Chapter 141: Bamboo Sword

Chapter 141: Bamboo Sword

"Honored guest, this is your private room!"

Led by an attendant from the auction house, Gu Mo arrived at the small private room assigned to him. Generally, as long as they had the means, most cultivators would opt for a private room—it was the best way to preserve one's privacy.

Many of the treasures purchased at auctions were intended as trump cards. Bidding in the main hall could easily expose one's identity, and if someone found out what you'd acquired, the element of surprise would be severely compromised.

A private room prevented such risks.

Of course, while getting a room at an ordinary auction was relatively easy, securing one at a major auction came with certain prerequisites.

For instance, cultivation level or wealth—meeting at least one of these conditions was necessary to be eligible for a room at a high-level auction.

Gu Mo happened to satisfy both. Although his False Core stage cultivation wasn't enough for one of the large, luxurious rooms, it was more than sufficient to earn a small one. And with ten million spirit stones in hand, he had more than enough to qualify.

As the door to the room closed behind him, the ambient noise vanished instantly. These rooms were inscribed with specialized formations to block external perception. Of course, the Immortal City that hosted the auction likely knew the identity of every private guest.

But unless it wanted to destroy its reputation built over many years, the Immortal City would never reveal that information.

Through the private window, Gu Mo could see the vast auction hall. At this moment, the cultivators without the means for a private room had already gathered there.

When the time struck noon, a middle-aged man in formal attire stepped onto the auction platform. Seeing this, the entire hall fell silent.

The long-anticipated grand auction was about to begin.

"Welcome, everyone…"

After a few polite remarks, the auctioneer got straight to the point. The very first item was a top-grade Foundation Establishment Pill.

The moment it appeared, the atmosphere in the hall grew heated. Many rogue cultivators, in particular, were visibly excited. Acquiring even a regular Foundation Establishment Pill was no easy task for them—let alone a top-grade one. The higher the pill's quality, the greater the chances of successfully breaking through to the Foundation Establishment stage.

In an instant, bids flew up from all directions.

But all the bids came from the main hall. The private rooms remained calm. Clearly, a Foundation Establishment Pill wasn't all that enticing to those seated in them.

"A Foundation Establishment Pill, not a bad choice to start things off," Gu Mo murmured, watching the excited cultivators below. He himself had a top-grade pill, a gift from Qi Chunde. However, he didn't need it to break through, so he'd simply held onto it.

After glancing at the lively scene for a bit, Gu Mo closed his eyes. The early phase of the auction catered to Qi Refining and Foundation Establishment cultivators. It wasn't until later that treasures suitable for Golden Core and even Nascent Soul levels would appear.

Once the top-grade Foundation Establishment Pill was sold to a rogue cultivator at a high price, a series of first- and second-tier pills, talismans, and magical tools followed.

Still, any item that made it into a grand auction like this wasn't ordinary. At minimum, it had to be a fine product—oftentimes an outstanding one.

Subpar items would only diminish the auction's prestige.

"Up next is a secret art called the Wind Escape Technique. This technique…" As the auctioneer's voice echoed into the private rooms, Gu Mo opened his eyes.

This Wind Escape Technique was the first item signaling the start of the Golden Core-level treasures—and it was exactly what Gu Mo was hoping for.

Compared to the brief description on the auction list, the auctioneer now provided a much more detailed explanation. Gu Mo nodded repeatedly as he listened.

The Wind Escape Technique was far superior to the basic Wind Manipulation Technique. Of course, its price reflected that as well.

The starting bid was a staggering one million spirit stones!

Such a high opening bid made Gu Mo feel the pressure. If it started at a million, the final price could easily hit five million.

The auctioneer added one final detail: the Wind Escape Technique originated from the Metal Escape Technique—one of the legendary Five Element Escape Arts. Mastering the Wind Escape Technique could offer a chance at comprehending a trace of the Metal Escape Technique's essence.

The Metal Escape Technique was a top-tier divine ability, one branch of the Five Element Escape Arts. Its power needed no further elaboration. For sword cultivators in particular, it was considered the ideal escape technique, as it wasn't just about escaping—it also held powerful offensive capabilities.

For sword cultivators, whose strength lay in lethal precision, this was a nearly irresistible temptation.

