Elderly Martial Saint: Sixty Times the Cultivation Speed ​​at the Start

After a night of competition, the auction held at Qizhen Pavilion entered its second day at noon.

Yi Yang sat quietly on the soft couch in the first-floor private room, his eyes half-closed. The "Yi Mu Zhen Yang Jing" in his body circulated on its own, and strands of pure true energy, like a trickle, slowly and steadily nourished the Xuan Guang Seed in his Qi Sea.

On the panel, the proficiency level continued to increase steadily at a rate of 600 points per session.

He devoted half of his mind to cultivation, while the other half transformed into invisible tendrils, using his "breaking through illusions" state of consciousness to take control of every movement in the entire venue downstairs.

After a whole night of fighting, the ordinary martial artists in the hall who didn't have much money in their pockets had long been eliminated.

Those who remain in the venue are either scions of wealthy families or traveling merchants who have traveled all over the country.

The items up for auction on stage have quietly upgraded from the loose pills and ordinary treasures of last night.

Fragments of secret techniques, rare elixirs aged a hundred years, exquisitely crafted magical artifacts...

The starting price is always thirty spirit crystals.

The top experts on the leaderboard in the first-floor private rooms finally stopped being reserved and began raising their placards frequently.

The atmosphere at the venue was several levels more enthusiastic than last night.

Yi Yang opened his eyes, picked up the teacup on the table, and calmly watched the lively scene downstairs. From beginning to end, he never once had the thought of making a move.

Because he was still waiting, waiting for a treasure that was truly worth using his spirit crystals for. As the night passed, the martial artists in the second-floor private rooms rarely made a move, and almost none of them bid. However, as soon as they made a move, no one competed with them. This was not only because they didn't have the financial resources, but more importantly because of their strength.

"clang!"

Just then, on the auction stage, Lin Qi struck the jade hammer in his hand again, the sound crisp and clear.

His smile faded slightly, and he said in a more serious tone, "Distinguished guests, the next treasure is no ordinary item. You must seize the opportunity to make your move."

After he finished speaking, two maids walked gracefully onto the stage, each carrying a long tray covered with black velvet.

Lin Qi reached out and abruptly ripped off the red silk on the tray.

Beneath the red silk, a close-fitting inner armor with a dark silver sheen lay quietly on the tray.

The inner armor plates were as thin as cicada wings, engraved with dense and intricate patterns, and under the light, they emitted a faint glow of true energy.

"A supreme treasure—the 'Frost Abyss Scale Armor'!"

Lin Qi's voice, amplified by his inner energy, clearly resonated throughout every corner of the venue.

"This armor is forged from a thousand-year-old deep-sea clam shell made of cold iron and mysterious crystal silk. Wearing it close to the skin will not hinder movement in any way, and it can withstand and greatly reduce the frontal attacks of a first-stage Transcendent Realm expert!"

"More importantly, in a critical moment, even a full-force attack from a Dharma Body Realm expert can buy the wearer a crucial half-breath buffer!"

"Starting bid: 150 spirit crystals!"

The moment the words "Frosty Abyss Scales" were uttered, the atmosphere in the entire venue was instantly ignited.

In the hall, many of the wealthy merchants and martial artists who had been sitting upright suddenly stood up, craning their necks and staring intently at the inner armor on the stage.

Heavy breathing could be heard coming from the first-floor private room.

Looking through the crystal window at the inner armor on the stage, Yi Yang's fingers, holding the teacup, paused for two seconds on the rim, and he thought to himself:

"This stuff is good stuff."

"It can reduce the attack of the Tongxuan Realm. For a Zhengang Realm martial artist, this thing is equivalent to having an extra life."

But he quickly dismissed the idea of ​​bidding.

Because his "Martial Dragon Elephant Body" was already perfected, his physical body was far more resilient than others of the same level, enough to withstand the regular attacks of the first level of the Profound Realm.

Even a full-force attack from a late-stage True Qi cultivator would have difficulty leaving a mark on his skin.

This inner armor would be a lifesaver for others, but for him, it was at best an added bonus.

No need.

More importantly, there are other things he wants, so he has to be careful with his spirit crystals.

"One hundred and sixty!"

"One hundred and seventy-five!"

"I'll offer two hundred!"

Bidding was in full swing, and the price soared like a rocket, quickly climbing from 150 to 260.

The buyers in the hall were the first to give up, and one by one they sat back down with sighs.

After another round of bidding, three voices were still gritting their teeth and stubbornly sticking to the price in the first-floor private room.

However, when the price approached the three hundred mark.

From the second-floor private room above, a deep male voice finally rang out, calmly announcing a number:

"Three hundred and fifty."

The sound was like a bucket of ice water poured over someone's head, completely extinguishing all the enthusiasm below.

Three hundred and fifty spiritual crystals.

This amount of money is enough to buy an entire bustling commercial street in a prefecture like Suining Prefecture.

After the bid was placed in the second-floor VIP room, the main hall and the first-floor VIP room instantly fell into a deathly silence.

A moment later, in another private room on the second floor, someone arrived with 380 coins.

But the deep male voice, without even thinking, directly increased it to three hundred and ninety-two.

After that, no one else made a bid.

"clang!"

Lin Qi brought the small hammer in his hand down heavily, and he exclaimed excitedly:

"Three hundred and ninety-two spirit crystals, sold!"

"Congratulations to our esteemed guest in the second-floor private room for securing this treasure."

Yi Yang watched as the inner armor was carefully carried off the stage by a maid, and quickly assessed the situation in his mind.

Nearly four hundred spirit crystals, equivalent to thirty percent of his current total wealth.

It's not worth spending money on a defensive piece of equipment that doesn't offer much of an improvement to your character.

