Tong Tianyun clapped his hands. Immediately, female Aura Refining cultivators carried several trays covered with red cloths.
Since Mo Tiange didn't use her divine sense, she didn't know what was under the red cloths. Presumably, other people were the same, so they all stared at the red cloths silently.
After the female Aura Refining cultivators put down the trays and left, Tong Tianyun said, "Ladies and gentlemen, let's cut to the chase.
These treasures are from the collection of the largest shop in Kunzhong City, Ten Thousand Treasures House. Please take a look and see if you're interested. "
Unlike ordinary auctions, where the items were presented one by one, Tong Tianyun directly lifted all the red cloths, exposing the items on the three trays to everyone.
There was a small golden ring, a flame-colored jade, and a jade box. Tong Tianyun opened the jade box and saw a several-thousand-year-old Snow Gall Grass inside.
"This is the Vajra Ring. Ladies and gentlemen, don't underestimate it. The collection of Ten Thousand Treasures House is naturally extraordinary. This ring is a high-grade magic weapon and can be big or small. If you use it freely, it can even split mountains and rocks."
Mo Tiange only took a glance at it before looking away.
This magic weapon wasn't bad, but it was a bit worse than the three magic weapons Lord Daoist Jinghe gave her.
Most of the Core Formation cultivators present weren't interested, but the Foundation Building cultivators' eyes lit up.
"This is Fire Patterned Jade. Fellow Daoists who know its value don't need me to introduce it."
Mo Tiange had seen it in ancient records. When refining a fire-attribute magic weapon, it would increase its power by a lot.
She remembered that Qin Xi cultivated a fire-attribute cultivation technique, so she turned to look at him. However, she saw that he looked bored and didn't even look at the three items.
After thinking for a while, she understood. No matter how good this Fire Patterned Jade was, it would be useless after he advanced to the Nascent Soul realm.
"This Snow Gall Grass is already 3,000 years old. Everyone is knowledgeable and knows its price, so I won't say much."
This was what Mo Tiange was least interested in.
Three-thousand-year-old spiritual plants were everywhere in the Virtual Sky World.
Once Tong Tianyun finished looking, his eyes swept over everyone present, immediately distinguishing who was interested and who wasn't. He smiled and said, "Our trade fair doesn't allow open bidding. Even if it's your first time here, you should know the rules. In the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, everyone should think carefully about what price to offer.
Remember, if you're making a bid, you're not allowed to communicate with each other. If you communicate with each other, only one person is allowed to make a bid!
Begin now! "
With a wave of Tong Tianyun's hand, several other Aura Refining female cultivators carried jade tablets and distributed them to everyone. Each person received three tablets, each of which was marked with three kinds of items.
Mo Tiange was puzzled, but she soon heard Qin Xi's voice. "The rule of this trade fair is bidding. Everyone has to put their bid on the jade tablet, and the highest bidder wins."
This was something new. In this way, there would be many more variables, and there would be less malicious bidding. There wouldn't be a situation where the price would be driven up. Presumably, ordinary cultivators would support this. After all, if the price was driven up, it would be the competitor's loss.
Mo Tiange raised her head and swept her gaze over the twenty or so cultivators at the round table. Some were scratching their ears and cheeks, some were immersed in contemplation, and some didn't seem to care.
Mo Tiange noticed that there was a person on the opposite side who was like them. He didn't even look at the items on the table. The jade tablet given to him was also placed on the table, untouched. His head was lowered as if he was resting with his eyes closed.
Although he seemed to be resting, he was also one of the people wearing black clothes and a bamboo hat, so she couldn't see his expression.
Aside from Qin Xi, this person had the highest cultivation level among the people present. He was already in the late stage of the Core Formation realm. Judging from his indistinct spirit, his fighting ability wasn't weak either.
She turned to glance at Qin Xi, but she saw that he was also looking at this person.
Mo Tiange sent him a secret voice transmission: "Senior Martial Brother Shoujing, is there something wrong with this person?"
Qin Xi shook his head lightly. "He's just a bit strange."
She was about to ask what was strange about it, but the time it takes for an incense stick to burn was up. Tong Tianyun said loudly, "Everyone, stop bidding."
Upon hearing his words, everyone quieted down. Some people showed a determined expression and quickly wrote their bids.
