Wulu spoke, and recalling the experiences of these past years, he couldn't help but sigh with emotion, "Ah, Brother Yuan, maybe you don't feel much about it, but back when you freed the mines, perhaps it was just a whim, yet it truly changed the fate of many people including myself. For this alone, I should toast to you."

Wulu stood up, picked up his teacup, looked at Yuan Ming, and drained the contents of the cup in one gulp.

Yuan Ming also felt quite moved, and afterwards, the two of them talked about their experiences and amusing stories over the years, chatting until the sky darkened and the teahouse closed, yet their enthusiasm remained unabated.

It wasn't until they agreed to meet again the next day that they each returned to their respective temporary residences.

In the blink of an eye, several days passed, and Bi Shuirou and Yan Siyun had collected intelligence on potential attendants from various islands, summarized and sorted through it, and identified threatening competitors.

Yuan Ming didn't pay attention to this matter; he practiced his cultivation daily, as scheduled, spending his free time drinking and chatting with Wulu, or going to the workshop to collect other materials for Common Poppy, leading a quite joyful life.

One morning, when Yuan Ming emerged from his residence, the Yan sisters were discussing something in the courtyard.

Seeing Yuan Ming come out, Yan Sijing waved at him excitedly, "Fellow Daoist Yuan, I heard that there is a large auction in Fusang City today, do you want to go take a look with us?"

"A large auction? Who's organizing it?" Yuan Ming walked over to them.

Yan Siyun nodded at Yuan Ming, "It's Fusang Island. During the Immortal Fruit Conference, Fusang Island always has a series of auctions arranged. Small auctions every seven days, and large auctions every twenty days. Today marks the first of the large auctions, and the finale is a Nascent Soul Stage Magic Treasure. I wonder if Fellow Daoist Yuan might be interested?"

"I'm free anyway, so going to take a look won't hurt," Yuan Ming nodded and said.

He had already collected most of the auxiliary materials for Common Poppy, and for the two components he was still lacking, he had been planning to check out the workshop in Wuzu District. Now that the opportunity arose, going to see an auction in the East Sea would be good too; he might even find the two types of spiritual materials he needed.

Just then, not far away, Bi Shuirou also came out of her house and walked towards them with leisurely steps.

Seeing this, Yuan Ming took the initiative to invite her, "Fellow Daoist Bishui, you've come at the right time. There's a large auction in the city today, would you care to join us?"

"A large auction? So it's that time already, huh? But I won't be going. The Spirit Stones I have are all earmarked for specific uses, and there really isn't any surplus to spare," Bi Shuirou said with a wry smile.

Yuan Ming wasn't surprised by this. Although these Island Masters commanded sizable territories and had some Third-class Islands as vassals, ensuring a decent income, their expenses were equally considerable. It wasn't easy to tamper with the reserves of Spirit Stones. In truth, they weren't as free as a small-scale cultivator like him.

"However, if you all are going, you can use the identity of Red Ganoderma Island. By the rules, the one hundred and twenty-eight participating islands can directly enter a private box without paying an entry fee. Here, just show this Token to the people at the auction," Bi Shuirou said, taking out a token and handing it over to Yuan Ming.

After that, she hurried off as though she had another tea party with other island masters to attend.

Before leaving, Yuan Ming went and specially invited Xi Ying as well, but Xi Ying seemed to lack interest. After pondering for a moment, she declined Yuan Ming's invitation and continued with her secluded cultivation.

...

The Golden Feather Auction House was located at the northernmost end of Wuzu District, an enormous three-layered structure with a bowl-shaped design that somewhat resembled a bird's nest.

When Yuan Ming and Yan Siyun arrived, there were already quite a few people lined up at the entrance of the auction house, waiting to get in.

However, as soon as Yuan Ming presented the token to a servant at the auction house, the servant promptly and respectfully showed Yuan Ming and the other two to a private box on the second layer.

The outer walls of the box were made of black crystal, and special forbidden spells were laid within. One could see clearly into the area below from here, but those below could not see into the box.

After making some inquiries, Yuan Ming learned that the ground floor of the auction house only required an entry fee of ten Spirit Stones for general seating, while the private boxes on the second floor were available to cultivators with proofs of identity and had no specific assignment. Apart from the auction house staff, no one knew which island's owner or which Scatter Alliance's member was sitting in each box.

The third layer, on the other hand, was the exclusive domain for Nascent Soul Ancestors.

Yuan Ming sent the servant away and, while waiting for the auction to start, he idly flipped through the auction list that was placed in the box.

There were many items to be auctioned this time, including elixirs and Magic Treasures suitable for use by Core Formation Stage cultivators, as well as large objects like Formations meant for island powers.

Yuan Ming scanned through the list and found that the two types of spiritual materials he wanted weren't included. There were a few other items he found interesting, but none were critically needed. If the final auction prices were exorbitant, he wouldn't engage in a bidding war to the death.

However, perhaps to maintain mystery, the last five auction items did not have detailed introductions on the list, with only a general mention of their categories.

The Water attribute Magic Treasure mentioned by Yan Siyun as the final auction item was also not elaborated upon, merely noting that it was a Water attribute treasure.

