Bachelor [EN]: Chapter 785

Everyone was startled by the unfamiliar voice, but they soon became engrossed in the escalating prices. Many cultivators watched the private room where Han Li sat leisurely.

“32 million,” the calm voice stated.

The voice still sounded languid, but now with a hint of curiosity.

“33 million.”

“…34 million.”

The languid voice, after a moment of hesitation, spoke again.

“35 million.”

Now, the cultivators in the main hall widened their eyes. Even though it was just a True Spirit scale, the price had skyrocketed. Even spirit treasures at the bottom of the Chaos Myriad Spirit Board [a ranking of powerful spiritual items] didn’t reach this price.

“35 million? Hmph! Fellow cultivator, I find it hard to believe that the other party has so many spirit stones. We need to verify if they have that much wealth, not just cause a commotion,” the owner of the languid voice retorted coldly.

“This old one will do so after the auction is over. However, we cannot stop the auction before then, so let’s continue,” the old man, Red, agreed, mediating with a calm smile. He couldn’t afford to offend either of the two cultivators whose identities were unknown.

“If Elder Red says so, I will stop here. I’m very curious if that person has collateral worth 35 million!” The owner of the languid voice, seemingly annoyed, did not raise the price any further. Then, after the numbers in the formation turned golden, the white-robed old man confirmed that the three True Spirit scales belonged to Han Li.

Following that, with a flick of his sleeve, he flew with the woman holding the wooden box towards the private room where Han Li was. The old man’s figure stopped in front of the stone chamber.

When he took out a blue spirit token, the magic characters surrounding the private room trembled and allowed the old man and the woman in plain clothes inside. Once inside, the old man, Red, scanned Han Li, who was hidden by a white aura, and clasped his hands.

“Now that the treasures have been delivered, it’s time to pay the spirit stones. If you present collateral, I and Fellow Cultivator Ha will assess its value and inform you. If you deem the price inappropriate, we will invite two other people to reassess the value,” the white-robed old man said politely.

“How could I not trust Elder Red and Fellow Cultivator Ha’s judgment? Please assess it,” Han Li replied, his gaze landing on the wooden box held by the middle-aged woman. He flicked his sleeve and took out a large, half-foot-long silk box that he had prepared in advance, smiling.

The white-robed old man, who had seen countless treasures, nodded lightly and received the silk box, opening it.

A deep fragrance filled the air.

The old man checked the contents of the silk box and was so moved that he couldn’t take his eyes off it.

“Hoo, a ten-thousand-year spirit herb!” The old man took a deep breath and looked at Han Li with a strange gaze. The middle-aged woman also raised her eyebrows at the words ‘ten-thousand-year spirit herb’ and came closer to check the inside of the silk box.

Inside the milky white light, a pure white spirit herb was placed, and patterns like magic characters flickered on the surface of the herb.

“A ten-thousand-year spirit herb! It certainly looks like a ten-thousand-year spirit herb. However, we need to observe it closely to determine its authenticity,” the woman said, carefully observing the spirit herb.

“I will entrust the assessment of the spirit herb to Fellow Cultivator Ha,” the white-robed old man said, regaining his composure and asking very humbly. The woman nodded and took the silk box, taking out a slender green jade ruler with her other hand.

The ruler, about a foot long, had 20 rings engraved in a spiral pattern. With sparkling eyes, she pointed the green ruler at the spirit herb.

Then, the green ruler, in contact with the milky white light emitted by the spirit herb in the jade box, resonated with a humming sound, and the spiral patterns began to shine one after another.

The jade-green light was blinding.

‘One, two, three, four, five, six… eleven!’

The green light stopped after illuminating the eleventh ring, and a look of surprise crossed the woman’s calm face. After carefully observing the spirit herb, she was certain.

