Reforged from Ruin [Eldritch Xianxia Cultivation]

"Here we have the rare, valuable fragments from what was once known as the Dragon's Tooth, a mountain-sized skeletal fragment buried deep towards the outer strangeness of the edge of the world! It's material is sturdier than the toughest metal, and is completely immune to fire or force, manipulable only by the subtle touches of Qi and lifeforce! Bidding begins at merely ten thousand high-grade-"

"Twenty thousand stones!"

"Twenty-five!"

"Twenty-eight thousand!"

"Twenty-two thousand and a chest of Spirit Beast heartbone, ready for refining!"

The bids thunder throughout the space, filling the chamber with their echoes. Ten thousand stones might be on the upper edge of what a particularly lucky or wealthy independent cultivator could put together, but by doubling the starting price, the first bidder ensured that the private boxes would dominate the affair immediately.

"Going once! Going twice! Twenty-two thousand and a-"

"Fifty thousand high grade stones."

Li Tianfeng blinks, with half the crowd below blinking with him.

The arrays that protect all the other chambers in the space from spying do jack shit to cover the sudden silence of surprise they're now radiating.

Raika smiles wide, taking another sip of the salted rim of her cup and delicately plucking a local prawn delicacy into her mouth, enjoying the way that the sharp salt and bitterness of the wine meld with the savory, meaty flavor of the creature. The sauce they have on it is positively tangy, with a welcoming heat, and there's a thoroughly enjoyable zest of citrus at the back of it.

"Fif- fifty thousand high grade stones! Going once! Going twice! And-"

"Fifty one thousand stones!" comes a voice from one of the other booths.

Raika doesn't even hesitate. "Sixty thousand stones."

Li Tianfeng almost chokes at the amount, but doesn't even bother with a countdown this time. "Sold!"

Technically, you're supposed to take the shell off the shrimp before eating it, but after the first few, it just made it much too soft. Still delicious, but there's so much extra flavor in the shells!

She dips the tangy prawns into some sort of dairy-based cream to one side, thick and cool, and slowly chews on the combination, enjoying a sip of a completely different cup of alcohol-based tea, which she puts down next to the mead, the three bottles of spiritual-grade medicinal rice wine, and the full jug of stewed fruit juices and liquor.

"And on to our next item! A rare medicinal herb, known for its esoteric and mind-altering properties, the Seventh-Eye Plum is a rare find in the Overgrowth, cultivated off the back of a Golden Core level spirit beast! This exceptional find is known for allowing cultivators to split their mind's perception of time, thinking in parallel! We'll begin the bidding at thirty-thousand high-grade stones!"

"Twenty-five thousand stones and an Inverted Heart medicinal pill!"

"Thirty three thousand!"

"Thirty five thousand and a lesser-grade sword spirit!"

"Fifty-five thousand stones."

Again, the sound of a grown man choking in shock on stage. This time he has no trouble looking up at the booth she's in- it might theoretically have privacy seals set up, but it's clear that the main arbiters of the event at least have information on who sits where. If she had to guess, most of the sects will know where each other sit, too, making her easy to pick out.

Good. All according to the plan.

Oooh! Cake!

The servants come in, carrying between them multiple trays of food that they begin laying out along the center table they've raised up out of the floor. Dozens of empty plates are piled high to one side, but even still the table is flooded with massive steaks, ornate salads with leaves edged in glowing gold and silver colors, bowls of soups and sauces and enough finger-foods to feed an army. Every meat she could think of has its place on the table- six varietals of fish in ten different styles, three different forms of cow, at least a half-dozen subspecies of pork, and enough poultry, most of it fried or glazed, to build a farm around.

The latest plates are all set to their places, bringing out a brand new course to match the old one. A bright red plate of pies, a bowl the size of a human torso filled to the brim with sauced ice-water and noodles, a series of spits with melting cheese, rolled dough, bright vegetables and meats all skewered along them- all to start.

The item that pulled her attention most directly would be the aforementioned cake, a beautiful thing, with two layers and the soft scent of lavender and jasmine floating like perfume around it. It's flavored with medicinal herbs, infused with Qi, glowing with softness and as pale as the surface of the Lua with hints of green and red like her siblings, Rua and Sila.

"Will that be all, honored one?" asks one of the servants, looking a bit pointedly at the cake and its implication.

"Actually, I'd like a fresh jug of mead when you get the chance, and some of that green rice wine you brought before. And do you have any reptiles on the menu?"

"Honored one, we possess a variety of reptilian spirit animals of repute, including the hundred-limbed crocodile, the ten-tongued serpent, the-"

"Awesome, bring them all. Thank you!"

