Chapter 138 – Treasure Catalog

Chapter 138 – Treasure Catalog

Yuntian Immortal City, Main City.

As the venue for the upcoming Grand Auction, Gu Mo could already feel the clear increase in the city's population. Once the auction officially began, the number of people would surge even further. At that point, the Immortal City would issue temporary passes for cultivators who had not qualified for entry into the main city.

The Grand Auction, held once every five years, was a major event. Rumor had it that even cultivators from overseas cultivation realms had traveled great distances just to participate.

Of course, such cases were rare. Only when extraordinarily rare treasures appeared—such as the legendary Infant Formation Pill or high-grade spiritual artifacts—would overseas cultivators bother making the journey.

Whether this year's auction would feature such peerless treasures remained to be seen. Truth be told, the Grand Auction hadn't had a truly sensational item in quite a few years.

"Fellow Daoist Jiang!"

On his way to the Grand Auction House in the main city, a voice called out. Gu Mo glanced over, then smiled.

"Fellow Daoist Si, are you heading to the auction house as well?"

He greeted the other man. Si Daolong had been the one who introduced Gu Mo into the circles of pseudo-Core and external Core cultivators, and over the past few years, the two had maintained a solid relationship.

Over the last three years, Gu Mo had fully integrated into the Immortal City's community of pseudo-Core and external Core cultivators. As for the true Core Formation circles, those cultivators didn't even bother associating with external Core types. Without achieving genuine Core Formation, one couldn't break into their inner circles.

Even many peak Foundation Establishment cultivators avoided mingling with pseudo-Core groups. Associating with them was seen as cursing oneself—admitting in advance that one would never form a true Core.

After all, very few peak Foundation Establishment cultivators managed to break through. Even among those, not many achieved pseudo-Core status. More often than not, the attempt led to failure and complete annihilation of body and soul.

"Naturally! Fellow Daoist Jiang, are you aware that a rare treasure is set to appear at this Grand Auction?" Si Daolong said with a mysterious air.

"What kind of treasure?"

Gu Mo's interest was piqued. Once a Grand Auction's top treasures were confirmed, the Immortal City would release select information so interested parties could prepare.

However, such news only circulated among specific groups. If you weren't in the right circle, that information was as good as a secret. Being a direct descendant of a Core Formation clan, Si Daolong clearly had access to sources Gu Mo lacked.

"It's a vial of Lunar Purity Water."

Si Daolong finally revealed the treasure's name. Gu Mo's brow lifted—this was indeed a treasure. Lunar Purity Water was a Tier 4 heavenly material, condensed from the power of Lunar Radiance. It possessed a host of incredible effects.

For example, Lunar Purity Water could completely cleanse and refine the body of a Qi Refining cultivator. Even a perfected Cleansing Technique was considered a budget imitation by comparison.

Of course, using such a Tier 4 treasure on a mere Qi Refining cultivator would be a massive waste. No matter how wealthy, very few would ever consider such extravagance.

Its true value lay in purifying a Nascent Soul cultivator's soul—treating injuries, neutralizing deadly poisons, lifting curses, and removing all manner of negative effects.

It wouldn't be an exaggeration to call it a Nascent Soul cultivator's life-saving item. Even if their physical body was destroyed, as long as the Nascent Soul survived, they could possess another body and be reborn.

But once the Nascent Soul was destroyed, there would be no second chances.

It was almost certain this vial would trigger fierce competition among Nascent Soul cultivators—and perhaps even draw interest from those overseas.

After all, for Nascent Soul cultivators, crossing an ocean to reach another cultivation realm was no great obstacle.

Of course, that had nothing to do with Gu Mo. What he cared about was whether this auction would offer any Tier 3 spiritual farmland for lease or purchase. He refrained from asking Si Daolong directly—after all, his pseudo-Core alias was that of a sword cultivator, and inquiring about farmland didn't match his identity.

Gu Mo was well aware of how tempting a complete Core Formation resource set could be, especially given the bounty placed on him and Yuan Ninya in recent years.

The most telling sign was how the price of information about him and Yuan Ninya had multiplied several times. In such circumstances, Gu Mo had to be especially cautious about concealing his true identity.

Upon arriving at the auction house, Gu Mo received a single-use jade slip listing the treasures to be auctioned. He scanned through it quickly, and his brow furrowed.

There was no information about Tier 3 spiritual farmland—not even about top-grade Tier 2 farmland. In truth, spiritual fields and spirit veins were rarely sold. Unless a special situation arose—like with the Lu Clan—no one in their right mind would auction off what could become the foundation of a family or sect.

