Bachelor [EN]: Chapter 783

The old man, having lightly cleared his throat to quiet the hall, began to speak in a gentle voice.

“Even without a lengthy introduction, most of you cultivators seem to recognize me. Truthfully, it’s not typical for someone of my standing to appear at such an event, but I personally appraised several items for this auction and, greatly intrigued, volunteered to host it. I trust none of you cultivators have any objections?”

“Elder Chi, what are you saying? We are delighted that Grandmaster Chi is personally hosting the auction!”

“That’s right. How could there be any issue with items appraised by Elder Chi himself? We can participate in the auction with even greater peace of mind.”

As soon as the old man finished speaking, voices of welcome echoed from the stone chambers floating in the air. He was clearly quite famous in Heavenly Origin City.

The old man in the white robe stepped forward again.

“To prepare you, I will share some information. There will be three extraordinary treasures in this auction. The items prepared are far more precious than before, making this an exceptional auction that might occur only once every few hundred years. There will be top-grade materials from the Great Barren World, a Heaven-Reaching Treasure listed on the Chaos Myriad Spirit Board [a list of powerful and rare treasures], and finally, a complete set of the main cultivation method of a senior who reached the late-stage of the Fusion Realm [a very high cultivation level], which once shook both the human and demon races.”

The cultivators in the great hall fell silent for a moment, as if they couldn’t believe what they had just heard. While they might not know what the top-grade materials from the Great Barren World were, a Heaven-Reaching Treasure listed on the Chaos Myriad Spirit Board and the main cultivation method of a late-stage Fusion Realm cultivator were incredibly rare treasures!

Any of these items, if they appeared in the world, would cause a bloodbath. Everyone’s hearts suddenly pounded, and the atmosphere in the great hall became cautious.

“Elder Chi, if such incredible items are to be presented, why didn’t you spread the news beforehand? That way, we could have prepared more spirit stones, and the auction revenue would have increased. Is there some hidden reason?”

A thin voice was heard from one of the stone chambers.

“Cultivator, you need not worry about that. The reason the items were not revealed before the auction is that the owners of these three treasures are the same person, and it was a condition they requested. I cannot know the reason, and the auction house could not refuse the condition. However, I guarantee that the items themselves are all genuine and without any flaws. Of course, since they are such rare items, exceptionally, for the auction of the last three treasures, you can pay by mortgaging other rare items to the auction house. The set price might be slightly lower than the market price, but the three appraisers of the market, including myself, will jointly decide the price, so you can trust us.”

The old man in the white robe smiled gently, as if he had already anticipated this. At his words, the cultivators internally checked their assets and no longer raised any questions.

When no one objected, he declared the start of the auction and lightly clapped his hands.

Clap!

Ten beams of light flew up from below the stage. When the light faded, ten flower-like palace ladies appeared behind the old man.

These beauties, each with cultivation above the Core Formation stage [a mid-level of cultivation], stood in a row, holding silk boxes of varying sizes.

“As is customary, we will start with elixirs, then move on to various materials and cultivation methods, and finally, present the most important treasures. The first item of this auction is three bottles of Heart-Cleansing Pills (煥心丹) that will enhance the cultivation of Nascent Soul cultivators [a high-level of cultivation]. The starting price is 300,000 spirit stones, and bids can be increased by increments of 50,000 or more.”

The old man in the white robe said in a clear voice and waved his hand.

Then, one of the palace ladies walked forward, opened the lid of the silk box, and presented three blue jade bottles, each a few inches in size. As the old man in the white robe reached out towards the silk box, the blue jade bottles flew up and were drawn into his hand.

The old man, with practiced ease, opened the jade bottles, tilted them, and took out a single pure white and transparent Heart-Cleansing Pill. A strong herbal scent spread throughout the area. The old man in the white robe held the pill with his fingers and shook it towards the cultivators.

Then, a miraculous thing happened.

On the surface of the transparent pill, blue and red energies swirled and began to shine like a pearl. At the same time, the herbal scent in the air became even stronger.

“I have shown you all the characteristics of the Heart-Cleansing Pill, so now the auction begins.”

“350,000!”

“400,000.”

“450,000!”

Above the auction stage, two large and small purple energies appeared, with the price on one side and the stone chamber number of the cultivator who offered the price on the other. As soon as it started, the numbers quickly rose, and everyone was eager to win the elixir.

That was because, even though they coveted the last three treasures, most cultivators had already given up on them. Unless they were cultivators with enormous assets, their goal would be to take some suitable items and return.

Han Li, since he could refine the Jade Purity Pill as soon as he returned, did not join the competition, and the Heart-Cleansing Pill was sold for 600,000 spirit stones to a certain cultivator.

He was now quietly thinking about the last three items, like everyone else. Honestly, he was curious about the Great Barren materials and the Heaven-Reaching Treasure, but it was just curiosity, not a desire to possess them.

However, he was interested in the books containing the cultivation methods of a late-stage Fusion Realm cultivator.

Han Li had cultivated the Azure Essence Sword Art to its peak, and there was no further way to progress.

He had gained powerful divine abilities by mastering the Nascent Soul Light, and the flames within his body had grown stronger with the Spirit Devouring Heavenly Flame, but it did not help his fundamental cultivation.

If he only increased the magical power within his body by consuming elixirs without the aid of a suitable cultivation method, he would eventually explode and die.

To reach higher levels, he had to choose one of two paths.

The first was to find a high-level cultivation method and continue to cultivate, like most cultivators. However, learning a new cultivation method suddenly would require considerable effort to understand its contents, and if he made a mistake, it could clash with his original method and have adverse effects.