She very pointedly ignores the way his heartbeat picks up, and the way he somewhat nervously looks over at the rest of the table, still only half finished. He also very pointedly does not comment, and she sets aside another bonus on his tip for later. He's doing a great job.

The auction continues down below, the awkward silence of the sudden jump in price following along. Li Tianfeng starts this one off a bit lower, possibly to avoid another bidding conflict, and some of the independent cultivators actually take a chance and bid for once.

She lets it happen, smiling to herself as she delicately cuts into the fifty-pound steak on the table in front of her and chews slowly. It absolutely melts in her mouth.

"Mmmm. Aria, you have got to try this one."

"Master, I wouldn't dare-"

"Bitch, Ko has eaten his weight in food over here and I've fucking tripled that, don't give me any bullshit about propriety."

Aria blushes, also pointedly ignoring Ko sitting on the other end of the table, his eyes closed in bliss around an ink-colored, sesame-seed covered bite of some sort of cheese-and-meat casserole. "It's… you asked me to keep an eye on the bids, Master, and-"

"That I did, but I don't need you to watch the bidders," Raika says around another mouthful of steak, this time wrapped around a delightfully crisp layer of salad and tubers. "Just the big names up top. Most of the interactions are irrelevant anyways, I just need to know if you notice them acting up in relation to each other rather than my bids. The insight's useful, but not crucial. And this food is amazing."

Aria hesitates a moment, looking back out the viewplate to track the bids. The lack of call from their viewing box has led to a bit more momentum, and some of the lower sects are only now starting to throw out their own offers.

"I… suppose a quick break wouldn't hurt, Master. But I am a vegetarian."

"Oh! Perfect, they have these little pastries that are just the perfect blend of soft and crunchy, and the insides are this incredible sort of mashed paste, you'll love it."

Raika tosses one of the aforementioned pastries, cultivator's reflexes making sure that Aria catches it with no trouble- and proceeds to stare at it, eyes a little wide.

"Master, this- this is a Gincho pastry, I wouldn't dare-"

"If you don't eat it, I'm throwing it away, I swear to the Heavens."

Ko laughs and Aria blushes further, then takes a bite. The sound she makes is not one Raika expected to ever hear out of her, except maybe by accident through particularly thin bedroom walls.

She goes absolutely scarlet, and tries to scarf down the rest of the pastry, only to fail entirely as the second bite sends her for yet another loop.

"Thirteen thousand high-grade stones! Going once! Going twice! Sold!"

He doesn't say who it's sold to, but the illusion of impartial anonymity remains as see-through as ever, half the loose cultivators who bid turning up to glare at one of the lower-rung viewing boxes. Raika would sooner eat the table in front of her than believe that they don't know, or at least rightfully suspect, who's seated there.

And that's not just because the table looks like it would have a very satisfying crunch. And a delightfully oaky, smokey flavor behind all that Qi packed into its runes.

"We're nearing the end of our preliminary offers, honored ones!" Li Tianfeng says, the geode floating at his throat projecting his voice out to the crowds. "These next three offers are some of the best items on offer this evening, before our vaunted guest makes an appearance! Here, emerging from the stage before you, is one of a priceless few artifacts, limited in production to only three in a given decade!"

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The aforementioned reveal plays out much like the others, save that there are no jade beauties this time to circle and present the item. No, this one sits on its own, in a velvet and crimson box which, in spite of the arrays on its surface, still only barely contains the energy swirling within.

"The Heaven-Shattering Cultivation pill is a once-in-a-lifetime treasure for all but the luckiest of immortals, sitting at the pinnacle of the alchemist's art as one of the premier medicinal pills in the Jianghu! Known for its overwhelming levels of Qi, those who manage to contain the storm of this medicinal artifact are forced to adapt, the properties of what they have so miraculously ingested allowing the body to develop additional meridians! Those without lucky mutations or a special Physique are brought closer to the Heavens, and those already blessed find themselves standing alongside the Gods' own ability to cultivate! The starting bid will be for one hundred thousand high grade stones!"

Before he's even done speaking, no less than five of the middle-tier sects have thrown out a bid, the desperation clear in their voices in spite of the way that the privacy arrays filter them. Some of the lower sects throw out bids as well, but they're almost universally buoyed by the addition of lesser cultivation aids, artifacts, and even offered favors. The sounds of screaming voices fill the air, until-

From near the very peak of the auditorium, on a level higher than the booth Raika's been placed, comes a cold, stern voice, echoing off the iron of the building.

"A writ of favor from the Peak of the Iron Tortoise."

