The Long Journey to Immortality

"What, you're awake?" Han Lu asked casually.

Xiao Ran asked, "Hmm, Fairy Han, how did I get here?"

"Have you forgotten everything that just happened?"

Xiao Ran nodded blankly, "I've forgotten everything."

“You were drunk, so I carried you here,” Han Lu briefly helped Xiao Ran recall what had just happened. “All the way here, you kept saying that the glass was too big, the glass was too big…”

Upon hearing this, Xiao Ran quickly repeated, "Really, Fairy Han, I'm not lying to you. I only drank three cups. I got drunk because the cups were too big."

"Alright, alright, alright," Han Lu gestured for you to stop. "Judging from your appearance, you don't seem to be awake yet. Have some tea and meditate for a while."

Han Lu pushed Xiao Ran's cup of tea forward a little and joked, "What happened today makes me suspect that you lost your storage bag because you were drunk."

After hearing Han Lu's words, Xiao Ran's face turned ugly, and he subconsciously touched his storage bag.

He breathed a sigh of relief after touching the storage bag Han Lu had given him, and said helplessly, "Fairy Han is indeed skilled in divination. Indeed, my storage bag was stolen because I got drunk from drinking spirit wine."

Seeing the expression on Xiao Ran's face, Han Lu felt there was no need to remind him of his painful memories, so she changed the subject, saying, "The auction has already started. Didn't you want to consign two magical treasures?"

"Yes, yes, that's true." Xiao Ran patted his storage bag and took out two magical artifacts of different quality, one of mid-grade four and the other of high-grade three.

Han Lu then rang the bell behind the door, summoning the Nine Dragons Mountain disciples who served the high-level cultivators on the second floor once again.

Xiao Ran consigned his magical artifacts and set a rough starting price for each artifact.

After the disciples of Jiulong Mountain wrote down Xiao Ran's requirements one by one, they left with the two magical treasures.

Xiao Ran's two magical treasures weren't particularly rare, and he had previously auctioned off quite a few good items that could sell for two or three hundred spirit stones.

Therefore, it wasn't until the afternoon that Xiao Ran's two magical treasures were brought to the stage for auction.

The two treasures sold for 250 and 330 spirit stones respectively, which gave Xiao Ran a small profit and more confidence and resources to compete for the feng shui talismans and array flags he wanted to use when he formed his core.

The number of monks present at the afternoon auction was 30% higher than in the morning, and the auctioned items were also much more upscale.

Occasionally, mid-grade or even high-grade magic artifacts would appear, selling for four-figure spirit stones, which would slightly energize the cultivators in the room who were feeling bored and listless because they had not been able to get the items they wanted.

As night fell and the sun dipped below the horizon, the afternoon auction came to an end after the last top-grade magic item was purchased by a cultivator in the hall for a high price of eight hundred spirit stones.

The beautiful nun presiding over the auction announced a 15-minute break.

Immediately afterwards, within that fifteen-minute period, lights also came on in several large private rooms on the third floor. The Golden Core cultivators or the mountain lords of Nine Dragons Mountain who had been invited to the auction house also arrived to participate in the main course, which would begin in the evening.

Han Lu gained nothing but twenty True Essence Gathering Pills, and so did Xiao Ran.

The two of them had no intention of leaving and remained in the private room they had reserved since morning, patiently waiting for the higher-level auction items to be presented that evening.

Even if you don't find anything you like or don't buy anything you want, it's still good to watch the fun.

Chapter 293 Fire Phoenix Essence Blood

When the auction resumed after a 15-minute pause, the person on stage was neither a precious item nor a female auctioneer with higher cultivation or more striking appearance.

Instead, it was Master Xuyu, the head of the nine mountain masters of Jiulong Mountain, who took the stage to deliver a speech.

What they said was naturally just polite and formal talk.

After welcoming everyone to Jiulong Mountain in his capacity as the master of Jiulong Mountain, Master Xuyu reminded everyone of a few things to keep in mind during the auction.

