Protect Our Patriarch

At present, the Wang's Clan has entered a rare period of peaceful development, allowing them to slowly digest the fruits of their victories. Getting involved in the disputes of other clans at such a time would not be a wise move.

Therefore, Wang Shouzhe greeted the two with an increasingly courteous smile: "The Tuoba Clan and the Tantai Clan are both powerful families from the Southern Six Guards. It is a great honor for our Changning Wang's Clan to get closer and learn from you two elder brothers."

He naturally expressed his stance.

Upon hearing this, both Tuoba Gaozhan and Tantai Yongyi were disappointed.

However, they understood that with the current relationship between the parties, it was unrealistic to expect the Changning Wang's Clan to take sides.

But at the same time, no one wanted to offend the Wang's Clan for no reason and push them into the camp of the other side. Immediately, the two clan leaders' enthusiasm for Wang Shouzhe did not diminish but instead grew warmer.

Wang Shouzhe, of course, was adept at handling the situation, adopting a stance of not offending either side. After several rounds of interaction, he was as impervious as an old hand at this.

This left the two clan leaders with a sense of helplessness, like a dog trying to bite a hedgehog but finding no place to start.

Their estimation of Wang Shouzhe rose once again.

Although this young man was still under forty, his handling of affairs was incredibly sophisticated, not to be underestimated. The current situation of the Changning Wang's Clan was certainly not a fluke.

Subsequently, the auction at the Hundred Treasures Pavilion began to heat up, with various private rooms gradually occupied by celestial clans from near and far.

What made Wang Shouzhe frown slightly was that, in addition to several formidable celestial clans from the Southern Six Guards, there were also celestial clans from Langyou Guard, Izumo Guard, and Xincheng Guard who had come from afar to participate in the auction.

This was a rather rare sight.

After all, within the entire Longzuo Commandery, the Southern Six Guards were considered "newly developed" territories. Compared to central or eastern regions, they clearly had less accumulated heritage and overall weaker strength.

Unless there was something particularly attractive, it was rare for celestial clans from other guards to travel such distances just to make purchases.

Could it be for the mid-grade magical treasure, the Purple Lightning Sword?

But that didn't seem right either~

Although mid-grade magical treasures were rare and precious, they were unlikely to attract so many celestial clans to compete.

Could it be that there were other treasures in this auction that he was unaware of? Impossible, as a key client of the Hundred Treasures Pavilion, he would have certainly received the auction catalog in advance...

The most valuable item listed in the catalog was the Purple Lightning Sword with a starting bid of 450,000 Top Gold, which was Wang Shouzhe's main target for this auction.

"Clan Leader Wang Shouzhe, are you wondering why clans from other regions have come here?" Tuoba Gaozhan, observing Wang Shouzhe's expression, said, "The reason is quite simple. Among the items in this auction, there is a bottle of 'Earth Mother Spirit Liquid'."

"Earth Mother Spirit Liquid?" Wang Shouzhe frowned and said, "I remember the auction catalog mentioning it as one of the raw materials for several precious fifth-grade spirit pills, with a starting bid of only 100,000 Top Gold. Is it worth them coming from so far?"

"Although the Earth Mother Spirit Liquid is a rare and precious natural treasure, under normal circumstances it wouldn't cause such a stir, as most people don't refine high-grade pills," Tantai Yongyi said. "However, there have been rumors recently that the Pill Cauldron Master is planning to take a few disciples. They come to buy the Earth Mother Spirit Liquid, mostly to offer it as a gift, hoping to establish a connection with the Pill Cauldron Master."

Before he could finish, Tuoba Gaozhan immediately interjected: "A few months ago, the Pill Cauldron Master announced that he wanted to purchase Earth Mother Spirit Liquid. The families that have come now probably all have clan members with decent talent in pill refining."

The Pill Cauldron Master?

Wang Shouzhe had heard of this big shot.

It was said that this big shot was a self-made cultivator. In his youth, he accidentally obtained a pill refining inheritance and, after enduring countless hardships, finally ascended to the status of a master.

However, he liked to wander around, like a carefree crane, and ordinary clans simply couldn't establish a relationship with him.

Mentioning this, Wang Shouzhe's heart also stirred slightly.

His younger brother, Wang Shouye, was also on the path of pill refining. Originally, his talent was quite ordinary, but Wang Shouzhe had left him a Bridal Blood Gu. Not long ago, he also broke through the second level of the Shenwu Dynasty's trial instance with his peak Qi Cultivation Realm strength, obtaining a Heavenly Spirit Pill and a Primary Talent Improvement Liquid.

