In Bai Jiao's astonished gaze, Shen Qiang awkwardly wiped away the tea, while fighting back a laugh.
"It was clearly a failed Pei Yuan Pill, yet it was claimed to be a top-grade one. Bai Jiao couldn't possibly think that this pill is better than the one I refined, could she? If she really thought that, it would be utterly speechless."
While Shen Qiang pondered this, he saw the embarrassed Bai Jiao handing him her white handkerchief from her right wrist.
Shen Qiang accepted it with a smile.
The handkerchief was soft to the touch, carrying the faint scent of Bai Jiao's body fragrance.
As he wiped his hands and pants, Shen Qiang laughed self-deprecatingly, "Sorry, I was a bit out of sorts there."
Bai Jiao cast a coquettish glance at Shen Qiang and chuckled, "You're really something, getting all worked up over a single top-grade Pei Yuan Pill."
Shen Qiang laughed.
Li Yongjie, who had been sitting to the right of Shen Qiang and staring blankly at Bai Jiao, turned his head and saw Shen Qiang nonchalantly wiping his pants with the handkerchief Bai Jiao had given him. A nameless rage flared up in his heart as he coldly said, "Miss Bai is as pure as an immortal. She kindly lent you her handkerchief, and you just use it to wipe your pants without a second thought?"
Shen Qiang looked surprised, slightly bewildered, "Isn't a handkerchief for wiping things?"
"Yes!" Li Yongjie shouted angrily, "But you are unworthy!"
His voice was a bit loud, and as soon as these words came out, the focus of everyone around sharply turned toward them.
At the same time, Shen Qiang frowned.
Bai Jiao gave him a mildly displeased look, intending to scold him, but considering Master Tianji's presence, she didn't want to make things awkward. Plus, with the auction underway, she shifted her tone to a softer one and said, "Li Xiaoxia, please be quiet. Don't disturb the auction."
Upon hearing Bai Jiao's gentle and soft speech, Li Yongjie's eyes immediately lit up, and he replied, visibly flattered, "Miss Bai, rest assured, Yongjie is not a reckless man."
This made Shen Qiang furrow his brows tighter. Just then, Bai Jiao gave Shen Qiang a slight smile, changing the subject, "Shen Qiang, here's the catalog of today's auction items. Would you like to take a look?"
Shen Qiang took it, smiling, "Sure."
Despite the interruption, the bidding for the top-grade Pei Yuan Pill had reached a fever pitch.
"Seventeen million!"
"Eighteen million!"
"Twenty million!"
"Twenty-one million for the first time, twenty-two million for the first time!"
In the end, the top-grade Pei Yuan Pill was auctioned off to a bidder for twenty-one million.
Seeing the buyer's ecstatic look, Shen Qiang couldn't help but smile and shake his head.
The situation here really was different from the Immortal Realm.
For example, the Blood Ganoderma Bone Healing Ointment and Jade Cream, in the Immortal Realm, were considered decent spiritual medicines, at most top-grade spiritual medicines.
They were good stuff.
But they won't drive people insane.
In the Cultivation World, however, not only was the Blood Lipid Bone Healing Ointment known as a legendary spiritual medicine, even a Pei Yuan Pill, which had clearly not even been successfully refined, was also crowned with the title of top-grade.
So what about the one that Shen Qiang had successfully refined?
How should that be rated?
Supreme? Or perhaps ultimate grade?
Shen Qiang thought to himself, originally expecting his Pei Yuan Pill to be the second item up for auction.
But to his surprise, the second auction item was...
"From the deep sea, the Red Shell Pearl, a holy grade beauty product. When ground into powder and ingested, its whitening effect can be even more astonishing than that of Jade Cream." Bai Jiao introduced it to Shen Qiang with a beaming smile, her soft and gentle voice causing Li Yongjie at her side to grind his teeth in jealousy.
But Shen Qiang was indifferent to this item.
Simply put, it was a pearl with rather effective whitening properties.
Beyond whitening, it had no other uses.
Compete with Jade Cream?
Jade Cream not only whitens but also removes scars.
What Shen Qiang needed to do was to leverage the Plague Source to release the bacterial strain, nurture it for some time and then refine it into an ointment.
