Chapter 38 Cat in Crisis
Lingxiao Sect distributes ten mid-grade spirit stones to inner disciples every month. Adding what he has accumulated from completing missions over the past two years and some of the pills he refined and sold today, there are about eight hundred mid-grade spirit stones in total, which should be enough to buy materials.
The auction was held on the top floor of the Yunsuo Chamber of Commerce's magnificent main building.
The huge crystal chandelier illuminates the hall as bright as day. Below are densely packed ordinary seats. You can enter by paying a medium-grade spirit stone as a deposit.
At this moment, the place is filled with monks of all shapes and sizes, wearing various masks.
There are more than a dozen luxuriously decorated boxes above, with gauze curtains hanging to block spiritual detection, which are obviously prepared for VIPs.
Bai Qingchen paid the spirit stones, put on an ordinary green wood mask, and chose an inconspicuous corner to sit down.
The auctioneer was a beautiful and eloquent female cultivator who quickly ignited the atmosphere.
Lots were presented one after another: ancient spiritual herbs, radiant magical instruments, broken ancient treasures, rare monster materials...
The bidding sounds came one after another, and the atmosphere was heated and tense.
Bai Qingchen waited patiently, his favorite item was at the back of the list.
Time passed by little by little, and the eyes under his mask were as calm as water. Only the occasional slightly curled fingers revealed his inner unrest.
"The next lot is the Warm Sun Jade Soul."
The auctioneer's voice held just the right amount of excitement.
"This jade soul was mined from the edge of the earth's core fire vein. It has been nurtured through ten thousand years of alternating cold and heat. It contains pure spiritual energy and is the core material for refining top-level spirit gathering arrays and protective magic tools!"
"Starting price: one hundred mid-grade spirit stones!"
The light focused on the center of the tray, which was a fist-sized piece of jade with a warm orange color all over, and it looked like lava was flowing inside.
It emitted a soft and warm glow, instantly dispelling the chill in the auction hall.
"One hundred and ten!"
“One hundred and three!
“One hundred and thirty-five!”
The price rose rapidly, and the bidding in the open seats was fierce, and soon exceeded 150 medium-grade spirit stones.
Bai Qingchen took a deep breath and finally raised his sign: "Two hundred."
His voice sounded a little muffled through the mask.
This price made the bidding in the scattered seats significantly less frequent.
Just as the auctioneer was about to bring the hammer down, a lazy and slightly magnetic voice rang out from Box 3 above, clearly resounding throughout the room through the amplifying array: "Three hundred."
He added a hundred yuan directly, and the VIP in the box made a move! A suppressed exclamation sounded in the hall.
Bai Qingchen frowned beneath his mask and raised his sign again: "Three hundred and fifty."
"Four hundred." The voice in the box followed closely, with a kind of nonchalant arrogance, as if these spirit stones were just pocket money.
Bai Qingchen's heart sank. Four hundred mid-grade spirit stones were close to the price limit he could accept, and far exceeded the usual market value of this jade soul.
"Four hundred and ten." He almost gritted his teeth as he reported the number.
"Five hundred." The voice in the box said without hesitation, and even carried a hint of teasing.
The whole audience was in an uproar. Five hundred mid-grade spirit stones! Just for a piece of Warming Sun Jade Soul? This amount could buy a finished magical instrument made from this jade. The distinguished guest in the box was truly generous.
Bai Qingchen clenched his fists, his nails digging deep into his palms.
But in the end, reason overwhelmed impulse. No matter how good this piece of jade soul was, it was not worth spending all his money on a gamble.
He has other options, such as the Red Sun Crystal Core, which is of slightly lower quality but can still be used, but the effect will be much worse.
He slowly put down the license plate, leaned back slightly, and closed his eyes.
"Five hundred mid-grade spirit stones! Third time! Deal! Congratulations to the VIP in Box Three!" The auctioneer excitedly dropped the hammer.
In box number three, a faint hum of unknown meaning was heard.
The auction ended and the crowd began to leave.
Bai Qingchen followed the crowd out of the bustling Yunsuo Chamber of Commerce. He was not discouraged by not being able to buy the materials this time. A few days ago, he had seen a Red Sun Crystal in the Treasure Pavilion of the Yunsuo Chamber of Commerce.
Although the effect is not as good as Nuan Yang Wen Yu Po, it can still be refined as the core of the spirit gathering array, and that crystal only costs three hundred medium-grade spirit stones.
The humid night wind blew in his face with water vapor. Bai Qingchen did not return to the bamboo house immediately, but deliberately walked through the dimly lit and bustling streets, making many turns.
Just as he stepped into the depths of the alley, away from the hustle and bustle of the main street, several figures wrapped in strong winds fell from the shadows of the eaves on both sides like ghosts, silently blocking the way forward and backward.
Four people, all dressed in dark clothes, with black masks covering their faces, revealing only cold eyes. The fluctuations of their spiritual power showed that they were all in the middle stage of foundation building. The leader had a strong aura and had reached the peak of the late stage of foundation building.
