Being a Late Bloomer in the Cultivation World

Illuminated by Luminous Pearls and the light of the array, the underground cavern was as bright as day.

Wei Tu glanced inside and saw that, unlike the auction on Danqiu Mountain which was split into three-storied pavilions, this one consisted of a single large hall.

On the west side of the hall was the auction stage. Its setup was the same as the one on Danqiu Mountain, with a jade table upon which several items, covered by red cloths, were displayed.

On the east side were the VIP seats, with over a hundred chairs made of purple sandalwood.

Currently, seventy to eighty Cultivators were already seated in these purple sandalwood chairs.

When Wei Tu entered the hall, these variously dressed Cultivators all glanced up at him. Seeing he was an unfamiliar face, they looked away again.

Wei Tu's eyes met Kou Hongying's, and the two exchanged a subtle nod. Wei Tu then took a seat a moderate distance away from her.

After taking his seat, Wei Tu observed the surrounding Cultivators with his Guardian Map Divine Sense. 'More than half of these people show signs of being in disguise, but their disguises aren't very sophisticated...' he thought.

He possessed the Thousand-Faced Illusion Technique, an exotic technique in the Cultivation Realm. After decades of study, he had long since become a master of disguise.

To his eyes, the disguises of many Cultivators at the underground auction were downright clumsy.

'Alchemist Shu...'

'Ren Yifeng...'

'Chentang...'

'Huang Shaoshan...'

'Yu Kui Master...'

With a quick glance, Wei Tu recognized several familiar faces among the seventy to eighty Foundation Establishment Cultivators.

Alchemist Shu, Ren Yifeng, and Chentang were three well-known Foundation Establishment Independent Cultivators from Danqiu Mountain.

As for Huang Shaoshan and Yu Kui Master, they were Foundation Establishment Masters whom Wei Tu knew from the Hee Mountain Huang Family.

Huang Shaoshan was one of the twelve Foundation Establishment Masters of the Hee Mountain Huang Family.

Wei Tu noticed that many Foundation Establishment Independent Cultivators were looking toward Kou Hongying. Some of them knew of her "fearsome reputation," while others were simply coveting her beauty.

'Good thing I didn't enter with Hongying. Our association alone would be enough to attract a lot of animosity. A beautiful woman is a calamity.'

Wei Tu was secretly relieved.

Although Cultivators at the Foundation Establishment Level had better temperaments than Qi Cultivators, there were still plenty who would lose their heads over a beautiful woman.

...

Wei Tu had arrived a little late.

Two days later, after a dozen more Foundation Establishment Cultivators had trickled into Canglong Mountain, the Hundred Treasures Pavilion's underground auction, held once every twenty years, officially began.

To Wei Tu's slight surprise, the auctioneer this time was Chai Ping, the Foundation Establishment Female Cultivator who had given him the invitation to the auction.

However, Chai Ping's attire was not as revealing as Louu Hong's; she was dressed quite normally.

"Thank you, fellow Daoists, for attending our Hundred Treasures Pavilion's once-every-twenty-years Underground Auction. After the auction, the Hundred Treasures Pavilion will also present each of you with a gift for your attendance..."

"At the same time, I must also explain the rules of the auction to our new friends..."

On the auction stage, Chai Ping spoke eloquently with a smile on her face, showing no sign of stage fright.

One rule Chai Ping mentioned caught Wei Tu's attention: after the bidding, the Cultivators present could use this platform to trade freely amongst themselves.

'Free trading?'

'No wonder this auction attracted so many Foundation Establishment Cultivators.'

Wei Tu sighed to himself.

Nearly a hundred Foundation Establishment Cultivators was no small number; it was almost one-third of all the Foundation Establishment Independent Cultivators in the Zheng Country's Cultivation Realm.

Of course, even after excluding the Immortal Sect Disciples and Family Cultivators mixed in, like Kou Hongying and Huang Shaoshan, the number of Foundation Establishment Independent Cultivators was still quite impressive.

"The first auction item is a Tier Two Lower-Grade Spiritual Artifact, the 'Water Smoke Shield.'"

