Cao yaun felt refreshed as he walked around the market area in his new attire, trying to blend in with the new cultural trend of the baixun city residents. Cao yaun wandered from stall to stall, chatting with the owners, and sometimes shopping, enjoying the view to satisfy his curiosity about the market of baixun city.
It had been two days since he arrived in the city. Since then, Cao yuan had devoted himself to recuperating, cultivating inside the inn. However, after two days of much needed relaxation, he decided to venture out and explore the city's surrounding. He took a short detour at the market, hoping to find some cultivation resources helpful for his future training after successfully advancing to the peak of the silver realm.
His original intention had been to visit the Hunters Guild located west of the market. There were plenty of cultivation resources, such as cultivating tasks offered by the guild; you could even exchange silver coins with the guild. However, his plans changed as he inadvertently overheard a conversation between two travelers.
"…you hear about the pill auction?"
"Which one?"
"Baixun Pill Pavilion, you dumbass. The one across from the guild house."
Cao Yaun turned his head toward the voices of the men. Two caravan guards were leaning against the wall of a grain shop, chatting casually. One of the guards was chewing a piece of grass. The two men looked like they were both around the second stage of the Bone Transformation realm, which was as common as household items in the city.
The reason why Cao Yaun was paying attention to these two was because their conversation mentioned an alchemist who could concoct pills that assisted cultivation. Since he had never seen a pill before, curiosity urged him to widen his knowledge and horizons.
"The old man has an auction today," the first guard said, spitting out the blade of grass he had been chewing.
The second guard raised his ears at this, surprised. "An auction today? Is he selling those medicinal paste again?"
"Nope. I heard it was a bunch of pills this time around," the first guard said, lowering his voice as if revealing a shocking secret. Even half the street could hear the booming voice of this guard.
"Heard a Dragon Cleansing Pill would be auctioned off."
The Baixun Pill Pavilion was one of the oldest pill pavilions in the city's history. With a long-standing reputation of providing quality cultivation resources, the establishment used to be one of the most prestigious pill shops in Baixun City. However,the former glory had long faded away, with numerous sects and influential families opening their alchemy pavilions. Nonetheless, it still maintained its reputation and attracted a decent crowd of customers, although the majority purchased the cultivation paste, which the pill pavilion had discontinued several years ago, rendering it useless to most cultivators.
Despite the lack of high-end products, they still retained one stubborn elderly man who refused to leave the pill pavilion under the care of his predecessor.
By then, a considerable crowd had formed around the two guards. The pill pavilions were known to hold rare auctions occasionally, which attracted many customers. But Baixun Pavilion rarely hosted auctions; they only did so when there was something worthwhile to sell.
Looking past the two guards, Cao Yaun could see the building of the guild house and the Baixun Pill Pavilion. He saw crowds of people rushing to the pill house. Without wasting another moment, he pushed through the throng of people and hurried to the pill pavilion.
By the time Cao Yuan reached the storehouse entrance, the street was already blocked by a huge crowd of people who were fighting to get into the store. A team of city guards had to jump in to control the chaotic flow of people, drawing their batons before the crowd finally calmed down enough to form an orderly queue.
The Baixun Pill Pavilion was a two-story building of bricks, nestled between a tailor's shop and a smithy. The first floor of the building was relatively spacious, with a wide entrance and two windows with wooden shutters.
On the side of the front door, a wooden board was nailed up, with notices about the various pills available for sale and their prices. On the second floor, there were four small windows with freshly drawn curtains. It was said that these were the living quarters for the merchant traders who came to the city to buy and sell medicinal herbs and pills.
The moment Cao Yaun stepped into the first floor, which had been emptied to prepare for the auction, he found himself surrounded by a ring of hunters, caravan guards, city guards, and merchants. In the center of the ring stood a wooden platform with an old man on it
Elder Shen was a skinny, sharp-featured old man with a set of long, gray brows and a head of white hair tied up in a single knot. He wore a baggy green dress that reeked of soot and lotus root essence. His long white beard was tied up in a braid, yet his slender body retained its vigor. Elder Shen had a pair of sharp eyes, and despite his withered look, he had an air of a naturally occurring authority figure about him.
The auction was surprisingly low-key. Unlike expected, there was no lavish stage or special golden podium. All Elder Shen had prepared was a single table that he pushed up on to the center of the platform.
