"Two thousand four hundred spirit stones!"
Just as Yun Ze was about to make a move, Yu Xian's voice echoed in his ears.
This voice seemed to possess a magical quality, instantly suppressing the killing intent that surged within him.
He subconsciously turned his head to look at the figure sitting on the donkey, then hastily collected his thoughts and focused his attention on the two waist drums.
Now was not the time to act!
People could be killed at any time; the most important thing now was to take these two waist drums!
Yun Ze stared intently at Chen Xiao's waist, waiting for him to raise his hand again so he could snatch the waist drums!
He could feel his heart pounding wildly in his chest, and he listened to the incessant bidding sounds in his ears, yet Chen Xiao did not raise his hand again.
Could he be out of money?
Had he missed his only chance then!
"Three thousand six hundred, first call!"
Fu Yue's voice rang out again: "Three thousand six hundred, second call. Are there any other guests who wish to bid?"
"Three thousand eight hundred!"
Chen Xiao raised his hand again!
Yun Ze's pupils trembled. Seeing the black cloak lift again, he prepared to reach out and snatch it!
But the moment his fingers crossed the boundary of the black cloak, a hand suddenly landed on his shoulder!
He'd been discovered!?
The next moment.
Yun Ze felt the world spin, and when he came to his senses, he had already been removed from the auction venue.
He was now in the ordinary immortal market hundreds of meters away.
He hurriedly turned to look behind him and saw a scruffy middle-aged man standing before him, wearing a dark purple robe, standing with legs akimbo, one foot constantly twitching, and writing something in his hand.
Yun Ze quickly took a step back, about to create some distance from the man, when he found that the person before him had vanished.
As he was shocked, a voice sounded from behind him again.
"Kid, what do you think you're doing? I finally caught a case, I can't let you run off like this!"
Yun Ze turned around again and found that the middle-aged man was standing behind him, still looking down and writing on a wooden plaque.
What kind of technique was this!
"Teleportation!?"
Yun Ze exclaimed subconsciously, but the other party shook his head with a wry smile.
"Teleportation? I'm just a Foundation Establishment cultivator. If my movements could be seen by you, what would that make me?"
As the middle-aged man spoke, he slapped the wooden plaque in his hand onto Yun Ze, placed one hand on his hip, and extended the other forward: "Here, take it! Attempted theft in the first-tier immortal market, fined ten spirit stones. Hand over the fine!"
"Fine... fine?"
Yun Ze paused, staring at the wooden plaque in his hand, and found that it bore the same characters.
"That's right."
The middle-aged man replied matter-of-factly, then looked Yun Ze up and down. "What? You don't even know the rules here? Who brought you in?"
"I."
Yu Xian's voice sounded. He had somehow ridden Donkey Brother over, with Bu Bu following behind.
The middle-aged man first heard the voice, but hadn't seen who was speaking. He turned and frowned at the figure behind him: "No one... Sir, why are you here?"
Yun Ze guessed that he had intended to say "No one is allowed."
But for some reason, when he saw Yu Xian, he seemed to transform into a different person, becoming exceptionally polite and respectful. His foot stopped twitching, his hand left his hip, and even his posture became much more upright.
"Oh, do I need to inform you when I come?"
"No, no."
The middle-aged man waved his hands repeatedly, then glanced at the wooden plaque in Yun Ze's hand. With lightning speed, he snatched it back, then conjured a ball of crimson flame in his hand, instantly incinerating it.
"Little brother, this time it's a verbal warning. Remember to be more careful next time!"
As soon as he finished speaking, before Yun Ze could understand what had happened, he saw the middle-aged man vanish before his eyes again.
If it weren't for the pile of black ash on the ground, he would have suspected the man was a hallucination.
"Haa~"
Yu Xian yawned, a smile on his lips, and asked Yun Ze, "Brother Yun, weren't you looking for an acquaintance? How did you end up here?"
"Brother Yu, I..."
At this point, no matter how unwilling he was, he had to speak.
From his understanding of Yu Xian during this time, he knew Yu Ge's character and naturally wasn't worried about any connection between him and Chen Xiao.
However... this matter was still a personal vendetta.
When he sought Elder Xiao's help for revenge, it was because he had no ability himself and could only rely on external forces.
But now that he had entered the cultivation world, if possible, he still wanted to achieve revenge through his own efforts!
Yu Xian's ears twitched as if he had heard something. He turned the donkey's head and walked back towards the auction venue.
"Alright, alright, we'll talk later. Come on, come on!"
Yun Ze tilted his head, not knowing what Yu Xian had heard, but he had no choice but to follow.
The three of them arrived at the outer perimeter of the auction house. This time, they didn't push their way in but watched from afar.
They saw Fu Yue auction off the Soul Condensing Pill, then an immortal robe, and then place a jade bottle on the high platform.
"Everyone, the next item is the final lot of this auction."
"Earth Soul Liquid!"
The surroundings instantly fell silent.
Yun Ze could clearly feel the gazes of nearly a thousand people shifting from Fu Yue to the jade bottle.
"I'm sure everyone knows what this is, but as per custom, Fu Yue still needs to introduce it."
Fu Yue smiled charmingly and continued, "The first step on the long path of immortality is not Qi Refining, but Foundation Establishment!
And there are three methods for Foundation Establishment: Heavenly Dao Foundation Establishment, Earthly Dao Foundation Establishment, and Human Dao Foundation Establishment.
Human Dao Foundation Establishment: Consume a Foundation Establishment Pill, merge nine Qi vortexes, and gain a hundred years of lifespan!
Earthly Dao Foundation Establishment: Use Earth Milk Jade Marrow as the base, nine spiritual items as the guide, and supplement with a Foundation Establishment Pill to merge nine Qi vortexes, gaining three hundred years of lifespan!
As for the method of Heavenly Dao Foundation Establishment...
No one knows, no one has ever discovered it, and only one person in history has achieved it!"
"If any of you can find this method, you are welcome to sell it to the Immortal Mansion. The Immortal Mansion is willing to exchange it for a seventh-tier spiritual artifact and a set of Heaven-tier cultivation techniques!"
This was Yun Ze's first time learning about the classification of Foundation Establishment. He firmly kept Fu Yue's words in mind, then looked at Yu Xian, and a guess arose in his mind.
Did Brother Yu bring him here because he was too lazy to tell him this, but wanted him to know, so he used Fu Yue's mouth to say it?
"Alright, let's get back to the point."
Fu Yue steered the conversation back and then introduced the contents of the jade bottle: "The Earth Soul Liquid in this bottle is one of the nine spiritual items required for Earthly Dao Foundation Establishment.
In Fu Yue's opinion, this is no longer a spiritual item, but the future! It is longevity!
If one can gather the Earth Milk Jade Marrow and the nine spiritual items, they will have a chance to strive for that five hundred years of lifespan! To achieve Earthly Dao Foundation Establishment!
Whether for personal use or for future generations, it is an excellent choice!"
"Alright, Fu Yue will say no more. The auction begins now. The starting bid is... six thousand low-grade spirit stones. The increment must not be less than one thousand spirit stones each time!"
So expensive!
The starting bid for a bottle of Earth Soul Liquid could buy nearly six first-tier low-grade spiritual artifacts, and each increment required adding another one!
Who could afford this!
Just as Yun Ze's eyes widened, he heard a voice in his ear.
"Thirty thousand!"
Yu Xian uttered a price, instantly drawing everyone's attention, causing most of them to turn to look at him.
He smiled dismissively and said calmly.
"Stop looking. If anyone bids higher than this price, you can take it. If not, I will.
This way, everyone can save some trouble and go back to sleep early, right?"