Tian Yinghao laughed and expressed, “It sounds like you’ve successfully smithed it. Hehe, Brother Ou, don’t worry, I’m sure it was a success.” He did not know what Ou Yangming had smithed, but he already had the guts to vouch for it. Needless to say, it was because he was extremely confident in the young fellow’s abilities.
Ou Yangming smiled faintly at him and thought, ‘If he finds out that I was fiddling with a flying carpet, I wonder if he’ll still be so confident in me.’
Before this, flying carpets could only be smithed by Venerable Blacksmiths, but Ou Yangming was far from being a Venerable One. Before he really managed to mull over a flying carpet, even he dared not guarantee that he could refine pieces of flight equipment.
“Enough of this—let’s go to the meet.” Ou Yangming changed the topic calmly.
Tian Yinghao was stunned, but he immediately understood that Ou Yangming did not want to talk about the matter anymore. He nodded right away and brought the young fellow to a mountain.
The Beast King Sect was established on a mountain range, hence any large events and activities would be held on such terrain.
This time, Tian Yinghao brought Ou Yangming to one of the largest mountains in the Beast King Sect, and it was also the venue for all of the grand activities in the sect. Many human powerhouses and beasts had already gathered by the time they arrived.
Everyone was attracted to a big box at the center of the square on the mountain.
This was because they knew that the receivers of the 100 interspatial bags would be chosen from the box.
Ou Yangming and Tian Yinghao roamed around the square. Owing to the blacksmith’s introduction, the young fellow had not only gotten to know the rules here, but he also became very interested in the items that would be auctioned next.
A giant crystal wall could be seen on one of the corners of the square. A corresponding magic art was released, causing the images of various items to be auctioned to continuously appear on the wall.
It was not Ou Yangming’s first time participating in such an auction, but he felt like it was an eye-opener. In particular, he was quite drawn to the pills that were introduced.
All of a sudden, a vibrant voice was heard from the center of the square.
“Dear guests, welcome to the Beast King Sect’s large-scaled Trading Meet.” A burly man, who was almost similar to a spirit beast, stood beside the big box. His voice was sonorous, such that it echoed in every corner on the mountain.
Ou Yangming turned to look in shock. He could not help but look warily at that person.
The man turned out to be a top-grade Spiritualist, whose aura was unbelievably mighty.
Throughout Ou Yangming’s long time in the Spiritual Realm, he had seen more than 1 Venerable One, but it was his first time meeting a human top-grade Spiritualist.
Tian Yinghao had a grave look on his face as he asked softly, “Ah, is Great Elder hosting the lottery activity this time?”
Ou Yangming’s heart skipped a beat, and he asked, “Isn’t the Beast King Sect’s great elder cultivating in isolation to become a Venerable One? Why did he suddenly come out?”
After staying here for some time, he more or less heard about certain things.
The Beast King Sect’s great elder—Mao Jianbi—became a top-grade Spiritualist several decades ago. Afterward, he cultivated in isolation in the sect as he strived to become a Venerable One one day.
Theoretically, someone like him was considered the sect’s treasure. The members of the sect would try to hide him as much as they could, so why would they let him show up?
Tian Yinghao pondered for a while, then he answered, “I can’t understand a top-grade Spiritualist’s actions either, but Great Elder must’ve gotten Sir Venerable One’s permission to come out. Perhaps…” He hesitated for a moment before he lowered his voice and continued, “Perhaps Sir Venerable One thinks that he should come out to adjust his mood.”
Mao Jianbi’s aura was so strong that it seemed like he would become a Venerable One at any time, but cultivators like Ou Yangming and Tian Yinghao knew how much luck would be needed and the price that had to be paid for him to take that leap.
As rich as Mao Jianbi’s aura was, nobody could guarantee that he would surely become a Venerable One. Perhaps he would end up turning into ashes.
This was because Mao Jianbi would not be able to turn back once he took the first step for the advancement.