"Quiet," said Elder Shen after the last item had been sold. His voice was nothing special, but the pressure of a Rank 1 Mortal, Fourth Layer cultivator in his being sent shockwaves through the crowd, instantly silencing the clamor.
"The third-to-last item for the auction will be a high-grade Dragon Cleansing Pill," said Elder Shen, eyeing the eager faces of the crowd as he cracked a smile. He opened one of the three lacquered boxes on the table, revealing a round, golden pill the size of a thumbnail that gave off a gentle, warm glow.
There was a murmur in the room. Although Baixun City was home to many high-level cultivators, the number of people who had reached the Bone Transformation realm, the starting point of all true cultivation, remained extremely low. Most of the population consisted of ordinary citizens who had been subjected to the excruciating process of physical refinement to strengthen their bones in preparation for cultivation.
Of those who reached the Silver Bone stage, one in ten would spend years upon years in the endless ebb and flow of the marrow refinement before pushing themselves to the next step, which was either the refined Iron Bone or the tougher Golden Bone. This was a stage when even the most talented cultivators could spend months in agonizing pain before finally advancing to the next level.
A pill such as the Dragon Cleansing Pill would allow them to ride the wind to the final stage, cleansing and accelerating their bones to refine the final barriers effortlessly. Hence, it was one of the most sought-after pills among the lower-tier cultivators.
"Starting bid," said Elder Shen, tapping on the table surface with his fingers.
"100 silver coins!" one mercenary shouted immediately after.
"200!" Before the last voice could die away, another one rang out from the back of the hall.
"300!" shouted someone else right after.
"500!"
Within minutes, the bids were skyrocketing.
'These guys were throwing their life savings at the pill, 'thought Cao Yuan, standing in the back of the room with his massive back pressed up against the wall, his leather money pouch crushed tight in his massive hands. Inside the pouch, he had his 1,000 silver coins, the last of his savings after yesterday's spree.
"600!"
"700!"
"800!"
"800 silver coins! Going once," declared Elder Shen, bringing the hammer down after the frenzy around the price of 800 had died down.
The whole room fell silent as people stared at each other, their faces displaying a mix of disappointment and greed. No one raised their hand or called out a higher price, for the lower-tier cultivators, a thousand silver coins was a frightening amount of money to spend on a pill. This was, for most of them, the amount of money they would have to save up for several years, perhaps even a lifetime.
The bids slowed down at the price of 800 silver coins. No one else raised their hand. For low-end cultivators, 1,000 silver coins was not an easy sum to get hold of, for high-end cultivators, the pill is pratically useless; they might as well save the effort and invest the money into training their younger generations.
Cao Yaun was so anxious that he couldn't take a breath. He didn't know if he should go any higher
Without thinking, he blurted out the words.
"1,000!" The whole hall turned to look at him in surprise.
Complete silence enveloped the hall as everyone turned to stare in shock at Cao Yuan, who stood with his back pressed against the far end of the room. Some cultivators frowned at him, convinced that this was nothing more than a rich young fool's reckless behavior, while a few envious gazes burned at his figure, filled with bloodthirsty intent.
Elder Shen turned his gaze toward Cao Yuan, sharp eyes narrowing at the young giant's massive three-meter-tall frame, finally locking on to the leather money pouch in his giant hands.
"One thousand silver coins!" repeated Elder Shen, eyes gleaming in delight. "Is there anyone who wants to buy this pill?"
No one answered. The independent contractors who had taken part in the bidding had already reached their limit of 800 copper coins; for them, 1,000 was an insurmountable wall. After all, there were alternative methods for breaking through the next cultivation stage, albeit more laborious. This was something that the other cultivators had thought through, which is why they did not raise their prices. The independent contractors and guards had reached their personal limits and were unwilling to go any further.
"Going once… going twice…"
Cao Yuan was so tense that he couldn't breathe.
"Going thrice… Sold to the giant fellow at the back!"
" Going thrice… Sold to the giant fellow at the back!"
The hall broke out in laughter at Elder Shen's remark. The old man grinned as he handed Cao Yaun the box of pills while taking the leather pouch from his hand.
Tightening his grip on the box containing the Dragon Cleansing Pill, Cao Yuan turned on the spot and pushed his way out of the hall through the throng of cultivators crowding the door, using his considerable size and strength to clear a path. Behind him, the grumbling cultivators were already cursing loudly, but Cao Yuan ignored them and pushed his way out.