Wasted Spiritual Root to Embark on Demonic Cultivation

Chapter 293

This auction ground occupied more than ten thousand acres. It was different from the large-scale auction halls of Golden Abundance Tower.

Instead, everything was arranged according to cultivation realm, wealth level, social status, and other factors.

Private rooms of different grades were planned accordingly. There were no noisy public platforms. After all, this auction was held specifically for Foundation Establishment and Core Formation cultivators.

The number of attendees would not reach tens of thousands. At most, it attracted around a thousand each session. The main items were third-rank spirit materials. Fourth-rank items were reserved for the finale.

The overall quality would not be too high. It was on the same level as the Yanluo Ghost Market auction that Wang Yu had once attended, although the latter had more rare items. He had come with the mindset of seeing if he could fill in some gaps.

If he could bid for useful spiritual items, that would be ideal. Even if he could not, Tianbao City had a massive market. Staying here for a while would still allow him to gather many treasures that were normally difficult to find or quite rare.

At this moment.

There were still several days before the auction. He had received word rather late, and after counting his travel time, his arrival was just in time.

"This fellow Daoist, to participate in the Earth-grade auction, one must be in the Core Formation realm and possess proof of assets worth at least five hundred thousand spirit stones."

A Core Formation early stage steward explained the requirements to him.Wang Yu naturally had no objections.

He used Yellow Spring mana power to verify his identity and took out several hundred supreme-grade spirit stones to confirm his funds. The matter was settled.

Seeing this, the steward revealed a chrysanthemum-like smile. He took out a gilded invitation and was about to hand it to Wang Yu while speaking.

"This fellow Daoist has come at an excellent time. There happens to be one last upper-class private booth available. The auction begins promptly at noon three days from now. Please do not forget."

"I understand."

"Wait."

Wang Yu reached out, accepted the invitation, and stored it in his Sea-Heart Ring. He prepared to leave as if he had heard nothing. But a brilliant, multicolored folding fan spun through the air, blocking his path.

His eyes narrowed slightly, and a speechless feeling rose within him.

Was that shout directed at him just now? Impossible. There were actually people causing trouble at the gates of Heaven Treasure Pavilion? So disrespectful?

As expected, the steward's expression grew serious. A jade token appeared silently in his hand. If he crushed it, the enforcement team would arrive immediately to subdue the troublemaker.

However, since the situation was unclear, if these two had a personal dispute, he would only advise them to take it outside Tianbao City.

Wang Yu, the steward, and the nearby cultivators all turned their attention to the newcomers, a group of three.

At the front was a handsome young man wearing luxurious ceremonial robes. He carried an aura-concealing treasure, so his cultivation realm was obscured.

But the two old men with white hair beside him each had the aura of Core Formation late stage. It seemed they were deliberately releasing some pressure to deter any ill-intentioned individuals.

Seeing Wang Yu stop, the young man withdrew the folding fan.

With a crisp snap, he closed and reopened the fan. One hand was behind his back, the other positioned before his abdomen. He lightly shook the fan treasure, revealing an expression of confidence and arrogance.

"This fellow Daoist, I am Wen Hua of the Yin Yang Sect. May I ask that you hand over that last upper-class private booth invitation to me."

Wang Yu: "…"

Steward: "…"

Where had such a fool come from? Completely clueless.

Given Tianbao City's scale and the size of the Earth-grade auction, how could upper-class luxury booths possibly be in short supply? The steward had merely used a conversational tactic earlier.

It was meant to hint at the popularity of the auction.

Things become valuable when they appear scarce. At the same time, it was also a gesture of goodwill toward Wang Yu, who was a Core Formation cultivator from Yellow Springs Monastery, giving him some face.

No one expected someone to take it literally.

Utterly ridiculous.

The steward was about to intervene when Wang Yu gestured for him to stop. With mild interest, Wang Yu asked, "Then I wonder what price Fellow Daoist Wen is willing to offer."

Wen Hua's eyes lit up. Thinking that his domineering aura had intimidated this person, he felt smug.

He said, "How about one hundred thousand lower-grade spirit stones."

"Agreed."

Wang Yu accepted without hesitation, tossed the gilded invitation over, and Wen Hua indeed fulfilled his promise, gifting him one hundred thousand spirit stones.

With a flourish of his folding fan, hiding the upward curl of his lips, Wen Hua departed, satisfied.

Wang Yu weighed the low-grade storage pouch in his hand. He extended his hand toward the steward, who remained silent for a moment before producing another upper-class luxury booth invitation.

This scene.

Caused many cultivators watching nearby to burst into suppressed laughter.

"Damn, why couldn't I run into such idiots from the Yin Yang Sect?"

The speaker was a burly man. He clearly had deep attainments in Body Refinement arts. Wang Yu, wearing the Earth-Net Ghost Mask, glanced at him but paid no further attention. He then made a smooth departure.

The Yin Yang Sect was a first-rate force in Liuju Prefecture under the Refining Heaven Demonic Sect. They had two Nascent Soul ancestors. In this territory, they were top-tier.

They were still far inferior to the five great Demonic Sects, but strong enough to disregard the background of most cultivators.

Such a small episode did not remain in Wang Yu's mind.

During the three days before the auction, Wang Yu wandered through every trading street of Tianbao City and acquired many more spirit materials.

The treasures he currently possessed were the Glazed Iceheart Pagoda, the Ghost-Weeping Flute, the Earth-Net Ghost Mask, and the Starfall Cold Cauldron.

