After a moment of collective silence, a few scattered bids finally began to trickle in:

"Two hundred and ten Spirit Stones."

"Two hundred and thirty."

"I’ll bid two hundred and forty."

...

Lin Changheng felt a small sense of relief. The bidding was barely inching along the minimum increment, which meant no one was particularly desperate to own this item.

Not a single person had even made a significant jump in their bid.

This helped to calm his nerves.

"Two hundred and eighty Lower Grade Spirit Stones."

"Two ninety!"

"I bid three hundred. If anyone goes higher, I’ll gladly concede."

The bidding continued its feeble climb. Of the few who had been bidding, many were now dropping out.

At this moment, Lin Changheng spoke up:

"Three hundred and fifty Spirit Stones."

He made a huge jump, intending to intimidate his already hesitant competitors.

As soon as the bid was made, many heads turned toward the sound. They looked at Lin Changheng in his black robe and bamboo hat, their eyes filled with surprise.

’Could this person be the consignor or a shill hired by the auction house?’

Raising the price by fifty right off the bat.

’If he’s not a shill, he must be a fool with too much money!’

This thought surfaced in many people’s minds.

And so, naturally, no one raised the bid.

Lin Changheng was secretly pleased. After a moment, the old auctioneer was already preparing to close the bidding:

"A Fellow Daoist has bid three hundred and fifty Lower Grade Spirit Stones! Going once at three hundred and fifty! Going twice at three hundred and fifty! Going thr—"

"Hold on."

But in the next instant, a rather clear female voice called out, ringing through the hall:

"I bid three hundred and sixty."

The old man smoothly paused, then continued with a chuckle, "Another Fellow Daoist has made a new bid! Three hundred and sixty Spirit Stones! Will any other Fellow Daoists continue the bidding?"

As he spoke, he cast an encouraging look in Lin Changheng’s direction.

Meanwhile, many gazes, including Lin Changheng’s, were sizing up the Female Cultivator who had jumped in at the last moment.

She was seated near the back, dressed in a loose, moon-white robe that couldn’t conceal the proud curves of her chest. They were heavy, giving off an almost suffocating sense of pressure.

Her wide hood was half-drawn, vaguely revealing the lower half of a snow-white chin.

’Could it be that this woman has also taken a fancy to this item and has the same plans as me?’

Lin Changheng’s gaze darkened slightly.

’If that’s the case, winning it won’t be easy.’

He then continued bidding, his voice cold and devoid of any emotion, "Three hundred and ninety."

"Four hundred."

The Female Cultivator coolly continued, topping his bid without the slightest hesitation.

"Four hundred and thirty."

The price was rapidly approaching Lin Changheng’s limit.

"Hmph. I bid four hundred and forty."

The Female Cultivator’s face was hidden, and the ’waves’ beneath her moon-white robe rose and fell with her normal breathing, not undulating wildly. Her calm demeanor made it impossible for Lin Changheng to gauge her limits.

But this gunpowder-filled scene was a welcome sight to the old auctioneer, so much so that the wrinkles around his eyes crinkled with delight.

’Forget it.’

Lin Changheng sighed internally. Who would have thought he’d run into a competitor who seemed to have money to burn? It was frustrating, but he knew that if the competition continued, the cost would become unacceptably high.

"Four hundred and seventy!"

He called out one last price. If the Female Cultivator went any higher, he would give up.

"Four hund—"

The Female Cultivator’s voice reflexively started another bid. Lin Changheng immediately shook his head slightly, resolved to give up, but in the next instant, her voice abruptly stopped.

This was because a solemn, aged voice had just reminded her in her ear: "Don’t get carried away. Save the Spirit Stones for the grand finale!"

’Huh?’

’She’s given up bidding?’ An unexpected wave of joy washed over him.

Lin Changheng immediately glanced over. The Female Cultivator was still sitting in her spot, unmoving, her expression hidden. However, the curve of her chest had bounced sharply a few times.

