The Long Journey to Immortality

Seeing Xiao Ran's disheveled appearance and hearing the laughter of the surrounding cultivators, Han Lu's displeasure subsided considerably. She then cast a spell again to help Xiao Ran up from the ground.

Although Xiao Ran was drunk, his status as a pseudo-core cultivator was still intact.

Thanks to Xiao Ran's cultivation level, the two were granted special privileges to enter the second floor and participate in the day's auction in a high-class manner.

Chapter 291 Auction

Guided by a Jiulong Mountain disciple whose cultivation level was only at the third level of Qi Refining, Han Lu and Xiao Ran, who was still drunk and floating in mid-air, arrived at the "217" private room and took their seats.

The private room wasn't large, but it had four soft chairs, enough to comfortably accommodate Han Lu and Xiao Ran.

There was paper and pen in the private room, but I don't know what their purpose was.

After generously taking out a spirit stone from her storage bag and giving it as a tip to the disciple of Jiulong Mountain, Han Lu inquired about some specific details of the auction.

"In response to the fairy."

"This VIP box is equipped with a protective barrier, which can prevent the cultivators in the hall from peeking upwards while ensuring that the fairy and this senior can watch and participate in the auction."

"At the same time, the restriction also has the function of blocking divine sense detection."

"As for participating in the auction," the disciple pointed to the first-floor hall, "the auction will begin in a quarter of an hour, and several senior sisters will take turns hosting it."

"If the fairy wishes to participate, she can use the paper and pen on this table to write down her bid, then make it into a paper sword and send it to the senior sister who is presiding over the auction."

"The rule is, of course, that the highest bidder wins."

Han Lu picked up a piece of paper and noticed that the number of her current private room, "217," was written in the lower right corner of the paper.

"If the auction goes smoothly and the fairy gets the item she wants, one or more of my senior brothers will deliver the item to the private room shortly afterward."

"At that time, as long as the fairy prepares the spirit stones, the transaction can be completed."

Although Xiao Ran had lay down, Han Lu was still thinking about him, so she asked, "What about consignment auction?"

“That’s easy,” Jiulong Mountain had been preparing for this auction for a long time, so naturally everything was planned out. “The fairy can ring the little bell behind the door. Whether it’s consigning something or asking for food and snacks, my fellow disciples will be there to serve the fairy.”

"However, consignment is only available in the morning and afternoon. The items for the evening auction have already been decided, and they are all top-quality pieces." This disciple from Jiulong Mountain habitually advertised the auction house's evening session.

"If you wish to consign items for auction, please do so as soon as possible."

Hearing this, Han Lu nodded.

Then Han Lu nudged Xiao Ran, who was already sitting on the soft chair with his head on the table and fast asleep, with her elbow. Seeing that he did not react, she temporarily gave up the idea of ​​helping Xiao Ran consign the magic items.

Thank you.

The disciples of Jiulong Mountain took out tea leaves and teacups from the small cabinet on the table, brewed two cups of hot tea for Han Lu, and then respectfully bowed before closing the door of the private room for her from the outside.

This thoughtful service made Han Lu even more excited about the auction.

“I hope,” Han Lu touched her nose, trying to expel the smell of alcohol emanating from Xiao Ran, “that I won’t have to sit here all day and only see the good stuff I want tonight.”

Han Lu casually released a burst of spiritual energy to cool the scalding tea slightly before taking a sip and looking towards the first-floor hall and the stage where the auction was about to take place, displaying the exhibits.

When Han Lu took her seat, only one-third of the nearly one thousand seats in the lobby on the first floor were occupied.

Based on the numbering of the private rooms on the second floor, Han Lu judged that there could be at most seventeen groups of late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivators seated on the second floor.

Han Lu had no way of knowing the situation on the third floor, nor did she have any basis to speculate.

However, it's likely that a Golden Core cultivator wouldn't bother coming here to bid on treasures during the morning or afternoon hours.

Judging from the number of attendees, this morning prelude to the auction did not attract many cultivators.

Perhaps only after the main dinner and entertainment begins in the evening will there be people standing in the hall, and all the private rooms, even the three-tiered private rooms, be filled with high-level cultivators.

A quarter of an hour later, more than thirty cultivators arrived and took their seats in the hall, and the auction began on time as scheduled.

Since the items auctioned in the morning and afternoon were all consigned by various cultivators, the quality and value of the items varied.

There were even quite a few unusual and interesting items featured in this auction.

To kick things off and create a lively atmosphere for the auction, Jiulong Mountain selected a top-grade magic item from among dozens of items that had been consigned for sale before the auction began.

This top-grade magical artifact is a bronze mirror, a relatively rare type of magical treasure.

A female disciple from Jiulong Mountain, who was at the fourth level of Qi Refining and had a pretty face, stood on the stage and spoke eloquently, introducing the magic treasure behind her. After she announced the starting price of no more than fifty spirit stones, many cultivators who had no interest in this top-grade magic treasure in the first-floor hall couldn't help but come to join in the fun.

In just a short while, the price was bid up to three hundred spirit stones.

At this price, which is very close to the value of this magical artifact, the number of bidders suddenly decreased significantly.

Meanwhile, paper swords flew out from the second-floor private boxes and landed on the stage, participating in the auction.

Although only cultivators in the late Foundation Establishment stage are qualified to sit in the second-floor private rooms, there are quite a few cultivators like Han Lu who "borrow power from others."

There were quite a few cultivators in the private room who were still in the Qi Refining stage, so it was normal for them to have some ideas about this nice magic item.

The price of four hundred spirit stones lingered for a full ten seconds before the female cultivator hosting the auction finally brought down the gavel.

