Chapter 452: Chapter 407: Small Tai Chi Array

After a brief introduction to the effects of the Purifying Spirit Pill, Hong Bu’Er announced the starting bid.

"Two thousand Spirit Stones and one thousand merit points!"

A wave of sharp inhales swept through the audience upon hearing the price.

Pills for the soul had always been expensive, and the crowd was prepared for a high price, but this still exceeded many people’s expectations.

Some cultivators who had intended to bid for the pill lowered the paddles they had started to raise. They could barely afford the Spirit Stones, but one thousand merit points was not something just anyone could come up with.

"I bid two thousand two hundred Spirit Stones."

"Two thousand three hundred."

"Two thousand four hundred..."

Despite this, a good number of cultivators continued to call out bids.

At first, even cultivators from the Qi Refining Realm participated, but after a few rounds, only Foundation Establishment cultivators remained in the running.

The price of the Purifying Spirit Pill quickly rose to two thousand eight hundred Spirit Stones.

Just then, a clear voice called out, "I bid three thousand six hundred Spirit Stones!"

As soon as the words were spoken, the bidding came to a screeching halt.

The crowd turned toward the sound of the voice and saw that the bidder was a young cultivator from the Qi Refining Realm.

"Who is that? He’s only in the Middle Stage of Qi Refining, how can he be so rich?"

"I don’t know him. Maybe he has a wealthy patron."

"I recognize him. He’s the Chief Shopkeeper of Golden Core Hall. I think his name is Zhao Lin."

"No wonder. The shop’s business is booming, so he must have saved up a fortune..."

Amid the murmuring crowd, Hong Bu’Er saw that no one else was speaking up and asked, "Are there any further bids?"

"I bid three thousand seven hundred Spirit Stones."

The speaker was a middle-aged man. Zhao Lin glanced over and saw that he was a late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator.

"Three thousand seven hundred," Zhao Lin stated, raising his paddle, his face impassive.

’If I don’t get this Purifying Spirit Pill, I’ll have to pause my training in the Nine Revolutions God Condensing Skill and focus solely on dispelling my Heart Demon. That would take at least a year or two.’

’Time is life. I have to get this pill.’

Thanks to his success in managing the shop, Lu Yuanxiu had given Golden Core Hall a massive dividend at the end of last year. Zhao Lin’s personal share had been two thousand merit points.

Combined with his regular stipend, he had saved up nearly three thousand merit points.

"Three thousand eight hundred," the middle-aged man immediately countered.

"Three thousand nine hundred!"

"Four thousand..."

The price continued to climb, with neither man willing to back down.

The cultivators in the hall were astounded. A cultivator in the Middle Stage of Qi Refining was actually going head-to-head in a bidding war with a late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator.

Zhao Lin frowned. ’If this continues,’ he thought, ’I’ll just end up provoking him. We’ll both suffer for it, and the only one who benefits will be the auction house.’

’I can’t let this drag on!’

With this in mind, Zhao Lin announced in a deep voice a price that shocked every cultivator present.

"Five thousand Spirit Stones!"

The moment he named the price, the cultivators in the auction hall were left speechless.

A price of five thousand Spirit Stones meant a corresponding payment of two thousand five hundred merit points.

To put it in perspective, a Foundation Establishment Pill was worth about ten thousand merit points. This amount of merit points was already far beyond the normal price for a Purifying Spirit Pill.

The middle-aged man who had been bidding against Zhao Lin’s face fell, and he stared intently at him.

With a gentle smile, Zhao Lin gave the man a respectful salute by cupping his hands.

Seeing this gesture, the middle-aged man understood that Zhao Lin wasn’t acting out of sheer belligerence. His expression softened, and he decisively lowered his paddle, ceasing his bids.

Zhao Lin breathed an inward sigh of relief.

"You junior, where did you get so many merit points?" a voice transmitted to him.

It was Liu Chaoyuan, his transmitted tone dripping with envy. As the Shopkeeper of Linglong Pavilion, even he couldn’t scrape together that many merit points on such short notice.

"That was everything I had,"

Zhao Lin replied with a wry smile, his heart aching at the expense.

’The price was much higher than I expected,’ he thought. ’But that’s how auctions are. The final price for the same item can vary wildly depending on the time and place.’

’After buying this Purifying Spirit Pill, I’ll have almost no merit points left. Thankfully, business at the shop is booming. I’ll get another dividend at the end of the year to support my cultivation.’

As he was lost in thought, he suddenly felt a prickling sensation on his back, as if he were being watched.

Zhao Lin’s heart skipped a beat. He glanced back, only to see Tian Daozhong smiling and offering a congratulatory salute for winning the treasure.

"Excellent! The Purifying Spirit Pill has found its owner. Now, my friends, let’s turn our attention to this Smoke Stone..."

Seeing the item sell for such a high price, Hong Bu’Er was ecstatic. This was exactly the kind of outcome the auction house loved to see. He quickly seized the momentum to introduce the next item.

The audience turned their attention back to the stage, and Zhao Lin finally began to relax.

’Either way, the Purifying Spirit Pill is mine. Now I can just sit back and watch everyone else bid.’

Treasures were auctioned off one by one. When they reached the twelfth item, Hong Bu’Er’s expression grew serious, and his voice rose a level.

"Everyone, this is the final treasure of the auction."

The hall fell silent in an instant. Everyone was eager to see what the grand finale would be.

Zhao Lin was also curious. He glanced at Chu Hongtian and saw him sitting perfectly still with his eyes slightly downcast, as if he couldn’t care less about the events on stage.

Hong Bu’Er continued, "This is a portable, deployable Tier One Array: the Small Tai Chi Array!"

"The creation of this Array is profound, a perfect exhibition of the principles of array formations. Though it is only a Tier One Array, do not underestimate it. It is balanced for both offense and defense and possesses the power to invert the very cosmos. Even a Purple Mansion Realm cultivator would find it difficult to break."

"As the saying goes, with an array like this in hand, you can roam the world freely..."

To cultivators unfamiliar with arrays, the name "Small Tai Chi Array" might be unknown. However, if you were to mention the Tai Chi Four Symbols Array, there wasn’t a soul who wouldn’t recognize it.

The Two Principles give birth to the Four Symbols, the Four Symbols give birth to the Eight Trigrams; its mysteries are infinite, its transformations endless.

The Tai Chi Four Symbols Array was a famous Tier Two Array that combined offense, defense, spirit-sealing, and illusionary capabilities.

And the Small Tai Chi Array was a Tier One Array derived from that very Tai Chi Four Symbols Array.

While its power was nowhere near comparable, it had one distinct advantage: it could be deployed rapidly.

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