Living steadily in the world of gods and mystery

In the early morning, the melodious sound of a bell resonated.

Having cultivated through the night, Chen Li stepped out of the inn at a leisurely pace.

The silver moon still hung in the sky, while the dawn’s early light began to glimmer in the east.

The sky was full of the glow of sunrise, not yet fully bright.

Yet the entire city had already come completely awake, starting the bustle of the day, with a refreshing, faint fragrance permeating the air. In the distance, the red giant tree shimmered with divine light, akin to a pillar reaching to the heavens.

It was a rare visit, so Chen Li decided to take this opportunity to have a good look around.

He strode towards the enormous tree.

He had only walked a few miles when he entered the shade of the tree’s canopy.

This terrifying behemoth, despite him not yet being up close, made Chen Li feel wary inside, experiencing a slight oppression in his chest.

However, seeing the expressionless faces of passers-by on the road, it was obvious that they had long gotten used to its presence.

The closer he got to the giant tree, the richer the spiritual energy became. Near the trunk, the spiritual power had almost formed a phenomenon between heaven and earth. In the faintly dark early hours, flickers and wisps of light swirled and vanished around, like cotton, like ribbons, like an aurora, colorful and short-lived.

It looked both beautiful and dangerous.

"This is..."

A sudden leap in Chen Li’s heart.

He hadn’t seen clearly yesterday due to the angle, but now that he observed it up close, he discovered that within the tree’s grooved bark, a huge human face faintly emerged. Its facial features were rough, its eyes half-closed, emitting a compassionate and benign expression, subtly commanding respect.

From its trunk as the center, countless unimaginably huge gnarled roots dug deep into the earth like angry dragons. The tremendous power generated by its growth had raised the surrounding terrain for miles around as high as mountain peaks.

By that time, the sun had already risen in the east, but it was still dark here. The boundless fire-red leaves overhead entirely covered the sun, only occasionally allowing beams of sunlight to penetrate the dense canopy to reach the ground, creating sparse and dim patches of light.

This place was almost a world for birds, with countless birds of various sizes perching on the tree and their varied clear and melodious calls echoing continuously, creating a bustling and lively scene.

"To witness such a marvelous scene, even if I gain nothing else, it’s worth the journey!" Chen Li viewed it with an astonished heart.

...

In the following time, Chen Li continuously visited various auction houses.

He collected a pile of auction catalogues and studied them back at the inn.

A third-order magic sword was not available at every auction.

And Chen Li could not afford all third-order magic swords.

The same third order.

The gap between a lower third-order and an extreme third-order was immense.

Not to mention a hundredfold difference, even a thousandfold was possible.

His target was the lower third-order.

Of course, if he could afford a mid third-order, that would naturally be for the best, solving his need once and for all.

In the next month.

There were a total of six auctions here.

Only three featured items below mid third-order quality.

Two lower third-order swords and one mid third-order. 𝐟𝗿𝐞𝚎𝚠𝐞𝚋𝕟𝐨𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝕔𝕠𝚖

"Luckily, the mid third-order auction is soonest, just the day after tomorrow. It’s worth making a trip to see!" Chen Li muttered to himself.

After all, he couldn’t possibly stay here forever.

He planned to stay for at most one month.

...

Two days passed in a flash.

Early in the morning, Chen Li left the house with a changed appearance, using the Fortune Seeking and Disaster Avoiding Skill, and hurried to the auction house.

Red Pillar City, after all, was a Cultivation City of a Nascent Soul major sect, far surpassing the backward White Stone City. As he approached, he already sensed several Golden Core cultivators with covered faces, and most of the rest were at the Foundation Establishment Stage, with few Qi Cultivators to be seen.

Chen Li followed the crowd inside.

The auction house here is similar to others.

It’s divided into two levels.

The lower level has scattered seating, while the upper level has private boxes.

For safety reasons, Chen Li had already painfully spent a Top-grade Spirit Stone yesterday to reserve a private box.

After showing his box number plate, a beautiful maidservant quickly led Chen Li through a secret door into the box. After serving Spiritual Tea and snacks, she bowed and retired, and in no time at all the auction began.

Chen Li hadn’t even heard of most of the items being auctioned here; the likes of Magic Artifacts and robes were at the very least Second Order top-quality items, and there was no doubt the auction mainly catered to those at the Foundation Establishment Stage and Golden Core Stage.

...

"The next item up for auction, a Gold Attribute Talisman Treasure..."

The auctioneer carefully opened a wooden box, displaying it all around; Chen Li fixed his gaze and saw a golden talisman lying quietly within the box, vaguely containing terrifying might.

"A Talisman Treasure can only be created by cultivators above the Golden Core Stage," the auctioneer announced loudly:

"To refine this talisman, a cultivator must seal a portion of their own life-bound Magic Artifact’s might within the talisman paper. As this method harms the life-bound Magic Artifact, even the lifespan of a Golden Core cultivator will be affected.

Therefore, this kind of talisman is quite special and rare.

Unlike ordinary talismans, there’s no restriction on the cultivation level of the user of a Talisman Treasure.

Of course, Qi Cultivation cultivators have feeble Mana and inadequate condensation, so they can only call upon a minuscule amount of the Talisman Treasure’s might.

While those in the Foundation Establishment Stage not only have rich Mana but also liquid-condensed Mana due to successful Foundation Establishment. Although not comparable to Golden Core cultivators, their Mana is much more condensed than that of Qi Cultivation cultivators, enabling them to greatly unleash the functionality of the Talisman Treasure. An individual in the late Foundation Establishment Stage may even fully exert the power of the Talisman Treasure. Even if it only has a fraction of the true Magic Artifact’s power, say two or three tenths, it is enough to dominate the Foundation Establishment Stage.

However, this Talisman Treasure has been used before, and it remains usable for Foundation Establishment three more times..."

Chen Li shuddered at this revelation — such a thing existed?

Holding such a Talisman Treasure, wouldn’t one be invincible at the Foundation Establishment Stage?

"If I were to encounter such an enemy..." Chen Li’s expression grew serious, and after thinking it over, he shook his head in the end.

He had never encountered such an item, not even seen it, and had no idea about its power.

Of course, the best method would be to not give the enemy any chance to use it.

"If this thing is cheap, I must bid on it!" Chen Li thought to himself.

"...The starting bid for this item is a reserve price of two hundred Top-grade Spirit Stones, with each bid increasing by one Top-grade Spirit Stone."

Chen Li: "..."

"Two hundred and fifty!"

"Two hundred and sixty!"

"Two hundred and sixty-five!"

...

The temperature in the auction house suddenly rose, with the sound of bids echoing continuously. In just a short time, the price had climbed to three hundred Top-grade Spirit Stones and continued to soar in a bidding war.

It was eventually sold for three hundred and twenty-four Top-grade Spirit Stones.

"I’m still lacking in experience, this thing is even more expensive than a Third Order low-grade Magic Artifact!" Chen Li marveled to himself: "Too rich!"

The auction continued.

Items were continuously sold at exorbitant prices.

The atmosphere in the venue fluctuated between calm and fervor.

Soon, the moment Chen Li had been waiting for arrived.

"A Third Order medium-grade Magic Sword, Shadowless Sword; solid, sharp, law-breaking, soul-destroying, spirit-capturing, the sword strikes without a shadow, leaving no trace...The starting bid is one hundred and eighty Top-grade Spirit Stones."

Chen Li: "..."

He couldn’t bear to watch any longer.

’The cost of a Top-grade Spirit Stone for the box was a waste.’

In his storage bag, he had a total of just 171.

"Sigh, let it go, let it go. Since I’m already here, it’s good to broaden my horizons."