The room goes silent.

Raika can hear the way that the room goes still, as if stunned by what's on offer. She can hear in the way the bid was spoken the implication that it is an offer no one else can match.

Li Tianfeng doesn't bother counting down. "The pill is-"

"Two million, five-hundred high grade stones."

She probably could have gone with just one million, but it's good to make sure when you're only vague on the values.

The silence this time is much sharper.

Despite the privacy filters and the arrays built into the structure, she can still taste the pressure of a higher cultivation emerging into the world, ensuring its presence is felt. A sound not unlike a scream made of burning voices, emerging from within a green-flamed forge the size of an island on the horizon, fills her nostrils with its scent, emanating at her from the higher booth.

She takes a bite of some sort of tentacle with eyes, moaning a little at the taste of them popping and flavoring the rest of the meat and Qi-infused rice beneath. Delicious.

"S- sold. To the bidder at booth 130."

Oh? Throwing her under the wheels, is he? Well, that works just fine.

"What a… stunning upset, folks! Truly, there can be no predicting what occurs when treasures such as these are put on display! But bear in mind, there are yet more items on the docket here before the main event!"

The medicinal box falls back into the stage, only for another box to emerge on the other side of the presenter, glowing with a strange heat that bears no actual temperature.

"Contained within this box is the head of a legendary spear, once wielded by the patriarch of the Sun And Stars sect! This long-ago relic of a forgotten time in our history remains shattered, unrecovered- but here we possess a mere fragment of its former might! Feel how it burns through the space, barely contained in spite of the damage it's suffered? What secrets might such an artifact hold? What methods of cultivation might it guide one towards? The bidding begins at-"

"Three million spirit stones."

Dead silence in the room. You could hear a pin drop, even without Raika's ears.

The sound of that many buttholes clenching is like a symphony to her.

"That's… that's our first offer, folks! But for such a rare artifact, we wouldn't want to deprive anyone of opportunities! Perhaps a bid from our esteemed-"

"Three million, five-hundred thousand, six-hundred and seventy two spirit stones."

Just for fun.

"...sold, once again, to the intrepid bider at booth 130."

He coughs, the box falling back onto stage, but to his credit, the kid recovers fast, despite his pulse absolutely racing. She can taste the beat of his heart through the sight of his neck, pulsing in time in spite of his control.

Honestly, she's not sure what he expected. It's not like she came off as normal when they first met.

The door behind her chimes, a fresh set of servants wheeling in plates of whole-roasted crocodile and other reptilians, arranging them around the table. If they notice how absurdly still Ko and Aria are, both of them staring at her, they do a good job of not reacting to it. Mostly.

"This third item-"

"Three million, five-hundred thousand, six hundred and seventy three spirit stones."

One of the servants drops the plate he was holding, and it clatters to the table amidst a sea of frozen, petrified faces.

Yeah, that just doesn't get old.

The auditorium is dead silent. She can hear a lot more than just one booth pointing their wrath at her, and some of the cultivators below begin to shake and breathe harder, in spite of the energies not being pointed their way.

Raika pours a container of soup down her gullet, thoroughly enjoying the taste the whole way down. It's actually not that hard to make taste buds once you figure out the trick.

"And… with that, it seems we have our preliminary bidding drawn to a close! Thank you, honored ones, for your patronage and your patience! We'll have a brief recess, and return momentarily to bring to you the final elements of tonight's auction!"

He doesn't quite scurry off-stage, but his step certainly has a nice hitch to it.

Raika hums, drinking another bottle of wine and enjoying some sort of stuffed bird-thing, and waits as the remaining servants damn-near run to exit the room.

And waits.

Another few plates join the rest as she slowly (for her) makes her way across the table, saving the cake for last.

And, almost a full half hour after she expected them to arrive, the portal chimes again, and the taste of the air changes to match that of a coming thunderstorm, glowing and moving in strange patterns, ready to unleash a flood.

She grins, turning to face Li Tianfeng and what she assumes to be his master, alongside an elder of some sort. She didn't bother to learn their names, but the lead guy seems pissed.

"Greetings, honored seniors," Raika says with a smile, pulling several saucers close and beginning to pour some wine. "May I interest you in-"

A brief flash of something behind the thunderclouds, its steps like lightning, its beating drums like the beating of a mountain's heart.

"Honored guest," says the man in front, "we do not lightly take in unknown actors to our stage. To have centermost placement in an auction of this scale is reserved only for those best trusted with such a responsibility, and such a windfall. In spite of the support you have garnered from our fellows in the Land of the Verdant Dragon and in the eyes of Li Tianfeng, I'm afraid we cannot proceed with the auction without verification of your bids, and some collateral to hold until the end of the event."

