Fang Hao sat in seat 78 of the Bing section, as still as an old monk in meditation, his aura retracted until it was almost indistinguishable from the surrounding environment.

However, his mind was like the most precise radar, constantly monitoring the situation in the entire auction house, especially those few powerful Divine Senses that swept over obscurely with probing intent.

"The Bing section... mostly consists of Early Golden Core Stage Cultivators, with net worths above 500,000 Spirit Stones, but they aren’t particularly prominent; it’s one of the areas heavily screened by those major factions."

Fang Hao understood clearly in his heart.

The cold Divine Sense filled with killing intent just now was in all likelihood that Mo Yunhe.

The other party clearly hadn’t given up, attempting to find him, this "audacious" Golden Core Cultivator, in this chaotic place of the auction.

"Unfortunately, you are looking for that ’Early Golden Core Stage Loose Cultivator’, not me, this ’middle-aged Early Golden Core Stage Loose Cultivator’."

Fang Hao sneered inwardly.

With his current Physical Body control and the perfect retraction of his aura by the Chaos Derivation Art, as long as he didn’t actively expose himself, it was almost impossible for Cultivators of the same rank to see through his disguise; even a Nascent Soul Cultivator would find it hard to distinguish truth from falsehood without close-range, careful inspection.

Moreover, with so many Cultivators here and mixed auras, the other party trying to lock onto him was no different from looking for a needle in a haystack.

The wait did not last long.

After about the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, following the sound of melodious bells and chimes, the originally noisy auction house gradually quieted down.

Everyone’s gaze turned to the circular auction platform in the center.

An old man dressed in moon-white robes, with crane-like hair, a youthful face, and a vigorous spirit, slowly walked onto the high platform.

The old man’s aura was as deep as the sea; he was surprisingly an Early Nascent Soul Stage Cultivator!

He wore a warm smile, his gaze sweeping gently across the entire venue, yet it carried an invisible pressure that made the hall, which had still been whispering, fall completely silent.

"Fellow Daoists, this old man is Mo Yunxuan, and I will be the host for this auction."

The old man’s voice was not loud, but it clearly entered everyone’s ears present, "Welcome to Tiangong City to participate in this once-in-a-decade auction grand event."

"I believe everyone knows the rules: the highest bidder wins; Spirit Stones or bartering are both acceptable, but they must be appraised by our pavilion’s appraisers first."

"If anyone intentionally disrupts order, do not blame this pavilion for being ruthless."

Mo Yunxuan?

Fang Hao’s heart stirred slightly; this surname... could it be related to that Mo Yunhe?

He carefully observed the old man on the stage, discovering that between his brows, he did indeed bear some resemblance to the grey-robed old man (Mo Yunhe) he had seen at "Mo Pavilion" before, only his temperament was more rounded, lacking some of the sinister nature.

It seems that the Mo family of the Tiangong Alliance has significant influence in Tiangong City, to the point where even such a large-scale auction is hosted by their clansman.

"Without further ado, the auction begins now!"

Mo Yunxuan did not waste any more words and went straight to the point, "The first item up for auction is a Third-Grade High Grade defensive Magical Artifact, the ’Mystic Turtle Shield’..."

The auction officially began, and treasures were presented on the high platform one by one—Medicinal Pill, Magical Artifacts, Talismans, Materials, Cultivation Technique Jade Slips... ranging from Third-Grade to Fourth-Grade, enticing the Cultivators below to compete, and the atmosphere gradually became heated.

Fang Hao sat steadily, unmoved; although these items were good, they were not what he urgently needed.

He occasionally bid once or twice, winning a few auxiliary Materials that were not particularly rare but might be used in the future, which neither seemed abrupt nor contradicted his persona as an "ordinary Loose Cultivator with some wealth."

Time passed bit by bit, and items were auctioned off one by one.

Fang Hao waited patiently throughout; he knew that treasures like the "ten thousand year ironwood heart" usually would not appear too early.

Sure enough, as the auction progressed to the Middle Stage, after a few precious Fourth-Grade Low Grade Materials and a damaged ancient treasure were sold, Mo Yunxuan cleared his throat, and his voice rose a few notches: "This next item, for an Artifact Refiner, especially a Fellow Daoist who is skilled in refining wood-attribute Magic Treasure or Puppet, is a rare treasure."

