Immortality begins with inheriting the myriad arts of cultivation.

Master Ji, Old Man Lin, and Zhang Tie sat in the VIP box, looking somewhat reserved.

After all, if Li Ping hadn't stepped in...

Given their status and position, they were not originally qualified to enter or leave the VIP box; they could only squeeze in with the Qi Refining stage cultivators below.

"Tsk tsk!" Old Man Lin exclaimed in amazement, "This sofa, these spiritual fruits, this view, this height..."

Hearing that he seemed about to reminisce about all the items in the private room, Li Ping quickly interrupted him: "Old man Lin, according to the rules of Immortal City, Zhang Tie should name his own price later."

As he spoke, Li Ping handed a storage bag to Zhang Tie: "Here are 3810 spirit stones."

Of the 3810 spirit stones, 2310 came from the Foundation Building Fund, 1000 were obtained by Old Man Lin from Li Ping using a shop deed, and the remaining 500 were lent by Li Ping to Zhang Tie.

Zhang Tie hurriedly took the storage bag, nodding repeatedly, "Brother, I understand."

When Master Ji heard the number Li Ping uttered, his eyes widened in astonishment. So many spirit stones would be enough to buy a permanent, mid-grade first-tier spirit land in the Jiang Kingdom.

But then he thought about how Zhang Tie was going to bid on the Foundation Establishment Pill next, and realized that these spirit stones weren't that many.

After all, given the longevity of Foundation Establishment cultivators, if a Foundation Establishment cultivator were to be in charge, the family could prosper for nearly two hundred years. What is a mere mid-grade first-level spiritual land?

Aside from the Immortal City, how could any other place possibly have Foundation Establishment Pills for auction?

"Xuan'er is now a cultivator in the Immortal City. If in the future..." Thinking of this, Master Ji couldn't help but shake his head inwardly. He was thinking too much.

……

Zhang Tie clutched the storage bag nervously, remaining silent.

Li Ping, Master Ji, and Old Man Lin chatted idly about their experiences in the Immortal City, with bursts of laughter occasionally echoing from the private room.

After about half an hour, the ordinary seats below the auction hall were almost full, and the auction was finally about to officially begin.

The curtain on the stage was drawn back, and two figures walked onto the auction stage.

Li Ping recognized the two figures walking in front; it was his junior brother Ye, whom he had met before. Behind junior brother Ye was an elderly man with gray hair.

Junior Brother Ye stepped onto the stage first. He snorted coldly, his spiritual pressure radiating outwards without any concealment, immediately startling all the Qi Refining cultivators present. He calmly announced, "The auction now begins!"

After announcing the start of the auction, he stepped down from the auction stage and disappeared, leaving only the white-haired old man on the stage.

An elderly man with gray hair walked to the front of the stage.

He chuckled and cupped his hands in greeting to everyone present, saying, "Esteemed seniors and fellow Daoists, my surname is Mu, and I am honored to host this auction. The first item in this auction is a set of shells from a late-stage, second-tier Crimson Scale Turtle!"

He paused, then took out an oval-shaped tortoise shell, about ten feet in diameter, from his storage bag and placed it on the shelf in front of him.

All the cultivators looked at the tortoise shell.

The words of the old man surnamed Mu rang in their ears: "The Crimson Scale Turtle is known for its strong defense. Its shell is a top-grade material for refining defensive magic weapons. It can be used to refine second-tier high-grade magic weapons. The starting price is 1000 spirit stones, and each bid must be at least 10 spirit stones higher."

The old man surnamed Mu said with a smile, "Seniors and fellow Daoists, those who are interested can make their bids."

……

Upon hearing the old man surnamed Mu's words, Li Ping couldn't help but let out a soft "Eh," not expecting that the first item up for auction today was exactly what he needed.

Prior to this, he used 800 military merits to exchange for a late-stage second-tier tortoise demon shell from the Immortal City, which he then refined into a tortoise shield, only to have it destroyed in a battle against a demonic cultivator.

He had always wanted to forge another second-tier high-grade magic weapon for self-defense, and the tortoise shell in front of him was just what he wanted.

However, military merits have a much stronger purchasing power than spirit stones, so it is obviously impossible for him to acquire this tortoise shell with a mere 800 spirit stones.

"1000 spirit stones!"

While Li Ping was pondering, someone had already made a bid.

Li Ping frowned and watched as the price climbed steadily, quickly reaching 1100 spirit stones. He casually offered a price of 1110 spirit stones, but this price was soon drowned out by other bids.

After making several bids, he finally acquired the tortoise shell for 1280 spirit stones.

The elderly man surnamed Mu smiled and said, "Congratulations to this senior for acquiring the shell of the late-stage second-tier Crimson Scale Turtle. Next, we will auction another item, a high-grade first-tier magic artifact. This magic artifact..."

The items auctioned after the Crimson Scale Turtle Shell were all first-tier items, which Li Ping didn't even look at. Only the Qi Refining cultivators were bidding on them.

He guessed that the auction house chose the second-tier turtle demon's shell as the first item to be auctioned, probably hoping for a good start.

……

Soon, auction staff brought the tortoise shell that Li Ping had won upstairs. After counting the spirit stones, they respectfully left.

Li Ping put away the tortoise shell and continued watching as the old man surnamed Mu took out one auction item after another from his storage bag.

As time went on, the auctioned items became increasingly valuable. In the later stages, they were almost all second-tier items. Most Qi Refining cultivators had lost their eligibility to bid and could only watch the Foundation Establishment cultivators in the private rooms compete for them.

As time went on, the auctioned items became increasingly valuable. In the later stages, they were almost all second-tier items. Most Qi Refining cultivators had lost their eligibility to bid and could only watch the Foundation Establishment cultivators in the private rooms compete for them.

