Chapter 380 - 368: White Mirror Marketplace Auction

Chapter 380: Chapter 368: White Mirror Marketplace Auction

A five-day journey east from Mist Forest Marketplace, along the trade route bordering Yunzhou, led to the eastern entrance of the Sunset Corridor.

The entrance to the corridor was a narrow canyon, less than ten zhang wide, squeezed between two towering stone cliffs that rose over a hundred zhang high. The canyon floor was a bluestone path, worn smooth by countless caravans. Set into the seams of the path were guide stones that faintly glowed with Spiritual Light, placed every fifty zhang, snaking northeastward along the canyon until they vanished from sight.

Carved into the canyon’s cliffs were the Inspection Array Patterns jointly established by the three Sects of Jingzhou. Though they had fallen into disrepair, their core structure remained operational, automatically recording the Spiritual Power signatures of any Cultivator who passed through.

Li Yuan paused at the entrance for a moment, memorizing the corridor’s terrain, width, cliff height, and the layout of the Array Patterns, before continuing on his way.

After passing through the Sunset Corridor into Jingzhou territory, the atmosphere was noticeably different.

The forests lining the trade route were tidy and well-kept. Occasionally, a squad of patrolling Cultivators would streak overhead, their auras peaceful. There was none of the tension felt on the Liangzhou border, with its constant threat of attack from Demon Cultivators.

’Xu Zhang was right. Jingzhou is very peaceful.’

「Three days later.」

White Mirror Marketplace came into view.

The marketplace was several times larger than Mist Forest Marketplace. Its perimeter was a thick, white stone wall covered in a dense network of Defense Array Patterns. Three checkpoints were set up at the entrance, where Cultivators queued in long lines to get in and out. Inside, the buildings were constructed primarily from white stone and gray brick, lining wide, clean streets where shops were packed tightly together.

The auction was held in a large, domed hall at the center of the marketplace. Li Yuan paid the entrance fee in Spirit Stones and walked inside.

The hall could accommodate three to four hundred people and was already more than half full. Cultivators sat in small groups, chatting in low voices. The seating was arranged in three tiers: the outermost ring was for Loose Cultivators, the middle was for families and merchant guilds in private sections, and the innermost ring near the auction stage was reserved for representatives of the three major Sects.

Li Yuan found a seat on the aisle in the Loose Cultivator section and sat down.

The auction started on time.

The auctioneer was an elderly, Late-stage Foundation Establishment Cultivator with a steady voice and a calm, unhurried cadence.

Over forty items were presented one by one: Low-Tier pills, Tier-Two Magical Artifacts, tattered Cultivation Technique scrolls, and raw ores. The selection was varied, but most items weren’t particularly rare. Li Yuan remained seated quietly, his eyes merely glancing over the item list, never once raising his bidding placard.

The twenty-seventh item.

The auctioneer picked up a sealed jade box from the tray and lifted its lid.

A transparent crystal, about the size of a thumb, rested on a soft cushion. Within it, one could faintly discern extremely fine, rippling patterns of spatial distortion slowly swirling.

"A high-quality Space Crystal Stone. It can be used as the core for space-elemental Arrays, to repair storage Magical Artifacts, or to replace the Array Hub of a Teleportation Array. The starting bid is three hundred and fifty Mid-grade Spirit Stones."

The hall fell silent for a moment, then a buzz of voices erupted.

Space Crystal Stones were extremely rare and highly versatile, meaning they were always in demand.

"Four hundred." Someone from a merchant guild’s private section in the middle ring was the first to bid.

Someone on the other side of the Loose Cultivator section immediately followed.

"Four hundred fifty."

The price jumped past the five-hundred mark in a matter of moments.

"Five hundred thirty."

A hoarse voice called out from the left side of the middle ring. Li Yuan glanced over. The bidder was a Cultivator with half their face obscured by a black veil, their Spiritual Power fluctuations indicating they were at the Late-stage of Foundation Establishment.

The masked Cultivator’s bids were decisive, with each increment falling between thirty and fifty Spirit Stones—a clear sign they were a serious buyer.

After a few more rounds, most of the bidders had dropped out. The contest was now between the masked Cultivator and two managers from merchant guilds.

"Five hundred eighty," the masked Cultivator bid, raising their placard.

"Six hundred."

The masked Cultivator had barely paused.

The merchant guild manager’s expression stiffened, and he finally, slowly, lowered his placard.

The auctioneer raised his hand, scanning the hall.

"Is there a higher—"

"Six hundred twenty," Li Yuan bid, raising his placard.

His voice wasn’t loud, but it was clearly audible in the now-silent hall.

The masked Cultivator turned and glanced at him. The eye visible under the black veil narrowed slightly, sizing Li Yuan up for several seconds.

A moment of silence fell over the hall.

The masked Cultivator did not raise their placard.

"Six hundred twenty Mid-grade Spirit Stones. Sold."

The Space Crystal Stone was his.

Li Yuan went to the stage to pay the Spirit Stones and collect the jade box. The instant the Crystal Stone was in his hand, his Teleportation Stone’s spatial sense immediately detected the subtle spatial distortions within—its quality was indeed excellent, more than sufficient to serve as a temporary Array Hub for a Teleportation Array.

He placed the jade box deep within his storage bag and returned to his seat.

The thirty-first item.

The auctioneer presented a jade slip.

"The crafting method for the Evil Talisman. Using the powder of Soul-devouring Grass as an ink base on high-grade talisman paper, you can create an Evil Talisman. Once activated, it covers a weapon or fist with an Evil Qi Blade for about ten breaths. It is suited for Evil Element Cultivators who specialize in close-quarters combat. The starting bid is eighty Mid-grade Spirit Stones."

