The First Immortal of Destiny

Shen Mo vaguely remembered some rumors he had heard. The founder of this Market was purportedly a powerful figure in the Golden Core Realm. Evidently, with such a powerhouse presiding, everyone adhered to the Market's rules. Consequently, these rules carried significant weight.

After the grey-robed cultivator presiding over the auction finished his lengthy introductory speech, a cultivator from the Market presented the first auction item.

"Jade Lotus Heart, a top-level spiritual medicine."

The grey-robed cultivator had clearly rehearsed. After unveiling the red cloth covering the auction item, he began his introduction at once, without so much as a glance at it.

"You might be unfamiliar with the Jade Lotus Heart, as it is quite rare. Allow me to elaborate," he said. "This spiritual medicine thrives in the Extremely Cold Land and requires accompanying gold-type materials during its growth to coalesce. It is an essential ingredient for concocting many top-level elixirs. The starting bid is one hundred Spirit Stones."

After his lengthy explanation, he finally struck the gavel, announcing the starting bid.

"One hundred and twenty Spirit Stones!"

Soon, a cultivator who had taken a fancy to it raised their placard, intending to win the bid. But quickly, other cultivators also raised theirs.

"One hundred and fifty Spirit Stones!"

"Two hundred Spirit Stones!"

After a few more bids, once the price reached two hundred low-grade Spirit Stones, no one else made an offer.

"Two hundred Spirit Stones, going once!"

"Two hundred Spirit Stones, going twice!"

"Two hundred Spirit Stones, going three times! Sold!"

"Congratulations to this fellow daoist for winning the Jade Lotus Heart."

After the grey-robed cultivator called three times and no one else followed up, he announced the sale. Subsequently, a designated attendant took the Jade Lotus Heart backstage, awaiting payment and collection by the winning cultivator.

"Alright, our second auction item is a profound level, middle-grade cultivation method: the Profound Moon Heart Sutra."

"This cultivation method is suitable for those with an extremely Yin body. When cultivated to the Senior stage, all Spiritual Qi within the body will be refined into Moonlight Spiritual Qi, doubling one's power. The starting bid for this cultivation method is two hundred low-grade Spirit Stones."

The first item had just been removed when the second was quickly brought out. Many were also interested in this Profound Moon Heart Sutra.

"Two hundred and twenty Spirit Stones!"

"Two hundred and thirty Spirit Stones!"

"Two hundred and fifty Spirit Stones!"

The bidding continued.

"Five hundred Spirit Stones!"

The price soared, and eventually, the Profound Moon Heart Sutra was acquired by a man in a black robe and a bamboo hat.

Two auctions had already warmed the atmosphere of the venue. The third auction item, however, was considerably more valuable than the previous two.

"The third item for this auction is—the Qilin Vajra Armor!"

The grey-robed cultivator lifted the red cloth covering the item. On the wooden stand, a light gold inner armor engraved with numerous mysterious runes came into everyone's view.

"This inner armor is profound level, high-grade, forged by a Grade IV Forgemaster. Its defensive capabilities need no further elaboration, as you can all see. Starting bid—five hundred Spirit Stones!"

"Six hundred Spirit Stones!"

"Eight hundred Spirit Stones!"

"Eight hundred and fifty Spirit Stones!"

"One thousand Spirit Stones!"

"One thousand three hundred Spirit Stones!"

The bidding intensified.

This inner armor was clearly in high demand. Even Shen Mo was somewhat tempted, but unfortunately, his pockets were light. His main purpose for attending was to bid for the Divine Iron. As for other items, he would have to accumulate enough wealth before considering them in future auctions.

Ultimately, the inner armor sold for two thousand seven hundred low-grade Spirit Stones.

There are so many wealthy people... Seeing such an exorbitant price, Shen Mo couldn't help but be astonished. He observed many people bidding over two thousand Spirit Stones with extravagant flair, without even batting an eyelid, which made him secretly worried.

I hope the Divine Iron doesn't attract too many bidders...

He had initially felt that bringing one thousand eight hundred low-grade Spirit Stones was more than sufficient, making his success almost certain. But now... it seemed a bit precarious.

Time ticked by. Auction items were presented one after another, like goods on an assembly line. Each was sold after rounds of bidding.

During the auction, Shen Mo tried to use his Destiny effect, Bright Vision, to see if there were any opportunities to snag an overlooked treasure. But the way things progressed left him quite disappointed. He basically hadn't discerned any peculiar items that others couldn't see. In fact, all cultivation resources put up for auction by the Market were treasures. They were repeatedly inspected and verified by the Market's artisans, who specialized in appraising Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures, leaving very little room for anyone to find a bargain. After several fruitless attempts to observe and find something, Shen Mo gradually abandoned the idea.

He slightly closed his eyes, resting and conserving his energy, patiently waiting for the Divine Iron he needed to appear.

Another two Shichen passed. The auction, which had begun at the Rat Hour, had essentially reached its latter half.

Finally, the item the grey-robed cultivator introduced this time was precisely the treasure Shen Mo sought on this trip.

"Everyone, please look! This is a rare spiritual mineral, the Divine Iron!"

The grey-robed cultivator, holding the wooden tray displaying the Divine Iron, showed the dark, unassuming ore to everyone.

"This Divine Iron, legend says, is Extraterrestrial Meteor Iron that fell to the mortal realm. Only after being nurtured by the deep earth for hundreds of thousands of years can it take form. Although its uses are somewhat niche, it is indispensable for forging top-level magic artifacts. If anyone is interested, you must seize this chance! This item weighs a total of ten Jin. The starting bid is two hundred low-grade Spirit Stones!"

As the grey-robed cultivator's gavel fell, Shen Mo's eyes snapped open!

"Three hundred Spirit Stones!"

For the first time, he made a bid in the auction.

Despite the many treasures presented earlier, some of which were enough to make one drool, Shen Mo hadn't made a single bid. The prices for those treasures were simply too outrageous for him to afford. Having finally waited for the main item, Shen Mo acted swiftly.

"Four hundred Spirit Stones."

Although this Divine Iron wasn't a particularly popular item, someone still followed his bid shortly after Shen Mo raised his placard.

"Six hundred Spirit Stones," Shen Mo called out again.

The opponent, unwilling to be outdone, countered, "Seven hundred Spirit Stones."

"One thousand Spirit Stones!"

Shen Mo paused for a moment, then directly raised the price by another three hundred Spirit Stones. This brought the bid basically to the market value for Divine Iron. Seeing someone competing, he no longer expected to acquire it for less than its market price. He raised the bid directly to one thousand Spirit Stones, hoping that unless the other party urgently needed it, they wouldn't continue to bid.

However, Shen Mo had somewhat misjudged the extent of the other party's desire for the item.

"One thousand two hundred Spirit Stones."

From the front row of the auction hall, a cultivator in a black robe called out another bid. This price was already above the normal market value. Clearly, this person was determined to obtain the Divine Iron.