[T/N: Changing Glazed Iceheart Tower into Pagoda from now on]

Aside from the furnace which was middle-grade, the other three were all lower-grade magic treasures, and none were primary offensive treasures.

His life-bound magic treasure still required him to master his life-bound divine ability before integrating and refining them together to fully unleash its power.

Moreover, Wang Yu had grown accustomed to fighting barehanded. With so many secret arts and divine abilities at his disposal, he felt he needed a treasure that could amplify spell power or provide an external energy source.

He was also lacking in defensive–type magic treasures.

However, for now he was still focusing on collecting spirit herbs and materials. After this auction ended, he planned to exchange for the inheritance of the Ten Directions Frozen Demonic Path.

He wanted to see whether it contained any suitable magic treasures.

If nothing worked, then he could also attempt to refine the magic treasure recorded in the Ice Soul Holy Demonic Scripture, the so-called Ice Soul Demonic Sword, and use it to enhance his combat strength.

In this way, the Heaven Treasure Pavilion’s Earth-tier Auction proceeded as scheduled.

...

...

“So many people.”

Following the attendant’s guidance, Wang Yu encountered no unexpected obstacles this time and entered an upper-grade private room. The attendant was responsible for explaining how to use the items inside.

“Sir, this item is a magic tool modeled after the Round Light Art. It can connect with the auction stage outside and synchronize all auctioned items directly before you.

“This is the device used for placing bids. After activating it with your mana, you may input your desired price using divine sense.

“After you win a bid, the Heaven Treasure Pavilion will send someone to deliver the item and complete the transaction with you promptly. If you wish to leave halfway, the Pavilion provides a small teleportation formation for exiting the city. It is free of charge.”

The rules were not much different from the Yanluo Ghost Market. What surprised him, however, was that this place actually offered a small teleportation formation free for use.

This showed the gap between major powers and wandering cultivators.

Yanluo and Yanfú, that Dao-couple, had indeed built a prosperous ghost market, but their accumulated foundation was still far inferior to these large forces.

After the attendant brought out spirit fruits and tea, and asked whether Wang Yu required any special services, he quietly withdrew.

In the hall, the auction began.

The auctioneer was a charming woman dressed in a revealing three-point outfit covered by a thin pink gauze. No one knew what sort of body-modification secret art she had cultivated, for she had grown a pair of cat ears and a fluffy tail that swayed behind her shapely hips. Her figure was explosive, and every look or smile carried a seductive allure.

One had to admit that demonic cultivators certainly knew how to indulge.

Most demonic cultivators never concealed their preferences or desires. The two auctions Wang Yu had attended so far were both of this style.

In the Crimson Kite Demonic Domain, people were both the most expensive resource and the cheapest resource.

A moment later, her mature and tender voice sounded on stage. She clapped her hands, and a spirit material descended from above, landing openly upon the presentation platform.

“The first auction item is the Five Elements Spirit Pearls. Whether you refine them separately into magic treasures or combine them into a set of Five Elements treasures, they are supreme-grade spirit materials.

“When refined with Three-Flavors True Fire, they can be used for spirit pills, talisman ink, or formation flags. Their versatility is extremely high. When combined, their value becomes even greater. Starting price: five hundred thousand spirit stones.”

“Six hundred thousand.”

“Six hundred fifty thousand.”

“Seven hundred twenty thousand.”

Voices rose from various private rooms. This auction used an open-price competition format, unlike the concealed bidding of the Yanluo Ghost Market.

The atmosphere was naturally far livelier, and the sources of the spirit items were unquestionable.

Prices would also be higher than usual.

After all, these were five third-rank spirit materials, and the combined cyclic interaction added further value. Individually, each pearl was worth only a little over ten thousand.

They had not yet reached their true price ceiling.

In the end, the Five Elements Spirit Pearls were sold for one million seven hundred fifty thousand spirit stones to a guest in one of the upper-grade rooms.

On average, about three hundred fifty thousand each.

Although it was a premium price, it was still reasonable. In the right hands, it was worth the cost.

The auctioneer’s smile became even more enticing after opening with such a strong sale.

“The second auction item...”

More treasures appeared one after another. Wang Yu made no bids. If something was unsuitable, he ignored it, and if the price was unreasonable, he felt no need to waste stones.

Until...

“Next is the fifty-sixth auction item. It is a particularly rare material used in soul-path crafts. Its name is Ghost-Cavern Yin Jade.”

The Round Light mirror projected an image of a black jade pendant, three fingers wide, covered in smooth round holes. When it appeared, faint shrieking sounds could be heard.

Wang Yu’s eyes brightened. This item was undeniably suitable as a new material for enhancing the Ghost-Weeping Flute. When he refined that magic treasure originally, he had intentionally reserved room for improvement.

Even after upgrading it using Treasure-Nurturing Liquid, room for advancement remained. Although raising it to a high-grade magic treasure would be difficult, increasing it to a mid-grade one should not be hard.

Before his life-bound magic treasure was completed, the Ghost-Weeping Flute would remain his primary combat treasure. Investing in it was worthwhile.

“The base price is one hundred thousand spirit stones. Please bid.”

“One hundred forty thousand.”

“One hundred sixty thousand.”

“One hundred ninety thousand.”

After several rounds of bidding, participants decreased. Wang Yu concluded decisively: “Two hundred fifty thousand.”

This price matched the true value of Ghost-Cavern Yin Jade.

No further competition arose, and he obtained it smoothly. When the attendant delivered the spirit material, Wang Yu finally had a satisfying gain.