Nine Evolutions of the True Spirit
Chapter 47: Intense

The unexpected appearance of a Blood Condensing Pellet had turned the atmosphere in the auction house strange and eerily quiet. However, everyone could clearly feel the energy brewing among the potential bidders.

At the same time, they couldn’t help but wonder—this was just one of the final items to be auctioned in advance, but what could be considered more precious than a Blood Condensing Pellet?

Perhaps this wasn’t the only Blood Condensing Pellet being auctioned today?

Regardless, Lu Ping was determined to acquire this particular Blood Condensing Pellet.

While the cultivators from the big clans were already informed that such an item would appear today, Lu Ping only heard from Shi Lingling that there “might” be a Blood Condensing Pellet in the auction.

However, Multi-Treasure Pavilion never announced how many Blood Condensing Pellets would be auctioned off today. Even those cultivators in the know naturally assumed there would only be one pellet, considering its rarity.

“The next item—one Blood Condensing Pellet. I believe this treasure needs no introduction. The opening price starts at 1,200 spirit stones and each increment in bid shall not be less than 50 spirit stones. The bidding starts now!”

“1,300 spirit stones!”

“1,350!”

“1,400, don’t try to fight me!”

The last bidder was clearly an impatient one. He had lost his composure and became incoherent, telling others not to fight for the pellet and to let him have it. But the entire point of an auction was for bidders to fight each other for the items.

Lu Ping didn’t rush to bid as he knew the true bidding war hadn’t started yet.

The Blood Condensing Pellet was evaluated by the market to be worth roughly 1,800 to 2,000 spirit stones each. However, because the demand far exceeded the supply, the Blood Condensing Pellet had always been priceless.

Hence, it was common to see a Blood Condensing Pellet sell for more than 2,000 spirit stones, let alone in an auction house with almost a thousand bidders. Considering the level of demand, the price for this one pellet wouldn’t be anywhere low.

Looking around, none of the rooms had made any movements so far, a clear indication that the real bidding war had yet to begin.

Lu Ping was eager to acquire the Blood Condensing Pellet now due to his cultivation’s impending bottleneck. Yao Yong had also imparted some general knowledge about the Blood Condensation Realm and gave him a jade slip containing his breakthrough experience. Both pieces of information confirmed that even with Lu Ping's consolidated foundation, he might need more than two Blood Condensing Pellets to break through.

Yao Yong’s clan wasn’t very strong, so it only prepared one Blood Condensing Pellet for him. Yao Yong had earned the other one on his own from the side hall disciple competition. Even so, those two Blood Condensing Pellets were barely enough to support Yao Yong’s breakthrough.

If he had this knowledge, then other cultivators should have also guessed it as well. Most likely, the Multi-Treasure Pavilion wouldn’t auction off just one Blood Condensing Pellet. In this case, the bidding competition wouldn’t be as intensive, which gave him a better chance to acquire the pellet.

Right now, the Blood Condensing Pellet was already priced at 1,800 spirit stones.

Room 4 couldn’t wait anymore and shouted, “2,000 spirit stones!”

Room 4 was clearly tired of the commotion coming from the floor bidders and didn’t hesitate to crush the hopes of the poorer cultivators.

“Hoho, could that be Young Master Bai? Junior Brother greets the young master. If Young Master Bai were to bid alone, where’s the fun in that? I’ll add another 100 spirit stones to the current price!” A sarcastic voice came from Room 8 which was next to Lu Ping.

“Yu Qiulan, your clan already prepared Blood Condensing Pellets for you, why would you need this one? Don’t just mess around for fun!” Young Master Bai retorted from Room 4.

“Ho, I can’t agree with you there. This is an auction, and the highest bidder gets to claim the prize. It's all done justly and fairly. After all, I would never dare to mess with the honorable Young Master Bai. Besides, is the young master lacking a Blood Condensing Pellet?”

“That’s none of your concern. I have my own arrangements for this pellet. 2,200 spirit stones!”

“2,250.” This time, the bid came from Room 2.

“My, look at that. Young Master Bai, you’re not the only one in need!” Yu Qiulan provoked once again.

Hearing the conversation, Lu Ping couldn’t help frowning. He didn’t think he’d witness a dispute between those talented disciples of the clans.

Lu Ping had no wish to be involved, so he decided to hold off a little longer before bidding.

“2,300!” Young Master Bai continued to bid, his voice turning impatient.

“2,400!” Room 10 had also joined in.

