NOVPUB"Senior has arrived!" the maid said respectfully.
"Hmm... Wait here for me, I will instruct you further if there’s anything!"
Lin Tianming nodded and spoke a sentence, then the two, one in front and the other following, entered the VIP room, leaving the maid to stand guard alone at the entrance.
Once inside the VIP room, he and Qin Xi each took a seat on a peach wood chair, watching the bustling public area below and started chatting idly.
By that time, the hundreds of seats in the entire public area were nearly filled with cultivators, and there were still cultivators continuously filing in.
Given the popularity of the scene and the cultivations of those who came to participate, the auction indeed seemed to be very promising.
At a glance, one could spot a number of cultivators in the late stage of Foundation Establishment, a scene hotter than the decennial grand assembly auction.
"Fairy Qin, this time it truly is a gathering of talents, there must be many treasures rarely seen; be sure not to miss them," Lin Tianming reminded her.
Upon hearing this, Qin Xi nodded, then smiled and said, "That is of course natural, for the sake of the auction, these past few days I have also made quite the preparations, they surely won’t disappoint us, right!"
Lin Tianming smiled and changed the subject, then closed his eyes to rest in the lively scene below.
A little half an hour passed.
At this moment, the auction venue was packed to the brim, the public seating area was completely full, and even nearly a hundred extra seats had been temporarily added, which were also filled with people.
With just the public area alone, there were more than six hundred Foundation Establishment cultivators, adding in a hundred or so people from the VIP rooms, the cultivators gathered here were no fewer than seven or eight hundred.
One must know that in Luoyun Market, on regular days it’s not easy to gather ten Foundation Establishment cultivators, yet here there were so many, and all with considerable cultivation levels.
Although there were factors such as the Recruitment Order and the beast tide, this fundamentally demonstrated just how popular Qianchuan Market was.
At this time, the auction was in full swing, and many cultivators chatted with each other as if they were not affected in the least by the beast tide’s assault.
Following a loud voice, an elderly figure emerged from a corner of the auction venue—undoubtedly, it was Xue Chong who had hosted several Foundation Establishment Area auctions.
Xue Chong cupped his hands in a salute, walking around and greeting some acquaintances among the cultivators.
Several cultivators returned the gesture, it was evident that Xue Chong had a good reputation in the market.
Thinking about it, it made sense, with the number of auctions Xue Chong had hosted at least a hundred times, he had been active in this field for nearly a century, so naturally, he knew a considerable number of cultivators. 𝓃𝓸𝓋𝓅𝓊𝒷.𝓬𝓸𝓂
Soon, Xue Chong reached the central stage of the auction venue, surveyed the entire gathering of cultivators, and then began to deliver the opening remarks with formal courtesy.
"Hehe... Old Daoist Xue Chong is honored to host this auction. Many of you here are old acquaintances," he said.
"This time, as fellow Daoists have gathered, the auction has also prepared many rare and precious treasures, even I myself am quite envious!"
At these words, many cultivators in the venue showed expressions of anticipation, some could hardly wait.
Xue Chong was very pleased, his few words had ignited the desires of the cultivators, and going by this trend, the subsequent bidding section was bound to be fierce.
"Tsk, tsk, tsk... Enough of the idle chatter, let us begin the auction!" Xue Chong called out loudly.
As soon as his voice fell, the cultivators below started cheering, making the already started auction even livelier.
Seeing this, Xue Chong wore a smug expression, chuckled, and then waved his hand to interrupt the cheering cultivators.
Then, he flung his sleeve and his resonant voice filled the entire auction venue.
"The first item for auction, a Second Order Medium Quality Defense Talisman, starting bid is one thousand eight hundred Spirit Stones, with each bid increment no less than twenty Spirit Stones!
Immediately, cultivators began to call out bids, as a Second Order Medium Quality Defense Talisman, at such a critical time, was very much in demand; it might save a life at times.
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"One thousand eight hundred fifty spirit stones!"
