Cultivation begins with ice harvesters

Chapter 117: Underground Auction

"This is the only entrance to the auction. Fellow Daoist, please follow the path as you enter. Also, this is a mask to conceal your aura and hide your face. Please wear it."

After handing over a mask that resembled a pig's head, the welcoming monk briefly explained the way and urged him to proceed.

"Thank you for your guidance, fellow Daoist."

Without hesitation, Tong Bingfeng put on the somewhat ugly mask, which would at least ensure the secrecy of his cultivator identity to a certain extent.

"This auction is even more secretive than the black market on Ice Spirit Island, but only in this way can people feel at ease and trust it."

Tong Bingfeng walked along the underground passage. Although he could not make a clear sense of the direction, the passage was winding downwards.

It took Tong Bingfeng a full quarter of an hour to enter the actual venue. The venue was not large, with each seat spaced about ten feet apart, and there were only about a hundred seats in total.

The entire venue was very crudely constructed, basically made up of earth magic on the spot. Once the trade fair is over, it will be abandoned immediately.

Tong Bingfeng looked around and saw that there were already more than thirty late-stage Qi Refining cultivators wearing masks of different colors and shapes sitting in different locations.

Every cultivator waited quietly for the trade fair to open, some with their eyes closed to rest, others calculating and taking inventory. There was no sound of communication, except for the occasional footsteps of new cultivators. The entire venue was completely silent.

Thanks to the masks, the cultivators present were not familiar with each other. Even if some evil cultivators were hiding among them, it would be quite difficult to track them down and seize the treasure later.

"clang"

Half an hour passed in the blink of an eye. With a clear chime, the underground auction officially opened. At this time, the more than one hundred seats in the auction hall were basically full, including many Qi Refining Level 9 cultivators.

Cultivators are already scarce in the depths of the Ice Domain, and this time, the participation of late-stage Qi Refining cultivators is even more required, which shows the influence of this auction. At the same time, the actual situation in the depths of the Ice Domain is even more profound than it usually appears.

Of course, some of them may have come from Ice Spirit Island or other spirit islands upon hearing the news, but there is no doubt that the majority of them are local cultivators from the depths of the Ice Domain.

"Welcome, fellow Daoists, to this auction. I, the Black Goat, am in charge of hosting this auction. Please remember that only spiritual items can be traded. Please bid within your means and do not disrupt the order of the auction."

A late-stage Qi Refining cultivator, dressed in a black robe and wearing a black goat hat, stood in the center of the auction stage, briefly explaining the few rules of this underground auction.

However, the eyes of all the cultivators present were fixed on the twelve wooden chairs on both sides of the auction stage. Each cultivator sitting on one of them was at the ninth level of Qi Refining and wore a mask with the twelve zodiac animals on it. Their intimidating power was self-evident.

"Fellow Daoists, don't be intimidated by these old fellows. They are only here to oversee things and will not interfere with the progress of the auction."

"If you wish to purchase suitable, high-quality spiritual items, you'll still need to look at this old man's dark, goat-like face. These old fellows are utterly useless. Now, the auction officially begins. Please welcome the first treasure."

The black goat on the auction stage jokingly diverted the attention of all the cultivators again. As soon as he finished speaking, a first-grade high-quality flying sword, still stained with blood, appeared on the table.

"A first-grade superior lapis lazuli sword, a metal-attribute flying sword, also possessing the characteristics of a flying magic weapon, capable of carrying cultivators for short distances. Starting bid: 300 spirit stones, with each bid increment no less than 50 spirit stones."

With just a few words, the black goat gave a basic introduction to the performance of the flying sword before him and announced the official start of the auction.

However, none of the hundred or so cultivators present made a bid, and the auction remained quiet. It wasn't that the lapis lazuli sword didn't meet the requirements; on the contrary, its quality was too high and its price too low.

A flying sword of this quality is clearly not something an ordinary rogue cultivator could possess. The bloodstains still stained on it undoubtedly indicate the origin of this flying sword.

Every late-stage Qi Refining cultivator present had fought their way through countless battles, yet they were unwilling to take the blame for something so obviously dangerous without sufficient benefit.

Three hundred spirit stones

The silence lasted for the time it takes to drink a cup of tea. Although the black goat was wearing a mask, his true expression must have been extremely unpleasant.

"Three hundred and fifty spirit stones"

"Four hundred spirit stones"

As soon as the first bid was made, some monks in the auction hall, hoping to snag a bargain, began to place their bids.

Tong Bingfeng clearly had no interest in taking the blame; he simply sat quietly in his seat and watched coldly, never making a single bid.

This first-grade superior cyan-gold sword, which was priced at over a thousand spirit stones in the market, eventually fell into the hands of a late-stage Qi Refining cultivator wearing a snake-head mask for five hundred spirit stones.

"As all fellow cultivators know, an alchemist is a veritable spirit stone harvester. He can simply sit at home and continuously obtain a steady stream of pure spirit stones."

"The second treasure is a low-grade first-level alchemy furnace and a set of first-level alchemist inheritance. It can be confirmed that at least three qualified mid-to-high-grade first-level alchemists have been cultivated under this inheritance. The starting price is 500 spirit stones, and each bid must be at least 50 spirit stones higher."

As the black goat introduced the item, an alchemy furnace missing a leg and three jade slips appeared on the auction stage.

The alchemy furnace was largely intact, with neat and orderly spirit-gathering array patterns attached to its surface. The only flaw was similar to that of the Azure Gold Sword: a patch of red blood stained the upper third of the furnace opening.

Five hundred spirit stones is a negligible price compared to the alchemy furnace and the alchemist's inheritance. However, Tong Bingfeng frowned after seeing the second item up for auction.

"This underground auction isn't selling any treasures that are beneficial to cultivation. Instead, it's a dumping ground for all the magical artifacts and spiritual items that might attract danger and attention, prepared by the evil cultivators behind it."

However, at a sufficiently low price, there are always some fearless cultivators willing to take it on. In the end, this first-grade low-level pill furnace and the alchemist's inheritance were sold for eight hundred spirit stones.

As expected, the subsequent auction proceeded exactly as Tong Bingfeng had predicted, with one after another first-tier high-grade magic artifacts for different purposes appearing on the auction stage.

Every single one of the magical artifacts was stained with blood. Although the final transaction price was not high, it was still a successful sale, and some spirit stones were recovered.

On the auction floor, the aura emanating from most of the cultivators grew increasingly severe and discontented. Instead of the lively competition of a normal auction, the entire auction floor became increasingly tense and volatile, as if a single spark could ignite it completely.