With these two items, his bloodline had awakened to the second layer, and he had indeed entered the ranks of the "chosen ones."

However, Wang Shouye was obsessed with pill refining and did not pay enough attention to his combat strength, not even obtaining a high-grade spiritual weapon.

Now, he should be attempting to break through to the Lingtai Realm.

Once successful, he would be able to awaken the third layer of the Li Fire Bloodline. With such talent, staying in the Changning Xu Clan's Pill Workshop would be a waste of his potential.

Originally, Wang Shouzhe was considering, when preparing to send his daughter to the academy, to inquire about a suitable master for Wang Shouye.

But unexpectedly, as he was contemplating this, an opportunity presented itself.

The Earth Mother Spirit Liquid, right?

Wang Shouzhe's eyes narrowed slightly, and he had some ideas.

Soon, the auction officially began.

Because this auction was quite grand, the person presiding over it was an old man in the Celestial Realm.

"Our Hundred Treasures Pavilion has rules that all esteemed guests are surely aware of," he said with a dignified expression. "During the auction, you may not threaten other customers or recklessly bid and then abandon the bid. I won't say more. The first item for auction is the Cold Crystal Spear, a low-grade Xuanbing series spiritual weapon, with a starting bid of 26,000 Top Gold."

As soon as his voice fell, there was immediately a flurry of bids from below.

"28,000!"

"28,500!"

"..."

Those who started bidding were mostly from ordinary private rooms, belonging to clans of the eighth or ninth rank, many of whom had concealed their voices and identities.

Soon, the "Cold Crystal Spear" was happily acquired by a certain eighth or ninth rank clan for a final price of 33,000 Top Gold.

Then, the second item was brought up for auction.

"Third-grade spirit pills—'Great Gathering Spirit Pills,' twenty pills, with a starting bid of 50,000 Top Gold," the auctioneer announced.

"Gathering Spirit Pills" are third-grade spirit pills, divided into ordinary Gathering Spirit Pills and Great Gathering Spirit Pills, both of which are extremely beneficial cultivation pills for cultivators in the Celestial Realm. Especially the Great Gathering Spirit Pills, which are usually sold for three to four thousand each, are very potent.

However, as a type of auxiliary cultivation pill, a price of several thousand each is already extremely expensive, and most old ancestors in the Celestial Realm cannot afford them.

Of course, it's not that they can't afford 50,000 Top Gold, but rather they can't afford to spend tens of thousands of Top Gold every year...

A normal seventh-rank Celestial Realm clan ancestor spends a few thousand Top Gold a year on spiritual food to replenish qi and blood, and then takes a Gathering Spirit Pill every two or three months to aid in cultivation. This is considered basic consumption, with an annual expense of around ten thousand Top Gold or so.

But under such circumstances, the progress of their cultivation is extremely slow, almost only maintaining their current level. It could take a hundred years to advance to the mid-stage of the Celestial Realm, basically cutting off the path to the Purple Mansion Realm.

Even if the annual expense is about ten thousand Top Gold, it is still a huge expenditure for most Celestial Realm clans. A hundred years would amount to one million Top Gold, and living for over two hundred years would mean an expense of over two million Top Gold.

A normal seventh-rank clan, with all its assets combined, might not even exceed three to four million Top Gold, and they still need to save resources for the transition of Celestial Realm members, to prevent the clan from falling from the seventh rank.

Therefore, the more expensive and less cost-effective Great Gathering Spirit Pills are not necessary for ordinary seventh-rank clans, and only some strong seventh-rank clans who want to break through to higher levels will have a demand for them.

"51,000!"

Someone from a private room made a bid, not concealing their identity—it was the Wang Clan from Zhenze Guard.

"55,000." Wang Shouzhe bid.

"So it's the Changning Wang's Clan." The person from the Wang Clan obviously also recognized Wang Shouzhe's identity and said to him, "Great Gathering Spirit Pills are not considered rare treasures, and they can be bought in many places with some effort. However, our Kunyuan Ancestor is currently in seclusion, attempting to break through a bottleneck, so I hope the Wang's Clan will not compete with us for it—60,000!"

He directly raised the bid by 5,000, also indicating that he did not want to bully the Wang's Clan and was sincere in wanting the item.

The auctioneer frowned slightly but ultimately did not speak.

