Chapter 467: Auction of the Soulless Golden Man (Part 1)

"Twenty-one Four-Star Course Jade Talismans... If converted to spirit stones, that's twenty-one thousand—a huge sum!"

"Impressive! Course jade talismans are extremely precious, especially those of Four-Star masters. Although the price is one thousand spirit stones per class hour, the black market price has already reached twelve hundred. That means, at black market rates, twenty-one talismans would be over twenty-five thousand!"

"With that price, it seems no one can compete..."

...

Hearing the price, the auction hall erupted in uproar again.

The most circulated currency on the continent was not spirit stones, but course jade talismans.

A Four-Star talisman, one class hour could be exchanged for one hundred hours of Three-Star, and a Three-Star for one hundred hours of Two-Star, and so on. As for spirit stones, about ten could buy a Three-Star course jade talisman.

That is to say, by ratio, a Four-Star course jade talisman, one lesson, equaled one thousand spirit stones, and... it was basically in short supply with no market price.

Consider that in the entire Ten Thousand Nations Alliance, there were only about a dozen masters who had reached Four-Star level, while the number of cultivators was in the billions, tens of billions... Comparing the two, one could see how rare this item was.

When cultivators obtained this level of course, they used it themselves and were reluctant to sell; it was hard to buy even on the black market. The person in this private room actually used twenty-one talismans just to buy a painting—such a lavish move that everyone thought it was somewhat insane.

"Impressive!"

Even Pavilion Master Sai raised an eyebrow.

Master courses were extremely precious, especially those of Four-Star. Even for someone of his cultivation level, receiving guidance could definitely improve his strength.

Throwing out twenty-one talismans at once, the value was clearly far more than twenty thousand spirit stones.

He turned to congratulate the young man beside him on his huge profit, but saw his face darken as he cursed aloud.

"Your sister!"

At this moment, Zhang Xuan's heart was collapsing.

He had taken out this painting hoping to sell it for more spirit stones, which he could use whether for future cultivation or to buy the Soulless Golden Man.

He had been secretly pleased when the price reached twenty thousand, but now this guy—what the hell?

Twenty-one Four-Star course jade talismans...

Who the hell wants your course jade talismans?

Not to mention Four-Star, even Five-Star or Six-Star master lectures were useless to him!

No matter how formidable the master, even a Heavenly Man Confucius Master, they dared not guarantee that everything they taught was completely correct, but the Library of Heaven's Path dared!

As long as there were no flaws or loopholes, it was precise and without any problem.

With this thing, no matter how powerful the master, they meant nothing to him...

This guy actually used these to buy his stuff, making him so frustrated he could explode.

What was most infuriating was the stream of envious glances around him... Envious my ass.

Zhang Xuan was almost in tears.

"Master Zhang, these are Four-Star course jade talismans, something countless people dream of. You..."

Seeing his expression, Pavilion Master Sai was baffled.

Everyone wanted course jade talismans; lower-level masters certainly hoped to receive guidance from higher-level masters. But this Master Zhang... why did he look so displeased?

What kind of taste was this?

"Pavilion Master Sai, please send a message to Elder Chen, saying... I don't want course jade talismans, only spirit stones!" Suppressing his frustration, Zhang Xuan couldn't help but say.

"Only spirit stones?"

Pavilion Master Sai was taken aback.

This taste was indeed beyond his understanding...

"Yes!" Zhang Xuan nodded.

"Very well."

Seeing his insistence, Pavilion Master Sai had no choice but to agree.

...

"Twenty-one Four-Star course jade talismans—let's see who dares to compete with me, huh!"

Seeing the uproar below after he announced the price, the young man curled his lips.

Masters had the confidence of masters; course jade talismans could be used as currency, which was their greatest capital.

Of course, these were not issued casually. The number a master of a certain level could issue in a year was fixed by the Master Hall; if exceeded, the next year's quota would be reduced.

After all, masters also needed to cultivate and had many other things to do; they couldn't always teach and give guidance.

Throwing out twenty-one talismans at once was close to half a year's worth of his course load!

"Twenty-one Four-Star course jade talismans—is there any higher bid? If not, this painting goes to the friend in private room 23..."

Elder Chen below was clearly also stunned. After a moment's pause, he started calling out again, but just as he was in the middle, he suddenly seemed to hear something and froze.

Then, with a strange expression, he called out again: "Is there any bid over twenty thousand spirit stones? If not, this painting goes to the friend in private room 14!"

"Huh?"

The young man, who had been complacent, thinking the painting was his, was stunned by these words and nearly fainted.

What was going on?

"Our young master just offered twenty-one course jade talismans. Surely the price hasn't exceeded twenty thousand?" the old man couldn't help saying. "If it's not enough, we can add more!"

"Oh, my friend, I'm sorry, but the seller just told me he doesn't accept course jade talismans, only spirit stones!" Elder Chen said.

"Only spirit stones?"

