Bachelor [EN]: Chapter 111

Han Li immediately thought of his master, Old Man Li, upon hearing the words ‘Iron Essence.’ He had lost a bet involving two lumps of Iron Essence and had been sulking, but now he finally understood its true value.

Thus, the puppet mechanical beast became the property of the burly man. The man even trembled slightly as he received it!

Those who watched were itching to snatch the item away. They were curious about what kind of object it was that made him act like that.

The man, having secured his item, immediately walked across the stone chamber and stood before the stone door. However, the stone door was firmly shut, and no matter how many times he tried to open it, it wouldn’t budge.

“What is the meaning of this? Are you saying that even after paying for the item, I can’t leave?”

The man’s face darkened, and his displeasure grew.

“That can’t be. The stone chamber door will only open after all the auctions are finished,” said a masked person with a strange voice, sitting on the left chair, not the auctioneer.

“What? I need to leave right now!”

The man’s voice grew louder, as if he was truly enraged.

“Unfortunately, that is the rule of this establishment. It’s a minimal measure to prevent unpleasant incidents. Surely you can wait a little longer?”

“Of course, I can wait. What do I have to fear that I would rush? Besides, I was curious about what item would come out next!”

The black-clad man’s voice grew increasingly sinister, but the burly man’s expression suddenly changed as if he had thought of something. He then pretended to be magnanimous and returned to his seat.

The other cultivators who witnessed this couldn’t help but be surprised. Why was he suddenly acting like that? If he had obtained a valuable item, wouldn’t it be best to leave quickly?

As the man sat down, the auction continued. However, the previous fervor had long since cooled. As two auction items passed without anyone bidding, the dry auctioneer became flustered. But since the auction was nearing its end, it was time for the grand finale.

“The highest-grade spirit herb, the Thousand-Year Yellow Essence Mushroom! There’s no need to say more. Even without my words, everyone here knows the value of this spirit herb.”

The auctioneer took out a cyan jade box from the low table. He deliberately scanned the cultivators, drawing everyone’s attention. Most of them were mesmerized by the jade box in his hand. Only then did he smile again and speak.

“A 2,000-year-old spirit herb has only appeared a few times in the last 100 years. Now is the perfect opportunity to refine it into a pill, increase your cultivation, and build up your magical power! Let’s start with a base price of 500 spirit stones!”

After speaking, the dry man opened the lid of the jade box, revealing the spirit herb to everyone. At the same time, the rich fragrance of the spirit herb filled the entire hall, leaving the cultivators amazed and delighted. They were surprised that such a treasure would appear at the auction, and they were also happy at the thought of possibly obtaining it.

As the man had said, it could increase magical power and even improve the achievement of cultivation techniques. There was nothing better than that.

No matter how strong and good a magical artifact was, it couldn’t make up for the difference in cultivation level. The final auction item captured everyone’s hearts as soon as it appeared.

“1,000 spirit stones!”

Someone doubled the price right from the start, but that didn’t stop the bidding. One by one, they started to jump in, quickly surpassing 2,000. Han Li, on the other hand, was just staring blankly at the table.

When he first heard the words ‘Thousand-Year Spirit Herb,’ he wondered if someone had found a thousand-year-old spirit herb somewhere.

However, as the jade box opened and the Thousand-Year Yellow Essence Mushroom was revealed, he immediately knew that this auction item was one of the two spirit herbs he had given to Myriad Treasures Pavilion. There was no way he wouldn’t recognize the spirit herb he had personally cultivated.

But since he had already given it away, it was up to Myriad Treasures Pavilion to decide what to do with it. With this thought, Han Li regained his senses and stared at the other cultivators competing for the spirit herb.

He felt a sense of pride every time they called out a price. It was only natural that he would feel a sense of accomplishment when the spirit herb he had grown received such a warm welcome.

Soon, the cultivators ran out of spirit stones and began to replace them with rare items.

The more items piled up, the rarer and more unusual they became, and Han Li was dazzled just by looking at them.

“I’ll trade a set of magical artifacts containing the Reversal Five Elements Formation technique for that spirit herb!”

Someone shouted urgently, suddenly silencing the hall.

However, everyone fell silent not because his voice was loud, but because the Reversal Five Elements Formation [a powerful defensive formation] he mentioned was such a famous formation.

There wasn’t a single cultivator who didn’t know about it. The Reversal Five Elements Formation was worthy of being called the thousand-year spirit herb of the formation world.

Also known as the Minor Forbidden Formation, this forbidden technique, while having a relatively small application area and not actively attacking enemies, had the ability to hide a place through illusions or trap and confuse enemies, which was comparable to the massive formations that protected large sects. How reassuring it would be if one’s sect or family was protected by such a formation!

However, according to what was known, even a master of formations who was proficient in the Reversal Five Elements Formation would have to spend a year working hard and using a large amount of resources and manpower to complete it.

It wouldn’t be easy to embed that formation into a magical artifact. If what this person said was true, it was an unusual event to occur at such an auction.