As long as it was not a threat to the other party, the Hundred Treasures Pavilion would turn a blind eye to such borderline cases.

Breaking through a bottleneck?

Wang Shouzhe exchanged glances with the Tantai and Tuoba clan leaders, all seeing a hint of surprise in each other's eyes.

The Wang Clan was already a strong seventh-rank family, and their first ancestor, Wang Kunyuan, was already a veteran mid-stage Celestial Realm cultivator. Now that he was in seclusion to break through a bottleneck, he was most likely attempting the major breakthrough from the sixth to the seventh layer of the Celestial Realm.

Once successful, he might become the first late-stage Celestial Realm cultivator in the Southern Six Guards. Quite impressive!

"In that case, Wang Shouzhe will congratulate Ancestor Kunyuan in advance on his promotion to the late Celestial Realm," Wang Shouzhe said with a hearty laugh, truly no longer competing.

He was not afraid of the Zhenze Wang Clan, but it was not worth making an enemy over such a trivial matter. As the Wang Clan had said, although Great Gathering Spirit Pills were rare, they could still be obtained with some time and effort.

"Thank you, Clan Leader Wang Shouzhe, for your consideration," the Wang Clan leader also said happily, "When you have time, please visit our Zhenze Wang Clan as a guest, and I will make sure to treat you with the utmost hospitality."

"Definitely, definitely, Wang Shouzhe has long wanted to visit Zhenze Guard and experience the scenery of the Great Wilderness Dream Marsh," Wang Shouzhe said in a friendly exchange.

The Great Wilderness Dream Marsh was an extremely dangerous boundless marsh, located outside the domain. Zhenze Guard was situated on its edge, hence the name "Zhenze Guard."

As the two conversed, the twenty Great Gathering Spirit Pills fell into the hands of the Wang Clan. The final transaction price was slightly lower than the market price, which was a small bargain.

After that, several more items were auctioned one by one.

Although Wang Shouzhe was somewhat tempted, he planned to spend his money where it mattered most, so he did not take the initiative to bid.

Until the "Earth Mother Spirit Liquid" appeared.

"Starting bid of 100,000."

As soon as the auctioneer spoke.

Wang Shouzhe immediately said at the first opportunity: "110,000 Top Gold! I ask my friends from the various clans to give the Wang's Clan some face. The Wang's Clan will only bid for two items this time, the Earth Mother Spirit Liquid and the Purple Lightning Sword."

As his words fell, Tantai Yongyi and Tuoba Gaozhan looked at Wang Shouzhe with a different gaze.

So you've also set your sights on the Earth Mother Spirit Liquid.

What they admired most was Wang Shouzhe's cleverness. He bid before everyone else and expressed his need for the Earth Mother Spirit Liquid and the Purple Lightning Sword.

In this way, even if there was a price competition with others later, it would just be a matter of each relying on their own resources and wealth, and it would not cause others to feel that Wang Shouzhe was deliberately provoking them.

At this moment, as Wang Shouzhe's words ended, the auction hall fell silent.

After a full few breaths, a faint voice came from the private room of the Sun Clan from Langyou: "Sorry, our Langyou Sun Clan also wants this treasure. Let's have a fair competition."

"That's right, a fair competition, everyone on their own merits," someone from the Liu Clan of Izumo also spoke up, "Clan Leader Wang Shouzhe, although we have some friendship, I still can't miss out on this item."

"Our Xincheng Yuwen Clan also needs this item, let's all rely on our own abilities, and don't take it personally," the "distant" Xincheng Yuwen Clan also spoke up.

Wang Shouzhe's mouth revealed a slight smile.

It was necessary to take the high ground first. In this way, the subsequent bidding would be them not giving face to the Wang's Clan, not the other way around.

It was just a little trick, but Wang Shouzhe was also trying to avoid unnecessary trouble.

Of course, if someone really didn't know better, the Wang's Clan would not be afraid to make enemies.

"115,000."

"120,000."

"140,000."

"180,000, Wang needs this item greatly for my brother to become a disciple of the Pill Cauldron Master," Wang Shouzhe said loudly, "If anyone wants to compete, my limit is 300,000. If anyone is willing to exceed this price, then I will concede."

300,000?

A burst of exclamations and discussions arose from the various private rooms.

This price had already far exceeded the normal price of the Earth Mother Spirit Liquid by more than double. Similarly, it also far exceeded their psychological bottom line.

The several foreign clans fell silent for a moment.

