Zheng Tong took out another black formation disk. “A Tier 1 High-Grade Spirit Gathering Formation. It requires only ten low-grade Spirit Stones to activate, allowing Qi Refining cultivators to increase their efficiency by fifty percent while cultivating within its range! Starting price: one hundred and fifty Spirit Stones. Minimum increment: ten per bid. Please!”

“Spirit Gathering Formation?” Wang Hao’s eyes lit up. He instantly realized the potential benefits. His current cultivation speed was still insufficient. Reaching Qi Refining Perfection would likely take until he was nearly fifty years old. If he could obtain this formation, he might easily save almost a decade of time.

“What? You want it?” Wang Yanfeng’s voice sounded beside his ear, reminding him, “Although it is indeed good, it requires a constant supply of Spirit Stones to operate. Each replacement lasts mere days. It’s certainly not something minor family cultivators like us can afford for long-term usage.”

Even replacing the stones every ten days would be equivalent to consuming one stone daily. The yearly cost would be three hundred and sixty-five stones. For ordinary cultivators, this burden was indeed hard to bear. However, Wang Hao felt confident he could manage somehow. Maybe selling a bottle of Gathering Spirit Pills monthly would be necessary, but regardless of the cost, he decided he must acquire it!

“Eighth Uncle, please help me bid. You know your nephew’s aptitude is poor. I need assistance like this to advance. It’s my only chance of possibly reaching the later stages of Qi Refining someday…”

“How many stones do you have?”

Wang Hao extended three fingers, indicating the amount.

Wang Yanfeng exclaimed in surprise, “Hah, your assets are almost comparable to mine. Well, fine. I’ll help you once. If it’s insufficient, I’ll cover the difference. You can repay me later using Gathering Spirit Pills. Deal?”

While they conversed, seven or eight people had already called out bids, pushing the price directly to double the starting amount, quickly reaching the two hundred mark.

Seeing the anxious expression on his nephew’s face, Wang Yanfeng decided to intervene, calling out, “Two hundred and forty.”

The jump of forty stones unfortunately didn’t deter the other bidders present.

“Two hundred and fifty!”

“I bid two hundred and sixty!”

Only after crossing the three hundred threshold did the number of competitors begin to decrease gradually.

“Three hundred and twenty,” Wang Yanfeng continued bidding persistently.

“Three hundred and thirty.” A young man wearing a brown Daoist robe stood up, adding, “Please, Fellow Daoists, give the Zhao family some face. Respect our request.”

A rogue cultivator directly retorted with a scoff, “Hah, in auctions, the highest bidder wins. Talking about face now? Three hundred and forty!”

It seemed loose cultivators could also be wealthy sometimes.

Wang Yanfeng frowned and glanced towards his nephew. Receiving a signal to continue pressing onward, he called, “Three hundred and fifty!”

The Zhao family representative withdrew from the competition. That rogue cultivator persisted, raising further: “Three hundred and sixty!”

“Three hundred and seventy!” Wang Yanfeng calmly declared his final offer.

This caused the opponent to hesitate for a moment before ultimately conceding defeat.

Zheng Tong’s smiling eyes clearly showed he was pleased; the price far exceeded the formation’s actual value. Still, he tried stoking the flames, asking if anyone else was interested, before officially concluding the sale and announcing the winner after the standard three-count.

Wang Yanfeng stepped forward to complete the transaction, receiving the formation disk and finally settling the matter.

Only after the dust settled did Wang Hao release a heavy sigh, slumping into his chair in relief. His total funds were five hundred stones. He had spent a large portion, yet he considered it a worthwhile investment. Accelerating his cultivation progress significantly was a value beyond cost.

Then, Zheng Tong produced three jade bottles, announcing the next items. “Three bottles of Qi Condensing Pills, usable for both early and mid-stage Foundation Establishment cultivation. Each bottle starts at two hundred. Minimum increment: thirty per bid. Please!”

These were provided by the Wang family. Eventually, they sold for three hundred, three hundred and thirty, and three hundred respectively, fetching decent returns overall.

Next followed sets of attack and defense artifacts, Tier 2 magic tools, spiritual beasts, and so on. However, Wang Hao lost interest completely. He was unable to use or afford them anyway, so why bother paying attention?

Half an hour later, they finally reached the climax—the finale segment of the event eagerly awaited by many.

Clearing his throat and raising his voice, Zheng Tong announced solemnly, “There are a total of three Foundation Establishment Pills available for separate auction. Each starts at thirty thousand. Minimum increment: five hundred. Please begin bidding now!”

