Soon, a female cultivator, looking about mid-twenty in appearance, stood in the center of the valley. She was quite beautiful and greeted the guests with grace before getting straight to the point, “This auction is specially held for jade slips.”
Her announcement stirred up the valley. The Heaven Auction House was known for its treasures, and it was unquestionable in reputation. Occasionally, jade slips from the Starfallen Sea, Beyond The Heaven’s grotto heavens, and other forbidden areas of the Three Thousand Worlds would appear.
Jade slips that made it into the Heaven Auction House were certainly treasures, even if their contents were unknown at the moment. Some contained lost legacies, experiences of past great figures, or even methods to refine natal weapons or ancient artifacts…
The value of these jade slips could be considered higher than most, even when compared to rare and legendary materials, weapons, or treasures. Those items eventually got used up, but jade slips could be passed down through generations, potentially elevating a sect to prominence.
Therefore, it was rare for the Heaven Auction House to have jade slips, and having one or two in an auction was considered good. Sometimes, there wouldn’t be any at all.
At that moment, the host of the auction announced it was a special auction for jade slips, which greatly shocked everyone present. The invitees, almost all leaders of major sects from Three Thousand Worlds and among the top ten sects of their respective region, were part of a millennia-old pact with Jingyuetian, which allowed each of them to send three disciples each to the Ten Absolutes Mountain.
The auction was held just barely before Ten Absolutes Mountain’s centennial grand opening. Initially, some sect leaders who were invited hesitated to attend the auction. Those who had hesitated but still came felt fortunate in their hearts, thinking it was a stroke of luck. They were relieved they decided to come, knowing they would have regretted missing such an auction.
“The auction will feature twelve jade slips. But…” the host paused, waiting for the valley to quiet down before continuing with a smile, “all jade slips have to be taken to the Ten Absolutes Mountain to be opened.”
The valley erupted into murmurs again. Even Meng Qi was surprised, her eyes widening as she turned to look at Yun Qingyan.
The jade slips had to be opened in the Ten Absolutes Mountain?
Why was that?
Did the jade slips contain secrets of the Ten Absolutes Mountain?
Or, could they help people navigate the mountain and reach the top successfully?
Now tempted, Meng Qi pondered whether she should bid for one. Her brows furrowed slightly as she realized that the bids would certainly go to the roof today, possibly beyond the value of profound-grade spirit stones.
Meng Qi’s eyes swept through the valley. Although she was unable to discern other guests, she knew that those invited today must be eligible to enter the Ten Absolutes Mountain, likely from the top sects of the Three Thousand Worlds. The wealth accumulated by such a sect would undoubtedly surpass her own capabilities.
“These are ancient jade slips, reminders of bygone eras.” Yun Qingyan explained, “only usable within the precinct of Ten Absolutes Mountain. And among the twelve slips, some are exclusive for sword cultivators, while others are for spell or medical cultivators. They must not be mixed up.”
Meng Qi nodded in understanding. She knew she had no chance today. Feng Alliance, the leading medical sect, was definitely one of the invitees today. They were extremely wealthy, perhaps even richer than the Duankong Sect or Jingyuetian.
“Come here, Meng Qi,” Yun Qingyan beckoned her. He lounged lazily and relaxed on a soft cushion.
Meng Qi approached him as instructed. Yun Qingyan took her hand, making her sit beside him. “Do you want one?” he asked softly.
“Yes,” Meng Qi nodded, “but I surely don’t have enough spirit stones.” She sat beside Yun Qingyan, but her gaze had already drifted back to the valley. As the host had introduced, the auction for the first jade slip, suitable for sword cultivators, began.
The bidders were obviously from sword cultivation sects. The starting bid for the jade slip was one hundred profound-grade spirit stones, but in the blink of an eye, it rose to a thousand. And clearly, this was just the beginning.
Meng Qi: “…”
In the end, the first jade slip was sold for a thousand earth-grade spirit stones.
Meng Qi quickly made a mental calculation: above ninth-grade spirit stones were the profound-grade, earth-grade, and heaven-grade. One thousand ninth-grade spirit stones could be exchanged for one profound-grade spirit stone and ten thousand profound-grade stones for one earth-grade spirit stone. Similarly, to get a single heaven-grade spirit stone, one needed ten thousand earth-grade spirit stones.
Meng Qi couldn’t help but glance at her storage pouch; all her profound-grade spirit stones combined wouldn’t even make up a single earth-grade spirit stone, let alone one thousand…
She could only regretfully sigh in her heart, guessing she wouldn’t be able to afford it.
Su Junmo, however, did not share the same sentiment. He had no right to interfere in Beyond The Heaven’s matters, but he was well-informed about the sects of the Three Thousand Worlds. Each of the four realms had ten major sects, for a total of forty, with seven of them being medical sects. He believed that all these medical sects were invited today. It was unclear, however, how many jade slips were designated for medical cultivators.
There were five jade slips for sword cultivators, with the fifth one fetching a price of one thousand five hundred earth-grade spirit stones, while the first four were around one thousand each. The jade slips for spell cultivators were also five in number, with the cheapest one already fetched a price above one thousand earth-grade spirit stones.
After the auction of the fifth spell jade slips, it became clear that the remaining ones were for medical cultivators. This meant that the seven medical sects would compete for two jade slips, starting a seven-parties bidding war.
Tsk… Su Junmo silently clicked his tongue. It was not seven; it was eight. Although Meng Qi was just a single wandering cultivator, she had the Lord as her backing. This fact alone made her the strongest contender, without a doubt.
The valley quieted down for a moment before the auction host cheerfully announced, “Now, the last two jade slips, both for medical cultivators, will be auctioned. The starting bid is still one hundred profound-grade spirit stones.”
Meng Qi sighed again. Medical sects, especially major ones like the Feng Alliance, were very wealthy. Previously, when she asked the Xue clan for three thousand profound-grade spirit stones for Xue Lingfeng’s matter, they didn’t even blink an eye and handed them over directly. The price for this jade slip would probably reach three thousand earth-grade spirit stones, possibly even higher.
She sat there silently, resigned to not participate in the auction. As expected, even though there were only seven medical sects, the price shot up to one hundred earth-grade spirit stones in the blink of an eye, rising faster than it did for the first ten slips.
“…” Meng Qi tried to console herself, thinking: at least she knows about this now, doesn’t she? This is better than entering the Ten Absolutes Mountain uninformed.
Just then, Yun Qingyan, holding her hand, raised it, and a black wooden tag fell into her palm. “Bid,” he said, already noticing the slight disappointment on Meng Qi’s face. He chuckled softly, “Add a hundred earth-grade spirit stones.”
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