Desolate Devouring Art

Chapter 340 - Talisman Paper

Liu Wuxie's offer was reasonable. It was within his budget and ensured that the Xuanyu Auction House wouldn't lose money; it was a win-win situation.

"Are you sure you want to buy this fragment?" The woman on the right asked. Many experts in the Astral River Realm were present, but they couldn't even determine the value of this iron fragment.

Although she might be in the Heavenly Dipper Realm and had plenty of spirit stones, she wouldn't dare to spend five thousand spirit stones on something useless.

"Thank you for your reminder, but I believe this iron fragment must have its value." Liu Wuxie knew the woman had warned him out of goodwill, and he expressed his gratitude.

Liu Wuxie wasn't interested in the value of this mysterious heavenly artifact's fragment, but something else. This proved that heavenly artifacts had appeared in the Southern Province or someone in the True Profound Realm had died here. The value of this information alone was far more valuable than that of this fragment.

The True Profound Realm might seem unattainable in the eyes of ordinary people, and only the sect masters of the ten major sects had such a cultivation. But was that the case?

Coming in contact with that level was impossible if you couldn't reach it. It was the same as the poor people being unable to understand the world of the rich.

Through this fragment, Liu Wuxie could learn more information about experts, which was more important.

Five thousand spirit stones was an insignificant amount for Liu Wuxie, not to mention that this fragment's value could even be sold for fifty million if everyone knew what it was.

However, to avoid attracting unwanted attention, Liu Wuxie pretended to hesitate while feeling anxious inside, fearing that Elder Tai wouldn't sell it to him.

He could've offered twenty thousand, but it would lose its purpose and attract unwanted attention. This would only lead to others competing for this fragment, not to mention he wasn't the only one with many spirit stones.

Cultivators in the Heavenly Dipper Realm might not be wealthier than him, but what about those in the Heavenly Phase and Astral River Realms? They wouldn't be interested in Earth Essence because it was useless to them, but a heavenly artifact's fragments differed. Even someone in the Nascent Transformation Realm would scramble for it.

This tiny-looking fragment involved many things he had to consider, including human nature. He also had to avoid arousing the curiosity of others, making it complicated.

Lowering the price would give everyone a message that he was simply interested and couldn't find anything valuable about it.

Furthermore, he had to pretend to hesitate to signal that he was starting to regret it. This would further reduce the interest of others in it.

Hou Chi initially wanted to bid for the fragment, but he laughed at Liu Wuxie's hesitation. He knew he would become a fool if he bid for this item, and Liu Wuxie withdrew.

"Since this young master is so interested and sincere in his offer, I'll sell it to him." Elder Tai said with some hesitation and signaled the maid to hand the item to Liu Wuxie before he changed his mind.

"Bullshit. You probably can't wait to sell it..." Someone in the crowd sneered, seeing through Elder Tai's facade, who looked hesitant but wore a smile on his face.

To everyone present, it appeared that the Xuanyu Auction House had finally sold the fragment without losing its worth and even earned a few thousand spirit stones. However, only Liu Wuxie knew he had benefited the greatest.

It had always been Liu Wuxie's principle to benefit without anyone knowing and to keep a low profile. As he stored the fragment, he handed five thousand spirit stones to the maid and completed the transaction.

There was no fear of being robbed inside the auction house, but outside was another story. Every year, there would be people dying mysteriously after leaving the auction house, and they were killed for their treasures.

Liu Wuxie kept the fragment in his interspatial pouch and didn't have time to check it. His true essence was unique, and activating the spiritual runes inside the fragment was going to be troublesome.

There was a fifteen-minute short break before the auction resumed. Each auction typically featured about thirty items, and at least thirty were auctioned. There were already sixteen items auctioned, and a few items were left.

"Next is a batch of sixth-grade talisman papers. A master has crafted them, and the runes on the talisman papers are better than those sold in the market." After a short break, the auction resumed, and a maid took out about fifty talisman papers.

Liu Wuxie's eyes lit up at the mention of precious talisman papers. Sixth-grade talisman papers were on par with the Heavenly Dipper Realm, capable of unleashing an attack equivalent to that level of power.

Until now, most auction items were targeted at those in the Heavenly Dipper Realm. That was natural because the Heavenly Dipper Realm was the mainstream in Fan City, with over half the cultivators in that cultivation. The remaining thirty percent were in the True Core Realm, while the remaining twenty were in the Heavenly Phase and Astral River Realms.

Those in the Heavenly Phase and Astral River Realms were here for the grand finale of the auction. In each auction, the grand finale would reach a sky-high price.

"The starting bid is twenty thousand spirit stones, with one thousand as the minimum increment!" Talisman papers were priced relatively low due to the scarcity of spiritualists.

Alchemists were already rare enough, but blacksmiths, spiritual array masters, and spiritualists were even fewer in numbers. So it was futile even if they bought the talisman papers if they needed to learn how to inscribe runes on them.

"The price is too high, and I don't need that many. I only need five." The woman on the right sighed because very few could buy fifty talisman papers in one batch. But she would consider buying ten if they were sold individually.

