Traveling through time to cultivate immortality: a life and death test

Dingyan Dan set off another climax, but the foundation-building monks in the hall had no sense of participation, and were left with only envy, jealousy and hatred.

"A flying fox, a first-level demon beast, is clever, petite, and adorable. It's the perfect companion to soothe loneliness. Starting price: 500 yuan, with increments of 50 yuan." Shopkeeper Liu immediately offered a cute pet, hoping to recapture the attention of the female cultivators. He held out a small cage, and inside lay a pristine white fox. Its long fur looked incredibly soft and delicate from a distance, and it must have felt wonderful to touch. Its pointed snout, crowned by a small, adorable red nose, shone with a pair of timid eyes. Its powerful spiritual pressure made it feel extremely uncomfortable, and its anthropomorphic expression was deeply distressing.

"What a cute little fox." The eyes of the female cultivators sparkled and their hearts overflowed with love.

"Little beast, why don't you stand up?" Chang Qing took everyone's eyes in his eyes, and suddenly cast a spell at the flying fox, making it scream.

"No." A female cultivator was shocked to see such a cute fox being bullied for no reason and screamed in surprise.

"I'll give you 600 yuan, stop hitting it." At this time, a clear voice rang out from the corner of the hall. It was a female cultivator in the middle stage of foundation building. She stood up and immediately stopped Chang Qing's violence. This was exactly the effect that Shopkeeper Chang wanted. Seeing that his goal was achieved, he immediately stopped and smiled slyly. The girl who bid knew that it was Chang Qing's plan, but she had no choice but to fall for it. The moment she saw the little fox, she fell deeply in love with it. The little fox also looked at her gratefully. The man and the demon actually had a bit of love at first sight. A first-level demon beast is not very helpful to cultivators in the foundation building stage. No one wanted to spend this money in vain, so no one was interested in bidding. So the flying fox fell into the hands of the female cultivator. She handed over the spirit stone, put away the little fox and returned to her seat.

"This top-grade foundation-building technique, the 'Golden Sun Art,' can be cultivated to the late Jindan stage. It's the main practice of Master Jinyang, a senior master in the late Jindan stage, and is incredibly powerful. The starting price is one thousand spirit stones, with increments of one hundred." Chang Qing offered another technique for auction. The place suddenly became lively again, with a constant barrage of bidding. "Dharma, wealth, companions, and land" are the four great aids for a cultivator, with techniques ranking first. Practicing a top-tier technique elevates one's level of advancement and depth of mana, so cultivators are either searching for or on the hunt for high-quality techniques. Top-grade techniques are already considered exceptional, and naturally sparked fierce competition. Liu Xing, possessing the 'Wind and Thunder Manual: Wind and Cloud Power,' would have also joined the scramble. After fierce competition, the 'Golden Sun Art' was finally purchased by a casual cultivator in the hall for a hefty price of three thousand spirit stones.

"The next treasure to be auctioned is the finale, please stay tuned." Shopkeeper Chang whetted everyone's appetite and prepared to start the auction.

"Is it finally about to begin?" the insider in the second-floor box seemed to know something. The people in the hall were a little confused, but that didn't matter; it didn't dampen their curiosity, so they all held their breath and waited.

"A bottle of Spirit Awakening Pills, a total of six pills, accidentally obtained from the demon tribe, can help level one to four demon beasts awaken their intelligence and reach the IQ level of an adult. Once the intelligence is awakened, it will greatly improve the training speed of the spirit pet and the degree of cooperation when it is used. The starting price is 50,000, and the price increases by 5,000 each time." Shopkeeper Chang raised his voice and introduced loudly. Even he himself was a little tempted, and his voice trembled with excitement.

"Sixty thousand!" As soon as Chang Qing finished speaking, Elder Yulin of the Yuling Sect, who was sitting in the private room on the second floor, couldn't wait to start quoting prices. Everyone in the Yuling Sect controlled spirit pets, so they desperately needed these kinds of elixirs. So, he seemed determined to get them.

"Sixty-five thousand!" An old man in another box raised the price without showing any weakness. Many disciples in his sect also had spirit pets and needed this kind of elixir, which was nowhere to be found among human cultivators, so naturally he was unwilling to miss it.

"Seventy thousand!" a third voice rang out, seemingly aiming for the Qiling Pill. Chang Qing and Liu Xing were both thrilled; they hadn't anticipated such a high price for such a sought-after item. Liu Xing thought of the ten Qiling Pills he still had in his pocket, and the large sum of Emperor's Flowing Juice he still hadn't refined. This was a colossal sum, and he was secretly horrified. Money can be tempting, and he reminded himself to keep it a secret.

"Seventy-five thousand!"

"Eighty thousand!" There were only two voices left. The other people bidding finally had no energy to raise the price and stopped.

"Eighty-five thousand!"

"Ninety thousand! But the fellow Taoist from the City Lord's Mansion is raising the price? The Qiling Pill is too important to my Yuling Sect. Please give it up. Yulin will definitely reward you handsomely." Elder Yulin was a little anxious. This was already his bottom line. If the price was raised further, although the sect could afford it, the cost would be too high and he would not be able to explain it.

"Okay, Brother Yulin, you have to keep your promise! I'll give the Qi Ling Dan to you." The bidder seemed to think for a moment and gave up raising the price.

"The Spirit-awakening Pill, 90,000 spirit stones once! Is there anyone who wants to bid higher? 90,000 spirit stones twice! 90,000 spirit stones three times! Deal! Congratulations, Senior Yulin." Half a minute later, Chang Qing saw that no one had bid higher, so he excitedly announced the deal.

Yulin flew to the front desk to make the delivery. Although this time he paid a huge price, he finally fulfilled his mission and obtained the Qiling Pill. However, he still owed the City Lord's Mansion a favor, not a small one, and he would find a way to repay it later.

The casual cultivators in the hall were apathetic. Buying a single top-grade magical weapon would cost them a thousand spirit stones, and they'd be broke. The sect was shelling out nearly a hundred thousand spirit stones for a few pills meant for animals. It was truly infuriating to compare oneself to the enemy. Liu Xing was also stunned. Instead of joy, he felt apprehensive and wary. He even worried that the Tongda Chamber of Commerce might target him, forcing him to produce more Spirit-Awakening Pills. Whether it was the thousand-year-old elixir used to refine the Dingyan Pill or the exorbitant price paid for the Spirit-Awakening Pill, his secrets were enough to spark their curiosity and lead to extreme measures, forcing him to be on guard. He would rather be caught in a treachery than die without a burial place. Fortunately, his status as an alchemist offered him greater value, which might be a relief. While he shouldn't be in danger in the city, it was hard to say whether he would be targeted outside. He now regretted agreeing to be a guest alchemist for the Tongda Chamber of Commerce. This would give them many opportunities to attack him. Now that he had agreed, he couldn't refuse, otherwise he would be suspected of having hidden agendas. Since this was already the case, he had no choice but to go ahead. He would have to keep Jiao Jiao by his side from now on, so they could join forces against the enemy in case of emergencies, giving him more confidence. He kept reminding himself to be fully alert.