Bai Qingchen's footsteps came to an abrupt halt, the spiritual power in his body quietly flowed, and his right hand was already clasping a few cold talismans in his sleeve.
He said nothing, but scanned the encirclement with sharp eyes.
"Boy, you're pretty courageous at the auction, aren't you?"
The masked man at the peak of the foundation building stage who was blocking the front spoke in a hoarse voice, revealing an undisguised threat.
"You dare to compete with our young master for something, causing him to spend extra money in vain. How do you think we should settle this account?"
He glanced at Bai Qingchen's plain clothes, his eyes full of contempt, obviously considering him as a casual cultivator who could be manipulated at will.
Bai Qingchen understood that it was the owner of the Xuan box.
His voice remained steady through the mask: "Do you all want to fight privately in Yunze City and break the city's rules?"
"Rules?" A masked man nearby sneered, "Our young master is the rules!"
"Be smart and hand over the valuables on you, then cut off one of your arms to apologize to the young master! Otherwise..." He pinched his fingers until they cracked, and murderous intent filled the air.
Bai Qingchen remained silent. He was willing to hand over all his wealth and even cut off one of his own arms. It was obvious that he came with murderous intentions. There was no point in compromising.
Seeing that Bai Qingchen was unmoved, the masked man in the lead became fierce in his eyes and shouted sternly.
"Looking for death! Go ahead! Destroy him!"
Four figures suddenly jumped up at the same time, acting ruthlessly and cunningly, leaving no room for maneuver!
Bai Qingchen's pupils shrank slightly, and he didn't dare to be negligent at all. His steps became erratic and unpredictable in an instant, and he barely avoided the attack coming towards him. At the same time, the three talismans in his hands were instantly activated!
The fog was thick, and ice instantly covered the bluestone ground of the narrow alley. A layer of ice emitting a chilling cold air spread rapidly!
"Be careful of the ground!" the short masked man shouted urgently.
The two masked men in the front were caught off guard, slipped, and their attack became disrupted, and they stumbled in a mess.
This was the opportunity Bai Qingchen wanted. With the help of the magic talisman to accelerate, he rushed towards the masked man who was a cultivator as fast as lightning.
When the short masked man saw Bai Qingchen rushing towards him, panic flashed in his eyes and he quickly swung his sword to block it.
"Break!" Bai Qingchen shouted, and a red talisman was thrown out from his sleeve in an instant!
“Boom!”
A blazing fireball slammed the masked man against the stone wall, sending rubble flying and filling the air with smoke and dust!
A big hole was blown in the stone wall, and the violent air wave blew the masked man away. He hit the wall of the alley heavily, spitting blood from his mouth and collapsed.
In an instant, one person was disabled.
However, Bai Qingchen's spiritual energy was greatly depleted due to the recoil from the continuous activation of talismans and explosive fire talismans, and his body paused slightly.
The other three had already recovered from the skating, but when they saw their companion was seriously injured, they became even more ferocious.
"Kill him!" The masked man at the peak of foundation building roared, and the sword in his hand became more powerful, slashing down with the power of splitting mountains and splitting rocks. The other two came out together, blocking all the space for Bai Qingchen to dodge.
It takes a split second to activate the talisman, and it was too late. Bai Qingchen gritted his teeth and used all his strength to mobilize the remaining spiritual power, injecting it into a defensive jade pendant he had bought before. A layer of light blue light shield instantly lit up.
“Bang!”
The heavy blade light slashed fiercely on the green light shield. The light shield flickered violently and made a cracking sound under the heavy weight. The light shield was instantly covered with cracks.
The remaining huge force came through the light shield, and Bai Qingchen felt like he was hit by a heavy hammer. He groaned, and his body was smashed away, and his back hit the cold stone wall heavily.
The huge impact made his eyes go black, his blood surge, his throat tasted fishy and sweet, and the face under the mask instantly lost its color.
The impact vibrated the mask, and the straps broke.
The ordinary wood-grain mask slid off Bai Qingchen's face and fell on the bluestone ground covered with thin ice, making a crisp sound.
The cold moonlight fell unobstructed on the young face that looked pale due to trauma.
His brows were tightly furrowed, and there seemed to be a trace of blood at the corner of his mouth that he had not yet swallowed, but his eyes were as sharp as cold stars, staring at the enemy intently.
Deep in the alley, in a corner shrouded in thick shadows, there was a figure standing with his arms folded, enjoying this lesson with a bit of playfulness. The moment he saw that face, his body suddenly froze.
Laziness and disdain receded like the tide, replaced by incredulous astonishment.
Then, the deep hatred that had been suppressed for two years erupted like a volcano, and the air around seemed to freeze.
"Bai! Qing! Chen!" The voice, filled with endless hatred, seemed to be squeezed out from between the teeth, like a cold wind from hell, and every word was poisonous.
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