On behalf of Jiulong Mountain, Master Xuyu guarantees that everyone, regardless of their cultivation level, will be on an equal footing at the auction, and that only spirit stones will determine the ownership of the auctioned items.

Even Golden Core cultivators in the three-tiered private rooms are not allowed to engage in forced buying and selling or to forcibly seize other cultivators' items at the auction.

This expressed the hope that all guests would refrain from creating any enmity during the auction, out of consideration for Kowloon Mountain.

"Anyone who uses their power to bully others because of grudges at the auction is going against Jiulong Mountain."

The words of the Daoist Xuyu drew applause from the lower-level cultivators in the hall.

Although the evening auction was likely irrelevant to the lower-level cultivators sitting in the hall, this assurance gave them the courage to bid and try to compete for their desired items without fear of potential retaliation.

After the applause subsided, Master Xuyu announced the schedule for the ceremony two days later and extended another invitation to all the guests.

This invitation, however, is specifically for independent cultivators.

Master Xuyu extended an invitation to all the rogue cultivators who came to Jiulong Mountain, clearly stating the prices and benefits that rogue cultivators of different levels would enjoy after joining Jiulong Mountain.

The compensation is quite good and very attractive.

In the hall, many independent cultivators were tempted.

Many independent cultivators who sensed the impending upheaval in Dongzhou Prefecture began to consider the possibility of joining Jiulong Mountain.

Such blatant recruitment made some forces in the second and third-floor private rooms, who had a relatively cold relationship with Jiulong Mountain, feel uneasy.

Just as everyone except Han Lu, Xiao Ran, and many other cultivators who were not active within the Dongzhou Prefecture were lost in their own thoughts, Daoist Xuyu suddenly brought the topic back to the auction and took out the first item for the evening from his storage bag.

The first item wasn't particularly valuable; it was just a small, second-grade magical artifact. However, since it was one of the magical treasures that Daoist Xuyu had used during his Qi Refining and Foundation Establishment stages, it was quite appropriate for Daoist Xuyu to bring it out as the opening item for this auction.

As he placed the small bottle of magic treasure on the display stand, the Taoist priest recalled the story of how he fought alongside this magic treasure.

An outstanding item coupled with a compelling story will naturally attract buyers.

A non-spirit sword of the second rank is considered good if it can sell for four or five hundred spirit stones.

But perhaps to give Master Xuyu some face, the small bottle was eventually priced at a high of 630 spirit stones and was acquired by a Foundation Establishment cultivator sitting in a private room on the second floor.

This was a good start to the evening's auction.

After offering two congratulatory messages through the array's restrictions to the cultivator who received the small bottle, the Daoist Xuyu left the scene.

Immediately afterwards, a female cultivator who had reached the tenth level of Qi Refining took the stage to preside over the auction that evening.

To Han Lu and Xiao Ran, two outsiders, the show seemed a bit dull and boring, but when the second item was brought out that evening, it really perked Xiao Ran up.

"The second item up for auction tonight is a set of Five Elements Array Flags, which are of magical artifact quality."

Five flags of five different colors were brought to the stage and arranged in a ring on the display stand in a way that indicated mutual generation and restraint.

"There are five battle flags in total, each corresponding to one of the five elements."

"According to the description in the book written by the predecessors who consigned the items for auction, this set of Five Elements Flags has five variations."

"Three of them are related to combat."

"The other two formation changes are related to concealing one's aura and resisting lightning tribulation."

"Therefore, this set of array flags is very suitable for seniors in the late Foundation Establishment stage or the Pseudo Core stage."

"The fellow Daoist or senior who wins the bid for this set of array flags will not only receive the set of array flags, but also the instruction book written by the senior who crafted the array flags, from which they can learn how to use the set of array flags."

"The starting bid for the battle flag is 300 spirit stones, and the minimum bid increment is five spirit stones."

Upon hearing the function of the array flags, Xiao Ran's eyes were filled with a desire to obtain this set of Five Elements Array Flags.

After the auctioneer announced the price, Xiao Ran grabbed the pen without hesitation, pulled over a piece of paper, and pondered when to start the bidding for the paper swords and what number to write on them to secure the set of array flags.

