Starting as a stray dog, I embarked on a journey of cultivation.

With the second lot sold, it was finally time for the third item, which was also the last treasure of the auction.

"Next up is the last item in this auction!" the smiling cat announced loudly.

With a gentle flip of his hand, a green porcelain bottle slowly appeared in his palm, its body engraved with exquisite lotus patterns, elegant and unique.

"This item is called the Jade Lotus Bottle!" the smiling cat began its introduction.

"This bottle can generate its own innate spiritual liquid. When the liquid is dripped into the soil, it can nourish spiritual plants, accelerate the growth of grass and seedlings, repair damaged spiritual plants, and enhance the spiritual energy contained in spiritual materials."

"However, this substance only works on spiritual plants and does not help cultivators in their practice. It must never be taken internally directly, otherwise it will easily damage the meridians."

After the introduction, the smiling cat announced loudly, "The starting bid for this item is 800,000 low-grade spirit stones, with a minimum increment of 10,000 spirit stones!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the gavel tapped lightly on the table, and the final round of bidding officially began.

"Eight hundred and fifty thousand!" Someone immediately made a bid from the private room on the third floor.

The person on the second floor followed suit, not to be outdone: "Eighty-eight hundred thousand."

Soon someone else chimed in: "Nine hundred thousand."

Prices have been rising steadily.

Gou An pondered to himself, wondering if there were any shills planted by the auction house in the room, but he genuinely wanted this treasure.

Although the Heavenly Palm Diagram can accelerate the flow of time, it consumes an extremely high amount of spirit stones when in operation.

More importantly, as time speeds up within the map domain, the lifespans of all living beings within it, including humans and demons, will accelerate in tandem.

If you want to cultivate a thousand-year-old spiritual plant, the free labor you raise probably won't last that long.

If we can get our hands on this Jade Lotus Bottle, the problem will be solved.

This is excellent; I must have it!

When the price reached 980,000, Gou An suddenly raised his hand: "One million spirit stones!"

As soon as the bid was made, all the cultivators on the first floor turned their gazes to him.

This is the first time in the entire auction that a freelance cultivator from the first floor has participated in the bidding.

However, the shock in the room did not last long, as the second floor quickly raised the price again: "One million five hundred thousand."

"One million one hundred thousand!" Gou An continued.

The third-floor bidder countered: "One million two hundred thousand!"

The second-floor vendor immediately raised the price: "One million three hundred thousand!"

Gou An followed without hesitation: "One and a half million!"

Prices continue to rise.

There was one person on the second floor, one person on the third floor, and Gou An on the first floor. The three parties took turns vying for it, and they all clearly saw the true value of this treasure.

"Two million!" Gou An raised his hand again to call out the price.

This time, the cultivator on the third floor who was bidding fell silent and stopped competing.

But the man on the second floor still refused to back down, shouting in a deep voice, "Two million one hundred thousand!"

Gou An took a deep breath and continued to raise the price: "Two million three hundred thousand!"

The man on the second floor hesitated for a moment, then spoke again: "Two million four hundred thousand!"

Gou An gritted his teeth and continued to announce the number: "Two and a half million!"

With that sound, the bidding on the second floor finally stopped.

Gou An breathed a slight sigh of relief.

He knew in his heart that there was probably someone deliberately driving up the price, but the allure of this treasure was simply irresistible to an alchemist.

Even knowing the price was inflated, Gou An still felt it was worth it.

After all, he is now a nouveau riche.

Spirit stones are just stones; spend them if you feel like it.

"Two and a half million spirit stones each time!" The smiling cat's wooden hammer fell lightly.

"Two and a half million spirit stones, twice!"

"Two and a half million spirit stones..."

Just as Smiling Cat was about to call out the third time and bring down the gavel, the cultivator who had been arguing with Gou An on the second floor suddenly spoke up again: "Two million eight hundred thousand!"

These words caused an uproar in the room.

The starting bid of 800,000 yuan for a treasure soared to 2.8 million yuan, a price increase that is rare in the Tianbaotai auctions in recent decades.

Gou An was about to continue bidding when he changed his mind and forced himself to hold back.

"Master, why aren't you raising the price anymore?" Long Youzi asked in a low voice, full of doubt.

"I'm not going to bid anymore." Gou An casually pulled up his hood, hiding himself even more. "If we keep raising the price, it will attract too much attention and make us easy targets for those with ulterior motives."

Upon hearing this, Long Youzi could only sigh helplessly.

No one else bid.

"Two million eight hundred thousand low-grade spirit stones, sold in three transactions!"

On the high platform, the smiling cat brought down the gavel, finalizing the deal.

Gou An focused his mind slightly and gently sniffed the bottle.

The unique scent of the jade vase lingered in the air, carrying not only the smooth and lustrous quality of the jade porcelain itself, but also a faint lotus fragrance, firmly imprinted on his senses.

With the tenfold enhancement of his sense of smell, once he memorized the scent of this bottle, it was as if Gou An had marked him.

As long as he appears nearby, Gou An can quickly pinpoint his location.

The auction ended, but Tianbaotai did not immediately disperse.

All the counters inside were open, selling all kinds of items on the spot, including pills, talismans, and magical treasures, turning the place into a large treasure market.

Some of the cultivators left the venue one after another, while others stayed and wandered around, hoping to find a treasure that suited their taste.

Gou An led Long Youzi out of the Tianbaotai gate and found a roadside teahouse to sit down and drink tea, but his eyes remained fixed on the entrance and exit of Tianbaotai.

"What a pity." Long Youzi didn't notice Gou An's expression, but only murmured regretfully, "If only we could have bought this bottle earlier. Just opening up a small spiritual field could cultivate spiritual plants that are hundreds, even thousands of years old. Just thinking about it makes my heart flutter!"

"No need to regret it." Gou An picked up his teacup, a smile playing on his lips. "Not getting a picture doesn't mean this item doesn't belong to me."

"Master, what do you mean by that?" Long Youzi's heart sank, and he had a bad feeling.

"I've memorized the bottle's scent. Once this person leaves the black market area with the bottle, we..."

Before Gou An could finish speaking, he raised his hand to his neck and made a throat-slitting gesture.

"Huh?" Long Youzi was taken aback and hurriedly lowered his voice, "Master, are you crazy? You're planning to just rob me?"

Gou An sighed softly and said slowly, "This Blackwater area is full of evil cultivators who rob and plunder everywhere."

"If they can do it, why can't we?"

"Just consider it taking advantage of the chaos!"