"This Defensive Magical Artifact not only provides defense but can also deploy the 'Water Smoke Array,' an Illusion Array. It's the perfect choice for fighting an enemy or escaping."

"The starting bid is three hundred Spirit Stones."

"Each bid increment must be no less than fifty Spirit Stones."

Chai Ping's clear voice echoed throughout the hall.

"Four hundred Spirit Stones."

"Four hundred and fifty Spirit Stones..."

"Six hundred Spirit Stones..."

The moment the bidding started, a few eager people immediately placed their bids.

'It's too expensive.' Wei Tu had been somewhat tempted by the "Water Smoke Shield" Chai Ping introduced, but after hearing someone bid over six hundred, he completely gave up the idea of competing for it.

He hadn't been at Foundation Establishment for long, and in terms of wealth, he was far behind most of the Foundation Establishment Cultivators present.

Ultimately, the "Water Smoke Shield" was sold for the high price of one thousand and fifty Spirit Stones to a mysterious Male Cultivator wearing a black cloak.

Next, the second auction item was brought out.

It was a Top Tier One Flying Boat Spiritual Artifact.

Although this Flying Ship Spiritual Artifact was of a lower Level than the "Water Smoke Shield," its price was double that of the shield.

...

「An hour later.」

Over a dozen items at the underground auction were sold one by one, with none failing to sell.

'They're all treasures, and the prices are too high.'

At this moment, Wei Tu truly felt his own poverty. He estimated that even if he spent his entire wealth, he could probably only afford a single one of the auction items.

'There's always next time.'

Wei Tu comforted himself.

However, as the auction neared its end, an item appeared that made Wei Tu abandon that thought.

"The next auction item is a technique for refining a Magical Treasure. As everyone knows, Magical Treasures are exclusive to Golden Core True Monarchs. They are a tier higher than Magical Artifacts. With a Magical Treasure in hand, one is invincible."

"Even a 'Talisman Treasure,' which contains a portion of a Magical Treasure's power, is unstoppable and overwhelming when used against other Magical Artifacts."

"And this particular Magical Treasure can be refined even by a Foundation Establishment Master."

Chai Ping's words immediately stirred the emotions of the Foundation Establishment Cultivators present. All the Cultivators stared intently at the pale cyan Jade Scroll on the jade table, their eyes burning with fervor.

But her next words doused the fire in the hearts of most of the Cultivators.

"This Magical Treasure is called the 'Ice Flood Dragon Sword,' and it is a type of Talisman Sword Treasure."

"A Talisman Sword?" Hearing this, the Cultivators' interest immediately waned.

Talisman Sword Treasures were well-known in the Cultivation Realm as "Fake Treasures." Although Foundation Establishment Cultivators could refine them, the cost would be enormous for anyone who wasn't a Talisman Master.

Even for Talisman Masters, not every one of them could bear such a huge expense.

The reason was that a Talisman Sword Treasure was created by continuously stacking the power of Talismans, forcing a qualitative change in the Magical Artifact embryo until it reached the strength of a Magical Treasure.

This process often required hundreds of Tier Two Talismans, and even then, success was not guaranteed.

No matter how cheap Tier Two Talismans were, each one still cost two to three hundred Spirit Stones.

Instead of spending tens of thousands of Spirit Stones to create a "Fake Treasure," it would be better to just buy several "Talisman Treasures."

The price of a Talisman Treasure was only a few thousand Spirit Stones each.

Even so, the starting bid for the refining technique of the "Ice Flood Dragon Sword," a "Talisman Sword," was extremely high.

It started at five hundred Spirit Stones.

The price was quickly driven up to Seven Hundred Spirit Stones.

Wei Tu's heart was moved, and he also joined the bidding.

The refining method for the "Ice Flood Dragon Sword" Talisman Sword Treasure also included the corresponding techniques for making Tier Two Talismans. The value of those Tier Two Talisman making techniques alone made it worth bidding on for him.

Besides, he was different from other Talisman Masters.

With the "Late Bloomer" Destiny Chart, as long as his progress in refining a certain type of Talisman reached the "Perfection" stage, his success rate would become one hundred percent.

