Han Li arrived at the market hall just around noon. After waiting a moment, he used a secret technique to transform himself into a sturdy man with thick, flowing beard. By the time he arrived, people had already begun delivering spiritual stones to the guards and receiving light-shielding pendants to enter the hall. All of them were cultivators at the stage of Spiritual Form or above. Han even personally witnessed a couple of cultivators at the Transcendent Realm entering. After a brief thought, he approached the guard and handed him a simple leather satchel filled with spiritual stones. The guard scanned Han Li's satchel with his spiritual awareness and nodded, presenting him with a jade pendant, opening the entrance, and softly saying, "Go inside and walk to the left." Han Li was momentarily startled and slightly puzzled, then proceeded into the hall. As soon as he stepped into the corridor, he was astonished to find that the straight passage he had seen during his previous visit had now become severely distorted, branching into two distinct paths that led to the darkened sides. It seemed as though the Hall of Too-Xuan the last time he entered was entirely a different place! Clearly, the seals within this hall had been rearranged. However, the guards had already given him the necessary instructions. Without hesitation, Han Li simply proceeded along the path to the left. A short while later, his figure gradually faded into the darkness and eventually vanished completely. After a meal's worth of time, Han Li found himself inside a separate, dark stone chamber. The room was only about one zhang in size, with walls on three sides and one large opening. Inside, aside from a jade table, a bamboo chair, and a red-tinged magical disk resting on the table, there was nothing else. Such stone chambers, densely packed and interwoven throughout the low sky, rising up to a height of hundreds of zhang, formed a series of floating sky pavilions. The entire hall was nearly a thousand zhang wide, spacious enough to comfortably accommodate nearly a thousand such chambers. These stone pavilions continuously shimmered with faintly blue runes, each spaced far apart, resembling clusters of jade lanterns suspended in the air, exuding an extraordinary sense of mystery. Han Li sat beneath one of them, gazing down at the auction platform on the ground with a look of quiet admiration and wonder. As soon as he stepped into the hall, he was instantly transported to this location by a peculiar magical array set at the entrance. He had tested this himself—these floating stone pavilions not only could hover in mid-air but also effectively blocked divine perception, and with the light-shielding pendant he wore, the auction participants' identities remained completely concealed. It appeared that the head of the auction house deeply understood the practitioners' apprehension about being accused of hoarding treasures, and thus had put considerable thought into ensuring the confidentiality of the bidders. After resting for a full ten minutes with his back against the chair, hundreds more practitioners entered the grand hall, and by now, nearly all of the stone pavilions were occupied. Han Li opened his eyes again, gently exhaled. Anyone able to enter this auction house was at least a cultivator at the stage of Transcendent Spirit or above—so it meant that this modest auction event had effortlessly gathered nearly a thousand such cultivators. In the human realm, such a feat would have been utterly unimaginable. This was only possible because they were in Tianyuan City; in other human cultivation cities across the Three Realms, unless they were among the three major cities, it would still remain out of reach. Suddenly, several melodious bell tones rang out. The grand hall doors, which had been wide open, slowly closed with a deep creak. The already dim hall grew even more shadowed. Immediately, several moonstone orbs the size of human heads rose into the air from the auction stage, emitting a soft, gentle white light, instantly brightening the surrounding area and drawing everyone’s attention. Everyone’s gaze instinctively turned toward the auction platform. Suddenly, a grand spell array of several dozen paces in height materialized in mid-air on the elevated platform. A flash of white light, and there stood a white-robed elder on the platform. At the sight of this man, the cultivators within the stone pavilion stirred, some even gasping and exclaiming his name. "Master Chi!" "How could he have appeared here? Does this mean the auction itself—?" ...A murmur of conversation rippled through the group. Han Li, hearing the commotion, turned with interest and glanced over. Though the elder was only at the mid-stage of the Transcendent Realm, he had silvery hair, a kind face, and bright, piercing eyes—radiating the grace of a Daoist sage. From the others' remarks, it seemed clear that Master Chi was exceptionally accomplished in fields such as alchemy or spellcraft. Then, the white-robed elder cleared his throat and spoke gently: "It seems no further