Chapter 388 I Established a Sect in the Cultivation World (17)
The restaurant the two found was called "Listening to the Wind Pavilion," which was nine stories high and the most famous news hub in Cloud City.
As soon as you step through the gate, you are greeted by a cacophony of voices, mingled with the aromas of various spiritual foods and the rich flavors of spiritual wine.
"Please come in, gentlemen!" A sharp-eyed waiter in the Foundation Establishment stage immediately came forward and greeted them warmly.
Zhou Jue glanced around and saw that the hall was already full of people, chatting in small groups, their cultivation levels ranging from Qi Refining to Nascent Soul, creating a lively atmosphere.
"Are there any private rooms available?" Zhou Jue asked casually.
"Yes! Yes! Please come upstairs!" Upon hearing this, the waiter's smile widened even more.
Those who can request a private room are usually customers who are not short of spirit stones.
Led by the waiter, the two went up to a private room by the window on the third floor.
The private room was small, but it was decorated quite elegantly, and the window faced the most bustling main road in Cloud City.
Zhou Jue casually ordered a few signature dishes and also asked for a pot of the most famous local "Yunwu Ling Tea".
After the waiter quickly withdrew, Jingbai went to the window and curiously looked at the endless stream of people and all kinds of flying magical artifacts below.
"Sister, look at that! What a huge bird!"
"That person's sword flew so fast!"
She was like a child visiting the city for the first time, finding everything new and exciting.
Zhou Jue wasn't in a hurry. She poured herself a cup of tea and silently spread her divine sense.
Her ability to hear the sea's teeth allows her to easily filter out information that interests her from a noisy environment.
"Have you heard? Even the City Lord's Mansion has brought out one of their most prized possessions for this year's Heavenly Treasure Fair!"
"Not only that! I heard that the 'Danwang Valley' in the Southern Region and the 'Wanfo Temple' in the Western Desert have both sent elders here!"
"Tsk tsk, it seems we're determined to get this final Dao artifact!"
"Dharma artifacts? Forget about them! Those are things that Nascent Soul Ancestors fight over. What do they have to do with us? I'm much more interested in that legendary 'Nine-Leaf Resurrection Grass'!"
"That's right, it's said to be a sacred medicine that can bring the dead back to life and heal flesh and bone!"
As Zhou Jue sipped his tea, he gathered these scattered pieces of information into his mind and quickly sketched out the general outline of this treasure gathering.
The competition was even fiercer than she had imagined.
"Sister, is that the Dao artifact depicted on this?" Jing Bai, who had somehow produced a promotional jade booklet, asked, pointing to a picture of a long spear shimmering with light.
The jade book was distributed upon entering the city, and it detailed some of the highlight auction items for this treasure fair.
“It looks pretty good,” Zhou Jue glanced at it, “but getting your hands on it won’t be easy.”
"Hmph, a bunch of old men, what's so great about them?" Jing Bai curled his lip, seemingly not taking those so-called Nascent Soul Ancestors seriously.
In the memories she inherited, there were beings more powerful than the Nascent Soul stage.
The food and drinks were served quickly, and the two ate while listening to gossip.
As night fell, Cloud City did not quiet down at all; instead, it became even more dazzling.
Countless array lights illuminated the entire floating immortal city as if it were daytime, and streams of starlight formed by spiritual light flowed between the buildings, creating a breathtakingly beautiful scene.
Zhou Jue stood by the window, looking down at the city that never sleeps, the air filled with a restless yet excited atmosphere.
The next morning, the two left the inn and headed towards the central square of Cloud City, the venue for the Tongtianbao Gathering.
Even before getting close, one could see a sea of people, a dark mass, with various scents mingling and rising into the sky.
The main venue of the Bao Hui is an open-air circular building that can accommodate hundreds of thousands of people.
Zhou Jue and Jing Bai paid the admission fee and found two relatively close but not too conspicuous seats to sit down.
Looking around, the stadium was packed.
Besides the numerous cultivators sitting in the regular seats like them, there were also private rooms in the upper areas, shrouded by arrays, making it impossible to see what was inside.
Zhou Jue could sense several powerful divine senses emanating from those private rooms. Some of them were subtle and profound, clearly indicating the cultivation level of the Nascent Soul stage.
