Cultivation begins with alchemy and collecting runes.

As the auction progressed further...

Auction items are becoming increasingly rare, and their prices are rising accordingly.

Various elixirs for enhancing cultivation, powerful magical artifacts, and talismans with unpredictable effects are constantly emerging.

For example, Li Xiuyuan had seen "Heavenly Thunder Talismans" sold in packs of three to five at a time.

A single piece was sold for the astronomical price of one thousand spirit stones; a palm-sized jade pendant, a high-grade magic artifact, was bought by a wealthy young master for one thousand five hundred spirit stones simply because it was beneficial to 'sexual relations'; a long sword magic artifact made from the spine of an unknown demon beast was sold for a high price of three thousand spirit stones.

However, so far, Li Xiuyuan has not seen any treasures of the level of ancient spiritual artifacts or talismanic treasures.

When he thought about it again, he quickly realized that this was only the first day, and the best things were yet to come.

The so-called ancient spiritual artifacts are magical artifacts made by ancient weapon refiners using ancient methods to infuse the essence and spirit of demonic beasts into them with special secret techniques. When the spiritual artifact is activated, the artifact and the essence of the demonic beast can be combined into one, greatly increasing its power.

The magical artifact may even be imbued with the innate spells or supernatural powers of the demon beast in its lifetime.

Its power varies greatly; the weakest is no different from a low-grade magic weapon worth a few dozen spirit stones, while the strongest is no weaker than a talisman treasure personally crafted by a Core Formation cultivator using their natal magic weapon as a foundation.

The power of a magical artifact is determined by the bloodline grade and cultivation level of the demonic beast essence sealed within it.

The stronger the bloodline and the greater the cultivation of a demon beast, the stronger the power of its magical artifact.

Therefore, magical artifacts are also divided into four grades: extreme, upper, middle, and lower, based on their full power output.

Unfortunately, this method disappeared into the annals of history after the great ancient cultivators' war during the "Celestial Changes," and each one becomes one less available.

All those that exist in the world today were excavated by cultivators from the ruins of ancient sects or the cave dwellings of ancient cultivators.

Li Xiuyuan calmly watched the scene before him, silently memorizing the faces of the cultivators who had shown interest in him.

Be more cautious, just in case.

After another thirty auction items, another defensive formation suitable for setting up a protective cave appeared.

Li Xiuyuan was secretly delighted, sat up straight, and listened attentively.

"The second-tier superior formation, the 'Five Elements Spiritual Essence Grand Formation,' originated from the ancient Five Elements Immortal Sect. The formation is made of thirty-five Five Elements formation flags and seven formation plates, making it convenient and quick to set up."

"Once the formation is set up, it can be activated by the power of the spiritual veins to activate the power of the five elements rotation of the formation. Even a Foundation Establishment cultivator at the peak will find it difficult to break the formation in a short time. Even if a Pseudo Core Formation cultivator goes all out, as long as the spiritual energy is sufficient, they can hold out for one or two hours."

"The Ancient Five Elements Immortal Sect!"

Li Xiuyuan's inner nerves were immediately aroused. "Could it be the sect that created the [Primordial Five Elements Great Art]?"

"It's better to believe it exists than not to believe it doesn't. This formation might be related to it, and we must take it down."

Li Xiuyuan made up his mind to take down this "Five Elements Spiritual Essence Array".

Ignore all of Jin Yun's boasts about how "the formation is powerful in defense and counterattack, an essential formation for home and travel."

"Starting bid is 1,500 spirit stones, with each bid increment no less than 50 spirit stones."

Before Jin Yun could finish speaking, some cultivators eagerly made offers, indicating that there were quite a few cultivators who needed defensive formations.

"One thousand six hundred spirit stones."

"Eighteen hundred spirit stones!"

"Two thousand spirit stones."

The price of the Five Elements Spiritual Essence Array quickly broke through the two thousand spirit stones mark.

Then it moved towards three thousand spirit stones, and the rate of price increase slowed down once it reached three thousand spirit stones.

No matter how much Jin Yun raved about it, the price of a second-tier high-grade formation was only around three thousand three hundred spirit stones.

Cultivators who have reached the Foundation Establishment stage are all shrewd and capable, and their spirit stones are not obtained by chance.

Naturally, they would calculate and weigh the value of the items, and most of the cultivators still bidding at this moment would be in great need of defensive formations.

"Three thousand five hundred spirit stones!"

Li Xiuyuan once again made a concise and clear offer, his tone still conveying the same unwavering determination.

The cultivators sitting next to him all turned to look at him; this extraordinary and handsome young cultivator looked to be at least in the early stages of Foundation Establishment.

