The first item to appear on stage was a Middle Grade Defensive Spiritual Artifact—the Thick Earth Robe.
"This Thick Earth Robe is a fine Magical Artifact, personally crafted by the Master of Discarded Sword."
"Over thirty catties of Thick Earth Sand were used in its creation, and the engraved Earth Shield Technique is strong enough to withstand three attacks from a Cultivator at the Great Perfection of Qi Refining."
"Furthermore, six catties of Red Radiance Gold were intentionally mixed in during the forging process, greatly enhancing the robe’s own durability."
"It would be extremely difficult to tear, even if struck directly by a Flying Sword."
The graceful and elegant auctioneer walked a circle around the high platform, holding up the Magic Robe as she gave her introduction.
Only then did she begin the bidding: "The starting bid for this item is one hundred Spirit Stones. Each increment must be no less than one Spirit Stone."
"I bid one hundred and twenty Spirit Stones!"
Someone immediately shouted a bid, and they were standing not far behind Xiao Chen.
He followed the voice and saw it was the young girl from when he’d left that morning.
After raising her hand and shouting the price, she clasped her fists tightly to her chest, an excited smile on her face.
Just bidding in front of everyone was enough to make her incredibly excited, as if she had done something amazing.
"I bid one hundred twenty-one!"
"One hundred twenty-five!"
Many Loose Cultivators also joined in on the fun.
In truth, everyone knew that a Middle Grade Magical Artifact was generally worth several hundred Spirit Stones, and Defense Type Magical Artifacts were typically even more expensive.
The reason the starting bid was set so low was simply to warm up the crowd.
But because of this, many Loose Cultivators with few Spirit Stones in their pockets also mixed into the crowd to call out bids.
In any case, a knowledgeable and wealthy Cultivator would eventually place a high bid and win the item.
They wouldn’t actually have to spend any money, but they could still get a sense of participation.
In fact, the Xiong Family had also arranged for a shill in the audience.
One of his tasks was to ensure that the first item wouldn’t be won by some Loose Cultivator just joining in for fun, only for them to be unable to pay, creating a farce.
However, before the shill could make a move,
Young Master Ji of the Ji Family won the first item after a Quarter Hour with a high bid of six hundred Spirit Stones.
The auctioneer enthusiastically invited, "We welcome this young master to the stage for inspection!"
One of the features of this public auction was on-the-spot inspection and on-the-spot payment.
The Xiong Family had even specially prepared a row of servant girls, kneeling at the edge of the high platform. Each held a tray high above her head with both hands, ready to receive the Spirit Stones.
Young Master Ji went on stage and gave the Magic Robe’s quality a symbolic inspection.
Then, with a wave of his hand, he took out six hundred Spirit Stones, instantly filling six trays.
Seeing so many Spirit Stones right from the start, the numerous Loose Cultivators in the audience immediately erupted in fervent discussion.
"That seems to be the young master of the Ji Family, right? As expected of a disciple from one of the six great families. He’s so lavish with his spending."
"Young Master Ji is from the Direct Lineage of the Ji Family. Of course he has plenty of Spirit Stones."
"I can only earn one Spirit Stone a month. At that rate, I’d have to save up for fifty years to afford that six-hundred-Spirit-Stone Magic Robe."
...
Xiao Chen had actually wanted to make a bid just now as well.
He currently only had the standard-issue Inner Sect Magic Robe. When he was out and about, it was inconvenient to wear if he wanted to hide his identity.
But after a moment of consideration, he decided to save his money for what really mattered, keeping it all for the fight over the Foundation Establishment Spiritual Object later.
Besides, he had his Golden Armor Technique, which could serve as a suit of personal armor.
After the initial warm-up, the auction continued, interspersing three more Middle Grade Magical Artifacts with some common Spirit Pills, Talismans, and Low Grade Magical Artifacts.
The former all started at a bid of one hundred Spirit Stones.
After the warm-up, they were won by the Du, Guo, and Tian Families respectively, so coincidentally it was as if they had planned it.
The latter started at a bid of one Spirit Stone and were sold specifically to the Loose Cultivators who had traveled from afar.
Amidst the frequent shouts of bids, many Loose Cultivators were swept up by the atmosphere and joined the competition.
More than ten items in a row were all sold for very good prices.
In particular, one item in the middle, the Five-Colored Flowing Immortal Skirt, was bought by the young miss of the Guo Family for nine hundred and sixty Spirit Stones.
This made numerous female Cultivators burn with envy.
The young girl hugged her grandfather’s arm. "Wow, that skirt is so beautiful! It’s a shame the price is so high. It’s almost a thousand Spirit Stones."
"Grandpa, do you think the last Treasure will sell for over a thousand Spirit Stones?"
"I can’t even imagine how big a pile that would be. One, two... I bet all eighteen of these trays would be full."
For a girl used to counting out every single Spiritual Sand, such a sum was already hard to fathom.