With this money, you could buy elixirs and spiritual medicines to advance the progress of the "Yi Mu Zhen Yang Jing" by a significant margin, and the resulting benefits would be far greater than those of a piece of armor.

He closed his eyes again and continued to practice his exercises.

The numbers on the panel changed faithfully once more.

600

After a few more regular items were auctioned, Lin Qi struck the gavel again.

This time, his tone was even more solemn than when he introduced the inner armor.

What the maid brought out was no longer a tray, but a palm-sized, milky-white, warm jade box.

The jade box was slowly opened amidst the watchful eyes of the crowd.

Inside was a layer of soft and precious spirit silk, and in the very center was a round pill about the size of a thumb, with a faint silver halo flowing across its surface.

"Ladies and gentlemen, this lot is titled—'Questioning the Heart'!"

Lin Qi's voice suddenly rose slightly as he introduced:

"After taking this pill, it can greatly enhance the user's spiritual perception for up to one hour, helping them temporarily cross the threshold of the second realm of spiritual perception!"

"And for martial artists who have not yet awakened their divine consciousness, there is an even higher probability that they will be able to open the door to the first realm, 'Observing Myself'!"

"Starting bid: eighty spirit crystals!"

The four characters "叩问心丹" (kòu wèn xīn dān) are like a boulder thrown into a calm lake, stirring up a thousand waves.

The reaction in the entire venue was ten times more intense than when they first saw the "Frost Abyss Scales"!

Divine sense cultivation techniques are extremely rare, one in ten thousand.

Pills that can assist in breakthroughs in spiritual consciousness are extremely rare treasures!

The True Qi Realm martial artists in the hall, though knowing they couldn't afford it, all stared wide-eyed, discussing amongst themselves, wishing they could stare right through the pill.

In the private room on the first floor, almost the instant Lin Qi finished speaking, five or six voices rang out simultaneously.

"Ninety!"

"One hundred!"

"I'll bid 120!"

In just ten breaths, the price skyrocketed from eighty coins to an astonishing one hundred and sixty coins!

Two bidding voices could be heard from the private rooms on the second floor.

Clearly, even those high-ranking experts at the Transcendent Realm were tempted.

Even if they have already entered the Profound Realm, if their divine sense has not yet awakened, this pill is a precious ticket to a higher level of martial arts for them!

Upon hearing the name "Kouwen Xindan," Yi Yang paused for a moment while tapping his fingers on the table.

He remembered Wan Liuyue, the Tianxin Sect disciple he had met outside Qingzhou City.

To apologize, the other party gave him three "heart-opening pills".

Similar names, similar medicinal effects.

Yi Yang's gaze couldn't help but sweep towards the second-floor private room above.

Although he couldn't see what was happening inside, he already had a hunch in his mind.

This "Inquiry into the Heart" coin is most likely the one that Han Ji, the Dharma Body Realm elder of the Heavenly Heart Sect, put up for auction.

The Heavenly Heart Sect is renowned in Qingzhou for its "dual cultivation of inner and outer spirits," which involves cultivating both the physical body and the spiritual consciousness, and possesses a large number of unique elixir formulas that aid in spiritual consciousness.

For an elder of Han Ji's caliber, exchanging a sect pill for spirit crystals is perfectly normal.

The bidding on the field has become extremely fierce.

The two martial artists at the Transcendent Realm on the second floor went back and forth, once raising the price to 220 spirit crystals.

Just when everyone thought that this pill would belong to a certain profound expert.

On the first floor, in a previously silent private room, a clear, cool, yet remarkably calm female voice rang out.

"Two hundred and forty-five pieces."

The moment the price was announced, the entire room fell silent.

No one expected that the warriors on the first level of the Hero Ranking would dare to overpower those on the second level, who were at the Profound Realm.

After a brief silence, the two voices on the second floor gave up one after the other, marking the first failed bid for the second-floor VIP box.

Lin Qi waited a moment, and after confirming that no one would raise the price, he decisively brought down his gavel.

"Two hundred and forty-five spirit crystals, sold!"

A spiritual pill that could drive most martial artists mad was ultimately sold for nearly 150 spirit crystals less than the top-grade treasure "Frosty Abyss Scale Armor".

Moreover, it fell into the hands of a True Qi Realm martial artist.

In the private room, Yi Yang silently calculated. He knew that the reason why the price of the Heart-Questioning Pill was lower than that of the Cold Abyss Scale Armor was very simple.

The inner armor is something everyone can wear; you can buy it and use it immediately, and it's effective right away.

However, the target audience for elixirs of spiritual awareness is too narrow.

Of those present, only a handful are capable of cultivating spiritual awareness techniques.

Most of the items acquired at the Tongxuan Realm may not be useful; they can only be used as investment reserves or resold.

The most reasonable market reaction is that the price is kept below 250 coins.

But what Yi Yang was more interested in was Han Ji's behavior.

This Dharma Body Realm elder of the Heavenly Heart Sect actually brought the sect's rare pills to this chaotic Hengyue Town for auction, instead of selling them in Qingzhou City.

After a moment's thought, Yi Yang understood the reason: there were too many disciples and followers of the Tianxin Sect in Qingzhou.

Although the Heart-Questioning Pill is rare, it is not unique, and its price can easily be driven down by competition among its peers.

However, in this important town of Hengyue, the Tianxin Sect's influence has not yet been fully established, but there are countless martial artists from outside the region.

Things are rare.

The same pill can fetch 30% more here than it would in Qingzhou, or even more.

Yi Yang sighed inwardly.

No wonder the Heavenly Heart Sect has been able to maintain its position as one of the top two sects in Qingzhou.

This shrewd mind to monetize differentiated resources is something that ordinary forces cannot match.

With a unique formula in hand, wherever you go is a walking gold mine.