The second was a path that only a very few people had taken, which he had discovered after examining the insights of several body refiners. It was called dual cultivation of body and magic, which involved obtaining and cultivating high-level methods related to the demonic or demon races.

However, such methods were difficult to find and even more difficult to learn. Among human cultivators, only a handful who chose this path had successfully achieved results.

The human body was inherently weaker than those of the demon or ancient demon races, and after reaching a certain level, except for a few with innate talent, they could not progress further.

However, if dual cultivation of body and magic reached a high level, their strength was tremendous, and their chances of overcoming bottlenecks and advancing to the next realm were higher than those of cultivators of the same level. This was why Han Li could not give up on dual cultivation of body and magic.

Coincidentally, he also possessed a cultivation method suitable for dual cultivation of body and magic. It was the Heavenly Demon Art, which resonated with the Vajra Body Art [a Buddhist cultivation technique], and the methods in the Universal Scripture.

After confirming several times, he had found that the three methods were definitely complementary. He could cultivate the three methods separately, but if he cultivated them in sequence, their power would be different.

These methods originally started from powerful demonic arts of the True Devil Realm, but later, they were modified by numerous ancient figures of the human, demonic, and demon races to inject the natural energy of heaven and earth into the body instead of demonic energy.

The problem was that Han Li had determined through research that it was possible to learn the three methods in succession, but no one had ever cultivated them directly.

The Vajra Body Art of the Buddhist sect and the Heavenly Demon Art of the demonic path had been modified as independent methods, and the Universal Scripture was also a method passed down among the demon kings of the human realm, so the situation was no different.

What would happen later when these were connected and cultivated was something only the heavens knew. However, what was clear was that the method of the Universal Scripture was superior to ordinary dual cultivation methods.

Just by cultivating the Vajra Body Art, he could match a Nascent Soul cultivator with the power of his body, so he could not predict how powerful he would become if he learned the other two methods in sequence.

The advantages and disadvantages of simply cultivating magical power and taking the path of dual cultivation of body and magic were clear.

The former was relatively faster and more stable, while the latter was difficult and dangerous, but it could unleash much greater power later. Also, the chances of overcoming bottlenecks and advancing to the next realm were higher.

Thus, Han Li had been pondering and unable to make a decision until today. While he was contemplating which path to take, he had been keeping an eye on high-level cultivation methods, but he could not find suitable items in the market.

Unless it was a high-level method of a Void Refinement cultivator [a very high cultivation level], it would not catch his eye, as he possessed powerful divine abilities such as the Nascent Soul Light and the Spirit Devouring Heavenly Flame. So, it was natural that he was interested in the cultivation method left by a cultivator who had achieved the Fusion Realm.

If this method was suitable for cultivation, he could simply give up the risky path of dual cultivation of body and magic.

While Han Li was lost in thought, the old man Chi on the stage had already sold all the elixirs brought out by the ten palace ladies for twice the market price. Most of them were elixirs for early-stage Nascent Soul cultivators, like the Heart-Cleansing Pill.

There were also two elixirs for mid-stage cultivators, but none for late-stage cultivators. It was not strange.

Even if the spiritual energy of the Spirit Realm was rich and the spiritual herbs were abundant, the raw materials for elixirs that cultivators above the Nascent Soul stage would consume could only be obtained from the Great Barren World. It took too long to cultivate them artificially.

Therefore, elixirs above the Nascent Soul stage were naturally very rare. Moreover, the higher the level of the elixir, the lower the success rate of refining it.

If one succeeded in refining an elixir for a late-stage cultivator, they would be reluctant to put it up for auction, as they would want to keep it for themselves.

It was only because Heavenly Origin City had abundant materials that elixirs for early-stage Nascent Soul cultivators were being auctioned like this; it would have been impossible elsewhere.

After the auction of the elixirs ended, this time, instead of items that increased cultivation, holy medicines that helped with detoxification or healing were presented. These holy medicines were all sold, but the prices were much lower than the first round.

Elixirs that increased cultivation were always welcome, but only a few auxiliary elixirs for emergencies were needed.

“Ah!”

When all the elixirs were sold and disappeared, and the ten ladies took out wooden boxes with golden talismans from the storage, the atmosphere in the hall rose again. As the golden talismans were torn off one by one, treasures that sparkled with various spiritual energies appeared.

Various top-grade ancient treasures, from common forms like flying swords and flying knives to rare forms like seals, spirit tablets, and mirrors, were displayed. When the old man in the white robe reached out towards one of them, a bronze spirit tablet flew to him.

The old man threw the spirit tablet into the air and formed hand seals, imprinting magic seals into it.

The spirit tablet spun around and emitted three phantoms, which transformed into giant snakes, each about six feet long, coiling their blue, red, and white bodies and exuding a fierce aura.

“Poison Serpent Token (毒蟒令), an item refined using the main souls of three ancient beasts of the serpent family. You can use the souls to fight against enemies, and if the three work together, they will display power similar to having three Nascent Soul cultivators. It is a rather rare treasure. The starting price is 2 million spirit stones! Bids can be increased by increments of 100,000.”

The old man in the white robe stopped his spell and explained the power and divine abilities of the spirit tablet.

“2 million!”

Although it was only the power of three Nascent Soul cultivators, which was not of great help to Nascent Soul cultivators, it could be used in emergencies, so the price immediately began to rise.

“2.2 million.”

“2.3 million!”

The atmosphere in the great hall, which had calmed down a bit, gradually became heated.