"S-self healing?"

"What do you mean―"

"Those pills, do they―"

"How effective are they―"

The crowd became agitated and bombarded Xia with questions, who remained silent with a polite yet satisfied smile on her face. It was only when the buzz died down, she began to speak.

"Yes! These pills do not require you to revolve your spiritual qi for them to work." Xia said, confirming everyone's speculation. "The pill is engraved with a special formation which will activate once swallowed. The formation will drive the medicinal properties on its own, leaving you free to concentrate on your opponent. As for their effectiveness, they are as good as ordinary mid-grade healing pills."

The audience gasped. Li Kun and Xia Ping could not help conceal their excitement and squirmed in their seats trying to get a closer look at the pills. Mu Chen couldn't blame them. Although the pills weren't of much use to him, he could see their usefulness in battle. During battles, any cultivator who had these pills would have an advantage over the other.

"H-how much for a single pill?" One of the guys who was sitting behind Mu Chen asked tentatively. But his voice was drowned by another booming voice.

"Those pills...I will have them all." It came from one of the VIP boxes. Several people who were still considering the price almost choked. Li Kun and Xia Ping looked at each other and smiled bitterly. The base price had yet to be declared, but one of the big ones had already moved.

"Respected guests, for it to be fair for everyone, all the items will only be sold according to auction rules. Also, the maximum number of units per item an individual can buy will be limited," Xia said.

"Whatever…" The person from the VIP booth said but didn't insist.

"Must be one of the nobles," Li Kun whispered. He and others were left behind in curiosity about the person in the VIP booth.

"Each bottle contains ten pills. They have all been inspected and verified by the experts from the Pavilion. Their authenticity is guaranteed," Xia said. "Every person can buy a maximum of three bottles. There is no starting bid and the minimum bid increment is one thousand spirit stones. The bidding begins now."

"T-thousand spirit stones." Someone screamed.

"Two thousand spirit stones." Another person cried out.

"Three thousand spirit stones."

"Five thousand spirit stones."

People began to bid and the price skyrocketed as everyone tried to out-bid each other.

Ten thousand...

Twelve thousand...

"F-fifty thousand spirit stones." Xia Ping stood up excited and bid.

Mu Chen and Li Kun both groaned. The auction room fell silent and there were no further bids.

"Fifty thousand, one." Lady Xia began the count. "Two...Three. The bidding price has met the reserve price―sold!"

Xia Ping sat down satisfied only to notice Mu Chen and Li Kun stare at him with exasperated expressions.

"You―" Mu Chen sighed.

Xia Ping looked confused. "What? I―didn't I win the bid?"

"You bid too high!" Li Kun said. "We could have gotten it for much cheaper."

"R-really?! I will get the next one cheaper." Xia Ping said.

Mu Chen shook his head. "We lost the chance."

The Pavilion had a rule. For every first item in the lot, the bidding would be restricted. It would start from the lowest section. People from other sections were permitted to bid only when nobody from the first section was able to buy it. This gave even the average individual opportunity to compete for the items that were on auction.

Mu Chen and Li Kun had glanced through the rules, Xia Ping hadn't.

"The bidding is now open to the middle section." Xia smiled. "Please place your bids."

The bidding resumed once again. The bidding for the second bottle was even more intense than the first one. Xia was sly and didn't mention the number of bottles they had, keeping people on their toes. Everyone could guess they had at least several bottles―the auction house would end up annoying the VIPs if all the bottles were purchased before they could bid. But since they didn't know the exact number, everyone wanted to get their hands on one sooner. Who could tell if they were bidding for the final bottle?

The second bottle of pills was sold for seventy thousand spirit stones and the bidding was opened for the VIPs.

"Hundred thousand spirit stones." Someone roared impatiently from the VIP section.

Mu Chen, Xia Ping, and Li Kun sucked in their breath. The person to bid was the same who had tried to buy off the pills before the bidding had even begun.

"My my…someone thinks he is the only rich person around." Someone else from the VIP section taunted. They could only tell it was a woman.

"Hmph!" The man scoffed. "If you are not going to bid, shut up!"

"Who said I wasn't going to bid?" the woman said. After a pause, she bid, "Hundred and one thousand."

"Hundred and ten thousand."

"Hundred and eleven thousand..."

"You!" The man from the VIP suite sounded irritated. "Hundred and twenty thousand!"

"Hundred and twenty-one thousand!" The woman from the other VIP suite chuckled.

"Hundred and fifty thousand! I dare you to bid higher." The man shouted. He sounded very annoyed, as if ready to break something.

"Hahaha...someone sure has a bad temper…" The woman giggled. "Since you want it that badly―you can have it." Evidently, she realized her opponent had reached the limit of his patience.

Xia called for a countdown and the bottle of pills was sold to the hot-headed VIP guest. The other VIPs didn't interfere during their bidding duel.

