A Thought Through Eternity Chapter 77B - Auction

Chapter 77B - Auction
In this period of time, the topic that was gradually gaining attention in the sect was the auction. Many disciples on the South Bank’s three mountains were hurrying to prepare testing their luck on the auction. Hence, the market at the foot of the mountain was livelier than ever.
“I heard from a clansman of mine in the North Bank that a Yellow Springs’ Fire had actually appeared in the first auction venue that was held on their end! That could be said to be a legendary item. Even if it is a flame, it is still considered as an extraordinary treasure and was bought by a disciple at a very high price.”
“There were a lot of extraordinary treasures in the Hundred Clan Auction this time, the medicine pills were even more shocking. I think this must be due to the upcoming battle of the Heaven’s Chosen from the North and South Bank’s Outer Sect that happens only once every half a sixty year cycle!”
“That should be the reason. The battle of the Heaven’s Chosen from the North and South Bank’s Outer Sect is a grand occasion in our Spirit River Sect. How hateful it is that in all these years, the top ten selected by our South Bank were inferior to the North Bank’s from the very start! I hope the top ten selected from our South Bank this time will be able to avenge our previous disgrace!”
In the following month, the discussions regarding the auction only increased in the sect. Bai Xiaochun had also heard a lot about the matter and even the battle of the Heaven’s Chosen from the North and South Bank’s Outer Sect, but he did not take it to heart.
A month quickly passed. One morning, Bai Xiaochun was meditating when both his eyes suddenly sprung open. His right hand touched his storage pouch and a jade slip that was currently glowing appearing in his hands.
“The auction is about to start.” There was an expectant look in his eyes. He quickly left his courtyard and sprinted down the mountain. He saw the figures of many outer sect disciples along the way and even rainbow streaks whistling by in the sky.
Bai Xiaochun slapped his forehead, remembering that he could also fly. He quickly summoned the Golden Crow Sword with a hand seal, and soon he stepped on the Golden Crow before he turned into a golden light, shooting off into the sky, quickly disappearing into the distance.
Not long after, he reached the market. He stuck out his chest and raised his small head as he walked into the Auction Pavilion.
The auction was extremely big. The main hall had thousands of seats, and even though there were no seats in the large space behind it, it was still packed with a sea of people. As for Bai Xiaochun, he was almost immediately escorted by the awaiting Sun Cheng. He was lead on another path to the second floor and into a separate room, after which, Sun Cheng took his leave.
The room wasn’t particularly big,and across the empty room was a balcony. Below it was the main hall, making it so that one could easily see the auction stand from here.
This was the first time Bai Xiaochun had encountered a spectacle as lively as this. Unlike the Foundation Establishment cultivators that didn’t show themselves from their own rooms, he leaned on the balcony, exposing half his body, and continuously coughed, afraid that no one would recognise him.
Gradually, people noticed Bai Xiaochun from the crowd below, but after a single glance, strange expressions would appear on their faces before they retracted their gazes.
There were many people here, so even if Bai Xiaochun continued coughing, the sound wouldn’t travel too far. He noticed Hou Xiaomei, Zhou Xinqi and others in the distance, but perhaps because they were too far, they didn’t notice him.
Even though Bai Xiaochun had called for them multiple times, in the end, he gloomily gave up. After all, having half his body leaning out was rather tiring… furthermore, he was worried that if he accidentally fell down… the news would spread among countless people in the South Bank in less than a day.
More and more people were still arriving when, half an hour later, a sharp and clear sound from a cauldron echoed out, causing the surroundings to gradually quietened down as countless gazes focused on the auction platform in this instant.
A middle-aged man, wearing a green Chinese gown, came out with a smile on his face, stopped in the middle and cupped his fist in a greeting to the public.
“This humble one is Qian Song. I am sure many of the fellow daoists know me. The auction this time is going to be hosted by me. The rules are the same as usual, the highest bidder gets the item.” His words were simple, and once he finished speaking, he raised his right hand and waved it. In an instant, a light flashed on the auction stand.
A youthful woman walked out with a tray in her hands, on it was a peculiar stone formed by different metal pieces.
It glimmered in the light, refracting colourful lights everywhere. The eyes of the thousands of people watching brightened, some obviously pleasantly surprised.
Bai Xiaochun too inspected it, but didn’t see anything valuable to it. But by looking at the expressions on the audience’s faces, one could tell that they considered it as a remarkable item.
