Cultivating for a hundred lifetimes to ascension

Even seven thousand Spirit Stones could buy a Low Grade Spiritual Artifact.

But a flying sword of such excellent quality was sure to set off a frenzy among the cultivators.

Upon seeing that the first treasure was a Geng Metal Flying Sword, Zhao Sheng couldn't help but feel disappointed; he didn't care for Geng Metal at all.

If he could return to the Central Continent, he dared say that he could produce a piece of Geng Metal as big as a human head.

"Eight thousand!" Explore hidden tales at empire

"Eight thousand one hundred!"

"Eight thousand eight hundred!"

...

As expected, as soon as this top-grade flying sword was revealed, it spurred a round of spirited bidding from the crowd.

After an intense competition, the sword was ultimately auctioned off for nineteen thousand Spirit Stones to a solemn-faced old man.

By now, the atmosphere of the auction was heated by the Geng Metal Flying Sword. The next two treasures, an Orange Gold Armor and a Mother-child Spirit Shield, both top-grade magic tools, were auctioned off at the high prices of six thousand and nine thousand Spirit Stones, respectively.

Indeed, defensive magic tools were generally harder to refine than offensive ones, and their prices were usually twenty to eighty percent higher—flying swords being the exception.

Witnessing this, Zhao Sheng couldn't help but feel surprised.

The standard of this auction wasn't low at all! Starting with top-grade magic tools, the main stream later surely would be Spiritual Artifacts.

"The fourth auction item, a top-grade talismanic artifact, the Five Elements Talisman Plate."

As the sound faded, a middle-aged man produced a square wooden box with one hand.

He slapped the box with one hand, and the lid immediately flipped open, revealing a talisman plate about a foot in diameter, with three layers and five colors, in a Zhouyi Bagua pattern. It looked exquisitely delicate and faintly emitted a Five-Colored Light Halo.

"The Five Elements Chaos Plate, while admittedly limited to the use of talisman cultivators, is forged from a thousand-year-old Spirit Wood and Five Elements Spiritual Gold by an Artifact Refining Master who took forty-nine days to complete it. Although it's not a Spiritual Artifact, it's even more precious than ordinary Spiritual Artifacts," the middle-aged man said slowly while holding the talisman plate.

These words naturally caused a stir among the crowd, and someone who was outspoken immediately asked why.

The middle-aged man smiled confidently and said, "The Artifact Refining Master originally intended to refine a Spiritual Artifact Level talisman plate. However, due to a minor mishap during the refining process, the grade of this talismanic artifact dropped.

Although its grade is much lower than initially planned, it coincidentally gained two unique effects. First, it can hold higher-grade talismans, and it can withstand a Second Order High Grade True Talisman at the maximum. Second, when Five Elements talismans are activated simultaneously, different attributes of talismans can lead to a certain probability of mutation under the guidance of the talisman plate, such as the Five Elements promoting each other and wind feeding fire, etc.

The former isn't too remarkable, after all, high-grade True Talismans are very rare and are seldom obtained.

But the latter would be infinitely useful if it falls into the hands of a cultivator skilled in both talismanic magic and combat.

Most importantly, this talisman plate is a once-in-a-lifetime creation, with almost no chance of a second one ever being made. Therefore... the starting bid is ten thousand Spirit Stones!"

Upon saying this, the middle-aged man deliberately paused for a moment to gauge the reaction of the people below.

As expected, the audience below was once again abuzz with excitement, with many being interested, including Zhao Sheng.

No matter what the others were thinking, he truly wanted to win it.

With this powerful artifact, he wouldn't fear an Early-stage Foundation Establishment Cultivator in the slightest.

"Fifteen thousand Spirit Stones."

As soon as the middle-aged man finished speaking, someone from below immediately called out, boosting the price by five thousand Spirit Stones.

This high bid surprised many, causing some who were about to bid to swallow their words back down.

After a good while, someone snorted coldly and then fiercely bid eighteen thousand Spirit Stones.

Good heavens, that's three thousand more.

With this bid, the vast majority of people backed out.

After all, the Geng Metal Flying Sword at the beginning was sold for only nineteen thousand Spirit Stones.

A talismanic artifact was ultimately niche in use, and even with its rare and magical effects, this was the peak price.

At this point, Zhao Sheng, who had been the first to bid, couldn't help but frown slightly.

It wasn't that he lacked Spirit Stones; not to mention the nearly thirty thousand Spirit Stones he earned from selling magic tools or that the spiritual artifact painting scroll could bring in a good ten thousand Spirit Stones. Even the Pure Yin Spirit Stones he dug up from the Mist Sea Floor would be enough to buy three or four talisman plates like this one.

It was just that he had some concerns. He still needed to win the Foundation Establishment Pills later, and if he ran out of Spirit Stones, he might have to reveal the Pure Yin Spirit Stones.

Given the rarity of Pure Yin Spirit Stones in the Shattered Star Sea, it was not guaranteed that the organizers wouldn't take an interest in him.

While Zhao Sheng weighed the pros and cons, from a private room on the second floor, Wang Yingling quietly focused on his silhouette.

"Young Master, are you sure that person truly has Holy Clan blood?" Elder Turtle's aged voice resonated at that moment.

"Hmm," Wang Yingling nodded lightly.

"Excellent! After this, we must bring this person back to the Void Spirit Abyss—the Great Sacrificial Leader will be delighted," Elder Turtle said excitedly.

This time, Wang Yingling simply nodded but said nothing more.

And just then, a faint voice suddenly rang out over the auction hall:

"Twenty thousand Spirit Stones."

The one who made the bid was none other than Zhao Sheng.

He raised the bid by another two thousand Spirit Stones in one go.

Such a high price caused even some wealthy Foundation Establishment Cultivators to shake their heads in amazement.

"Good, very good. It seems this Taoist friend is determined to get the Five Elements Talisman Plate. Is there anyone else who will bid higher?" The middle-aged man was very pleased and asked the audience once more.

Seeing that no one below bid for a long time, the middle-aged man didn't mind and immediately announced that the talisman plate belonged to Zhao Sheng.