However, he quickly dismissed the thought himself.

That day, when the Zhenshan Seal fell into the mud, he was severely injured and had no mind to search for it.

That Zhenshan Seal had already been submerged in the muddy ground.

"It should just be a coincidence..."

"I believe everyone is familiar with the famous Zhenshan Seal."

Luo Sheng’s tone was relaxed: "Today’s first auction item is a replica of this Zhenshan Seal."

The cost-effectiveness of a replica is actually very high.

It possesses a weakened and simplified effect of the genuine article, but it allows Cultivators to wield it at lower Realms.

Moreover, the price won’t be too high.

"It doesn’t matter if you’re not familiar with it; I’ll give you a brief introduction..."

He described it roughly, identical to how Song Yan saw Wang Xi use it in the Secret Realm that day.

Luo Sheng’s explanation was clear and concise.

His persuasive words were so captivating that even Song Yan felt a little tempted.

"Alright, then, the starting bid is sixty Spirit Stones, and each increment must not be less than ten."

"Everyone, let’s begin."

The jade hammer tapped lightly, signaling the official start of bidding.

"Seventy."

Someone made a bid, their voice flat and their words brief.

"I bid eighty Spirit Stones!"

The replica of the Zhenshan Seal only requires a Late Stage Qi Refinement Cultivator to wield it normally, and in the eyes of those Young Masters who don’t lack Spirit Stones, bidding one or two hundred Spirit Stones for it is very worthwhile.

Therefore, bids rose one after another.

The low starting price was mainly to encourage more bidding.

"One hundred Spirit Stones."

"Two hundred."

The person who first bid earlier announced this number, instantly doubling the price.

The hall immediately fell silent.

A price of two hundred Spirit Stones was acceptable, a slight premium, but any higher would be a bit less worth it.

"Dong..."

"Dong..."

"Dong..."

"Congratulations to this Fellow Daoist for winning today’s first auction item."

"Fellow Daoist may leave at any time and proceed to the side hall to collect the item after paying the Spirit Stones."

"The second auction item is the Azure Spirit Pill."

"This Medicinal Pill should not be unfamiliar to Fellow Daoists who Cultivate Wood-element Cultivation Techniques."

"It inherently contains pure Spiritual Qi, and after consumption, it can slightly increase the efficiency of absorbing Spiritual Qi for Wood-element Cultivation Techniques within a short period."

"The Azure Spirit Pills being auctioned this time are seven pills per bottle, with a total of three bottles per set."

"Today, there is only this one set."

"The starting bid is one hundred Spirit Stones, and each increment must not be less than five Spirit Stones."

...The sounds of bidding rose and fell in the venue.

Various auction items, various Spirit Materials, appeared one by one on the stage. One by one, they were bought.

Song Yan merely watched the excitement and broadened his horizons.

Sometimes, the surrounding private rooms would shout out incredibly exaggerated Spirit Stone figures, leaving people dumbfounded.

"As expected of the VIPs in the luxurious private rooms..."

He basically paid little attention to the later auction items; after hearing Luo Sheng’s sales pitch so many times, his heart no longer felt any ripples.

He came on this trip only to acquire Qi Replenishing Pills and Ren Water Spirit Transformation Talismans.

Currently, Song Yan was still quite confident.

Although he had spent most of his Spirit Stones before jointly exploring the Foundation Establishment Immortal Cave.

Yet, during his trip to the world in the painting, he obtained eight Mid-Grade Spirit Stones alone.

Song Yan sold two of them at almost the highest price in the black market at the time, exchanging them for over two hundred ninety Low-Grade Spirit Stones.

As long as these two items weren’t ridiculously expensive, he would have no problem acquiring them.

If absolutely necessary, he could simply use Mid-Grade Spirit Stones to offset the cost.

As he pondered, the graceful female Cultivator brought up a sky-blue Talisman.

"This next auction item is quite interesting."

Luo Sheng added a remark.

Song Yan’s heart fluttered; as soon as this person opened his mouth, he feared he would have to pay more Spirit Stones.

His heart was bleeding.

"A High Grade Tier 1 Talisman, the Ren Water Spirit Transformation Talisman."

"The Talisman paper is made from cold pond spirit algae, and the essence blood of a Tier 1 Demon Beast, the Water Cold Toad, is mixed with moonlight spirit dew to form the Talisman ink for drawing the Talisman script."

"A water-harmony pattern is drawn in the center, flanked by a fire-sealing spell and a spirit-dispersing seal."

"Once activated, it can suppress roughly forty percent of fire-elemental Spiritual Qi within a fifteen-zhang radius for a full thirty breaths."

Forty percent?

Song Yan’s heart stirred.

He recalled that day, when Wan Songran conjured the Yi Wood Spirit Severing Talisman, it almost completely cut off the earth-elemental Spiritual Qi within the mud pond area.

Judging from the efficiency of a Qi Refinement Stage Cultivator mobilizing Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi, the earth-elemental Spiritual Qi was reduced by at least sixty to seventy percent.