Clearly, her mind was in turmoil; her impulsive urge to bid had been directly suppressed by someone.

He scanned the area around her but couldn’t identify the person. They must have used the [Sound Transmission Skill].

As expected, the Female Cultivator said no more. She sat as if in deep Meditation, staring at nothing, completely ignoring the encouraging glances from the old auctioneer.

"...Going three times at four hundred and seventy! Congratulations to this Fellow Daoist for winning the item."

The old auctioneer’s voice fell, bringing down the gavel and confirming the winner.

The whole process—from being certain of victory, to being forced to give up, and then to a sudden turn for the better—was a rollercoaster of emotions for Lin Changheng. Realizing his feelings had been amplified, he immediately forced himself to focus and calm his spirit.

Many eyes turned to the final victor, Lin Changheng, sizing him up. He, however, sat bolt upright, ignoring them completely, looking like a wooden statue and revealing nothing.

At the same time, many gazes also turned toward the White Robe Female Cultivator, a few of them laced with ill intent as they looked her up and down, as if sizing her up for something.

The two of them appeared to be alone, and they had just revealed that they were carrying a large amount of Spirit Stones. It was hard not to attract some malicious thoughts.

You see, Tribulation Cultivators weren’t the scary part. What was scary... were the passersby who might decide to moonlight as one at any moment.

After they were done, they would go back to being normal Cultivators, making them impossible to identify.

...

The auction continued, but Lin Changheng did not bid again.

At one point, he was guided to a side room by a Female Attendant to complete the transaction, after which he returned to the auction hall.

Item after item, some precious, others peculiar, were brought out, sparking several bidding frenzies.

It was as if all the Cultivators were venting the emotions they had suppressed and restrained all day.

As dusk approached, the fervor finally reached its peak.

The old man clapped his hands, and a Female Attendant brought a tray onto the stage.

She was flanked by two Cultivators standing with their hands clasped behind their backs, escorting the tray.

A collective hiss of indrawn breath was heard.

The Cultivation of these two was undisguised and extremely powerful. Their auras surged like ocean tides—they were actually Foundation Establishment Cultivators.

Their presence instantly awed the entire hall, prompting that collective gasp.

How could the Cultivators below the stage not know what was on the tray now?

A Foundation Establishment Spiritual Object!

Only something like that would warrant such caution, deserving an escort from two Foundation Establishment Cultivators.

Sure enough, the old man reached out and whipped the Red Silk off the tray. A lustrous cyan light suddenly burst forth, bathing the entire auction hall in a hazy glow.

"Cyan Falling Cold Branches!"

The hall fell silent for a moment, then erupted into an irrepressible commotion.

Even Lin Changheng, who had been leaning back lazily in his chair, straightened up slightly. An eager light couldn’t help but fill his eyes beneath his bamboo hat.

’So this is a Foundation Establishment Spiritual Object...’

Lin Changheng unconsciously rubbed the edge of his chair with his fingertips, his eyes unable to tear themselves away from the tray.

The three-inch-long branch of Cyan Falling Cold Branches was like jade, carved from a single piece of emerald. Two translucent young leaves adorned its tip, and Spirit Liquid seemed to flow within their veins.

Legend had it that this item grew in places of Extreme Cold like Cold Pools, dark caves, or glacial rivers. It grew only one inch every hundred years and contained an enormous, pure amount of Spiritual Qi. Moreover, it also held a special Spiritual Mechanism that could aid a Cultivator in breaking through to the Foundation Establishment Realm.

Refining it directly could increase a Ninth Layer Qi Cultivation practitioner’s chances of breaking through their bottleneck by ten percent!

"I’m sure this old one doesn’t need to say much more about this item, right?"

"The starting bid is three thousand Spirit Stones!"

"Each increment must be no less than one hundred."

The old auctioneer wasted no more time on introductions. With a loud voice, he raised the curtain on the battle for the Foundation Establishment Spiritual Object.