Fellow Daoist! That scoundrel has written a new book again.

After bidding farewell to Zhaohua Niang, Zhu Wuyao finally stepped into Tuozhi Pavilion.

As soon as he stepped into this place, he sensed that it was unusual, as if there was a hidden pressure. This feeling made Zhu Wuyao slightly uncomfortable. He paused for a moment and calmly found the person in charge.

The person in charge, named Di Xuan, greeted us with a smile even before seeing the token, and proactively asked:

"Fellow Daoist, is there anything I can do to help?"

Zhu Wuyao took out the IOU and handed it to the young lady surnamed Di along with the token, saying succinctly:

"Star-Picking Pavilion, four thousand spirit stones."

Di Xuan showed no sign of perfunctoriness. He led Zhu Wuyao to a private room upstairs, had tea served, and then took the token to verify it.

It wasn't until Zhu Wuyao finished drinking two cups of tea and pondered the Wind Concealing Technique for a while that Di Xuan carried in a bag.

She said to Zhu Wuyao with a hint of apology:

"Please don't be offended, esteemed guest. Some time ago, another person from Zhaixing Tower received the same token and was also owed spirit stones."

Zhu Wuyao nodded slightly, naturally guessing that the person who came to ask for money was Song Kezi.

Unexpectedly, she got there first.

She put the bag of spirit stones into her storage bag and took out the Earth-grade invitation letter, wanting to inquire about any upcoming auctions.

As the saying goes, "A poor family travels with wealth."

She had to head south soon, and what use would the spirit stones be if she didn't exchange them for treasures and ended up in a place without merchants?

Di Xuan seemed to have anticipated this and had already prepared his plan in his mind.

The auction's time, the main realms it would target, and the general categories of treasures were described in great detail, suggesting that Song Kezi had inquired about them beforehand.

This auction was quite appropriate.

The applicable realm is exactly from the mid-Foundation Establishment stage to the mid-Golden Core stage; there are no cheaper or more expensive options available.

Zhu Wuyao has already entered the Foundation Establishment stage.

Moreover, after accumulating knowledge and experience for a long time, one can naturally advance to the mid-stage of Foundation Establishment without needing to use the Heavenly Insight Technique to seize fate.

That night, when she pondered the meaning of the falling leaves, she gained far more than she had imagined; changing her fate also caused her cultivation to increase rapidly.

"Miss Di, what is the typical price range for treasures at this stage?"

Di Xuan thought for a moment and said:

"Guest, you are probably looking for treasures before the Golden Core stage. Based on the price of raw materials, they would generally cost between seven hundred and twelve hundred spirit stones."

"If you want to refine a magical artifact, one thing is often not enough. You always need to add some auxiliary materials, or two things that complement each other."

"And the fee charged by the weapon refiner was almost equivalent to the value of the main materials."

Zhu Wuyao roughly calculated that such a magical artifact would cost between 1,500 and 4,000 spirit stones.

Di Xuan continued to add:

"However, at the auction, the prices fluctuated greatly depending on whether the distinguished guests were eager to buy or had a discerning eye."

In other words, it's possible to bid around a thousand, or it might be impossible to resist five or six thousand spirit stones.

Zhu Wuyao nodded, understanding Di Xuan's meaning.

Fortunately, she didn't have any urgently needed magical artifacts, so she went to the auction mainly to broaden her horizons.

After a moment's thought, Zhu Wuyao asked:

"Do you know if there are any elemental spirit ores suitable for mid-to-late Foundation Establishment stages?"

Di Xuan's gaze swept over the black sword on her back without making a sound, and he could tell that the sword was not of high quality.

Guessing that the customer before him probably wanted to collect some spirit ore so he could find a swordsmith to forge a suitable sword, he understood:

"Please wait a moment, guest."

Di Xuan was a manager of moderate importance. She wasn't in charge of receiving cultivators in the Qi Refining stage, but she could handle cultivators who had just entered the Foundation Establishment stage.

However, Zhu Wuyao had already received the token and possessed the invitation letter with the Earth-level designation. Furthermore, the employee dispatched to Zhaixing Tower had incurred a debt of spirit stones due to improper conduct.

Therefore, it was Di Xuan's turn to greet them.

Before long, ten pieces of spirit ore were laid out on the table, each possessing one of the five elements. Two of each element were taken for selection.

Zhu Wuyao stepped forward, looked around for a while, and asked:

"May I take it and choose carefully?"

Di Xuan nodded naturally, and as per the rules, reminded him beforehand:

"In our Tuozhi Pavilion, you can use your own methods to observe it, as long as you don't damage the spiritual energy of the ore, so as not to disturb your interest in acquiring treasures."

No wonder it became the largest auction house in Zhongling City.

Zhu Wuyao stopped asking questions and walked to the wood-attribute spirit ore, placed it in his hand, and began to circulate the Yue Su Gong.

The spiritual energy within his body slowly condensed along his meridians, tentatively invading the spiritual ore.

The skill of identifying materials is also remarkably effective.

Without making a sound, Zhu Wuyao put down the spirit ore in his hand and picked up another one.

Di Xuan, who was accompanying her, watched the technique with great interest. With her keen eyesight, she could naturally tell that the spirit ore that had been placed down was not damaged.

On the contrary, the tiny area where spiritual energy had been absorbed seemed to have a stronger spiritual fluctuation.

It's none of her business to inquire about the guest's cultivation method.

Di Xuan withdrew his gaze and replaced Zhu Wuyao's teacup with hot tea.

Zhu Wuyao paused slightly when he picked up a piece of earth-attribute spirit ore.

This spirit ore... seems strangely familiar.

Zhu Wuyao frowned slightly, recalling the source of this familiarity, and soon realized—

This spirit ore bears a resemblance to her bladeless sword.

No, to be precise, it is somewhat similar to the Earthly Cold Black Iron obtained from the Longevity Inn.

His brows gradually relaxed. If he used the wood-attribute spiritual energy of this mine to refine the bladeless sword, it would be even more suitable.

She casually put down the ore, and only after examining the remaining spirit ores in the same way did she choose two to present to Di Xuan.

asked:

"This metallic ore looks good. What kind is it, and what is its value?"

"Distinguished guest, you have a discerning eye. Both pieces you have chosen are excellent. This one is called Crimson Sun Gold. It is not considered precious, but it must be born from wood, so it is born with a sharp edge and can easily cut through iron and gold. It is worth nine hundred and fifty spirit stones."

Di Xuan not only introduced the metallic ore, but also the wood-attribute spirit ore that Zhu Wuyao was extremely interested in:

"This is the Nanhuai Mine. Although its name contains the character 'Huai' (槐), it is actually surrounded by vines. This mine is valued for its resilience! It only costs six hundred spirit stones."

Nanhuai Mine?

Zhu Wuyao asked, seemingly casually:

"Produced in the south?"

Di Xuan laughed:

"It does come from the south, but that involves their respective channels, so I can't say much about it."

Zhu Wuyao let this sentence go through his mind—

Using "channels" to describe it indicates that Tuozhige can purchase goods in bulk from here, which is bound to be stable.

That place not only contains the Nanhuai Mine, but the Earth Cold Black Iron used in the Wufeng Sword probably also comes from the same source.

Tonight, we'll test this ore first. If it has a remarkable effect, we can then inquire at Tuozhige. We'll also have the excuse that "the quality is quite good."

There might be other spirit mines from the same source.

She said, "Hmm, how about 1,400 spirit stones?"

"Guest, you'll have to add another fifty. Our Tuozhi Pavilion has always been honest and fair to all, young and old. You have to let us make a little profit, don't you?"

……