Chapter 150: Buying Medicine

After stepping through the massive golden gates, a vast semicircular auction hall unfolded before Lu Zhe's eyes. The venue sloped downward in a tiered arrangement, every single level packed with people. Suspended above Lu Zhe were rows of VIP viewing boxes, partitioned into uniform private suites reserved for powerful factions and formidable experts. At the very bottom of the hall lay the auction stage, where a middle-aged man was currently auctioning off a pair of exquisitely crafted bracelets. The entire venue was bustling with noise and excitement, every seat occupied.

Surveying the clamorous crowd, Elder Yi retrieved a silver mask from his tunic and fastened it over his face. Puzzled, Lu Zhe asked, "Master, what are you doing?"

Adjusting the mask, Elder Yi replied, "Nothing much, I simply prefer not to be recognized."

With the silver mask in place, Elder Yi began descending the tiers. Though utterly perplexed, Lu Zhe chose not to press for answers. He knew Elder Yi's temperament well; if he was doing this, he certainly had his reasons.

The two of them walked down a distance and casually found two seats to sit in. Just as they settled down, the auctioneer finally hammered down the sale of the delicate bracelets for thirty thousand gold coins.

The moment the bracelets were sold, a woman clad in a sky-blue cheongsam gracefully swayed her hips as she walked from backstage to the front, carrying a golden tray. She placed the object resting on the tray onto the round pedestal. The auctioneer stepped forward and whisked away the covering red cloth, instantly releasing a burst of blue radiance in all directions. Beneath the red cloth lay a massive, crystal-like blue object.

"This is a fifth-tier beast king-class 'Toothed Ichthyosaur' core crystal! Have a look, ladies and gentlemen, this is of top-tier quality. Buy it back and you can refine medicinal pills with it or mount it onto weapons; it is absolute value for money. Starting bid: two hundred thousand gold coins!" The auctioneer shouted, extolling the various virtues of the beast core crystal while announcing the price.

According to the *Volume of Beasts* in the *Chronicles of Myriad Oddities*, beast core crystals were objects formed through years of cultivation and evolution by beast king-class creatures. Typically housed within the skulls of these beasts, they served a function similar to human spiritual cores. They possessed different elemental attributes and were the very lifespans and essences of the beast kings. However, not all beast kings possessed such core crystals; only a very small fraction did, so hunters generally relied on pure luck to obtain them. Because of their scarcity, coupled with their ability to be refined into high-grade pills and embedded into weapons to grant special effects, the price of beast core crystals had always been exorbitantly high. Those from higher-tier beast kings were even rarer, and due to the astronomical costs, only deep-pocketed major factions could afford them.

Sure enough, likely due to the steep price, the number of bidders this time was far fewer than before. Aside from those in the front rows and the VIP suites on the upper level, almost no one called out a bid. Ultimately, this water-elemental beast core crystal, slightly larger than a goose egg, was purchased by a second-floor VIP suite for three hundred and fifty thousand coins.

With the water-elemental beast core crystal sold, the auctioneer used his hyperbolic persuasion skills to successively sell off a few less-valuable trinkets at high prices. Since none of these items were what Lu Zhe needed, he began to feel slightly bored. He rubbed the storage ring on his little finger, retrieved a scroll, and lowered his head to read it. Elder Yi glanced over and saw that Lu Zhe was studying the Cloud-Stepping Treads technique he had been practicing.

Time trickled away second by second, and before long, more than an hour had passed. The auctioneer was truly formidable; after speaking for so long without taking a single sip of water, he continued to auction items with the frantic excitement of someone high on aphrodisiacs.

Finally, after selling off a spear embedded with a beast core crystal, the auctioneer retrieved a water bottle from beneath the podium, took a few sips to lubricate his throat, and struck the auction gavel. With a booming voice, he shouted, "Respected guests, today's segment for weapon auctions concludes here. Next is the medicinal pill auction segment! The first item up for auction is this!"

He yanked away a red cloth, revealing a white jade bottle to the crowd. Thanks to the exquisite quality of the jade casting material and the dazzling lights striking the bottle's surface, everyone could clearly see an unknown liquid contained within.

"Fourth-rank silver pill: Water Heart Orchid Liquid. Its effect, when applied to the body, is to accelerate the absorption of spiritual energy, providing immense assistance especially for those cultivating water-attribute techniques. The starting price for this medicine is: eighty thousand gold coins!" the auctioneer proclaimed passionately.

As soon as this medicine appeared, given the reasonable price, quite a few people rubbed their palms together, gearing up to fight for it.