"Sister, there are so many people." Jingbai muttered softly.
Zhou Jue nodded, his gaze falling on the huge auction stage in the center of the venue.
With a melodious chime, a Nascent Soul Stage 3 cultivator dressed in brocade robes and wearing a smile walked onto the auction stage.
"Welcome, fellow Daoists, to the once-in-a-century Tongtian Treasure Gathering!"
His voice was loud and clear, reaching the entire venue.
"Without further ado, let's move on to the first item!"
The auction has officially begun.
One after another, rare and precious treasures were presented by the maids.
Ancient medicinal herbs, powerful magical artifacts, rare refining materials... each item drew gasps of amazement from the audience, with bidding echoing throughout the venue.
Zhou Jue remained silent throughout, observing calmly like a true spectator.
Jingbai was initially quite interested, but after looking at a few items, she started to get bored, and her little head began to doze off.
"The following item is rather special."
The host's voice brought Zhou Jue's attention back to him.
The maid was carrying a jade tray with a palm-sized, unremarkable blue jade slip on it.
"This item was obtained by chance from an ancient ruin by our Tianbao Pavilion. According to the appraisal, it is a fragment of an ancient cultivation technique."
The host picked up the jade slip and showed it to everyone.
"Unfortunately, the content is incomplete, and the cultivation method is quite different from the mainstream today. Several elders in my pavilion have studied it for a long time, but they have not been able to figure it out."
"Starting bid: 10,000 low-grade spirit stones. Each bid must be at least 1,000 higher."
As soon as the host finished speaking, a burst of laughter and discussion erupted from the audience.
"What the hell? A broken jade slip, or even a fragment, and you dare to sell it for ten thousand?"
"Is Tianbao Pavilion so desperate for spirit stones?"
"Exactly, who knows if cultivating something of dubious origin will lead to demonic possession?"
In a private room on the second floor, a Nascent Soul cultivator let out a sneer. The sound wasn't loud, but it was clearly heard by many people nearby.
"They dare to use a piece of junk to fill a quota? What a waste of time."
The atmosphere became somewhat subdued, and the host showed a hint of embarrassment.
However, the moment the jade slip appeared, a system notification suddenly sounded in Zhou Jue's mind.
[An item containing fragments of laws has been detected.]
[Item: Nameless Ancient Scroll.]
[Analysis: The internal cultivation method is complete, hidden by special restrictions, and its core is a spirit-refining method that directly points to the origin of the Great Dao.]
A glint of light flashed in Zhou Jue's eyes.
She remained calm, looking at the jade slip on the stage that no one seemed to care about.
"11,000 low-grade spirit stones."
A clear, cool voice rang out in the noisy meeting room. It wasn't loud, but it instantly drowned out all the discussions.
Swish—
Countless eyes turned to the source of the sound.
A female cultivator dressed in a plain-colored long dress calmly raised the number plate in her hand.
It was Zhou Jue.
"Who is this female cultivator? Has she gone mad?"
"Spend spirit stones to buy a piece of useless jade? Are you stupid and have too much money?"
"Judging from her cultivation level, she's at the Great Perfection of the Golden Core stage, and she doesn't seem like a fool. Could there really be some mystery in this jade slip?"
"Didn't you see she added a thousand to the price? She's probably trying to snag a bargain. Tianbao Pavilion hasn't even figured it out yet, and she thinks she can get a bargain? What a pipe dream!"
Jingbai, who had been woken up by the noise, was immediately displeased when she saw the mocking looks from those people, and she bared her teeth at them.
The host was overjoyed; at least the item hadn't gone unsold. He quickly shouted, "This fairy has bid 11,000 low-grade spirit stones! Is there anyone bidding higher?"
The audience was completely silent.
Everyone looked at Zhou Jue as if she were an idiot, so naturally no one would try to take her away from her.
"11,000 low-grade spirit stones per attempt!"
"11,000 low-grade spirit stones twice!"
"11,000 low-grade spirit stones for three uses! Sold!"
Congratulations to this fairy!
As the auction gavel fell, the "junk" in the eyes of others naturally fell into Zhou Jue's hands.
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