Youth must seize its moment; how can one remain young forever? Chapter Sixty-One: The First Auction

“Old Luo, you’re getting on in years. Don’t you want to find a companion?” Bai Qingzhou blew gently on the wonton in his spoon and smiled as he asked.

“Heh! Who says I don’t have a companion? Not only do I have one, I even have a daughter!” Old Luo stood at his stall, grinning.

More than a month had passed since Bai Qingzhou struck a deal with the Shennong Society. Today, he found he’d run out of beast meat and couldn’t be bothered to cook; so he came to Old Luo’s stall for a bowl of wontons to tide him over.

“Oh?” Hearing this, Bai Qingzhou looked puzzled. He took a bite of wonton and chewed as he asked, “Then why have I never seen your companion help you with the business?”

Bai Qingzhou had visited many times, and Old Luo’s stall was always manned by him alone. He’d never seen this so-called companion or daughter.

“Tch! That woman ran off—I’ve no idea where she went...” Old Luo waved carelessly, continuing with his work.

“What about your daughter, then?”

“She’s just an ordinary mortal. She can’t go out as she pleases. I usually tell her to stay home.”

“Hm? Didn’t you say the shantytown is a chaotic place, full of all sorts? You dare leave her home alone?” Bai Qingzhou was surprised.

“It’s fine. If she stays put at home, nothing’ll happen,” Old Luo replied nonchalantly.

“All right.” Bai Qingzhou responded simply, picked up his bowl, and used his chopsticks to scoop up the wontons and soup, drinking it all in one go. He wiped his mouth with his hand and contentedly rubbed his stomach.

The wontons tasted as wonderful as ever...

Bang!

Bai Qingzhou took out two taels of gold and slapped them on the table before standing up. “I’m off. I need to buy some beast meat to take home. I probably won’t be coming by for a while.”

“Fellow Bai, you’re truly thrifty—not at all like a sect disciple.” Old Luo came over to collect the gold, grinning.

In his impression, Bai Qingzhou, though a disciple of a sect, behaved much like a rogue cultivator—always frugal, not as generous as most sect disciples. Few sect disciples cooked their own meals, after all.

“Heh, opening up new sources and cutting down expenses—that’s the true path! I’m off!” Bai Qingzhou laughed heartily and walked away.

“All right! Take care, Fellow Bai!”

Bai Qingzhou strolled toward the center of the market. Well fed and satisfied, his mood was bright, and he glanced now and then at the stalls’ curious wares.

When he saw something he liked that wasn’t expensive, he would buy it on a whim.

After a while.

Bai Qingzhou wandered to a stall and, seeing the price marker out front, couldn’t help but ask,

“Fellow Zhang, why is meat so cheap today?”

This stall belonged to the Black Ape Double Fiends couple.

The price board clearly read: [Black Ape Beast Meat]: One hundred and twenty pounds, one low-grade spirit stone.

“If we don’t lower the price, the meat’ll go bad. It doesn’t last long, so tonight we have to sell it cheap,” Zhang Yao said with a cheerful smile.

Bai Qingzhou nodded gently, showing he understood. He’d been unfamiliar with these things at first and bought fifty pounds of beast meat the first time, but before long it started to spoil and he had to throw it away—a real waste.

Beast meat was a bit different from ordinary wild meat, as it contained spiritual energy and kept longer, but still couldn’t be preserved for too long.

“You two have been selling beast meat for a while—why not buy some [Ice Talisman]?” Bai Qingzhou asked curiously.

In his impression, to preserve beast meat, one could use [Ice Talisman] or other ice-elemental talismans for freezing and extending freshness.

Peng Peng chimed in, “Fellow Bai, you must be joking. [Ice Talismans] are so expensive, we can’t afford them. It’s better to sell out and then go hunting again...”

“That makes sense...” Bai Qingzhou nodded, then grinned. “All right, cut me thirty pounds.”

Because Zhang Yao and his wife had fair prices, fresh meat, and the [Black Ape Beast Meat] tasted delicious, Bai Qingzhou always bought from their stall.

“Coming right up!” Zhang Yao responded and immediately picked up the knife to start cutting.

“How much?”

Peng Peng smiled, “Just twenty taels of gold.”

...

Bai Qingzhou carried his newly purchased beast meat back to his courtyard, placed it in the kitchen, cleaned it, and then entered his room.

His gaze fell upon a particularly hidden spot in the room, where the three hundred-odd spirit stones from the herb transaction were stashed. Ever since the deal, the spirit stones had remained untouched.

He walked over carefully, took them out, opened the pouch, and counted them meticulously.

Once sure nothing was missing, Bai Qingzhou breathed a sigh of relief, tucked the pouch close to his body, and lay down on the bed.

Tomorrow, he would need these spirit stones...

Just two days prior, Zheng Sizhong from the Shennong Society had come by unexpectedly to inform him that their sect leader had finally succeeded in refining the [Foundation Establishment Pill].

And tomorrow, it would be auctioned at the Wanbao Pavilion’s auction, with Bai Qingzhou invited to attend.

“Once I get the [Foundation Establishment Pill], I’ll return to the mountain gate. It’s been over three months since I last went back...” Bai Qingzhou thought to himself.

The night passed quietly.

With bright morning light, Bai Qingzhou arrived punctually at the entrance of Wanbao Pavilion.

Wanbao Pavilion offered an endless array of goods, hosting small auctions every month, medium auctions every three months, and a large auction once a year.

Though it was located in Luogu Market, it wasn’t a member of the Wuji League. Rumor had it the Pavilion was a chain store, with branches not only in the Wuji League’s territory but all across Li Province—a powerful background that discouraged trouble.

