“Master, who exactly is this person? How could she possibly know about my fortuitous opportunity?”
Canglan Spirit Venerable remained silent for a long while.
“Yan’er, I can’t make sense of it either. But there is one possibility: she may possess some sort of treasure or ability that allows her to glimpse the secrets of heaven.”
“Such abilities are exceedingly rare. In my memory, only the legendary Eye of Heavenly Dao has a similar effect. But that thing exists only in ancient myths and legends. It couldn’t possibly appear in this era.”
Liu Ruyan bit her lip tightly and could only give up for the time being.
Half a month later, the internal auction of the Xuantian Sect was held as scheduled at the sect’s Myriad Treasures Pavilion.
Unlike the Myriad Treasures Tower in Qinghe City, the Xuantian Sect’s Myriad Treasures Pavilion was a trading venue operated directly by the sect. The quality and grade of its auction items were several levels higher.
Among the items being auctioned that day were quite a few Earth-tier pills, cultivation techniques, and magical artifacts, attracting a large number of inner disciples and core disciples.
Ye Wushuang changed into a loose gray cloak and used the Concealment Art to suppress her cultivation to the peak of the Qi Condensation realm.
That way, even if Liu Ruyan were present, she would not recognize her.
The seating arrangement inside the Myriad Treasures Pavilion was similar to that of the Myriad Treasures Tower in Qinghe City, with seats arranged in a circle, though the venue itself was much larger.
Several sect elders and high-ranking disciples occupied the VIP boxes on the second floor.
Ye Wushuang found a seat in the corner and swept her spiritual sense across the entire venue.
Sure enough, Liu Ruyan had come as well.
She was seated toward the right side of the front row, clutching a bulging storage pouch in her hand.
Over the past half month, Liu Ruyan had relied on her own talent and her master’s guidance to complete various missions and accumulate a large number of spirit stones. She had prepared her entire fortune for one purpose: to win the Nine-Turn Spirit-Gathering Pill being auctioned today.
The auction began soon after.
Ye Wushuang did not bid on any of the first several dozen items. Even when several excellent magical artifacts sparked fierce competition, she remained completely uninterested.
More than half the auction had passed when the red-robed auctioneer finally brought out an exquisite red sandalwood box.
“The next item is one of the highlights of today’s auction.”
The auctioneer opened the box, revealing a pill radiating a faint violet light.
“The Nine-Turn Spirit-Gathering Pill, Earth-tier supreme grade. It was personally refined by the master of our sect’s Alchemy Pavilion. There are nine pills in total. They can help cultivators below the Xiantian realm open their acupoints and condense spiritual power, greatly increasing their chances of successfully breaking through to the next realm.”
The entire venue immediately erupted into excitement.
Earth-tier supreme-grade pills were not common even within the Xuantian Sect. Pills capable of assisting breakthroughs between major realms were especially scarce.
“The starting bid is fifty supreme-grade spirit stones. Each raise must be at least five stones.”
“Fifty!”
Someone immediately called out a bid.
“Sixty!”
“Seventy-five!”
The price rose rapidly.
Liu Ruyan remained silent until the price stabilized at one hundred and twenty spirit stones. Only then did she speak.
“One hundred and fifty supreme-grade spirit stones.”
Her bid raised the price by thirty stones in one go, immediately frightening away a number of competitors.
A few people, however, refused to back down and continued bidding.
“One hundred and sixty!”
“One hundred and seventy!”
“Two hundred!” Liu Ruyan raised the price again, her voice icy.
Two hundred supreme-grade spirit stones was already close to the pill’s upper market value.
The remaining bidders began to hesitate.
Just as the auctioneer was preparing to bring down the hammer—
“Three hundred supreme-grade spirit stones.”
A hoarse voice came from the corner.
The entire venue was thrown into an uproar.
Three hundred? That was already fifty percent above the market price. Who would be foolish enough to pay that much?
Liu Ruyan abruptly turned her head toward the gray-robed figure in the corner.
She could not make out the other person’s face. The only thing she could sense was a faint aura at the peak of the Qi Condensation realm.
A rogue cultivator at the peak of Qi Condensation?
And she had three hundred supreme-grade spirit stones?
Liu Ruyan’s brows knitted tightly.