Using talismans was the same as throwing spirit stones at enemies because the price could reach a hundred thousand. Throwing so many spirit stones at once, even someone in the Heavenly Phase Realm would be in trouble.

Liu Wuxie shared the same thought as the woman on his right. He might need talisman papers, but buying fifty at once was too extravagant. He only needed five to six for emergencies; any more would be a waste.

"Elder Tai, you might be unable to sell them this way. Why not split them up? I only need ten, and any more would be useless." A voice sounded from the crowd who shared the same thought as the woman on Liu Wuxie's right.

"That's right. We're in the Heavenly Dipper Realm and don't have that many spirit stones. I'm afraid not many can buy fifty at once." Another cultivator in the Heavenly Dipper Realm chimed in.

Sixth-grade talisman papers were equivalent to the strike of someone in the Heavenly Dipper Realm, and they were useless for someone in the Heavenly Phase Realm. But it was too costly for those in the Heavenly Dipper Realm, thus creating an awkward situation.

As for those in the True Core Realm, they could only watch helplessly because they couldn't inscribe sixth-grade spiritual runes.

Several others expressed the same sentiment, and Elder Tai was convinced.

"Very well, I'll split them up then. We'll go with five talisman papers a batch, and the starting bid will be at two thousand spirit stones with a minimum increment of one hundred." This meant the fifty talisman papers were divided into ten batches, igniting everyone's purchasing desire.

"Two thousand five hundred!" The first who suggested splitting the talisman papers into batches stood up, and two thousand five hundred spirit stones wasn't a low bid.

No one else called for a bid, and he bought the first batch smoothly. As there were forty-five more talisman papers, everyone wasn't in a hurry to bid.

The talisman papers were sold in batches, with the price hovering around two thousand five hundred spirit stones. Talisman papers weren't popular, and there were few buyers.

On the seventh batch, the woman on the right finally called for a bid, and this batch was ultimately settled for 2,400 spirit stones.

When the eighth batch came up, the price remained unchanged, but no one bid for it. After all, spiritualists were scarce.

"Two thousand one hundred!" Liu Wuxie finally called out his bid.

Upon hearing his bid, the woman on the right turned to look at Liu Wuxie. She asked, "You're also buying talisman papers?"

"Yeah," Liu Wuxie replied. He knew what she meant because he was only in the sixth level of the True Core Realm, and buying sixth-grade talisman papers seemed wasteful.

Generally speaking, there was a strict division for each realm. Those in the sixth-level True Core Realm could only inscribe fifth-grade talismans at best and couldn't inscribe sixth-grade talismans.

The woman shook her head and said nothing else because it was Liu Wuxie's freedom to buy whatever he wanted. No one else competed, and Liu Wuxie ultimately bought this batch at the lowest price.

Not a single talisman paper would have sold if the batch of fifty hadn't been divided. The auction resumed, and a giant vat was brought in with four men struggling to place it on the stage. This proved the vat was incredibly heavy, whatever it was.

As soon as they placed the giant vat down, the entire auction hall was enveloped in a demonic aura. Those with weaker cultivation couldn't withstand the pressure and trembled in fear.

"Seventh-grade demonic beast!" The man on the left exclaimed as he trembled.

Seventh-grade demonic beasts were equivalent to human cultivators in the Heavenly Phase Realm. Some stronger demonic beasts in that grade could even speak the human tongue.

As for eighth-grade demonic beasts, they could take on the human form.

Lastly, ninth-grade demonic beasts were equivalent to human cultivators in the Nascent Transformation Realm, and they could easily conceal themselves in the crowd undetected.

"I won't waste time introducing much since you all know what this is. This is the beast core of a seventh-grade demonic beast, the Scarlet Cloud Bull. Not only can it be refined into pills, forged into weapons, but the demonic aura can also be extracted to cultivate." Elder Tai opened the vat and revealed a crimson pulsating ball inside.

To preserve the energy in the beast core, all of Scarlet Cloud Bull's internal organs were extracted and soaked in a special liquid in the vat to prevent excessive loss of demonic aura.

The rampant demonic aura continued to wreak havoc in the auction hall. Those in the True Core Realm were on the verge of collapse, and even those in the Heavenly Dipper Realm were barely holding on.

Liu Wuxie sat still and unaffected by the demonic aura. This made the woman on the right curious because even some in the low levels of the Heavenly Dipper Realm had their faces turning pale.

However, Liu Wuxie’s expression remained calm. The beast core of a seventh-grade demonic beast was precious, but it was too expensive.

He sighed in resignation because Earth Essence was his goal, and he couldn't afford to be distracted. Seventh-grade demonic beasts were useless to him now because he couldn't refine them. The world in his dantian would blow apart from the influx of energy if he tried to refine it.

It would be a different story if he could reach the Heavenly Dipper Realm, but cultivation was gradual. Those in the Heavenly Phase Realm wouldn't just sit by and participate in the competition.

With the atmosphere almost built up, Elder Tai covered the vat. The demonic aura soon dispersed, and the pressure lifted. This instantly made many people heave a sigh of relief.

Some were drenched in sweat like they had been fished out of water.