Extreme Spirit Chaos Technique

"This place should be private enough, right?" Elder Bai clapped his hands and smiled.

Mu Chen gave Elder Bai a strange look. He opened his palm, and with a flash from his ring, all the Demon Cores piled up on the round tabletop. Staring at the small mountain of Demon Cores of various colors and sizes before him, Elder Bai was dumbfounded.

"Holy hell! This is the first time I’ve ever seen so many Demon Cores," Elder Bai exclaimed, picking one up and rubbing it between his fingers. "Although their levels are quite low, the sheer quantity is staggering." After a moment, his face flushed with excitement. "They’re all real! There are a hundred Fourth-level Demon Cores! Are you sure you want to exchange all of these for Purple Elemental Crystals?"

Mu Chen nodded. "Yes, exchange all of them."

Although Elder Bai seemed lazy, he was incredibly efficient. He finished counting all the Demon Cores in just a few minutes. "Alright, I’ve finished counting them. Please wait a moment, and I’ll have someone bring the Purple Elemental Crystals."

With that, Elder Bai walked into the inner room, leaving the Demon Cores on the table. ’As expected of the Shanjin Auction,’ Mu Chen thought to himself. ’They’re fair and trustworthy.’

About five minutes later, Elder Bai reappeared, this time with an exquisite purple ring in his hand. He entered with a broad smile. "Sorry to keep you waiting. Here are the Purple Elemental Crystals from the exchange. I’ve placed them all inside this ring for you. Please, count them."

Mu Chen took the ring and smiled. "There’s no need. The Shanjin Commerce Association’s reputation is beyond question." With that, he turned and left the room naturally. However, Mu Chen didn’t know that the moment he left, a sharp glint flashed in Elder Bai’s eyes. He murmured, "This kid... he’s no simple character."

After saying this, the sharp glint in Elder Bai’s eyes vanished, replaced once again by a cloudy haze. He swiftly swept the Demon Cores on the table into a ring and then flopped back onto the desk, falling fast asleep. Almost instantly, the room was once again filled with resounding snores.

Leaving the room, Mu Chen could feel the massive pile of Purple Elemental Crystals packed inside his Storage Ring, and he suddenly felt like a nouveau riche. Following the path he came from, he quickly returned to the auction hall. From a distance, he could see that the hall was already full. Shaking his head, Mu Chen found a random seat in a corner and sat down just as the auction began.

Mu Chen knew the auction had started because he saw an old man from the side of the stage. The man wore a yellow robe, had white hair but a youthful face, and exuded a gentle and refined aura. At first glance, he looked like a wise and knowledgeable scholar. Gradually, everyone’s gaze turned to him. He walked onto the stage, extended his hands, and announced loudly, "Honored guests, please quiet down."

The voice was ethereal, and it was clear the old man had used his Primordial Power to amplify it. Instantly, the entire auction hall fell silent. The old man nodded in satisfaction, his face beaming. "It’s a pleasure to see everyone again this year. I will once again be your host. I imagine some of you in the audience are familiar faces who know me, while others are newcomers. As is tradition, I’ll introduce myself. My surname is Zhou. You can all call me Elder Zhou."

After his introduction, Elder Zhou gave a mysterious smile. "I can reveal a little secret to you all. This year’s finale items are of the highest quality I have ever seen in all my years of hosting. There is no comparison. You all have something to look forward to. If you’re lucky, one of these items might just belong to you."

After Elder Zhou dropped this bombshell, the crowd instantly erupted into a clamor, with everyone turning to discuss it with those they knew. Elder Zhou watched the reaction with great satisfaction. He let the discussions continue for a moment before smiling. "Everyone, please quiet down. Since you’re all so eager, I’ll skip the rules of the auction, as I’m sure you’re all familiar with them. Let’s get straight to the point. Here is our first item up for auction."

