For example, various materials from demonic beasts brought by independent cultivator groups from the depths of the Ten Thousand Demon Mountains, such as fur, bones, and flesh.

There are also various unique spiritual herbs and medicines, spiritual pills and rice, and even special spiritual fruits and wines.

Li Xiuyuan bought a lot of demon beast essence blood, which he planned to use in his spare time to cultivate first-level talisman skills to pass the time.

Monsters are treasures from head to toe. The best fur can be used to make talisman brushes, while ordinary fur can be used to make magic robes and forging weapons. Monster bones are also good for forging weapons. Monster bones are usually the hardest part of a monster's body and can be forged into different types of magic weapons depending on the monster's rank. As for monster blood, it can be used to make talisman ink, or to cultivate special techniques, spells, and sacrificial rituals.

Many of the body-refining techniques that Li Xiuyuan knew involved using the essence and blood of demonic beasts to temper the physical body.

The recorded struggles between cultivators and demonic beasts in Beiluzhou have spanned from the ancient times of creation to the present day. Humanity has gone from being reduced to a blood-feeding species of demonic beasts to now standing as a two-legged balance of power in the world.

The blood and tears of countless years of struggle and grudges have long since become irreconcilable and impossible to explain.

Humanity, through blood and tears, also learned to utilize every valuable resource on the monsters.

It is precisely because the abundant resources of demon beasts can be utilized by humans, coupled with the fact that unique spiritual objects often arise in the demon territory, that human cultivation is greatly benefited.

This also attracted countless cultivators to the Ten Thousand Demon Mountains to hunt demonic beasts.

However, the identities of hunters and hunters within the Ten Thousand Demon Mountains are not absolute. In such a wild and untamed place as the Ten Thousand Demon Mountains, even one's own kind cannot be entrusted with anything.

Li Xiuyuan unknowingly wandered into the area where independent cultivators set up stalls again, this time concealing his Foundation Establishment stage cultivation.

He walked along, stopping frequently to carefully examine the items on the stalls, occasionally stopping to inquire about prices and inspect the goods, showing none of the airs one would expect from a Foundation Establishment cultivator.

The area for independent cultivators was set up in a spacious square, and Li Xiuyuan noticed that there were many more stalls this time than before.

The stalls were getting closer and closer together, and the crowds were dense, filled with people who shared his desire to find a bargain.

The market rules state that all goods traded here are voluntary, regardless of authenticity, and depend entirely on the cultivator's own insight and skills.

Someone once had a keen eye and found an ancient magical artifact on an inconspicuous stall, which he then presented to a Golden Elixir Master.

He was directly accepted as a disciple by the master and even given a Foundation Establishment Pill, which enabled him to successfully establish his foundation, thus creating a legendary tale.

This prompted many cultivators to follow suit, and a wave of "going into the mountains to hunt for treasures" swept through various markets.

Li Xiuyuan continued to wander around the square, but did not find any spiritual items that would be beneficial to his cultivation.

With his current experience, he doesn't have many hidden gems to find, but he does have plenty of 'fake' and 'bad' stuff, which he doesn't expose.

After all, everyone needs to eat, and cutting off someone's livelihood is like killing their parents; he has no interest in causing trouble.

After looking around, Li Xiuyuan's interest waned. He estimated the time and figured it was about time for the auction to begin.

He turned and walked towards the "Ling Shui Pavilion".

When Li Xiuyuan arrived at the street where Lingshui Pavilion was located, there were already more than thirty people in the later stages of Qi Refining queuing up to verify their qualifications.

The cultivators in line kept a great distance from each other. Even in the market, cultivators were naturally wary of strangers and maintained a safe distance to avoid being tricked or causing trouble.

In contrast, other shops on the same street only had a few monks in front of them, making the place seem very deserted.

It's obvious to the naked eye that this auction was of a very high standard, far surpassing anything other shops could offer.

