Chapter 59

Xiao Zhan's words caused a slight silence in the hall. After a while, one by one, the gleeful gazes shifted to Jiali Bi, whose face was ashen.

"Tsk, tsk, ten thousand gold coins for a bottle of Foundation Establishment Spirit Liquid... This guy is really generous," Xiao Yan, looking at the twitching face of Jiali Bi, couldn't help but chuckle softly.

Xun Er smiled and said, "A common second-grade spirit medicine usually costs no more than three thousand gold coins on the market. The Foundation Establishment Spirit Liquid, which can increase the cultivation speed of combat qi, is quite rare, so its price is much higher. However, ... using ten thousand gold coins to buy it, Jiali Bi is indeed very 'generous.'"

Xiao Yan nodded with a smile, smacked his lips, and said with a hint of longing, "A bottle of second-grade Foundation Establishment Spirit Liquid can sell for several thousand gold coins. I think those powerful alchemists must all be dripping with wealth, right?"

"Alchemists are the richest profession on the continent of combat qi, which is indeed true. Every alchemist is extremely wealthy," Xun Er nodded with a smile, her gaze sweeping over the Foundation Establishment Spirit Liquid on the stage. "However, as the rank of alchemists gets higher, they rarely come out to auction the spirit medicines they refine. At that time, they will choose to barter. Money can hardly move them anymore..."

"Barter?" Xiao Yan's eyebrows subtly raised, and he somewhat understood why Medicine Master had such a rich private collection.

"Yes, using cultivation techniques, combat skills, or rare medicinal herbs, high-grade demon cores, and other such things to exchange for spirit medicines from alchemists," Xun Er's rosy lips curled as she said softly, "So, alchemists are the most envied profession on the continent. Everyone wants to become an alchemist, but the almost harsh conditions have discouraged countless people."

Looking at Xun Er's slightly regretful face, Xiao Yan touched his nose, feeling immensely grateful for his soul mutation.

Stopping his talk, Xiao Yan turned his gaze to Jiali Bi, whose face was ashen.

Similarly stunned by Xiao Zhan's words, Jiali Bi stared dumbly at Xiao Zhan, who had given up without any hesitation. His eyes twitched rapidly, and after a while, he said in a hoarse voice, "Bastard, you're putting on a show for me again!"

"Hehe, aren't you the same? It's just that your mind hasn't been clear lately, so your act is a bit fake," Xiao Zhan said with a faint smile, his tone filled with ridicule.

"Fine, fine, Xiao Zhan, I, Jiali Bi, will remember this grudge!" Taking several deep breaths, Jiali Bi's eyes were cold and resentful.

Xiao Zhan ignored this threat, sneered, and turned to smile at Ya Fei on the stage, "Miss Ya Fei, please proceed with the final auction."

Smiling, Ya Fei nodded, maintaining a reserved smile on her face. In her heart, she couldn't help but laugh. The auction price this time far exceeded her expectations. The better the auction price, the more she could make the mysterious alchemist feel good about the auction.

Sending a comforting smile to the ashen-faced Jiali Bi, Ya Fei bent down again to take out the last two bottles of Foundation Establishment Spirit Liquid. She smiled and said, "Ladies and gentlemen, this is the last batch of spirit liquid. The starting bid is still three thousand gold coins."

Seeing the last batch of spirit liquid, the faces of the elders sitting beside Xiao Zhan trembled, and they hurriedly gave Xiao Zhan a subtle look.

Sitting calmly in his chair, Xiao Zhan ignored the elders' gazes. After scanning the calm hall, he said indifferently, "Five thousand."

Hearing Xiao Zhan's bid, Jiali Bi's face twitched again. His mouth moved, but thinking of the lack of funds, he had to close it with a hateful expression.

On the other side, Oba Pa, looking at the calm Xiao Zhan, frowned, lightly tapped his fingers on the back of his hand, and his eyes flickered. He then smiled, "Five thousand five hundred."

The relationship among the three major families of U坦 City was quite bizarre. They all wanted to swallow the other two families' assets in U坦 City, but they were afraid that if one acted alone, the other side would reap the benefits. If they acted together, they couldn't avoid mutual suspicion. Therefore, without the confidence to completely annihilate the other side, the three families maintained this fragile and bizarre balance.

The three families all had their own grudges, and none of them looked at each other favorably. Don't think that Oba Pa was mocking Jiali Bi earlier; now that it was Xiao Zhan's turn to bid, he wouldn't treat Xiao Zhan as harshly as he did Jiali Bi. However, he was quite willing to raise the price a little to create some small problems for the Xiao family.

Oba Pa's bid didn't change Xiao Zhan's expression. He glanced at him indifferently and said, "Six thousand five hundred."

The price of six thousand five hundred was somewhat above the market price of the Foundation Establishment Spirit Liquid. However, Xiao Zhan was also aware that in the bidding among the three major families, it was clearly impossible to buy the spirit liquid at a low price.

"Hehe, Clan Leader Xiao, you are truly generous. However, I'm afraid I might be dragged into your game. I have already bought the Foundation Establishment Spirit Liquid, so this time, I'll let it go to you," Oba Pa hesitated slightly after seeing Xiao Zhan's bid. It seemed that the big loss Jiali Bi suffered earlier had made him more cautious.

Seeing Oba Pa's insincere smile, Xiao Zhan also smiled in response, leaning back in his chair and saying in a low voice, "Damn, this bastard made me spend an extra thousand. He's not a good person either."

Hearing this, Xiao Yan found it somewhat amusing. In such competition, who could still be a good person? If the other side wasn't afraid of repeating Jiali Bi's mistake, he would probably add more before giving up.

Xiao Yan snapped his fingers and watched Ya Fei on the stage lower the small hammer. He let out a sigh of relief in his heart. This money could support his extravagance for a while longer. Now, as long as he got the medicinal herbs, he could have Medicine Master refine the Qi Gathering Powder...

"Finally, I'm not far from becoming a Fighter..."

Licking his lips, Xiao Yan took a long breath. This first hurdle in his cultivation journey was finally about to be crossed!

(There will be another update tonight, I'll try to make it as early as possible. I apologize for the unstable update times, as I don't have any backlog. Please understand. The new book list will be out this afternoon. Brothers who have finished reading, please help by adding it to your favorites. Thank you! ^_^)