Soon, the bronze mirror was escorted by two Foundation Establishment cultivators from Jiulong Mountain to VIP room 202 on the second floor, becoming the first item sold at this auction.

This price is quite reasonable and should satisfy both the buyer and seller.

According to the rules, Jiulong Mountain can extract a "brokerage fee" of four spirit stones, thus making a small profit from this transaction.

From the introduction of the auction items to the end of the auction, it only took a few minutes.

The auction proceeded smoothly at a fast pace.

The second item was a thousand-year-old spiritual plant. Because it was not one of the spiritual plants mentioned in many well-known rare pill formulas, several cultivators competed for it.

The final price was seventy spirit stones, barely enough to give the seller a satisfactory explanation.

When the third item was brought out, it drew laughter from the hall.

It was an ordinary set of women's clothing.

Not only did the female cultivator from Jiulong Mountain, who was presiding over the auction, explain the origin of this women's clothing, which would probably only sell for three taels of silver in the mortal world, but many single cultivators hesitated about whether to bid.

It turns out that this women's clothing is said to have come from a well-known female cultivator in the Great Yu Dynasty, and it was the clothes she wore.

This female cultivator's Daoist name is Fairy Clouds, a mid-stage Golden Core cultivator, and she is famous for her beauty throughout the Great Yu Dynasty.

This background gives the women's clothing set more value for purchase.

The "obscene" auction item displeased many female cultivators in the audience, but it did not stop the male cultivators from vying for it during the auction.

Unfortunately, the cultivators who consigned the items for auction had no way of verifying the truth of this statement, and most of them were also concerned about their reputation and did not bid recklessly.

However, this set of clothes was still bought by a Foundation Establishment cultivator who had a similar appearance and temperament to Xiao Ran for a full fifteen spirit stones.

Sitting in the private room, Han Lu did not feel insulted like the dozen or so female cultivators in the hall.

On the contrary, she made fun of herself with great interest.

"If my storage bag were to be lost as carelessly as Xiao Ran's, I could try to make a comeback by selling clothes."

"Even if I can't sell it for fifteen spirit stones, I should be able to sell it for one or two spirit stones."

This was just a joke, and the thought flashed through Han Lu's mind before it ended. She continued to pay attention to the auction, hoping that a few items she needed would appear at this large-scale auction.

[Author's Note] November is here, time flies! Do you have any free monthly tickets or razor blades? Please give them to me.

Chapter 292 The Auction

Persistence pays off. After sitting in the private room for a full hour, Han Lu finally got the item she wanted brought to the stage for auction.

Five porcelain bottles, each containing twenty True Essence Gathering Pills, were brought onto the stage.

"This time, a total of one hundred True Spirit Gathering Pills were refined by a master alchemist and are being consigned here for sale."

"As you all know, True Essence Gathering Pills are hard to come by. Often, only a handful of pills from a batch can advance to the True Essence grade."

"Naturally, these hundred True Essence Gathering Pills were accumulated by this alchemy master after refining nearly twenty batches of Gathering Pills."

"At this auction, these one hundred True Essence Gathering Pills will be auctioned in sets of twenty."

"The starting bid for the first set of True Essence Gathering Pills is one hundred spirit stones. Seniors, please bid on the first set."

Generally speaking, the price of a True Essence Gathering Pill is around seven to eight spirit stones. However, recently, near Nine Dragon Mountain, due to the rampant buying by Nine Dragon Mountain, the price of True Essence Gathering Pill is trending towards nine spirit stones.

However, since most cultivators cannot consume these pills that accelerate cultivation speed as casually as Han Lu, the set of twenty True Essence Gathering Pills was not as popular at the auction as the cultivators from Nine Dragons Mountain who arranged the auction order had imagined.

Initially, when the price was low, many monks in the hall were willing to bid, hoping to get a good deal.

But when the price reached around 150 spirit stones, everyone backed down, unwilling to be ripped off at such a high price.

Only Han Lu and two other cultivators sitting in the second-floor private room were still bidding on the paper swords.

Just as Han Lu was thinking of writing down the price again and sending out the paper sword, a paper sword suddenly flew into the private room where Han Lu was through the window.

"Hey?"

Han Lu was slightly puzzled. She unfolded the paper sword and looked at the numbers in the lower right corner of the paper and the text above it.

"Fellow Daoist, let's not fight over a moment's anger. There are five sets of pills in total. How about we divide them among the three families?"

Although she had a lot of spirit stones in her pocket, Han Lu wanted to buy more pills with less money.

Thus, paper swords flew between the three private rooms, while the price of pills slowly increased by one spirit stone at a time.

Rather than a bidding process, it was more like a way to keep the auction going so that the three families could discuss and reach a conclusion.

In the end, Han Lu acquired the first set of pills for 172 spirit stones.

As agreed, Han Lu did not bid in the later rounds of True Essence Gathering Pills, allowing the remaining two bidders to divide the spoils at a relatively reasonable price.

All are happy.

The only one who was unhappy was probably the alchemist who consigned the pills.

However, he had nowhere to vent his resentment, and the excellent secrecy measures made it impossible for him to know which three companies had tacitly agreed to lower the price and buy his pills.

Soon, the pills belonging to Han Lu were delivered to the private room by a cultivator from Jiulong Mountain who was only at the fifth level of Qi Refining.

After counting the quantity, Han Lu smelled the pills to confirm that they were all effective and newly made within the last year. Only then did she happily hand over a full 173 spirit stones, along with a tip.

The disciple from Jiulong Mountain was overjoyed to receive the tip and thanked him repeatedly.

It's unclear whether Xiao Ran smelled the fragrance of the elixir or recovered his energy after sleeping for another hour.

When Han Lu returned to her soft chair, Xiao Ran had already sat up. Apart from the weariness in his eyes, he seemed no different from usual.