The wealth displayed by the Wang's Clan was somewhat frightening.

This newly risen Celestial Realm clan was so wealthy?

Wang Shouzhe's words undoubtedly sent them a signal. Either surpass 300,000 Top Gold to obtain the item or give up now. If they helped the Hundred Treasures Pavilion to raise the price to 300,000 for the Wang's Clan, it would certainly provoke the Wang's Clan's displeasure.

Every major clan would weigh the pros and cons. After all, their greatest wish was for the clan to endure and continue for generations. If they went around offending people like a mad dog every day, they would eventually take a big fall."I, from the Liu's Clan of Chuanyun, will give Wang's Clan some face and not compete any further. Liu will think of other methods," the patriarch of Chuanyun Liu's Clan was the first to relent.

In the academy, his son Liu Yunlang was eagerly following Wang Luoqiu around; he couldn't ignore this fact.

"Enough, my Yuwen's Clan just came to try our luck. Since it's not meant to be, we shall stop here."

"Ha ha, Wang's Clan has impressive courage and profound resources," a loud laugh came from the private room of Sun's Clan on the right of the corridor, "Over three hundred thousand, our Sun's Clan can't afford such a price. Patriarch Wang Shouzhe, we hope you and Ancestor Long Yan will visit our Sun's Clan when you have the chance."

Nobody's money comes from the wind. With this price, one could buy two portions of Earth Mother Elixir elsewhere; they really didn't need to stubbornly compete with Wang's Clan to the death.

The older the noble family, the more descendants they have, and the more various expenses they incur, they would have their own valuation and considerations for everything.

"Sold for one hundred and eighty thousand, congratulations to Wang's Clan of Changning for obtaining a bottle of 'Earth Mother Elixir,'" the auctioneer, an old man, had a somewhat dark expression.

This time, because of the special demand for the Earth Mother Elixir, he had originally estimated that it would fetch a price of over two hundred thousand.

But Wang's Clan's intervention resulted in a final bid of only one hundred and eighty thousand.

This was a fierce undercut. Moreover, Wang's Clan had bid three thousand over the market price before undercutting, which left him choking, unable to vent his frustration or hold it back, truly making him uncomfortably stuck.

"Thank you all for your generosity," Wang Shouzhe said loudly, "Next, aside from the Purple Lightning Sword, Wang's Clan will not bid on anything else. If anyone else is interested, let's bid fairly. Let the Top Gold speak, and let's not harbor any grudges."

Such audacity... quite fierce!

But then again, it was also a sign of strong confidence.

After several lower-grade magical treasures were auctioned off, it was time for the finale of this auction—the Purple Lightning Sword.

This time, the auctioneer warned in advance: "Ladies and gentlemen, our Hundred Treasures Pavilion also needs to make a living, please bid as you will, but hold your tongues. Otherwise, Hundred Treasures Pavilion will revoke your future auction privileges."

With his warning in place.

The bids from various families became much more cautious, and no one dared to "speak out of turn" anymore, lest they be blacklisted and face trouble.

After a tug-of-war of bidding, in the end, Wang Shouzhe won the mid-grade magical treasure—the Purple Lightning Sword—for the price of five hundred and ninety thousand Top Gold.

After today, Wang's Clan, which already had a high reputation in the Southern Six Guards, saw their prestige and evaluation among the various celestial families rise yet another notch.

Possessing two mid-grade magical treasures, one for offense and one for defense, Ancestor Long Yan's combat power was now quite formidable. Given a few years to stabilize her cultivation, she could even contend with the average mid-stage Celestial Realm cultivator.

Unfortunately, what they didn't know was that they were still underestimating Ancestor Long Yan.

Apart from a few allies, the vast majority of the celestial families had no clue about Ancestor Long Yan's true capabilities.

As early as the Lingtai Realm, she had already reached the fourth level of bloodline spirit body, and now after advancing to the Celestial Realm, she had even awakened the fifth level of her bloodline!

Given some time to stabilize, not to mention ordinary mid-stage Celestial Realm cultivators, even Fang You'an might be able to contend with her.

...

(PS: These words are not charged. There were some initial setting errors regarding the ranks of the pills, which I have adjusted in the settings. The corrections will be made gradually. For example, the Heavenly Spirit Pill has been adjusted to a fourth-grade pill, and the Ascension Pill and Marrow Cleansing Pill have been adjusted to fifth-grade pills, with the price unchanged.)