No matter how old I am, as long as no one can tell, it is fine.

Su Miaomiao’s words struck Xu Changshou like a bolt of enlightenment.

Exactly! It mattered not if the spirit talisman was freshly drawn; as long as others could not discern its true age, it could be fenced as an ancient relic.

His spirit talismans were undoubtedly new, but he could artificially age them.

By soiling the talismans and corroding them with foul substances, he could forge the desolate, tattered appearance of antiquity.

Yes! This was the Dao!

The more Xu Changshou pondered the scheme, the more his blood surged with excitement.

A single one-horned green wolf hide cost a mere five to ten Spirit Stones.

A single hide could be partitioned into dozens of blank talismans. Forget one hundred Spirit Stones—even if he sold them for twenty or thirty apiece, it would be a heaven-defying profit.

"Fellow Daoists, let us now turn to our sixtieth lot—the Moon-Gazing Rhinoceros Horn!"

Moon-Gazing Rhinoceros Horn.

Hearing this name, Xu Changshou jolted as if struck by lightning.

The moment had finally arrived.

He threw his gaze toward the dais, watching a maidservant present a tray. Resting atop it was a snow-white rhinoceros horn, flawless and immaculate, radiating a pure light like the full moon.

"The Moon-Gazing Rhinoceros Horn."

"A peerless treasure! A light-attribute Qi Condensation material."

"This old master claims it."

"It is mine!"

Restless killing intent and burning greed rippled through the gathered cultivators.

The Moon-Gazing Rhinoceros Horn was a supreme light-attribute material for the Qi Condensation realm. Light-attribute resources were agonizingly rare, demanding immense karmic luck to discover. Naturally, numerous experts in the hall had come solely to contest for this very item.

Witnessing the brewing frenzy, Xu Changshou furrowed his brows. He faced a sea of fierce competitors.

Regardless of the cost, he had to seize this Moon-Gazing Rhinoceros Horn. With five hundred Spirit Stones anchoring his spatial pouch, he feared no bidding war.

"This Moon-Gazing Rhinoceros Horn is steeped in the light attribute and boasts unbreakable hardness. It is the perfect core to forge a top-grade light-attribute Pseudo-Artifact. I shall spare you the tedious details of its efficacy. Let the auction commence. The starting price is thirty-five Spirit Stones."

"Thirty-six Spirit Stones!"

"Thirty-seven!"

"Thirty-eight!"

"Forty!"

A swarm of bidders clashed, rapidly driving the price up to fifty Spirit Stones. Xu Changshou held his breath, refusing to act prematurely.

"This poor Daoist offers fifty-five!"

A middle-aged man with hawk-like, piercing eyes barked out his bid.

The sheer weight of his offer instantly silenced the surrounding clamor.

The Moon-Gazing Rhinoceros Horn was, ultimately, just a raw material for a Pseudo-Artifact. Even a fully forged, top-grade Pseudo-Artifact would fetch no more than a hundred Spirit Stones.

Fifty-five Spirit Stones was already crossing the threshold of inflated vanity.

"Fifty-six!" Another desperate voice called out.

"Sixty!"

The hawk-eyed man ruthlessly smashed the price up to sixty Spirit Stones.

"Sixty, going once."

"Sixty, going twice."

"Are there any higher bids? If no one steps forward, the Moon-Gazing Rhinoceros Horn shall belong to this Fellow Daoist."

He Shuixiu announced smoothly, her gaze lightly sweeping over the tense crowd.

"Sixty-five!"

Xu Changshou raised his hand, his voice ringing out with iron clarity.

"Hm?"

Su Miaomiao, Li Linhao, and Yang Jieyuan all stiffened in surprise; none had expected Xu Changshou to suddenly unsheathe his wealth.

Yet, after a moment's reflection, realization dawned on the trio.

Earlier, Xu Changshou had explicitly mentioned his intent to procure a specific forging material at the Ten Thousand Immortals Pavilion.

It was now painfully obvious that his target had always been the Moon-Gazing Rhinoceros Horn.

The hawk-eyed cultivator shot Xu Changshou a venomous glare before gritting out, "Sixty-eight Spirit Stones."

"Seventy!" Xu Changshou countered without missing a beat.

The older cultivator's face twisted into an ugly grimace.

A heavy silence dragged on before he forced the words through clenched teeth: "Seventy-one."

"Seventy-five," Xu Changshou crushed the bid instantly, his tone flat.

Malicious killing intent practically bled from the hawk-eyed man's gaze as he stared daggers at Xu Changshou. "Seventy-eight!"

Xu Changshou replied with an utterly calm, unbothered cadence: "Eighty."

"You court death!"

