A Thought Through Eternity Chapter 78 - Are They Talking About Me?

Chapter 78 - Are They Talking About Me?
Upon hearing Qian Song’s words, the people at the auction squeezed against each other to see in their curiousity.
This did not include those past the eighth level of Qi Condensation, most of the inner sect disciples had no interest for what was happening as some of them talked among themselves. Others simply rested with their eyes closed.
“This pill here, everyone, take a look at it before we announce the price.” Qian Song was acting quite odd. After clearing his throat, a young woman walked out immediately with a wooden box in her hands.
The crowd’s interest peaked as they strained to see what sort of Purple Rising Qi Pill could possibly make Qian Song look like that.
Bai Xiaochun was even more anxious than anyone as he stood there, breathing hurriedly. He raised his gaze to the auction stand to see the young woman take out a deep purple pill from the wooden box.
In contrast to her snow-white hands, the pill stood out particularly prominent. The three silver patterns became clearly visible under the bright glare of the sun... as well as the distinct symbol of a small turtle carved onto it.
The horde of people, at this moment, went silent. The silence was then quickly followed by an uproar.
“Three spirit refinements! Heavens, Is this for real?”
“This is insane, to do three spirit refinements on a Grade Two pill! And they’re actually successful!”
“This is just crazy, who would refine a Purple Rising Qi Pill like that?”
At the peak of the uproar, all the disciples were taken aback, aghast. The uproar could be heard throughout the entire auction grounds.
“Who the hell did this? What a damn wastrel!”
“To do three spirit refinements on it, only someone who does this for a hobby can think of such an outrageous idea!”
The disciples who previously paid no attention to this auction, upon seeing the silver patterns on the pill, their eyes widened as they sucked in a deep breath. Some of them even jumped to their feet, speechless.
It should be noted that the success rate of spirit refining was low. It was okay to do it once, twice would be pushing it a little, but for the third… one would have to rely on luck. Even a great master would not have confidence to succeed refining something for a third time.
In the Spirit River Sect, a great many people had their hearts broken when their magical treasures broke down from the third refinement. Refining magic treasures would always bring love and hate, those who succeed would certainly be envied by many.
A magical treasure refined thrice would have its power substantially increased. Enough to make people stunned with envy. And at this moment... right before them was a pill refined thrice!
And it was a Grade Two pill!
Those beautiful patterns would befit the wings of butterflies. They were elegant and pleasing to the eyes. But to put the very same patterns on a pig… would simply be a great waste.
They felt conflicted, countless thoughts swirling in their minds. Some were even clenching their fists, blue veins bulging on their foreheads, especially the inner sect disciples from Purple Cauldron Mountain. They, who studied refining, were the most bitter of all.
“This kind of luck, wasted on an pill! And the nerve to auction it here like this! Were I to have this kind of luck, I’d spiritually refine thrice only a truly valuable thing!”
Even the Foundation Establishment cultivators inside their own rooms had odd expressions as they looked at the pill, their faces covered with surprise.
Seeing this from his balcony, Bai Xiaochun took a deep breath again. Looking down at the furious crowd and their red faces, Bai Xiaochun felt that he might have truly overdone it a bit. He quickly put on a furious look, pointed at the pill on the stage and growled angrily.
“Wastrel! Shame on you!”
In the distance, Sun Chen too was smiling bitterly. He had the same feeling the first time he got the pill. He suddenly noticed Bai Xiaochun on the balcony, and froze, cold sweat appearing on his forehead...
At this moment, a few of the sharper ones in the crowd noticed the engraved symbol of the little turtle on the pill in the young woman’s hands.
“Eh? This little turtle, … looks somewhat familiar?” Right after the words, the crowd shifted their attention to the symbol they hadn’t noticed before while going crazy over the silver patterns. Now, everyone shifted their gazes and stared at it.
“This little turtle… Isn’t that… Isn’t there that Little Turtle who placed first on all ten stone steles on the Scented Cloud Mountain!?”
“Exactly the same! It’s drawn just the same, it must’ve been drawn… by the same person!”
“Could it really be that this pill… this insane act, could it be done by that mysterious, Heaven’s Chosen Little Turtle of the Scented Cloud Mountain?”
The crowd went in an even louder uproar. Of all Spirit River Sect disciples, many of them were Scented Cloud Mountain’s disciples, and after noticing the little turtle, they began shouting.
More and more people started noticing the symbol and gasped. Many stood up from their seats, the symbol of the Little Turtle had not appeared for a long while, but it was quite illustrious as it had spread throughout the sect and people often discussed who he might be.
Yet even now, they had no answer. That person was simply too mysterious, a complete unknown to them. He remained low-key as though he was an indifferent character who paid no attention to others!
And today, the Little Turtle… actually appeared once again!
And the way it appeared, it shocked the entire auction. Not a single person present wasn’t stunned.
Zhou Xinqi’s eyes were burning as she stood in the crowd. Staring at the pill, her chest heaved up and down as her emotions violently fluctuated.
