Cultivation: I Can Solidify Equipment Attributes

Chapter 253: Chapter 245: The Auction

The official notice for the Primordial Yang Sect’s auction arrived half a month later.

The venue was the auction house in the center of Yunyang Marketplace, its scale far exceeding that of daily market trades. The notice mentioned that there would be Tier Two pills, Tier Two Magical Artifacts, rare Spiritual Materials, and Cultivation Technique jade slips among the items for sale, attracting a large number of Foundation Establishment Cultivators and powerful Qi Refining Cultivators from within the Primordial Yang Sect’s sphere of influence.

Li Yuan entrusted the marketplace’s affairs to the management office and flew to Yunyang Marketplace.

The auction house was a semi-subterranean, circular stone building. In the center was an auction platform raised three feet above the ground, surrounded by tiers of rising seats. The second floor and above consisted of individual private rooms, from whose windows one could overlook the entire auction platform.

On account of his Foundation Establishment Cultivation, Li Yuan was led to a private room on the third floor.

The private room wasn’t large, containing a low table, two chairs, and a pot of Spirit Tea. The window directly faced the auction platform, offering an expansive view. An attendant from the auction house stood at the door to the room, responsible for delivering items for inspection and relaying bids.

After Li Yuan took his seat, the attendant briefly explained the rules.

"Senior, if you are interested in a particular item, you can signal an attendant to have it brought to your room for inspection. After inspection, you may decide whether to bid. Bids are primarily made with Spirit Stones, but you may also pawn items of equivalent value. If needed, you can also conduct three-party trades with the other Foundation Establishment seniors in the private rooms."

Li Yuan nodded.

The auction began on time.

The host was a peak Qi Refining Cultivator from the Primordial Yang Sect with a booming voice, who clearly explained the origin and effects of every item.

The first few items were Magical Artifacts. A Tier Two Low Grade flying sword, a Tier One Top Grade Spirit Shield, and a single-use Magical Artifact that could cast the Tier Two Fireball Technique three times. The prices ranged from several hundred to two thousand Spirit Stones, and the competition wasn’t fierce.

Li Yuan signaled the attendant to bring the flying sword for inspection.

The moment the flying sword was in his hand, his attribute perception automatically scanned it within a three-foot radius.

There was no attribute fluctuation.

’An ordinary Tier Two Low Grade flying sword. The quality is decent, but it has no attribute enhancement.’

Li Yuan sent the flying sword back.

Next were a few pills. A Tier Two Low Grade Gathering Essence Pill, a Tier One Top Grade Replenishing Essence Pill, and a bottle of Essence Nourishing Powder. Li Yuan had the attendant bring the Gathering Essence Pill for inspection; it too showed no attribute fluctuation.

He inspected several more items in succession, but none of them had attributes.

It wouldn’t be appropriate to ask for every single item to be brought for inspection. Li Yuan abandoned the idea of scanning each one, deciding to only signal the attendant for items he was genuinely interested in.

After a few more rounds of bidding, the host brought out two jade slips.

"The next two items are Talisman creation methods. They are for Tier One Top Grade Talismans, a rare variety seldom seen in Yunyang Marketplace."

The first slip was the creation method for the Guiding Talisman.

"The Guiding Talisman, a Tier One Top Grade divination-type Talisman. When activated, it allows the user to sense a general direction that is advantageous to them, with an effective range of about three hundred li. The creation method has high requirements for the Talisman Master’s Divine Soul."

The second slip was the creation method for the Concealment Talisman.

"The Concealment Talisman, a Tier One Top Grade Concealment-type Talisman. When activated, it can completely hide the user from ordinary sight for the time it takes an incense stick to burn, making them invisible to the naked eye. However, it cannot hide one’s Spiritual Power aura, so the user can still be detected by Divine Sense scans and Spiritual Power perception."

Both creation methods were for Tier One Top Grade Talismans, which were perfectly suited for Li Yuan. His Tier Two Talisman Making Skill was already at the proficient level, so drawing Tier One Top Grade Talismans would be no problem.

The Guiding Talisman was a divination-type Talisman with a wide range of uses, such as searching for items or tracking targets. Although the Concealment Talisman couldn’t hide one’s Spiritual Power aura, it was extremely effective against ordinary people and Low Tier Cultivators who couldn’t use Divine Sense.

