At three hundred thousand ling stones, yet for such a modest amount—just a small jar of genuine chuan lin blood—it seemed rather unreasonable. Even if he had a supply of rare herbs that could be exchanged in bulk for ling stones, given his careful and cautious nature, he would never sell off large quantities of these ancient, precious herbs within a certain period. Otherwise, should someone notice, the consequences could be truly disastrous. From the tone of the bidder just now, it appeared that he was determined to secure this single jar of genuine chuan lin blood. Even if he were to pay three hundred thousand ling stones, he might not succeed in winning it, and instead, would draw attention from others. Moreover, for Han Li, this small amount of blood would only allow him to become familiar with the process of refining genuine chuan lin liquid—it would not be enough to actually produce a significant quantity of medicinal preparations. After careful consideration, Han Li settled on a gloomy expression and ultimately chose not to bid. Han Li's decision not to bid did not mean that others would let the item go unclaimed. After a brief silence, several people immediately began bidding—clearly all in the late Huashen stage, urgently needing the True Chuan Liquid to break through their cultivation bottlenecks. Ordinary cultivators would never offer such a high price. Amid the intense competition, the jar of True Chuan Vital Blood was ultimately secured by the first bidder at a remarkably high price of four million. This exceptional price drew many keen cultivators, who kept glancing at the stone pavilion where the bidder resided, speculating about his identity—yet none of them succeeded in making any gains. The subsequent materials, equally rare and essential for the Lingxu cultivators in preparing pills, attracted fewer bidders, though the prices set were even more astonishing. One particularly purple, ten-thousand-year-old wild fruit from the remote wilderness was bid up to nearly ten million, leaving the first-time participants in such an auction utterly stunned. The materials alone were astonishing—how could one even imagine the price of finished pills beneficial to cultivators at the stage of Immortality? Not long after the materials, scrolls, and other items were auctioned off, the robed elder gently tapped his palm, and the ten female cultivators who had stood behind him stepped gracefully down from the platform. At the same time, three cultivators in distinct attire began to walk up from the audience section. One wore a simple blue skirt, another a radiant elder with a glowing complexion, and a third a refined middle-aged scholar. Upon seeing these three, the gathering of cultivators stirred noticeably. Han Li faintly heard the term "appraisers" and immediately realized these three were precisely the three master appraisers the old man from the Chì family had initially mentioned. Though their cultivation levels—only at the early stage of the Spiritual Form—were not as high as that of the robed elder, each of them radiated an exceptional presence and clearly stood out among the crowd, far from ordinary. As Han Li was pondering, the robed elder, upon seeing these three step onto the stage, politely exchanged a few words with them and then turned to address the gathering of cultivators: "Now, the three most precious items of this auction are about to be unveiled—brought by Qin's companions. The first is three scales from the True Spirit Black麒麟, obtained from the wild frontier. These scales can be used either to craft the famed Kui-Shui True Spirit Pills, or as the highest-grade materials for producing water-type spiritual artifacts. When such materials are employed in crafting spiritual artifacts, there is a certain chance that the resulting artifacts may rank among the Chaotic Ten Thousand Spiritual Treasures. As for the Kui-Shui True Spirit Pills themselves, consuming just one can enable a cultivator at the early stage of the Shen Shen period to advance directly to the mid-stage. Of course, regardless of whether crafting a spiritual artifact or the pills, even with the involvement of a master-level cultivator, the success rate remains modest. However, should any of you wish to purchase these items and intend to craft a spiritual artifact, I personally offer to craft it free of charge for you. Hehe—that is my small personal consideration." The elderly man in white robes smiled and spoke the above words, then gracefully stepped back to the rear, behind the three. Upon hearing the terms "Moku Qilin scale," most of the cultivators gathered in the second sky pavilion nearly gasped, staring in stunned silence at the three appraisers on the auction platform, all of them speechless. However, those cultivators who had come specifically for the premium items—those with substantial resources—immediately brightened with renewed enthusiasm. It seemed their patience had truly been well spent. Even if the two remaining items were less impressive, the genuine spirit scales of the Moku Qilin alone were worth bidding on. Yet, most of them had originally hoped for the Kui-Shui True Spirit Pills, with only a fraction intending to use them for crafting. And among those who had such intentions, nearly all were cultivators practicing water-based cultivation techniques. Han Li, upon hearing the name "Kui-Shui True Spirit Pills," felt a profound surge of excitement within himself. This miraculous elixir capable of advancing a cultivator to the next stage in a single night—exactly what he had long dreamed of—now presented itself as an opportunity. With such a chance to obtain it, he made his decision instantly, determined to secure these three pieces of black qilin scales, even if it meant taking on some risk. Han Li's gaze flickered, and his expression grew resolute. At