“It is definitely a ten-thousand-year spirit herb. Moreover, it is a Snow Serpent Grass that is nearly 11,000 years old. The Snow Serpent Grass itself is a rare spirit herb, so its price is bound to be higher than other ten-thousand-year spirit herbs. In my opinion, about 7 million spirit stones would be appropriate.”

“7 million spirit stones. Hmm, I think similarly, but do you think it’s a fair price, Fellow Cultivator?” The white-robed old man pondered for a moment and turned to ask Han Li.

“No objections. Then, take these. They will be worth the price I called,” Han Li said. A blue light flashed from Han Li’s wrist, and four more jade boxes appeared. The white-robed old man gestured, drawing the jade boxes closer, and then opened them one by one.

This time, even the usually composed old man couldn’t help but twitch his lips.

“Aren’t these all ten-thousand-year spirit herbs!”

“What’s wrong? It’s not an amount that your shop can’t handle, is it?” Han Li smiled at the old man, who was raising his voice in surprise.

“No, of course not,” the white-robed old man then smiled, hiding his surprise. The middle-aged woman, half in doubt, rigorously examined the spirit herbs in the jade boxes one by one, but they were all ten-thousand-year spirit herbs that had grown for more than ten thousand years.

In fact, ten-thousand-year spirit herbs were not as precious as treasures like True Spirit scales. However, they were widely used as the main and auxiliary ingredients for Nascent Soul pills [pills that help cultivators advance], making them the most sought-after items among high-level cultivators.

They were not only rare but also the fastest-selling items, so no shop would refuse them.

“The spirit herbs have been confirmed to be without problems. Since there are three True Spirit scales, please examine them carefully, Fellow Cultivator,” the white-robed old man said, who had been glancing at him with curious eyes, smiled and handed over the silk box.

“I will. Hmm, good. The items seem to be fine,” Han Li said, summoning the silk box, checking it, and nodding in satisfaction.

The white-robed old man, who might have been curious about the person who had produced so many ten-thousand-year spirit herbs, did not ask any questions. As soon as the transaction was completed, he used a spell to leave the stone chamber with the middle-aged woman and returned to the stage.

The cultivators who saw the old man, Red, and Fellow Cultivator Ha returning wanted to know if the transaction for the True Spirit scales had been completed.

“Everyone, there’s no need to worry. The items have been successfully handed over. Now, let’s move on to the next treasure auction. This item is a spirit treasure listed on the Chaos Myriad Spirit Board, and its value can be considered higher than the True Spirit scales. The Heaven Piercing Spirit Treasure, the Sea-Calming Halberd, has a starting price of 20 million,” the white-robed old man said, not mentioning anything more about Han Li and immediately starting the next auction.

This time, an old man with a reddish face walked out and took out a short, navy-blue halberd from the treasure stand. It was a spear with a ‘ㄱ’-shaped bend at the end.

The atmosphere in the main hall was buzzing with the appearance of the treasure, and when the old man demonstrated the mysterious powers of the spirit treasure, the competition became even fiercer. However, Han Li was holding the black scales and focusing his attention, not paying much attention to the Heaven Piercing Spirit Treasure.

The short halberd-shaped Heaven Piercing Spirit Treasure was sold to an unfamiliar cultivator for 35 million.

Now, it was time for the final item of the auction to appear.

“This item is the main cultivation method of a late-stage Integration cultivator [a very high cultivation stage] who was famous among the Human and Demon races. Heh heh, not many of you may know his name, but most of you have probably heard of the divine power ‘Great Zhou Heavenly Extinction Divine Needle’?

This divine power has shone brightly in battles against other races, and various versions of the cultivation method have become popular. It is even said that there were cultivators among the Demon race who learned this secret technique. What we are showing you today is the Yin-Yang Transformation Extremity Art, the first version of the cultivation method personally created by Senior ‘Five Spirits True Lord’ in the ancient era, which also includes the Great Zhou Heavenly Extinction Divine Needle divine power.