Lu Ping recognized the voice to be Shi Lingling’s. Meanwhile, Lu Ping had used a spell to change his voice when bidding, so he wasn’t afraid that others would identify him.

He kept an eye on Room 10 but still refrained from bidding.

“2,450!” This came from a cultivator seated at the floor below, which naturally caught the attention of many. However, the man was placid and focused on the bidding.

The crowd couldn’t help thinking: He’s either from a big clan, or he’s completely fearless.

“2,500.” Room 12 had now joined in the bidding.

“2,550.” So did Room 1.

No one was willing to give up the Blood Condensing Pellet. However, the price was already reaching the upper boundary, so it wasn’t worth raising the bid. The auction had reached a stalemate.

“2,800 spirit stones.” Finally, Lu Ping couldn’t wait anymore and stated his price. Not only that, he had raised the bidding price significantly—he was clearly determined to win!

The crowd was stirred up as they speculated the identity of the one in Room 7. Was he a talent from a big clan, or perhaps a descendent of an Enlightened Master, or even the Grand Ancestor from one of the sects?

So far, all twelve rooms had made their bid for the pellet.

“2,800 spirit stones from Room 7, a new record for today’s auction! If there are no more bids, 2,800 spirit stones, calling once!”

Outside of Room 7, the bidders were quiet.

“Fellow Daoist from Room 7, I’ve never heard your voice before. I wonder which clan you’re from? Perhaps, our clans are good partners.” Young Master Bai asked aloud.

But Lu Ping didn’t answer him.

“2800 spirit stones, calling twice!”

“Ha, maybe he’s from Xuan Ling Sect!” Yu Qiulan said with an ulterior motive. It was easy to tell that he was someone who just wanted to see the world burn.

“I’m from Zhen Ling Sect.” This time, Lu Ping didn’t dare to ignore him and quickly answered. Yu Qiulan was really crafty. If he didn’t answer, the crowd would naturally take his silence as acceptance and assume Lu Ping was a Xuan Ling Sect disciple.

A majority of the bidders in the auction house were Zhen Ling Sect disciples or were related to the sect in one way or the other. And given the hostility between both sects, if he was assumed to be a Xuan Ling Sect disciple, the Zhen Ling Sect disciples in the auction house would definitely come together to bid against him.

So what if you know that I’m a Zhen Ling Sect disciple? There are tens of thousands of Blood Refining Realm disciples in Zhen Ling Sect. I’ll even give you my head if you can pick me out from that many disciples.

“2,850 spirit stones. Senior Martial Brother, can you give me the chance to have this Blood Condensing Pellet? I am Bai Changchun from the Bai Clan, and I promise to repay you greatly for the favor!”

“3,000.

Without even replying, Lu Ping continued to bid. One could tell he was really determined.

“Hmph!” Room 4’s Bai Changchun was left dissatisfied.

Lu Ping didn’t care who he offended. The preparation to break through to the Blood Condensation Realm was more important than anything else.

After calling out three times, Manager Pang announced the Blood Condensing Pellet was sold and congratulated Room 7 for winning the bid.

After paying 30 mid-grade spirit stones to the auction house, Lu Ping finally looked at the medicinal pellet that was delivered to him, overjoyed that he now owned his second Blood Condensing Pellet.

Throughout the auction, the mysterious Room 7 had only bid for two items and was incredibly resolute during both times. It was only natural that Room 7 had now attracted the attention of many bidders.

After the intense battle for the Blood Condensing Pellet, the spirits of the cultivators were aroused.

After that, the auction’s momentum continued to rise with each auctioned treasure. The treasures came in different forms such as mystic instruments, medicinal pellets, secret techniques, array formations, charms, medicinal pellet recipes, and many more. Each and every item was sold at a high price.

Lu Ping was aslo intrigued by several interesting items and would bid whenever he felt like it. However, he didn’t persist too much when bidding and was merely testing his luck to see if he could secure the items at a low price.

A big reason for this was because of a wild notion prodding at his mind. If another Blood Condensing Pellet showed up in the auction later, he would make a bid for it as long as the price didn’t exceed 3,000 spirit stones.

If that did happen, he would be left with about 2,000 spirit stones which might affect his cultivation plan. But he still had some Blood Solidifying Pellets and several other medicinal pellets that could last him for about a year. After that, he’d have to seek other ways to obtain medicinal pellets.

However, everything would be worth it as long as he could break through to the Blood Condensation Realm.