Lin Sheng's gaze remained on the Heart Clarity Pill as the bidding continued to climb, his expression calm as he examined the pill through the transparent jade box displayed on the auction platform.
At first glance, there was nothing particularly remarkable about it. Its surface was smooth and white, its medicinal fragrance faint, and even the spiritual energy contained within it was relatively restrained. Compared with some of the dazzling pills he had refined himself, this Heart Clarity Pill seemed almost ordinary.
Yet Lin Sheng knew better than to judge a pill by its appearance.
He extended a strand of divine sense towards it, carefully examining the medicinal essence concealed within its body, and after a short while, his eyebrows rose slightly.
"This can barely be considered a Rank 4 pill."
His assessment was not particularly generous, but it was accurate.
The Heart Clarity Pill was undoubtedly a Rank 4 medicinal pill, yet its refinement was mediocre, and its medicinal essence was only at the common grade. Although that was the standard achieved by most alchemists, the distinction between the different grades of pills could make an enormous difference when the medicinal effects were particularly important.
Lin Sheng had studied alchemy long enough to understand this better than most.
Pills were generally divided into four grades, substandard, common, fine and premium, with each grade representing a difference in the purity and concentration of the medicinal essence contained within the finished product.
Substandard pills were the result of imperfect refinement. The quantity of unrefined medicinal dregs remaining within them was slightly higher than acceptable, interfering with the purity of the medicinal essence and reducing its effective concentration by roughly fifty per cent. Such pills could still be consumed, and their effects were not necessarily negligible, but they were an obvious waste of precious medicinal materials, particularly when the ingredients required to refine higher-ranked pills were already difficult to obtain.
Common-grade pills, on the other hand, were what most alchemists naturally produced. The medicinal ingredients had been refined to an acceptable standard, the impurities had been removed to a reasonable degree, and the resulting pill contained the expected quantity of medicinal essence. It was the baseline against which the other grades were measured.
Fine-grade pills were considerably more valuable. Through superior control over the medicinal essence, a more precise mastery of the flame and a deeper understanding of the interactions between the ingredients, an alchemist could produce a pill whose effective medicinal essence approached twice that of an ordinary pill of the same recipe. Such pills were naturally sought after by cultivators who wanted to maximise the benefits of every medicinal resource they consumed.
Premium-grade pills, however, were something else entirely.
Lin Sheng had encountered descriptions of them in various alchemical records, but even among the inheritances he had studied, genuine examples were exceedingly rare. The most distinctive characteristic of a premium pill was the appearance of pill patterns across its surface, patterns that were not merely decorative markings but manifestations of the profound principles involved in its refinement.
Those patterns could contain traces of a Dharmic rhyme.
When consumed, a cultivator might temporarily enter a state in which their comprehension became extraordinarily clear, allowing them to grasp principles that would ordinarily require considerably more time and effort to understand. The increase in medicinal essence was also substantial, although the precise extent varied according to the pill and the nature of the Dharmic rhyme contained within it.
In some particularly fortunate cases, the cultivator might even enter a state of epiphany.
That was something no amount of Spirit Stones could guarantee.
An epiphany could allow a cultivator to understand a profound technique, overcome a long-standing bottleneck or suddenly comprehend a principle that had eluded them for decades. Yet such a state could not simply be summoned whenever one desired it, and even cultivators who spent their entire lives pursuing comprehension might never experience a genuine epiphany.
Premium pills merely provided an opportunity.
Whether that opportunity developed into something extraordinary depended on the cultivator who consumed them.
Lin Sheng withdrew his divine sense from the Heart Clarity Pill, his expression returning to normal.
Its common grade meant that the pill's effectiveness was limited to what its recipe and medicinal materials could ordinarily provide. Even so, its value was unquestionable, because the Heart Clarity Pill addressed a weakness that had claimed the lives of countless Purple Palace cultivators attempting to form a Golden Core.
The bidding had already passed three million mid-grade Spirit Stones.
"Three million three hundred thousand!"
"Three million five hundred thousand!"
"Four million!"
The voices rang through the auction hall, each bid accompanied by an increasingly tense atmosphere. Several representatives of Rank 3 forces had already withdrawn, while others continued competing despite the obvious strain on their finances. A Golden Core cultivator might possess a considerable fortune, but that did not mean they would willingly spend it on every treasure that appeared before them.