introduction from me is needed—most of you already know Master Chi." In truth, according to my nature, I should not have been invited to such an occasion. However, this auction features several items that I personally identified and which I myself found particularly interesting. Therefore, I have taken the initiative to host this auction. I believe the esteemed guests will not have any objections, will they? "Chen is jesting—having you, a master of alchemical craftsmanship, preside over this auction, we would be most grateful indeed!" "Indeed, indeed! Your personal assessments, Chen, are surely authentic. We now feel even more confident." ...As soon as the elder finished speaking, approving voices immediately rose from several floating pavilions. Though the other pavilions remained silent, no one voiced any dissent—clearly, the white-robed elder enjoys considerable renown in Tianyuan City. The white-robed elder spoke again: "To give everyone a clearer picture, I'd like to share a piece of news in advance—this time, the three flagship items up for auction are far more precious than in past years, likely among the most significant offerings in several centuries. Among them is a top-tier material from the Wild Frontier realm, one that has ascended to the rank of a Celestial Immortal灵宝 on the Chaotic Immortals' List, and the final item is a complete set of primary cultivation techniques left behind by a senior cultivator who, at the time, was nearing the peak of the Consolidated Stage and had once been renowned across both human and demon clans." "Brother Chi, if the auction is featuring such significant items, why wasn't word given in advance so we could have prepared and stockpiled more spirit stones? Is there some hidden reason behind this?" Suddenly, a delicate, childlike voice—strangely thin and youthful—echoed from within a stone pavilion. "The price has been jointly determined by our three senior appraisers and myself, so please rest assured," the robed elder smiled, as if he had anticipated this very question. Upon hearing his response, the gathering cultivators were slightly taken aback, though many others were greatly relieved and no further inquiries were made. Seeing that no one had any objections, the elder immediately announced the commencement of the auction and raised his hands lightly to clap. "Crack!" A series of十余 colored light streaks shot upward from the audience, swiftly ascending to the platform. As the lights settled, ten graceful, elegant female cultivators in imperial robes appeared behind the elder. Each of them possessed at least Jin Dan-level cultivation and stood upright, each holding a differently sized silk box in her hands. "As per our longstanding tradition, we shall begin with finished pills and treasures, followed by rare materials and secret techniques, and finally conclude with our most prized, reserve items." The first item up for auction was three bottles of "Huanxin Pills," a rare elixir known to enhance and refine the spiritual cultivation of divine cultivators. The opening bid was 300,000 spirit stones, with each subsequent increment not less than 50,000. The robed elder declared this clearly and then waved his hand backward. Instantly, a graceful female cultivator in imperial court attire stepped forward and, with a gentle lift of her jade hands, opened the lid of the box before the gathering of cultivators, revealing three jade vials standing several inches tall, each of a clear green hue. The elder then gestured toward the ornate box, and a single green jade vial shot out and came into his hands. With remarkable dexterity, he opened the vial's lid and tilted it slightly, releasing a single translucent, lustrous pill into the air. A rich, fragrant aroma immediately spread throughout the hall. The elder then picked up the pill with two fingers and gently waved it before the assembled cultivators. To everyone's astonishment, a brilliant shimmer of azure and crimson light instantly appeared on the surface of the pill, radiating vividly, as if it were a large, At the same time, the aroma of the medicinal herbs in the air grew increasingly strong, surpassing its former intensity by several times. "Master has already demonstrated the Heart-Revitalizing Pill to all of you. I am certain now that none of you will have any further doubts. Let the bidding begin!" "Thirty-five thousand." "Forty thousand." "Forty-five thousand." Han Li, confident that he could immediately prepare the Yuqing Pill upon his return, naturally did not wish to participate in this competition. He merely watched quietly as the three bottles of pills were purchased by a cultivator for sixty thousand units. At this moment, his thoughts mirrored those of many others, carefully weighing the three flagship items up for auction. To be honest, while Han Li was somewhat intrigued by the wild materials and the so-called transcendental spiritual treasures, he had not truly intended to bid for them. However, the main cultivation scripture of the late Consolidation-stage cultivator deeply stirred his interest.