once, an intangible force materialized, instantly enveloping the three streaks of black light and pulling them downward with sudden force. The three streaks spiraled downward, flashing with brilliant light, transforming into black-green scales of fist-sized dimensions, compelled to fall and captured in the middle-aged woman's hands. She placed two of the scales back into the jade box, sealing them with a spell scroll, then held the remaining one in her fingers, presenting it to the gathering cultivators. With a composed tone, she said, "It is well known that the Black-Phoenix麒麟 is a naturally born water-element true spirit. The scales shed from its body are among the highest-grade water-element materials, and for cultivators whose practices primarily rely on water-element techniques, they are of the utmost utility. However, when verifying the authenticity of such scales, only two methods exist. First, although the scales are naturally shed, the water spirit energy they contain is exceptionally potent—so strong that even without postnatal refinement, they can match the quality of the highest-tier water-element rare treasures." As soon as the middle-aged woman finished speaking, she immediately poured a surge of spiritual energy into the scales in her hands, then waved them toward the air. At once, a soft, bluish glow brightened, and a radiant blue lotus flower suddenly bloomed on the surface of the scales, crystal-clear and dazzling, as luminous as diamonds. With a subtle gesture of her spiritual technique, the lotus spun smoothly and rapidly expanded in size, growing until it reached the size of her head, all within a deep blue aura of light. As the petals swayed, countless blue light specks scattered outward, spreading the rich, concentrated water spirit energy throughout the entire hall within moments. Standing within the floating pavilion, Han Li's eyes flashed briefly. He raised one hand and closed his fingers, causing a single blue light speck to vanish into his palm. With his eyes closed again, he felt a refreshing coolness spreading swiftly from his palm to his entire body. When he opened his eyes once more, they were filled with satisfaction. Indeed, it was an exceptionally pure water spirit energy—capable of producing such a powerful effect. Clearly, these were the genuine spiritual scales of the Black Unicorn. Not only Han Li, but the other cultivators, upon sensing the pure spiritual energy contained within the blue light spots, felt nearly eight or nine parts convinced. At this moment, the middle-aged woman gave a slight shake of her wrist, and the blue lotus unfolding on her hand-scale "popped" and instantly fragmented, vanishing. The entire hall's blue light spots likewise vanished in an instant. The woman then spoke softly, "Among the various true spirits existing in the heavens and earth, the scales of the Qilin are as hard, if not harder, than those of the True Dragon—the most powerful of all true spirits. Though after detachment, the scales lose much of their original hardness, ordinary attacks still find it a dream to shatter them." With these words, she tossed the scale into the air. Instantly, a dark glow rose and hovered motionless in the air. At that moment, a flash of golden light appeared on her hand, and suddenly a large axe, about a foot in size, shimmered forth, radiating a cold, piercing aura. The woman's expression darkened. As the golden axe trembled and surged upward, it emitted a beam of golden light, striking the scale directly with a single, decisive cut. A resonant "clang" echoed, and the scale's surface flashed with a deep black glow—remarkably, the sharp, powerful axe was instantly rebounded, while the scale itself remained untouched. The middle-aged woman showed no concern, continuing to chant softly. Suddenly, a column of vibrant green flame erupted from below the scale, roaring upward and engulfing it completely, submerging it entirely. A series of gasps rang out throughout the hall, drawing expressions of profound admiration from many of the cultivators. Yet, when the woman resumed her gestures and swiftly dispersed the flame, the scale remained suspended in the void, glowing faintly with a soft green hue, undamaged and unharmed. Subsequently, she successively employed attacks of lightning, ice sealing, and various other elemental techniques—each one sharp and powerful—but none of them made any impact upon the scale. Finally, after the woman released a mist of blood using a magical artifact, and the mist failed to penetrate the scales, she ceased her testing. She lifted her hand, summoning the qilin scale and placing it back into the jade box, sealing it with a scroll of incantation. Then, holding the box in one hand, she stepped back a few paces and settled into a composed, serene posture. At that moment, the white-robed elder approached the platform once more, smiled warmly at the gathering of cultivators, and said simply: "Three scales from the True Spirit Black Qilin, base price of one and a half million spiritual stones. Each bid must increase by at least one million. Let the bidding begin!" "One point seven million" "One point eight million" "Two million spiritual stones" ...The price of the scales soared rapidly, rising by hundreds of thousands from the outset. Many cultivators, who had never before witnessed such a precious artifact being auctioned, grew pale and, within moments, lost all interest in competing. Although Han Li's face remained unchanged, a subtle sense of surprise flickered in his eyes—he had not expected so many wealthy cultivators to still be present at this late stage of the auction. Yet he did not immediately raise his bid; instead, he simply stared calmly at the ever-rising astronomical figures displayed on the massive disk above the auction stage, gently pressing his slightly dry lips.