Raika grins wide, letting her teeth show and her pupils contract, eight-pointed stars staring at him from glowing corneas. "Why, honored senior! All you had to do was ask!"

Her arm unzips, disconnecting along a dozen different lines and seams, shifting wider, wider-

And before the guy who could pulp this entire mountainside gets too paranoid about it, she lets drop the first of her Qi stones.

See, Qi stones are both hard and easy to make. Hard, because you need to get the materials and circumstances right, but easy, because the actual recipe itself is pretty basic.

Got a stone? Fill it with Qi.

Now, the issue comes in from filling it with the right kind of Qi. Not stone Qi, which any rock would just love to absorb for itself, or fire or water or dream Qi- all of those are doable, but not quite so good for making an economy off of. When it comes to storing Qi for use, there are better options, and when it comes to creating a functioning currency, they have to be standardized.

This is where most cultivators start to struggle. See, that means that you need Qi that anyone at all can use, preferably as "raw" as you can get it, as free of concepts as one can create. The purer the quality, the higher the concentration, the better the stone. Most people, being as they digest all Qi they absorb into something they can actually use as a natural part of cultivation, just don't have any un-conceptualized, un-flavored Qi on offer. Those that do are highly specialized, and those that don't need specific rituals and arrays, tightly kept secrets, to un-digest their Qi, often at dizzyingly bad conversion rates.

Raika doesn't have meridians. Raika can't digest Qi.

She can digest concepts, given her weird-as-fuck stomach, and that comes with breaking down some Qi, sure- but it remains unflavored by her.

Oh, if you have enough blood and guts all up in some Qi, that flavors it too. Her supply isn't as pure as running water. At least not at baseline.

But… if she were to, say, swallow a rock. And then move it into its own space. And then filter out layer after layer of blood from the veins leading to it, leaving only baseline materials like water, salt, that sort of stuff, removing almost all of her biology from the process she uses to transport Qi through her body.

Well, it's still not running-water-clear, but neither is anyone else's, and colorless-translucent is pretty fucking close. The metaphor breaks down a bit, but then again, she doesn't much care.

Takes enough infrastructure to power three of her older bodies, colossally shit conversion from "Qi in her blood" to "Qi just floating around", labor intensive as fuck, and it's an astronomical waste of Qi, biomass, and physical capacity. It would take someone with truly hundreds of minds, a near-microscopic level of control over biology, an unbelievable amount of resources and, say, maybe, an eldritch divine organ capable of Qi manipulation in truly strange ways to pull it off in anything less than a month, maybe a year.

Oh, wait.

The first of her homemade Qi stones falls out of her arm, the size and shape of a boulder, heavy enough to crack the Qi-enhanced wooden floor of the viewing booth. It's larger than a human torso, about a hundred times heavier- and radiating enough Qi that everyone in the room but Raika takes a physical step back.

And then the second one rolls out.

Considering most Qi stones are approximately the size of a human palm, she figures it would take half a mountain to actually provide however many millions she's promised.

So she just made sure that she scaled the Qi density in these way the fuck up.

By the time the tenth stone lands, the arrays in the room are starting to fluctuate, their effects designed to absorb Qi from small batteries beginning to burn out under the radiance in the room. The floor is beginning to gain a luster, the food on the table seems to be squirming under the glow of power, and the cultivators in the room seem almost physically pained at the sheer concentration of resources she's just put out.

Being your own mountain-sized logistical superbeing has its pros and cons.

It's also singularly useful for when you want to kick the shit out of a bunch of rich fucks at the money game.

She grins, taking a sip of the wine (which is bubbling at this point, the water seemingly beginning to come alive under the effects of this much energy).

"Will this do?"

The elder of Li Tianfeng's sect stares at the pile, mouth open. Li Tianfeng himself, behind, looks like he might piss himself, though she's not sure if from fear or sheer joy.

Her smile widens, and she gets up, stretching a bit and taking a piece of the cake she was saving onto a plate. "Glad to hear it. Now if you don't mind, I have an auction to start."

Right on time, the arrays fail, releasing the waves of Qi from the stones out into the auditorium- and before anyone can react, stunned at the sudden presence unveiled, she casually leaps from her balcony to the stage.

Her landing shakes the ground, in spite of the iron nature of the entire building, and she turns to the crowd, cake in hand and a smile on her face.

"Hello there, juniors, seniors, and bastards in between! I hope you're looking forward to this final stage of our auction as much as I am!"