Inside the independent small courtyard, Spiritual Qi surged and billowed, forming a visible vortex that frantically poured into Fang Hao’s body. He sat cross-legged with a solemn expression, his aura fluctuating unsteadily; he was at the critical moment of impacting his Bottleneck.

Within his Dantian, the seven-element spiritual power had reached a delicate state of saturation under the harmonization of the Myriad Manifestations Heavenly Scripture. However, the barrier from the Foundation Establishment Middle Stage to the Late Stage was like a sturdy dam, firmly locking back the galloping torrent of spiritual power.

"Break!"

Fang Hao shouted inwardly, fully circulating the Chaos Evolution Dao Art to guide that trace of Chaos Qi at the center of his Dantian. Like the sharpest drill bit, it slammed fiercely against that invisible barrier!

Simultaneously, the medicinal power of the Biyuan Pill he had consumed dissolved, turning into a surge of pure and majestic energy that injected into the spiritual power torrent like fresh reinforcements!

Boom!!!

It was as if Nine Heavens thunder had exploded within his body! Under the impact of the Chaos Qi and the internal-external pincer attack of the majestic medicinal power, the sturdy barrier finally became overwhelmed and shattered with a bang!

In an instant, Fang Hao felt his whole body lighten as his Dantian Qi Sea suddenly expanded by nearly double! The originally saturated spiritual power, like a flood breaking a dam, poured into the new world, becoming even more powerful and condensed! His Divine Sense also skyrocketed along with it, his perception range expanded, and his sensitivity to Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi became clearer and more acute!

Late Foundation Establishment Stage, achieved!

A surge of joy rose in Fang Hao’s heart, but he did not relax. He immediately stabilized his mind and guided the galloping spiritual power to circulate steadily through the newly opened Meridians and Qi Sea, consolidating his Realm.

This consolidation lasted for three days and three nights.

When Fang Hao opened his eyes again, the sharp light in his pupils was restrained, and his aura was steady and heavy; he had completely stabilized at the Late Foundation Establishment Stage Realm! His strength had increased by more than several folds compared to before!

"Finally broke through!" Fang Hao let out a long breath. Feeling the surging power within his body, his confidence increased greatly. At the Late Foundation Establishment Stage, he finally had a certain level of self-preservation power in this Qingzhou region.

He had just stood up to stretch his muscles when a knock came from outside the courtyard, followed by the respectful voice of a waiter: "Exalted Immortal Master, sorry to disturb you. Our establishment received a message from the Spirit Treasure Pavilion. They will be hosting a large-scale auction in ten days. This is the list of auction items for your perusal."

Fang Hao opened the courtyard door, took the Jade Slip handed over by the waiter, and rewarded him with a few Spirit Stones. The waiter retreated with a thousand thanks.

Returning to the courtyard, Fang Hao projected his Divine Sense into the Jade Slip. Dozens of auction items were listed, ranging from Medicinal Pills, Magical Artifacts, and Materials to Cultivation Technique Jade Slips. Most were between the Foundation Establishment Stage and Golden Core Stage. There were even several finale items that faintly reached the Nascent Soul Level, causing Fang Hao to click his tongue in secret. The prosperity of the Qingzhou cultivation world indeed far surpassed that of the West Province.

His gaze swept quickly across the list until it suddenly stopped on a line of description:

"Finale Item Number Three: fragment of the heavenly craft puppet manual. Suspected to be an Incomplete Manual of Puppet refinement and repair secret techniques passed down from the ancient Tiangong Sect. It includes various exquisite mechanical structures and energy core repair methods. Starting price: five hundred thousand Low-Grade Spirit Stones."

"fragment of the heavenly craft puppet manual?!" Fang Hao’s heart leaped violently! This... wasn’t this exactly what he desperately needed?!

The golden puppet had been severely damaged in the battle against Blazing Evil and Gloomy Dove. Its chest core area had been scorched by a Nascent Soul Talisman Treasure, causing its energy flow to become sluggish and its power to be greatly reduced. Although he had obtained some Artifact Refining knowledge from the Tiangong Sect ruins, he knew very little about the precise repair of such high-level Puppets, especially the restoration of core Formations. The appearance of this fragment of the heavenly craft puppet manual was truly a timely blessing! 𝐟𝕣𝕖𝐞𝐰𝕖𝚋𝐧𝗼𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝗰𝐨𝐦

"I must obtain it!" A look of determination flashed in Fang Hao’s eyes. If he repaired the golden puppet, he would essentially possess a Nascent Soul Level combat force. In this Qingzhou region, his safety would be greatly enhanced!

But an auction was a battle of financial resources! The starting price for this fragment was five hundred thousand Low-Grade Spirit Stones; the final transaction price would likely be an astronomical figure!

Fang Hao immediately took stock of his net worth. His original savings, combined with the spoils obtained from the ruins and from counter-killing Blazing Evil and Gloomy Dove, amounted to approximately five million Low-Grade Spirit Stones and about two hundred thousand Mid-Grade Spirit Stones (equivalent to two million Low-Grade Spirit Stones). He had a total of about seven million Low-Grade Spirit Stones in liquid assets. This wealth was considered immense for a Foundation Establishment Cultivator, enough to make Golden Core Cultivators envious. But facing an auction of this level, especially with the possible competition from Golden Core or even Nascent Soul Cultivators, it seemed a bit insufficient.

