I am in Yellow Maple Valley, and I have a demonic beast clone!

Chapter Six: The Auction!

Back at the small courtyard on Xuankun Mountain, after closing the gate and activating a simple soundproof barrier, Zhou Ding's calm and polite expression slowly faded, and a thoughtful glint appeared in his eyes.

"Lu Mingyuan, Chen Qiaoqian..." he murmured the two names.

Their appearance is like a clear signal, marking the quiet beginning of the main storyline of the original work.

This means that the future Old Demon Han should have already joined Huangfeng Valley and is probably cultivating diligently in some corner, accumulating his initial capital.

And right after that, a major plot point in the original work.

The opening of the "Bloody Forbidden Land" is probably already on the agenda.

Zhou Ding frowned slightly.

The Crimson Forbidden Land is an ancient secret realm jointly controlled by the seven factions of the Yue Kingdom. It opens once every five years and is the only stable source for the seven factions to obtain "Heaven and Earth Elixir," the core ingredient for refining Foundation Establishment Pills.

For Qi Refining disciples, it is both a perilous place with a nine-out-of-ten chance of death and the greatest opportunity for them to leap over the dragon gate.

As long as you can come out of the forbidden area alive and hand over a sufficient amount of spiritual herbs, you will be granted a precious Foundation Establishment Pill by the sect!

Foundation Building Pill...

Zhou Ding remained silent.

He was well aware of his three spiritual roots; without a Foundation Establishment Pill to cleanse his marrow and break through his bottlenecks, the chances of successfully establishing his foundation were extremely slim.

The seven factions of Yue Kingdom have extremely strict control over the Foundation Establishment Pill, making it impossible for it to circulate in the outside market.

To obtain the Foundation Establishment Pill, the only publicly known way, besides making a great contribution to the sect, is to venture into the Blood Forbidden Land.

"Based on the original timeline, the Crimson Forbidden Land opened approximately two and a half years after Han Li entered the valley..."

Zhou Ding quickly calculated in his mind, "Now that Han Li has entered the valley, I have about two more years left."

Two years is neither a long nor a short time.

"Two years... With Xiao Jin's increasingly powerful Earth Listening Technique, I can continue to search for resources in the relatively safe outer areas of the Taiyue Mountains to obtain enough pills to help me break through to the Qi Refining Perfection within two years. It is not impossible."

Zhou Ding's eyes gradually hardened: "More importantly, there's Little Gold! If we can spare no resources to upgrade it to a top-tier level one demon beast during this period, both the main body and the clone will reach 'perfection,' receiving another round of two-way feedback enhancement..."

He could almost foresee that at that time, his magical power, divine sense, and physical body would all reach a level far exceeding that of ordinary Qi Refining Perfection cultivators!

Even though the Crimson Forbidden Land is fraught with danger and filled with powerful figures, his chances of survival will greatly increase with his strength, and he may even be able to compete for more spiritual herbs!

"Strength, the foundation of everything, is still strength!"

Having figured this out, the last trace of hesitation in Zhou Ding's heart caused by the unfolding plot dissipated, replaced by a calm and resolute determination to cultivate.

He suppressed all distracting thoughts and turned to walk towards the quiet room.

No matter how the external world changes, improving one's own cultivation is the only way to deal with everything.

……

Time flies, and March has passed once again.

Inside the quiet room, Little Gold was happily munching on an earth-attribute spirit stone, rapidly absorbing the pure earth-elemental spiritual energy.

Zhou Ding sat cross-legged on the futon, slowly circulating the "Azure Wood Technique," his body surrounded by a faint azure halo, his breathing steady and long.

Suddenly, a slight fluctuation came from the simple early warning array set up outside the courtyard, indicating that someone had triggered the restriction.

Zhou Ding's brows twitched slightly. He finished his practice, opened his eyes, and got up to leave the meditation room.

Upon arriving at the courtyard gate, a quick scan with divine sense revealed a kind-looking young cultivator dressed in the robes of a Yellow Maple Valley disciple.

"Brother Zhou, it's me, Lin Hai." A familiar voice came from outside the door.

Zhou Ding opened the courtyard gate, a smile spreading across his face: "So it's Brother Lin, what a rare guest! May I ask what brings you here today?"

As he spoke, he invited the other person into the courtyard.

Lin Hai was born into another low-level cultivation family, the Lin family, whose strength was similar to that of the Zhou family.

The two entered Huangfeng Valley around the same time and both had average aptitude. They had frequent interactions and were among the few peers Zhou Ding could talk to in the valley.

Lin Hai entered the courtyard and, without any formalities, went straight to the point: "Brother Zhou, there's a medium-sized auction at Wanbaolou in the market tomorrow, and I heard there are quite a few good items up for grabs. I was thinking it would be rather boring to go alone, so I came to ask if you'd be free to go and check it out together? Maybe we can snag a bargain."

"An auction?" Zhou Ding's heart skipped a beat.

He did indeed have very few Condensation Pills left and needed to replenish them.

