NOVEL NEXT Chapter 158: Success
"You’re actually planning to refine a blade Gu with over ten thousand materials! Calm down! Don’t act on impulse; you must think this through carefully, senior sister!"
Long Xuan quickly walked over, trying to stop Long Ziyan from making this reckless move, fearing that she might lose everything and end up heartbroken.
Long Ziyan finally turned to look at him, rolling her eyes dramatically.
"You're someone who wants to refine a Gu using all the spiritual insects in the world, and you're telling me to calm down? Don’t you think your advice is a bit unconvincing?"
Long Xuan laughed awkwardly, "Last time, I was just joking. Even if I had the guts, I wouldn’t have the resources. A ten-thousand-material blade Gu can only be successfully refined by someone with immense luck. You mustn’t be rash—impulsiveness is the devil!"
Long Ziyan turned back and continued writing down the Blade Gu recipe on the table, sighing, "I know this is risky. A blade Gu made from ten thousand materials has an extremely low success rate, and the chances of losing are just too high."
"But this isn’t about what I want; it's what the Gu wants. I want it to decide its own fate, so I’ve given it the choice."
"I didn’t expect it to be so arrogant and self-important, insisting on a ten-thousand-material recipe. No one can persuade it otherwise."
"I never thought it would challenge a ten-thousand-level recipe either, but as its master, I respect its decision."
"I’ll prepare the ten thousand materials for it. Whether it soars to the skies or falls to the ground after this, it will be up to its own fate.""But considering it’s the king of the Silver Moon Mantis clan, I doubt the failure rate will be as high as we think. You don’t need to be so pessimistic."
Suddenly, Long Ziyan added, "Anyway, let’s get back to business. Why did you come to see me?"
Hearing this, Long Xuan finally let go of the previous topic and said seriously, "Here’s the thing. I recently came across a divine scripture, but I can’t read the sacred script. I don’t understand what’s written in it, so I wanted you to help me translate it."
Upon hearing this, Long Ziyan's eyes lit up immediately, and she turned her head, showing a keen interest.
She loved studying theology, especially reading books written in divine script. A new ancient theology book was enough to capture her full attention.
"Quick, take it out and let me see. I’ll translate it for free," Long Ziyan urged.
Long Xuan nodded and placed a cultivation technique book on the table, saying seriously, "I’m not in a rush. You can finish writing the Gu recipe first. Whenever you finish translating, just use the Sou Gu to notify me."
"I’ve got other things to do, so I’ll take my leave." With that, Long Xuan turned and walked out.
"Take care, I won’t see you off."
Hearing Long Ziyan's crisp voice from behind made Long Xuan feel a slight sense of guilt.
After returning to his residence, Long Xuan became restless. He had intended to work on the Ten Absolute Blade Technique, but he was in no state to do so. After half a day, he hadn’t written a single word.
He had too much on his mind, and with his thoughts in disarray, how could he focus on creating anything?
He wondered, what if it doesn’t work out again this time? It’s unlikely she would turn to someone else. After all, she gave herself to him the first time. If not him, then who? Besides, she has such a small social circle; he’s her only male friend.
But what if she resists temptation and refuses to practice the Yin-Yang Compendium?
If she would rather give up the chance to become stronger than be with him, it would mean she has no feelings for him at all. In that case, there would be no point in holding on any longer; pursuing her relentlessly would just be meaningless.
Long Xuan decided that if things didn’t work out this time, he would simply give up. After all, there are plenty of other flowers in the world—why fixate on just one?
On the third night of being deeply troubled by these thoughts, Long Xuan suddenly woke up from a dream.
He saw a figure standing by his bedside. Despite the dim light, he immediately recognized it as Long Ziyan. His heart stirred—could it be...?
At that moment, the graceful figure spoke:
"Having seen the vast ocean, no other waters can compare;
Apart from the clouds of Mount Wu, no other clouds are worth mentioning."
"Passing through the clusters of flowers, I am too lazy to look back;
Half because of my devotion to the Dao, and half because of you."
"I love this poem very much. You gave it to me during the Sou Gu Festival, and I never responded. Now, I’m here to tell you in person... I agree."
...
The erotic dream left no trace. When Long Xuan woke from his dream and smelled the fragrance lingering on his pillow, he couldn’t help but smile mischievously. Finally, he had succeeded.
...
Today was the day of the Qian Auction House’s sale of the Living Wood. This auction had been building anticipation for three months, drawing wealthy landowners from all over. At this moment, the city was teeming with Gu Kings, and the atmosphere was at its peak.
The Qian's Chamber of Commerce wasn’t going to miss such a prime opportunity. With so many Gu Kings gathered from all over, when else would they strike to earn big profits?
Thus, the Qian's Chamber of Commerce planned to use this momentum to make this the largest auction in a thousand years, aiming to break the record for sales revenue.
Therefore, over the past three months, the Qian's Chamber of Commerce has not been idle. Treasures from the Qian Clan's branches across various locations have been transported to Blackstone City.
