The auction was held in the Cyan Ape Hall of White Cloud Immortal City.

The Cyan Ape Hall covers a thousand zhang, with a vast interior space, enough to accommodate thousands of cultivators participating at the same time.

It is a venue specially built by White Cloud Immortal City for holding large-scale events.

Early that day, Zhou Xun attended the auction, which occurs once every ten years, with Song Yiqing and Wang Erniu.

They arrived at the entrance of Cyan Ape Hall.

Twelve Late-Stage Qi Refining guards were standing in two rows, wearing standard Spirit Armor, holding long spears, guarding both sides of the entrance.

In the middle, a Foundation Establishment Cultivator was responsible for welcoming guests.

It was Feng Tingli.

That day at the White Cloud Base in Golden Cloud Valley, because his residence was also on the outskirts, he managed to evade a disaster.

In contrast, Yean Lei and Lv Jingwu met their demise on the spot.

"Alchemist Zhou, please enter, please enter!" Feng Tingli greeted courteously.

"Daoist Feng!" Zhou Xun also cupped his hands in return.

After a brief exchange of greetings, Zhou Xun, led by a servant, entered the Cyan Ape Hall.

The servant directly took Zhou Xun to Box No. 17 A, a special allocation for Zhou Xun's use.

There are a total of fifty such boxes, which can only be owned by individuals with sufficient status and position.

Shortly after taking a seat, two attractive maidens came in, carrying Spirit Wine and Spirit Fruit, placed them down, and then retreated gracefully.

"Erniu, having seen the auction list, do you have any desired treasures!" Zhou Xun looked at Wang Erniu on the side and asked.

"There are two items, the Spirit Fusion Stone and Silver Essence, it's just... I don't have enough Spirit Stones and might need your support!"

Wang Erniu said somewhat embarrassed.

The Spirit Fusion Stone and Silver Essence are rare spirit materials, often used to refine Top-Grade Spiritual Artifacts, and are sometimes used as auxiliary materials in some Low-Grade Magical Treasures.

Calculated by market price, these two spirit materials together are around six thousand Spirit Stones; even if there is some markup at the auction, it shouldn't exceed by much.

"Don't worry about the bidding, I'll back you up!"

Zhou Xun waved his hand generously, spoke nonchalantly.

"Thank you, brother!" Wang Erniu nodded appreciatively.

"Yiqing, what about you!" Zhou Xun asked the girl beside him.

"My cultivation is too low; I cannot use any of the treasures here!" Song Yiqing whispered softly.

She barely broke through the Fourth-Layer Qi Refining a few months ago, while the lowest auction items here are High-Grade Spiritual Artifacts.

Hearing this, Zhou Xun said nothing but glanced at the auction list, his gaze falling on the "Beauty Pill."

How could there be nothing useful, this Beauty Pill is an object countless female cultivators pine for.

Maybe it's due to the price.

Zhou Xun once purchased one at the White Cloud Pill Workshop, even with a ten percent discount it cost three thousand six hundred Spirit Stones, here at the auction, the price will only be higher.

He sighed, a decision forming in his mind.

...

Over an hour later, the auction officially began.

The host was none other than Chief Steward Zhou, Zhou Buqi.

"Thank you all for participating in our White Cloud Immortal City's once-in-a-decade auction, I am Zhou Buqi, today's host..."

Following a lengthy opening speech, the auction officially commenced.

"The first auction item is five genuine Foundation Establishment Pills!"

The news of five Foundation Establishment Pills stirred a commotion among people in the hall.

"White Cloud Immortal City is truly extraordinary!"

"Truly the light of us loose cultivators!"

"Magnificent, Master White Cloud!"

Even Zhou Xun couldn't help but marvel at the Immortal City's grand gesture.

The Foundation Establishment Pill as a strategic resource is extremely hard to acquire, even if one has the money, none of the Pill Workshops in White Cloud Immortal City sell it.

Most cultivators wishing to obtain this pill have to collect materials themselves and invite a Tier Two Alchemist to refine it.

For example, the Lin Family that day prepared materials themselves and invited Zhou Xun to refine it.

Originally, seeing the Foundation Establishment Pills listed on the auction, Zhou Xun thought there would be only two, at most three pills, but unexpectedly there were five in total.

Moreover, now White Cloud Immortal City had lost many Foundation Establishment Cultivators in battle, further highlighting its preciousness!

Zhou Xun quickly realized this:

Firstly, the prestige of White Cloud Immortal City lies with Master White Cloud, rather than those Foundation Establishment Cultivators.

Secondly, having just suffered heavy losses, the Immortal City urgently needs to display composure and generosity, not penny-pinching.

In urgent times, one must remain composed; during weak moments, one must show ferocity!

Zhou Buqi, observing the lively atmosphere in the hall, nodded with satisfaction and continued:

"The starting price is four thousand Spirit Stones, each increment must be no less than one hundred Spirit Stones, the bidding for the first pill starts now."

"Five thousand Spirit Stones!" a middle-aged man's voice came from a nearby box.

"Thinking of buying a Foundation Establishment Pill for five thousand Spirit Stones? Patriarch Hu, that's too presumptuous, I offer six thousand Spirit Stones!"

Another sharp male voice called out.

"Yuh Laoshi, there are five Foundation Establishment Pills, why are you competing with me? I'll bid seven thousand!" the middle-aged voice unhurriedly, with a bit of mockery, added another thousand.

"Haha, Patriarch Hu, I admire your spirit, this pill is yours!" the sharp male voice sounded triumphant.

"Yuh Laoshi, you!" the middle-aged man's voice tinged with anger.

Seven thousand Spirit Stones already exceeded the base price by fifty percent.

The usual private transaction price for a Foundation Establishment Pill ranges from four to five thousand Spirit Stones.

But since the words had been spoken, there was no retracting them.

Quickly, the first Foundation Establishment Pill was claimed by "Patriarch Hu" for seven thousand Spirit Stones.

Next, the bidding for the second pill commenced.

The moment Zhou Buqi's words fell, the sharp male voice rang out again:

"Seven thousand Spirit Stones!"

"Patriarch Hu, I also offer seven thousand Spirit Stones today, lest you accuse me of inflating prices!"

Starting at seven thousand Spirit Stones, nearly double the starting price, which startled many in the hall.

Very quickly, the second Foundation Establishment Pill was claimed by "Yuh Laoshi" at the same price of seven thousand Spirit Stones.

"Brother Yuh, your strategy is clever, both our families claimed a Foundation Establishment Pill, though the price is higher, it's bearable!"

The middle-aged man transmitted his voice.

"Haha, three months before this auction, the opening of Golden Cloud Valley brought far more cultivators than previous auctions!"

"Did they really think they could acquire a Foundation Establishment Pill for four or five thousand Spirit Stones as before!" the sharp male voice sneered.

Before the auction, the two had agreed on a strategy to compete with each other, seizing the opportunity to claim two Foundation Establishment Pills, regardless of the higher price.

As long as they could claim the Foundation Establishment Pill, it was worth it.

Soon, the remaining three Foundation Establishment Pills were auctioned off, none below seven thousand in price.

The last one remarkably sold for eight thousand Spirit Stones!

This auction for Foundation Establishment Pills made many cultivators who had participated in previous White Cloud Immortal City auctions realize that the competition was too intense!

Sure enough, in the following auction items, the prices exceeded previous tournaments by twenty to thirty percent.

Strategic resources like Foundation Establishment Pills and Broken Mirror Pills fetched prices fifty percent higher.

Soon, the Spirit Fusion Stone, sought after by Wang Erniu, started its bidding.

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