That said, the auction wasn't entirely devoid of spiritual assets. Gu Mo did spot a listing for a Tier 2 high-grade spirit vein.

The location of that vein, if Gu Mo remembered correctly, had once belonged to the Xu Clan. Had they really auctioned off their ancestral foundation after just a few years?

When he asked Si Daolong, the ever-informed man did indeed have the full story.

"Three years ago, the Xu Clan mobilized all their family's top cultivators in an attempt to seize the Lu Clan's spiritual farmland. But they were repelled by a certain spiritual plant master who had leased the farmland. On their way back, they were ambushed by an unknown cultivator and completely wiped out. With all their elites dead, the Xu Clan's enemies took advantage of the situation and finished them off," Si Daolong recounted.

A Foundation Establishment clan like the Xu Clan didn't merit much of Si Daolong's attention. He likely wouldn't have remembered the incident if it hadn't involved a spiritual plant master.

"In Immortal City, if a family force is wiped out, their spiritual fields and veins are confiscated by the city itself. Supposedly, this is to prevent massacres aimed solely at seizing those resources," Si Daolong continued.

Gu Mo already knew this policy. It was precisely why the Xu Clan had supported Lu Rong's rise as patriarch and formed an alliance, instead of simply exterminating the Lu Clan. If they had, the Lu Clan's top-grade Tier 2 farmland would've been reclaimed by the city.

Apparently, whoever annihilated the Xu Clan hated them enough to give up the spirit vein entirely and simply wiped them out.

With the Xu Clan destroyed, their Tier 2 high-grade spirit vein had been confiscated and now appeared in this Grand Auction.

Unfortunately, it didn't meet Gu Mo's needs. Though Earth Pulse Orbs could enhance a spirit vein, they weren't enough to upgrade a Tier 2 high-grade vein to Tier 3. If they were, the Xu Clan would've upgraded their own and never coveted the Lu Clan's farmland to begin with.

"A spiritual plant master… someone like that exists in Immortal City?" Gu Mo asked with a surprised expression. The mention of his real body in the Xu Clan's intelligence worried him—had he been exposed?

"Of course. The Lu Clan was lucky. They encountered a spiritual plant master. Although the clan suffered a crisis, if they can keep that master, they might not only recover, but even surpass their previous glory," Si Daolong said with a touch of envy. This was what cultivators always spoke of—fortune and fate.

"Fellow Daoist Jiang, rumor has it… that spiritual plant master took a liking to the Lu Clan's matron…" Si Daolong added, giving him a knowing look.

Upon hearing that, Gu Mo's fists clenched instinctively.

That was slander, plain and simple.

Of course, from Si Daolong's words, Gu Mo also realized that no one had connected the deaths of the Xu family members to his true self. After all, many people had seen the Xu family leave the Lu household, while his true body had never left the Lu residence. So, it was easy to distance himself from the incident.

Or rather, even if someone suspected it was his doing, the entire Xu family was already wiped out—no one was going to come looking to enact justice on their behalf. So, the matter had pretty much blown over.

After turning down Si Daolong's follow-up gossip about the spiritual herb master and the beautiful Lu family maiden, Gu Mo resumed reading the detailed list of the grand auction. Previously, he'd only skimmed through the information on spiritual fields and spiritual veins. Since none of them were of any use to him, he could only continue upgrading the Lu family's spiritual field.

Because he didn't need to purchase a spiritual field, the tens of millions of spirit stones in his possession were now free to be spent on treasures he could actually use at the grand auction.

Browsing through the list of items, Gu Mo spotted the high-grade abacus-type artifact he had consigned. Given the buzz surrounding this auction, there was a good chance he'd be able to exchange it for a top-tier flying sword that suited him.

"This Wind Escape Technique looks good—I'll definitely compete for it." Gu Mo's eyes lit up as he came across a wind-based escape technique on the list. His pseudo-core incarnation was in need of a movement technique, and this Wind Escape Technique seemed like a perfect match.

It was a secret-level escape art. According to the description, this technique originated from the Metal Escape Technique, which was one of the Five Elemental Escape Techniques.

The Five Elemental Escape Techniques were famous divine arts. Mastering them would allow one to travel freely through the heavens and earth, explore hidden realms, and do almost anything.

The fact that this Wind Escape Technique was linked to the Five Elemental Escape Techniques meant it likely wouldn't be subpar.

Having identified a treasure he needed, Gu Mo continued to browse and was soon drawn to a Tier-3 heavenly material—a Frostheart Fruit.

It had the effect of calming the mind and suppressing inner demons that might arise during breakthroughs. Of course, limited by its tier, this Tier-3 Frostheart Fruit was only effective for cultivators at the Core Formation level.

