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

Top floor, VIP suite.

Jiang Zhongtian stood with his back to the window, his five fingers resting on the shaft of the silver spear beside him, his brows furrowed into a vertical line. He did not sit down.

From the very first auction item to the moment when the book "Divine Bone Blood Refinement" was sold to box number seventeen for 680 spirit crystals, he maintained this posture.

Across the stone table, Xia Haoyun sat comfortably.

He held the teacup lid in his right hand, slowly stirring the floating tea leaves along the rim of the cup. The leaves spun around in circles, as if running in circles. The girl beside him sat with her head down, lost in thought.

Jiang Zhongtian turned his head and glanced at Xia Haoyun. He didn't beat around the bush and asked directly, "Why did Your Highness auction off 'Divine Bone Blood Refinement,' one of the six great body-refining inheritances, in a place like this?"

He paused, his tone tinged with a hint of confusion: "With your status as a prince, you wouldn't be short of a few hundred spirit crystals."

Hearing this, Xia Haoyun stopped stirring the tea leaves. He placed the lid back on the rim of the cup, glanced at Jiang Zhongtian, and asked with a smile:

"Does Vice Envoy Jiang know about the six major body-refining inheritances?"

I've heard a little about it.

"That makes things easier." Xia Haoyun leaned back, shifting to a more comfortable position, and explained.

"There are six great body-refining inheritances in the world. These six inheritances are indeed terrifying in name. But as you should know, Vice Envoy Jiang, there are only a few of the six great inheritances that are still in complete form in the world today."

The rest are scattered among the people, mostly only fragments remain, and some are even incomplete.

He reached for the teacup on the table, blew on it to cool it, and continued:

"This copy of 'Divine Bone Blood Refinement' that is being auctioned is not a royal item. I found it in an old collection a couple of years ago. As you can see from the condition, it was burned to the ground and only half of it remains. The complete names of the lineage on the cover are not even fully displayed."

Xia Haoyun took a sip of tea, put down the cup, and said nonchalantly:

"I can't cultivate it either, so it's not particularly valuable. Lord Jiang, there's no need to feel sorry for it."

Jiang Zhongtian didn't reply, but he loosened his fingers from the gun barrel without saying a word, because he knew that Xia Haoyun obviously hadn't finished speaking.

Sure enough, Xia Haoyun spoke again, his tone becoming casual, with a hint of idle chatter:

"This important town of Hengyue has now gathered many outstanding talents and geniuses. There are True Qi Realm experts recruited by various prefectures, disciples of local sects in Qingzhou, people from the Wu Kingdom, and spies from the Nine Evils Sect... It's a mixed bag, with all sorts of people mixed together."

He picked up his teacup and took another sip: "I won't lie to you, the reason I put this incomplete piece on the auction stage today is to see if I can catch a hidden dragon from the mud."

Jiang Zhongtian's brow twitched slightly:

"Fishing?"

"Yes, fishing."

Xia Haoyun placed the teacup back on the table and tapped the inside of the cup lightly twice with his fingers.

"The six major body-refining inheritances sound powerful, but the difficulty of cultivating them is equally terrifying. There are only a few incomplete scrolls circulating on the market, and out of ten people who buy them, nine and a half fail to make any progress. But if anyone can actually master them—"

He looked up at Jiang Zhongtian, his eyes revealing a solemn expression, and said, "That is a genius among ten thousand."

"If such a prodigy is hiding here, I will have a reason to recruit him in the future, based on this favor I have bestowed upon him. If not—"

"That doesn't matter. There are already quite a few fragments of the six body-refining inheritances scattered throughout the martial world. Occasionally, a scroll or two will appear and circulate in the world, which can actually ensure that the inheritance will not be completely cut off."

He added, "It can also be seen as a kind of screening for those who come after."

The room fell silent for a few moments. After listening to the explanation from the prince of Great Yu, Jiang Zhongtian remained silent.

As he looked out the window at the night view of Hengyue Town, a sentence popped into his mind.

That was when he was with someone back then. That person had drunk half a pot of wine and casually said, "I think this eleventh prince has extraordinary ambitions."