’An ink base of Soul-devouring Grass powder.’

Li Yuan had two entire mu of Soul-devouring Grass growing in his Spirit Field, and the first harvest had just been a massive success.

"Eighty," he bid immediately, raising his placard.

The Evil Talisman had limited practical value, as most of the Cultivators present used standard Spiritual Power techniques and had little interest in Evil-Element Talismans. There were few bidders, and the price stalled at ninety-five.

Li Yuan won the crafting method for ninety-five Mid-grade Spirit Stones.

The auction continued, but none of the remaining items caught his attention.

After the auction concluded, Li Yuan didn’t rush to leave the hall.

He sat in his seat for a moment, took out the jade slip with the Evil Talisman crafting method he had just acquired, and sent his Divine Sense into it to read through the contents.

The process wasn’t complex. The Soul-devouring Grass powder had to be ground extremely fine, then mixed with a special Spirit Liquid to create the ink. This ink was then used to draw an Evil Qi-condensing Array Pattern on high-grade talisman paper using specific brushstrokes. The crucial steps were controlling the concentration of Evil Qi in the ink and ensuring the precision of the Array Pattern.

Li Yuan took a sheet of high-grade talisman paper and a small vial of pre-ground Soul-devouring Grass powder from his storage bag.

He used his Spiritual Power to mix the Soul-devouring Grass powder with several other ingredients into ink, which he then levitated half an inch above the talisman paper. He guided the ink to flow across the paper’s surface, precisely tracing each stroke of the Array Pattern described in the jade slip.

As the final stroke was drawn, the Array Pattern on the paper’s surface flickered faintly before fading. One Evil Talisman was complete.

Li Yuan held the Evil Talisman in his hand.

The panel popped up.

[Detectable equippable item: Evil Talisman (Complete)]

[Equipment Entry Preview: Evil Edge Embodiment (White)]

[Effect: Melee attacks are imbued with Evil Qi corrosion]

[Permanence Condition Preview: One Evil Qi Skill has reached Great Success (Fulfilled)]

Li Yuan placed the Evil Talisman into an empty slot.

"Equip."

[Equipped: Evil Talisman (Complete)]

[Evil Edge Embodiment (White) has become a permanent entry]

The spectral image of the Evil Talisman in the equipment slot solidified for a moment before dissipating, leaving the slot empty again.

’Another white entry acquired.’

Li Yuan clenched his fist, feeling the change. There were no visible marks on his knuckles, but when he probed the surface of his fist with his Spiritual Power, he could clearly perceive an extremely thin layer of Evil Qi adhering just beneath the skin. It was ready to seep out upon impact, corroding an enemy’s meridians and Spiritual Power.

Paired with the foundation of his Iron Bones Golden Body and the forty-percent power boost from his Flame-Evil Integration, every one of his punches in close combat would now carry the effect of Evil Qi corrosion. An opponent with weaker defenses would be rapidly worn down.

Li Yuan packed up the remaining materials and got up to leave the auction hall.

The main street of White Mirror Marketplace bustled with people, far livelier than Mist Forest Marketplace. Li Yuan took a stroll down the street, stopping at a few supply shops to purchase a batch of supplementary Array materials and raw Alchemy ingredients. The supply of goods in Jingzhou was much more plentiful than in Liangzhou; many items unavailable in Mist Forest Marketplace were in stock here, and at prices roughly twenty percent lower.

As Li Yuan passed a teahouse, he overheard a few Cultivators at a neighboring table talking in low voices.

The three of them were all wearing uniform gray and white daoist robes, with a golden mountain peak crest embroidered on their cuffs.

’Disciples of a Nascent Soul Sect.’

He had seen that crest before, on the inspection Cultivators at the entrance to the Sunset Corridor. It belonged to a Nascent Soul Grand Sect whose influence spanned the Three States, a power that kept the three Golden Core Sects of Jingzhou firmly in line.

The trio’s conversation was quiet, but Li Yuan’s five strands of Divine Sense were more than enough to capture the content without being detected.

"...Grand-Master has been in seclusion for three years. I hear this time he’s really making a push for Divinity Transformation..."

"Divinity Transformation isn’t that easy. In the past two thousand years, you could count the number of cultivators in all Four States who successfully broke through to Divinity Transformation on one hand."

"But Grand-Master said he’s found a path no one has taken before. He didn’t reveal the details, only that he ordered all disciples in the Sect who are skilled in Arrays to focus their research on space-elemental subjects..."

The trio’s conversation was interrupted by the noise of a passing caravan, and Li Yuan couldn’t hear the rest.

He sat for a moment with his teacup, committing this information to memory.

’Divinity Transformation.’

’The goal the Sect Master of the Profound Nether Sect pursued all those years ago.’

’The same goal this Nascent Soul Sect’s Grand-Master is now pursuing.’

’It seems Divinity Transformation is the shared obsession of all great Nascent Soul Cultivators.’

Li Yuan put down his teacup and rose to leave the teahouse.

Back at the inn, he took stock of his remaining Spirit Stones.

Six hundred and twenty for the Space Crystal Stone, ninety-five for the Evil Talisman crafting method, plus travel expenses and today’s supply run... he had spent nearly eight hundred Mid-grade Spirit Stones in total.

He had less than a hundred Mid-grade Spirit Stones left in his storage bag.

The expense had wiped out more than half of his savings. Fortunately, his three main revenue streams at the marketplace—Fire Evil Stone exports, Talisman wholesaling, and Condensing Evil Pill sales—were all operating smoothly. The net monthly income would be enough to cover this shortfall in a month or two.

’But I’ll have to control any major spending in the short term.’

Li Yuan gathered the Spirit Stones and put them away. He rested at the inn for the night, and by the next morning, he was on his way back.