While that item, one would need to make a big effort to try their luck in the deep sea.
Not to mention an opening bid of ten million, even if it were just a few tens of thousands, Shen Qiang wouldn't want it.
The warm-up item, Red Shell Pearl, ended up selling for twelve million.
Following were several treasures that failed to arouse Shen Qiang's interest.
And the reason was that the Medical Saint Inheritance was too powerful.
Because within the Medical Saint Inheritance, many core materials for Elixir Pills can be replaced with inexpensive medicinal herbs.
For instance, chive seeds could substitute for antler, Motherwort for safflower, and goji berries for Cordyceps; the price difference could be dozens of times, yet the effect would be almost the same.
In such a case.
The same goes for Alchemy medicinal materials.
Many precious Alchemy medicinal materials have alternate substitutes.
Therefore, the so-called rare medicinal materials, which are both expensive and scarce, are precisely what Shen Qiang truly had no interest in purchasing because they either have substitutes, offer little help to him, or are easily acquired but will not be needed for the time being.
Although Shen Qiang wasn't lacking money, he was not foolish enough to spend it where it was not necessary.
For over ten consecutive items, Shen Qiang remained silent.
However, Li Yongjie on the side bid several times.
All for some valuable Alchemy medicinal materials.
Though he didn't bid frantically, his continual bidding eventually caught the attention of Bai Jiao, who, smiling across from Shen Qiang, said, "I see young master Li is quite spirited today, those medicinal materials, they are all for refining Elixir."
Upon hearing this, Li Yongjie's eyes shone and he was naturally full of pride: "My cultivation has already reached the Late Golden Core Stage and soon I will enter the Nascent Soul Stage. By then, refining Spiritual Medicine will definitely not be a problem, and if all goes well, I would like to try refining Elixir Pills during the Nascent Soul Stage."
This statement made Bai Jiao's eyes light up, "Nascent Soul Stage refining pills, that's something only an exceptional genius can accomplish. I didn't expect young master Li to have such talent."
Li Yongjie, with his eyes full of arrogance, glanced at the silent Shen Qiang and laughed, "I can only try, whether it will be successful is still unknown. So while those medicinal materials are valuable, I don't want to use cheap pills for my first attempt."
"Impressive!" Bai Jiao laughed, "Without superior talent, one wouldn't even dare to attempt. You keep it up."
Encouraged by Bai Jiao's words, Li Yongjie became excited.
As for Shen Qiang, he sat quietly on the sofa, leisurely crossing his legs and revealing a hint of a smile on his lips.
What so-called excellent talent?
Shen Qiang, now merely at the Foundation Establishment Stage, had already started refining and selling pills.
Li Yongjie was still fantasizing about how amazing he would be refining Spiritual Medicine after entering the Nascent Soul Stage, acting as if he were already a genius by just trying to refine pills.
Ridiculous.
Not to mention the sensation caused by Shen Qiang's Guiyuan Pill.
Just the Pei Yuan Pill alone, Shen Qiang was confident, his own refined Pei Yuan Pills were several times better than the Top Grade Pei Yuan Pill that sold for twenty-one million before.
However, since Shen Qiang was, after all, broad-minded, he had directly mocked Li Yongjie face-to-face yesterday for showing off too much.
Today his master treated Shen Qiang courteously, all smiles, and considering that Master Tianji had a good relationship with Bai Jiao's father, Shen Qiang was not about to mock him for these words.
But as the saying goes, the tree desires calm, yet the wind will not cease.
The quieter Shen Qiang was, the more arrogant Li Yongjie became. He glanced coldly at Shen Qiang and sneered, "My talent may not be the best, but it's certainly top-notch. It's just that certain incompetents rely on their elders' deception and not only is their cultivation inadequate, but they also shamelessly sell the Pei Yuan Pills provided by their elders at Cheng Xinyi for money, which is really despicable."
Hearing this, Shen Qiang frowned and looked at him, "Are you talking about me?"
Li Yongjie sneered, adopting an arrogant posture, not only imitating Shen Qiang's leg crossing but also said coldly, "Who I'm referring to should know."
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