“The first item being auctioned is a Dazzling Essence Metal. The starting price is three hundred Spirit Stones and every new bid cannot be any less than fifty Spirit Stones!” Qian Song slightly opened his mouth and a burst of his Foundation Establishment cultivation spread his voice to resound in all directions.
“Three hundred and fifty Spirit Stones!” Someone said very quickly.
“Four hundred!” Almost as soon as the first bid was announced, someone outbid it, and not long after, seven hundred Spirit Stones were shouted out before it went to an inner sect disciple from the Purple Cauldron Mountain.
Bai Xiaochun’s eyes widened as he looked at that piece of metal, not understanding why that item would actually be worth seven hundred Spirit Stones. At the same time, he also realised that when the auction started, a formation array had been placed to amplify the voice of the bidders.
“It is just a piece of lousy metal.” Bai Xiaochun was slightly sour as he looked from the sidelines.
The items that were being auctioned were quickly sold one after the other, especially a green-coloured dragon’s horn that seemed to have been struck by lightning, and seemed to have a faint arc of lightning lingering above it. This item had actually been immediately sold at a price of eight thousand Spirit Stones, making even Bai Xiaochun a little jumpy.
After the auction had carried on for almost an hour, Qian Song’s voice echoed out.
“The item that is being auctioned now is a bottle of Grade Two spiritual medicines, Purple Rising Qi Pills. There are ten pills in total and the quality of it is infinitely close to a Middle Tier item. The impurities are about eighty percent of the item. The starting bid is a hundred Spirit Stones, and every new opening bid cannot be any less than ten Spirit Stones.”
Hearing this, Bai Xiaochun immediately perked up. He stretched his head out, watching expectantly, anxious about his profits and wishing that everyone would make an offer.
However, for some unknown reason awkward silence permeated the air. Bai Xiaochun’s thumped loudly as he waited. After a while, someone offered a price.
“One hundred and eleven Spirit Stones.” The person who opened the price was an outer sect disciple. Those seemed to be all of his savings as he nervously looked at his surroundings after he spoke.
However, Bai Xiaochun was even more anxious. The cost of this bottle of Purple Qi Rising Pills was as much as fifty Spirit Stones and could be sold on the market for a hundred and fifty or sixty Spirit Stones.
He had a depressed look on his face and was somewhat stunned.
Fortunately, just as Qian Song was about to close the bid, finally, another person placed a bid, and in the end, the seldom bids pushed the ending price to a hundred and eighty Spirit Stones.
“One hundred and eighty spirit stones is not too bad. It is twenty spirit stones more compared to the market.” Only then did Bai Xiaochun heave a sigh of relief, wiping the sweat off his forehead as he comforted himself. In reality, this price was already quite a lot, but compared to the previous precious items, there would inevitably be some drop in price.
Very quickly, Bai Xiaochun’s second bottle of spiritual medicine was also sold. Its price was slightly higher at two hundred Spirit Stones. This made Bai Xiaochun somewhat pleasantly surprised.
Finally, the Qi Condensation disciples’ became more energetic as his third bottle of spiritual medicine was auctioned and the people called out bids one after the other. In the end, Bai Xiaochun was wild with excitement as he realised that his third bottle of spiritual medicine had actually sold for a price of two hundred and thirty Spirit Stones.
“More than seven hundred Spirit Stones. As expected of an auction. This is enough. These Spirit Stones are enough for me to start refining Grade Three spiritual medicines.” Bai Xiaochun was a person who was easily satisfied. Even though he still felt a bit gloomy from before, he did not take it to heart. He felt very pleased with himself as he was inside the room, anticipating the appearance of that Great Tier spiritual medicine of his.
“In my estimations, that Great Tier spiritual medicine should sell at… three hundred Spirit Stones?” Bai Xiaochun hesitated for a moment, uncertain about it.
“Two hundred is also fine!” He nodded his head.
Time passed and as Bai Xiaochun waited, noon arrived when Qian Song, who stood on the auction platform, had a slight strange expression on his face for the first time. He looked at the audience and let out a dry cough.
“The next item that is going to be auctioned is very interesting… It is a Grade Two spiritual medicine, another Purple Rising Qi Pill, but… this one is slightly different.”
Bai Xiaochun immediately tensed up as he stood on the balcony with a palpitating heart, the anxiety surrounding his losses and gains incomparable to before.
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Guaranteed chapter from last week. 1st guaranteed would be tomorrow, and more of the auction fun~ Stay tuned!
Translated by: Nat
Edited by: Crimsonguard, Arch
Translated by XianXiaWorld