Daily life of a cultivation judge

The excitement from what had happened and what was to come was still present in the auction house, and perhaps because of it, the guests settled down rather quickly compared to before.

Li Gang, after giving another polite bow to Appraiser Chen Yu, turned and walked back to the podium and faced the crowd, not before gesturing to another staff member who, as though expecting the summons, immediately walked over with a red-orange, thin rectangular box, which he graciously handed over to Li Gang.

The box was about 30 centimeters long and 4 centimeters wide.

Now much more composed than he had been earlier when Appraiser Chen Yu brought out the blue leaf, Li Gang smiled at the crowd as he gently and vertically slid down the lid of the box with his fingers, opening it and revealing its contents.

"We have reached that point of our auction," Li Gang began as he slowly placed the opened box on the podium, his smile growing an inch wider. How could he not, as a merchant, when he was met with such passionate gazes from those below?

"For those who have been here before, you already know what this is," he continued, gesturing to the item within the box. It was a flower.

"This is our merchant house's specialty item: the Six Sepal Dawn Lotus," he introduced, picking up the flower from the box and raising it upward for all to see.

The size was not that different from the stalk of a regular-sized flower. However, size aside, it was the furthest thing from a regular flower. The fact that it was being auctioned during this section of the auction was already proof enough.

But even without that, a single look at it would tell anyone the flower was special. For one, it had cloud-like, orange-colored petals that looked identical to the clouds that surrounded the Dawn Cloud Oak Tree.

It was not just that they looked similar; they also felt similar.

Must be from the tree, Yang Qing guessed. The energies and the aura within the petal were too identical to that of the clouds above him for them not to be from the same source.

Aside from the cloud-puffy petals, the other thing that stood out about the flower was the sepals, even more so than the petals. And the reason for that was that the sepals were different in color, and along with it, even the sensation they gave off felt different, as though they had come from different flowers.

They were almost identical to how it was with the Five Element Magnolia that Yang Qing had handed over for auction. Only with the magnolia, it was the petals that were different, unlike with the Dawn Lotus Flower before them, where the difference lay in the sepals.

Yang Qing couldn't help but grow more and more curious, overflowing with anticipation as to what features those sepals had. From aura alone, he had a few vague guesses, but it was still better to learn it straight from the horse's mouth. After all, wasn't that what Li Gang was there for — smiling nobly, stoking greed, and occasionally saying something useful.

And true to form, after he had his fill of stoking said flames, Li Gang continued with his explanation.

"As you have obviously sensed, each of these sepals is unique from the others, with each carrying its own property, all beneficial to a cultivator's path," he said as he set the flower vertically, slowly rotating it so that the crowd could properly see all the sepals.

After six rotations, he stopped.

"Now I will explain their features," he continued. "This pale rose sepal," he said, gesturing to the pale rose-colored sepal.

"Also known as the Heart Mirror Dawn Sepal," he continued. "It assists cultivators in quickly entering deep meditation, though its true purpose lies in helping a cultivator deeply contemplate and understand their heart. In doing so, it not only helps them uncover potential problems, such as dormant heart demons lurking about, but it also helps them find their path ahead and steady it," Li Gang explained.

"Sharing my own meager understanding with my fellow Daoists here, we all know that one of the keys to walking further along our path, besides talent, proper guidance, and ample cultivation resources, is finding the path that truly suits you.

And this sepal helps with that," Li Gang said, gesturing once more to the pale rose sepal. "It will not immediately illuminate your path for you, but through continuous effort and application, it will help you part the fog much easier, along with helping you deal with various knots in your path," he concluded.

"This next one is the honey gold sepal," he slowly said as he pointed to the honey gold-colored sepal that swirled with a golden silver light within it.

"Also known as the Thousand Year Accumulation Dawn Sepal," Li Gang continued. "Within this single sepal, small as it is," he said as he gently stretched out the sepal for all to see, especially its size. Lengthwise, it was about the length of his index finger, and widthwise, it was about the combined girth of his index and middle fingers.

"Small as it is," he repeated, "it contains a thousand years' worth of spiritual qi, all condensed within this single sepal. And the quality is no less than that produced by a lesser dragon vein.

It is also much easier to absorb than that from a spiritual vein, given that all the spiritual qi contained within this sepal has been refined, akin to what our dantians do, making the process of absorption rapid and seamless, with little to no risk.

Not to mention, because this spiritual qi has been nourished and refined by the Dawn Cloud Oak Tree ...the very Dawn Cloud Oak Tree we currently stand upon, the spiritual qi has gained some of its inherent qualities, which means said spiritual qi carries with it the ability to nourish your meridians, your organs, and your soul, clearing out impurity build-up, bringing about subtle improvements in clarity, vigor, and vitality," Li Gang explained.

"Even ignoring these subliminal effects, just the quantity alone already makes it an important thing to have," said Li Gang.

"Say, for one reason or another, you end up in a situation where you have expended all your qi, and you desperately need more, because the circumstances you are in are pretty dire. For example, you are escaping from someone or looking to overcome an opponent with whom you are locked in a precarious stalemate, and you desperately need an infusion of spiritual qi to overturn the situation into a favorable outcome for you.

Would a generous thousand years' worth of refined spiritual qi that is effortless to absorb and use not be exactly the life-saving means you need?" Li Gang said imploringly, drawing on his richly honed mercantile skills.

His expression switched from solemn to light as he said, "The circumstances do not even have to be dire. You could end up being hit by a sudden burst of inspiration that culminates in you breaking through, only for it to happen in a place where the spiritual qi is not dense or rich enough to support the demands of that breakthrough.

Rather than have your body consume itself and derive that energy from your essence to make up that deficit, would it not be safer to have this honey gold sepal with you, to feed you spiritual qi that will not only meet all your needs but also offer nourishing advantages, as it helps you not only break through but also stabilize your realm, and in doing so, prevent the establishment of flawed foundations that are easy to gain and hard to get rid of?"

"Next is the Sunrise Sepal," he continued, gesturing to the orange sepal that matched the petals; only its orange hue seemed to be lighter than the petals.

"Also known as the Enlightening Sublimating Sepal," said Li Gang, his gaze and voice adopting a more appreciative undertone. "Every sepal here is precious, but I have to say, on a personal note, this sepal is the one whose feature I appreciate the most," he continued, his gaze gently fixed on the sepal before he turned it back to the crowd.