For the representatives of the weaker factions, however, the decision was far more difficult.
A single Golden Core cultivator could change the fate of an entire sect, and if this pill truly offered a reliable opportunity to overcome the Heart Demon Tribulation, then spending a substantial portion of their reserves might be justified.
The problem was that the price had already reached a level at which even some Rank 4 forces would hesitate.
Lin Sheng leaned back in his chair, watching the contest with mild interest.
Then a stern, firm voice suddenly rang out from the ordinary seating area below.
"Five million."
The bidding hall fell silent.
Even the host paused for a brief moment, clearly surprised by the sudden increase. The previous bids had been rising steadily, but the new offer had pushed the price well beyond the level at which most Rank 3 forces could participate, and it had done so with a decisiveness that left little room for negotiation.
Five million mid-grade Spirit Stones.
For an ordinary Rank 3 force, that was an astronomical sum. Even a wealthy faction would not necessarily keep such an amount readily available, because the resources required to maintain a sect, cultivate its disciples and acquire medicinal materials consumed Spirit Stones continuously.
Yet the voice had come from the ordinary seating section rather than one of the private rooms.
Countless gazes immediately turned towards its source.
A cultivator sat among the crowd, their entire figure concealed beneath a dark cloak. The fabric seemed to possess a special property that interfered with divine sense, preventing others from examining the person's appearance or determining their cultivation through ordinary perception.
Several cultivators tried anyway.
Their divine senses brushed against the cloak before sliding away without gaining anything useful.
The mysterious bidder remained seated, showing no intention of explaining their identity.
Lin Sheng's eyes narrowed slightly.
Interesting.
The concealment was effective, though not necessarily extraordinary. The more important detail was that the person had chosen to sit in the ordinary section despite possessing enough wealth to offer five million mid-grade Spirit Stones without hesitation.
Perhaps they wanted to avoid drawing attention before making their bid.
Perhaps they had another reason.
Either way, the cloaked cultivator had successfully attracted the attention of nearly everyone in the hall.
The host recovered quickly, a professional smile returning to his face as he raised his hand.
"Five million mid-grade Spirit Stones!"
He glanced around the auction hall, giving the remaining bidders an opportunity to respond.
Nobody spoke.
Several representatives exchanged unwilling looks, their expressions betraying how difficult it was to abandon the opportunity in front of them. Some had probably arrived at the Centennial Auction with the intention of purchasing a Heart Clarity Pill if one appeared, only to discover that its final price would exceed what they could reasonably afford.
Even so, they were reluctant to surrender it so easily.
A few gazes shifted towards the cloaked cultivator, and Lin Sheng could almost imagine the calculations taking place behind those silent expressions.
The auction house was protected by powerful formations, and attacking someone inside the venue would be an extremely foolish decision. The Myriad Dao Pavilion would never tolerate such behaviour, particularly during an event attended by Golden Core cultivators and representatives of numerous major forces.
Outside, however, the circumstances would be different.
The cloaked cultivator had revealed a substantial amount of wealth, and the Heart Clarity Pill was valuable enough to attract people who might otherwise never have considered taking such a risk.
Lin Sheng's gaze swept across the hall.
He noticed several people quietly exchanging glances, while others had already begun transmitting messages through concealed communication talismans.
Nobody said anything openly, but the intentions behind those small movements were not difficult to understand.
The host continued the countdown.
"Five million, going once."
The cloaked cultivator remained motionless.
"Going twice."
Still, nobody raised the price.
The host paused briefly before delivering the final count.
"Going three times. Sold!"
The sound of the auction hammer echoed through the hall.
The Heart Clarity Pill had found its new owner.
The cloaked cultivator rose from their seat and followed an attendant towards the payment area, their movements unhurried despite the numerous gazes following them. After completing the transaction, they received the jade box containing the pill, placed it inside their storage treasure and departed without exchanging a single word with the surrounding cultivators.
Lin Sheng watched them leave.
The moment the cloaked figure disappeared from the auction hall, several other cultivators began making quiet movements of their own. Some departed through different exits, while others remained seated for a while before casually following the same direction.
