Chapter 92: Chapter 92: Foundation Establishment Pill

Daoist Ji, Old Man Lin, and Zhang Tie sat in the VIP box, a bit stiff and formal.

After all, if Li Ping hadn’t arranged it, their status would have never qualified them for a VIP box. They would have been packed in with the other Qi Refining Stage Loose Cultivators on the floor below.

"Wow..." Old Man Lin marveled. "This sofa, these Spirit Fruits, this view, this height..."

Just as he seemed ready to comment on every single item in the box, Li Ping quickly cut him off. "Old Man Lin, according to the Immortal City’s rules, Zhang Tie should be the one to call out the bids himself later."

As he spoke, Li Ping handed a Storage Bag to Zhang Tie. "Here are 3,810 Spirit Stones."

Of the 3,810 Spirit Stones, 2,310 came from the Foundation Establishment Fund. Another 1,000 were from Old Man Lin, who had mortgaged his shop deed to Li Ping. The remaining 500 were a loan from Li Ping to Zhang Tie.

Zhang Tie fumbled as he took the Storage Bag, nodding repeatedly. "Big Brother, I understand."

Hearing the number Li Ping mentioned, Daoist Ji’s eyes widened. In the Jiang Kingdom, that many Spirit Stones would be enough to purchase a permanent Tier One Middle Grade Spiritual Land.

But then he remembered that Zhang Tie was about to bid on a Foundation Establishment Pill, and suddenly, the sum didn’t seem so large after all.

After all, considering the long life of a Foundation Establishment Cultivator, a family with one watching over it could prosper for nearly two hundred years. What was a mere Tier One Middle Grade Spiritual Land in comparison?

Besides, where else but an Immortal City could one possibly find an item like a Foundation Establishment Pill up for auction?

’Xuan’Er is a cultivator in the Immortal City now. If, in the future...’ Snapping back to the present, Daoist Ji couldn’t help but shake his head inwardly. ’I’m getting way ahead of myself.’

...

Zhang Tie nervously clutched the Storage Bag, not saying a word.

Meanwhile, Li Ping, Daoist Ji, and Old Man Lin chatted idly about the things they had seen and heard in the Immortal City, their laughter occasionally filling the box.

About an hour later, the regular seats on the floor below were more than half full, and the auction was finally about to begin.

The curtain on the stage parted, and two figures walked out onto the auction platform.

Li Ping recognized the one in the lead: it was the same Junior Brother Ye he had met before. Following him was an old man with salt-and-pepper hair.

Junior Brother Ye stepped forward first. With a cold snort, he unleashed his Spiritual Pressure without reservation, sending a jolt through all the Qi Refining Cultivators in attendance. He then announced coolly, "The auction begins now!"

After making his announcement, he walked off the stage and vanished, leaving the old man with the salt-and-pepper hair alone on the platform.

The old man with the salt-and-pepper hair walked to the front of the stage.

He beamed and clasped his hands in a salute to the audience. "Seniors, fellow Daoists, my surname is Mu, and I have the honor of hosting today’s auction. And now, for our first item: a shell from a Tier Two Late Stage Red-Scaled Turtle!"

He paused, then retrieved an oval-shaped turtle shell, roughly ten feet in diameter, from his Storage Bag and placed it on the display stand before him.

All the cultivators’ eyes turned to the shell.

Old Man Mu’s voice rang out with the introduction. "The Red-Scaled Turtle is renowned for its powerful defense. Its shell is a superb material for refining defensive Dharma Artifacts and can be used to forge a Tier Two Upper Grade Dharma Artifact. The starting bid is 1,000 Spirit Stones, and each subsequent bid must be an increment of at least 10 Spirit Stones."

Old Man Mu said with a cheerful smile, "Seniors, fellow Daoists, please feel free to start the bidding."

...

Hearing Old Man Mu’s words, Li Ping let out a soft sound of surprise. He hadn’t expected the very first item of the auction to be something he needed.