I don’t need to say more about how valuable this is. What’s even more amazing about this cultivation method is that it allows you to temporarily change the five elements attributes within your body when you cultivate it. However, the conditions for learning the method are quite strict. First, the cultivator’s cultivation must be exactly at the Nascent Soul or Transformation stage. And they must have the five elements spiritual roots to achieve great success. There are other minor conditions, but they are not insurmountable, so I won’t mention them.

The cultivation method is undoubtedly complete, and the successful bidder can verify it directly before paying the amount.

However, I must warn you in advance that although the power of this method is great, among the cultivators who have cultivated it, only Senior Five Spirits True Lord reached the Integration stage. You must keep this in mind.

Most of the other cultivators remained at the Transformation stage, whether because their cultivation method was incorrect or because they lacked talent, and only a handful of cultivators entered the Void Refinement stage. Perhaps it was because their luck was not with them. Otherwise, Senior Five Spirits True Lord would not have reached the Integration stage relying on this method.

Alright, it seems I’ve finished explaining the pros and cons of the Yin-Yang Transformation Extremity Art. Cultivators who are interested can call out a price. The minimum price is 20 million, and you can raise it in units of one million.”

The white-robed old man finished his explanation in a clear voice, and a middle-aged man in scholar’s attire took out a wooden box from the treasure stand, revealing a golden jade slip inside.

Because the Great Zhou Heavenly Extinction Divine Needle was a famous divine power, many cultivators sitting in the private rooms showed excitement with shining eyes. They didn’t seem to care much about the cultivation conditions.

After all, the participation condition for the auction itself was the Transformation stage or higher, and having the five elements spiritual roots was also important for reaching the Void Refinement stage. So, even if they didn’t learn this method, most of them had to make up for their lacking five elements spiritual roots.

Of course, only heaven knew how many of them would be able to acquire the five elements spiritual roots.

However, many people changed their minds due to the disadvantages mentioned by the white-robed old man. One of them was Han Li. Even if the Yin-Yang Transformation Extremity Art was a great method, there was no reason to cultivate it if it was extremely difficult to learn.

In terms of power alone, aiming for dual cultivation of body and magic was no less effective. Also, with a starting price of 20 million, there was no telling how high it would go.

‘There’s no reason to compete to obtain a method that might become a burden.’

However, it seemed that there were quite a few cultivators who were confident that they could learn even a difficult method. The price, which started at 20 million, was already soaring to an enormous number.

After a while, a cold voice was heard.

“40 million!” It was an amount that was dumbfounding just to hear. The one who called out the price was none other than the owner of the languid voice who had competed with Han Li for the True Spirit scales.

The price was so high that not only the Transformation stage cultivators but also some of the Void Refinement stage cultivators who had shown interest closed their mouths.

‘Who the heck is that?’

Everyone was curious about the identity of the person who was calling out such high prices. Han Li was also surprised by the price, but since it was none of his business, he didn’t pay much attention to it.

With the cultivation method being sold at such a high price, the auction ended.

The moment the white-robed old man declared the end of the auction, unexpectedly, the restrictions inside the private rooms were activated, and Han Li was teleported somewhere. The place he arrived at was inside a passage within the building, and the light of spiritual energy flickered as other cultivators were also teleported in succession.

Everyone was surrounded by silver energy, making it impossible to see each other’s identities. Han Li didn’t care about the others and strode out of the main gate of the Grand Profound Hall. Now that the auction was over, he planned to leave the Tianyuan City and return to his cave dwelling instead of going back to the stone tower.

Since the next patrol was about half a year away, he needed to cultivate the necessary spirit herbs before then and refine the Jade Purity Pill. If he had a sufficient supply of pills, he could focus on cultivation without worry for a while.

He would put aside the three Black Qilin scales for now and think about whether he could make the Jade Marrow True Spirit Pill. The heaven-defying elixir was essential for overcoming cultivation bottlenecks, so it was not something he could attempt hastily.