Martial Peak

Chapter 2031, Bidding

Translator: Silavin & Ashish

Editor and Proofreader: Leo of Zion Mountain & Dhael Ligerkeys

"Sir Vice City Lord, may I ask if this Spirit Pill came from the Five Colored Treasure Pagoda?" Someone among the audience asked aloud.

Drunkard nodded and replied, smiling, "Exactly! And this Spirit Pill isn't one placed inside by the major Sects just after it opened, it is a true Ancient Spirit Pill. Everyone can also see that the medicinal efficacy of this Spirit Pill had been perfectly preserved because of the Pill Veins. If this was not the case, even the most potent of Spirit Pills would have been reduced to ashes after so many years."

After a Spirit Pill had been refined, it would be stored in a jade bottle to preserve its medicinal efficacy.

But even high-grade Spirit Pills would have their medicinal efficacy dissipate with time, becoming useless eventually.

But if the Spirit Pill formed Pill Veins, there was no need to worry about this issue. Pill Veins could absorb World Energy autonomously, thereby maintaining the pill's medicinal efficacy. Pill Clouds, which were above Pill Veins, were even more remarkable. Spirit Pills with Pill Clouds would have their medicinal efficacy grow stronger over time.

The longer such a pill was preserved, the more terrifying its medicinal efficacy would become.

If an Origin King Grade pill formed Pill Clouds, its medicinal efficacy might even be comparable to an Emperor Grade pill after thousands of years of accumulation.

Yang Kai had even seen such a pill before.

When he obtained the Purple Origin Furnace in the Emperor Garden, there was a Purple Veins Dragon Flame Pill that formed Pill Clouds inside. This pill was refined by the owner of the True Alchemy Enlightenment Scripture and only the Heavens knew why it was still in the Purple Origin Furnace. Ultimately, Yang Kai had picked up a bargain when he obtained it.

The Emperor Garden had been sealed off for over ten thousand years, so this Purple Veins Dragon Flame Pill was nourished by its Pill Clouds for an equal length of time. As such, even though it was only an Origin King Grade Mid-Rank pill, even an ordinary Emperor Grade pill could not compete with it in terms of medicinal efficacy.

Such a pill was extremely useful, even to Emperor Realm masters.

This was the reason why Yang Kai didn't dare to take it; he was worried its medicinal efficacy was too powerful and he could not withstand it.

He dared not make its existence public either as such a pill was extremely unique. There could be no more than ten such pills in the entire world, so one could imagine just how valuable it was.

Even with his current strength, Yang Kai didn't dare to take this Purple Veins Dragon Flame Pill easily and could only wait for his strength to improve until he could withstand its potency.

"Sir Vice City Lord, what is the grade of this Spirit Pill? What are its uses?" A cultivator on the lower floor asked the question that was running through everyone's mind.

Drunkard smiled and replied, "You don't have to ask, this old man was about to explain. After many Alchemists studied this pill together for several days, they finally came to the conclusion that this Spirit Pill is a Dao Source Grade Mid-Rank pill, and its function is very attractive."

Having heard Drunkard's reply, the cultivators in the auction hall suddenly grew energetic and looked up at the stage with rapt attention.

"What the exact name of this pill in ancient times was, no one knows for sure, and its pill recipe has long been lost. Sir City Lord decided to name it the Marrow Washing Pill, and as for its specific purpose… heh heh, you can tell it by its name. It can wash one's marrow and cleanse their physique, allowing one to be reborn and thereby enhancing that cultivator's aptitude."

Just as Drunkard's voice fell, many cultivators in the audience suddenly exclaimed, all of their gazes turning sharp and hot.

Even the masters in the various private rooms released their Divine Senses to investigate this Spirit Pill.

It was no surprise everyone showed such a reaction, though. After all, how rare and valuable was a Spirit Pill that could wash one's marrow and cleanse one's physique to increase one's aptitude? Besides a few legendary pills and treasures, no such pill existed in the Star Boundary.

But this Marrow Washing Pill indeed had such a Heaven-defying effect.

Who would dislike having better aptitude? This was something all cultivators dreamed of. Why were some Third-Order Origin Kings unable to break through to the Dao Source Realm? Some might be unable to because of their Secret Art, or due to old injuries, or some other reason.

But the most common reason by a large margin was simply because their aptitude was insufficient!

If they could improve their aptitude just a little bit, they might be able to remould themselves and reach the Dao Source Realm.

And the Marrow Washing Pill before them obviously represented hope for such a future, so everyone coveted it.

"No, something's wrong, isn't it, Sir Vice City Lord?" A man's voice suddenly spread from a private room. It was the Jiang Family master who had bid many times before. "If this pill really had such a magical effect, how could anyone be willing to put it up for auction instead of just taking it for themselves? This Jiang does not believe that any cultivator with even the slightest bit of brains would make such a decision. Sir Vice City Lord, there's more to this pill than that, isn't there?"

Hearing this, those coveting cultivators with fiery eyes were instantly shocked as they felt that the Jiang Family master made a lot of sense. If this Marrow Washing Pill really had such amazing effects, which fool would put it up for auction? It could even be said that City Lord Duan Yuan Shan would immediately have taken it upon learning of its effects.