“So you have appeared once more. A Heaven’s Chosen like you can’t just hide and disappear like that in this sea of people. Yeah, you’re good at hiding, good at concealing yourself. But it has been decided, no matter how much you hide, you will reveal yourself and I will find you!” Zhou Xinqi took a deep breath. She had been secretly searching for the Little Turtle for a long time. She had even suspected Bai Xiaochun once, but quickly rejected it. The image of the Little Turtle In her heart was firmly set on someone calm and collected, completely unlike someone captivated by fame and fortune.
Zhou Xinqi wasn’t the only one to think like this, that was the general consensus, and even Hou Xiaomei thought so. Bai Xiaochun’s exaggerated boasts played a big part in this.
People even analysed why the symbol was a turtle. The conclusion was that the person was indifferent to the world, yet symbolised a great ambition. The little turtle symbolized someone who was pursuing immortality.
Not too far away, Hou Xiaomei’s eyes instantly widened with worship, a result of Bai Xiaochun’s words. She was the Little Turtle’s biggest fan, and together with like-minded people, they had even assembled an admirers’ organisation.
“Oh, it’s the Little Turtle!” Hou Xiaomei almost jumped up as she excitedly pointed at the auction stand.
The uproar changed after the crowd noticed the symbol of the Little Turtle. The curses disappeared and were quickly replaced after people reached a new startling conclusion.
“This is the result of him aiming for perfection!”
“A Heaven’s Chosen aloof like him… This pill being spiritually refined isn’t for the sake of money! It’s to pursue the dao of medicine, to explore, to persevere!”
Even the bitter inner sect disciples thought differently, taking a deep breath as they gazed deeply at the pill. At the moment, no one thought that its owner was simply trying to show off with the three spirit refinements.
“So it was that Heaven’s Chosen, I understand now. The owner is neither insane nor showing off. He’s simply someone with a great ambition and this is purely the result of their devotion, the determination to produce a medicine of the best quality!”
“It is amazing, astonishing. Such determination, such devotion! This desire to perfect medicine is worth learning from!”
“Three spirit refinements, three improvements in its quality, meaning… while pill was originally a Middle Tier pill, it is now on a vastly different level. Little Turtle, you never cease to amaze!”
“This pill is worthy of a souvenir, I want it!” The inner sect disciples’ eyes glowed brightly. While the pill was useless for them to consume, it would allow them to draw inspiration from it.
Staring at the pill, they could see the great figure of a Heaven’s Chosen and his devotion in pursuing the dao of medicine.
Seeing this change of attitude all around him, Bai Xiaochun, who was just raging together with the crowd, stood there stunned. Looking stupefied at the crowd beneath him and listening to their talk caused him to suddenly blush.
“They… Are they talking about me…?” Bai XIaochun was shaking. He had never realised how outstanding he was in the people’s eyes, and now that he did, he could barely stop himself from shouting out to the crowd that he was the great Little Turtle that shook the world!
At this moment, Qian Song cleared his throat, smiling as he stood on the stage.
“It seems that everyone has now understood the true value of this pill. We start with five hundred Spirit Stones, each increase with a minimum of fifty stones!”
This sort of price caused Bai Xiaochun to suck in a deep breath. It was a very high price, most of the outer sect disciples simply couldn’t afford it. What happened next, however, completely shocked him.
“Six hundred Spirit Stones!”
“Seven hundred Spirit Stones! This pill embodies the dao of medicine, I must have it!”
“Eight hundred! Who wants to fight for it?!” The inner sect disciples started raising the price as their cries echoed throughout the area, setting the atmosphere on fire.
The insanity only continued as bids continued to echo out. Soon, they were at fifteen hundred Spirit Stones, and Bai Xiaochun could only stand there, his throat dry and his breathing rapid, staring in disbelief.
“Crazy, all crazy… They’re all crazy.... Step it up! Get even crazier! Burst with insanity!” Bai Xiaochun said excitedly.
“One thousand eight hundred Spirit Stones!” Zhou Xinqi abruptly spoke out from within the crowd, attracting glances from all around. Bai Xiaochun too looked at Zhou Xinqi as he cheered on.
This sort of price was already the limit for inner sect disciples. Many of them were reluctant to give up, but there was a limit on how far they could go. Sighing, they let Zhou Xinqi have it. She herself was, after all, a Heaven’s Chosen pursuing the dao of medicine as well. Once she revealed her determination to obtain the pill with such a price, as fellow disciples of the same sect, it was useless to continue competing.
Bai Xiaochun too was very satisfied with this price. He wanted to just charge down and take Qian Song’s place to announce the end of the auction. But suddenly, a young girl’s voice broke through the crowd, proud and uncompromising.
“I, Hou Xiaomei, am a member of a cultivator clan, I have plenty of Spirit Stones! I offer three thousand!”
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1st guaranteed chapter of the week.
Translated by: Marcus
Edited by: Arch, Crimsonguard
Translated by XianXiaWorld