“Thirty thousand!”

“Thirty-one thousand!”

“Thirty-two thousand!”

The atmosphere instantly intensified fiercely. Most bids came from the upper floor private rooms, likely representing families or powerful individuals of unknown identities.

After intense competition, the first pill finally sold for fifty-three thousand Spirit Stones, successfully concluding the initial round. Surprisingly, however, they didn’t proceed to the second pill immediately. Instead, Zheng Tong received a storage pouch handed by a nearby attendant, who explained the situation briefly beforehand.

“This senior is short on funds and intends to auction some items to cover costs accordingly…”

“Two Tier 2 Low-Grade Demon Cores—one Fire attribute, one Wood attribute. Separate auctions, starting at five hundred each. Please proceed with bidding now.”

Tier 2 demonic beasts were capable of forming cores usable for alchemy and artifact forging. However, not every beast possessed them; there was only roughly a twenty percent chance among the Tier 2 level. It was only guaranteed upon reaching Tier 3.

After bidding concluded, they were sold off for eight hundred and nine hundred respectively.

Next, Zheng Tong retrieved an egg-sized white spiritual egg with faint green patterns visible on the surface, describing it vaguely. “An unknown origin demonic beast egg. High probability of being a Tier 2 creature. Remaining vitality is at eighty percent—a decent chance of hatching successfully. If you manage to raise a guardian beast, it is an excellent choice indeed! Starting price: one hundred. Please bid now.”

The vague description caused many frowns among the audience. Someone questioned skeptically, “Unknown species? Eighty percent vitality? If it fails to hatch or emerges as a Tier 1 creature, wouldn’t the loss be immense?”

“That’s right. One hundred is too expensive. Definitely a shady deal, perhaps?”

“SILENCE! Those who think it unfavorable can simply refrain from bidding. Further disruptions will be dealt with severely, remember!” The Foundation Establishment overseer intervened, maintaining order and sternly warning potential troublemakers, effectively silencing dissent immediately.

The crowd fell silent again. Nobody was willing to gamble hard-earned resources recklessly. Obviously, except perhaps a certain individual currently contemplating possibilities seriously.

Wang Hao felt strongly tempted. He was aware of the benefits a powerful spiritual companion could provide, recalling Grandmaster tales of “Old Demon Han’s” Weeping Soul Beast saving its master multiple times at crucial moments, despite mostly sleeping otherwise.

Seeing no interest, he attempted a cautious bid. “One hundred Spirit Stones.”

This alarmed Wang Yanfeng greatly. Fearing his nephew would spend his remaining funds and leave none to repay the debt incurred earlier—and recalling his elder brother’s warning to never lend money under any circumstances—he suddenly glared suspiciously, asking accusingly, “Kid, you’ve been acting obedient for the past two years. Were you planning to scam your Eighth Uncle today?”

“Ahem, Eighth Uncle is overthinking things,” Wang Hao explained hastily, sweating nervously. “Nephew still possesses four bottles of Gathering Spirit Pills—enough to repay the debt fully, assuredly!”

“One hundred and ten!” Another person, seeing a bid, attempted to raise slightly, testing the waters.

“One hundred and twenty!” Wang Hao added another ten, sounding indifferent and adopting a seemingly casual attitude, possibly to bluff.

That person pondered briefly but ultimately declined further participation. Others were similarly uninterested, allowing Wang Hao to secure the purchase and complete the transaction smoothly.

He quickly stepped forward, paid, and received the egg, storing it safely within his robes. He felt satisfied with the acquisition despite draining his last reserves completely. This meant he would be forced to stay in the market area to cultivate and refine pills for the foreseeable future, unable to venture outside safely.

Following that, the two Foundation Establishment Pill auctions proceeded relatively smoothly, yet the tension was palpable. Especially nearing the end, Wang Hao noticed many cultivators’ expressions were abnormal, harboring resentment and hatred. They were likely contemplating robbery and murder afterward. Undoubtedly, this was unrelated to him personally; he planned to remain low-profile within the market confines, believing he was unlikely to be targeted directly.

Wang Yanfeng also noticed the dangerous atmosphere. He hurriedly departed the Qingyun Pavilion immediately after the auction concluded, settling the payment received for selling the pills and swiftly returning to the family shop’s second floor. He instructed his nephew to stay hidden temporarily to avoid attention, advising him to return home discreetly later when safe. Wang Hao agreed, understanding the seriousness of the situation fully.