Just now, Drunkard's elaborate description had made everyone subconsciously ignore this concern, but now that they were reminded by the Jiang Family master, they immediately woke up and asked Drunkard to give a clear explanation.

Drunkard, looking at the Jiang Family private room, grinned meaningfully and said, "Brother Jiang is correct. Although this Marrow Washing Pill has a Heaven-defying effect, it does have some drawbacks as well!"

"Oh? I'd like to hear the details!" The Jiang Family master immediately asked.

"First, although this pill is able to wash one's marrow and cleanse one's physique, it can only be taken for cultivators at or below the Saint King Realm, becoming completely ineffective to those above the Saint King Realm. Secondly, the effects will only last until its user has cultivated to the Origin King Realm. Once the consumer breaks through to the Origin King Realm, their physique and aptitude will return to their previous level. Of course, except for these two points, this pill has no other side effects and will not have any harmful after-effects, of this everyone may rest assured."

"There's actually such a strange pill in this world?" The Jiang Family master was taken aback for a while.

A smile appeared on Drunkard's lips as he said, "No one knows what the ancient world was like. This old man has no idea why this kind of pill was created in ancient times, but there are so many capable and eccentric people in history, so it's not surprising that such a pill appeared."

"This Jiang understands. Many thanks, Sir Vice City Lord, for your explanation."

"Good, this is what this old man ought to explain. Now that everyone has understood the purpose of this Marrow Washing Pill, let's start with the auction. The starting bid is 100,000 Source Crystals and each raise shall not be less than 5,000."

"100,000!"

"150,000!"

"200,000!"

Although this Marrow Washing Pill had many limitations, like being useless to cultivators above the Saint King Realm and having the boosted aptitude return to its original level after breaking through to the Origin King Realm, it still aroused the interest of many people.

This was only natural as all the cultivators participating in the auction had their own juniors and heirs. This pill might be useless to them personally, but it could still be given to their descendants. There was a massive gap of two Great Realms between the Saint King Realm and Origin King Realm, so if one's aptitude was improved even for that short span, it could greatly shorten their cultivation time.

However, its various restrictions doomed this pill to not have too high a price.

The bids soared upwards, quickly breaking through the 200,000 mark.

In the B9 private room, Yang Kai's brow rose as he too began bidding.

Kang Si Ran looked at him with amazement and asked, "Alchemist Yang, do you have a little friend in need of this thing?"

Yang Kai, pondering for a moment before nodding, "You could say that. Furthermore… since I have come to this auction, I can't just go back empty-handed, can I?"

"En, I suppose so," Kang Si Ran nodded. He had also bid on a few useful items before that were relatively cheap, but this was actually Yang Kai's first time bidding for anything.

"Alchemist Yang, don't hesitate to bid, if you don't have enough Source Crystals, this old master will assist you," Kang Si Ran generously said.

"Then I will thank Shopkeeper Kang in advance," Yang Kai smiled and continued to raise. "250,000!"

The reason why he participated in bidding for this Marrow Washing Pill was naturally because of Zhang Ruo Xi. This Zhang Family Young Lady just so happened to be a First-Order Saint King and was a prime candidate for taking this Marrow Washing Pill.

He might have no friendship or feelings for this little girl, but he still wanted her help to unlock the secrets of the Space Spirit Jade at the end of the day. Perhaps he would be with Zhang Ruo Xi for a long time in the future, so it wouldn't hurt him to help her grow up quickly. It would also lighten the burden on him if she was stronger.

Most importantly though, Yang Kai had accepted her while having such plans for her which he had not revealed from the outset, so he felt that giving her a little compensation would relieve the guilt in his heart.

As the price soared, fewer and fewer people participated in the bidding as even though it was a rare Ancient Spirit Pill, it was useless to them. Except for some cultivators who were interested in cultivating their descendants, others had already withdrawn.

When Yang Kai offered 300,000, only a single woman continued to compete with him. This woman was sitting in the lower hall and didn't seem to be too wealthy. She was also only a Second-Order Origin King.

She hesitated for a while before continuing to increase the price.

Naturally, Yang Kai did not give up.

After Yang Kai called out 320,000, the woman let out a sigh and seemed to have given up.

Seeing this situation, Drunkard immediately stepped forward and declared, "320,000 going once, going twice, going three times, and sold. Please go backstage to pay and finalize the deal!"

Yang Kai smiled upon hearing this before promptly standing up and saying to Kang Si Ran, "I'll be right back."

"Alchemist Yang, please return as soon as possible. If I'm right, the Dao Source Fruit is about to appear," Kang Si Ran looked towards the stage with great expectation.

Yang Kai nodded and left the room.

Walking backstage, he paid 320,000 Source Crystals, and obtained the Marrow Washing Pill.

Spending so many Source Crystals to buy a Spirit Pill was indeed a little extravagant for Yang Kai today; after all, this was almost a third of the Source Crystals he had on hand, and more importantly, it was useless for him.

But in the long run, it was fine.

Furthermore, Yang Kai could also study the ingredients of this Marrow Washing Pill himself, and if he could derive its recipe, it would be of great use to him. Regardless of anything else, this was an Ancient Spirit Pill that had been lost to history, so if Yang Kai could learn its pill recipe, he could refine more in the future and sell them himself. At that time, he wouldn't need to worry about making back his investment.