darknovel Chapter 5 Nascent Soul Stage Auction 1
Chapter 5 Nascent Soul Stage Auction 1
Following the crowd, Wang Tianlong entered the "Treasure Pavilion," a venue specifically for Nascent Soul cultivator auctions. The interior space was far more expansive than what was visible from the outside, clearly utilizing a sophisticated spatial expansion formation. At the center was a massive circular auction platform, surrounded by several tiers of seating, including open-plan common seats as well as numerous private rooms reserved for high-ranking cultivators of high status or those who wished to conceal their presence.
With his cultivation level of "late-stage Nascent Soul," he was respectfully led to a private room in a prime location. The room was elegantly furnished and equipped with a barrier to prevent divine sense from probing. In front of him was a huge, one-way transparent glass wall, from which one could clearly see the entire auction stage below.
A pretty maid with a Foundation Establishment cultivation level entered gracefully, gently placing a plate of spiritually vibrant fruits and a pot of fragrant spiritual tea on the table. She asked softly, "Senior, is there anything else you need? The list of treasures for this auction is here; please take a look." With that, she presented a jade slip.
Wang Tianlong, having cultivated for a thousand years, was intimately familiar with the etiquette of such occasions. He waved his hand, his tone indifferent: "No need to serve me, you may leave now. I will call you if needed."
"Yes, senior." The maid bowed and quietly withdrew, gently closing the door behind her.
Wang Tianlong then turned his gaze downwards. The auction hall was already teeming with people, their auras complex and powerful, almost all of them Nascent Soul cultivators. A cursory glance revealed tens of thousands of people! This scale truly made it a rare grand gathering for Nascent Soul cultivators in the human realm.
Among them were not only cultivators from the Great Jin Dynasty, but also many unfamiliar faces from other continents, each with their own distinctive clothing and aura. There were cultivators from the Tiannan region with relatively simple and rustic attire, cultivators from the Five Dragons Sea carrying a faint scent of the sea and a murderous aura, visitors from the Chaotic Star Sea whose eyes revealed the shrewdness of someone who had weathered many storms, and even cultivators from the distant Tiansha Continent, their bodies surrounded by the spiritual energy of dry earth. Nowadays, the large-scale teleportation network throughout the human realm is much more advanced than in ancient times. Although crossing continents is costly, it is not unbearable for Nascent Soul cultivators who are willing to participate in such a grand event.
Tens of thousands of Nascent Soul cultivators gathered together. Although this was not as large as the millions or tens of millions of low-level cultivators, it was still a powerful force in the human realm capable of shaking the balance of power in a region. Of course, not all Nascent Soul cultivators would come. After all, it only happened once every hundred years, and for Nascent Soul cultivators with long lifespans, missing one time would not be a problem if they came again next time.
At this moment, despite the large number of cultivators present and the constant chatter, no one dared to make a ruckus or release their spiritual pressure. Everyone knew that this auction was jointly organized by the ten major sects of the Great Jin Dynasty and the royal family, with dozens of Nascent Soul stage experts standing behind it. To cause trouble here would be tantamount to courting death.
Before long, an elderly cultivator dressed in a blue Taoist robe, with a lean face and a flowing beard, walked steadily to the center of the auction stage. His cultivation had clearly reached the late stage of the Nascent Soul realm. His demeanor was composed, and his gaze swept across the entire venue, quickly silencing the previously noisy hall.
The elderly cultivator cleared his throat. His voice, though not loud, carried clearly to every corner, clearly indicating the use of a telepathic spell: "Fellow Daoists, you have come from afar to participate in this Nascent Soul special auction. I, Qingxiao Sanren, am honored to be the auctioneer. I hope you will abide by the rules: the highest bidder wins. Let us not harm the harmony, nor jeopardize our own lives."
His words were calm, yet carried an undeniable air of authority. Having said this, he said no more, lightly clapped his hands, and announced loudly, "Enough with the pleasantries, lest we delay your opportunities. Now, the auction officially begins! Please bring out the first item!"
As his words fell, a beautiful female cultivator gracefully emerged from behind the stage, carrying a jade tray. The contents of the tray were covered with red brocade, sparking endless imagination. The atmosphere in the entire auction hall was instantly ignited, with countless divine senses and gazes focusing on that small space.
Amidst the intense gazes and subtle unease of tens of thousands of cultivators below, Qingxiao Sanren on the auction stage, a smile of absolute control playing on his lips, ceased his suspense. He reached out and gently lifted the red silk covering the jade plate.
