Chapter 27: Why Is It Him Again?
Once again, it was him.
Watching the swaggering figure stride down the aisle and take a seat at the front, Shen Lian slowly withdrew his gaze.
With the enhancement of the Divine Sense Talisman, he sensed Yang Li’s aura was slightly unsteady, yet it was unmistakably the seventh layer of Qi Refinement.
How swift his cultivation progressed.
It had taken Shen Lian two years of relentless pill consumption just to reach the sixth layer. Yet someone he’d once lived alongside on the outskirts of the market had surpassed him.
Had he swallowed some supreme restorative elixir?
After entering the cavern, Yang Li’s eyes darted about, taking in every cultivator present. He glanced at Shen Lian, but only briefly.
In the later stages of Qi Refinement, without using spiritual power, certain features—such as hair—could sometimes reveal which attribute of spiritual energy one cultivated.
Shen Lian was wrapped up too tightly, so he was immediately excluded from suspicion.
Half an hour passed.
Most seats in the cave were now filled.
A resounding chime echoed through the cavern, bringing silence.
Shen Lian glanced around, noting there were indeed many cultivators in attendance, close to three hundred in all.
It seemed the allure of a Foundation Establishment-level technique was truly immense.
“Thank you all for coming. I am Hua Ling.”
A graceful, tall female cultivator leapt onto the central stone platform.
“I hope each of you will obtain treasures that benefit your cultivation.”
...
“The first item: a top-grade first-rank magical artifact, the Mountain-Sealing Disk. It contains two magic seals. When activated, it can manifest a mountain ten zhang in size, or expand to shield you. Both offensive and defensive, starting bid: one hundred lower-grade spirit stones.”
Hua Ling’s voice was clear and penetrating. In her hand appeared a yellowish-brown disk about a foot across, adorned with embossed mountain ranges.
Top-grade first-rank artifacts began to contain internal restrictions; the sealed magics were truly marvelous.
The array disk in Shen Lian’s hand, for instance, had three restrictions and sold for three hundred and fifty spirit stones at Treasure Pavilion.
“One hundred and twenty spirit stones.”
“One hundred and fifty.”
...
Shen Lian had no interest in the Mountain-Sealing Disk.
...
“The fifth item: a quasi-second-rank monster beast, a young Profound-Horned Bull, with a chance to break through to the Foundation Establishment stage.”
Hua Ling’s voice echoed in the cave.
Shen Lian lounged in his stone chair, uninterested in the next few lots. He didn’t feel any disappointment since these weren’t the treasures he’d come for.
The bidding among the rogue cultivators was harmonious; no heated disputes arose.
Although rogue cultivators had a reputation for unruliness, they were also the most adept at reading the room—except for a rare few fools.
The auction proceeded swiftly.
The quality of all spiritual items on offer was beyond reproach: pills, talismans, magical artifacts, and techniques, all could be considered fine wares.
Thus, as the auction drew to a close, the crowd remained calm, evidently waiting for the final highlight.
“Now for the last item: the remnant scroll of the Heavenly Water Cloud Technique, a cultivation method with the chance to reach the Foundation Establishment stage.”
With Hua Ling’s words, the entire cavern’s atmosphere shifted. Even the sound of breathing changed.
Shen Lian felt it himself, but he quickly caught the subtlety in her phrasing.
“A chance to reach Foundation Establishment” was very different from “can reach Foundation Establishment.”
Even so, judging by the expressions of the fellow rogue cultivators, the value of a Foundation-level technique was clear.
All eyes were fixed on the scroll, red as a rabbit’s.
No one cared about the odds; the immediate problem was going from having nothing to having something at all.
However, disappointment soon spread among many: this technique was water-aligned.
A few late-stage Qi Refinement cultivators with strong water-affinity roots looked excited, but their faces soon fell again.
The reason was simple: they couldn’t afford it!
Even the least valuable Foundation Establishment technique cost over ten thousand spirit stones. How many here had that kind of wealth?
Even if they traded all their other valuables—second-rank ores, herbs—it might not suffice.
Even if they threw in all their magical artifacts and cultivation pills, it would still be pointless.
At that moment, some had already begun to whisper, trying to borrow spirit stones.
On the stage, Hua Ling took in all their reactions with practiced eyes.
She’d expected this.
Here at the market, anyone who came to pioneer was someone who couldn’t get by elsewhere; having spare spirit stones was a fantasy.
“Fellow cultivators, the owner of this cultivation technique does not want spirit stones. Instead, he wishes to recruit a few of you to join him in searching for something near Miasma Cloud Mountain.”
Her words caused a stir.
Miasma Cloud Mountain! That was the very place where, at the last joint auction of the three markets, two Foundation Establishment cultivators had perished.
Hua Ling paid their reactions no mind and continued, “As long as you help him find what he seeks, this ‘Heavenly Water Cloud Technique’ will be given to you for cultivation.”
“Of course, the owner only needs ten fellow cultivators.”
“I need not state the value of a Foundation-level technique.”
...
After a brief silence—
“Fortune favors the bold. I’m in,” the first voice rang out.
It was a middle-aged cultivator in the eighth layer of Qi Refinement.
“A thousand spirit stones—never mind ten thousand—I couldn’t save that much in ten years. I’m going, too.”
...
The ruthless decisiveness of the rogue cultivators was on full display. In no time, ten candidates had volunteered.
Shen Lian sat quietly, observing.
The appearance of a Foundation-level technique at the auction filled him with hope.
Yet obtaining such a technique was no easy matter.
A chill ran through his heart.
Even if he managed to scrape together enough spirit stones, if he revealed them at an auction like this, it wouldn’t be a purchase—it would paint a target on his back.
Who knew how many “fellow cultivators” would help themselves to his “fortune”?
As the auction dispersed, Shen Lian left—he’d arrived with hope, but now could only smile wryly.
Even if there were another suitable technique for sale, could he really bid openly and walk away with it?
What a hopeless situation.
He needed a technique, but so did everyone else.
If none had one, and only he did, he’d stand out like a sore thumb.
That was far from prudent.
It would only plunge him into mortal danger.
“If only someone would just gift me a technique, I’d thank their ancestors for eighteen generations.”
He left the auction empty-handed.
It seemed there was no point in attending future auctions.
His best option was still to find a way to leave Yunmeng Market—only then would he be safe.
Even if it meant selling his looks, so be it.
After a moment’s daze, Shen Lian quickly regained his composure. With the Divine Sense Talisman, he sensed several spiritual probes fall upon him.
He hadn’t revealed any sign of wealth, yet he’d still drawn attention.
Rogue cultivators—what a bunch...
He couldn’t help but laugh.
Once outside Cliff Valley Mountain, he activated two high-grade Swiftstride Talismans strapped to his legs and shot off toward the miasma-shrouded peaks.
A few figures followed, but seeing Shen Lian vanish into the forest, they hesitated and soon gave up.
Still, someone had marked him as their prey.