Her instincts told her that this person was highly suspicious, but she was unwilling to give up on the pill.
“Three hundred and ten!” Liu Ruyan gritted her teeth and called out.
“Five hundred supreme-grade spirit stones.”
Ye Wushuang lazily raised a hand.
The entire venue collectively sucked in a breath.
Was she insane? Five hundred supreme-grade spirit stones for a pill worth only two hundred?
Liu Ruyan’s expression changed.
Three hundred and ten supreme-grade spirit stones was already her entire fortune.
Canglan Spirit Venerable’s voice came from within the ring.
“Yan’er, let it go. The other party is probably some rich heir who doesn’t care about money.”
Liu Ruyan clenched her storage pouch tightly and glared at the other person. Ye Wushuang merely shrugged indifferently.
In the end, Liu Ruyan still gave up.
“Five hundred supreme-grade spirit stones, going three times! Sold!”
The auctioneer brought down the hammer excitedly.
Ye Wushuang settled the payment in the back room, tucked the pill away, and slipped out through a side door.
After returning to her residence on Tianheng Peak, Ye Wushuang checked the system notification.
[Ding! The host has successfully snatched Liu Ruyan’s fortuitous opportunity! A thousandfold critical return has been triggered!]
[Congratulations, host! You have obtained a Heaven-tier supreme-grade Thousand-Turn Spirit-Gathering Pill! Fortuitous Opportunity Points +10!]
She immediately swallowed the Thousand-Turn Spirit-Gathering Pill she had just obtained.
Boom!
A terrifying torrent of spiritual power exploded inside her body.
The medicinal power of a Heaven-tier supreme-grade pill was extraordinarily immense. Even Ye Wushuang’s body, already at the early Xiantian realm, nearly failed to withstand it.
Gritting her teeth, Ye Wushuang circulated every cultivation technique she possessed and frantically guided the medicinal power through her meridians.
Her Nine-Phoenix Flame Phoenix Physique operated at full force. Dark flames enveloped her entire body, burning the excess impurities to ash.
Mid-Xiantian… late Xiantian!
In a single night, she broke through two minor realms in succession.
Ye Wushuang’s cultivation soared directly to the late Xiantian realm!
When the first rays of dawn shone through the window, Ye Wushuang slowly opened her eyes.
“That feels amazing.”
She stretched lazily and opened her status panel to check.
[Remaining Fortuitous Opportunity Points: 23]
Liu Ruyan’s third fortuitous opportunity was located in the vicinity of the Ancient Copper Mountain Range in the rear mountains of the Xuantian Sect, roughly three thousand li from the sect.
Relying on her perfected movement technique, Ye Wushuang reached her destination in only two hours.
Ancient Copper Mountain was a dead volcano. Its surface was a dark copper color, and not a blade of grass grew anywhere on it.
The entrance to the abandoned underground palace was located inside a massive cavern halfway up the mountain.
Ye Wushuang proceeded deeper inside. Relying on her movement technique and spiritual perception, she easily avoided all the mechanisms and formations.
At the deepest part of the underground palace was a vast stone chamber.
In the middle of the chamber, a purple bamboo quietly grew from a crack in the ground.
The bamboo was about three feet tall, with clearly defined joints. A faint violet radiance flowed across each section.
Ye Wushuang stepped forward and pulled the purple bamboo out by its roots in one swift motion.
[Ding! The host has intercepted the core fortuitous opportunity of Liu Ruyan, Fortune’s Chosen Daughter. A ten-thousandfold return has been triggered!]
[Congratulations, host! You have obtained an ancient Purple-Gold Thunder Bamboo, Heaven-tier supreme grade!]
[Plant Description: The Purple-Gold Thunder Bamboo is an ancient supreme treasure of the thunder attribute. It contains pure heavenly thunderforce and can be used to refine Heaven-tier pills or magical artifacts. Once planted, it will automatically produce Thunder Bamboo Shoots every hundred years. Thunder Bamboo Shoots can temper a cultivator’s meridians and enhance their comprehension of the laws of heaven and earth. The Purple-Gold Thunder Bamboo naturally possesses a heavenly-thunder restriction. Planted around a cave dwelling, it can form a natural thunder formation for defense.]
[Fortuitous Opportunity Points +10! Remaining Fortuitous Opportunity Points: 33]