As he spoke, a silver light flashed in Elder Zhou’s hand, and a long, cyan sword appeared before the crowd. Elder Zhou smiled. "The Flowing Wind Sword. Three feet three inches long, three fingers wide. It can cut through iron as if it were mud. It is a rare Upper Grade Yellow Tier weapon. I don’t need to explain what an Upper Grade Yellow Tier weapon represents; you all know well. The starting price is five thousand Purple Elemental Crystals, with a minimum bid increment of one hundred. Let the bidding begin!"

"Five thousand one hundred!"

Someone had placed a bid. Mu Chen looked down and saw it was a man seated in the middle section of the hall.

"Five thousand five hundred!"

"Five thousand seven hundred!"

"Six thousand!"

"Six thousand three hundred!"

"Eight thousand!"

To Mu Chen’s surprise, a mere Yellow Tier weapon was drawing so many bids. The price of the Flowing Wind Sword was quickly driven up to eight thousand Purple Elemental Crystals, and the one who made the bid was none other than the man who had started the bidding.

Elder Zhou nodded. This price was more or less its limit. He began the closing call, "Eight thousand Purple Elemental Crystals, going once! Is there a higher bid? Eight thousand Purple Elemental Crystals, going twice! Eight thousand Purple Elemental Crystals, going three times! Sold! This Flowing Wind Sword goes to guest number 3642. Now for our second item."

After Elder Zhou finished speaking, the second item was "invited" onto the stage. It was an object covered by a red cloth. Elder Zhou gently lifted the cloth, revealing a palm-sized piece of dark metal.

"Kui Iron, a precious Forging Material. With just a small piece of it fused into an ordinary weapon, you can forge a Lower Grade Yellow Weapon. And here we have a piece this large. If you were to fuse all of it into a weapon... Heh heh, I’ll let you imagine the rest. The starting price is ten thousand, with a minimum bid increment of one thousand."

"Kui Iron! It’s actually Kui Iron!" someone exclaimed. The others began to murmur amongst themselves. "And it’s such a large piece! You could definitely forge a Profound Tier Weapon with that!" another person cried out. 𝚏𝕣𝐞𝗲𝐰𝕖𝐛𝐧𝕠𝕧𝚎𝚕.𝐜𝚘𝗺

Mu Chen was also a little surprised. As a Forging Material, Kui Iron was countless times more precious than Xuan Iron. Its effect was just as Elder Zhou had described: it could completely transform a weapon, and only a tiny amount was needed. But even when this material appeared, it was usually only the size of a finger. This was the first time he had ever seen a palm-sized piece. ’But isn’t the starting price a bit low?’ Just as Mu Chen was pondering this, the bidding had already begun.

"Twenty thousand!" To Mu Chen’s utter astonishment, someone doubled the price right at the start. And that was just the beginning.

"Twenty-five thousand!"

"Twenty-six thousand!"

"Twenty-seven thousand!"

And so, the price continued to climb, though the increments began to slow. When the price reached thirty thousand, a deep, powerful voice boomed through the hall.

"Dammit, you people are insulting this piece of Kui Iron! I’ll bid fifty thousand!"

This bid instantly silenced the entire hall, which was followed by a burst of exclamations.

"Holy crap, who is that? So rich and arrogant, spending fifty thousand on a piece of metal."

"Exactly. You have to remember that no matter how good the Forging Material is, you still need an experienced Blacksmith. Otherwise, it’s just a useless scrap in your hands."

"Tch, that guy has no idea what he’s doing."

People in the crowd were still murmuring, but Elder Zhou was beaming. He boomed, "Please be quiet! Fifty thousand, going once! Are there any other bids? Fifty thousand, going twice! Fifty thousand, going three times! Congratulations to our honored guest, number 1800! Please collect your item backstage after the auction."

It was obvious the piece of Kui Iron wasn’t worth that much. According to Mu Chen’s calculations, forty thousand was its absolute limit; any higher wasn’t worth it. However, the Profound Old Ghost’s voice suddenly rang out. "Heh, the truly clever one is that bidder. That piece of Kui Iron is a real treasure."