Two graceful maidservants at the Foundation Establishment Stage, together, carefully carried a jade box about a foot long onto the high platform.

The moment the jade box opened, a rich, inseparable, and vibrant herbal fragrance instantly permeated the entire auction hall.

At the same time, a dense, heavy, yet ancient wood-attribute Spiritual Qi fluctuation spread out.

Inside the jade box lay a piece of strange wood heart about the thickness of an arm and a foot long, deep brown in color, with a texture as delicate as gold and jade, and what seemed like annual ring halos flowing inside.

On the surface of the wood heart, there were naturally occurring mysterious silver patterns, emitting a faint spiritual light.

"ten thousand year ironwood heart!"

Low exclamations and discussions immediately sounded from below.

Many Cultivators, especially those with steady auras who were clearly Artifact Refiners or wood-attribute Cultivators, had blazing gazes.

Fang Hao’s heart also lifted at this moment.

His gaze was tightly locked on the deep brown wood heart in the jade box.

That’s right, it was exactly "ten thousand year ironwood heart"!

And judging by its size, color, and Spiritual Qi fluctuation, its quality was superb, far better than the descriptions he had seen in books before!

The key material needed to repair the golden puppet had finally appeared!

"A piece of ten thousand year ironwood heart, taken from a ’Gold-Veined Ironwood’ that grew in the depths of the wilderness and mutated by absorbing Geng Metal earth Qi, formed after ten thousand years of gestation."

"This item contains extremely pure Wood essence and Geng Metal sharpness, is extremely sturdy, has excellent toughness, and is an excellent material for refining wood and metal dual-attribute Magic Treasure, repairing High Grade wood-attribute or metal-attribute Puppets or Magical Artifacts, and can also be used in medicine to refine certain special Medicinal Pill."

"The starting price is 100,000 Mid-Grade Spirit Stone, with each increment no less than 5,000 Mid-Grade Spirit Stone!"

Mo Yunxuan announced loudly.

100,000 Mid-Grade Spirit Stone!

Equivalent to 1,000,000 Low-Grade Spirit Stone!

This starting price instantly caused many Cultivators in the hall to gasp, and the heat in their eyes faded quite a bit.

This price was enough to bankrupt many Golden Core Cultivators.

But the real bidding had just begun.

"110,000!"

A voice came from a box on the second floor; it was impossible to tell if it was male or female, clearly using a voice-changing Spell.

"120,000!"

Another voice came from the front row of the hall; it was an old man with a thick aura who was a Late Golden Core Stage Cultivator.

"130,000!"

"145,000!"

The price climbed steadily, and soon broke through the 200,000 Mid-Grade Spirit Stone mark.

The bidders were mainly concentrated in a few boxes on the second floor and a few people in the front row of the hall, all of whom were clearly wealthy Cultivators or had factions backing them.

Fang Hao remained silent, not rushing to bid.

He was waiting, waiting for the right moment.

When the price was raised to 250,000 Mid-Grade Spirit Stone, the speed of bidding slowed down significantly.

This price had already exceeded many people’s psychological expectations.

"255,000."

A slightly aged voice came from a box on the third floor, carrying a hint of determination.

Fang Hao’s eyes flashed; this was it!

He raised the number plate in his hand and, with a hoarsened voice deliberately changed, calmly stated the price: "280,000."

A one-time increase of 25,000 Mid-Grade Spirit Stone!

This bid instantly attracted many gazes.

Even Mo Yunxuan on the stage took an extra look at the Bing section where Fang Hao was located.

The old man in the third-floor box was silent for a moment, seemingly a bit surprised, and then spoke again: "285,000."

"300,000."

Fang Hao did not hesitate, increasing the bid again, his tone still calm, as if he hadn’t just reported 300,000 Mid-Grade Spirit Stone, but 30 Low-Grade Spirit Stone.

Once this price was announced, the entire auction house fell silent for an instant.

300,000 Mid-Grade Spirit Stone to buy a piece of "ten thousand year ironwood heart," although worth the price, was indeed quite expensive.

Many Cultivators who were originally watching shook their heads and gave up on competing.

...

[I’m thinking of doing a massive 150-200chs mass release on Sunday. Do you want me to do it? Do give your opinions in the comment]