Chapter 90 - 25: True Martial Barrier-Breaking Pill
"The fifteenth auction item is the True Martial Barrier-Breaking Pill!"
"This Elixir is a Profound Tier Upper Grade Elixir. It can help a True Martial Realm Cultivator unconditionally break through a First Layer Realm without any side effects. It is truly precious, an opportunity that comes by chance and cannot be sought, making it exceedingly rare.
If the Alchemist hadn’t insisted on auctioning it, this old man would have been green with envy.
Even our Wanbao Trading Company wanted to purchase it from him. Alright, enough nonsense."
"The True Martial Barrier-Breaking Pill, starting bid is ten thousand Low Grade Spirit Stones!" the brocade-robed old man below announced.
At this, all the True Martial Cultivators in the hall erupted into a frenzy. They were in an uproar, their pupils constricting as their hearts began to pound violently.
For a True Martial Realm Cultivator, this single Elixir would not only allow them to break through a bottleneck and multiply their strength, but it would also save them decades, or even longer, of Cultivation time. It was priceless!
Even Gu Yun shot to his feet, his hands clenched into fists, his gaze fixed on the Elixir on the counter, which was emitting a hazy glow.
He had only just stabilized his Cultivation after his recent breakthrough, and now such an opportunity had presented itself. A True Martial Barrier-Breaking Pill, capable of forcing a breakthrough of a full layer of Cultivation with no side effects—how could he not be jealous?
The moment Elder Huangpu’s voice fell,
"Twenty thousand Spirit Stones!" a firm voice from a middle-aged Cultivator upstairs rang out decisively.
The young, white-robed Cultivator from before, his eyes gleaming, suddenly shouted, "Thirty thousand Spirit Stones!"
As soon as he finished speaking,
Gu Yun called out, "Forty thousand Spirit Stones!"
But his voice was immediately drowned out.
"Fifty thousand Spirit Stones!"
"Sixty thousand Spirit Stones!"
The many wealthy True Martial Cultivators in the upper levels all started bidding. The scene grew incredibly intense, with calls coming one after another.
The price quickly soared to one hundred and ten thousand Spirit Stones.
Glancing at the Spirit Stones inside his Storage Ring, Gu Yun saw the bidding had already far surpassed what he possessed.
Gu Yun shook his head lightly and reluctantly chose to give up. ’Forget it, just forget it.’
’If it’s meant to be, it will be. If not, don’t force it.’
Compared to the wealth of those True Martial Realm Cultivators who had lived for one or two hundred years, his own assets were truly meager!
"One hundred and fifty thousand Spirit Stones!" a middle-aged Cultivator at the True Martial Realm Seventh Layer from upstairs called out.
An old Cultivator, also at the True Martial Seventh Layer, shouted, "One hundred and sixty thousand Spirit Stones!"
...
After many more rounds of bidding, a Great Cultivator at the True Martial Realm Eighth Layer finally broke through the competition and successfully won the item with a bid of two hundred thousand Spirit Stones.
The bidding war had been a financial bloodbath, and although the subsequent auction items were good, they all fell a bit short compared to the True Martial Barrier-Breaking Pill.
From the VIP area, Gu Yun snacked on the Spirit Fruits provided by the Wanbao Trading Company, watching as Elder Huangpu hyped up one auction item after another with flowery praise.
Listening to the frenzied shouts and squabbles of the Cultivators below was also quite entertaining.
He could faintly feel the Spirit Fruits he ate being digested, and his True Yuan increasing by a tiny sliver.
Soon, Elder Huangpu introduced another auction item:
"The forty-fifth auction item, a Celestial Meteorite Iron Giant Sword!"
"This sword is forged from Celestial Meteorite Iron. It weighs a thousand catties, its edge is incomparably sharp, and it is extremely durable. Even an ordinary Top Grade Magical Artifact would struggle to leave the slightest scratch on it."
"After our company’s appraisal, we’ve determined this Giant Sword is comparable to a Low Grade Spiritual Artifact! The starting bid is one thousand Low Grade Spirit Stones!" As Elder Huangpu’s voice fell,
"Five thousand Spirit Stones!" a fierce-looking Cultivator with a scar on his face called from upstairs.
"Six thousand Spirit Stones."
"Seven thousand Spirit Stones."
...
Those who were interested in it all shouted their bids.
But in the end, it was won by the man with the scar on his face for eighteen thousand Spirit Stones.
