Chapter 16: Teleportation Talisman
After waiting for half an hour, the auction at the Myriad Talismans Pavilion finally began.
The first item up for auction was a Golden Light Talisman refined using high-grade talisman paper and high-grade spiritual ink.
"So it's this kind of thing..."
Lu You found it rather amusing and waited curiously for the auctioneer's opening bid.
To his surprise, talismans—something he himself possessed in vast quantities—were extremely popular at the auction.
This single talisman was actually sold for a high price of four hundred spirit stones.
The second and third auction items followed the same pattern as well.
They were all first-tier talismans, re-refined once using premium materials, then resold at inflated prices.
Before long, Lu You was growing drowsy from the monotony of the auction. He understood what was going on: because a large number of cultivators had gone to explore the ancient tomb, the Myriad Talismans Pavilion was bringing out flashy but impractical items to fleece wealthy patrons.
The female attendant who had been standing quietly to the side glanced at Lu You without leaving any trace, a hint of relief flashing through her heart.
Everyone who attended the auction was either rich or powerful and didn't bother hiding their identity. Lu You looked mysterious, but he lacked the bearing of someone accustomed to high status. Seeing that he hadn't bought a single item, the attendant barely dared to breathe.
In her experience, even scraps dropped by the rich could support her for years, but getting involved with a stingy poor cultivator like Lu You would only mean being taken advantage of for nothing. Subconsciously, she did everything she could to minimize her presence, afraid that in his boredom, Lu You might take an interest in her.
Only when the final item appeared did Lu You slowly open his eyes.
"The next item up for auction," the auctioneer said, deliberately drawing out the suspense, "is a rare talisman, the Teleportation Talisman."
"This talisman does not belong to any of the commonly known categories. It is an ancient talisman obtained by a Golden Core cultivator through a stroke of fortune in a special secret realm. When activated, it allows the user to teleport instantly, randomly appearing at a safe location within one hundred meters."
"For Golden Core cultivators who can already fly on swords, this talisman is rather useless, which is why it's being offered here as the finale. But for ordinary people—even Foundation Establishment cultivators—if used properly, it is equivalent to gaining an extra life."
"This item is extremely scarce. Every purchase reduces the total supply by one. The starting bid is two thousand low-grade spirit stones."
What a treasure!
Lu You suddenly clenched his fist.
The auctioneer had specifically emphasized that the talisman would teleport the user to a safe location within a hundred meters, meaning there was no chance of ending up stuck in a wall, buried underground, or anything like that. One would always appear on stable ground. To Lu You, this was basically the equivalent of a Flash skill from his previous life's games—except the direction couldn't be controlled.
But that didn't worry him.
If one teleport wasn't good enough, he could use the little cauldron to multiply the talisman and teleport again and again.
If it were any other item with such a high starting price, Lu You wouldn't dare bid.
Spending too many spirit stones at once would draw unwanted attention.
But this was a teleportation talisman. The moment it was in his hands, he could teleport away immediately, without caring whether others harbored ill intentions toward him.
"Five thousand spirit stones!"
Lu You struck first, directly raising the price to five thousand spirit stones.
The female attendant standing beside him trembled slightly. She never imagined that Lu You—who hadn't bought anything all night—would suddenly raise the price by five thousand spirit stones in one move.
She didn't suspect him of bidding recklessly. Lu You's gaze and voice were filled with absolute confidence, as if he was guaranteed to win this talisman. She had seen all kinds of bidders before, but this was the first time she had seen someone face a hall full of powerful figures during the finale and bid with such certainty.
'Just how wealthy... is this Immortal?'
In her eyes, the previously unremarkable Lu You suddenly seemed to glow.
"An Immortal has bid five thousand spirit stones!" the auctioneer called out loudly.
"Is there anyone willing to offer a higher price?"
The auctioneer was equally excited. The highest estimate for this finale item had only been five thousand spirit stones, no one expected the price to skyrocket this fast. At this pace, the teleportation talisman was very likely to bring in an enormous profit.
In fact, in the eyes of the Myriad Talismans Pavilion, a talisman like this—only a single piece and rather impractical—wasn't even worth three thousand spirit stones. It was merely something used to fleece wealthy nobles.
"Five thousand five hundred spirit stones."
"Five thousand eight hundred spirit stones."
Voices raising the bid came one after another from other private rooms.
Lu You couldn't be bothered to drag things out and raised the price again:
"Ten thousand spirit stones!"
"Ten thousand spirit stones....?"
The auctioneer repeated it, so excited his tone unconsciously turned into a question. A useless talisman had broken the ten-thousand mark on just the fourth bid—he could already imagine himself counting his commission until his hands went numb.
"Ten thousand spirit stones..."
The female attendant nearly wanted to rip off the thin veil covering her body and throw herself straight at Lu You.
Ten thousand spirit stones were enough to establish a small clan in the main city. And Lu You paid it without even blinking. Compared to him, even nobles from the main city would feel heartache spending five thousand spirit stones—so much so that they would vent their frustration by abusing the female attendants in the room before leaving.
"Ten thousand spirit stones, going once!"
"Ten thousand spirit stones, going twice!"
The entire auction hall fell silent. Everyone's gaze unconsciously turned toward the room where Lu You was.
Unfortunately, Lu You was hidden in darkness; no one could see his appearance.
"Ten thousand spirit stones, going thrice—sold!"
With a shout from the auctioneer, two Foundation Establishment cultivators stepped out, carrying the teleportation talisman into Lu You's room. One of them glanced at Lu You's clothing and said,
"Daoist friend, please take out your storage bag so we may verify the payment."
Without showing any hesitation, Lu You took out his plain cloth bag and dumped it onto the floor. Instantly, with a clatter, spirit stones poured out like a tide. After exactly ten thousand stones fell out, Lu You stopped and closed the bag.
One of the Foundation Establishment cultivators took out a gourd and sucked in the stones, then checked it and said in surprise, "Daoist friend, what a fine artifact. It's exactly ten thousand stones."
At that moment, neither of the two Foundation Establishment cultivators dared to underestimate Lu You anymore. No matter how tempted they felt, they didn't dare look at his cloth bag again. Someone who could produce such a miraculous artifact—no matter how low his cultivation—was not someone they could afford to provoke.
"Daoist friend, this is the teleportation talisman. Please rest for a while; we will arrange for the guests to leave in a randomized order."
After speaking, the two Foundation Establishment cultivators handed the teleportation talisman to Lu You and withdrew respectfully.
Lu You took the talisman, and the tension in his heart finally eased. He immediately placed it into the little cauldron before truly relaxing.
Fortune lay in danger, Lu You knew that revealing wealth this time was risky, but he hadn't expected it to be this dangerous. A small Myriad Talismans Pavilion actually had so many Foundation Establishment cultivators on duty. He had thought there was only the one who led him inside, but even those escorting the auction items were at the Foundation Establishment realm.
If these people had been tempted by greed, even with unlimited firepower, Lu You wasn't sure he could have escaped unscathed. That said, it also made sense, the underground auction of the Myriad Talismans Pavilion must be storing treasures of unimaginable value to warrant such tight security.
Half a quarter-hour later, a Foundation Establishment cultivator holding a token entered the room and slightly bowed to Lu You.
"Daoist friend, it's time. Please follow me to leave."