They have such financial resources; they previously spent thousands of spirit stones to acquire a set of formations, and now they plan to buy another set.

Despite the stares that were directed at him, Li Xiuyuan remained calm and composed as he looked around the room.

After he announced the price of 3,500 spirit stones, no one else bid after three breaths.

The other cultivators were also surprised that this person would raise the price by such a large amount of spirit stones in one go.

"Three thousand five hundred and fifty spirit stones."

Just as Jin Yun was trying to stir up the emotions in the room, another cultivator made a bid.

"Three thousand six hundred spirit stones."

After three breaths, a graceful female cultivator in the mid-Foundation Establishment stage made a hesitant offer. Judging from her expression, she was just testing the waters and didn't have the determination to win.

"Three thousand seven hundred spirit stones."

Li Xiuyuan figured that if he directly raised the price by one hundred spirit stones, he wouldn't continue playing the 'bidding' game.

This price far exceeded the normal selling price of two hundred spirit stones, and it undoubtedly reached the limit that the other two could afford.

After all, earning spirit stones is not easy. Not everyone can continuously refine pills and convert them into spirit stones like him, earning one or two thousand spirit stones every month.

This income is extremely rare during the Foundation Establishment stage.

It is precisely because of his unique advantage in alchemy that other alchemists, even if they work day and night, cannot match his success rate and the quality of his pills.

Five or six breaths after Li Xiuyuan made his bid, no one else made a bid. Seeing this, Jin Yun tried to stir up emotions again, exaggerating the power of the Five Elements Spiritual Yuan Array.

No matter how sweet his words were, none of the cultivators present continued to bid. After all, they weren't naive fools who would just act impulsively and get fleeced by the auction.

"Alright, this formation will belong to the fellow Daoist who bid 3,700 spirit stones."

Undeterred, Jin Yun waited another four or five breaths, but seeing that no one else was bidding, he had no choice but to announce that Li Xiuyuan had won the bid for the formation.

Li Xiuyuan quickly went backstage to complete the transaction, then returned to her original position, unwilling to miss any of the auctioned treasures.

Having acquired the Overturning Rivers and Seas Formation and the Five Elements Spiritual Origin Formation, Li Xiuyuan, even with over 20,000 spirit stones still on him, did not intend to make any further moves.

Having spent nearly seven thousand spirit stones, this was already quite high-profile for a Foundation Establishment cultivator in the early stages.

Although he wasn't worried that anyone would have ulterior motives and try to loot the place after the auction.

After all, there were quite a few Blazing Fire Sect cultivators participating in the auction. Could there really be someone who was not afraid of death and dared to commit murder in broad daylight?

Moreover, with his speed, it would only take him half an hour to return from Biyue Market to the territory of the Blazing Fire Sect.

Of course, if he encounters a suitable spiritual object or supernatural technique for cultivation, Li Xiuyuan will also try to seize it.

After all, it concerns his own path to immortality, so taking a little risk is worthwhile.

During the event, many precious pills were revealed, such as elixirs and medicines that could increase the speed of Qi refining, special refined minerals that could be used to refine second-order puppets, and the Hehuan Secret Method from the Hehuan Sect of the Qin State. Each of these appeared at the auction and fetched a considerable price.

What impressed Li Xiuyuan the most was a set of cultivation techniques called "Thick Earth Technique," which had a complete set of techniques from Foundation Establishment to Core Formation. In the end, it was acquired by an unknown Foundation Establishment cultivator for three thousand spirit stones.

Time flew by, and the auction continued into the second day without ending.

Fortunately, everyone present was a cultivator who had achieved a certain level of Qi cultivation. Even for Qi cultivation cultivators, not sleeping or resting for several days would not have a significant impact on them.

The previous item up for auction was a pair of maids who had been specially trained using the secret methods of the Hehuan Sect.

It can be used by cultivators to perform the Hehuan Secret Technique to replenish their innate Yin energy, enhance the magical power of Foundation Establishment cultivators, and save them at least ten years of arduous cultivation.

These two maids, both at the late stage of Qi Refining, fetched the second-highest price to date, only after the Foundation Establishment Pill: six thousand spirit stones.

Among them were many elderly cultivators with gray hair and an air of decline, who fiercely competed for the items, and almost came to blows on the spot.

The farce only ended when an immense pressure, far exceeding that of a Foundation Establishment cultivator, emanated from an unknown source and drove the two out of the venue.

This made it clear to everyone that there was indeed a Core Formation cultivator present at the event, and they all put away their ulterior motives.

The order in the venue became very stable, with no other noises except for the bidding.

When a maid handed over a jade box, with two Foundation Establishment stage cultivators guarding it, it made the item seem incredibly precious.

Everyone present was completely focused and curious about what was inside the jade box.