"This Ice Heart Orchid Liquid doesn't seem very pure..." Lu Zhe put away the scroll in his hand, staring at the bottle on the stage as he spoke.

"Oh? How do you know?" Hearing Lu Zhe's remark, Elder Yi asked with some surprise.

Lu Zhe smiled and explained, "I haven't been following you around for all this time for nothing." With that, he offered a rather proud smile.

Elder Yi chuckled as well, nodding in approval. "What you said is correct. This bottle of 'Ice Heart Orchid Liquid' indeed lacks purity. The seller kept the stage lights shining directly on the bottle precisely to conceal this fact. I didn't expect you to have such a sharp eye, kid."

Lu Zhe tucked the rolled-up scroll back into his storage ring. At the same time, that impure bottle of Ice Heart Orchid Liquid was snapped up by someone at double the starting price.

"Tsk tsk tsk tsk," Lu Zhe clicked his tongue, feeling it was a waste for the person who had forked over such a high price. If that buyer went home and discovered the substance was full of impurities, he truly wondered what expression would appear on their face.

"Fourth-rank medicinal herb: Fire Dragon Orchid Grass. Starting price: thirty thousand gold coins," the auctioneer continued.

Lu Zhe stared for a while at the dragon-shaped herb resting on the pedestal, then nodded as if he had figured something out. "Good stuff, it's just a pity it's not what we're looking for."

Upon hearing Lu Zhe's assessment, Elder Yi suddenly burst out in a soft chuckle. Puzzled, Lu Zhe asked, "Master, what are you laughing at?"

Elder Yi waved his hands repeatedly and said, "I'm not laughing at anything."

Lu Zhe rolled his eyes at him and returned his gaze to the stage.

Following a fierce bidding war, this fourth-rank Fire Dragon Orchid Grass was ultimately captured by a faction that appeared quite influential.

After the Fire Dragon Orchid Grass was sold away, a few rare herbs that were hard to find outside were brought out, but none of them were what Lu Zhe required. Just as Lu Zhe was about to give up hope, the 'High-Grade White Wolfberry', an indispensable ingredient for refining 'Minor Spiritual Vein Pills', was finally brought out.

"Ah," the moment the High-Grade White Wolfberry was presented, Lu Zhe's eyes lit up brightly, resembling a starving wolf catching sight of meat.

After the auctioneer lavished praise on the herb's various benefits, he announced its starting price: thirty thousand gold coins.

"Fifty thousand gold coins!" Just as Lu Zhe was about to call out his bid, a voice suddenly cut through the air, interrupting him.

Lu Zhe traced the source of the voice, but failed to locate the bidder. After all, the venue was simply too vast; spotting a specific individual among the crowd in an instant was no easy task.

"Stop looking around blindly. It's right above us," Elder Yi reminded him.

Following Elder Yi's cue, Lu Zhe raised his gaze toward the VIP suites on the second floor. There, a young man roughly Lu Zhe's age sat in an exceptionally luxurious and imposing chair. Flanking him were two graceful and attractive women who continuously peeled grapes and sliced apples, feeding them into his mouth. He cut the absolute figure of a spoiled young master of a wealthy household.

Lu Zhe smiled, settled back into his seat, raised his bidding paddle, and called out, "Sixty thousand gold coins."

"Very well, this esteemed guest offers sixty thousand gold coins. Are there any higher bids?" the auctioneer cried out loudly, his eyes darting toward the young master in the second-floor VIP suite as he spoke.

Upon hearing someone raise the bid, the young master showed no surprise at all. Instead, he called out in a crisp voice, "One hundred thousand gold coins."

"Whoa!" A minor wave of commotion rippled through the audience.

Hearing the young man's bid, Lu Zhe remained entirely unruffled. Anyone capable of securing a second-floor suite was a deep-pocketed heavyweight who wouldn't care about a mere tens of thousands of gold coins. Lu Zhe, however, was different; apart from some medicinal pills he had refined himself, he hadn't brought along any other wealth. With a faint smile, he ceased bidding.

"Oh?" Watching Lu Zhe give up, Elder Yi asked with some confusion, "What? You're quitting? That doesn't sound like your style."

Lu Zhe gave a mysterious smile and replied, "Master, you once said that wanting what you desire doesn't necessarily mean you have to buy it."

Elder Yi smiled knowingly and praised, "Indeed, a promising youth indeed."

Lu Zhe smiled as well and said, "That's only thanks to your brilliant guidance." With those words, Lu Zhe cast one final glance back at the young master on the second floor. At that moment, the youth was being fed grapes by the two women at his side, a smug and triumphant grin plastered across his face. As he watched, a trace of murderous intent flashed through Lu Zhe's eyes...