Previously, he had used 800 military merits to redeem a Tier Two Late Stage Turtle Demon Shell from the Immortal City. He had refined it into a Turtle Shell Shield, but it was destroyed during his battle with the Demon Cultivator.

He had been wanting to refine another Tier Two Upper Grade defensive Dharma Artifact, and this turtle shell was a perfect fit.

However, military merits had far greater purchasing power than Spirit Stones. It was obviously impossible for him to acquire this shell for a mere 800 Spirit Stones.

"1,000 Spirit Stones!"

Someone had already placed a bid while Li Ping was still contemplating.

Li Ping frowned, watching as the price climbed, quickly reaching 1,100 Spirit Stones. He casually threw out a bid of 1,110 Spirit Stones, but it was quickly drowned out by others.

After several more bids, he finally won the shell for 1,280 Spirit Stones.

Old Man Mu announced with a beaming smile, "Congratulations to this senior for winning the shell of the Tier Two Late Stage Red-Scaled Turtle! Our next item is a Tier One Upper Grade Dharma Artifact. This Dharma Artifact..."

The few items auctioned after the Red-Scaled Turtle shell were all Tier One objects. Li Ping had no interest in them whatsoever, and only the Qi Refining Cultivators were bidding.

He guessed the auction house had made the Tier Two Turtle Demon Shell the first item to kick things off with a bang and set a good precedent for the rest of the event.

...

Soon, a staff member brought the turtle shell Li Ping had won upstairs. They only departed respectfully after counting out the Spirit Stones.

Li Ping put away the shell and continued to watch as Old Man Mu pulled one item after another from his Storage Bag.

As time went on, the items grew progressively more valuable. Toward the end, nearly everything was a Tier Two object. Most of the Qi Refining Cultivators had been priced out of the bidding and could only watch as the Foundation Establishment Cultivators in the private boxes competed.

However, there weren’t many Foundation Establishment Cultivators in attendance, so if none of them bid on a particular item, it would simply go unsold.

Aside from the turtle shell, Li Ping bid a few more times when he saw items that caught his eye. He successfully won a palm-sized piece of Purple Heart Iron for 900 Spirit Stones, which he planned to use to refine a Tier Two Upper Grade Flying Sword.

With both his offensive and defensive Dharma Artifacts sorted out, Li Ping had little interest in the subsequent items and made no further bids.

Soon, the auction entered its final phase.

...

Old Man Mu suddenly straightened up, his voice growing brighter. "Seniors, fellow Daoists, the next item can be considered the second most precious treasure of today’s auction. You won’t want to miss this!"

Once he had captured everyone’s attention, Old Man Mu retrieved a palm-sized Jade Bottle from his Storage Bag. With a solemn expression, he began his introduction. "A bottle of Jade Heart Liquid. This is a natural wonder that can only be found nurtured within Spiritual Jade veins over a thousand feet deep. When consumed while attempting to break through to Foundation Establishment, it can increase the chance of success by ten percent."

"Jade Heart Liquid! It increases the chance of successful Foundation Establishment by ten percent!"

Old Man Mu’s words sent a shockwave through all the cultivators in attendance.

The Qi Refining Cultivators stared at the Jade Bottle in Old Man Mu’s hand, their eyes filled with longing.

Although the Jade Heart Liquid only increased the success rate by ten percent—seemingly only a third as effective as a Foundation Establishment Pill—it was still an incredible treasure.

But when were Foundation Establishment Pills ever easy to obtain?

When it came time to risk it all and attempt Foundation Establishment without a pill, having Jade Heart Liquid would still significantly increase one’s chances!

Old Man Mu’s gaze swept over the crowd as he added with a grin, "Furthermore, Jade Heart Liquid can be used in conjunction with a Foundation Establishment Pill. Their effects are cumulative."

The Jade Heart Liquid had an additional benefit, but the cultivators who heard this showed little reaction.

After all, this particular benefit was rather pointless. If someone already had a Foundation Establishment Pill, who would be willing to spend a fortune in Spirit Stones on Jade Heart Liquid just for an extra ten-percent chance of success?

Even if they were willing, they wouldn’t have enough Spirit Stones to afford it!