Moreover, the range of that Talisman’s effect that day should have been slightly larger than fifteen zhang.

If that were the case, the grade of that Talisman was probably even higher than this Ren Water Spirit Transformation Talisman.

"Although this Talisman has no direct offensive capabilities, if deployed in advance, it is excellent for ambushing fire-elemental Demon Beasts."

Luo Sheng used this as an opening, hinting at the Talisman’s utility.

Incidentally, he also informed those with intentions in the audience.

The Talisman was a legitimate Talisman; as for how it was used, that was not something their auction house could control.

"The starting bid is fifty Spirit Stones, and each increment must not be less than five Spirit Stones."

"Dong."

With a tap of the jade hammer, bidding began.

Song Yan immediately bid: "Fifty-five."

"Sixty Spirit Stones."

"..."

Song Yan only made the first bid, after which he was no longer eager to bid, but waited quietly.

"Two hundred seventy-five."

"..."

Once the number two hundred seventy-five was announced, most people stopped bidding.

This price was already very high; unless there was a special purpose, most people would no longer consider it.

"Two hundred eighty."

If he didn’t use Mid-Grade Spirit Stones as collateral, the Low-Grade Spirit Stones Song Yan could currently use amounted to three hundred sixty-two.

The price of Qi Replenishing Pills wouldn’t be very high; if auctioned by the bottle, it would be at most forty or fifty Spirit Stones per bottle.

If he could win the Ren Water Spirit Transformation Talisman within three hundred, then with some luck, he could still bid for a bottle of Qi Replenishing Pills.

"Two hundred ninety."

The person ultimately bidding against him was a Young Master with sword-like eyebrows and starry eyes, full of heroic spirit.

He was sitting not far from Song Yan.

Seeing Song Yan look at him, he actually grinned, nodded at him, indicating friendliness.

"..."

"Three hundred Spirit Stones."

Song Yan was determined to win.

The Young Master looked slightly regretful, seemingly not having much financial leeway, so he ultimately gave up bidding.

With no one else bidding, the hammer fell.

"Good! Congratulations to this Fellow Daoist for winning the precious Talisman; you may proceed to the back for settlement at any time."

There was still some time until the Qi Replenishing Pills, so Song Yan decided to get the Talisman first before returning to the auction house.

The auction mechanism here was very mature, and the transaction went very smoothly.

With the precious Talisman in hand, faint blue ripples subtly appeared on its surface.

Song Yan put it into his qiankun bag and returned to his seat in the auction hall.

The subsequent auction proceeded smoothly, but unfortunately, the Qi Replenishing Pills were auctioned in three sets of three bottles each, and Song Yan ultimately won one set for a price of one hundred twenty-five Spirit Stones.

The transaction was settled using one Mid-Grade Spirit Stone as collateral.

In just one day, money flowed like water.

At this moment, his qiankun bag contained only five Mid-Grade Spirit Stones and sixty-two Low-Grade Spirit Stones.

"These Spirit Stones are too easily spent."

After the Foundation Establishment Immortal Cave trip, he thought he was rich.

Seemingly wealthy, but becoming poor was actually an instant matter.

The auction proceeded very smoothly, and there were no disturbances as Song Yan had imagined.

Thinking about it, this auction house was backed by the Cave Abyss Sect.

Whatever undercurrents surged beneath the surface had nothing to do with Song Yan.

He only needed to securely obtain what he wanted, and that was enough.

Having obtained what he desired, Song Yan quietly waited for the auction to end.

Then, he slowly left the venue with the crowd.

He noticed that two Loose Cultivator-like individuals were subtly following a Cultivator from a distance.

That Cultivator was wearing a uniform, which looked very familiar; he should be a Cultivator from a nearby small Sect.

Song Yan came to his senses, and the few people were already gone.

"..."

He couldn’t help but sigh in his heart; someone was probably going to die.

He didn’t know if it was the one being followed or the two Loose Cultivators.

The Cave Abyss Sect’s reputation was immense, protecting their Disciples too well.

These dark aspects of the Cultivation World were only now gradually beginning to truly appear before Song Yan’s eyes.

But he didn’t feel there was anything wrong with it.

Dead people don’t pursue right or wrong... On this day.

Dan Zifeng walked towards the Mission Hall.

His Cultivation of the entire Fiery Blessing Technique had encountered a small Bottleneck; he had seen indigo fire flowers at the auction house before, but failed to acquire them.

Recalling that sunny and cheerful smile on Demon Subduing Peak, Dan Zifeng wished he could flay him alive.

Unfortunately, he only had schemes and methods, but lacked the strength.

Today was the deadline for him to accept a mission, after three months.

Inner Sect Disciples could be exempt from miscellaneous duties.

However, they still needed to complete a mission from the Mission Hall within a certain period.

"Hmm..."

Summaries of various missions appeared on the jade wall in the main hall.

Dan Zifeng wanted to find the simplest mission to complete, to save time.

Currently, the ordinary spirit material resources he desired could all be obtained through some less-than-proper means.

Saving time spent outdoors was what mattered.