As for the next item Elder Huangpu presented, Gu Yun’s eyes grew solemn. The Taichu Ancient Order unexpectedly trembled slightly at the sight of it, surprising him.
Furthermore, the Sword Momentum within his body was faintly, unconsciously stirred, which startled him even more. ’How is this possible...’
Down below, Elder Huangpu introduced it: "The forty-sixth auction item, a broken saber tip."
"This broken saber tip was recovered from a certain ruin. Even an Upper Grade Spiritual Artifact cannot damage it in the slightest. It is exceptionally sharp."
"Our pavilion has determined that this saber tip came from the personal weapon of a powerful expert of the Sword Dao, which shattered after a world-shaking battle. It’s possible for one of you to comprehend Sword Momentum from it and advance your Saber Technique. The starting bid is one hundred Spirit Stones!"
Even though the old man’s praise was extravagant, no one in the audience was a fool.
It was just a broken saber tip. Forget about whether it belonged to an expert of the Sword Dao or not,
even if it did, what damn use was a broken tip? ’If you have the talent to comprehend Sword Momentum from a broken saber tip, you probably would have comprehended Sword Momentum long ago.’
And so, the hall fell silent.
Elder Huangpu knew he was on shaky ground. Ever since the Wanbao Trading Company had obtained it from those ruins,
they had studied it extensively but had gotten nothing from it. It was the kind of treasure that was tasteless to possess but a pity to discard.
"One hundred Spirit Stones," a Cultivator in the hall called out.
Another Cultivator immediately followed, "Two hundred Spirit Stones."
Gu Yun called out in a deep voice, "Five hundred Spirit Stones!"
Sure enough, the bid of five hundred Spirit Stones scared off those Cultivators who were hoping to snag a treasure on the cheap. He won the auction successfully.
A moment later, the broken saber tip was delivered to Gu Yun’s hand.
The originally plain and simple saber tip, once stimulated by the Taichu Ancient Order, emitted a dazzling saber light and began to vibrate intensely. Profound runes emerged on its surface.
A brilliant Sword Intent emanated from the broken tip. Gu Yun’s pupils instantly shrank to the size of a pinprick. As he stared at it, a Heaven-Reaching blade of light seemed to appear in his vision, like the celestial river of the ninth heaven, slashing through the firmament with supreme might.
The world shattered, the Great Dao perished—it was terrifying beyond belief!
Soon, Gu Yun returned to his senses. He looked back at the simple saber tip, but a monstrous wave had already been stirred in his heart. ’Its original owner might have been a supreme expert of the Sword Dao. For such a fragmented tip to possess power nearing that of Divine Power...’
[You have sensed the Sword Intent radiated by the supreme expert of the Sword Dao and have absorbed it for your own use. Your Sword Momentum has become more condensed. Sword Momentum Skill Level +10%]
With the terrifying Sword Intent it radiated, Gu Yun could temper his own Sword Momentum and thus accelerate its evolution towards a Mental Realm!
After that, Gu Yun also bid on and won several Spirit Medicines and Elixirs that he deemed useful.
However, Gu Yun did not participate in the bidding for the final, grand finale items. The last items of the auction were a Ten Thousand Miles Instant Travel Talisman, an Upper Grade Spiritual Weapon Battle Halberd, and a Longevity Elixir.
A crowd of True Martial Cultivators scrambled for them, driving the prices to astronomical heights in a fierce competition.
Shortly after, the auction officially ended. Gu Yun returned to the Profound Celestial Sect’s residence and began to use the broken saber tip to comprehend Sword Momentum.
...
Time flew by.
「One month later.」
A certain Sea Beast Demon Fiend was continuously invading the islands within the Purple Bright Sea Region, and Gu Yun accepted a mission to go and slay it.
On the vast, boundless surface of the sea, massive waves were swept up by a sea storm, soaring into the sky. The churning whitecaps stirred up a turbulent surge.
Above, a streak of lightning-fast light shot past, seeming to reflect off the azure, clear-as-a-mirror sea.
Viewed from a distance, it looked like a bolt of Thunder tearing through the sky above the sea’s surface, vanishing in a flash.
Before long, Gu Yun looked into the distance and let out a sound of surprise.
"Hm?!"
He saw a streak of light, wreathed in crimson flames, speeding toward him.
Wherever the crimson flames passed, the very air seemed to burn and distort. The display of power was quite terrifying!