In an instant, a jade-green bottle, as if carved from jade, came into view. The bottle had an antique shape, with natural cloud patterns flowing across its surface, and a faint, refreshing fragrance of herbs and trees wafted from the seal on the bottle's mouth, invigorating all who smelled it.
Some impatient cultivators below the stage couldn't help but ask questions, but Qingxiao Sanren took a deep breath at that moment and, in a voice infused with magical power that could be heard clearly in every corner of the hall, excitedly proclaimed:
"Fellow Daoists! Please observe this treasure! This is the first item in this auction, and one of the most precious treasures to add luster to this grand event—the Azure Jade Pill!"
The words "Qingyu Dan" were like a thunderclap on a calm lake.
"What?!"
"It's actually the Jade Pill?!"
"A spiritual elixir that can help break through the bottleneck of the Nascent Soul stage?!"
After a brief silence, the entire auction hall erupted in a thunderous roar of disbelief and buzzing discussions. Countless burning gazes were instantly fixed on the small elixir bottle, heavy breathing filled the air, and many cultivators even involuntarily leaned forward, their eyes filled with longing, shock, and a fanatical determination to possess it.
The Nascent Soul stage! That's an insurmountable chasm that stands before countless late-stage Nascent Soul cultivators! Countless exceptionally talented individuals have spent their entire lives stuck at this hurdle, dying with regret. Any pill or treasure that could increase even the slightest chance of breaking through is enough for these Nascent Soul elders standing at the pinnacle of the human realm to fight tooth and nail for!
The "Azure Jade Pill" is one of the most renowned of these pills! Its medicinal properties are relatively mild, and while its success rate in aiding breakthroughs isn't 100%, it is a treasure proven over countless years. Such pills have always been strictly controlled by top sects and ancient families, rarely escaping their clutches. Every appearance of one inevitably stirs up a bloodbath.
At this moment, many people below the stage were already agitated and eager to make their move. If this place were not the main auction venue of the Great Jin Imperial City, and if there were no Nascent Soul cultivators in charge, some people would probably have already lost their composure.
Even Qingxiao Sanren, who was presiding over the auction, couldn't hide the burning passion and emotion in his eyes. If he weren't the presiding officer, bearing such a heavy responsibility, he would probably have been one of the bidding enthusiasts in the audience. He knew all too well that, no matter when or where, this kind of elixir that could help people glimpse higher realms would always be the hardest currency in the cultivation world, an invaluable temptation.
He steadied himself, his voice growing louder and more persuasive: "This pill is precious, needless to say! It was personally crafted by the head master of the Great Jin Imperial Alchemy Bureau, taking forty-nine years to refine. It uses three-thousand-year-old Azure Jade Spirit Marrow as the main ingredient, supplemented with nine rare spiritual herbs over a thousand years old! Only three pills are produced, and this bottle contains one of them! The purity of its medicinal power is unparalleled in the last thousand years!"
With each word he spoke, the flames in the eyes of the cultivators below intensified, pushing the atmosphere to a fever pitch. Qingxiao Sanren was very satisfied with the effect; the purpose of the first item up for auction had been perfectly achieved.
"The auction begins now!" Qingxiao Sanren finally revealed his true intentions, announcing loudly, "One Qingyu Pill, starting price—fifty high-grade spirit stones! Each bid must be at least five high-grade spirit stones higher!"
"Fifty high-grade spirit stones!" This price is equivalent to 500,000 low-grade spirit stones! A number that would bankrupt an ordinary Nascent Soul cultivator, but at this moment, it seems so "reasonable".
"Sixty!" As soon as he finished speaking, an elderly man in a brocade robe with a deep and powerful aura in the front row of the audience spoke up without hesitation, his voice filled with determination.
"Seventy!" From another direction, a monk shrouded in black robes coldly raised the price.
"Seventy-six!" A female cultivator with a clear voice followed closely behind.
Prices soared like rockets, and the competition quickly became fierce. Bidding cries rose and fell, interspersed with heavy breathing and low curses, making the atmosphere in the auction hall both intense and tense.
However, in the private room on the second floor with a superb view, Wang Tianlong only glanced at the fierce competition below before looking away, his expression calm and unwavering. He even leisurely picked up a spiritual fruit and took a small bite.
Jade Elixir? Helps in breaking through to the Nascent Soul stage?
For a cultivator like him, who was already at the peak of the mid-stage of the Nascent Soul realm and was just one step away from attempting ascension, this pill held almost no appeal. What he needed was something even rarer that could help him break through the bottleneck of the late-stage Nascent Soul realm or greatly increase his chances of success in ascension.