"A Tier-One Longevity Pill recipe… Who would've thought even something like that would show up at the auction?"
After seeing Yu Xiaoshan off, a hint of amusement played across Li Ye's face.
Among pills of the same tier, Longevity Pills were notoriously difficult to refine on par with the Formation-Breaking Talismans in the path of talisman crafting.
But unlike Formation-Breaking Talismans, the greatest challenge in refining Longevity Pills wasn't in the technique it was in acquiring the materials!
Li Ye didn't know what kind of ingredients were required for higher-tier Longevity Pills, but he was very familiar with the main ingredient for a Tier-One Longevity Pill.
Why?
Because its primary medicinal herb overlapped with one of the main ingredients for the Foundation Establishment Pill the Earth Dragon Ginseng!
If it were any other pill, it wouldn't be a big deal. But we're talking about the Foundation Establishment Pill!
As one of its key components, Earth Dragon Ginseng was tightly controlled by the Purple Profound Sect and the major clans. On a normal day, forget rogue cultivators even inner disciples or direct clan descendants would struggle to get their hands on it.
If a rogue cultivator did manage to obtain some through luck, they would almost certainly use it to refine a Foundation Establishment Pill instead.
After all, succeeding in Foundation Establishment would grant a lifespan of two hundred years instantly while a Tier-One Longevity Pill only added a mere ten years and could only be taken once!
For Qi Condensation cultivators, unless their bodies were already failing and they had no hope of advancing, the choice was obvious.
"Still, if it's just the recipe, acquiring it with my current status won't raise any eyebrows… If the opportunity arises, I should try to get it."
Li Ye muttered to himself, "It could also serve as a good bit of advertisement if someone with little time left brings their ingredients and asks me to refine it, I might even get a free one out of it…"
The "Lifespan" section on his status panel still clearly showed a three-year deduction due to excessive vitality loss a constant reminder.
Although he was only twenty-five years old now, still more than twenty years away from the fifty-year limit for Foundation Establishment, it was best to address the problem sooner rather than later.
…
With the Purple Profound Sect's successful counteroffensive reclaiming parts of Huan Country, the front lines had now settled into a stalemate with the Flying Feather Sect coalition.
The once-tense atmosphere in Huan Country eased significantly. And with word of the upcoming auction spreading, the Zimo Forest Marketplace grew livelier by the day.
Where the streets had once been sparsely populated with a few grim-faced cultivators running small stalls, now the crowd bustled with activity.
All sorts of goods became increasingly abundant.
Even Li Ye found himself going out to browse more often.
"How much for this spirit-concealing technique?"
Picking up a tattered beast hide from one of the stalls, Li Ye asked casually.
The contents were incomplete, and the stall owner had even used spells to obscure most of it. At first glance, it didn't seem particularly impressive.
But it used spiritual energy to assist in concealing one's aura, and the stronger the user's spirit, the more effective the technique. This made it rather useful for someone like Li Ye.
The stall owner glanced at him and chuckled, "If fellow cultivator wants it, just fifty spirit stones!"
"Twenty. The technique's incomplete I'm only buying it for reference. Any higher and I'll pass."
Li Ye responded offhandedly, turning to leave.
What a joke! Fifty spirit stones could almost buy a low-grade magical artifact this guy had some nerve asking for that much!
With his average appearance and casual attire, Li Ye hadn't worn his Purple Profound Sect robes while out walking. He looked no different from an ordinary rogue cultivator.
Without any clues from his clothing or demeanor, the stall owner couldn't tell how firm Li Ye's stance on price would be.
"Hey hey, don't go! How about thirty?"
The stall owner quickly called after him. Seeing that Li Ye didn't even turn his head, he shouted again.
"Alright! Twenty it is!"
Li Ye smiled, counted out twenty spirit stones, handed them over, and took the beast's hide.
After strolling around for a bit longer, Li Ye picked up several types of spiritual plant seeds he hadn't seen before.
Over the past few days, he had managed to collect seedlings and seeds for several of the ingredients required to make Foundation Establishment Pills including one of the main herbs: the White Silver Fruit!
However, all the key ingredients for Foundation Establishment Pills had specific age requirements. Trying to cultivate these seedlings and seeds to the appropriate maturity by himself would likely take far too long by then, it might already be too late for Foundation Establishment. That's why such items would even appear on the market in the first place.
But for Li Ye, they still held value. No harm in collecting them.
Not long after, Yu Xiaoshan, dressed in a light blue gown and having made an effort to dress up, came looking for him. There was a faint hint of grievance in her gaze as she said,
"Senior Brother, you made me search high and low! The auction is about to start we should head in."
"Thanks for coming to get me. Let's go then…"
Li Ye nodded and walked beside her, following the flow of the crowd toward the auction venue.
This auction was being hosted by Xuanbao Hall, which operated under the Purple Profound Sect.
As a disciple of the Purple Profound Sect and a stationed alchemist who had made significant contributions, Li Ye had even been assigned a private room treatment nearly on par with that of Foundation Establishment cultivators who might attend.
Bringing Yu Xiaoshan along was no issue either.
However, just as she entered the room, clearly delighted to accompany Li Ye, her expression froze upon seeing someone who had arrived earlier.
"Cough… Looks like I've become an uninvited guest?"
Qu Zijian glanced between Li Ye and Yu Xiaoshan, instantly reading the situation and starting to rise.
"No need…"
Li Ye casually took a seat, smiling faintly.
"If I run short on spirit stones later, I might need Senior Brother Qu to spot me you definitely can't leave now!"
"Hah! Who in this marketplace doesn't know Alchemist Li's name? If even you can't afford something, I doubt emptying my storage pouch would help."
Qu Zijian shook his head with a chuckle and shot back playfully.
Yu Xiaoshan, watching the two of them joke back and forth, pressed her lips together slightly.
She did have some savings of her own, after all…
As the three of them chatted, the seats in the main hall below gradually filled. Familiar and unfamiliar faces began to appear one after another.
Once the scheduled time arrived, a smiling elder with cultivation at the peak of Qi Refining stepped up onto the stage.
Even though the man had no hope of advancing further, the moment his aura spread across the hall, all the rustling chatter abruptly stopped.
Wearing a pleasant smile, the elder bowed to the audience.
"I am Zhong Quying, manager of Xuanbao Hall. I will be serving as host for today's auction. Greetings, fellow Daoists!"
"You've all come for treasures, so I'll keep the introductions short let's begin with our first item…"
"A top-grade magic artifact: the Blazing Fire Ring. Starting bid 100 spirit stones!"
Li Ye subtly sat up straighter. The very first item was a top-grade artifact used to warm up the room clearly, today's auction was going to feature some real treasures.
Perhaps due to the current unstable times, the auction had been receiving new consignments nearly every day some even directly purchased by the Purple Profound Sect.
Even Yu Xiaoshan, who had some insider connections, wasn't too sure about what would be up for sale later Li Ye, naturally, was just as in the dark.
"Two hundred!"
"Two-fifty!"
"Three hundred!"
Watching the excitement build rapidly and the bidding soar, Li Ye didn't intend to participate but couldn't help feeling a little thankful.
"Good thing I've taken on plenty of commissions since arriving here I've managed to build up some decent savings. Otherwise, I'd feel a little out of my depth at a place like this."
"I just hope, aside from the Longevity Pill and that formation inheritance, there might be some other unexpected gains today…"
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