At this moment, the Qian Clan Auction House in Blackstone City is already filled with precious items. The treasures are piled up like mountains, and the quality of this auction will be astonishingly high. Every auction item is a rare treasure, and there won't be anything cheap.
The others aren't fools either; they know that Blackstone City is now full of wealthy individuals, making it a prime opportunity to make a fortune. As a result, many people have brought their treasures to the Qian Clan Auction House for consignment sales.
Under such circumstances, the quality of the auction items for this event has risen even higher. Numerous rare treasures that are usually hard to come by are now so plentiful that they're practically fighting for attention.
Items that would typically serve as the grand finale of an auction might not even qualify for this one—it’s that extravagant.
The scale of this high-grade auction has practically driven the entire city mad. Even Long Xuan couldn't resist attending such a grand event, planning to go and witness the spectacle, broaden his horizons.
So, he got up early, quickly washed up, and without even having time for breakfast, set out hand-in-hand with Long Ziyan towards the Qian Clan Auction House.
Due to the sheer number of treasures being auctioned, the event is scheduled to last a full day—and even then, it might not be enough.
As a result, the Qian Clan Auction House divided this grand auction into three sessions: upper, middle, and lower.
The first session takes place from morning until noon, the second from noon until afternoon, and the third from afternoon until evening.
The treasures have been categorized by their value.
The treasures that the Gu Kings need are reserved for the latter half of the auction, which is a Gu King-exclusive session that only they can attend.
The treasures needed by Spiritual Sea stage Gu cultivators have been placed in the middle session, a Spiritual Sea stage exclusive auction that only top-tier Spiritual Sea stage experts can participate in.
The upper session is exclusively for Marrow Cleansing stage Gu cultivators. The treasures auctioned in this session are specifically what Marrow Cleansing stage cultivators need.
In this world, all large-scale auctions are conducted in segmented sessions.
If Gu cultivators of all realms were crammed into one hall, would anyone at a lower realm dare to bid on something that caught a Gu King’s eye? Who would dare to risk their life by competing with a Gu King?
Take, for example, the Break Sea Pill, which can help a peak Marrow Cleansing stage Gu cultivator break through to the Spiritual Sea stage. The Break Sea Pill could fetch a sky-high price among peak Marrow Cleansing stage cultivators.
But for a Gu King, the Break Sea Pill is useless. A Gu King could easily snatch it up at its starting price and later resell it elsewhere for a profit.
If Gu Kings were allowed to do this—buying up all the lower-grade items they don’t need at rock-bottom prices and then reselling them at higher prices elsewhere—the auction house would end up losing a fortune.
That’s why segmented auctions based on realm are a necessity. Long Xuan, for one, loves this rule. At the upper session, where all the participants are fellow Marrow Cleansing stage Gu cultivators, he can bid freely without having to worry about offending a higher realm cultivator.
Just imagine if a Gu King were bidding on the same item as him. Long Xuan knew he wouldn’t dare raise the price, no matter how much he needed the treasure.
Even though the most valuable treasures in this auction are undoubtedly reserved for the Gu King-exclusive session, he didn’t feel regret.
After all, even if he were qualified to bid on those items, he wouldn't dare compete with the Gu Kings. Since those treasures were destined not to belong to him, he naturally didn't care.
When Long Xuan and Long Ziyan arrived at the scene, they couldn’t help but be shocked by what they saw.
There were simply too many people. It was a massive crowd—people as far as the eye could see. Even more astonishing, every person was radiating the aura of a Marrow Cleansing stage Gu cultivator.
Less than 10% of these Marrow Cleansing stage Gu cultivators were from the city itself; the rest had come from surrounding regions.
Given how long this event had been publicized, gathering this many people wasn't surprising at all. Blackstone City had likely made a fortune just from the entrance fees in recent days, and all the inns were undoubtedly full, with many people likely sleeping in the streets.
Even the people from the Qian Clan were dumbfounded by the sight. Despite the auction being limited to Marrow Cleansing stage Gu cultivators, the number of participants was still overwhelming—so many that the auction hall couldn’t possibly accommodate them all, even if everyone stood.
In the end, Qian Duoduo wiped the sweat from his forehead and shouted to the crowd, "Anyone who wishes to participate in the auction must pay a deposit of 8 million spirit stones. The deposit will be fully refunded after the auction ends."
"Those who can't afford it, please understand. The auction venue is limited in space and cannot accommodate so many people."
He had to admire his own quick thinking. For the vast majority of people, 8 million spirit stones was an astronomical amount—something they couldn’t come up with.
Anyone who could produce 8 million spirit stones was undoubtedly wealthy and had the purchasing power to participate.
In this way, they could effectively weed out those who were merely taking up space without intending to bid.
Most of the poor rogue cultivators were only there to watch the excitement. They didn’t have the wealth to compete in the bidding.
So, even though this measure would block the majority from entering, it wouldn’t reduce the auction’s final sales at all.
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