Jiang Zhongtian, who was drinking with that person at the time, didn't pay attention.

It seems that Jiang Zhongtian's judgment was not as good as that person's. Even Yi Yang, who was quite capable, was recommended by that person.

This prince of the Great Yu Dynasty planned to use a fragmented body-refining technique to lay the groundwork for befriending a martial arts prodigy in the future. After all, if the person who obtained the inheritance made a name for himself and entered the Hidden Dragon Ranking, the two of them would naturally have a chance to meet again. At that time, this cause and effect would be a natural bond that would give this prince a head start over others.

This kind of investment doesn't require a single spirit crystal, yet the returns are substantial. Such vision and patience are not something that ordinary members of the royal family possess.

Xia Haoyun seemed to have seen through Jiang Zhongtian's thoughts, but he did not linger on the topic.

He picked up his teacup and added with a sigh, "Speaking of which, even the Pure Land Buddhist sect, which has preserved the most complete body-refining traditions among the six major sects, hasn't produced a single wrathful Vajra who can display boundless power and decisive killing for many years."

"These six inheritances sound terrifying, but the difficulty of cultivation is enough to stop countless geniuses—those who can cultivate them are one in ten thousand."

After hearing this, Jiang Zhongtian said no more.

His gaze drifted from the window towards the auction stage downstairs, then down one floor to the location of VIP box number seventeen.

Six hundred and eighty spiritual crystals.

A guy in a first-floor VIP box offered a higher price than the experts in the second-floor Profound Realm and snatched the incomplete book away.

Jiang Zhongtian kept this information in mind.

Number 17.

The girl beside him, who had been silent all along, suddenly looked up and glanced in the same direction. Her lips moved as if she wanted to ask something, but she swallowed her words back.

Xia Haoyun noticed her little gesture, smiled, and said nothing.

He picked up the teacup again, poked at the floating leaves with the lid, and resumed his leisurely demeanor.

……

downstairs.

Auction hall.

While the conversation was taking place at the top, the bidding on stage had already reached a fever pitch.

The second cart that Lin Qi pushed out from the side was much more impressive than the iron box containing the "Divine Bone Blood Refinement"—it had an ebony base covered with layers of protective silk, and even the four wheels of the cart were engraved with tiny stabilizing array patterns.

The red silk was unveiled.

A long sword lay horizontally on the base.

The sword is entirely dark blue, about three feet seven inches long, and the patterns on the hilt are dull and lifeless, like a lamp that was once bright but has now been extinguished.

The murderous aura emanated from the blade, causing a faint hum in the air upon contact. Though the sound was not loud, it conveyed a palpable killing intent to the martial artist.

The True Qi Realm martial artists in the first three rows below the stage all frowned at the same time, because goosebumps rose on their skin.

It wasn't coldness, but a kind of oppression emanating from the weapon itself, surpassing even the level of a magical artifact.

"The incomplete spiritual weapon—'Frostfall'!"

Lynch's voice resonated throughout the entire venue.

"The forging date of this sword is unknown. Although it has lost its spiritual essence, the material of its blade and the forging technique far surpass the category of treasured artifacts. The residual power of its blade can at least reveal the power of a spiritual weapon three times over. It is suitable for experts at the Dharma Body Realm and above to use as their main weapon or trump card!"

He glanced around the room and announced:

Starting bid: 600 spirit crystals.

The lobby and the private rooms on the first floor fell silent at the same time.

Starting at 600 spirit crystals, this price excludes all martial artists at the True Qi Realm.

They don't even have the confidence to shout out, let alone hold up a sign.

Yi Yang leaned back on the soft couch, his gaze sweeping over the dark blue longsword, but he didn't move.

He possessed the Xuan Yuan, a complete spiritual weapon with its spirit intact. After recognizing its master, it could be activated at his will. He had no need for a flawed weapon that had lost its spirit.

The atmosphere in the second-floor private room suddenly came alive.

After lying in wait all day, the experts at the Transcendent Realm finally encountered what they were looking for.

