The items prepared by Lingbao Pavilion for this auction were truly eye-catching. The atmosphere in the main hall was exceptionally lively, with people raising their bidding paddles and shouting out prices one after another in an endless stream.
However, no one in the private boxes had made a move yet.
After looking through the auction catalog, Shuning focused her attention on the last three items:
The Vajra Talisman, the Jade Gourd, and Master Chuanye's manuscript.
[Task issued: Win the final three auction items]
[Point reward: 10 points]
[Failing the task will deduct 15 points. You currently have 12 points, so failing will result in punishment. Please strive to complete the task.]
Damn system!
Shuning paused her hand, which was busy cracking melon seeds, her face covered in dark lines. Why was this task mandatory?
"Shuning, what's wrong?" Zhaoyan asked with concern, noticing her expression looked off.
Shuning shook her head. "Nothing, I just bit into a bitter melon seed."
"Oh, oh. Well, have a sip of tea to calm down."
"Okay." Shuning picked up the teacup from the table and took a small sip.
This little episode quickly passed. Two hours later, the auction reached its final three items.
"Next, let me introduce this to everyone. This is a Vajra Talisman, capable of withstanding a full-strength blow from a Golden Core cultivator. If used well, it can buy you an extra life," Lan Xi said, pointing to a talisman that had just been brought up and protected by a Dharma treasure. "Starting bid: two thousand high-grade spirit stones."
"Shuning, that talisman sounds amazing," Zhaoyan said excitedly, leaning against the window.
"Mm." Shuning nodded.
In another private box:
"Cousin, our first target has appeared," Li Yiran said excitedly, tugging at Li Tingyi's sleeve.
"Bid."
Li Yiran immediately called out, "Box Number Two, five thousand high-grade spirit stones!"
The main hall had been raising bids by tens at a time, since every high-grade spirit stone contained extremely pure spiritual energy—completely different from low-grade and middle-grade spirit stones, which contained impurities.
Now that someone had suddenly called out five thousand, everyone involuntarily fell silent. First, it was far too expensive; second, anyone inside the private boxes was not someone they could afford to offend.
"Hmph, Cousin, I'm sure no one dares to compete with us," Li Yiran said dismissively.
Shuning had originally planned to wait for the competition in the main hall to die down before she started bidding, but she suddenly heard someone in the opposite box call out a price.
Box Number Two?
Wasn't that the one Li Yiran had just gone into?
She had been worrying about lacking an excuse to buy these three items.
The corners of Shuning's lips curled up slightly. "Zhaoyan, I won't yield this time."
"What?" Zhaoyan was suddenly spoken to by Shuning and hadn't reacted yet.
"Box Number One, five thousand one hundred high-grade spirit stones."
Upon hearing someone bid against her, Li Yiran was stunned for a moment, then shouted back, unwilling to show weakness, "Box Number Two, six thousand high-grade spirit stones!"
"Box Number One, six thousand one hundred high-grade spirit stones."
"..."
No matter how much Li Yiran bid, Shuning kept increasing it by one hundred at a time. Anyway, she had plenty of patience.
Finally, Shuning bid eight thousand six hundred high-grade spirit stones. Lan Xi said excitedly, "Box Number One has now bid eight thousand six hundred high-grade spirit stones. Will Box Number Two continue to bid?"
Furious, Li Yiran slammed a hand onto the table, stood up, and said in exasperation, "Who is in that opposite box? Why are they always going against me?"
The fellow disciples behind her all stepped forward to pull her back and comfort her. "It's probably just some fool with too many spirit stones. Bidding this high for a single Vajra Talisman isn't worth going any higher."
Li Tingyi also spoke up at this moment. "A Vajra Talisman can be exchanged for using contribution points within the sect. We can just take on a few more missions later to make up for this loss. We still have the next item; there's no need to waste spirit stones fighting this person."
Lan Xi had been expecting Box Number Two to continue bidding. After waiting for a long time with no movement, she knew the result and struck her gavel down decisively, "Congratulations to Box Number One for winning the Vajra Talisman!"
"Next is our finale, the Jade Gourd. Now, let me demonstrate it for everyone."
A Foundation Establishment cultivator walked up to the auction stage. Lan Xi stood opposite him holding a delicate and exquisite Jade Gourd. The Foundation Establishment cultivator then unleashed a full-strength attack, and the Jade Gourd absorbed it before returning the exact same force intact.
Upon seeing this, everyone—whether sitting in the hall downstairs or resting in the private boxes—drew in a sharp breath.
Xie Daoyu tapped his fan against his lips. "Shuning, this Dharma treasure is much more interesting than the one you just bought."
"Mm." Shuning took a sip of tea. She hadn't expected the Jade Gourd to actually be a Dharma treasure. However, an auction finale really should be of this caliber.
Standing nearby, Mo Shiyu frowned. Why did this Jade Gourd feel somewhat familiar to him?
After finishing the demonstration, Lan Xi smiled charmingly. "This Dharma treasure is extremely rare; it took us a great deal of effort to acquire it. Although it can currently only absorb attacks from Foundation Establishment cultivators—"
"As you all know, excellent Dharma treasures are capable of advancing. If this Jade Gourd advances, it might be able to absorb a Golden Core cultivator's attack in the future."
"The Jade Gourd has a starting bid of five thousand high-grade spirit stones. Each increment must be no less than one hundred. The bidding now begins."
The loose cultivators and small sects sitting in the hall could not afford this price, and they also had to worry about other cultivators murdering them to seize the treasure. They glanced at the private boxes upstairs, wondering into whose hands this Dharma treasure would fall.
"Box Number Five, five thousand five hundred high-grade spirit stones."
"Box Number Three, six thousand high-grade spirit stones."
