Chapter 116: The Auction and the Emergence of Enchanted Treasures (I)

Winter was always the most difficult time for Dahe Market.

The Lancang River froze solid, and the heavy snows sealed off the mountain passes, severing the main livelihood for countless cultivators. For rogue cultivators living in the outer districts, there was even the danger of starving demonic beasts straying out of the mountains to prey on humans.

But this year, things seemed a bit different?

As Luo Chen strolled through the bustling inner city streets, he was struck by the crowds. People were coming and going in high spirits, and the market stalls were thriving with activity—far livelier than even the autumn months.

"Strange," he murmured.

Beside him, Gu Caiyi walked with her hands tucked into her sleeves, a faint smile on her lips. "It's because of the Debate Platform on Fallen Phoenix Mountain," she said, offering a clue.

The opening of the Debate Platform had ignited a fever of competition across the cultivation world. Normally, only the most confident late stage Qi-Refining cultivators or family-affiliated elites would dare step onto such a stage.

But as the weather grew colder and the resources in the mountains dwindled, some cultivators who were struggling to make ends meet eventually turned to the Debate Platform, eager to prove themselves.

As long as they step onto the platform and fight, they receive an appearance fee regardless of the outcome!

With Foundation Establishment cultivators watching over the matches, there's at least no risk of death and if they win, they can even earn additional rewards—spirit stones, pills, enchanted artifacts, and so on.

Because of this, Dahe Market was far from quiet this winter. Everyone was eager and restless, itching to showcase their abilities.

In response, the Jade Cauldron Sword Pavilion, who managed the platform, welcomed the surge with open arms.

Not only did they profit from the ticket sales, they now had the perfect system to scout for talent, handpicking powerful cultivators from among the desperate masses. They even began branding matches with flashy titles: "Ultimate Mid-Stage Qi-Refining Showdown," "A Battle for Resources," "A Clash between Disciples of the Same Sect."

Even petty disputes between neighbors and friends found their way onto the stage—"settled by combat."

If a "deathmatch" scenario occurred, it would spark a crowd.

Not to mention, just the ticket sales alone had already filled the Jade Cauldron Sword Pavilion's coffers.

"If I didn't have any skills, maybe I'd be stepping onto the Debate Platform too!" Luo Chen chuckled wryly, fully understanding the rogue cultivators who flocked to participate.

According to Gu Caiyi, even some cultivators from the three combat halls of the Poshan Gang had signed up to compete. Who would've thought that the Jade Cauldron Sword Pavilion's ambition to promote a "cultivators thrive on combat" culture would receive such a tremendous boost during winter?

It was easy to imagine that once winter passed, those who had grown accustomed to making a living on the Debate Platform wouldn't abandon the habit so easily.

"If we have some free time, let's go watch a match!" Luo Chen said casually.

Ticket prices for the Debate Platform weren't as expensive as they had been at the start. After all, not every day featured deathmatches, Foundation Establishment Initiates, or second-tier demonic beasts. With ticket prices ranging from one to ten spirit stones, most people could afford them.

Gu Caiyi blinked and said sweetly, "Sure, but you're buying the snacks!"

Luo Chen groaned. "How about... milk tea?"

"Milk tea?" she repeated, eyes narrowing in confusion. "What's that?"

Luo Chen froze for a moment before breaking into a wide grin.

"The Chen Yue snack stand is about to launch a new product!"

A grin broke across his face.

"The first cup of milk tea this winter—warming your frozen Dao heart."

Gu Caiyi blinked. "...Is that your slogan?"

Luo Chen raised his hand dramatically. "Mark my words. It'll sell like crazy."

***

Braving the wind and snow, Luo Chen arrived once more at Crescent Moon Valley, flanked, as always, by his two ever-present bodyguards.

As he stepped into the valley, he immediately noticed a few changes.

The medicinal fields now had arched shelters built over them—simple structures, but cleverly arranged. And walking among the rows of herbs was Yuan Dongsheng, the spirit botanist Luo Chen had worked with before. The man moved slowly, murmuring incantations and casting spells with practiced ease.

Noticing Luo Chen's gaze, Yuan Dongsheng paused. "Curious about the spell?"

"Yeah, aren't this field's medicinal plants only suitable for warm climates?" Luo Chen asked, intrigued.

"That's where you're mistaken." Yuan Dongsheng smiled. "With the Perpetual Spring spirit plant spell, you can grow seasonal herbs even in winter. Want to learn? I can teach you."

Luo Chen quickly shook his head and walked away. "Greenhouse farming in the cultivation world, huh..." he muttered under his breath.

