Chapter 28: The Auction House

"Is this scroll really that interesting?" Du Qian looked at Du Fei, who was staring blankly at the scroll, and said indifferently.

"Hehe, I just think that this blank thing wouldn't be placed here for no reason. There might be some secret inside," Du Fei said casually.

"Anyone can look at this thing. What kind of secret could it have?" Du Qian smiled, then her expression turned slightly serious, "Alright, let's not talk about other things... Whether it's a cultivation technique or a martial skill, we Du family members can only choose one here. Even if we come in next time, we can only read the one we chose. So, Du Fei, you should choose carefully."

"There are such rules?" Du Fei was taken aback, a bit surprised.

"If there were no such rules, wouldn't an outsider who sneaks in be able to take all the Du family's secrets?" Du Qian said indifferently, "But you don't need to worry about that. Once you choose, you won't be able to read the others. In any case, just choose the one you like the most. Personally, I suggest you choose a seventh-grade martial skill. After all, this ninth-grade cultivation technique is not that impressive."

Hearing this, Du Fei nodded in understanding. For a thousand-year-old family, if there were no special protective measures for the cultivation techniques and martial skills, a single traitor could expose the entire family's secrets.

He guessed that his father's departure years ago was also related to this. Otherwise, he would have emptied this place long ago.

His gaze slowly swept over the jade boxes around him, finally landing on a jade box at the edge that emitted a faint cold light.

"An eighth-grade martial skill, Ice Peak Leg!"

This martial skill was the only eighth-grade skill in the third level. Du Fei understood why it was placed here: the Ice Peak Leg was not very powerful on its own, but when combined with the Du family's Ice Heart Technique, its power could rival some seventh-grade martial skills!

However, in recent years, no one in the younger generation of the Du family could cultivate the Ice Heart Technique, so no one knew the Ice Peak Leg.

After hesitating for a moment, Du Fei walked over, opened the box, and slowly unrolled the scroll under Du Qian's curious gaze.

As soon as the scroll was opened, a cold aura rushed out.

"Xiao Bai, record the information in the system!"

Narrowing his eyes, Du Fei calmly gave the order.

"Order accepted. The system is recording the information. Recording complete. Do you want to read it now...?"

"Not for now." Du Fei responded in his mind and quickly stuffed the scroll back into the box. He then pulled on another box.

Strangely, this box, which should have been easy to open, wouldn't budge no matter how hard he tried.

"Indeed, there's something to it!" Du Fei praised inwardly, then turned to Du Qian with a smile, "Is there anything else to see besides these?"

"Besides these, what else do you want?" Du Qian rolled her eyes slightly, "I won't say much about your choice of martial skill. It's your personal preference... But I will give you a suggestion. Since you chose a martial skill, you won't be able to get a cultivation technique from the family. So you have two options: first, try your luck at the auction house, or second, join a sect... Otherwise, without a cultivation technique, even if you are a genius now, you will end up as nothing in the future!"

"Thank you for your advice." Du Fei smiled, "I'll visit the auction house when I have time. Thank you, Du Qian!"

"To be honest, did you get the Ice Heart Technique's incantation from your father?" Du Qian suddenly smiled strangely and took a few steps closer, saying indifferently.

"Of course not. You know, I was a cripple before!" Du Fei said calmly, his expression unchanged.

"It's best if you don't. If you do, you need to be careful... The Ice Heart Technique is something many people in the Du family dream of..." After saying something rather mysterious, Du Qian smiled indifferently and quickly walked out of the door.

"Phew..."

Du Fei took a deep breath, feeling the true qi circulating in his body. He let out a comfortable sigh.

It had to be said that the power of the Body Forging Fist and the feeling of cultivation were completely different at the seventh level of Body Forging compared to the sixth.

Now, every time Du Fei cultivated, he could clearly feel the true qi in his body flowing and growing stronger with each strike of the Body Forging Fist.

However, what made Du Fei quite frustrated was that the medicinal liquid that had been so effective for his cultivation had now lost its effect. Even if he gritted his teeth and drank all the medicinal liquid at once, it didn't have much effect. According to Du Fei's calculations, it would take a considerable amount of time to reach the eighth level of Body Forging.

"If I could refine genuine Bone Washing Pills instead of this half-finished medicinal liquid, I think it would be much more beneficial."