In fact, every one of the Five Element Escape Arts had long since transcended the bounds of simple movement techniques. They represented the pinnacle of elemental manipulation.

With such a tantalizing prize dangled before them, many cultivators grew feverish with desire.

Sure enough, just as Gu Mo had predicted, the price of the Wind Escape Technique surged to three million in the blink of an eye. At that point, the crowd finally began to calm down.

To truly earn that "big prize" the auctioneer hinted at, one had to cultivate the technique to perfection. That wasn't something an average person could hope to accomplish.

Even with immense determination, talent, and time, mastering the Wind Escape Technique only gave you a chance to comprehend the Metal Escape Technique's essence.

"Four million!"

Seeing the bids slow down, Gu Mo gritted his teeth and placed his own. For his False Core clone, this technique would be a tremendous boost. And besides, his main body could use it too. Gu Mo always valued secret arts that enhanced escape speed.

At his bid of four million, the entire venue fell silent. That was a price that most cultivators couldn't afford, and those who could didn't think it was worth it—after all, this was just the opening act for the Golden Core tier. If they spent all their spirit stones now, what would they use for the treasures to come?

"Four million—sold!"

With the auctioneer's hammer, Gu Mo successfully secured the Wind Escape Technique. Of course, his net worth instantly shrank by nearly half.

Fortunately, there wasn't much else he wanted after that. He had Solar Essence, so he didn't need pills to boost his cultivation. As for talismans—what could be better than his Cherry Bombs?

As for magical treasures, his top-grade abacus was about to be auctioned. Hopefully, he'd be able to trade it for something that truly suited him.

It wasn't long before Gu Mo's prized abacus appeared on stage.

"Up next is a top-grade array-type magical treasure. As requested by the seller, this item will be auctioned via trade. Please write down what you'd like to offer in exchange. The seller will select from the submitted items." The auctioneer first introduced the abacus's functions before explaining the method of exchange.

In major auctions, barter-based transactions were quite common—after all, some treasures simply couldn't be measured in spirit stones.

Of course, the auction house would still take a cut of the final deal. They never ran at a loss.

Still, using a platform like this was far easier than finding a buyer on your own. You could also end up with something better suited to your needs. Paying a small commission was a small price to pay.

Knock knock knock!

Someone tapped lightly on Gu Mo's door. He knew the bids had arrived. Opening the door, he received a jade slip from one of the auction house's envoys.

The auction staff had already compiled all the submitted offers for his treasure.

Injecting his spiritual sense into the jade slip, Gu Mo saw several top-grade magical treasures listed—along with pills, talismans, and formation disks of similar caliber.

Especially since the most numerous items were formation plates. The abacus-type artifact was a formation tool as well, so those interested in it were naturally formation masters. It was no surprise that the other party brought out formation plates as their treasure.

However, what Gu Mo wanted were still magic treasures—particularly flying swords. His gaze swept over the selection of top-tier items, and he quickly locked onto one of the flying swords.

It was a wood-element flying sword. Most flying swords were of the metal element, with a few being fire or water, but earth and wood-element swords were extremely rare.

Yet for Gu Mo, whose current form was that of a false Core Formation cultivator, a wood-element sword was perfectly suited. Although its killing power couldn't compare to that of metal or fire-element swords, it matched his cultivation attributes, making it much easier to control and wield intuitively.

Wood wasn't known for offense, but its nature was one of vitality and persistence. Once it entangled an opponent, it could render them completely helpless. For Gu Mo, who was studying a sword technique from the Sword Codex—the "Sword Reversal" move—this sword could be a valuable aid.

"This is the one."

Having made his choice, Gu Mo returned the jade slip to the envoy. The auction house would now handle the transaction with the owner of the wood-element flying sword.

Not long after, the envoy returned along with one of the auction house's managers. They presented a small verdant sword to Gu Mo. After verifying its authenticity, Gu Mo signed the contract and paid the corresponding commission fee.

With that, the transaction was officially complete.

"This flying sword… it's actually alive," Gu Mo muttered as he held the greenish blade. This was not just a top-grade flying sword artifact—it was also a third-tier spiritual plant: a Sword Bamboo.

