The Meridian-Protecting Pill was a Second-Tier Middle Grade Pill that could protect a cultivator's Meridians from damage when a Qi Condensation Realm cultivator broke through to Foundation Establishment. Although its value was far inferior to the Foundation Establishment Pill, its price was still higher than an ordinary Second-Tier Middle Grade Pill.

When Gu Wanhao saw the Meridian-Unblocking Grass, his eyes lit up. If he could successfully bid for it, he could refine at least six Meridian-Protecting Pills. Whether he used them for the Gu Clan's disciples or sold them in the market, it would be a guaranteed profit with no loss.

Therefore, he made his bid without hesitation.

"The Fellow Daoist in Room Thirteen bids seven hundred Spirit Stones!" Gu Wanhao's opening bid immediately nearly doubled the price.

What a grand display of wealth!

Everyone else seemed startled by this. By the time they reacted, the Meridian-Unblocking Grass had already been won by Gu Wanhao.

Gu Changhuan and the others were also surprised. So bids could be made like this!

"If we waited for everyone to slowly bid, this Meridian-Unblocking Grass wouldn't have been obtainable for just seven hundred Spirit Stones." Gu Wanhao was quite pleased with himself.

Gu Changze secretly clicked his tongue. Back when he returned home to visit his family, Gu Wanhua had given him and Gu Changhuan each a Second-Tier Low Grade Spiritual Talisman. At the time, he thought the talisman was worth five hundred Spirit Stones. Now, it seemed he had still underestimated the price of Second-Tier Spiritual Objects.

A Second-Tier Low Grade defensive talisman was worth at least one thousand Low-Grade Spirit Stones.

Although the bidding for Second-Tier Spiritual Objects wasn't as bustling as it had been for First-Tier Spiritual Objects, it was much more intense.

Gu Wanchang also made a move, spending two thousand Low-Grade Spirit Stones to win a Second-Tier Middle Grade Talisman Brush. He had prepared it for Gu Wanhua. After breaking through to become a Second-Tier Low-Grade Talisman Master, Gu Wanhua had never managed to buy a suitable Talisman Brush and was still using a First-Tier High Grade one. Although she was accustomed to it, it somewhat hindered her success rate in Talisman Drawing.

After buying the Talisman Brush, neither Gu Wanhao nor Gu Wanchang made any further bids. Both of them possessed a specialized skill and had high standards. They already used what was most suitable for them, so ordinary Spiritual Objects were beneath their notice.

The main customers of the auction were still clans with limited resources and Rogue Cultivators.

But for truly priceless treasures, only clan or sect cultivators had the wealth to afford them.

Until all the Second-Tier Spiritual Objects were auctioned off, Gu Wanchang and Gu Wanhao did not purchase anything else.

"The next items to be auctioned are all Third-Tier Spiritual Objects! For Third-Tier Spiritual Objects, each bid increment must not be less than one hundred Spirit Stones!

"The first item is a piece of Third-Tier Low-Grade Red Sandstone, weighing a full six jin! This item is an excellent material for Artifact Refining. Without further ado, this piece of Red Sandstone has a starting bid of four thousand Low-Grade Spirit Stones, with each increment not less than one hundred Spirit Stones."

"I told you we didn't need to attend this first session. Look, there isn't a single good item," a young woman in a goose-yellow dress complained from an elegant private room on the third floor.

"We are just bringing Shaoxun to broaden her horizons, lest she be tricked into buying overpriced street-stall junk when she travels on her own in the future," a middle-aged scholar said with a bitter smile. His wife was the descendant of a Golden Core cultivator. She had reached the Purple Mansion without expending much effort, so her temperament remained somewhat naive.

"With Father and us around, why would Shaoxun ever need to scramble about like an ordinary Rogue Cultivator?"

The young girl in the pale purple dress sitting beside the young woman smiled helplessly. Although she was a cultivator with a Water Attribute Heavenly Spirit Root, she had been frail in her childhood, so her parents were overly doting on her.

The middle-aged scholar also felt somewhat helpless. Those who walked the path of Cultivation fought against heaven for fortune. Since Shaoxun possessed a Heavenly Spirit Root, her future prospects were boundless. How could they accompany her for an entire lifetime?

"Mother, do not be angry. Father means well," Su Shaoxun said. "I grew up in the Haoran Sect, where all my Senior Brothers and Senior Sisters treated me with great courtesy. It was only for the sake of breaking through to the Purple Mansion that Grandfather let me go out and see the world. After the Cloudheaven Conference, I plan to visit Heng Prefecture."

The young woman pondered for a moment. "Heng Prefecture is not bad, but when you travel, you must always wear the Spirit-Rhino Pendant your grandfather gave you. The world is dangerous and people's hearts are hard to predict. The Spirit-Rhino Pendant can block a full-force strike from a Golden Core cultivator. If you wear it while traveling, we can rest at ease."

The young girl smiled. For her travels, she was practically armed to the teeth.