Han Li’s eyes flashed as he turned his head towards the person who had just shouted. The Qi Refining youth wearing a tiger mask looked unremarkable, except for his short height and stocky build.

His anxious expression didn’t make him seem like someone who would possess such a treasure.

“You say you have a magical artifact containing the Reversal Five Elements Formation?” The dry auctioneer was also a little surprised, but he quickly regained his composure and asked the youth with a suspicious look.

Although it was hard to believe, if he really had such a magical artifact, the thousand-year spirit herb would belong to this youth. Everyone was focused on the youth’s mouth.

“I do have it… but it’s not completely finished yet, so it only has about one-tenth of its original power. However, if you give me the spirit herb, I will definitely reinforce the power of the formation within a few years, improving it to at least half of its original power!”

He was overwhelmed by the intense gazes, but because the thousand-year spirit herb was so important to him, he stuttered but continued to speak.

“It’s not a real Reversal Five Elements Formation artifact, but a defective product still in testing.”

Many cultivators were disappointed, but they didn’t turn away. If there really was such a magical artifact, they would want to obtain it no matter the cost, but it didn’t make sense that it was still being completed.

However, in the cultivation world, formation masters were rarer than alchemists or artifact refiners. Once one delved deeply into formations, it was as good as giving up on the dream of achieving great success in cultivation.

There was a limit to a person’s energy, and it was unrealistic to try to cultivate and study formations at the same time.

Because of this, some people planned to ask about the formation master behind this youth as soon as the auction ended.

In fact, if a formation master had the ability to research such a great formation and even make it into a magical artifact, wouldn’t they naturally be able to deploy it on the ground as well?

For small and medium-sized sects or families, the opportunity to protect their group with a great formation was rare.

“Guest, are you joking? What do you mean by ‘a few years’ at an auction? This time, I’ll consider it a mistake because you’re young, but if you falsely bid again, the people of this establishment will step in!” The auctioneer’s face hardened as he warned the youth after hearing his words, which were indeed nonsense.

The sturdy youth’s mouth twitched as if he had more to say, but he sighed and returned to his seat as the auctioneer turned his head away and ignored him.

Han Li, who had been quietly watching this scene, narrowed his eyes and memorized the youth’s attire and physique.

In the end, the thousand-year spirit herb went to a Foundation Establishment cultivator who paid 2,000 spirit stones and several Illusion Moon Stones. With the last transaction completed, the secret shop’s auction finally came to an end.

Those who wanted to trade more freely could stay, and those who didn’t could leave through the newly opened stone door.

The man who had caused a commotion earlier and exchanged the Iron Essence for the puppet mechanical beast surprisingly didn’t leave immediately and remained behind. It was as if he had more items to trade. However, as the strange person with a pouch covering their face hurried away, those who had been watching him thought it was strange.

Han Li was too busy with his own affairs to pay attention to them. He had originally planned to leave as soon as the auction ended, but now he had changed his mind to find the youth and see if he could trade for the magical artifact. Even if the magical artifacts with the Reversal Five Elements Formation only had one-tenth of their original power, it would be enough for him to use to protect his residence.

In fact, it was such a famous formation that even a part of it would be considered a luxury for his humble cave dwelling.

Just as he was about to approach the youth, four or five cultivators quickly beat him to it and began to discuss something. Han Li was both upset and worried about this unexpected event. It would be a truly depressing situation if others exchanged for the magical artifact first. However, the situation he was worried about didn’t happen.

After exchanging a few words with the youth, they all shook their heads and left. Now, only the youth remained, his head bowed in disappointment.

Han Li, feeling excited, took a few steps forward and cleared his throat. He deliberately made a sound to announce his presence before speaking.

However, before Han Li could say anything, the youth’s gaze turned to him, and he snapped,

“If you don’t have the thousand-year spirit herb, don’t bother me! I’m trying to get the spirit herb to save the formation master I serve, so I don’t have anyone to set up a formation for you!”

Han Li, who was momentarily speechless at the sudden outburst, smiled lightly.

“What if I have the thousand-year spirit herb and I’m not looking for a formation master?”

The youth only had the magical power of a tenth level Qi Refining cultivator, so he wasn’t someone Han Li needed to be wary of. He immediately got to the point.

“Do you really have the spirit herb?” The youth asked, his face filled with anticipation.

Han Li didn’t answer right away and looked around. Fortunately, there was a guy in front who had laid out his magical artifacts, drawing most of the attention.

“How about we go over there to talk? There are too many ears here.”

“Yes! Let’s do that!” The youth readily agreed to his suggestion as Han Li pointed to a corner.

As the two moved, they were now far away from the nearest cultivator.

Still, not feeling safe, Han Li cast a sound-blocking barrier to prevent anyone from eavesdropping. Having reached the Foundation Establishment stage, he could now use various minor techniques that he couldn’t learn before. This sound-blocking technique was one of the minor techniques he had quickly mastered.

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