The longer he lived in the cultivation world, the more he realized that people here weren't as primitive as he initially thought.

The major sects monopolized industries, capitalizing on their strengths to expand their enterprises. Even minor figures have their own cunning. Recently, rogue cultivators plagiarized his ideas and followed the trend to create various snacks of their own.

Even in terms of spells, things weren't as rigidly unchanging as they seemed. Beyond traditional defensive techniques, spells for daily life and vocational skills had also been meticulously developed.

Maybe I've been underestimating the people of this world all along,

Luo Chen thought.

Top cultivators can live for thousands of years. How could their wisdom possibly fall short of the world I came from?

Take the Cleanse the original Luo Chen knew from the start. Despite its lack of direct benefit to the Dao, it's widely practiced. This shows how much spell has already been popularized.

Speaking of the Cleanse, Luo Chen recalled that its proficiency was nearing Grandmaster level.

Maybe I should take the time to master it fully. It'd be interesting to see what changes happen at the Grandmaster level.

At worst, it can't be any less impressive than Carefree Wander!

With these thoughts in mind, Luo Chen arrived at the Alchemy Hall.

Today was yet another day of pill refining, a routine everyone had grown accustomed to.

Lighting the fire, opening the furnace, placing the medicinal materials—Luo Chen personally oversaw the process.

With only two alchemy rooms running now, his workload had lightened considerably.

Luo Chen couldn't help but wonder,

Wasn't Mi Shuhua very keen about the Jade Essence pills? Why hasn't he brought in a new furnace after nearly a month? Could I have drained him dry?

No way. A brand-new low-grade furnace only costs a few hundred spirit stones—he can definitely afford that.

Then what's the reason?

Before he could arrive at an answer, someone called out, "Pills are ready!"

Snapping out of his thoughts, Luo Chen opened the furnace.

Inside, forty pristine, snow-white Jade Essence pills sat neatly in place. He gave them a quick scan.

Ten low-grade, thirty mid-grade.

As expected, without reaching Grandmaster level, it wasn't easy to conceal his true capabilities. Luo Chen sighed softly, then discreetly stashed away ten mid-grade Jade Essence pills.

"You can come in and collect the pills now!" Luo Chen called out, and two pill attendants walked in.

One of them carried a tray, while the other wore pristine white gloves.

The attendant wearing gloves lit up with excitement upon seeing the pills.

"Hall Leader, your alchemy skills have improved again. This time, you've made twenty mid-grade Jade Essence pills!"

Luo Chen waved his hand dismissively; he couldn't stand such genuine flattery. He was already troubled about how to conceal his alchemy skills.

Leaving the alchemy room, Luo Chen remembered something and grabbed Sikong Shoujia, who happened to be passing by.

"Where's last month's dividend? The Merit Hall hasn't sent it over yet?"

With the upcoming auction, he needed as many spirit stones as possible.

Sikong Shoujia gave a dry cough. "No, they said the payments would be delayed this month. It's the same for everyone."

"Ah, in this freezing winter, I'm still waiting for spirit stones to buy rice for my pot," Luo Chen complained dramatically.

Sikong Shoujia rolled his eyes. In the entire Alchemy Hall, Luo Chen earned the most, yet he still had the audacity to play the victim.

Only Luo Chen could say something so shamelessly without batting an eye.

"Then last month, how much did the Myriad Wonders pills and Jade Essence pills sell for? Do you know?"

"I know that!" Sikong Shoujia replied confidently.

Sikong Shoujia reported a figure, and Luo Chen quickly calculated that his share should be about six hundred spirit stones.

Most of it came from the Myriad Wonders pill. But after recalculating, something didn't add up.

"Last month, we sold quite a few mid-grade Jade Essence pills. It shouldn't just be this amount."

Luo Chen grew furious.

Someone higher up was embezzling funds! Those stolen spirit stones were rightfully mine!

***

During the period of low-grade Jade Essence Pills, there had been no doubt: the Poshan Gang was operating at a loss.

The cost of refining was high, and low-grade pills simply couldn't command much of a price on the market. But over the past few weeks, things have changed. Luo Chen had already refined more than a hundred mid-grade Jade Essence pills, and his proficiency had reached Perfection level.

Even though he had secretly pocketed some for himself, the hundred pills that had been sold should have fetched several thousand spirit stones.

Even if he didn't get the full amount, he was supposed to receive a cut. That much was certain. Yet just earlier, after doing a quick check of the numbers, Luo Chen realized something disturbing—those spirit stones weren't included in his dividend.

"Of all people to steal from, they dare to steal from me!" Luo Chen muttered angrily.

Without another word, he stormed off toward the Merit Hall to confront Mi Junping.