Shuning remained still. She was waiting for the right moment—or rather, she was waiting for the people in Box Number Two to bid. That way, if anyone asked later, she could easily claim she simply had bad blood with Li Yiran.
Inside Box Number Two, Li Yiran anxiously urged, "Cousin, the opposite box hasn't made a move."
Li Tingyi took a sip of tea, then set his cup down. "Yiran, place the bid."
"Box Number Two, eight thousand six hundred high-grade spirit stones."
Hearing this, Shuning smiled.
Right on cue, the moment had arrived. They were even deliberately trying to provoke her by bidding the exact closing price of the Vajra Talisman she had just won.
She spoke up, "Box Number One, eight thousand seven hundred high-grade spirit stones."
Li Tingyi's expression shifted slightly. He set his teacup down and frowned, saying, "Yiran, we'll also raise it by one hundred at a time."
"Okay."
"..."
The two of them kept raising the bid by one hundred at a time until it reached ten thousand.
This time, Li Tingyi found it hard to stomach. Was this person deliberately trying to pick a fight with them?
Li Yiran slapped the table and stood up, releasing the protective barrier on the window, ready to vent her anger.
Li Tingyi reached out to stop her, stepped forward, pushed the window open, and said, "I am Li Tingyi, a personal disciple of the Baixuan Sect. May I ask who is in Box Number One? Could you perhaps grant me a small favor?"
Shuning also removed the protective barrier on her window, pulled Mo Shiyu to his feet with her, and said, "So it's Senior Brother Li. My Junior Brother is also very fond of this Dharma treasure; could you bear to part with it?"
Pinning trouble on her Junior Brother was just a routine matter.
Mo Shiyu wore a giant question mark over his head as he looked at Shuning.
Shuning blinked at him and lowered her voice to say, "I can't beat him right now, Junior Brother. It's up to you."
"Mm." Mo Shiyu nodded.
The harboring-evil-intent cultivators down in the hall instantly dismissed their schemes upon seeing the people inside the box.
Large sects were fiercely protective of their own!
Li Tingyi was startled when he saw Shuning and Mo Shiyu. He knew Shuning, as Li Yiran often talked about her to him, but why had Mo Shiyu appeared here as well?
Someone behind him quickly stepped forward to whisper, "Senior Brother Li, Shuning was the winner of the last personal disciple tournament. She is now a personal disciple of Qianze Peak."
Qianze Peak?
Upon hearing this, Li Tingyi felt an instant splitting headache.
Li Zhuoran was their senior brother, and he had gone up against his junior brother and junior sister?
"Since Senior Brother Mo likes it, I certainly won't rob him of what he loves," Li Tingyi said, lowering his gaze toward Lan Xi. "Box Number Two will not continue bidding."
With that, he closed the window. Turning around, he saw Li Yiran trembling with rage, and he massaged his temples, saying, "Yiran, they are personal disciples of Qianze Peak."
"Cousin, aren't you a personal disciple too?"
"Don't be absurd. Peak Master Pei is the only grandmaster of artifact crafting in the Baixuan Sect, and practically all the dharma artifacts in the entire sect are forged by him. Do you want to offend him?"
Li Yiran clenched her fists tightly. It took a long time for her to swallow her anger before she said reluctantly, "Understood, Senior Brother."
Li Tingyi knew his cousin was still angry—she had dropped the "Cousin" and called him Senior Brother directly—but there was nothing he could do.
In the end, Shuning successfully purchased the Jade Gourd for the price of ten thousand high-grade spirit stones.
"Respected guests, next is the final auction item of this auction. This is an accidental acquisition by Lingbao Pavilion—Master Chuanye's manuscript."
Shuning: Who on earth is this? The original book didn't mention him either!
Upon hearing the name "Chuanye," Mo Shiyu felt a jolt in his heart. When he saw the manuscript, it looked familiar as well, though this time he actually recognized it.
Discussions immediately broke out in the hall below.
"Master Chuanye is a very famous talisman grandmaster, but to this day no one knows his identity."
"I heard someone checked the records of talisman grandmasters across all the major sects and deduced that he must be a disciple of some major sect."
"How did a grandmaster's manuscript end up wandering here?"
"..."
When the surrounding chatter gradually died down, Lan Xi continued, "Master Chuanye's manuscript has a starting bid of five thousand high-grade spirit stones. The bidding now begins."
As soon as this starting price was announced, many people felt it wasn't worth it. It was just a manuscript—why set the starting bid so high?
"Box Number One, five thousand high-grade spirit stones." This time, as soon as Lan Xi finished speaking, Shuning immediately called out her bid.
Because she had revealed her identity, no one dared to compete with her for the final item, and she successfully won it at the starting price of five thousand high-grade spirit stones.
Seeing that it was his own Junior Sister who had won it, Mo Shiyu breathed a sigh of relief. Zhaoyan had watched Shuning quietly the entire time, while Xie Daoyu merely sipped his tea beside them, refilling Shuning's cup after seeing she had finished hers.
The bidding concluded, and Lingbao Pavilion quickly brought out the three items. Shuning took out her pouch of spirit stones and handed it over. After counting the spirit stones, Lingbao Pavilion respectfully took their leave.
As soon as she received the three items, the system panel popped up:
[Task evaluation: Excellent]
[Task reward: 10 points]
[Please claim your reward]
After claiming her reward, she slumped her shoulders and trudged back to her seat, depressed. She picked up her teacup, took a gentle sip, set the cup down, and let out a sigh.
Between the spirit stone pouch Pei Yuan had given her and the spirit stones she had just collected this month, the amount she had left on her person was neither more nor less—it had dropped right back to the meager sum she possessed before arriving at Qianze Peak.