The two creation methods were auctioned separately, and there wasn’t much competition. Divination and Concealment-type Talismans had a niche audience, and there weren’t many Talisman Makers present.

Li Yuan won the Guiding Talisman creation method for four hundred Spirit Stones, and the Concealment Talisman creation method for three hundred and fifty.

Li Yuan carefully put away the two jade slips.

The auction continued.

A few more rounds passed before a batch of Array materials came up. There were high-quality interconnected node stones and high-purity Conductive Spirit Sand. Li Yuan conveniently bought a batch to supplement the reserve materials for Mist Forest Marketplace’s Array system.

Then came a batch of supplementary Alchemy materials, including several stalks of Tier Two Spirit Medicine and some rare mineral powders. Li Yuan picked out and bought a few supplementary materials that he needed for his pill formulas.

When the auction entered its second half, the host’s tone clearly grew more solemn.

"This next item is a Tier One Lifespan Extension Pill."

The atmosphere in the auction house shifted subtly.

"The Lifespan Extension Pill, a Tier One Top Grade pill. Consuming one can extend a person’s lifespan by approximately twenty years. The formula is rare, it is extremely difficult to refine, and the success rate is very low. This particular pill was refined by a specially-retained Pill Master of the Primordial Yang Sect and is of superior quality."

The host opened a brocade box, revealing a thumb-sized, golden-yellow pill inside. Its surface was smooth and round, shimmering with a soft luster, and it gave off a faint, elegant medicinal fragrance.

"The starting bid is five hundred Spirit Stones."

The competition for the Lifespan Extension Pill was fiercer than for any of the previous items.

Lifespan was the most fundamental resource for a Cultivator, especially for a Foundation Establishment Cultivator. The lifespan limit for the Foundation Establishment Stage was about two hundred years. This might seem long, but cultivation bottlenecks, failed breakthroughs, and injuries all eroded one’s lifespan. The extra twenty years from a Lifespan Extension Pill could be the key to whether one could wait for the next breakthrough opportunity.

However, a Tier One Lifespan Extension Pill wasn’t exceedingly rare for Foundation Establishment Cultivators; most of them had already consumed at least one. Lifespan Extension Pills had a limit to how many one could take. For pills of the same tier, only the first one had the full effect, while the effects of subsequent pills would diminish.

The bidding quickly rose to one thousand, then one thousand five hundred, then two thousand.

At this point, Li Yuan signaled the attendant to bring the Lifespan Extension Pill for inspection.

The attendant carried the brocade box into the private room and placed it on the low table.

Li Yuan reached out and picked up the pill.

The moment the pill touched his palm, his attribute perception registered a fluctuation.

Green.

’A green attribute on a Lifespan Extension Pill... it’s most likely related to lifespan.’ Li Yuan’s fingers tightened slightly.

Li Yuan placed the pill back in the brocade box and signaled to the attendant that he wanted to bid.

When the bidding reached three thousand Spirit Stones, the competitors in the other private rooms began to drop out one by one. For Foundation Establishment Cultivators who had already taken one, a Tier One Lifespan Extension Pill had limited appeal, and it wasn’t worth it if the price went any higher.

"Three thousand Spirit Stones, sold."

The attendant brought the brocade box back. Li Yuan paid the Spirit Stones and put the Lifespan Extension Pill away safely.

[Detected equippable item: Lifespan Extension Pill (Intact)]

[Equip Attribute Preview: Lifespan Solidification (Green) — Reduces the rate of lifespan loss by 10%.]

[Permanence Condition Preview: Reach a cumulative lifespan of 500 years (308/500)]

A green attribute. Lifespan Solidification.

It reduced the rate of lifespan loss by ten percent. It didn’t extend his maximum lifespan, but rather made his existing lifespan drain more slowly. The lifespan consumed by cultivation, injuries, and natural aging would all be reduced by ten percent.

In the long run, its effect was more valuable than the twenty years of life from a single Lifespan Extension Pill.

The condition for making it permanent was to reach a cumulative lifespan of five hundred years. ’My current cumulative lifespan is three hundred and eight years, with a significant portion added by cultivating the Cyan Wood Longevity Skill. I’m still nearly two hundred years short of five hundred, so I won’t be able to achieve it anytime soon.’

’I’ll just have to find the time to accumulate it slowly.’

After the auction concluded, Li Yuan left the auction house with his purchases.

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