Yuan Ming put down the auction list, was about to close his eyes and replenish his spirit, when out of the corner of his eye, he caught sight of a figure in a grey cloak with a wide-brimmed hat entering from outside. The figure quickly entered a private box on the second floor not too far from him.

"Is it him?" Yuan Ming's eyes flashed with surprise as a very faint divine sense spread out.

The mysterious figure wore a vestment robe that blocked the probing of divine sense, but Yuan Ming wasn't trying to probe the person, merely sensing his aura, and he quickly made a discovery.

"Indeed, it's him. Why would he come here?" Yuan Ming mused to himself.

The grey silhouette was none other than Wu Yuezhi, who had appeared at the Shura Palace with Ni Mu from the Dawn Alliance. What was he doing at this auction, acting so surreptitiously?

Once Wu Yuezhi sat down in the private box, he waved his hand and a cloud of Black Mist enveloped the area, rendering Yuan Ming's divine sense unable to penetrate.

"Fellow Daoist Yuan, what seemed to have happened?" Yan Siyun seemed to notice the change in Yuan Ming's expression and asked.

"It's nothing. I thought I saw someone I knew, but after they entered a private box, I couldn't see them anymore," Yuan Ming replied casually.

"Which private box? Would you like me to send someone to greet them?" Yan Siyun offered.

"There's no need. We're not particularly close. At this auction, do you have any specific targets in mind?" Yuan Ming shook his head, changing the subject.

"Hmm, we plan to bid on some precious spiritual materials and Demon Cores to refine a batch of fine elixirs and establish the reputation of Hundred Pills Square sooner," Yan Siyun said.

Yuan Ming nodded and asked no more.

Time passed and with more cultivators arriving, the auction soon officially commenced.

"Looking at this auction list, Golden Feather Auction House is indeed offering quite a lot of good items. Brother Lin, have you prepared to secure any treasures?"

"With my modest means, you already know, Brother Wang, if real treasures surface, it wouldn't be our turn. I've heard that big names like White Scale Master from Thousand Snake Island, Queen Ming Kong from Bijiao Island, and Golden Transformation Master from Thousand Dragon Island, all Nascent Soul powerhouses, are here. It's better for us to just buy some valuable items quietly," came the reply.

"True, if I can get those Bishui Soft Crystals and cultivate my Canglan Technique to the Eighth Layer, I would be perfectly content," another voice chimed in from a neighboring private box.

Hearing this, Yuan Ming glanced toward the third layer of the venue but didn't pay it much attention.

The auction was hosted by a Core Formation stage colorful-robed female cultivator.

"I am Xiao Jing of Golden Feather Auction House! Greetings to all Fellow Daoists. I will be hosting this auction. I hope everyone can purchase their desired items..." the colorful-robed female cultivator said with a smile.

With the sound of a gong, the auction officially started, and one after another, items were brought up for bidding.

The colorful-robed female cultivator was not only beautiful but also extremely eloquent. Under her lead, many items were sold for higher prices than usual, which, in turn, spurred the participating cultivators to become more enthusiastic about bidding.

However, Yuan Ming remained calm and composed in his private box, unaffected by the atmosphere, and only bid sparingly.

As a result, of the few items he was interested in, he only managed to acquire two.

One was a Wood Attribute Demon Core, intended for Hua Zhi to devour and refine; the other was a set of formations called the Yimu Gathering Spirit Array.

The effect of this array was quite simple: it harnessed the power of the array and Wood Attribute Spirit Stones inside it to condense the surrounding Wood Attribute Spiritual Energy, creating a richer environment of Spiritual Energy to enhance the speed of cultivation.

Although the Yimu Gathering Spirit Array could enhance the concentration of Spiritual Energy by up to fifty percent, it consumed a significant amount of Spirit Stones, leaving it somewhat lacking, which is why not many were inclined to bid on it, allowing Yuan Ming to secure it.

In contrast, Yan Siyun had come well-prepared.

Whenever valuable spiritual materials or Demon Cores came up, she did not hesitate to place a bid. She seemed to have thoroughly researched the identities of her fellow bidders, always offering a price that was neither too high nor too low, which made her competitors hesitant without overbidding too much for the item.

As a result, although she won numerous bids on spiritual materials and Demon Cores, her actual expenditure wasn't as enormous as one might expect.

Yuan Ming watched from the side, and couldn't help but admire her tactics. If it weren't for her limited talent and strength, her mastery of information gathering and use alone could very well make her the leader of a significant force.

"...And so the next item for auction is a Fire Seed of apricot wood green fire. As the saying goes, 'Born from the Five Elements, the world contains a rich variety of Five Elements wonders,' among which True Fire, Strange Water, Weird Wood, Heavy Stone, and Bizarre Gold are the most mysterious. This apricot wood green fire that our auction house has spent great effort to collect is one of those True Fires. Unlike ordinary True Fire, this fire's nature is Wood. It's less useful for attack, but it has the capacity to promote growth and healing. After refinement, it can nourish a cultivator's physical body, repairing past subtle injuries. Also, because of its gentle nature, it is particularly suitable for refining elixirs, although, unfortunately, its power is too weak for Artifact Refining," the colorful-robed female cultivator's voice flowed gently from the stage and reached the private boxes, brightening Yan Siyun's expression. As soon as the starting price was announced, she immediately made a bid.

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