Upon hearing this, the girl in the yellow skirt thought for a moment, then produced a jade box. She opened it and handed it to Wang Hao. Inside lay a twenty-year-old Crimson Blood Ginseng.

“A twenty-year-old Crimson Blood Ginseng is still a Tier 1 spirit herb. That’s not what I need!”

Wang Hao already had this stuff. He just needed to plant it in the Red Soil, and in five or six years, he could harvest a hundred-year-old Crimson Blood Ginseng, which was already a Tier 2 spirit herb. However, to refine a Foundation Establishment Pill, a Tier 2 High-Grade Crimson Blood Ginseng—at least two hundred years old—was required. Wang Hao would need to cultivate it for ten years.

Hearing this, the girl frowned slightly and took out another jade box. Opening it revealed a snow-white lotus flower emitting waves of cold air.

“Snow White Lotus?” Wang Hao’s eyes lit up. This was precisely one of the auxiliary ingredients for the Foundation Establishment Pill and exactly what he was missing.

The Snow White Lotus had the effect of calming the mind and stabilizing the spirit. The main ingredients of the Foundation Establishment Pill possessed powerful and violent medicinal potency, requiring auxiliary herbs to mitigate these negative effects. The Snow White Lotus was used to stabilize a cultivator’s consciousness and prevent Qi Deviation.

Wang Hao took out two bottles of Gathering Spirit Pills and said, “These two bottles of Gathering Spirit Pills are worth sixty Spirit Stones. Exchanging them for your less-than-thirty-year-old Snow White Lotus is more than sufficient!”

The woman, however, shook her head. “Exchanging the Snow White Lotus for two bottles of pills is fair in theory. But as you just said, you would pay more based on the rarity of the spirit herb!”

“Is this Snow White Lotus considered rare?”

“If you don’t have it, then it’s rare!”

“Hmm, you’re beautiful, so you get to decide,” Wang Hao grumbled inwardly before taking out another half-bottle of Gathering Spirit Pills to complete the transaction.

Time passed until late afternoon. Seeing the sky gradually darken, Wang Hao packed up his stall and left.

That afternoon, he had acquired several seeds not yet unlocked by his farm. Most importantly, he obtained the crucial auxiliary ingredient for the Foundation Establishment Pill—the Snow White Lotus. It was a huge harvest!

He still had four bottles of Gathering Spirit Pills left. Combined with those sold to Wang Yanfeng, he had obtained a total of five hundred Spirit Stones.

With these assets, he dared to bid on some good items at the auction!

Five days passed in a flash.

Wang Yanfeng sent someone to fetch Wang Hao as agreed. The two then proceeded to the Qingyun Pavilion, where the auction was held.

“Eighth Uncle, why did the family send only you to participate in the auction?” Wang Hao asked, puzzled.

“Ah, for the Foundation Establishment Pill, the family has already exhausted its resources. Where would we get Spirit Stones to buy other things? Your Eighth Uncle is here this time just to sell a few bottles of Tier 2 pills on behalf of the family,” Wang Yanfeng said helplessly. “It’s not just our Wang family; the other three families probably won’t send many people either. Only the Cheng family didn’t buy a Foundation Establishment Pill this year; they are likely eyeing other treasures.”

He glanced at Wang Hao and asked, “What do you want to buy, kid?”

Wang Hao was just here to broaden his horizons. He only had a few hundred Spirit Stones on him. Buying Tier 1 items might be okay, but anything Tier 2 or above was far beyond his means.

So he shook his head. “I don’t really need anything specific. However, my alchemy furnace is somewhat damaged. If there’s a suitable one, I hope to buy a high-quality alchemy furnace!”

“A Tier 1 High-Grade alchemy furnace? Then why are you at an auction? The Qingyuan Sect’s shops should have them. But they aren’t cheap; don’t even think about it without two hundred Spirit Stones! If you can’t find a suitable one here, later I’ll accompany you to a Qingyuan Sect shop!”

“A Tier 1 High-Grade one costs two hundred Spirit Stones? Wouldn’t a Tier 2 one be even more expensive?”

Wang Yanfeng snorted lightly. “What do you think? Just our family’s Tier 2 Mid-Grade alchemy furnace cost nearly a thousand Spirit Stones back then! Moreover, Tier 2 alchemy furnaces aren’t something you can buy just because you have money. Without connections, you can only try your luck at auctions.”

As they talked, they arrived on the second floor of the Qingyun Pavilion. This auction wasn’t open to just anyone; only rogue cultivators at the late stage of Qi Refining and members of the five major families could participate. This was why Wang Hao needed Wang Yanfeng’s help to enter.

