Chapter 115
Chapter 115
Qin Ran came to Linxian City this time to do two things.
First, he wants to set up the Big Formation to protect the mountain. The materials for the formation have not been fully collected, so he needs to try his luck at the auction house. Second, he wants to refine the Spirit Fusing Pill, but is still lacking many medicinal materials.
He walked into the auction house and found that although it was already late into the night, the place was still brightly lit with people coming and going, very lively.
...After all, how can one call themselves a Cultivator without pulling all-nighters?
Qin Ran found the counter in the hall and went over to say to the woman behind the counter, "I want to auction some pills."
"What pills?" asked this beautiful woman.
Qin Ran revealed a smile and said, "Some pills that Foundation Building Cultivators need."
Only then did the woman size up Qin Ran and find that he was just a shabby guy, not matching her impression of what a pill refiner should look like, so she was a little skeptical.
"Do you have the pills?" she asked.
Qin Ran then took out a bottle of Spirit Gathering Pill and put it on the counter, "Can you appraise it?"
This woman only had some cultivation level, at the stage of barely perceiving qi and had not condensed it into cyclones, how could she appraise anything?
She just pried open the jade seal, pretended to look it over, and discovered that it seemed to really be a medicinal pill... In an instant, her attitude became respectful by several hundred degrees.
"It really is a medicinal pill," she closed the jade seal and saluted Qin Ran, "Please follow me, sir."
After speaking, she led Qin Ran upstairs to find the person in charge of pill auctions at this auction house and introduced Qin Ran to him.
"Old Mo, this gentleman wants to auction pills."
This white-bearded Older Mo looked over at Qin Ran and asked, "Auction what pills?"
The beautiful woman then handed over the Spirit Gathering Pill to Older Mo.
Older Mo took the pill bottle, poured out one pellet, appraised it briefly, and was immediately shocked, "Top grade Spirit Gathering Pill?!"
He looked at Qin Ran, "Sir, are you an alchemy master?"
"When your auction house auctions items, do you still need to check 18 generations of a person's ancestry?" Qin Ran asked with a laugh.
"Haha!" Older Mo laughed awkwardly twice, "No no, this old man was just curious."
He then asked again, "May I ask how should I address you, sir?"
"My surname is Sun, first name Wukong," Qin Ran said.
"Oh, Mr. Sun, nice to meet you!" Older Mo greeted respectfully, "The quality of your Spirit Gathering Pills is extremely high. May I ask if you intend to auction them all?"
"Yes."
"The base price of a top grade Spirit Gathering Pill is 100 Spirit Stones. Our auction house has no upper limit on bids..." Older Mo introduced Qin Ran to the rules, "And in the end, the auction house will collect 10 percent commission based on the final transaction price. There are 10 top grade Spirit Gathering Pills in this bottle. We will auction them separately later. Does Mr. Sun have any opinion on this?"
"None, it's very reasonable."
Older Mo then asked someone to come over and register with Qin Ran. As he watched Qin Ran sign, he smiled and asked, "May I ask if Mr. Sun has any other pills that need our service?"
"Hmm..." Qin Ran pondered for a moment, seeming hesitant. Finally, he put down his pen and took out five porcelain bottles from his storage bag, handing them to Older Mo, "You can help me auction these too."
Older Mo reached out to receive them, but Qin Ran suddenly withdrew his hand and added, "But I have a requirement."
"Mr. Sun, please feel free to ask anything. As long as we can help you, we definitely will," Older Mo said hurriedly.
"I need three materials: Spirit Calming Wood, Clear Source Stone, and Spirituo Profound Gold," Qin Ran said. "Do you have them here?"
Older Mo turned around to take out an auction list and handed it to Qin Ran, "These are the things we will be auctioning tonight. Are what Mr. Sun needs on it?"
Qin Ran glanced at it and found that it only contained Spirit Calming Wood and Clear Source Stone, so he sighed inwardly. It looked like he still had to come again.
He handed the pills to Older Mo and said, "Find me a spot."
"Of course," Older Mo said with a smile.
He appraised the remaining pills again and found that there was even a Break Barrier Pill among them. His attitude towards Qin Ran became even more respectful. After registering again, he called over the beautiful woman to lead Qin Ran into the auction hall.
Older Mo's attitude remained very good until Qin Ran's back disappeared behind the door. Then the obsequious smile on his face suddenly vanished.
He looked at the pills in his hand again, his eyes changing several times, before finally making up his mind. He asked someone to arrange the pill auction while he himself turned and left the auction house.
For large auction houses like this, they may not be able to compare with the private auction houses set up by cultivators in terms of cultivation resources, but their environment and service are much higher by several levels.
And because the pills were auctioned by big clients, Qin Ran was even placed in a private room with free tea, refreshments, fruits, and furnished with tables, chairs and beds. Even that beautiful woman smiled coquettishly, her soft body stuck close to Qin Ran, completely taking on an appearance that he could have his way with her... But the righteous gentleman Qin Ran rejected her with fair words.
On the auction stage, the host was giving the final speech, saying that this was the last auction for today and customers who wanted to buy things should hurry up and buy...
Qin Ran sat in the private room, meditating with eyes closed to nurture his spirit. He did not touch the tea, refreshments or fruits, only waiting for the auction to begin.
But very unfortunately, before the auction officially started, he noticed something was off. The private rooms on both sides and above and below him were occupied. And soon after, gazes swept over his room again and again, subtly.
"Damn it!" Qin Ran couldn't help but yell inwardly.
In the end, was it his bad luck to encounter this kind of thing every time he went out, or was the "Edge" organization's connections too wide, having found him? Qin Ran didn't know. He only knew that no matter which it was, he had to find a way to slip away.
He flipped through the auction catalogue and found that the two materials he wanted were a bit towards the back.
"Should I risk it?" he asked himself, "Or slip away directly?"
But he turned his thoughts and felt that since people had already found him here, slipping away now or later probably didn't make much difference...
Thinking thus, he actually sat down calmly, pretending not to notice the ambushes on all sides, quietly waiting for the auction to begin.
Soon after, the auction began. Treasures were auctioned off one by one, seemingly ordinary. Qin Ran also occasionally bid, like an ordinary customer. But other than the two things he really needed, he did not actually buy anything else.
After buying the Spirit Calming Wood and Clear Source Stone, Qin Ran got up leisurely and even went to find the person in charge of the auction to handle the handover... The spirit stones earned from auctioning the pills and the spirit stones spent on buying the Spirit Calming Wood and Clear Source Stone offset each other, and in the end Qin Ran still had 700 spirit stones left.
After receiving the spirit stones and materials, and finding no issues with the Spirit Calming Wood and Clear Source Stone, Qin Ran instantly knew where the problem was.
It wasn't the Linxian Auction House, it was the "Edge" organization!
With this thought, he turned and went to the pill appraisal place to find Older Mo and asked with a smile, "How are my pills?"
"The quality is very high, very good," Older Mo said. "It's my first time seeing such quality in my life."
"First time seeing in your life?" Qin Ran said. "Then you've seen them before?"
"No, I haven't seen them before!" Older Mo said. "Today is the first time seeing them."
Qin Ran smiled and bid Older Mo farewell, "Until we meet again."
"I look forward to your next visit," Older Mo said.
Qin Ran turned and walked out the door. His left hand popped a bubble while his right hand took out a porcelain bottle and poured some powder from it into the bubble. Then the bubble shrank to extremely small and drilled into the room, colliding with Older Mo's clothes and dissolving into them.
As for himself, he hurried out of the auction house. Right at the entrance, his figure suddenly blurred and his whole body melted down into a puddle of water.