The young man felt dizzy.

Was there anyone in the world so foolish?

With so many class hours, he could not only learn but also befriend this Four-Star master, yet this guy refused... and wanted cheaper spirit stones?

"That's right. Is there any higher bid? If not, this painting goes to private room 14!"

Elder Chen continued.

Private room 14 belonged to a well-known calligrapher and painter. He had thought he had no chance after the other party offered so many course jade talismans, but unexpectedly, the situation turned around—the seller didn't accept talismans. He was overjoyed.

"Deal!"

After calling out a few times and seeing no higher bid, the painting was finally sold for twenty thousand spirit stones.

"Damn it, damn it!"

His face livid, the young man was frantic.

Four-Star course jade talismans were in high demand everywhere, yet here he couldn't buy anything with them—it infuriated him.

"Go find out who sold that painting and what his background is!"

He waved his hand and gave an order.

"Yes!" The old man left and returned shortly.

"Reporting to young master, the painting was sold from private room 1. It seems to be a friend of Pavilion Master Sai of the Appraisal Pavilion, but his exact identity hasn't been found out yet."

"Private room 1?"

The young man narrowed his eyes and snorted.

"Young master, now that the painting has been bought by someone else, what do we do?" the old man asked.

"Let it go for now. Wait for the Soulless Golden Man!" The young man was irritated but knew there was no other way, so he waved his hand.

Once the auction hammer fell, even a master couldn't overturn it.

The seller only wanted spirit stones and didn't like course jade talismans—no matter how powerful he was, there was nothing he could do!

"Very well."

The old man also shook his head helplessly.

...

The auction continued. After the painting that had caused such a stir was sold, the Cold Yin Sword was put up for sale again and was eventually bought by Zhang Xuan for seven hundred spirit stones.

The subsequent items were uneventful.

Although the treasures were precious, none could compare to the Seven-Realms painting experience.

Zhang Xuan made two more purchases: a long spear for Zheng Yang and a suit of armor for Yuan Tao.

These two items together cost a little over a thousand spirit stones, which was not expensive.

As for Liu Yang and Wang Ying, after watching for a while and finding nothing suitable, they gave up.

"Now for the final item, the one everyone has been waiting for—the Soulless Golden Man!"

With Elder Chen's words, the stone platform slowly rose, revealing a figure clad in armor, as if cast from metal, before the crowd.

Zhang Xuan looked over.

Indeed, it was indistinguishable from a human, except that the body had been infused with a large amount of metal, making it tougher and harder.

He activated the Eye of Insight and looked, then shook his head.

Clearly, this item was also beyond his ability to analyze; he couldn't see through it at all.

"This Soulless Golden Man has been jointly appraised by Pavilion Master Sai of the Appraisal Pavilion, Elder Lu, and myself, and confirmed to be authentic. It is a guard of an ancient Witch Soul Master, passed down to the present day, of immeasurable value."

Elder Chen introduced, then continued: "However, as for the auction price, I cannot decide. The owner of this item has chosen to sell it personally. He wishes to exchange it for the treasures he needs... Now, let us welcome this seller!"

As his voice ended, an old man stepped forward from behind the round platform.

This man had white hair and beard, his entire aura seemed somewhat aged, his skin loose—clearly very old.

"Hmm?"

Activating the Eye of Insight and looking, Zhang Xuan frowned.

Although this old man's strength appeared to be at the peak of Mortal Transformation Second Layer, for some reason, the Eye of Insight could detect some flaws.

Normally, the Eye of Insight could only see one minor level above his own strength. He was now half-step Mortal Transformation, meaning he could only see flaws in cultivators at the initial stage of Mortal Transformation First Layer.

But for some reason... he could see some problems with this man, which from any perspective seemed extremely incongruous.

"Is this the guy who discovered the Soulless Golden Man?"

"Seems so. He must have stumbled upon incredible luck—once this thing sells, his wealth will skyrocket!"

"Yeah, why don't I have such good luck..."

...

Seeing that such an aged fellow had obtained the Soulless Golden Man and wanted to sell it himself, everyone buzzed with discussion.

"Everyone, quiet. Since you all wish to purchase this item, please listen to what he wants to exchange. Whether you have it on you or in your family, as long as you can bring what he needs within a day, you can bid!"

Elder Chen said.

"Good!"

Hearing such lenient terms, everyone was delighted.

Like Pavilion Master Sai, they had thought the exchange would definitely be for spirit stones, so they had brought plenty of money. They were caught off guard when this man wanted to barter.

Now hearing that time was allowed, they perked up again.

Those who could attend the auction and casually produce so many spirit stones—which one of them didn't control some power?

As long as he named the treasure, they were confident that even if they couldn't find it, they could certainly get information about it.

"What I want is very simple. You may speak freely and tell me the treasures you can bring within a day. If I am satisfied, I will exchange directly!"

Stepping forward, the old man said.