SWDnovel Chapter 17 Huanglong Shangren
Chapter 17 Huanglong Shangren
Prices skyrocketed at an astonishing rate in a breathtaking silence.
"One thousand two hundred!" Wang Tianlong's calm voice joined the fray, directly raising the price by two hundred high-grade spirit stones, showing his determination to obtain the pill.
However, this did not deter everyone.
"One thousand three hundred dollars!" The black-robed cultivator who had previously offered one thousand dollars spoke in a slightly hoarse but firm voice.
Inside the entire hall, only three or four cultivators remained, still bidding, each bid carrying immense weight. All eyes were fixed on these few competitors, and the air seemed to freeze.
On the other side of the venue, the Nascent Soul cultivators from the Seven Star Realm appeared calm on the surface, but were secretly exchanging messages frequently.
The leader, Huanglong Shangren (the Star-Robed Daoist), transmitted his thoughts with undisguised amazement: "This world is rich in cultivation resources, truly prosperous and thriving! Even a heaven-defying pill like the 'Breaking Yuan Pill,' which can help people break through to the late stage of the Nascent Soul realm, is being offered for public auction! It seems that our risky journey here was indeed a wise move."
A wiry-faced companion beside him, known as "Jin Feng Sanren," immediately responded, his tone complex: "Brother Huanglong is absolutely right. In our Seven Star Realm, the best resources, the most top-tier elixirs and cultivation techniques are almost entirely controlled by the major sects like the 'Seven Star Sect' and the 'Mysterious Heaven Sect.' Things like the 'Breaking Yuan Pill' are barely enough for their own use; there's absolutely no way it would fall into the hands of us rogue cultivators. Want to break through to the late stage? It's as difficult as ascending to heaven!"
Another female cultivator, whose Daoist name was "Jade Fairy," also sighed softly, "Yes, if it weren't for the bleak future in the Seven Star Realm and the constant exclusion of resources, why would we bother..."
These individuals were all rogue cultivators in the Seven Star Realm. Although they had managed to cultivate to the Nascent Soul stage by chance, they were ostracized and suppressed by Nascent Soul cultivators from various sects and families due to their lack of a sect or affiliation, resulting in extremely limited access to high-level resources. The Yellow Dragon Venerable had the highest cultivation level, reaching the peak of the mid-Nascent Soul stage, but in the barren and monopolized environment of the Seven Star Realm, his hope of breaking through to the late stage was extremely slim.
The turning point came from an adventure. One of them, the "Mysterious Shadow Old Monster," unexpectedly discovered a highly unstable spatial rift leading to an unknown realm. This discovery rekindled the ambitions of the group trapped in their current world. Rather than wasting their lives in the Seven Star Realm, they decided to fight for a chance to survive and seek opportunities in other realms!
However, traversing the unstable and perilous interdimensional passage without a powerful protective treasure would be tantamount to suicide. Their own resources were far from sufficient. Just then, they learned that the enforcement elder of the "Seven Star Sect," who had always been at odds with rogue cultivators, possessed a supremely powerful spiritual treasure—the Wind-Stabilizing Disc.
Borrowing? Absolutely not. Thus, a risky plan was formed. Led by Master Huanglong, the group meticulously set a trap, paying a heavy price (Old Monster Xuanying was killed on the spot by the death throes of the Enforcement Elder) to barely kill the Enforcement Elder and seize the Wind-Fixing Disc. However, they were also marked with a tracking mark that was difficult to remove in a short time by the elder before his death.
The Seven Star Sect's wrath and pursuit could come at any moment. The group had no time to prepare or remove the markings, and despite their injuries, they hastily activated the spatial rift passage, using the wind-stabilizing disc to barely escape the spatial turbulence.
Fortunately, they survived and successfully reached this realm—the human realm. Unfortunately, the spatial storm destroyed most of their storage equipment, resulting in heavy losses accumulated over many years, and each of them suffered serious injuries.
Upon their arrival, they were overjoyed by the cultivation environment and abundant resources of this realm, which far surpassed those of the Seven Star Realm. However, they were also deeply worried about their status as "outsiders," their injuries, and the potential dangers posed by their markings, fearing that they would be discovered, rejected, or even annihilated by the powerful local forces of this realm. Therefore, they kept a low profile and secretly investigated until this auction, when they cautiously revealed themselves.
