Living steadily in the world of gods and mystery

Chen Li’s eyebrows were tightly knotted.

He had been coveting this item for a long time and had not expected it to appear again.

The Spirit Crystal, an essence of the heavenly and earthly Spiritual Energy, could be directly used for cultivation with effects comparable to being in a fifth-tier spiritual land. Even Golden Core cultivators vied for it. Precisely because of this, purchasing such an item was fraught with extreme risk—one might be targeted even before stepping out of the door.

After much deliberation, Chen Li finally decided to buy it.

As long as he used a clone to do the job, there would be no safety concerns, basically no risk to his life.

The only risk would be losing some Spirit Stones.

Without such a substantial amount of Spirit Stones, the loss would hurt, yet it wouldn’t be a crippling blow; the risk was worth taking.

"However, I can’t auction the Flying Cloud Sword at that auction house anymore; I must retrieve it," Chen Li thought to himself, somewhat troubled.

He could indeed send multiple avatars with different appearances to the auction.

But there was no guarantee they wouldn’t be seen through by a Golden Core cultivator.

If they were all caught in one fell swoop, the loss would be substantial.

Moreover, adding another clone would mean dividing his attention even more and increasing the risk.

There was no time to delay.

Having made up his mind, Chen Li immediately left his residence and hurried to the auction house.

The Flying Cloud Sword could indeed be withdrawn.

But now that the auction items were already listed, withdrawing would require compensating the auction house for its losses. He would have to pay half the estimated value of the item in compensation, totaling eight Top-grade Spirit Stones. Chen Li had no choice but to grit his teeth and accept the cost.

After leaving, he found a secluded corner and changed his appearance before returning to the auction house. He spent one Top-grade Spirit Stone to book a private room. Although the private room couldn’t guarantee absolute safety, it was still much safer than a seat among the crowd.

Even before the auction started, Chen Li had already spent nine Top-grade Spirit Stones for nothing.

Luckily for the financially robust Chen Li, this was but a small amount of money.

After leaving, Chen Li wasted no time in rushing to another major auction house to submit the Flying Cloud Sword for an auction that would take place in half a month.

...

Several days later.

Chen Li formed hand seals, his mouth silently opening and closing, and soon there was an interaction between heaven and earth, with Mana faintly appearing.

"God Disturbing Illusion Fog Skill"

A vast expanse of illusionary fog formed instantly around him, covering a hundred-meter radius.

The thick fog churned within, as white as milk.

Several birds on the trees flapped their wings in fright and took flight, but they seemed disoriented, crashing about like headless flies, unable to escape the foggy area.

This was a domain-type spiritual Spell that by creating a special foggy area, disrupted the enemy’s sight and Spiritual Sense, leaving them in complete disarray and loss of all senses, as if they were trapped in a maze. Even someone at the Foundation Establishment level would experience substantial interference with their Spiritual Sense.

However, Chen Li inside the fog was unaffected.

The nature of this fog was his own Spiritual Sense mixed with Mana to form an illusionary fog, not actual mist.

The only trouble was that this Spell, like the Soul Capture Skill, could not be leveled up using a clone; he had to practice slowly using his true body. Fortunately, now that the Soul Capture Skill was nearly at max level, adding one more was not much of a burden.

After practicing for a while, Chen Li stopped and took a Return Yuan Elixir to recover his Spiritual Power.

He then sat cross-legged on a rock, closed his eyes, and focused his attention on the four clones outside.

The auction was about to start.

...

At the entrance of the auction, a long line of people waited, entering one by one.

Chen Li’s clone was in no hurry; he carefully observed from the side. 𝐟𝕣𝗲𝕖𝕨𝗲𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝗲𝚕.𝗰𝚘𝐦

One, two, three... twelve, thirteen.

Counting silently with the help of the Fortune Seeking and Disaster Avoiding Skill’s warning, these Golden Core cultivators, who seemed so lofty in his eyes, were all covered head to toe just like the Foundation Establishment cultivators, lacking any immortal aura. It was somewhat amusing to look at, yet the implications behind it were chilling upon closer reflection.

Chen Li patiently waited for the crowd to enter until no one was left at the entrance. He then stepped forward to show his private room plaque, and a beautiful maid quickly led him through a secret door into the room. After serving tea and refreshments, he had barely sat down for a moment when the auction began.

"The Yin Yang Mother-Child Umbrella, a third-order medium-grade artifact crafted by Master Wu Yue of the Fire Cloud Sect, features both offensive and defensive powers and can emit the magnetic light of Yin and Yang... The starting bid is twelve hundred top-grade Spirit Stones, with each increase no less than ten."

"Thirteen hundred."

"Thirteen fifty."

...

Sporadic shouts came from the booths on the upper floor.

Chen Li’s mind, however, was completely elsewhere.

The other three distinct illusory bodies began to approach the auction house, each taking their position.

Among the many third-order auction items, the Spirit Crystal was also in a leading position. It had been less than fifteen minutes since Chen Li sat down before it was its turn.

"... The starting bid is one thousand top-grade Spirit Stones, with each increase no less than ten."

Chen Li’s spirits lifted.

"Eleven hundred."

"Eleven fifty."

...

The price climbed rapidly, higher and higher, soon reaching thirteen hundred and fifty, which was already the final bid for the previous item, but the bidding continued unabated.

"Thirteen sixty."

"Thirteen seventy."

...

Two individuals seemed to be at loggerheads with each other, clearly growing heated.

"Fourteen fifty," Chen Li called out loudly, his heart unavoidably tensing.

His entire savings amounted to 1535 top-grade Spirit Stones, of which he kept a minor thirty-five as a contingency; the illusory body held only fifteen hundred, and the price was already nearing his limit.

Fortunately, no more bids were placed.

"Fourteen hundred and fifty, any further bids?"

"Once, twice, thrice, sold!"

Chen Li finally relaxed, only to tense up again at once, for the real test was just beginning.

Soon, a male and a female Qi Cultivation practitioner came in, delivering the auctioned item.

He opened the brocade box and began to inspect it.

This Spirit Crystal was roughly the size of a pigeon’s egg, the mist inside swirling like a cloud; the moment he held it, he felt a surge of exceptionally pure and rich Spiritual Energy flow into his illusory body.

"What an excellent item, this money was well spent!" Chen Li inwardly exclaimed excitedly.

He quickly regained his composure, settled the accounts, and dared not linger in this place, promptly leaving the booth. However, before he even reached the door, a sudden premonition of danger struck his heart: "I’m indeed being watched."

He tried to remain calm, acting as if nothing had happened, and continued toward the door.

This kind of auction house, backed by major powers and intricately connected to the Fire Cloud Sect, assured him that even if someone were to act, they wouldn’t dare to do so in the vicinity. He walked out the door and then along the main road, looking neither left nor right as he went forward.

The sense of foreboding grew stronger.

Resisting the impulse to flee, he pressed on. A crossroad lay ahead; Illusory Body Number Two emerged from a corner, passing by Chen Li’s Number One, and the storage bag was swiftly exchanged. Number Two slipped into the crowd with practiced ease.

"It’s no good, the warning has moved to this illusory body," Chen Li’s heart sank.

Thankfully, he had prepared for this and quickly adjusted his plan.

In the distance, Number Three illusory body sprang into action, finding a deserted corner and swiftly turning invisible, heading this way. Using the crowd as cover, the storage bag was exchanged once again.

Unfortunately, it was still to no avail.

The normally reliable max-level Invisibility Technique failed him at this moment.

Chen Li’s heart grew heavier, feeling as if every single one of his movements was being watched with crystal clarity, without a shred of secrecy to his name.

"This person must be close by."