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Chapter 581: 587: Spiritual Medicine
After all, as things stand, Wei Ningchen seems to be a very good choice.
He has an extraordinary identity, a lofty status, and he also has feelings for Li Chengshuo.
Although it’s impossible to ensure that his feelings will last, the promises made in blood oaths and Demon Oaths provide security, at least ensuring that Li Chengshuo won’t be harmed in this relationship.
Li Zhirui also believes that given some time, he will be able to fully grow and possess enough strength and confidence to protect Li Chengshuo and shelter the Li family!
Outsiders could only see Wei Ningchen’s inscrutable expressions and had no idea what the two had discussed.
"Dad, what were you talking about?"
Li Zhirui shook his head without a word and turned to walk straight towards the auction hall.
——
"Jin Yuan, fellow daoist!"
In front of outsiders, the fat cultivator who always greeted people with a smile now looked at him very seriously and said, "You must know that the commerce chamber has always remained neutral!"
"No matter the identity or status of the other party, we act only according to the rules of the commerce chamber! We do not get involved in any conflict between any powers! But what you did today gravely violates this principle!"
"Brother Jin Mian, I know I was wrong!" Jin Yuan felt unease growing inside him and looked at Jin Mian with pleading eyes.
"This matter has had a very negative impact and could greatly damage the commerce chamber’s image. Therefore, after a decision by the twelve ranked Elders, you are stripped of all your duties, to remain just an idle retainer."
If this incident had happened privately, perhaps Xuanfa Pavilion would not have been so ruthless, and a few verbal warnings would have sufficed, but it happened in front of many cultivators!
If it wasn’t dealt with seriously, who knows what kind of rumors would spread, and it could affect Xuanfa Pavilion’s image, especially when they’d put so much effort and resources into hosting this auction, only for it to become a laughingstock.
Upon hearing this, Jin Yuan’s face turned ashen, and he swayed as if about to collapse, knowing that before this, his position was as an Elder!
Even though it was a position without real power, its status was immeasurably higher than that of a retainer! And whereas the former was a direct line of the commerce chamber with various benefits, the latter was not even considered part of the side lineage, merely hired on a contractual basis!
Jin Mian sighed and said, "This was decided by the ranked Elders, and it cannot be changed. However, if you work hard and accumulate merit, you can be restored to your former position."
"Thank you for the advice, brother!" Jin Yuan was filled with regret. Why did he let himself get carried away and make such a foolish decision?
——
"During this time, has the Spirit Beast Egg that our family intends to purchase been put on stage?" Li Zhirui quickly returned to the private room and asked.
"It hasn’t appeared yet." Li Chenghuo asked, "Uncle Shiling, are things settled now?"
"It’s nothing, focus on the auction."
Seeing that Li Zhirui didn’t want to elaborate, Li Chenghuo wisely kept his mouth shut and quietly listened to the intermittent sounds of bidding.
Several Spiritual Objects were auctioned off in succession, and the room remained silent.
That was until a sealed third-tier Spiritual Fire, the Spirit Flame Green Spirit, took the stage.
"The Green Spirit Flame is finally up!" Li Chenghuo could hardly contain his excitement and looked determined to win it no matter what.
For this, he had crafted a large number of Magical Treasures over the past half-year, and together with his previous savings, he had prepared more than three hundred thousand Spirit Stones, determined to secure the Green Spirit Flame.
Because his Life-bound Magic Treasure, the Nine Flames Burning Heaven Pagoda, required nine types of Spiritual Fire to unleash its strongest power.
Yet over the years, Li Chenghuo had only collected two types of Spiritual Fire, substituting the others with the Golden Core True Fire from various Golden Core Realm Cultivators of his family, which significantly reduced its power.
When the auctioneer announced the starting bid was one hundred thousand Spirit Stones, Li Chenghuo spoke without hesitation, saying, "Two hundred thousand Spirit Stones!"
The price of most third-tier Spiritual Fires is around two hundred thousand Spirit Stones, so this bid was close to the limit for Qing Spirit Flame.
With Li Chenghuo’s initial bid, he deterred the vast majority of Cultivators from contemplating a competition, after all, Qing Spirit Flame wasn’t an extraordinarily precious Spiritual Fire.
Naturally, there were some who didn’t give up and thought that this was Li Chenghuo’s strategy, intentionally offering a very high price from the very beginning to make others mistakenly believe he was determined to win, regardless of the expense, thus deterring them from competing.
"Two hundred and twenty thousand Spirit Stones!"
Li Chenghuo followed without hesitation, "Two hundred and eighty thousand Spirit Stones!"
After this, no one doubted Li Chenghuo’s determination, with bids nearly doubling the price. Bidding any higher, and if he were to back out, that would lead to a significant loss.
"Congratulations to this fellow Daoist for obtaining the Qing Spirit Flame!" said the auctioneer, thrilled beyond measure.
After all, the auctioneer’s income was closely linked to how much the auctioned items sold over their original price. The higher the premium, the more Spirit Stones they pocketed.
And then, without stopping, another Spiritual Object was brought up for auction.
Over a hundred dazzling treasures appeared on stage, each one sparking a heated reaction, and so far, not a single one had failed to sell!
"Surely everyone is tired after spending most of the day here. Let’s take a rest for a couple of hours before we continue our auction!"
This was mainly done to keep the competing Cultivators in good spirits, preventing them from becoming listless and losing the auction’s excitement.
"During this time, you can rest on the Spirit Boat or browse the stalls, but remember, do not instigate fights!" Li Zhirui warned the members of his clan, as he had no means to bail anyone out of the black jail.
Afterward, he went to browse the stalls on his own and indeed found many valuable items, such as seedlings for several fourth-tier Spiritual Medicines!
"What terms do you want for this seedling?"
The stall owner, a senior Foundation Establishment Cultivator, greeted Li Zhirui with a bow, "One Golden Core Realm Skill, twenty Foundation Establishment Pills, and five Gold Core Formation Pills."
At that, Li Zhirui’s eyebrows shot up; the man was clearly planning for his backers, and the three items he requested already exceeded the value of the fourth-tier Spiritual Medicine seedling.
Of course, the price of a fourth-tier Spiritual Medicine capable of propagation couldn’t be estimated that simply.
However, the growth time for Spiritual Medicine seedlings was lengthy and fraught with uncertainty. Without maturation, all previous investments might come to naught, which was why this seedling had not been sold.
Not just him, the other unsold seedlings either looked unhealthy or the stall owners’ demands were too excessive.
The issue with the seedlings was no problem for Li Zhirui, who possessed a space, as long as the seedlings remained viable, the power of the space could revive them!
Li Zhirui wasn’t one to be taken advantage of; even if he had the means, he wouldn’t agree to the deal outright.
"I can give you the skill and the Foundation Establishment Pills, but I don’t have five Gold Core Formation Pills, only three," Li Zhirui said. "If you agree, we can make the trade now. If not, let’s forget it."
"Good!" The man hurriedly nodded in agreement, for until now, Li Zhirui’s offer had been the highest.
