txolops Chapter 18 Zhijing's Thoughts
Chapter 18 Zhijing's Thoughts
Li Zhijing grinned, his heart filled with joy. After all, from childhood to adulthood, he was always the one lending out spirit stones in the family, never asking anyone for one. This indirectly led to the fact that although he was about the same age as Lin Changqing, just turned twenty, his cultivation was only at the fifth level of Qi Refining. The reason was that he was too gentle when he was young, always thinking of his family brothers, but he never met the right person.
Fortunately, after he was sent to the market to train at the age of fifteen, he rarely lent out spirit stones anymore. He understood that the more a member of a family he was, the less he should lend out spirit stones, and he should not let others know that he had so many spirit stones, so as not to become the target of everyone's envy and the object of everyone's scramble to borrow spirit stones.
"Now is a good opportunity to strengthen our relationship. Brother Lin is more talented than him, not only excelling in alchemy and weapon crafting, but also in cultivation speed. It seems that Brother Lin's cultivation will not stop at the Qi Refining stage, and he may very well become a Foundation Establishment cultivator."
"Brother Lin's plan to lend him spirit stones is fantastic! He can become Brother Lin's debtor and slowly repay the spirit stones. Even if Brother Lin breaks through to the Qi Refining stage and becomes a Foundation Establishment cultivator, he can use the debt as an excuse to continue earning spirit stones with Brother Lin. In his spare time, he can also read about the wonders and secrets of the world—perfect!!!"
"I never thought that the mistakes I made when I was a child would come back to haunt Brother Lin today. However, I was just enjoying this leisurely time and did not falsify any accounts. I have done right by Brother Lin."
Lin Changqing was unaware of what Li Zhijing, who was sitting next to him, was thinking, and he didn't care. He just needed to know that Li Zhijing was genuinely doing things for him and saving him time.
......
call out!
A figure rose from the center of the auction hall, drawing everyone's attention, and the auction officially began.
"Welcome, fellow Daoists, to this regular auction. As always, I am the host." An old man dressed in a yellow silk robe bowed to the four directions as usual.
"The rules for this auction are the usual, necessary procedures, including prohibitions against threatening others or raising prices..."
"I now declare the auction officially open."
The first item in this auction is an Ice Talisman.
"These ten ice talismans are beginner to intermediate level ice magic. They can be used to control demonic beasts, hindering and restricting their movements. Activating multiple talismans together can even kill demonic beasts. The starting bid is 10 spirit stones, with a minimum increment of one spirit stone."
As soon as he finished speaking, the stone pillar next to the old man rose automatically from the ground, making it even clearer for everyone to see.
"Frost Talisman, this is a rare ice-type magic talisman. It can be even more effective when combined with water-type magic."
"As expected, the items at the auction are indeed valuable."
"Buzz buzz buzz! I'll offer twenty spirit stones!"
"Twenty-five spirit stones!"
"thirty"
The moment the first item was sold, the crowd's enthusiasm was instantly ignited, and the bids rose like waves, each one louder than the last.
Ultimately, the first item, ten Frost Talismans, sold for a high price of seventy-eight spirit stones and was acquired by Lin Changqing. He realized that apart from magic weapons and physical strength, he had very few magical skills and was not yet proficient in them, so he could only use talismans drawn by others to make up for it.
"The second item..."
"The third item..."
Seeing that everyone's emotions were ignited, the old man in the yellow robe introduced new items one after another. It wasn't until the eighth item, "The Secret History of the Southern Tian", appeared that Li Zhijing's emotions were stirred and she began to join the bidding.
"Eighteen Spirit Stones"
"Twenty spirit stones"
"Twenty-three yuan!!"
Li Zhijing announced his final price. If anyone else made a bid, he really didn't have any more spirit stones to compete with. He usually spent his spirit stones on pills and miscellaneous books and secrets, so he basically didn't have any spirit stones left on him. He was a truly poor cultivator.
Fortunately, after Li Zhijing quoted the price, no one else raised it.
Many people are not interested in these miscellaneous books that have no practical use. Only a few people compete for them, but they will not put in too much effort or spirit stones. They will let things take their course and will give up if the price is too high.
What Lin Changqing didn't expect was that Li Zhijing would be so willing to spend spirit stones to buy these miscellaneous books. He originally thought that Li Zhijing was just reading these secrets to pass the time, but he didn't expect that she would be so obsessed.
It seems that Li Zhijing's cultivation was largely delayed by these secrets; otherwise, he would have at least reached the sixth or seventh level of Qi Refining from a young age.
Seeing that no one was bidding against him, Li Zhijing laughed heartily, enjoying the feeling and no longer feeling awkward at the beginning.
"The following is the ninth item, the 'Ancient Relics Exploration Handscroll.' This handscroll recounts some of the explorations conducted by ancient cultivators, but its authenticity is unknown. The starting bid is ten spirit stones, with a minimum increment of one spirit stone."
"Eleven yuan!"
"I'll bet twelve."
"fifteen!"
There were quite a few bidders, after all, many people still wanted to explore the ancient ruins, hoping to find some remaining secrets.
Li Zhijing was also very tempted and wanted to make a bid, but then he realized that he had already emptied his spirit stones. Lin Changqing had brought him to this auction, otherwise he would not have been able to enter such a high-end spirit stone venue.
"Brother Lin, I'd like to borrow some spirit stones to buy the scroll, is that alright?" Li Zhijing first asked Lin Changqing for his opinion, and after receiving Lin Changqing's response, she decided whether to make an offer.
"Buy it, if you want it, just buy it," Lin Changqing replied normally.
"I'll bid twenty!" Li Zhijing responded to Lin Changqing's offer and immediately gave an estimated price.
Li Zhijing's deduction was correct. There were quite a few bidders, but most of them were just trying their luck. After all, it takes time to investigate the truth and falsehood of these things, and it's not impossible to fall into someone else's trap if you're not careful. So no one competed with Li Zhijing afterward, and the scroll ended up in Li Zhijing's possession.
......
The auction lasted a long time before it ended. During the auction, Lin Changqing spent a lot of spirit stones to buy some refining materials, including many high-quality pills that could promote the growth of magic power in the Qi Refining stage.
These exquisite pills were not yet refined by Lin Changqing; they were all refined by cultivators who had been immersed in alchemy for many years.
After buying these pills, he didn't forget Li Zhijing. He tossed her a bottle of pills and reminded her, "Zhijing, this bottle of pills is for you. It's a way of thanking you for leaving your family and coming to Huangfeng Valley Market with me."
After that, Lin Changqing turned around and went back to his cave, intending to refine the magic weapon again.
After receiving the pills, Li Zhijing accepted them without hesitation and returned to her stall to sell magical artifacts. When there were few customers, she would reread the secret stories she had bought.