"One thousand nine hundred twenty spirit stones!"
...
Cultivators were raising the bid by no less than fifty stones each time, and the price continued to climb, soon reaching as much as two thousand six hundred spirit stones.
Clearly, with the great battle approaching, such consumable treasures were highly sought after, even if the price was far higher than usual, there were still many cultivators willing to pay.
Lin Tianming and Qin Xi witnessed the whole process, but Lin Tianming was not interested; he already had several Second Order Medium Quality Defense Talismans on him, and one more or one less did not make much difference to him.
Under their watchful eyes, the first item, the Second Order Medium Quality Defense Talisman, was sold for two thousand eight hundred spirit stones, which was even higher than the price Lin Tianming had paid for it alone at the Sky Dragon Pavilion.
At that moment, in the public area of the auction hall, a Third Level Foundation Establishment Cultivator joyfully handed over spirit stones and received the talisman paper from Xue Chong, examining it with great fondness amidst envious glances from those around him.
In the center of the hall, Xue Chong nodded his head in satisfaction. The first item had fetched a high price and had successfully boosted the atmosphere in the hall.
Immediately afterward, Xue Chong continued to preside over the auction, presenting the second item, which was a Second Order Superior metal ore.
Although at this moment, ores for Artifact Refining were not in high demand, since treasures were hard to come by, many cultivators still competed fiercely in bidding, and in the end, a Second Layer Foundation Establishment Cultivator acquired it for two thousand two hundred spirit stones.
The first two items were of good quality and sold for relatively high prices, which made the atmosphere in the hall extremely lively.
Lin Tianming sat in the VIP room, watching the fervent atmosphere below with a look full of anticipation.
Below them, Xue Chong was in high spirits, as the auction’s atmosphere was enthusiastic and the selling prices were higher than usual. Once all the items were auctioned off, he could expect a generous commission reward.
Collecting his thoughts, Xue Chong continued to oversee the auction.
Under everyone’s gaze, he brought out the third item, which was a Second Order Superior Spiritual Medicine Material.
Upon seeing the Spiritual Medicine in his hand, Lin Tianming remained very calm. This plant was too common—their Clan Spiritual Herb Garden had more than a dozen mature ones, so there was no need to waste spirit stones.
However, while he was not interested, there should be plenty of Alchemists below, or other cultivators collecting this medicine, who drove the price of the Spiritual Medicine quite high.
After seven or eight rounds of competitive bidding, a female cultivator purchased the plant for one thousand eight hundred spirit stones.
The auction continued at a brisk pace.
The regular auction items had all been sold, a good hundred or more items, all rarities that were hard to see on ordinary days.
In this process, Lin Tianming did not bid often, spending only a little more than seven thousand spirit stones to acquire several Second Order Superior Spiritual Medicine Materials and a bottle of Fusion Spirit Pill. The Spiritual Medicine Materials were the kinds he could use and were acquired for reserves.
Beyond that, he gained almost nothing, mainly because his tastes were too refined, and the things he was missing would not appear among these regular items; the inferior ones did not catch his eye.
His attention was focused only on the last ten showcase items.
Not just him, out of about seven to eight hundred Foundation Establishment Cultivators in the hall, at least half were there for the final showcase items.
Meanwhile, Qin Xi had not done badly at this bustling auction, coming across rare treasures during the middle and latter stages of the auction, which included all kinds of elixir charms.
After fierce competition, Qin Xi, well-prepared, triumphantly secured the items she wanted, leading to a rewarding experience.
At this moment, with the regular-stage items auctioned off, more than a hundred treasures had been sold without a single pass, each for a price above thirty percent higher than usual.
In such circumstances, the atmosphere of the entire auction had reached a whole new level.
All the cultivators present, whether they were just onlookers or were there for the final showcase treasures, were all eager and ready to try their luck.
In the VIP room on the second floor, Lin Tianming and Qin Xi perked up and focused their attention on Xue Chong below, their expressions filled with anticipation.
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