That's right. This wood-element flying sword had been forged from a third-tier Sword Bamboo. Gu Mo was quite familiar with this plant. It was normally a second-tier low-grade spiritual plant, yet someone had managed to nurture it to the third tier. He couldn't help but wonder which spiritual planting master had created such a marvel.

To cultivate a second-tier plant into the third tier—that was the mark of a true master. Gu Mo, who had only managed to raise a low-grade second-tier Sword Bamboo to mid-grade, could at best be considered skilled.

Since this sword was still alive, any damage it suffered could be repaired by planting it and using a spiritual planter's techniques to heal it.

Unfortunately, this third-tier Sword Bamboo had already reached its limit. Otherwise, with continued cultivation, the sword's quality could still be improved.

It might even develop spiritual awareness and ascend to become a Spirit Artifact. Compared to nurturing awareness in inanimate materials like metals or ores, it was clearly easier with living plants.

That planting master likely had the same idea—cultivating the Sword Bamboo to the third tier to forge a flying sword from it. Sadly, the third tier was the absolute ceiling. There was no room for further growth.

Unless one used extraordinarily rare heavenly treasures, but those were both scarce and precious. And even if one had them, why waste them on a Sword Bamboo whose potential had already peaked? Wouldn't it be better to use such treasures on spiritual plants with higher potential?

That was probably why the planting master ultimately decided to sell this Sword Bamboo flying sword—leading to it ending up in Gu Mo's hands.

"Since you were forged from Sword Bamboo, I'll name you Bamboo Sword," Gu Mo said. Naming things had never been his strength. After thinking for a moment, he simply reversed the two characters of "Sword Bamboo" to create the name.

With the naming done, Gu Mo began the ritual refinement process. Soon, he found himself staring at the Bamboo Sword in his hand with a strange expression.

"Could the planting master who nurtured you be a senior from the Shennong Valley?" Gu Mo mused. The refinement process using his Qingmu Sutra was proceeding unusually smoothly.

It was almost as if this Bamboo Sword had been crafted specifically for someone who cultivated the Qingmu Sutra. And that technique came from Shennong Valley—renowned as the top sect for spiritual planting masters.

Everything seemed to be connecting.

As a result, the time Gu Mo needed to refine Bamboo Sword would be drastically shortened. Before long, he'd be able to unleash its full power as a top-tier flying sword artifact.

Now that he had acquired a treasure that felt so perfectly attuned to him, Gu Mo devoted all his attention to refining it, losing interest in the remainder of the auction.

For him, this grand auction trip had already concluded successfully. The remaining items no longer concerned him. Were it not for a slight curiosity about the final grand item to be revealed, Gu Mo would have already left.

Unexpectedly, however, just before the final highlight, the auction suddenly hit a small climax. The cause? None other than the Iceheart Fruit Gu Mo had noticed earlier.

But having spent a significant amount of spirit stones bidding on the Wind Step technique earlier, Gu Mo knew he no longer had enough resources to contend for the Iceheart Fruit. So he'd given up on it.

In hindsight, that had been the right call. The price of the Iceheart Fruit had now soared to twenty million spirit stones—far beyond its actual value—driven up by intense bidding from two competing parties.

"That should be the ceiling," muttered He Shaogang in one of the VIP rooms. He was calculating the resources the Qinglu Sect had brought with them and estimating how many spirit stones they could afford to spend.

The Iceheart Fruit had been bait He Shaogang had thrown out, but he didn't intend to let the

Qinglu Sect take it so easily.

"Twenty million, going once. Any other bids?" the auctioneer asked, his gaze turning toward the VIP box that had been fiercely bidding earlier. But now, it had fallen silent.

"What's going on?"

Seeing this, He Shaogang's heart skipped a beat. He was certain that the other bidder had to be a remnant of the Qinglu Sect. The Iceheart Fruit was too important to them—they wouldn't give up so easily.

"Twenty million, going twice!"

Sweat beaded on He Shaogang's forehead. If the Qinglu Sect didn't follow through, the item would be sold to him. And while he was technically its original owner, buying it back at such an inflated price would be a huge loss—just the commission alone would cost a fortune in spirit stones.

But the financial hit wasn't the worst part. His entire follow-up plan hinged on the Iceheart Fruit as the key. Without it, the entire scheme would fall apart.

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