If it had been a Tier-4 Frostheart Fruit, it would've surpassed even the Tier-4 Moonlight Purification Water and become the highlight of the entire grand auction.

But even as a Tier-3 item, the Frostheart Fruit was still extremely valuable. If the price was reasonable, Gu Mo was definitely interested in competing for it. However, if it ended up being overpriced, he wasn't about to waste his resources.

After all, the Frostheart Fruit wasn't a necessity for him. For his cultivation, all he needed to do was refine Solar Essence. The entire process took just a few breaths, and didn't require him to calm his mind at all.

As for the inner demons that typically appeared during breakthroughs—take his future plan to advance to the Core Formation stage, for example—he would first upgrade the Lu family's Tier-2 top-grade spiritual field to Tier-3, allowing it to produce complete Tier-3 Solar Essence.

Then, using that complete Tier-3 Solar Essence, he would acquire true Core Formation power. With the help of the Spirit Tempering Art, he would refine his body to Core Formation level, and then use his physical body to nourish his soul, bringing his soul up to the same level.

Only then would he proceed with the breakthrough. With his soul already at the Core Formation level, Gu Mo could easily suppress any inner demons during the process. So, the Frostheart Fruit would be a nice bonus if he could get it—but even if he couldn't, it wasn't a big deal.

After going through the list of treasures up for auction, Gu Mo said goodbye to Si Daolong and prepared to head back, waiting quietly for the grand auction to begin.

As Gu Mo stepped out of the auction house, an elderly man and a young woman were walking in from the outside, brushing past him.

"Hm?"

Gu Mo paused, his eyes sweeping over the young woman. Although she had changed her appearance and concealed her aura, Gu Mo recognized her almost instantly.

Yuan Niya!

There was no helping it—Gu Mo was far too familiar with her. He knew every inch of her body like the back of his hand.

However, Gu Mo didn't reveal himself. The two of them held two full sets of Core Formation resources between them. If their identities were exposed, they could forget about living in peace. Countless late Foundation Establishment and even Core Formation-level cultivators would come after them.

Just knowing Yuan Niya was safe was enough. Once Gu Mo became a Nascent Soul cultivator and no longer needed to fear the Fenghua Sect, he could reveal himself to her.

"Hm?"

As Gu Mo departed, the heavily disguised Yuan Niya suddenly turned her head, frowning slightly as she stared at his retreating back. Somehow, she had felt a familiar aura from that stranger.

"What is it?"

The old man beside her asked. He was a Core Formation elder from the Qinglu Sect, here to accompany Yuan Niya to the grand auction. The auction was said to feature a treasure that could suppress the Heartfire afflicting Zhuo Suzhu.

Once Qinglu Sect heard this, they couldn't sit back. If Zhuo Suzhu's Heartfire could be suppressed, she could wake from her coma. Even if the Heartfire's influence couldn't be entirely removed, as long as she regained consciousness, the Qinglu Sect would have a powerful trump card capable of briefly holding off a Nascent Soul cultivator.

If their hideout was ever discovered and the Fenghua Sect sent a Nascent Soul expert after them, Zhuo Suzhu could buy them time to escape and prevent a total massacre.

"It's nothing… I must've been mistaken." Yuan Niya shook her head. Although she was also extremely familiar with Gu Mo, his current body was a clone with pseudo-core cultivation. No matter how imaginative she might be, it would never cross her mind to associate him with Gu Mo.

Main city of Yuntian Immortal City, within a Tier-3 estate.

He Shaogang gazed toward the auction house, his eyes deep and thoughtful. At this point, he had already become a Core Formation cultivator. He'd been at the peak of Foundation Establishment even before taking the Reincarnation Pill. Combined with ample resources and the solid foundation rebuilt through the pill's effects, he broke through to the Core Formation stage within just a few short years.

"The bait's been cast. Let's see if we can reel in a big fish this time." A smile tugged at the corners of He Shaogang's mouth.

Fenghua Sect had already established itself firmly in this cultivation realm, but the remnants of the Qinglu Sect were still a lingering threat. To eliminate them once and for all, Fenghua Sect had issued generous bounties. Yet, years had passed with no results.

So, He Shaogang decided to take the initiative. According to the information they had, Zhuo Suzhu had been taken away by Qi Chunde. Her Heartfire-afflicted state couldn't have simply vanished, and the Qinglu Sect would surely try everything to save her.

Thus, by placing a treasure capable of suppressing the Heartfire in this auction, he hoped the fish would take the bait—after all, it was a temptation they would find hard to resist.

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