Transmigration: The Peerless Immortal Husband

Seeing that Master Hu didn’t believe him, Gu Yao smiled and explained, “Brother Ye was stranded here from another cultivation continent. He had already reached the Core Formation stage, but when crossing a spatial rift, he had to lower his cultivation to survive. His cultivation fell back to its original point, and he had to start over. However, all of his previous experience is still there. As long as he accumulates enough, reaching Core Formation again won’t be too difficult for him.”

“Right now, Master Hu, you need the Blood Liuli Fruit more. When you came, the winds were calm, but going back might not be as peaceful. If you manage to break through to Core Formation in our academy, the careful plans of others will be in vain.”

Master Hu’s expression grew serious. Although he had been focused on alchemy to the point where he neglected both his valley’s affairs and his only grandson, he had still noticed the changes in the continent’s situation over the years. The appearance of the Cangkun Secret Realm was an unexpected event for both the continent and the City Lord’s Mansion. Without this event, it would have been rare to see a Core Formation cultivator on the continent.

As someone capable of refining Tianyuan Pills, wasn’t he, Hu Ting, bound to be a thorn in some people’s side?

The little chubby boy grew anxious. He couldn’t bear to imagine what would happen if his grandfather were ambushed on the way back. The alchemists of Cuiyan Valley weren’t like Gu Yao, who was strong in battle; they were all quite weak in that regard.

Chi Changye persuaded again, “If Master Hu feels guilty, then how about this? After you reach Core Formation, you can refine the pills. Maybe you’ll manage to refine a middle-grade one. How about I pre-order one?”

Master Hu looked at the expressions of the others, gritted his teeth, and finally said, “Fine, I’ll accept this favor from you.”

Gu Yao laughed and said, “The little chubby boy and I are like brothers. Master Hu is like our elder.”

Master Hu smiled with satisfaction. If outsiders knew that these two had forcefully handed him a Blood Liuli Fruit, they would probably think they had gone crazy.

These two juniors acted quite unexpectedly, and he hadn’t expected Chi Changye’s background to be so impressive. Now it made sense why he was so capable.

After learning of Gu Yao’s decision, Dean Yu sent Master Hu into the academy’s secret chamber for seclusion. This place was protected by arrays, which could also weaken the effects of the thunder tribulation. It was the same way Dean Yu had succeeded in forming his Core. The conditions in Cuiyan Valley were not necessarily better than those in their academy.

Dean Yu knew that Master Hu’s success in forming his Core would be highly beneficial for Tianfu Academy. If Master Hu succeeded, then Cuiyan Valley would owe a great favor to Tianfu Academy.

Three days later, the auction for the Tianyuan Pill began. It wasn’t a formal auction, so there was no need for a large venue. Instead, it was held in the main peak’s guest hall at Tianfu Academy, where several factions sat down together. The Tianyuan Pill was presented, and each faction announced their offers. The highest bidder would get the elixir.

Some people secretly cursed Dean Yu for usually being quiet, but when it came to key moments, he was crafty. This time, Tianfu Academy became the biggest beneficiary. However, although they cursed him in their hearts, no one dared to express it openly, because if Dean Yu hadn’t acted this way, most of the pills would probably have ended up in the Lord’s Mansion, which would have been detrimental to them.

“Master Hu really went into seclusion, it seems like he’s had a great harvest from refining pills,” someone whispered.

When Master Hu didn’t appear, everyone began to guess, clearly understanding that Dean Yu’s excuse wasn’t just a cover-up.

The Sect Leader of Tianhai Gate arrived in person and brought along Tian Feiyang. The brothers from the Tian family greeted each other warmly. The Sect Leader of Tianhai Gate was particularly determined to obtain one of the Tianyuan Pill.

Once Dean Yu arrived, he didn’t waste time and got straight to the point. “Let’s begin. I’m as eager as you all are to get this over with so I can have some peace.”

Everyone smiled in good spirits, but when Dean Yu presented the first Tianyuan Pill, everyone’s expressions darkened.

“There are five Tianyuan Pill. The first three were from the first furnace, and the last two were from the third furnace. All of them are low-grade, so let’s begin.”

Everyone knew that while the pills from the two furnaces were all low-grade, some were of better quality than others. The pills from the second furnace were clearly of better quality than those from the first furnace. After a brief pause, the crowd began bidding, and the prices climbed steadily.

Gu Yao and the others watched from the sidelines, observing these major figures raising their bids, showing no signs of their usual composure. Gu Yao was stunned. It really was true that alchemists made money fast—especially those with a high success rate in pill refinement. The materials alone were also quite valuable.

The first Tianyuan Pill was eventually secured by Tianhai Gate, much to their relief. Although the second furnace’s pills were better, it was still important to secure one first. What if they couldn’t get one later? The Sect Leader of Tianhai Gate was sweating nervously.

It had to be said, Tianhai Gate still had some influence.