Thus, all auctions in Luogu Market were held within Wanbao Pavilion, as its formidable backing guaranteed trustworthiness.

As the only auction venue in Luogu Market and coinciding with the tri-monthly medium auction, the crowd was several times larger than usual, making for a lively scene.

Bai Qingzhou was waiting in line, and ahead of him two groups of sect members happened to meet. Their respective leaders stood at the Pavilion entrance reminiscing loudly, while the disciples behind them stood in respectful silence. The rogue cultivators blocked by the gathering had no choice but to wait as well.

Bai Qingzhou had seen these two leaders before at the market’s arena—they were both sect masters of Wuji League sects, cultivators at the Foundation Establishment stage. None of the rogue cultivators behind dared act rashly or even show the slightest displeasure.

“After you, Master Li!”

“Please, after you!”

After a while, the two Foundation Establishment cultivators greeted each other and entered, allowing Bai Qingzhou to follow the stream of people inside.

It was Bai Qingzhou’s first time in the auction hall. The space was vast, divided into two levels: the upper level was for private boxes, the lower for general seating, arranged in a fan around the auction stage.

He saw the two sect masters head straight for the second-level boxes. Bai Qingzhou, without a box ticket, could only find a seat in the hall.

Each seat was engraved with a number; his was number sixty-seven.

The auction stage resembled a mundane opera platform. A young cultivator stood atop, introducing various small items, and bids occasionally rose from the crowd—though the offers were low, clearly just to enliven the atmosphere.

People continued to enter, and once most seats were filled, a white-bearded elder emerged from behind the curtain and took over from the younger cultivator.

“Welcome, fellow cultivators, to Wanbao Pavilion. Today’s auction officially begins! There are thirty-six items in total for this medium auction; the final item is a third-tier pill, all sold to the highest bidder. Let’s start with the first item...”

The elder introduced the auction items, and bids rose steadily from the crowd.

His command of the hall was impressive, and there was no shortage of quality goods; the atmosphere gradually grew more spirited.

Bai Qingzhou, accustomed to frequenting the market, had seen most of these auction items before. But as it was his first auction, he watched with keen interest.

“The eighth item, top-grade Yellow-level, [Windrush Flying Sword]! This is a flying artifact! I needn’t say much about sword-shaped flying artifacts—the forging is the most difficult, but among all flying artifacts, it’s also the fastest! Starting bid... one hundred and fifty low-grade spirit stones!”

As soon as the elder finished, bids rang out across the hall.

“One hundred and eighty low-grade spirit stones!”

“Two hundred!”

“Two hundred and fifty!”

...

The flying sword’s appearance quickly heated up the atmosphere, with shouts of higher bids erupting from excited rogue cultivators.

Yet as the price rose, the general seating gradually withdrew from the contest, and it became a battle between the second-floor boxes.

Bai Qingzhou watched with longing. Sword-shaped flying artifacts not only had speed, but could also be used as weapons; though their lethality was less than other artifacts, their dual use for flight and attack made them extremely convenient.

Sadly, he had no money. Though he held over three hundred spirit stones, not a single one was truly his. All he could do was watch as the sword was finally sold to a box upstairs for three hundred and thirty low-grade spirit stones.

With the flying sword auctioned off, the proceedings continued, sometimes quiet, sometimes lively, and soon Bai Qingzhou saw the item he wanted.

“The twentieth item, second-tier pill, [Foundation Establishment Pill]! Heh, this is always featured at our medium auctions, its function is to improve the success rate of foundation establishment—an essential pill for cultivators at the ninth level of Qi Refining! As usual, starting price is eighty spirit stones!”

Seeing the elder produce the pill, Bai Qingzhou knew it was his turn.

Typically, [Foundation Establishment Pills] were for cultivators at the ninth level of Qi Refining, so few called out at first—only a handful. Bai Qingzhou wasn’t in a hurry and waited for the price to rise.

“Eighty-five!”

“Eighty-eight!”

...

Scattered voices came from the crowd.

“Seat twenty-four bids one hundred and five spirit stones! Any higher?” the elder shouted.

His voice, amplified by a special formation, reached every cultivator’s ears.

“One hundred and twenty!” Bai Qingzhou raised his hand and called out.

Seeing few bids, Bai Qingzhou immediately raised the price by fifteen spirit stones, hoping to drive out the other bidders.

“Excellent! Seat sixty-seven bids one hundred and twenty!” The elder’s eyes lit up.

Bai Qingzhou felt several gazes fall upon him after he spoke.

He kept his composure, pretending to be indifferent as he calmly watched the stage.

“One hundred and twenty-one!”

Another voice rang out, and Bai Qingzhou’s heart sank—he hadn’t expected this person to keep bidding.

But he wouldn’t give up. He called out loudly, “One hundred and thirty!”

“One hundred and thirty-one!”

“One hundred and forty!”

“One hundred and forty-one!”

......

The relentless bidding made Bai Qingzhou anxious and increasingly annoyed, as the other always raised by just one spirit stone, refusing to yield—almost as if targeting him.

Familiar cultivators in the hall began whispering and speculating about the possible feud between the two.

“One hundred and eighty!” Bai Qingzhou called out again, his voice trembling.

This was already above the usual price for a [Foundation Establishment Pill].

“Excellent! Seat sixty-seven bids one hundred and eighty! Any higher?” the elder called hoarsely.

The hall fell silent.

“One hundred and eighty! Once!”

Seeing no one respond, the elder shouted again.

“Twice!”

Bai Qingzhou listened, his heart pounding, fearful that the other might bid again.

Fortunately, the other cultivator remained silent.

“Sold!”