However, not many Foundation Establishment cultivators attended the auction, and some items could not be sold because no Foundation Establishment cultivators present made a bid.

Besides the tortoise shell, Li Ping also tried bidding on several other items he liked, and successfully acquired a palm-sized piece of Purple Heart Iron for 900 spirit stones. He planned to use this piece of Purple Heart Iron to forge a second-grade high-quality flying sword.

Having secured both offensive and defensive magical artifacts, Li Ping showed little interest in the remaining auction items and made no further bids.

Soon, the auction was coming to an end.

……

The old man surnamed Mu suddenly perked up, and his voice became brighter: "Seniors and fellow Daoists, the item to be auctioned next is arguably the second most precious item in this auction. Don't miss it!"

Attracting everyone's attention, the old man surnamed Mu took out a palm-sized jade bottle from his storage bag and solemnly introduced it: "One bottle of Jade Heart Liquid, a rare treasure of heaven and earth that can only be nurtured in spiritual jade veins below a thousand feet. Taking it when breaking through to the Foundation Establishment stage can increase the success rate by 10%."

"Jade Heart Elixir can increase the success rate of Foundation Establishment by 10%!"

The old man surnamed Mu's words immediately caused a great uproar among all the cultivators present.

The Qi Refining cultivators stared longingly at the jade bottle in the old man's hand.

Although this Jade Heart Elixir can only increase the success rate by 10%, its effect seems to be only about one-third of that of the Foundation Establishment Pill.

But Foundation Establishment Pills aren't so easy to obtain.

When it really comes down to taking a gamble, if you can't break through to the Foundation Establishment stage without Foundation Establishment Pills, having Jade Heart Liquid will greatly increase your chances!

The old man surnamed Mu glanced at everyone and said with a smile, "Moreover, Jade Heart Liquid can be used at the same time as Foundation Establishment Pill, and the effects of the two can be combined."

The Jade Heart Elixir has additional effects, but the cultivators who heard this did not react much.

After all, this effect is really useless. With Foundation Establishment Pills available, who would be willing to spend a lot of spirit stones to buy Jade Heart Liquid just for a 10% increase in success rate?

Even if I were willing, I wouldn't have enough spirit stones to buy it!

Zhang Tie struggled to tear his gaze away from the old man's hand, refusing to look at the Jade Heart Liquid; his goal today was the Foundation Establishment Pill.

Li Ping didn't intend to spend more spirit stones to help him obtain the Jade Heart Liquid. He believed that Zhang Tie had three spiritual roots, and with the assistance of the Foundation Establishment Pill, his probability of breaking through to the Foundation Establishment stage could reach 30% to 40%.

Spending thousands of spirit stones for a 10% increase in success rate is simply not worth it.

With so many spirit stones, it would be better to save them up and buy another Foundation Establishment Pill.

……

The elderly man surnamed Mu said, "The starting price for Jade Heart Liquid is 1,500 spirit stones, and each bid must be at least 100 spirit stones higher."

Although the effects of Jade Heart Liquid were somewhat mediocre, it was still a Foundation Establishment spiritual item, and unlike Foundation Establishment Pill auctions, it did not have various restrictions, so it undoubtedly attracted bids from all the cultivators present.

Even many of the Foundation Establishment cultivators in the private rooms started bidding, trying to acquire the bottle of Jade Heart Elixir.

But the auction result was unexpected. The bottle of Jade Heart Liquid was eventually bought by a Qi Refining rogue cultivator sitting below for 2,200 spirit stones.

It's not that Foundation Establishment cultivators don't have that many spirit stones. For example, a Foundation Establishment Immortal Clan like the Bai family can easily produce more than two thousand spirit stones.

However, cultivation families are not fools. They will consider all aspects, such as whether the bidding is worthwhile and necessary, and will not make impulsive bids.

The Jade Heart Elixir only increases the success rate by 10%, so the chance of cultivating a Foundation Establishment cultivator is not high.

The price exceeds two thousand, which is clearly outside the reasonable price range.

Cultivation families wouldn't offer this price; only lone wolves with no ties would dare to ask for it.

Of course, if what's being auctioned is a Foundation Establishment Pill, that's a different story. A Foundation Establishment Pill has a high probability of cultivating a Foundation Establishment cultivator, so even if the price doubles, there will still be people willing to pay.

……

Li Ping watched as the gray-robed Qi-refining cultivator stood up, handed over the spirit stones, accepted the Jade Heart Liquid, and quietly left.

This person was wearing a bamboo hat and had his face covered with a mask that blocked divine sense, so his identity was well hidden. However, Li Ping felt inexplicably familiar with him, as if the other party was an acquaintance of his.

"It seems to be..."

Before Li Ping could confirm his guess, the grand finale of the auction finally began.

The elderly man surnamed Mu smiled and said, "Next up is the highlight of this auction: the Foundation Establishment Pill!"

He looked around at everyone present and said, "The rules for auctioning Foundation Establishment Pills in this city are the same every year, and they are personally set by the True Person."

"In case some new seniors and fellow Daoists are unfamiliar with this, let me introduce it to you again."

"First, only independent cultivators are eligible to participate in the Foundation Establishment Pill auction. Cultivation families, immortal cities, and sects are not allowed to participate in the bidding."

"Fourth, those who bid for the Foundation Establishment Pill must go into seclusion on Qinglong Mountain to attempt to establish their foundation. If they fail, so be it; if they succeed, they must become disciples of a True Person and join the Qinglong Mountain lineage."

……

After explaining the rules, the old man surnamed Mu said with a smile, "Fellow Daoists, those who do not meet the requirements should not bid. Otherwise, if you win the Foundation Establishment Pill but do not meet the requirements, the Immortal City will charge you five hundred spirit stones as a penalty."