At that point, his cost to refine a Talisman Sword would be far less than that of other Talisman Masters of the same tier.

"Uncle Wei, I have eight or nine hundred Spirit Stones on me. Why don't I lend them all to you? There's nothing I want to bid on at this auction anyway."

Just then, Kou Hongying's voice sounded in Wei Tu's ear.

Wei Tu knew that his repeated bids had shown Kou Hongying how much he desired this "Ice Flood Dragon Sword" Talisman Sword.

"Alright." Wei Tu nodded, not refusing Kou Hongying's kind offer, and accepted directly.

This was an opportunity he couldn't afford to miss.

Although the Talisman Sword refining technique was a "chicken rib" for most Foundation Establishment Cultivators, that didn't mean it was easy to find.

"One thousand four hundred Spirit Stones!"

Wei Tu estimated the value of the items he could pawn, added the Spirit Stones Kou Hongying was lending him, and directly called out a high price.

Inside the auction hall, the continuous calls of the bidding suddenly ceased. A hush fell over the crowd.

After all, the previous bidder had only offered "one thousand two hundred Spirit Stones," and Wei Tu had just raised the price by two hundred Spirit Stones in one go.

"One thousand four hundred Spirit Stones?" The Cultivators who had been bidding all turned to look at Wei Tu, committing his face to memory.

This wasn't because these Cultivators planned to kill and rob Wei Tu, acting as Tribulation Cultivators.

Rather, it was because a Talisman Sword was quite powerful. By remembering what Wei Tu looked like, they could be on their guard if they ever had to face him in the future.

"One thousand four hundred Spirit Stones."

Chai Ping counted down for nine breaths. Seeing no one else raise the bid, she brought her gavel down.

...

Soon, the second half of the auction began.

In the second half, the next three grand finale treasures would be auctioned.

The grade of these treasures was not low.

Wei Tu saw many familiar Cultivators secretly using voice transmissions to borrow Spirit Stones.

"The first finale treasure is a Talisman Treasure made by True Monarch Yanguang—the 'Fire Dragon Halberd'!"

After the intermission, Chai Ping slapped her Storage Bag, took out a jade box, and then carefully used her Magical Power to levitate a pale yellow sheet of Talisman Paper from inside the box into mid-air.

'So this is a Talisman Treasure?'

Wei Tu was intensely curious.

As a Talisman Master, this was the first time he had ever seen the legendary "Talisman Treasure," which existed outside the standard system of Talismans.

A Talisman Treasure was a special product created when a Golden Core True Monarch sealed a portion of their Magical Treasure's power into Talisman Paper.

Most Talisman Treasures were passed down within Cultivation Families and rarely circulated in the outside world.

Under the watchful eyes of all the Cultivators, the pale yellow Talisman Paper gradually revealed its true appearance. Imprinted upon it was a large, red halberd. This red halberd seemed to possess a Spirituality of its own, occasionally transforming into a fire dragon that looked as if it might fly right off the paper.

"True Monarch Yanguang was an Independent Cultivator True Monarch from seven hundred years ago, whose resounding fame shook the Cultivation Realm of Zheng Country."

"Moreover, True Monarch Yanguang was no ordinary Golden Core True Monarch, but a Great Cultivator at the Late-Stage Golden Core realm..."

Chai Ping explained at the opportune moment.

The historical knowledge of most Independent Cultivators was quite poor. After hearing Chai Ping's introduction, the crowd's enthusiasm to compete for the "Fire Dragon Halberd" Talisman Treasure finally erupted.

"The starting bid for this Talisman Treasure is three thousand Spirit Stones, with each increment no less than fifty Spirit Stones."

Chai Ping slammed her gavel on the jade table and shouted loudly.

"Three thousand three hundred Spirit Stones."

At this moment, Alchemist Shu, whom Wei Tu had been watching, finally broke his silence and began bidding for the "Fire Dragon Halberd" Talisman Treasure.

Only a Talisman Treasure could attract a Late-Stage Foundation Establishment, Tier Two Alchemist like Alchemist Shu.