The Eternal Saint of Alchemy

Xiao Fan entered the city in line, his expression unchanged.

After entering the city, led by Master Cheng, he arrived at the auction house's appraisal room in the west of the city.

The appraisal office is a spacious and bright hall.

Xiao Fan placed the scales, fangs, and some scraps of ore from the Crimson Flame Python on the counter.

The lead appraiser picked up a scale from the Crimson Flame Python, examined it carefully under the light, and then lightly flicked the scale with his finger. His expression changed from nonchalant to serious.

The scale is very well preserved, and it contains very little spiritual energy. This scale can be used to refine a sixth-grade spiritual weapon armor.

He put down the scales, then picked up a fang and examined it.

Starting bid: 1,000 fire crystals.

A thousand fire crystals are equivalent to the income of a rogue cultivator for two or three years.

The assistant next to him had already started writing the contract.

Upon hearing this, the other appraiser looked up at Xiao Fan, seemingly gaining a new understanding of him.

Xiao Fan signed the contract, put away the receipt, and turned to leave the appraisal room.

He was about to ask Master Cheng about the qualifications for entering the auction when he ran into Fei Fei, the man in bright yellow brocade robes he had seen at the city gate before.

Fei Fei, carrying a newly repaired longsword, walked over chatting and laughing with two attendants. He spotted Xiao Fan immediately, a look of surprise flashing in his eyes, and a cold smile appeared on his lips.

"Oh, are you here for an auction? What's in it for you? Don't tell me you just picked up some ordinary flint from the roadside."

His two attendants behind him also burst into laughter.

Xiao Fan walked right past him without stopping, not even glancing at him.

Fei Fei's laughter stopped abruptly, seemingly surprised that the other party completely ignored him.

Cheng Xiushi followed Xiao Fan quickly over. When he passed Fei Fei, he deliberately raised his voice and said, "Some people are so arrogant that they can't recognize anything good. They're wasting such good eyes."

Fei Fei's face darkened, and he was about to explode, but Xiao Fan had already walked away. He gritted his teeth and ultimately held back.

The auction officially began early on the third day.

The venue is located in the circular hall in the center of Fire Crystal City, with three tiers of stands that can accommodate thousands of people at the same time.

The first floor is for independent cultivators and small and medium-sized forces, the second floor is for private rooms of major forces, and the third floor is for VIP rooms concealed by spiritual energy curtains.

Xiao Fan and Cheng Xiushi sat in the front seats on the first floor.

The scenery here is nice, and the price isn't expensive. For an ordinary cultivator, it's an excellent location.

The main hall was filled with people, and the smells of various spiritual materials and magical artifacts mingled together, creating a lively and festive atmosphere.

People from the Amethyst Alliance appeared on the second-level stands, with Fei Fei following behind a middle-aged man with a square face.

This middle-aged man appeared even more composed than Fei He, exuding a subtle yet profound aura that drew people's attention. Fei Song, an eighth-rank cultivator.

He was followed by three or four attendants, one of whom wore a wide belt around his waist, just like Fei He's belt.

Ning Yao also appeared on the other side of the second floor, sitting on the right with a group of people from the Silver Hammer Society. After taking her seat, she looked around and her gaze fell on Xiao Fan, and she nodded slightly.

Soon, the first item for auction was brought out: a complete Blazing Fire Spirit Mushroom from the Heavenly Fire Plains, with a starting bid of two hundred Fire Crystals.

After a fierce bidding war, it was finally bought by a rogue cultivator for five hundred taels of silver.

As the second and third items were presented, the atmosphere in the auction room gradually became more lively.

When Xiao Fan brought out the materials from the Crimson Flame Python for auction, the appraiser on stage had already given a detailed explanation of the quality of the scales and fangs, and the starting bid was one thousand fire crystals.

The hall fell silent, then someone raised a sign.

After several rounds of bidding, the price quickly soared to 2,300 taels, and was finally bought by a representative of a medium-sized power sitting on the second-floor stands for 2,800 taels.

Fei Fei sat in a corner on the second floor. When the auctioneer announced that a set of Crimson Flame Python scales had been sold for 2,800 fire crystals, his expression immediately changed.

He suddenly turned his head to look at the first-floor stands, his gaze falling on Xiao Fan, his lips pressed tightly together, but he didn't say anything.

Fei Song sat next to him, whispering something to another guest, completely unaware of his unusual behavior.

Xiao Fan sat in the back seat, expressionless.

The cultivator Cheng, standing nearby, couldn't help but chuckle, "That kid must have looked really bad just now, right?"

The transaction for the Crimson Flame Python's materials was completed, and soon after, staff from the auction house delivered the Fire Crystals to Xiao Fan after deducting the handling fee.

Two thousand five hundred fire crystals were packed in a heavy bag, attracting the attention of many independent cultivators.

Xiao Fan put the spirit material bag into his spatial magic artifact and looked calmly at the auction stage.

The next few items to be auctioned were a fragment of an ancient pill formula, a piece of animal bone dug out from the Heavenly Fire Plain, and several mid-grade spiritual artifacts.

When Xiao Fan was bidding on a fire-attribute spiritual artifact, he only raised his hand once before withdrawing it and stopping before the bidding was even finished.

As the auction entered its second half, an item was finally placed on the auction stage: a fist-sized crimson-gold crystal with a ball of golden liquid flowing inside. Whenever it flowed, the spiritual energy in the air would fluctuate at a speed visible to the naked eye.

The auctioneer introduced the item as follows: "This item is called the 'Golden Sun Crystal Core,' originating from a previously unexplored area deep within the Heavenly Fire Plains. It contains extremely pure spiritual energy and is the core of a Heavenly Rank spiritual artifact. Starting price: five thousand fire crystals."

5000.

This price is enough to scare away most rogue cultivators, but Xiao Fan just received 2,800 yuan, plus the fire crystals he had accumulated, and other spiritual materials that could be exchanged, so it's not impossible for him to gather the money.

He held up the card.

"First row, first floor, five thousand." As soon as the auctioneer finished speaking, someone in the second-floor stands immediately raised the bid.

"Six thousand." Xiao Fan raised his card again without hesitation.

"Second level of the Amethyst Alliance, 6500."

Many people in the first-floor stands were looking in this direction.

Fei Song leaned forward slightly and looked at Xiao Fan through the gap in the curtains, seemingly trying to identify him.

Fei Fei leaned close to Fei Song's ear and whispered something, but Fei Song remained expressionless and leaned back in his chair.

Fei Song called out again, "Seven thousand."

Xiao Fan remained silent.

The fire crystals and some exchangeable spiritual materials totaled over eight thousand pieces; any more than that would exceed his expectations.

Then, he did something that surprised everyone: he took out a jade bottle containing "Flame Marrow" and gestured for the auction house staff to appraise it.