Afterward, the Aura Refining female cultivators stepped forward, collected the jade tablets, and gave them all to Tong Tianyun.
As Tong Tianyun sorted the jade tablets one by one, most of the people present stared at his movements.
After a while, Tong Tianyun smiled and said, "This Vajra Ring was won by Fellow Daoist Number Five with 8,000 spirit stones, the Fire Patterned Jade was won by Fellow Daoist Number Eighteen with 5,000 spirit stones, and the 3,000-year-old Snow Gall Grass was won by Fellow Daoist Number Eleven with 15,000 spirit stones."
Mo Tiange was startled by this price.
Although she rarely went to market squares, she also knew the prices. This Vajra Ring was a magic weapon after all, so 8,000 spirit stones was indeed a bit cheap.
As for the Fire Patterned Jade, she didn't know much about it. Presumably, it wasn't a very rare material, so 5,000 spirit stones should be enough.
A 3,000-year-old Snow Gall Grass for 15,000 spirit stones was a bit too expensive. After all, Kunwu was right next to a forest. As long as one had the courage to adventure in the south, spiritual plants weren't too rare. Besides, this Snow Gall Grass was an ordinary spiritual plant; it was just a bit older.
As if he could see her confusion, he said softly, "After the demonic beast riot, the various cultivation groups in Kunwu haven't recovered their strength yet, so the price of spiritual plants has risen a lot.
Moreover, bidding has always been like this. It's possible to buy an item at an extremely low price, but it's also possible to buy it at a much higher price than the market price. "
Mo Tiange didn't say anything else.
From her point of view, these three items from the so-called House of Ten Thousand Treasures weren't anything special. If they were placed among Foundation Building cultivators, they would naturally be fought over, but if they were placed among Core Formation cultivators, they were only ordinary goods. Many people weren't even in the mood to bid.
It seemed the main point of this trade fair was still the word 'transaction'. This auction and bidding were just a warm-up.
However, there was always a gaze directed at her from the front, making her feel very uneasy. She raised her head, but she couldn't find the source of the gaze.
After the bidding ended, Tong Tianyun told the maids to collect the spirit stones from the successful bidders and trade the goods.
Afterward, he also sat down and said with a smile, "Alright, the bidding is over. Our trade fair should also officially start.
Fellow Daoists, let's start with me, what do you think? "
Although it was a question, it was only a formality. Once Tong Tianyun finished speaking, he took out a cloth bag from his robe and poured out a pile of brightly colored stones.
Upon seeing these things, the eyes of the disinterested Core Formation cultivators lit up. As for the Foundation Building cultivators, their expressions were blank. Obviously, they didn't know what these things were.
Mo Tiange was ashamed to discover that she also didn't know what they were.
It hadn't been long since she became a Core Formation cultivator, so most of the things she knew came from ancient records. If she hadn't read them, she naturally wouldn't know what they were.
Qin Xi said in a low voice, "These are Crystal Soul Jades. I really don't know where Old Tong got so many of them."
Seeing the interest in his eyes, Mo Tiange couldn't help but ask curiously, "Senior Martial Brother Shoujing, what's the use of these things?"
Qin Xi said, "Crystal Soul Jades are very rare. They're usually used on magic weapons because they can automatically gather spiritual aura. If a magic weapon is embedded with Crystal Soul Jades, it'll automatically absorb spiritual aura. Therefore, magic weapons embedded with Crystal Soul Jades will be more powerful than ordinary magic weapons."
Mo Tiange pondered for a moment then said, "This … seems to be a characteristic of Crystal Jade from the Distant Past era …"
"Correct. The so-called Crystal Soul Jades are actually flawed Crystal Jades. In the Distant Past era, Crystal Jades were everywhere in the world. Substandard ones were called Crystal Stones, while flawed ones were called Crystal Soul Jades.
Nowadays, Crystal Jades have long disappeared from the world, and Crystal Soul Jades are also extremely difficult to find. "
Mo Tiange's heart skipped a beat. Crystal Stone?
Could it be the Crystal Stone she read about in the ancient records of the Virtual Sky World — the Crystal Stone used by mechanical puppets?
It's actually a substandard Crystal Jade?