"I still need more Spirit Stones!" Fang Hao frowned slightly. With ten days until the auction, he had to find a way to raise more funds.

His gaze swept over the mountain of various Materials piled in his storage ring, and he came up with a plan. He would use these ten days to refine a batch of in-demand Medicinal Pills, Talismans, and Formation Plates for sale! Moreover, he could utilize the time-dilation function of the qiankun ring!

No sooner said than done! Fang Hao immediately activated all the protective Formations of the small courtyard and sank his mind into the qiankun ring above his Dantian.

Inside the space of the qiankun ring, the flow of time was slow; one day outside was nearly ten days inside!

Fang Hao immersed his mind and began to refine frantically. He primarily cultivated the Myriad Manifestations Heavenly Scripture and possessed all seven elements of spiritual power, giving him a natural advantage in refining Medicinal Pills and Talismans of various attributes. Coupled with the many ancient techniques and Pill Formulas he had obtained from the Tiangong Sect, the quality of the finished products he refined was extremely high.

In the Alchemy room, the chaos pill furnace floated (though he didn’t use it directly for Alchemy, the Chaos Dao charm it emitted could subtly improve the quality of the pills). Fang Hao’s techniques were skillful as he threw in Spiritual Plants one by one, controlling the fire, condensing the liquid, dividing the pills, and collecting them... everything flowed like water. Batch after batch of commonly used Foundation Establishment Stage pills like "ningyuan pills," "rejuvenation pills," and "Bursting Spirit Pills" were freshly produced, surrounded by pill clouds, all of High Grade or even Peak Grade.

At the Talisman-making table, Fang Hao mixed Spirit Beast blood with cinnabar and moved his brush like a dancing dragon on special Talisman paper, carving common combat Talismans such as "Fire Snake Talismans," "Ice Arrow Talismans," "vajra talismans," and "divine movement talismans." His success rate was extremely high.

The refining of Formation Plates was the most complex, but Fang Hao’s Formation attainment was profound. Refining some simple "Spirit Gathering Formation Plates," "Warning Formation Plates," and "Mist Formation Plates" was not slow either.

Ten days outside, under the time dilation of the qiankun ring, was equivalent to over three months for Fang Hao!

During these three-plus months, he worked without sleep or rest, throwing himself heart and soul into refining. He consumed a large amount of Materials, but the results were also extremely fruitful!

When he withdrew his mind from the qiankun ring in exhaustion, the space before him was already piled high with jade bottles, Talismans, and Formation Plates. By rough estimate, there were two hundred bottles of High Grade ningyuan pills, five thousand various Talismans, and over three hundred different Formation Plates! These items were hard currency in the Foundation Establishment Cultivator market, and with such high quality, there was absolutely no worry about selling them.

Fang Hao adjusted his breathing for a moment. After recovering his spirit, he changed his appearance and aura, heading to the largest shops in Black Rock City in batches to sell these items. He was cautious, selling only a portion each time to avoid attracting too much attention.

As expected, the Medicinal Pills, Talismans, and Formation Plates he refined were extremely popular due to their outstanding quality, often being snapped up as soon as they were put on the shelves. The prices were also twenty to thirty percent higher than the average market price.

In just a few days, Fang Hao sold all the refined items, exchanging them for a massive amount of Spirit Stones! After deducting costs, he made a net profit of over three million Low-Grade Spirit Stones!

Adding this to his original seven million, Fang Hao’s net worth had now reached a staggering ten million Low-Grade Spirit Stones, plus two hundred thousand Mid-Grade Spirit Stones (equivalent to two million Low-Grade Spirit Stones)! His total assets were as high as twelve million Low-Grade Spirit Stones! This was definitely a huge fortune that would make even a Late Golden Core Stage Cultivator green with envy!

"It should be enough!" Looking at the mountain of Spirit Stones in his storage ring, Fang Hao’s confidence grew significantly. Although he couldn’t say he could crush all competitors, the hope of bidding for that fragment of the heavenly craft puppet manual had increased greatly!

Ten days passed in the blink of an eye.

On this day, the area in front of the Spirit Treasure Pavilion in the center of Black Rock City was a sea of people and a stream of carriages. Countless Cultivators had come from all directions to attend this once-in-a-decade grand auction event. Among them were many Golden Core Cultivators with powerful auras, and one or two obscure Nascent Soul auras could even be sensed occasionally!

Fang Hao changed into an ordinary green Daoist robe and slightly altered his appearance. His aura still showed as Late Foundation Establishment Stage. Mingling with the crowd, he paid the deposit and stepped into the magnificently decorated auction hall of the Spirit Treasure Pavilion.

The hall was divided into two floors. The lower floor consisted of ordinary seats, which were already fully occupied. The upper floor contained individual VIP private boxes, with Formations to block prying eyes.

Fang Hao had abundant financial resources and originally wanted to get a private box, but considering the need to act low-key, he ultimately chose an inconspicuous seat toward the back of the lower floor and waited quietly for the auction to begin.

His gaze swept across the hall, sensing countless auras, some strong and some weak, but his heart remained calm and undisturbed. His goal was clear—to obtain the fragment of the heavenly craft puppet manual at any cost.

The auction was about to begin. A contest of financial power was about to play out.