The layout of the auction hall wasn’t particularly remarkable. It was shaped like a bowl, with seating for several hundred people around the perimeter. There were private rooms on the third floor, but only Foundation Establishment cultivators could go up there. Since the Wang family only sent Wang Yanfeng this time, they simply took seats in the main hall.

In the center of the hall was a circular wooden platform with a long rectangular table placed on it.

The auction hadn’t started yet. Wang Yanfeng chatted with familiar cultivators while Wang Hao closed his eyes to rest. Almost everyone here had higher cultivation than him; he didn’t know anyone and had nothing to say. There were some family disciples who recognized him, but unfortunately, his reputation and status were poor, so no one was willing to engage with him.

Half an hour later, the clear sound of a bronze gong echoed through the building. The originally noisy venue quickly quieted down as everyone looked toward the circular platform.

A slightly plump middle-aged male cultivator appeared on the platform. Under the gaze of hundreds of people, he remained natural and poised—clearly, this wasn’t his first time experiencing such a scene.

“Fellow Daoists,” he began unhurriedly, his voice not loud but reaching everyone’s ears clearly. “I am Zheng Tong from the Qingyuan Sect. It is my honor to host this auction today. On behalf of the Qingyuan Sect, I welcome all Fellow Daoists participating in this auction. The rules are the same as auctions elsewhere: the highest bidder wins. If Spirit Stones are insufficient, treasures can be used as collateral or auctioned on-site.”

Wang Hao looked at the stage curiously and thought to himself, Could there be something like an amplifier magic tool or formation?

“Hurry up and start! Stop rambling!”

“That’s right! What everyone is waiting for is the Foundation Establishment Pill!”

A wave of laughter rippled through the crowd.

“SILENCE!”

A loud shout boomed forth, making Wang Hao’s eardrums ache. A Qingyuan Sect cultivator appeared on stage; the pressure of his aura indicated he was clearly at the Foundation Establishment stage.

That person glared coldly at those who had laughed earlier and said icily, “If any of you find this talkative fellow annoying, you are free to leave immediately! Those who wish to participate in this auction will behave properly for this old man!”

The crowd fell silent instantly; no one wanted trouble with a Foundation Establishment cultivator. Seeing the satisfied reaction from the crowd, the elder gave another stern look across their faces before departing from view.

Zheng Tong cleared his throat lightly. “Without further ado, let us begin with our first item up for bidding today.”

As he spoke, he retrieved what seemed like a storage pouch from within his robes, then withdrew a three-foot-long sword. It appeared to be a Tier 1 High-Grade weapon.

“This is a Tier 1 High-Grade Flowing Cloud Sword, crafted by the artifact masters within our own Qingyuan Sect! Starting price: sixty Spirit Stones. Minimum increment: ten per bid. Please!”

“Sixty!”

“Seventy!”

“I bid eighty Spirit Stones.”

The very first item being such a fine Tier 1 magic weapon immediately heated the atmosphere. After several rounds of price increases, it finally settled at one hundred and twenty Spirit Stones, paid by a rogue cultivator at the eighth layer of Qi Refining.

Zheng Tong smiled contentedly and continued retrieving items from his storage pouch. Next, he produced a piece of green bamboo about two feet in length and roughly the thickness of a writing brush barrel.

“Tier 2 Low-Grade Green Thunder Bamboo! Excellent material for crafting talisman brushes, and naturally suitable for making other types of magic tools as well! Starting price: one hundred Spirit Stones. Minimum increment: ten per bid. Please!”

Tier 2 materials were considered quite precious within the Qingniu Market area. The number of bidders surged immediately until finally, it was sold off for two hundred and ten Spirit Stones after a fierce competition.

Following that, Zheng Tong consecutively presented several more Tier 2 Low-Grade materials, spirit herbs, and even finished magic artifacts, all fetching decent prices.

Even though he possessed a farm system, listening to these figures made Wang Hao inwardly wince, feeling the financial pinch.

Seeing his nephew seeming somewhat downcast, Wang Yanfeng assumed it was due to the lack of a suitable alchemy furnace appearing on the auction list thus far. He tried comforting him, saying, “Tier 1 artifacts are usually sold directly through the Qingyun Pavilion shops and rarely appear at auctions. It’s a normal situation. Wait until the event ends later, and Eighth Uncle will accompany you to purchase one together, okay?”

Wang Hao nodded silently in agreement.