When one faced the Thunderbolts Disaster, one would either get through it or die on the spot; there would unlikely be another scenario.
To increase their chances of becoming Venerable Ones, top-grade Spiritualists would not simply cultivate in isolation. Instead, they would take breaks outside once in a while to release their pressures, then they would strive to succeed in one go at the end.
As such, Mao Jianbi was probably asked to host this meet for him to relax.
Everyone looked surprised after they saw Mao Jianbi, and they began to discuss with one another. Despite that, the discussions ended quickly because most people guessed the reason behind it.
“Heh, I know you’re all determined to get the interspatial bags.” Mao Jianbi looked around and sighed. “Unfortunately, interspatial bags involve interspatial powers, and they can’t be refined by ordinary blacksmiths. There aren’t many blacksmiths from the Beast King Sect that can refine them, but they give their all for this. Other than researching and refining interspatial bags, they don’t have other tasks. We, the Beast King Sect, have really done our best.”
Someone among the crowd shouted, “Great Elder, we understand. Don’t worry, we won’t complain regardless of the outcomes.”
Several formidable spirit beasts nodded too. “Great Elder, whether or not we’ll obtain the interspatial bags, it’s up to our luck. We’ll always remember the Beast King Sect’s generosity.”
Mao Jianbi nodded and grinned.
He was speaking nonsense earlier, but every host would say the same before the start of each Lottery Meet.
Interspatial bags were too insufficient, but they did not want to offend anyone, thus they were frank about the unpleasant point first. If anyone still felt that it was unfair and tried to cause trouble, they would not be soft-hearted at all.
Mao Jianbi walked toward the big box and noted, “A total of 1,300 of you have applied for the interspatial bags. May the odds be in your favor.” Before the crowd could react at all, he reached inside the box.
Most of the people and the spirit beasts that applied cursed internally at this time, ‘Why are there so many fellas fighting for the bags!’
They stared at Mao Jianbi and hoped that the god of luck would hear their pleas and give them a chance to purchase an interspatial bag.
Mao Jianbi took a piece of paper out of the box and opened it to announce the first number.
The lucky winners’ names were not stated in the big box, but every applicant had a corresponding number. Once the Lottery Meet ended, they could exchange their numbers for interspatial bags if they were chosen.
This might seem like there was room for manipulation behind the scenes, but it removed the possibility of the winners being killed for the bags.
Of course, as Mao Jianbi, who was a top-grade Spiritualist, was being watched by everyone, he would not play any tricks unless he was out of his mind.
Mao Jianbi was neither too fast nor too slow. He drew papers out of the box one after another. As more papers were drawn, most of the people and spirit beasts in the square eventually had ghastly looks on their faces.
After all, only about a tenth of the applicants would be the lucky winners. It would only be normal for most of them to not be chosen, whereas it would be abnormal if many of them were chosen.
When the last winner was picked, many of the applicants sighed sorrowfully. They were destined to leave the square in disappointment.
Ou Yangming was struck with a thought when he saw the disheartened people and spirit beasts everywhere. He asked Tian Y
inghao, “Brother Tian, what would be an appropriate price if I’d like to sell interspatial bags?”
Chapter 687 - Auction
“Sell interspatial bags?” Tian Yinghao was slightly stunned. He looked at Ou Yangming in confusion.
Although he had previously gotten an interspatial bag from Ou Yangming and witnessed him selling one at an extremely low price, he could not believe what he had just heard.
“Brother Ou, do you still have… Interspatial bags?”
“Yes, I still have tens of them!”
“T-tens of…” Tian Yinghao widened his eyes and looked at the young fellow in disbelief.
He would be surprised if Ou Yangming said that he still had a few of them, but he would not be as shocked. However, he was taken aback when the young fellow said that he still had tens of them.
The Beast King Sect, which was such an influential force, could only produce tens of them a year, but there would always be 1,000 over applicants. This was also only because the sect had consciously controlled the way applications could be made, or nobody could gauge how many applicants there would be.