The movements were subtle, but Lin Sheng noticed them all.
His expression remained indifferent.
It seems that person might not leave Zhenyuan City alive.
There was no guarantee that the cloaked cultivator would be attacked, of course. They might possess sufficient strength to protect themselves, or perhaps they had already arranged for people to escort them away. The Myriad Dao Pavilion's influence also extended beyond the auction hall, and anyone planning to rob a successful bidder would have to consider the consequences of offending such a powerful organisation.
Nevertheless, the temptation was considerable.
Five million mid-grade Spirit Stones, combined with a pill that could potentially help produce a Golden Core cultivator, was enough to make many people overlook the risks.
Lin Sheng had no intention of involving himself.
If the cloaked cultivator could protect the pill, then the matter had nothing to do with him. If they could not, that was equally irrelevant.
The auction continued, and the host soon introduced the next item, restoring the lively atmosphere that had briefly subsided after the Heart Clarity Pill was sold.
Over the following hours, five more items appeared on the platform, each possessing its own particular value. Some attracted fierce competition from Purple Palace cultivators, while others prompted the Golden Core experts in the private rooms to participate, their bids occasionally causing the entire hall to fall silent.
Lin Sheng remained patient.
He had not come to the Centennial Auction merely to watch others spend their fortunes. Although he had already obtained the incomplete Rank 4 formation plate he wanted, there were still several types of resources worth considering, particularly rare spiritual materials that could help strengthen his cultivation foundation.
Then the attendant brought out a fruit.
The moment the host removed the sealing formation surrounding its jade container, five distinct colours appeared across the fruit's surface, blending into one another in a manner that seemed both natural and profoundly harmonious.
Red flowed into green, green merged with blue, blue passed into yellow, and yellow returned towards red, while a pale metallic sheen occasionally flashed beneath the other colours. The five attributes did not clash with one another, nor did they appear to be arranged in any fixed pattern. Instead, their spiritual energies circulated together, forming a complete and balanced whole.
Several Golden Core cultivators immediately focused their attention on the platform.
The host smiled when he noticed their reactions.
"Everyone, the next item is a Great Five Elements Fruit."
A murmur swept through the auction hall.
Even among the ordinary cultivators, many had heard of this spiritual fruit, though relatively few had ever seen one. Its value was not determined solely by the amount of spiritual energy it contained, but by its unusual ability to harmonise the Five Elements and help cultivators understand the interactions between the five fundamental attributes.
For Foundation Establishment cultivators with suitable spiritual roots, the minor version of this fruit could provide considerable assistance in comprehending Five Elements techniques. Purple Palace cultivators could also benefit from it, particularly those who cultivated techniques involving the transformation or mutual reinforcement of different attributes.
But for Golden Core cultivators, its value was even greater.
The host allowed the murmurs to settle before continuing.
"The Five Elements Fruit contains an unusually harmonious concentration of the five elemental energies. Consuming it can assist cultivators in comprehending Five Elements divine abilities, and for Golden Core cultivators who have already formed multiple divine ability seeds, it can help harmonise the connections between them, strengthening the foundation of the Golden Core itself."
His words caused several Golden Core cultivators to sit straighter.
A Golden Core was not merely a condensed mass of magical power.
It was the foundation upon which a cultivator's future path rested, and the divine ability seeds contained within it were connected through a delicate structure that became increasingly important as cultivation advanced. When the seeds possessed compatible attributes, their interaction could reinforce the Golden Core, allowing its internal structure to become more stable and complete.
The Five Elements Fruit could assist with that process.
Its benefits were particularly valuable to cultivators who intended to develop all five elemental divine abilities, because harmonising the five seeds would make their eventual fusion considerably easier. Such a fusion was an extremely profound undertaking, one that required far more than merely collecting the necessary divine abilities, but a stronger connection between the seeds could provide a substantial advantage.
Even cultivators who did not intend to pursue the complete Five Elements path could use the fruit to deepen their comprehension of elemental principles.
The host smiled.
"The starting bid is one thousand five hundred high-grade Spirit Stones."
This time, the bidding began almost immediately.
"One thousand six hundred!"
"One thousand seven hundred!"