The bidding resumed. During the next rounds, other VIP guests also made their bids. The self-healing pills were an instant hit. The average bottle sold for over one hundred thousand spirit stones among the VIPs.

"Now...for the second item." It was Mia who announced, while Xia went behind the curtains. Everyone was excited, hoping to see another revolutionary pill like the self-healing pill.

"Healing pills can save lives," Mia said. "However, their effect is limited to the treatment of physical wounds. In a place like a secret realm, physical wounds might be of the least concern. But what if you are poisoned? Will your healing pills help? What if you get poisoned and can't tell the kind? Will you have the time to find an antidote? Worry not, this pill is your answer…"

Xia came back with a bottle containing a golden pill.

"Oh!" A flash of recognition passed by Mu Chen.

"Brother Chen? Is something wrong?" Li Kun asked.

"It's...nothing." Mu Chen said.

"Aptly called the Myriad Poison Antidote Pill, this little pill boasts the capability to counter almost any poison in existence," Mia was saying. "Consume one and you will not only get rid of any poison in your body, but you will also be resistant to poison for a day."

The bidding war resumed once again.

As the auction unfolded, several types of pills were auctioned. There were pills that could make a cultivator erupt with strength several times his original, aura-changing pills, some could change your aura, and so on. Many of the pills Mu Chen hadn't even heard the names of. One such pill was called the Nine Revolutions Rebirth Pill. It was a healing type pill that could even bring you back from the jaws of death as long as you had a single breath. Only five pills were auctioned and each pill sold for a whopping million spirit stones.

After the pills, it was time for talismans. There were concealing talismans, talismans for defense, talismans with magic attacks, talismans that increase your speed...But the highlight was the teleportation talisman, which could transport the user to a random location within a specific range. A true life-saving device.

Li Kun and Xia Ping had their wish fulfilled and were able to grab a bunch of talismans.

Mu Chen felt his horizons had broadened. He had attended a few auctions in the Falling Stones City, but they weren't as exciting or extravagant as this. Here bids reached the ceilings and spirit stones flowed like water, leaving Mu Chen to marvel at the spending capacity of the affluent families. The Mu Family was by no means poor, but they didn't have pockets as deep as the nobles here. It was difficult to accumulate a large number of spirit stones as they were consumable. The Mu Family didn't dare to excessively mine their spirit vein to not hurt its foundation.

Mu Chen and Li Kun were previously discontented at having to sit in the open section, but now they could only rejoice. If they had to bid against the middle and upper class, they wouldn't have been able to buy anything.

The auction reached its peak. According to the convention, it was time for treasure items. But to Li Kun and Xia Ping's disappointment, there weren't any treasure weapons for auction. There weren't even any battle skills or magic arts for auction. They complained about it until Mu Chen reminded them how this auction was targeted at those entering the secret realm. There were only a few days for the secret realm. Even if they managed to get their hands on a new technique or item, they wouldn't be able to master it in time. The auction house probably felt the same and decided to skip them.

"And now," Xia said, "it's time for the final item in today's special auction. Pills, treasures, and other external objects will only take you so far. The best way to equip the participants for success is not treasures, but information!"

Mia carried a tray with several jade slips on it and placed it on the pedestal.

Xia explained how the Pavilion had collected the information and how they had spent a lot of effort to sort and verify it. It included not only the general knowledge about the realms but also the past accounts and experiences of cultivators who had once entered into such realms.

"There are only a few copies," Xia added with a smile and the audience went into an uproar.

"Damn! We have to get our hands on one of those!" Li Kun clenched his fist.

Even Mu Chen was intrigued. The information they had on secret realms was pitiful. All they knew was they had been left behind by powerful individuals. Although every secret realm could be considered unique, there would always be some similarities.

The bidding resumed. Li Kun and Xia Ping pooled their resources and bid. But the competition was tough and unlike the previous bids, bidding wasn't restricted. So even after they joined hands, they couldn't outbid the local behemoths.

The last piece of jade was auctioned off, for two million spirit stones.

"Ugh!" Li Kun's face was twisted in dissatisfaction and he glanced at the twin sisters with some hostility. "What fair auction? Everyone gets a chance? What a load of crap!"

"Do you think they will let us look if we ask them?" Xia Ping was optimistic as he looked at the VIP rooms.

"Why would they? They are not running a charity." Li Kun sighed.

Mu Chen shook his head. "And if everyone knows, they would lose their advantage."

"The auction house is not simple either," Li Kun harrumphed. "Twelve slips and they were all bought by the twelve VIPs! Tsk! Is there such a coincidence?"

"Then it only means the information must be of use," Mu Chen said. "If not, would the auction house dare to sell it to them?"

The hall once again became noisy. The last item was sold so everyone prepared to leave.

"Everyone, please wait! There is still an item remaining!"