But when he arrived, it wasn't just her waiting behind the counter. Mi Shuhua was also there, his usual warm smile plastered across his face.

"You're asking about the Jade Essence pill profits?" Mi Shuhua asked, smiling warmly as he gestured toward a row of shelves.

With a wide grin, Mi Shuhua pointed toward a row of shelves opposite them.

Luo Chen glanced over and immediately noticed that the shelves were filled with mid-grade Jade Essence pills that he had refined.

"Huh, they haven't been sold yet?"

"This type of pill, which barely qualifies as mainstream cultivation medicine, isn't that easy to sell," Mi Shuhua explained.

Not easy to sell? How could that be possible?

Luo Chen was confident in his alchemy skills.

He had personally tested the mid-grade Jade Essence pill himself; the effects were absolutely genuine and not watered down in the slightest.

"Back then, I miscalculated. The profit margin for low-grade Jade Essence pills is too small. Moving forward, we'll have to focus on mid-grade ones. Therefore, selling these will require a well-thought-out plan."

As Mi Shuhua spoke, his expression remained confident, as though he already had everything under control.

Luo Chen pondered his words carefully and suddenly thought of a crucial point.

Perhaps it wasn't that the pills had no buyers but that someone was preventing them from being sold!

The most likely culprit was the Spirit Herb Pavilion, which specialized in selling pills, or perhaps even the Medicine King Sect behind them!

Not paying any attention to Luo Chen's thoughts, Mi Shuhua said with a smile: "Just go back for now. Don't worry about anything else—just focus on refining pills.

"You'll get your share of the dividends when the time comes.

"Oh, by the way, the auction is in two days, starting in the morning. The location is Fallen Phoenix Mountain."

With that, Mi Shuhua disappeared into the back, leaving Luo Chen staring silently at the shelves full of pills.

His pills. His profits. And perhaps, his enemies too.

***

With the auction fast approaching, Luo Chen reminded himself that he was going primarily to broaden his horizons.

But that didn't mean he wasn't harboring a few thoughts of his own.

The Dahe Market auctions were traditionally divided into two types.

One was the grand auction, held once every ten years. It was geared toward Foundation Establishment and Golden Core cultivators, often featuring rare spiritual artifacts, high-tier pill recipes, and even legendary spirit beasts. The other was the annual small-scale auction, which catered mainly to Qi-Refining and early stage Foundation Establishment cultivators.

By all rights, the auction should have been skipped this year, considering the Debate Platform had hosted a large gathering just six months prior.

But that had been a special event. It hadn't accounted for the thousands of cultivators who regularly relied on the winter auction as a marketplace of opportunity.

And so, as tradition dictated, the smaller-scale auction would still take place at the start of winter. Though it was called a "small-scale auction," the ever-growing number of rogue cultivators in Dahe Market and the increasing presence of nearby cultivation families suggested otherwise.

In reality, its scale was anything but small. This type of auction primarily targeted groups that included Qi-Refining Realm cultivators. Thus, there was a chance something Luo Chen needed might appear. To prepare for a potential bid, Luo Chen first took stock of his assets.

After counting, he couldn't help but sigh.

As expected, he was still a pauper! All his assets combined amounted to a mere fifteen hundred spirit stones. This amount was barely enough to purchase even a Beginner level top-grade enchanted artifact.

In truth, Luo Chen had anticipated this outcome before counting.

Over the past few months, he had been frantically purchasing calming incense, essence nurturing liquid, and occasionally replenishing qi-nourishing pills, spending roughly five hundred spirit stones monthly. The dividends he received from the Poshan Gang left him with only a small surplus each month.

The only reason he still had this amount of wealth was due to Yuan Xiaoyue's snack stall.

Oh, that stall now had a proper booth, complete with a signboard.

The name was simple: "Chen Yue" combining both Luo Chen and Xiaoyue's names.

To motivate Xiaoyue to work harder, Luo Chen had given her an additional five percent of the profits on top of her regular salary. It wasn't all out of kindness; Xiaoyue genuinely worked diligently and single-handedly supported the Chen Yue snack stall.

In comparison, Luo Chen neither managed sales nor production anymore. Even the production was outsourced to the Alchemy Hall. He merely provided the snack recipes, delivered the goods monthly, and collected his spirit stones.

Such a sweet deal even made Luo Chen toy with the idea of opening franchise stores again.

"Too bad the Alchemy Hall dividends haven't come in yet. Otherwise, with two thousand spirit stones, I could barely afford a top-grade offensive enchanted artifact."

Luo Chen sighed, realizing that in two days, he'd probably just be a spectator.