### Chapter 26: A Withered Vine

Qin Ming was instinctively startled.

He knew the forces behind the Gathering Pavilion were not simple, but he never expected the Pavilion Master to be so young. Moreover, she was a woman.

"Hmm."

The Pavilion Master responded indifferently, her voice clear and cold. She then prepared to continue walking.

"Brother Qin? What are you doing here?"

At that moment, Su Yuqing, who was standing beside her, suddenly spoke up.

"Brother Su, I'm here to take care of some business," Qin Ming replied with a smile.

The Pavilion Master of the Gathering Pavilion turned to Su Yuqing and asked curiously, "Alchemist Su, do you two know each other?"

Su Yuqing nodded and introduced, "This is my good friend, Fellow Daoist Qin Ming."

He then turned to Qin Ming and said, "This is the Pavilion Master of the Gathering Pavilion, Fellow Daoist Gu Qingzhao."

Qin Ming cupped his hands in greeting. "Pavilion Master Gu."

"Since Fellow Daoist Qin is a good friend of Alchemist Su, there's no need to be so formal. You can call me Fellow Daoist Gu."

The fact that Su Yuqing referred to Qin Ming as a "good friend" was enough to show that he held Qin Ming in high regard.

Compared to her initial demeanor, Gu Qingzhao's attitude had also shifted.

"Speaking of which, part of the credit for the three Marrow Cleansing Pills I commissioned your pavilion to auction goes to Brother Qin," Su Yuqing said.

Gu Qingzhao was visibly surprised. "Is that so?"

She turned to Qin Ming and asked, "Is Fellow Daoist Qin also an alchemist?"

"No, but one of the spirit herbs used to refine the Marrow Cleansing Pills was grown by Fellow Daoist Qin," Su Yuqing explained with a smile.

"Reporting to the Pavilion Master, Fellow Daoist Qin is a first-rank spirit planter. He came here today to discuss the matter of Beast Tooth Rice. We've just finished signing the agreement," Manager Liao added, equally astonished.

He had no idea that Fellow Daoist Qin had connections with Alchemist Su, and it seemed their relationship was quite close.

After all, the Pavilion Master had repeatedly tried to invite Alchemist Su to serve as a guest elder, but he had always declined.

"Oh, I see," Gu Qingzhao said, offering Qin Ming a faint smile.

Qin Ming cupped his hands toward the two and said, "If you're busy, I'll take my leave now."

"Fellow Daoist Qin, we're about to attend an auction. If you have nothing else to do, why not join us for some fun?" Su Yuqing suddenly invited.

"An auction?" Qin Ming was surprised.

After a moment of hesitation, he decided to go. He had been in the Green Sun Market for a long time but had never visited the auction house.

Thus, the three of them left the shop, with Manager Liao respectfully seeing them off.

Manager Liao carefully wiped the fine sweat from his forehead. "It seems I'll have to work even harder to build a good relationship with Fellow Daoist Qin. He's so unassuming, yet he's connected to such influential figures."

...

After leaving the Gathering Pavilion, the three arrived at the entrance of the auction house half an incense stick's time later.

The Treasure Auction House was one of the Gathering Pavilion's affiliated businesses.

"Pavilion Master."

"Alchemist Su."

Several auction house staff stood respectfully at the entrance, clearly there to welcome Gu Qingzhao.

Qin Ming followed the two of them and entered the auction house without any hindrance.

Inside, the circular venue was vast, with a stage in the center for displaying the auction items.

Gu Qingzhao led them to a private room with an excellent view and ordered the staff to serve high-quality spirit tea and snacks.

Qin Ming and Su Yuqing began sipping their tea.

"Brother Qin, if you have anything you'd like to auction, you can entrust it to Fellow Daoist Gu," Su Yuqing said after taking a sip of tea.

Qin Ming smiled. "What could I possibly have to auction? I'm just here to watch."

Soon, the auction house filled with cultivators. Most were in the mid to late stages of Qi Refining, and there were even four or five at the peak of Qi Refining.

The auction began shortly after.

A golden-robed elder took the stage and delivered an opening speech before the first item was brought out.

The elder removed the red cloth, revealing a finely crafted silver spirit sword.

"This is a top-grade water-avoiding spirit sword, crafted by the renowned artifact master, Fang Yezi. I don't need to say more. The starting bid is 800 spirit stones."

The crowd erupted in excitement.

"It's actually a piece crafted by Master Fang Yezi! I must have it!"

"I bid 1,000 spirit stones!" someone shouted.

"Are you kidding me? Are you a plant? How are we supposed to bid after that?"

"1,500!"

"2,000!"

"2,500!"

...

Qin Ming watched the heated bidding with wide eyes. He had 2,000 spirit stones in his storage bag and thought he was well-off, but now he realized he was far from it.

In the end, the top-grade spirit sword was won by a burly man at the late stage of Qi Refining for 2,800 spirit stones.

The golden-robed elder smiled at the winner. "Congratulations, Fellow Daoist. Please proceed to the back for the transaction."

He was pleased with the atmosphere. Starting with a high-quality item had successfully set the tone for the auction.

"The next item is a top-grade talisman, the Blazing Sun Talisman. The starting bid is 500 spirit stones."

"I bid 600!"

"800!"

"850!"

"1,000!"

...

Qin Ming's heart raced as he looked at the talisman on the stage, but his limited resources held him back.

As time passed, each item was sold at a high price.

Qin Ming sighed inwardly. No wonder it was called the Treasure Auction House—every item was a treasure.

"The next item is something even I'm not entirely sure about. It was brought out from a secret realm by a cultivator. Take a look."

The golden-robed elder removed the red cloth, revealing a black, withered vine about the thickness of a thumb. It was only two inches long.

The cultivators in the room exchanged puzzled glances, clearly unfamiliar with the item.

"I've tested it myself. This item is quite peculiar. It's impervious to water and fire, and even spirit tools can't damage it. I thought someone might find it useful for refining, so I decided to put it up for auction. The starting bid is 100 spirit stones."

After the elder finished speaking, the room fell silent.

The atmosphere grew awkward.

"No bids? Then it will be passed over."

Just as he was about to declare the item unsold, someone finally spoke up.

"150!"

"200!"

"250!"

"Any more bids? 250, going once! 250, going twice!"

Just as the elder was about to call the third time, Qin Ming shouted from the private room, "300!"

Su Yuqing looked at Qin Ming in surprise. "Do you recognize this item, Fellow Daoist Qin?"

Qin Ming smiled awkwardly. "No, I don't. I'm just curious and want to study it."

In truth, he had a plan. He wanted to use his [Seed Regeneration] trait to revive the withered vine. Of course, if the price exceeded his expectations, he would let it go.

"300, going once! 300, going twice! 300, going three times! Sold! Congratulations to this Fellow Daoist!"

Qin Ming's face lit up with joy. He hadn't expected to win the bid so easily. Perhaps the other cultivators thought the vine was too short to be useful for refining.

"Next is the final item of today's auction."

The golden-robed elder removed the red cloth, revealing three exquisite porcelain bottles.

"Breakthrough Pills—Marrow Cleansing Pills! Refined by the top-grade alchemist, Alchemist Su Yuqing!"

(End of Chapter)

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