Therefore, Tian Yinghao was in disbelief when Ou Yangming casually said that he still had tens of interspatial bags.
Ou Yangming grinned and said, “Yes, that’s a lot of them. If it’s inconvenient for you…”
“It’s convenient!” Tian Yinghao shouted at once, “Of course, it’s convenient. How is it inconvenient at all!”
The people and spirit beasts around them looked at him strangely. They looked displeased, by which the unlucky ones looked even more unfriendly.
Tian Yinghao’s face changed. He was a disciple from the Beast King Sect, but he could not offend so many people and beasts at the same time. The blacksmiths cleared his throat and nodded with an apologetic smile, and it took him some time to fool the others.
Fortunately, he was wearing an outfit that represented a blacksmith from the Beast King Sect, which was why the others dared not attack him even if they were displeased.
Tian Yinghao later pulled Ou Yangming to a quieter spot and expressed softly, “Brother Ou, don’t play a trick on me!”
Ou Yangming responded with a faint smile, “Isn’t it just tens of interspatial bags? What’s there for me to pull a trick on you?”
Tian Yinghao was dumbfounded, and he could not help but smile bitterly. ‘Listen to what you’re saying—tens of interspatial bags… Who else other than you can speak so overbearingly and with such confidence?’
Seeing how stupefied Tian Yinghao was, Ou Yangming pondered for a brief moment and asked, “Brother Tian, I also need some materials that contain Interspatial Attributes. Could you find them for me?”
“Materials with Interspatial Attributes?” Tian Yinghao’s eyes lit up all of a sudden. “I get it now—Brother Ou, you can refine interspatial bags.” It was then he finally understood why Ou Yangming had such a large inventory of interspatial bags.
If a blacksmith that could refine interspatial bags worked tirelessly and produced them regardless of the cost, how many interspatial bags could one refine in a year?
On the other hand, even if a rogue cultivator was capable of refining interspatial bags, it would be a huge problem for the cultivator to gather materials with Interspatial Attributes.
Ou Yangming chuckled. He knew Tian Yinghao would be able to guess the truth when he said that he still possessed tens of interspatial bags.
“Brother Tian, I only want to sell the interspatial bags; I don’t want everyone to find out about the truth. If I refine interspatial bags all day and night, I’ll surely go crazy,” Ou Yangming noted.
Tian Yinghao smiled embarrassedly. “Brother Ou, don’t worry, I won’t sell you out.”
Nevertheless, deep down he could not take how affectedly unconventional Ou Yangming was. If he was naturally gifted in refining interspatial bags, he would definitely do nothing all day other than focusing on the refinement of interspatial bags.
Even though the refinement of interspatial bags was a repetitive process, one needed to gain a lot of knowledge to keep improving. If Tian Yinghao could base himself on this, he would have an entirely different status in the sect.
“Everyone, Mind Condensation Pills refined by Master Liao will be auctioned now. This bottle contains 30 pills, and the reserve price is 300 spirit ores. Please go ahead and raise the bid.”
The voice from the high platform caught Ou Yangming’s attention. Since the lottery had ended, the auction officially started. Mao Jianbi was still the host, and he beamed as though he was addicted to his job.
Ou Yangming instantly turned to look at the jade bottle in Mao Jianbi’s hand.
Mind Condensation Pills were incredibly unique pills with only 1 great function, which was to help cultivators condense their minds.
This type of pill could yield good results for most cultivators, and it was also a kind of life-saving item that was on par with the concentrated immortal liquid for Ou Yangming and Big Yellow.
The concentrated immortal liquid could resolve the harms and impacts from the Devouring attributes, allowing Ou Yangming and Big Yellow to gain more solid foundations. Even so, the liquid was not much helpful toward their mental conceptions. As such, after using the Devouring attributes many times, the young fellow and the big yellow dog would slowly feel impulsive.