In the private room on the second floor, Gu Wanhao was explaining it to the others: "Red Sandstone is a dual Earth Attribute and fire-attribute Spiritual Object that was easy to shape. It can be refined into either an offensive Magical Artifact or a defensive Magical Artifact."

Although the Gu Clan was a Foundation Establishment clan, they possessed a Purple Mansion heritage. They might have lived poorly these past few years, but they still retained broad knowledge and experience.

Although the middle-aged couple looked down on the Red Sandstone, it was ultimately auctioned off for thirteen thousand six hundred Spirit Stones.

"The next Spiritual Object is the skin of a Third-Tier Low-Grade Blackwater Python! It can be used for Artifact Refining or made into talisman paper. The starting bid is six thousand five hundred Low-Grade Spirit Stones, with each increment not less than one hundred Spirit Stones."

Yun Luoluo brought out a black snake skin that was over a zhang in length. The snakeskin shone brilliantly, with tiny scales faintly gleaming under the light.

The Blackwater Python's skin proved even more popular than the Red Sandstone, ultimately selling to the guest in Room Seven for twenty-five thousand Low-Grade Spirit Stones.

One valuable Third-Tier Spiritual Object after another went under the hammer. Yet, among the more than thirty Third-Tier Spiritual Objects, not a single one could assist a cultivator's Cultivation. They were all various materials or Dharma Treasures.

To the group's disappointment, by the time this phase of the auction ended, not a single Third-Tier High Grade Earth Attribute Spiritual Object had appeared. The highest-tier item had merely been a Third-Tier Middle-Grade Demon Beast material.

After all the Third-Tier Spiritual Objects were auctioned off, the atmosphere within the venue did not diminish; instead, it intensified. The Rogue Cultivators on the sidelines grew faintly restless, and those with poor patience even craned their necks to stare at the central auction platform.

Yun Luoluo took a deep breath and announced in an impassioned voice:

"Fellow Daoists, we will now begin the auction for the Foundation Establishment Pills! I am sure I need not explain what a Foundation Establishment Pill does. Many Fellow Daoists have traveled from afar precisely for this item.

"For this conference, we have prepared fifteen Foundation Establishment Pills! Each Foundation Establishment Pill has a starting price of sixty thousand Low-Grade Spirit Stones! Each bid increment must not be less than five hundred Spirit Stones!"

The Foundation Establishment Pill was indeed exorbitantly priced. The base price alone was sixty thousand Low-Grade Spirit Stones, and there was no telling how much higher the final transaction price would be.

Sixty thousand Low-Grade Spirit Stones was no small amount even for a Foundation Establishment clan like the Gu Clan, and for a Rogue Cultivator, it was an astronomical sum.

In Room Thirteen, Gu Wanchang tightly gripped the auctioning Magical Artifact. This time, it would be enough as long as the Gu Clan could secure a single Foundation Establishment Pill. They still needed to reserve a portion of their Spirit Stones to prepare for purchasing a Third-Tier High Grade Earth Attribute Spiritual Object.

The three Third-Tier Spiritual Objects Gu Wanhao had previously consigned to the auction house had not appeared in the first session. They had presumably been arranged for the second session. This was actually good news; items placed in the second session could fetch even higher prices.

"The auction for the first Foundation Establishment Pill begins now!"

Yun Luoluo's cheeks flushed crimson, so excited she nearly jumped.

"I bid seventy thousand Spirit Stones!" shouted a Rogue Cultivator on the first floor, too nervous to bother using his auctioning Magical Artifact.

"Fellow Daoist Number Two Hundred Thirty-Seven bids seventy thousand Spirit Stones!"

The jade board in Yun Luoluo's hands flashed continuously. She almost could not keep up with announcing the bids before the price of the first Foundation Establishment Pill skyrocketed to one hundred thousand Low-Grade Spirit Stones!

But after passing the one hundred thousand mark, the flashing of the jade board slowed considerably.

"Room Thirty-Six bids again! One hundred and five thousand Spirit Stones!"

"Fellow Daoist Number Fifty-Six bids one hundred and six thousand Spirit Stones!"

"Room Thirty-Six bids one hundred and ten thousand!"

Yun Luoluo was ecstatic inside. With a commission of half a percent, she would earn over five hundred Spirit Stones from just a single Foundation Establishment Pill. Acquiring these Spirit Stones could not be any easier.

Ultimately, the first Foundation Establishment Pill was won by Room Thirty-Six at the price of one hundred and twenty thousand Low-Grade Spirit Stones.

The raw material cost of a Foundation Establishment Pill was only thirty thousand Spirit Stones, but because the ingredients were precious and numerous, an ordinary Second-Tier Alchemist had a very high chance of failure during refinement. Only a Third-Tier Alchemist could guarantee no losses.

Due to demand vastly exceeding supply, a single Foundation Establishment Pill would often sell for several times its value. Just like today, the very first Foundation Establishment Pill had fetched the exorbitant price of one hundred and twenty thousand! From this, the immense worth and rarity of high-tier Alchemists was evident.