Chapter 221 - 227: Competition

Words : 1360 Updated : Oct 9th, 2025

``` The scene was fervent, with a great number of Qi Cultivation cultivators bidding eagerly, rapidly driving up the price of the premium Magic Artifact. It soon exceeded the highest value of such artifacts and was approaching the realm of second-tier Magic Artifacts. Before long, a Qi Cultivator purchased the artifact for over two thousand five hundred Spirit Stones. The subsequent auction items were mostly Magic Artifacts and Talismans or various Spiritual Objects that could enhance strength, with few Pill Recipes like the one before. The main reason was that most Qi Cultivation cultivators didn’t place much importance on this aspect, or their need for it wasn’t so strong yet. Li Chengmo and others also occasionally bid, but not having many Spirit Stones on hand, they never succeeded in winning an auction. As for the remark Li Zhirui made earlier, these juniors seemed not to grasp its deeper meaning, and to date, no one had approached him to borrow Spirit Stones. Li Zhirui naturally wouldn’t remind them, and instead he closed his eyes to rest and conserve energy, waiting for the auction items needed by the family to appear. One after another, the auction items were sold like flowing water. Even though they were all relatively cheap first-tier Spiritual Objects, the sheer quantity meant the total cost in Spirit Stones was still quite terrifying. "Thank you for the support, dear friends. The first-tier Spiritual Objects have all been auctioned off. Starting with the next item, we will move on to second-tier Spiritual Objects," Hua Baifeng announced, then produced ten pure white jade vials. "Within these Jade Tokens, there is a Foundation Establishment Pill each. To save time, bidding will last only for a quarter of an hour, and the pills will go to the ten bidders with the highest offers." This announcement made the breaths of all Qi Cultivators present grow rapid. If it weren’t for a Foundation Establishment cultivator presiding over the stage, perhaps some daring individuals might have rushed forward. Li Zhirui slightly raised his eyebrows. Was the other party trying to make everyone drive up the price? After thinking it over, Li Zhirui instructed, "Cheng Mo, you bid. As long as it doesn’t exceed ninety thousand Spirit Stones, buy as many as possible." "Yes." The development of the event was as Li Zhirui had anticipated. No sooner was the bidding announced than the price of the Foundation Establishment Pills soared, only dwindling in competition when it reached eighty thousand Spirit Stones. At that point, Li Chengmo made his first bid at a price of eighty-five thousand Spirit Stones. However, this bid did not deter the others from continuing to compete, forcing Li Chengmo to follow suit and raise the bid, ultimately even surpassing ninety thousand Spirit Stones. "Uncle Shiling, this..." Li Zhirui shook his head, "Let it go. The family still has a few Foundation Establishment Pills. It’s not worth spending too many Spirit Stones here." After the auction of the Foundation Establishment Pills, Li Zhirui did not instruct Li Chengmo to bid on any of the various second-tier Spiritual Objects, silently awaiting the third-tier Spiritual Objects. A few hours later, all the second-tier Spiritual Objects had been sold, and the first third-tier Spiritual Object was the Pill Recipe that Li Zhirui had waited for so long! "The next auction item is the Golden Yuan Pill Recipe. This pill can increase the mana of Golden Core cultivators, accelerate the cultivation speed of esteemed Golden Core seniors, and can also be used as a heritage for one’s power, enhancing defenses," Hua Baifeng said excitedly. "The starting bid is one hundred thousand Spirit Stones, and each increment must be no less than five thousand Spirit Stones!" "One hundred and fifty thousand." As soon as the words were uttered, Li Zhirui made his bid. His bid instantly stunned all lower-tiered cultivators, especially the Loose Cultivators, who likely had never seen so many Spirit Stones in their lifetime. "One hundred and eighty thousand Spirit Stones!" another Golden Core cultivator bid. With just their initial bids, the two blocked out any other Golden Core cultivators who might have considered bidding. Perhaps they felt it was not worth the cost, or their Sects might already possess a similar Pill Recipe, thus not competing with them. Moreover, this price was already approaching the upper limit for a third-tier Pill Recipe. Li Zhirui furrowed his brows, believing he found the voice somewhat familiar but was unable to recall who it was. He set aside his doubts and continued to bid, "Two hundred thousand Spirit Stones." ``` "Uncle Shiling, won’t this price be too high?" Li Chengmo smacked his lips, asking softly. Li Zhirui shook his head and smiled, "Don’t think the price is too high, you should know, such items have always been sought after but hard to find." "Moreover, the price of a single Golden Yuan Pill is hundreds of Spirit Stones, only 200,000 Spirit Stones, a sum that can be earned back one day." Meanwhile, in another room, someone asked a similar question. "Uncle Mingling, isn’t this price a bit too steep?" A Golden Core cultivator from the Yuanming Sect, Mingling, gritted his teeth and said, "It’s the Li family; we absolutely cannot let them get the Golden Yuan Pill Recipe! Otherwise, given Li Zhirui’s alchemy talent, he will surely be able to concoct it! With the Li family’s three Golden Core cultivators rapidly improving, what will our Yuanming Sect do then?" "But..." "There are no buts!" But this sect had come for another precious and extremely important Spiritual Object for the sect! The disciple who had spoken looked as though he was about to cry, but dared not say anything in the face of Mingling’s rage. "230,000 Spirit Stones!" Li Zhirui’s expression turned a bit unsightly; the price had already exceeded the value of the pill recipe! "240,000 Spirit Stones." But after thinking about it, he still made a bid, although the increase was not much. If the other party bid again, then he would cease bidding. After all, there isn’t just this one pill recipe that can increase mana. Even if the effects aren’t as good as the Golden Yuan Pill, would the other party compete with him again? "250,000!" Mingling declared through gritted teeth. A flash of sharpness passed through Li Zhirui’s eyes; he had recognized the voice, and said indifferently, "Congratulations to Daoist Mingling for getting his wish!" He hadn’t invited Mingling to his Core Formation ceremony earlier, so he hadn’t recognized him at first. After giving it some thought, he finally remembered who it was. Hua Baifeng didn’t concern himself with the grudges between these two Golden Core cultivators. After waiting a few moments with no one else bidding, he immediately announced, "Congratulations to the senior for obtaining the Golden Yuan Pill Recipe!" "Bang!" A loud bang filled with anger erupted from Mingling’s room. The reason for his fury was that he felt Li Zhirui had guessed his identity early on and deliberately drove up the price to play him for a fool. And now, having calmed down, he finally remembered the purpose of his attendance at the auction, and felt utterly at a loss. Hua Baifeng pretended not to hear and continued to introduce the next auction item. After all, even if someone was a Golden Core cultivator, they wouldn’t dare default on the Spirit Stones! The subsequent auction items were all third-tier Spiritual Objects, which were somewhat indifferent to the Li family, so Li Zhirui did not participate in the bidding, until another pill recipe that could enhance the mana of Golden Core cultivators appeared. "200,000 Spirit Stones!" Li Zhirui bid, effectively silencing many. And seeing his determination, everyone knew his intent to win, and suddenly no one competed with him. Competing in Spirit Stones might not be possible against him; to do so might also offend a Golden Core cultivator. And for a third-tier pill recipe, offend a Golden Core cultivator? It really wasn’t worth it. As for the promise that Xuanfa Pavilion would protect the anonymity of auction participants, that sort of talk could only fool the naive cultivators.

Chapter 221 - 227: Competition

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