"One thousand eight hundred!"
The offers came from the private rooms rather than the ordinary seating area, and with every increase, the atmosphere grew more restrained. Golden Core cultivators rarely allowed their emotions to show during an auction, but the speed at which the bids rose made it clear that several of them considered the Five Elements Fruit worth obtaining.
Lin Sheng watched quietly.
For most of those cultivators, the fruit's greatest value lay in the refinement of their Golden Core foundation and the comprehension of Five Elements divine abilities.
For him, however, it had another use.
His Internal Martial Arts cultivation had already reached the mid-stage of Astral Gang, and although his progress had been steady, advancing towards the late stage would require a considerable accumulation of Astral Qi and a further refinement of his internal foundation. His Acupoint Formation had accelerated that process, but the benefits had gradually reached a limit, leaving him with fewer ways to shorten the remaining cultivation time.
The Five Elements Fruit might provide exactly the assistance he needed.
Its five elemental energies were unusually harmonious, and when refined properly, they could help him understand the interactions between the Five Elements and improve the circulation of his internal power. More importantly, the fruit contained a concentrated essence that could be used to support his cultivation, helping him advance towards the late stage of Astral Gang considerably sooner than if he relied on ordinary cultivation alone.
Lin Sheng's eyes brightened slightly.
He had not originally intended to spend too much on the auction, but a suitable spiritual fruit was different from an ordinary treasure. It could be consumed to improve his cultivation, and even if its immediate benefits were not as dramatic as those of a divine ability seed, the time saved would be valuable.
He waited until the bidding had climbed past one thousand eight hundred high-grade Spirit Stones.
Then he raised his hand.
"One thousand nine hundred."
His voice travelled through the hall.
Several divine senses immediately turned towards his private room, but Lin Sheng ignored them.
A brief silence followed before another Golden Core cultivator raised the price.
"One thousand nine hundred and twenty."
Lin Sheng responded without hesitation.
"One thousand nine hundred and forty."
The next bid came after a short pause.
"One thousand nine hundred and fifty."
Lin Sheng's expression remained calm.
"One thousand nine hundred and sixty high-grade Spirit Stones."
The auction hall quieted.
The last bidder did not respond immediately. Whoever they were, they had clearly calculated the value of the fruit carefully, and although they might still have possessed the wealth to continue, the price had already reached a level where the additional expenditure required serious consideration.
Several breaths passed.
Then the competing bidder withdrew.
The host's smile widened.
"One thousand nine hundred and sixty high-grade Spirit Stones, going once."
Nobody spoke.
"Going twice."
Still no response.
"Sold!"
The auction hammer fell, and the Five Elements Fruit became Lin Sheng's.
He paid the required amount and accepted the sealed jade container from the attendant, carefully examining the fruit before putting it away. The spiritual energy within it remained stable, and its five attributes continued circulating in harmony, confirming that the fruit had been preserved properly.
Lin Sheng nodded with satisfaction.
The final price was equivalent to approximately two million mid-grade Spirit Stones, though the exchange between the two grades was not as simple as the nominal ratio might suggest.
Under ordinary circumstances, one high-grade Spirit Stone could be exchanged for roughly a thousand mid-grade Spirit Stones. That ratio, however, was only a convenient reference rather than an absolute rule, because high-grade Spirit Stones possessed qualities that made them far more valuable than a mere thousand mid-grade stones in many transactions.
Their spiritual energy was purer and more concentrated, making them useful for formations and cultivation that would be inefficient or impractical with lower-grade stones. Their supply was also far more limited, and cultivators at higher realms often preferred to retain them rather than exchange them for a large quantity of lower-grade Spirit Stones.
Consequently, large transactions involving high-grade Spirit Stones could produce exchange rates that differed from the nominal ratio, particularly when the buyer was acquiring a scarce treasure and the seller had no reason to accept a less favourable arrangement.
The auction price reflected that reality.
One thousand nine hundred and sixty high-grade Spirit Stones represented approximately two million mid-grade Spirit Stones in the context of this transaction, even though a strict calculation based on the ordinary thousand-to-one ratio would produce a somewhat different figure.
Lin Sheng did not dwell on the discrepancy.
The Five Elements Fruit was worth the price to him.