The first bid came from the left side of the second floor, a steady and deep voice: "Six hundred and fifty coins."

Han Ji.

Yi Yang recognized him immediately; the voice of the Heavenly Heart Sect's Dharma Body Realm elder was very distinctive, carrying a condescending tone.

A second voice followed immediately from the right side of the second floor: "Six hundred and eighty."

Yi Yang was unfamiliar with the voice, but anyone sitting in a private room on the second floor must have a cultivation level no lower than the Profound Realm.

He sent his divine sense into the private room and sensed a square and rigid aura, like that of someone from a military background.

"Seven hundred and twenty." Han Ji's voice quickly came back down.

"Seven hundred and fifty." The second voice followed immediately.

The two voices went back and forth, the rhythm getting faster and faster.

The price climbed from 600 to 800, then jumped to 900. After it exceeded 900, only these two voices remained in the room. The people in the other two private rooms all shut up and withdrew from the competition.

Yi Yang took a sip of tea and mentally calculated the costs for the two of them:

This price has exceeded one thousand.

"One thousand one hundred coins." Even at this price, Han Ji's voice remained calm, but the increment had decreased from fifty coins to twenty. This indicated that he was approaching the limit of his affordability.

"One thousand one hundred and sixty pieces." Clearly, the person who made the bid was also holding firm.

"One thousand two hundred and fifty." Han Ji jumped to nearly one hundred.

He was trying to force the other person to retreat, but the person followed without hesitation.

Yi Yang noticed that Han Ji paused for two breaths before making another bid—longer than ever before.

"One thousand four hundred and eighty."

When that number came down, the entire venue fell silent.

One thousand four hundred and eighty spiritual crystals.

In the transaction records of Hengyue Town, the price of this item sold tonight would probably rank among the top three.

The private room on the right fell silent.

One breath, three breaths, five breaths.

In the end, no one raised the price.

Lin Qi brought down the jade hammer in his hand: "One thousand four hundred and eighty spirit crystals, sold! Congratulations to our distinguished guest on the second floor!"

As soon as the hammer fell, Han Ji's voice, celebrating his successful acquisition of the treasure, rang out from the second floor.

He wasn't saying it to Lynch.

The voice, carried across the floors, was aimed precisely at the private room on the right, with an undisguised smugness: "Lord Zheng of the Commerce Bureau manages the silver on the trade routes for the court, yet he's so stingy when it comes to spending it. Next time, if you see anything you like, you might as well give me a heads-up beforehand, so you don't waste your breath on stage."

Everyone heard his words and knew about the feud between the two. Some people in the hall shrank back and prayed that they wouldn't fight there.

Some people in the private rooms also showed surprise. They didn't expect that this Dharma Body Realm elder of the Heavenly Heart Sect would be as sharp-tongued as his fists.

A cold snort came from the private room on the right.

The energy surged briefly, as if a fire was burning in the master's chest, before being forcibly suppressed.

The owner of that private room was Zheng Qingci, a Dharma Body Realm expert dispatched by the Imperial City Trade Bureau to the important town of Hengyue.

He and Han Ji had a falling out before over the distribution of profits from the trade route, and today they clashed again on stage, with him ultimately losing – a bitter pill to swallow for anyone.

Lin Qi smiled and smoothed things over: "Both of you are refined people. There are two more to come, which I guarantee will be spectacular."

Once the conversation was brought up, the atmosphere finally eased.

Yi Yang listened to the entire exchange from beginning to end in a private room on the first floor.

He tapped the rim of the teacup twice with his finger.

Han Ji sold the Heart-Questioning Pill and recovered 245 spirit crystals, then turned around and smashed 1,480 spirit crystals onto the damaged spirit weapon.

Judging from the final bid increase, it's clear that this elder of the Heavenly Heart Sect, at the Dharma Body Realm, has probably run out of money.

Yi Yang went through the information in his mind without giving it much thought.

Whether Han Ji has money or not is not important to him; he is only concerned about what the last two items are.

On the auction stage, Lin Qi had already gestured towards the backstage.