Some missions were quite time-consuming.

For example, collecting Demon Beast Materials.

If one hadn’t collected similar items beforehand, they would need to search the entire world for traces of Demon Beasts to complete the mission.

However, among the resources he had embezzled and swallowed, there happened to be many miscellaneous Materials.

If these "junk" could be used to complete missions, then he would naturally be delighted.

But, the probability of this situation was too low; it clearly required some luck.

To save time, escorting items was also a relatively common time-saving and labor-saving mission.

"Oh?"

A mission summary suddenly appeared on the jade wall.

"Escort Spiritual Artifact, Southern Cliff Mountain Foot."

"Requires a Late Stage Qi Refinement Cultivator to accept."

"The mission reward is..."

"Fire Forging Pill!"

Dan Zifeng was startled.

A set of Fire Forging Pills was not cheap.

He had made a good profit by embezzling and selling Spirit Stones.

But these Fire Forging Pills were not something one could take daily for Cultivation.

They were considered one of the more excellent types of fire-elemental Cultivation Spirit Materials.

But... Dan Zifeng frowned.

"How can it be such a coincidence..."

It just so happened that he came to the Mission Hall today.

It just so happened that there was such a simple escort mission.

It just so happened that the reward was the Cultivation Medicinal Pill he needed.

"..."

Dan Zifeng’s expression remained unchanged, his Divine Sense seemingly inadvertently sweeping over his surroundings.

He shouldn’t have offended any Inner Sect Disciples.

As for the Outer Sect... most of the Outer Sect Disciples in the hall at this moment were strangers, and their cultivation was only at the fourth or fifth layer of Qi Refining.

"..."

After a moment of thought, he still stepped forward and accepted the mission.

The mission publisher was an Outer Sect Cultivator named "Tong Chuping."

The information he left was very comprehensive and detailed.

"The price of Fire Forging Pills is not cheap; using them as a reward means the treasure being escorted on this trip shouldn’t be some scrap metal."

"An Outer Sect Cultivator, yet his Family fortune is quite substantial."

Even Dan Zifeng himself didn’t realize it.

Driven by evil thoughts, his focus slowly shifted from whether the mission was problematic to another direction.

Among Outer Sect Disciples, there were indeed many who were rich in Spirit Materials.

However, such Cultivators usually had Cultivator relatives.

It was only through generations of accumulation that they would have such wealth.

Dan Zifeng stroked his chin, pondering the possibility of extracting resources from this Outer Sect Cultivator.

When accepting a mission, the client did not need to appear.

For missions like escorting treasures, the items to be escorted could also be pre-deposited in the Mission Hall.

But when the mission was completed, if the publisher was a Sect Cultivator, the mission reward still needed to be handed over in person.

Having accepted the mission, Dan Zifeng left the Mission Hall.

"..."

In the Mission Hall, everything was as usual.

About half a day passed.

Song Yan, wearing a human skin mask, slowly emerged from the crowd and headed out of the Sect.

With the Hidden Sword Gathering Spirit Stance activated, his aura was currently only at the fourth layer of Qi Refining.

When to complete the mission was Dan Zifeng’s own decision, and this time wouldn’t be too long.

Song Yan still had many things to do.

The fastest route from the Sect to the vicinity of Southern Cliff Mountain and back was this one, passing through several important towns.

According to his previous plan, he arrived near a small town in advance.

This important town, like Linxi County, prohibited Cultivators from flying nearby.

However, to prevent accidents, he still prepared a forbidden-flight Talisman array.

Even if Dan Zifeng, due to some matter, didn’t choose to go to Southern Cliff from here, he would still pass through this place when returning to the Sect.

"Hoo—"

All preparations were made.

Song Yan hid in the forest bushes, he took a deep breath, and the Hidden Sword Gathering Spirit Stance slowly circulated.

He lowered his Spiritual Qi fluctuations to the minimum.

Aside from faint breathing, he looked like a lifelike sculpture.

Spiritual Qi, Sword Qi, and even his Qi mechanism.

All were converged to the extreme.

In this Cultivation World, there were simply too many unknown methods and Divine Abilities.

No matter what, it was impossible to be perfectly prepared.

He only sought to do his best, leaving the rest to fate.

"Next, it’s a waiting game."

...One day.

Two days.

Song Yan sat here motionless, still.

Fortunately, this place was secluded.

No one approached for several days, only a Cultivator at the third layer of Qi Refining had passed by.

His attire was not like that of a Sect, he should be a Disciple of some small Family.

Until the third day.

He finally waited for that person.

Dan Zifeng’s Spiritual Qi subtly moved around him, as he was urging his Spiritual Qi to speed up his journey.

He should have already delivered the Spiritual Artifact to the lakeside hut at the foot of Southern Cliff Mountain, as described in the mission. 𝘧𝓇ℯ𝑒𝓌𝑒𝑏𝓃𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭.𝒸ℴ𝓂

Closer.

Very close... He was about to step into his ambush trap.

Dan Zifeng, however, suddenly stopped.

Motionless.