Seeing Xiao Ran's expression, Han Lu reminded him, "Fellow Daoist Xiao, compared to the array flags, the feng shui talisman is more important to you."

After hearing Han Lu's words, Xiao Ran immediately realized the truth.

Compared to other late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivators, he wasn't particularly wealthy with spirit stones in his pocket. He set a limit for himself to avoid impulsively emptying his coffers only to acquire a set of array flags that weren't essential for Core Formation.

This set of array flags is indeed a good thing. It is versatile and reasonably priced. Many cultivators in the hall also participated in the bidding for this set of array flags.

When the price of the array flags climbed to seven hundred spirit stones, comparable to the price of a mid-grade fifth-rank magic weapon, the cultivators in the hall gradually quieted down, and it was the turn of the high-level cultivators on the second and third floors to put on their show.

During this time, Xiao Ran sent out two paper swords.

One letter was marked "800," but before the price could even be announced, it was surpassed by the number on the previous letter.

The second letter said "950".

Although the price held at its highest level for about five seconds, it was eventually surpassed by a bid from another Foundation Establishment cultivator.

Having exceeded his psychological price point, Xiao Ran immediately lost the desire to compete with others. He comforted himself, saying, "I can just find another set of low-level array flags to make do. There's no need to waste money on this. The key is to find more feng shui items to help me improve my Core Formation level."

Han Lu also offered a few words of comfort.

In the end, the array flag sold for a price of 1030 spirit stones, which was almost the price of a top-grade magic weapon.

The Five Elements Array Flags were delivered to the buyer's private room immediately.

Just like in the morning and afternoon, without a moment's pause, the second item was brought to the stage.

This time, what was placed on the display stand was a low-grade sixth-rank magic artifact, a treasure bottle.

"Another bottle? And a low-grade magic tool at that?" Han Lu was very puzzled.

But when the female cultivator in charge of the auction explained what the item was, she subconsciously opened her storage bag to check how many spirit stones she had left.

"Fellow Daoists and seniors, the next item up for auction is not just this small bottle of magic tools that can be purchased for only twenty spirit stones."

"The third item is five drops of the essence blood of a Fire Phoenix True Spirit, which is comparable to the Nascent Soul Realm, contained in this small bottle."

[Author's Note] I should be taking an exam when I read this chapter. Wish me luck.

Chapter 294 Essence Blood Acquired

The term "Nascent Soul stage" caused a stir among the cultivators in the hall.

Nothing could better describe the preciousness of this small, unseen item than this word.

However, this alone is not enough to make people willingly open their wallets to buy these five drops of Phoenix essence blood.

Compared to magical artifacts, these items, whose categories are difficult to define, require the auctioneer to spend more time explaining them.

Before the discussions in the hall had subsided, the female cultivator in charge of the auction began to introduce the Fire Phoenix Essence Blood, following the descriptions given by the cultivators who had consigned the items for auction.

"Five drops of Nascent Soul level True Spirit Fire Phoenix essence blood may not seem like much, but they are very useful."

"The essence of the Fire Phoenix is ​​the most precious fire treasure in the world. It can be used as a feng shui object during the formation of the core, as it optimizes feng shui and gathers spiritual energy."

"Of course, if any fellow Daoists or seniors have a pill formula that requires a rare fire-attribute treasure, they can also add this Fire Phoenix Essence Blood to it to refine pills that will help cultivate fire-attribute techniques."

"When refining a magical artifact, these five drops of essence blood can also be used as auxiliary items to enhance its magical power."

"Or perhaps, a senior Golden Core cultivator possesses a secret technique that might allow him to comprehend some kind of Fire Phoenix True Spirit Divine Power from these five drops of essence blood, thereby enhancing his combat strength."

"In short, these five drops of Phoenix essence blood have many benefits and a wide range of uses. It is worthwhile for all the fellow Daoists and seniors present to spend spirit stones to acquire these five drops of essence blood."

The essence of the Fire Phoenix is ​​a hundred times, or even a thousand times, more important to Han Lu than the array flags that Xiao Ran just encountered.