As for the Mind Condensation Pills, they could perfectly solve the problem for Ou Yangming and Big Yellow. If they could consume the pills regularly, they would benefit as much as or more than they would from the concentrated immortal liquid.
Right after Mao Jianbi’s introduction, a big number appeared on the crystal wall behind him.
320 spirit ores.
This was just a beginning because the number immediately changed after that, to the extent that even the new number was replaced by another number before it was fully shown.
The auction mode was simple. Every participant was given a control panel that was connected to the crystal wall. As long as one filled an amount on the panel, the number would be reflected on the wall.
With that, everyone could see the latest highest bid and could carry out evaluations according to their needs and financial powers.
As for the host on the high platform, he could also remain calm without needing to shout at all, which might make him seem less graceful.
Ou Yangming’s face changed, and he uttered in a low voice, “Brother Tian, I need a bidding control panel.”
Tian Yinghao quickly retrieved one and replied to him softly, “Brother Ou, I’ve prepared one already.”
The young fellow looked deeply at Tian Yinghao, who was mediocre in smithing art but was thoughtful and reliable. ‘I found the right person.’
After accepting the control panel, Ou Yangming looked briefly at it and understood how it should be used. He reached out to fiddle with it for a second, then he pressed the submit button.
The price was initially rising slowly on the crystal wall, where it increased from 300 spirit ores—the reserve price—to nearly 500 spirit ores. Moreover, it began to slow down. This was because 500 spirit ores were already close to the Mind Condensation Pills’ highest value, hence the bidders would feel like their losses would outweigh their gains if they bid beyond that price.
Just as the crowd thought that the most intense bidding period had ended, the number on the crystal wall changed again, by which it rose to 600 spirit ores just like that.
The bidders were stupefied. They blinked and almost suspected that they were mistaken.
600 spirit ores were not much, but they were not bidding for an exceptionally rare treasure; they were only bidding for Mind Condensation Pills.
Several human and beast powerhouses in the square furrowed their eyebrows at the same time and wondered, ‘Isn’t it too wasteful to purchase Mind Condensation Pills with this price?’ Nonetheless, the bidding price was the exact reason nobody continued to raise the bid as they discussed with one another.
Mao Jianbi grinne
d. He found it rather odd too, but he remained calm as the host. “Since nobody else is raising the bid, this bottle of Mind Condensation Pills belongs to this friend. Hehe, please go backstage to exchange for your item.”
As he turned his wrist, the image on the crystal wall changed. He started to introduce the second auction item.
Tian Yinghao was about to leave when Ou Yangming held him back.
“Brother Tian, since the item has been secured, we don’t need to get it in a hurry. Let’s stay here to see what happens next.” Ou Yangming smiled.
Tian Yinghao was struck dumb. He responded softly after some thought, “You’re right. Thanks for the reminder, Brother Ou.”
They did not make any movements before this, so many observant people would certainly notice if they suddenly left the crowd to exchange for the item. By then, Ou Yangming would not be able to hide his identity.
Before long, the second and third items were successfully bid by other bidders. Ou Yangming only took a glance at them and was no longer interested. He was being very picky, where he would not be moved unless the items that were being auctioned were real treasures or things that he desperately needed.
The auction continued to go on. When the seventh item appeared on the crystal wall, Ou Yangming’s eyes could not help but gleam.
It was also a type of pill. The spiritual medicine would not increase a cultivator’s spiritual power, but it could temper one’s spiritual power, causing the power to become mightier. In a way, the pill could yield the same results as the concentrated immortal liquid but through a different approach, which was what moved Ou Yangming.
After taking a look at the price, Ou Yangming wrote a nearly-doubled price on the control panel without hesitation and submitted it.
There was a clamor when the number appeared on the crystal wall. Everyone else smiled bitterly because they knew an ignorant person among the crowd was messing around and causing trouble.
The hot-tempered beasts would not have let things be if they were elsewhere; they would have crushed the troublemaker into pieces.
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