Mu Chen was taken aback. "Master, you’re not wrong, but it’s still just Kui Iron, isn’t it?"

The Profound Old Ghost scoffed. "Nonsense. It is indeed Kui Iron, but think about it. At most, a piece of Kui Iron is the size of an egg. When have you ever seen a piece of Kui Iron as large as a man’s palm?"

"Then, Master, what you mean is...?" Mu Chen grew even more confused. He knew the Profound Old Ghost wouldn’t say something like this without a reason.

The Profound Old Ghost floated out, glanced toward seat number 1800, and said nonchalantly, "Silly boy, that bidder is no simpleton. That piece of Kui Iron isn’t ordinary Kui Iron. Very few people can discern its true nature. Its real identity is actually Ku Tie Essence. The two materials look extremely similar, and unless you’re a highly experienced Blacksmith, you’d never be able to tell the difference. A pound of Ku Tie Essence has ten times the effect of the same quality Kui Iron. In other words, if an experienced Blacksmith got their hands on this Ku Tie Essence, they could forge a Middle Grade Profound Rank weapon at the very least. Fifty thousand Purple Elemental Crystals for a Middle Grade Profound Rank weapon... now that’s a huge profit."

Hearing this, Mu Chen clicked his tongue in amazement. Indeed, if it were just Kui Iron, forty thousand would have been the limit. But for Ku Tie Essence capable of forging a Middle Grade Profound Rank weapon, the value would be several times higher. By that calculation, the bidder had definitely made a killing.

"Alright, next up is our third item. I believe this is something everyone will be interested in." Elder Zhou smiled warmly. With a flip of his wrist, a white scroll appeared in his hand. The scroll itself looked quite ordinary. Elder Zhou looked out over the hall and continued, "This is a scroll for a Yellow Rank Advanced Combat Skill, Mad Killing Fist. Just from the name, you know it’s an offensive Combat Skill. The starting price is twenty thousand, with a minimum bid increment of one thousand. Let the bidding begin!"

As soon as the Combat Skill was revealed, the bidders below grew excited. A Combat Skill! An existence second only to a Cultivation Technique! Everyone’s eyes turned red as they breathed heavily, looking as if they were ready to rush up and snatch it.

"Twenty-five thousand!" one person shouted, standing up.

"Thirty thousand!" another followed immediately.

"Thirty-nine thousand!"

"Forty-five thousand!"

"Fifty thousand!"

The price quickly soared under the fierce competition, making Mu Chen feel a little awkward. Compared to these people, he was much more fortunate. He had Earth Tier Battle Skills and Profound Rank Battle Techniques at his disposal, yet these people were fighting tooth and nail over a single Yellow Rank Battle Skill. Mu Chen glanced at his Master and sighed inwardly, ’Having a good Master is better than anything else.’ At that moment, Mu Chen became even more determined to help the Profound Old Ghost escape the Extreme Spirit Pearl.

"Eighty thousand!"

Finally, after one person called out this number with a grim face, the others fell silent. This price was pretty much the limit for a Yellow Rank Advanced Combat Skill. Seeing that no one else was bidding, Elder Zhou smiled and said, "Any more bids? If not, then this Combat Skill scroll is sold to buyer number 511."

Of course, as expected, no one else placed a bid. The subsequent auctions grew more and more intense, but Mu Chen never saw anything he wanted. Possessing the Nine-Turn Immortal Soldier, he had no need for Forging Materials or weapons. He also wasn’t short on pills for alleviating pain, and besides, he was confident that ordinary people couldn’t harm him anyway. Against anyone who *could* harm him, these low-grade pills would be useless. Just as Mu Chen was about to doze off, the Profound Old Ghost by his side suddenly lit up. "Xiao Chenzi, something good is coming."