The older cultivator’s face drained of color. Suffocating on his own rage, he had no choice but to abandon the bid.

"Eighty Spirit Stones, going once."

"Eighty, going twice."

"Any further bids? If not, the Moon-Gazing Rhinoceros Horn belongs to this Fellow Daoist."

He Shuixiu shot a radiant, bewitching smile toward Xu Changshou.

A faint smile graced Xu Changshou's lips.

In terms of raw wealth, so long as he wasn't facing a pampered, super-rich heir of an immortal lineage, Xu Changshou held ordinary clan disciples in absolute disdain.

As long as monstrously wealthy elites like Li Linhao stayed out of the fray, the Moon-Gazing Rhinoceros Horn was firmly within his grasp.

Su Miaomiao smiled faintly. "I could not see it before, but it seems Fellow Daoist Wang possesses a deep foundation of wealth."

Yang Jieyuan nodded. "Indeed. Fellow Daoist Wang truly conceals his depths well."

Li Linhao chuckled. "This Moon-Gazing Rhinoceros Horn is securely yours, Fellow Daoist Xu. If not for that fool attempting to disrupt the bidding, you could have obtained it for a fraction of the cost."

...

"Eighty, going for the thir—"

"Hold."

A terrifying, resonant voice suddenly boomed from one of the elevated VIP booths. "This seat bids eighty-five."

"What? A Foundation Establishment Senior is joining the fray?"

"Who possesses such an oppressive aura?"

"If my deductions are correct, that is Senior Mo Futu of the Mo Clan from Fulong Ridge! He has a grandson named Mo Dong, blessed with dual water and light spiritual roots. Senior Mo Futu must be acquiring the Moon-Gazing Rhinoceros Horn to forge a bespoke Pseudo-Artifact for him."

"The Mo Clan of Fulong Ridge... Mo Futu... Mo Dong..."

Xu Changshou knitted his brows tightly. He never fathomed a mighty Foundation Establishment Senior would stoop to snatching a mere Qi Condensation material.

Pitting his meager foundation against the unfathomable wealth of a Foundation Establishment Grand Cultivator was an exercise in utter despair.

What do I do? Must I abandon the Dao here?

Xu Changshou’s expression turned incomparably ugly. He had scoured the mortal dust for years seeking this single Moon-Gazing Rhinoceros Horn.

He had already acquired the century-old yellow weasel’s brush hairs and the hide of the black antelope thunder ox. Only this Moon-Gazing Rhinoceros Horn stood between him and his goal.

To surrender now would breed a vile demon in his heart.

Yet, to press forward meant actively offending a Foundation Establishment Senior. Victory or defeat, the ensuing karma would be disastrous.

One misstep, and his soul would be scattered to the winds.

"Fellow Daoist Xu, a wise man submits to the Heavenly Dao. Heed my advice—abandon this Moon-Gazing Rhinoceros Horn," Li Linhao warned, his voice dropped to an urgent whisper beside Xu Changshou's ear.

"I..."

Xu Changshou’s face was warped with intense struggle, an agonizing reluctance suffocating him.

Su Miaomiao flashed a captivating, yet cold smile. "Fellow Daoist Wang, in all your years, have you ever witnessed a Qi Condensation ant dare to bid against a Foundation Establishment Senior?"

It was a brutal truth. The Foundation Establishment Seniors had rarely intervened today, but the instant they projected their spiritual pressure, every Qi Condensation cultivator instinctively knelt and forfeited their bids.

Courting the killing intent of a Foundation Establishment expert over a single material was the height of foolishness.

Yang Jieyuan clicked his tongue in mockery. "Fellow Daoist Wang, do not ram your head against a steel mountain. I advise you to know your place before you court death."

Must I truly yield?

Xu Changshou’s gaze remained locked onto the pristine Moon-Gazing Rhinoceros Horn. It was an obsession cultivated over years of bitter searching. With it, he could finally craft the Thunder Explosion Talisman.

If he let this fated chance slip through his fingers, only the heavens knew how many epochs would pass before another appeared.

But to persist meant inviting the wrath of a Foundation Establishment Grand Cultivator.

For a tense moment, Xu Changshou was trapped in a suffocating deadlock between desire and survival.

"Fellow Daoist, you stand within the Ten Thousand Immortals Pavilion. All lots are won through fair competition under the Dao. There is no need for apprehension."

He Shuixiu’s voice was as serene as still water, a faint glint of encouragement flashing in her eyes. Spurred by her assurance, Xu Changshou felt his killing resolve harden.

"Fellow Daoist Wang, do not let impulse sever your life!"

Su Miaomiao frantically reached out, yanking fiercely at Xu Changshou’s Daoist robe.