Moreover, through Xiao Jin's searching over the past few months, he has accumulated some spiritual materials and magical artifacts that are unusable or inconvenient to keep, which he needs to sell and monetize.

He gave a wry smile and spread his hands, saying, "Brother Lin invited me, and I shouldn't refuse. But, without a doubt, with my meager resources, even if I went to that auction, I'd probably just be able to watch and drool. It's really... However..."

He then changed the subject: "I happen to need to go to the market to buy some pills recently. I would be happy to travel with Brother Lin and have someone to look after me on the way."

Lin Hai laughed heartily upon hearing this, patting Zhou Ding on the shoulder: "Brother Zhou, you're too modest. It's good to go and see the excitement, broaden your horizons! Then it's settled, shall we meet outside the mountain gate tomorrow at Chenshi (7-9 AM)?"

"Alright, see you at the mountain gate at Chenshi (7-9 AM)."

……

The following day, Zhou Ding and Lin Hai successfully met outside the gate of Huangfeng Valley and together used the Wind Riding Technique to head towards the market.

In less than half a day, the two arrived at Huangfeng Valley Market.

Standing at the bustling entrance of the market, Zhou Ding cupped his hands to Lin Hai and said, "Brother Lin, I won't get involved in the auction. I'll go and purchase some pills myself. How about we meet here again after the auction and return to the mountain together?"

Lin Hai assumed that Zhou Ding was indeed short of money and did not want to waste his time at the auction, so he readily agreed: "Alright, then Brother Zhou, please make yourself at home. We'll meet here at the end of Shen Shi (3-5 PM)."

After the two parted ways, Zhou Ding did not go directly to his usual medicine shop, but instead turned and went into a relatively quiet alley on the edge of the market.

Finding a secluded corner, he quickly took out a large black cloak from his storage bag and put it on, covering most of his face with the hood, and then put on an inconspicuous old gray shirt over the outer robe.

After changing his clothes, he lowered his head, blended into the crowd, and walked towards Wanbaolou again.

Upon entering the main hall of Wanbaolou, he walked straight to an idle servant in a blue robe and said in a low voice, "I'm selling some spiritual materials and magical artifacts. I would appreciate it if you could see me, manager."

Seeing his mysterious attire, the attendant didn't ask any further questions and respectfully led him to a quiet room in the back hall.

Before long, an unfamiliar Foundation Establishment stage manager walked in.

Without further ado, Zhou Ding took out several items from his storage bag and placed them on the table in order: a century-old Purple Yuan Flower with intact roots and abundant spiritual energy; a two-hundred-year-old Snake Heart Fruit shaped like a snake's heart, dark red in color, and emitting a unique sweet and pungent medicinal fragrance; a palm-sized piece of strange ore with naturally occurring blood-red patterns on its surface (Blood Pattern Stone, an excellent auxiliary material for refining top-tier magic weapons); and a high-grade earth-yellow magic weapon (obtained from the storage bag in the Taiyue Mountains, but its attributes are incompatible).

These were all items he had painstakingly searched for over the past few months within a radius of dozens of miles around the Taiyue Mountains, relying on Xiao Jin's ability to hear the earth. Each item was quite valuable.

The steward had sharp eyes, carefully examining each item, with a hint of surprise flashing in his eyes from time to time.

Especially the two-hundred-year-old snake heart fruit and blood-patterned stone, which are extremely rare among Qi Refining stage cultivators.

After some haggling, the two parties reached a deal: the Purple Essence Flower was priced at 90 spirit stones, the Snake Heart Fruit, due to its age and good appearance, was priced at 180 spirit stones, the Blood Pattern Stone was priced at 130 spirit stones, and the high-grade earth-attribute magic weapon was priced at 110 spirit stones.

A total of 510 low-grade spirit stones!

After the transaction was completed, Zhou Ding did not leave. Instead, he said, "I heard that your establishment is holding an auction today. I would like to see it. Do you have any private rooms available?"

The manager glanced at him and nodded, saying, "There are still seats available in the private rooms, but there will be an additional charge of five spirit stones."

Zhou Ding readily paid the spirit stones.

Soon, a pretty maid came and respectfully led him to a small but elegantly decorated private room on the second floor.

The private room has a one-way transparent glass window in front, which can clearly overlook the bustling auction hall below, while also effectively blocking external divine sense probing and sight.

Zhou Ding sat alone on a soft chair in the private room, waiting quietly.

The auction hall gradually filled with cultivators from all over, creating a lively and enthusiastic atmosphere.

After waiting for more than an hour, a flash of light appeared on the high platform below, and an old man in the Foundation Establishment stage with white hair, a youthful face, ruddy complexion, and a profound aura quietly appeared.

The old man's gentle gaze swept across the entire room, his voice, imbued with spiritual energy, clearly reaching everyone's ears: "Welcome, fellow Daoists, to our auction. Among the guests are familiar old friends and new acquaintances. No matter, all are welcome. We will uphold the principles of fairness and impartiality, ensuring you all leave satisfied!"