At this moment, gazing at the "Breaking Yuan Pill" on the stage—a pill that offered a glimmer of hope for a breakthrough—Huanglong Shangren's eyes sharpened considerably. He transmitted his voice, saying, "This pill... may be the key for us to gain a foothold in this realm, or even advance further. We must obtain it!"
As he finished speaking, when another unknown cultivator raised the price to "1,500 yuan," Master Huanglong finally broke his silence and calmly and clearly announced the new price:
"Seventeen hundred high-grade spirit stones."
Master Huanglong quoted a price of 2,500 high-grade spirit stones, which was like pouring a ladle of cold water into a boiling oil pan, and the bidding instantly entered the final stage of a heated competition.
When the price boldly broke through the astronomical figure of two thousand, the atmosphere in the hall became so heavy it was suffocating. The calls for higher bids noticeably thinned out, each offer was accompanied by a long silence and deliberation, and the interval before each gavel fell seemed to stretch infinitely.
Only a handful of competitors remain, all of whom are cultivators who have reached the peak of the mid-stage of the Nascent Soul realm, possess substantial wealth, and are extremely determined to break through to the late stage. These include Wang Tianlong, Huanglong Shangren, a black-robed cultivator with an obscure aura, and Qingyu Demon King, a member of the demon race who has a relatively lower demand for elixirs but also seems willing to take the gamble.
Wang Tianlong remained calm, but his mind was racing with calculations. His liquid assets, plus a few readily convertible but not core treasures, meant he could only scrape together a maximum of around three thousand five hundred high-grade spirit stones. And judging from the current situation…
"Two thousand eight hundred." Wang Tianlong raised the price again, his voice steady, but he had already drawn a line in his mind. If it exceeded three thousand five hundred, he would decide to give up. After all, he was still somewhat confident that he could break through to the later stage on his own with the help of the system and the "Wind-Treading Technique," it would just take more time to travel and hone his skills. It was not a wise move to spend all his wealth on this, or even sell his important trump cards. The path to enlightenment is long, and there might be other opportunities.
"Three thousand dollars." Master Huanglong followed without hesitation, showing his determination to win. He and his companions had already pooled all their savings and were full of confidence.
"Three thousand two hundred." The Azure Feather Demon King coldly announced a price, but his tone already revealed a hint of hesitation. The demon race was not as efficient at utilizing human pills as human cultivators, and such an exorbitant price was approaching his psychological limit.
"Three thousand five hundred yuan." Master Huanglong raised the price by three hundred yuan again, showing an imposing sense of determination.
Hearing the price, Wang Tianlong sighed softly to himself. This number had crossed his bottom line. He shook his head slightly, remained silent, and chose to give up. In the struggle for supremacy, sometimes one must know how to make choices.
After a long silence, the other black-robed cultivator also let out a barely audible snort and stopped raising the price.
At this point, only Master Huanglong and Demon King Qingyu remained as competitors.
The Azure Feather Demon King's expression changed several times, but when Master Ziyang asked him a second time, he sat back down heavily and gave up the fight.
"Four thousand five hundred high-grade spirit stones! Third time! Sold!" Master Ziyang's voice boomed as he brought down the gavel. "Congratulations to this fellow Daoist for winning this 'Breaking Yuan Pill'!"
As the gavel fell, all eyes in the arena focused on Master Huanglong with a complex mix of emotions. There was envy, jealousy, relief, and profound shock. Four thousand five hundred high-grade spirit stones! This was almost the accumulated wealth of a medium-sized sect over hundreds of years!
Master Huanglong's face flushed, and he suppressed his excitement. He rose and bowed slightly to those around him before quickly stepping forward to complete the transaction. When he received the elixir that was crucial to his path to enlightenment, his hands trembled almost imperceptibly.
Wang Tianlong watched this scene, his expression returning to calm. He picked up his teacup and took a sip. This elixir, though excellent, was not his only choice. His gaze was already fixed on the auction stage, awaiting the next item, perhaps a more suitable finale for him.