If that's the case, it's no wonder that the Art of Engineering was lost. Crystal Jades can't be found nowadays, and the same goes for Crystal Soul Jades. It's just that I don't know whether these Crystal Soul Jades are useful or not.
Tong Tianyun took out the Crystal Soul Jades and didn't say anything else. Among the Core Formation cultivators, someone finally couldn't help but ask, "Fellow Daoist Tong, what do you want to exchange these Crystal Soul Jades for?"
Tong Tianyun was all smiles. The skin on his face twitched, making him look like a skeleton. "Fellow Daoist, please don't be impatient. I want to exchange them for some spiritual plants, but they have to be ten-thousand-year-old or older."
Once he said that, the expressions of all the Core Formation cultivators present who weren't wearing bamboo hats changed. One of the men immediately stood up and shouted, "Ten-thousand-year-old spiritual plants?
Old Tong, why don't you go die?
Can you still find five-thousand-year-old spiritual plants nowadays?
Ten-thousand-year-old spiritual plants?! "
It wasn't strange that this cultivator had such an attitude. Three-thousand-year-old spiritual plants were already hard to find, let alone ten-thousand-year-old ones.
In this world, five-thousand-year-old spiritual plants were most likely extinct!
Tong Tianyun was still all smiles, revealing his sinister teeth. He smiled at that man and said, "It's a trade fair, after all. It's fine as long as both parties are willing. Fellow Daoist can't take them out, but that doesn't mean others can't, right?"
That man couldn't refute him, so he could only let out a heavy "hmph" and sat back down.
Someone else said, "Fellow Daoist Tong, isn't your request a bit too much?
What's the value of ten-thousand-year-old spiritual plants?
Do we Core Formation cultivators even have a chance?
I'm afraid Nascent Soul cultivators would've snatched them long ago. "
Tong Tianyun was still smiling. "Fellow Daoist, these Crystal Soul Jades of mine are also hard to find in this world. They're not much easier to find than ten-thousand-year-old spiritual plants."
Thus, another person fell silent.
"Fellow Daoist Tong," Qin Xi said faintly, "I don't have ten-thousand-year-old spiritual plants you want, but I can give you a hundred thousand spirit stones and a five-thousand-year-old spiritual plant in exchange."
Once he said that, not only Mo Tiange, but everyone else also looked at him.
A hundred thousand spirit stones wasn't a small amount, even for Nascent Soul cultivators. Moreover, someone just said they couldn't find five-thousand-year-old spiritual plants nowadays, so he took out a five-thousand-year-old spiritual plant.
However, he didn't cover his face and was wearing Xuanqing School's Daoist robe, showing his superior cultivation level, so no one dared to doubt him. Even Tong Tianyun didn't say anything for a while.
A chuckle suddenly rang out. It was the Core Formation cultivator with the highest cultivation level aside from Qin Xi that Mo Tiange had noticed.
He said in a hoarse voice, "Xuanqing School is really rich and overbearing. They can actually afford a hundred thousand spirit stones and a five-thousand-year-old spiritual plant."
Qin Xi's expression didn't change. He was still calm and composed. "If you can afford a better condition, please don't hesitate to offer it."
That person admitted frankly, "I really can't afford your price. However, whether I can get Crystal Soul Jades or not depends on whether Fellow Daoist Tong agrees or not."
Everyone's gaze shifted to Tong Tianyun.
Tong Tianyun once again grinned at Qin Xi, revealing his ghastly teeth. "Fellow Daoist Shoujing, I'm really sorry. I only want a ten-thousand-year-old spiritual plant. I don't want anything else."
"…" Qin Xi's expression changed. He said helplessly, "Since that's the case, I have no other choice."
Tong Tianyun sighed and asked again, "Is there any fellow Daoist who can use ten-thousand-year-old spiritual plants to exchange?"
Mo Tiange tilted her head to look at him then sent him a voice transmission. "Senior Martial Brother Shoujing, is this Crystal Soul Jade really so valuable?"
Qin Xi answered in a low voice, "It's so much, so it should be worth it. However, ten-thousand-year-old spiritual plants are too rare. I'm afraid only a few old monsters in this world can take them out."
Mo Tiange pondered for a while. When Tong Tianyun was about to give up, she suddenly said, "Fellow Daoist Tong, I do have a ten-thousand-year-old spiritual plant, but …"