At the entrance of Lingshui Pavilion, there was a large table where a middle-aged beautiful woman and a robust male cultivator sat. Their cultivation levels were the early and middle stages of Foundation Establishment, respectively.

Behind him stood four teams of fourteen cultivators at the late stage of Qi Refining, all fully equipped and ready to fight, clad in leather armor and wielding sharp weapons, their bodies brimming with battle intent.

The qualification verification process was quick; candidates could present an invitation letter, a Foundation Establishment cultivator token representing one of the five major sects, or simply take out three thousand spirit stones or equivalent spiritual items.

After being tested and approved by the beautiful woman and the middle-aged male cultivator, a well-built maid who had been standing by led him into the pavilion.

Most striking was the beautiful woman who was responsible for verifying the invitations and the tokens of the five sects' cultivators, holding a disc-shaped magical artifact.

Whenever a cultivator presented their identity token, he would take out a verification artifact to distinguish its authenticity. Li Xiuyuan guessed that this person was from the Biyue Sect.

Otherwise, the sect would never allow such a magical artifact to leak out.

Half an hour later, it was Li Xiuyuan's turn.

Both tokens and invitations are easy to track and leave traces, so given Li Xiuyuan's cautious nature, he naturally wouldn't care about repeating the same mistake.

He directly took a storage bag containing spirit stones from his waist and placed it in front of the middle-aged male cultivator.

The male cultivator scanned the area with his divine sense and quickly counted the amount of spirit stones in a few breaths. He then politely handed over the spirit stones, saying, "Welcome, fellow Daoist, to this auction. Someone will escort you into the venue."

Li Xiuyuan nodded slightly, took the storage bag, and walked into the room.

A beautiful maidservant approached and smiled, "Please follow me, senior."

After passing through a wide corridor, a tall bronze gate came into view, and a pleasant female voice said, "Senior, we have arrived at the auction venue."

Li Xiuyuan nodded slightly and stepped forward.

Passing through the gate, a spacious and magnificent hall appeared before him.

Li Xiuyuan looked around and found that the interior space of the entire building was much larger than any meeting room he had ever seen.

It is evident that the layout was specially designed.

In the center stands a platform several meters high, square in shape, covered with a magnificent red carpet.

The platform is a distance that is neither too close nor too far from the audience seating.

The audience seating ascends in a spiral staircase along the high-rise building, with each floor higher than the last, clearly distinguishing the attendees by their status and position.

Even the lowest level is higher than the central grandstand, clearly to facilitate the audience's inspection of the auction items.

The steps are arranged with bluestone tables and chairs at specific intervals and according to a design, each maintaining a safe distance from the others.

This was clearly taken into account the monks' and their concerns about privacy and security.

Tables and chairs are not placed on every floor, but are arranged in alternating layers according to odd numbers such as one, three, five, and seven.

Even with this arrangement, each floor can still accommodate more than a thousand people.

Red carpets were laid out along the paths leading from the bronze gate to the various staircases, and even the aisles between the seats were no exception.

Bright yellow lanterns hung in the corners, and the soft light emitted by the huge luminous stone illuminated the entire hall through the light cloth.

Further up, you'll find individual private rooms.

This is a VIP area for the auction, and it has the best view and is the safest area in the entire store.

At this moment, about a hundred cultivators were sitting on the steps, not talking to each other, but doing their own things, creating a peaceful and serene scene.

Li Xiuyuan looked around and chose a seat near the entrance, a seat that was neither too high nor too low.

He continued on his own, ignoring the behavior of the cultivators around him, only diverting a portion of his divine sense to protect himself from being spied on.

He closed his eyes and began to comprehend the [Primordial Five Elements Great Law] on his own.

As the auction approached noon, many wealthy or influential cultivators arrived at the venue.

Some people sat down discreetly, while others gracefully took their seats using magical artifacts. The diverse group of people entering the venue created a unique atmosphere.