Muttering to himself for a moment, Du Fei sighed helplessly. He knew that before he became a true martial artist, refining finished pills was just a pipe dream.

"But if I can't refine them myself, buying some would be a good choice!"

This thought flashed through Du Fei's mind, giving him a sense of clarity.

However, the value of Bone Washing Pills was extremely high, and they usually appeared in auction houses. To get one, it would probably cost tens of thousands of gold coins.

Although Du Fei's status in the Du family had changed, he didn't think it would be a good idea to openly take money from the family to buy Bone Washing Pills.

After thinking for a moment, Du Fei came up with a rather good idea.

Bone Washing Pills could be auctioned, and Bone Washing Medicinal Liquid could also be auctioned!

Three days later, Du Fei walked out of his inner room, squinting at the sunlight, feeling like he had been reborn.

Over these three days, he had experimented with refining Bone Washing Medicinal Liquid again. Although he had the system's assistance, he still failed several times before finally managing to refine it, feeling quite frustrated.

Du Fei had to admit that refining pills was not something just anyone could do. Even with the system's help, he could only refine pills with some precision, and others would find it even more difficult.

However, if refining pills were easy, how could pills be so valuable?

After feeling around in his pocket for a moment, Du Fei chuckled and quickly left the Du family compound from a hidden corner, heading towards a large auction house in Bu Yue City.

The Bu Yue Auction House was well-known not only in Bu Yue City but also in the southern part of the Da An Dynasty, as the items auctioned here were undoubtedly rare.

It was these rare items that attracted a large number of people to the auction house.

After standing at the entrance of the auction house and squinting for a moment, Du Fei walked into a side alley, found a hat to cover his face, and understood the principle of not showing off wealth. Moreover, someone from the Du family would definitely be present at such a large auction house, and he didn't want to be recognized.

After confirming that no one could easily identify him, Du Fei slowly walked towards the entrance of the auction house. Under the wary gazes of the guards on either side of the door, Du Fei didn't head straight for the main hall but instead walked into a side door.

Seeing this, the guards breathed a sigh of relief, as most people who came to sell items would have similar disguises.

After entering the side door, a spacious small hall appeared before Du Fei. There were several windows at the back of the hall, each with a black curtain hanging down, allowing only a faint silhouette to be seen behind.

Du Fei knew that these windows were where the appraisers of the auction house sat, and only these experienced appraisers could determine the value of an item.

Sitting down at a random window, Du Fei felt around in his pocket for a moment before placing five crystal bottles in front of him.

"Hmm..."

The person behind the window seemed slightly surprised for a moment, then opened one of the bottles, sniffed it, and hesitated, "This is... a pill!"

"Not exactly a pill, but it is a product of pill refinement. I call it Bone Washing Medicinal Liquid. It has a miraculous effect for those below the seventh level of Body Forging, especially for those stuck at the sixth level who can't take Bone Washing Pills. Taking this might give them a chance to advance to the seventh level!" Du Fei explained casually.

"Really? I've never heard of such a thing..." The person behind the window was stunned for a moment before hesitantly responding.

If what Du Fei said was true, the value of this item would be incomparably precious for those who couldn't advance to the seventh level of Body Forging.

Sighing helplessly, Du Fei said indifferently, "Can't you tell if it's real or not? If you can't, why don't you try it yourself..."

"Um..." Hesitating for a moment, the person behind the window bowed, "Sir, are you a pill master... If so..."

"Do I need to reveal my identity to sell something?" Du Fei said coldly.

Seeming to sense Du Fei's impatience, the person hurriedly said, "Sir, I apologize, but I really can't appraise this item. Could you please wait a moment while I ask our Master Yuan to appraise it?"

"Whatever!" Du Fei grunted indifferently.

"Then, please wait in the VIP room for a moment!" Two maids bowed and respectfully led Du Fei to a side corridor.

Du Fei shrugged and followed the maids, sitting down casually.

After a short while, a loud laugh was heard from the door, and a well-dressed middle-aged man strode in.

The middle-aged man nodded slightly at Du Fei, then walked a few steps forward, picked up the crystal bottle on the table, opened it, and poured a drop into his mouth.

Instantly, the middle-aged man's body trembled, and a respectful expression appeared on his face.