After the first item came the second, which was a second-stage weapon. This one didn’t interest anyone at their table, so they skipped over it.

Although Ming did need weapons, he couldn’t use second-stage weapons just yet. Only those who had refined their inspirations to semi-formed could use them here.

The second item was traded for a second-stage weapon. Since most cultivators present were weapon refiners, it was quite a reasonable requirement.

Following that came the third item and another weapon, which the group also skipped over.

Only the fourth item interested them again - a Foundation Building Elixir!

It was sold for spirit stones, the first time it was possible in this auction, and... the final price was 150,000 spirit stones, cheaper than at the other auction, and the buyer was... Liling!

Being looked at, Liling smiled and explained to Fengyu, "Elixirs are truly the best of alchemy. Even when you have prepared everything else, elixirs are the smoothest way to break through."

Fengyu nodded, understanding. As said, for these inner citizens, the question of whether one could break through had long since become obsolete. Instead, whether one could achieve the highest possible foundation had become the goal.

Glancing over at the host, Fengyu was curious which gamble this senior cultivator had taken, which had led to him not being able to advance further.

But, what can you do? When the skies are high, you can no longer be satisfied with merely reaching the next stage.

Even Fengyu himself... when he thought of Foundation Building, he had long thought about it as a part of his journey, not the end goal.

If it wasn’t for this, why not use all the resources he got right now and break through forcefully?

But in that case, his foundation would be weak, and further cultivation might be impossible. As for feeling safer and no longer having to worry about the Beast Tide? That was a joke.

Heh, even third-stage cultivators were forced to defend against the Beast Tide, and based on the books he read, every Beast Tide would have peaks falling in the east and cultivators sacrificing themselves in the north. Even beasts in the west died.

So, if he didn’t have any way to directly reach the fourth or even fifth stage, then he should just sit down and improve his foundation while trying to survive.

The city could still ensure that 90% of his opponents would be those of his stage - the last 10% were because he firmly believed in the saying, ’Man proposes, Heaven disposes’. He could only hope that among the will to dominate of man, and heaven’s indifference to life, there would be the kindness of Earth.

His thoughts flowed back and forth, only concentrating on the matter when he saw the fifth item -

"This is the Seven Stars Formation, a second-stage formation! Usually, this is a rather common formation that isn’t very powerful. But it has one effect - it gathers ’One-Star’ every year by absorbing the power of starlight. Each star is equivalent to the attack of a second-stage cultivator. After seven years, a total of seven stars are gathered. When seven stars attack together, they are equal to the attacks of one mid-grade second-stage cultivator!" the host announced, yet the venue was quiet.

Everyone had the same thought - waiting seven years, why would they? If it was another time, they’d be willing to buy this formation. After all, this formation was a classic second-stage formation priced at 3,000 mid-grade spirit stones. Although on the lower end of formations, it was still quite good as a classic formation. But now...

Just as they waited for the host to speak, indeed, he had something to add, "But fellow daoists don’t have to worry. The formation master used a special technique to allow the formation to gather the star power for seven years and preserve it!

Now, this formation is fully charged and can be used right away after deployment! The formation plate doesn’t need a master to be deployed, at most it will take a month to fully activate.

The starting price is 100,000 spirit stones, and each bid has to be at least 10,000 spirit stones!" The cultivator had barely finished talking when the first bids already arrived -

110,000

120,000

150,000!

A look of shock appeared on Fengyu’s face when he heard about this formation. This formation was exactly the kind he needed! His own formation had defensive means, and he had other means on his body - the people renting fields would also have means. So, their defense was strong. But that was only under the impression that the enemy would leave after a few attacks.

After all, defense can only hold out for so long.

In the end, battle has two results - fight or flight.

Maybe a Defense Master could become a turtle that could survive even when attacked all day, but for other cultivators, they had to choose between the two.

Fengyu would have fled directly if that was a solution, so what was left was to fight.

An attacking formation, combined with all other defensive means - this would be the hidden weapon to truly survive this ordeal!

"300,000 spirit stones!" he called out, stunning the people around him who had raised the price to 200,000 spirit stones.

Although everyone knew the price would be higher, they were still carefully evaluating their enemies, unwilling to raise the price drastically.

"310,000 spirit stones." A cultivator called out.

"350,000 spirit stones!" Fengyu followed right after. His eyes gleamed with dangerous light. Only by taking this aggressive approach could he make people retreat.

"360,000." A calm voice came from the side.

"400,000 spirit stones." Fengyu continued, not retreating at all. But, when the price was 30% higher than the normal formation’s price, people already started retreating.

It is true that the formation was fully charged, but each of these people had many preparations. Especially since they were weapon refiners, having protective and attacking weapons was normal. A formation would be additional assistance, not an essential means.

Fengyu knew this too, but he couldn’t say much. Compared to them, he had started a lot lower and only shined lately. While his drastic increase in income might seem great, in fact, it also showed how poorly he had lived prior. Now, he could only aggressively raise the price to get this means.

"430,000 spirit stones!" The calm voice called out again...