Zhang Tie forced himself to look away from the Jade Heart Liquid in Old Man Mu’s hand. His target today was the Foundation Establishment Pill.

Li Ping had no intention of spending more Spirit Stones to help him get the Jade Heart Liquid, either. ’Zhang Tie has Three Spirit Roots,’ he thought. ’With a Foundation Establishment Pill, his odds of a successful breakthrough are already thirty to forty percent.’

’Spending thousands of Spirit Stones for an extra ten-percent chance just isn’t worth it.’

’With that many Spirit Stones, he’d be better off saving up for a second Foundation Establishment Pill.’

...

Old Man Mu announced, "The starting price for the Jade Heart Liquid is 1,500 Spirit Stones, and each increment must be at least 100 Spirit Stones."

Although the Jade Heart Liquid’s effect was somewhat mediocre, it was a Foundation Establishment Spiritual Object nonetheless. And unlike the Foundation Establishment Pill, its auction had no special restrictions, so it unsurprisingly drew bids from cultivators all across the hall.

Even many of the Foundation Establishment Cultivators in the private boxes began bidding, attempting to acquire the bottle of Jade Heart Liquid.

The outcome of the bidding, however, was unexpected. The bottle of Jade Heart Liquid was ultimately won by a Qi Refining Loose Cultivator from the seats below for a price of 2,200 Spirit Stones.

It wasn’t that the Foundation Establishment Cultivators lacked the Spirit Stones. For a Foundation Establishment Immortal Race like the Bai family, producing over two thousand Spirit Stones would have been effortless.

But Cultivation Clans are no fools. They consider the bigger picture—whether the purchase is worthwhile, whether it’s truly necessary—and they don’t make impulsive bids.

The Jade Heart Liquid only offered an extra ten-percent chance of success; the probability of it actually producing a new Foundation Establishment Cultivator was low.

Once the price exceeded two thousand, it had clearly left the realm of a reasonable investment.

It was a price no Cultivation Clan would pay. Only a lone cultivator with no one to answer to would bid so high.

Of course, if a Foundation Establishment Pill were on the block, it would be another story entirely. A Foundation Establishment Pill had a high probability of creating a new Foundation Establishment Cultivator, and someone would pay for it even if the price were doubled.

...

Li Ping watched as the gray-robed Qi Refining Cultivator stood, paid the Spirit Stones, accepted the Jade Heart Liquid, and quietly departed.

The cultivator wore a wide-brimmed conical hat, and his face was covered by a mask that blocked Divine Sense, concealing his identity well. Yet Li Ping felt a strange sense of familiarity, as if he knew the person.

’It feels like...’

Before Li Ping could confirm his suspicion, the grand finale of the auction finally began.

Old Man Mu announced with a wide grin, "And now for the main event of today’s auction: the Foundation Establishment Pill!"

He scanned the crowd and announced, "The rules for auctioning the Foundation Establishment Pill in this city are the same for every auction, as they were set by the Perfected One himself."

"In case any of our newer seniors and fellow Daoists are unfamiliar with them, this old one will review them now."

"First, only Loose Cultivators are eligible to participate in the auction for the Foundation Establishment Pill. Cultivators from Cultivation Clans, the Immortal City, or Sects may not bid."

"Second, participating Loose Cultivators must have a verifiable and clean background and must have resided in the Immortal City for at least twenty years."

"Third, the Foundation Establishment Pill won at auction may only be used by the bidder. It cannot be resold, gifted, or otherwise transferred."

"Fourth, whoever wins the Foundation Establishment Pill must enter seclusion on Cyan Dragon Mountain to attempt their breakthrough. Failure is of no consequence, but success means you must take the Perfected One as your master and join the Cyan Dragon Mountain lineage."

...

After laying out the rules, Old Man Mu added with a cheerful smile, "I must advise any fellow Daoists who do not meet these conditions not to place a bid. Otherwise, if you win the Foundation Establishment Pill but are found to be ineligible, the Immortal City will collect a penalty of five hundred Spirit Stones."

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.