Master Ruan, the head of the treasure pavilion, was seated behind Elder He. He sent a voice transmission, saying, “Elder He, why did you stop bidding? You could have taken it.”

Ruan Xinhui was his daughter, so Gu Yao didn’t know that although Miss Ruan didn’t come, her father was present.

Elder He stroked his beard and replied calmly, “I’m aiming for the last two. If Master Ruan wants one, he can participate in the bidding himself.”

Master Ruan opened his mouth, but in the end, he chose not to continue bidding. Despite his wealth accumulated from his position, this was now a contest between sects. No matter how rich he was, could he compete with the combined power of an entire sect?

Master Ruan secretly regretted letting his daughter act so capriciously last time, offending Gu Yao, a newly appointed alchemist. Offending Gu Yao might not have been the biggest issue, but Master Hu was also behind him.

Other cultivators also noticed the Sect Leader of Tianhai Gate’s intentions, so the competition for the second and third Tianyuan Pill grew even fiercer. Although there weren’t many people, the atmosphere in the guest hall was so intense that it felt like the roof might fly off. The big shots were not just red-faced and sweating, they seemed ready to roll up their sleeves and fight, hoping the losing side would give up.

In the end, one of the pills was secured by Beixing Sect, and another by Qianxue Sect. This result surprised everyone. Who would have thought that Qianxue Sect, usually so low-key, could come up with such a large sum of wealth? It seemed they had underestimated this sect.

The representatives of the other forces who didn’t win were disappointed. With only two pills left, they had no more opportunities. However, they comforted themselves with the thought that as long as Master Hu was still around and the materials for Tianyuan Pill hadn’t been exhausted, there was still a chance to obtain the elixir. That thought provided some slight comfort.

The final two pills were a sight to behold. It turned out to be internal strife, with both sides unwilling to back down, almost like they were old enemies. But at this point, they had surprisingly united, determined to outbid the Lord’s Mansion, with each offering a higher price than the last.

In their eyes, no matter how wealthy the Lord’s Mansion was, they couldn’t let them win easily. They needed to make them pay dearly and make sure Tianfu Academy benefitted rather than letting the Lord’s Mansion take advantage.

“Two million spirit stones!” The Sect Leader of Qianxue Sect leader gritted his teeth and quoted this price. Afterward, he nearly collapsed back into his seat.

In fact, for Qianxue Sect to gather this much spirit stones, they would have to empty out the entire sect, but they couldn’t bear to let it fall into the Lord’s Mansion’s hands. At least, if they managed to extract more spirit stones from their side, they would feel a little better. After all, every year during the Ascension Conference, the people from Changxian Sect took away so much wealth from the continent.

Master Ruan had enough. He jumped up and shouted, “Can Qianxue Sect really produce two million spirit stones? Dean Yu, should you check what they’ve brought? Otherwise, we’ll have to suspect that you’ve colluded with them to artificially inflate the price.”

The price was nearly double the previous one for Tianyuan Pill. Were they really treating the Lord’s Mansion as a fool? He suspected that Dean Yu was in cahoots with these people, scheming together.

Seeing the Lord’s Mansion wasn’t happy, Qianxue Sect seemed to get some satisfaction, raising their eyebrows and retorting, “How do you know Qianxue Sect can’t produce the spirit stones? If we bring them out, will this Tianyuan Pill belong to Qianxue Sect?”

“I don’t believe it! Unless you put the spirit stones on the table!” Master Ruan clearly looked down on Qianxue Sect, while Elder He remained calm, sitting there as if unfazed by Master Ruan’s scolding.

“Master Ruan, please don’t be hasty. We’ve reached an agreement with Qianxue Sect to fully support them in competing for this Tianyuan Pill. If Master Ruan steps aside, the little old man will be deeply grateful,” said the head of a merchant association, stepping forward with a smile and bowing to Master Ruan. He then took out a storage bag, revealing exactly one million spirit stones.

“You…” Master Ruan nearly choked. He hadn’t expected these two sides to join forces. He couldn’t accuse them of any rule-breaking, so he had no choice but to turn to Elder He for support.

Elder He’s expression finally darkened slightly. It seemed that unless they bled heavily, they would walk away empty-handed. These people had truly gone too far, daring to oppose the Lord’s Mansion! His eyes narrowed as he said, “Two million one hundred thousand!”

“Two million two hundred thousand!”

Each time the price was raised, Gu Yao, Tian Feirong, and the little fatty felt their hearts tremble. However, Chi Changye remained calm and indifferent. Were these prices really that high? Compared to the auctions he had attended, where spirit stones weren’t measured in low-grade stones, but in tens of thousands or even millions of mid-grade spirit stones, this was nothing more than a small-scale event.

He believed that Changxian Sect would have no shortage of mid-grade spirit stones. And by the way, he and Gu Yao had gained a lot from the Cangkun Secret Realm, including some from the storage bags of disciples from Changxian Sect, which contained quite a bit of mid-grade spirit stones.

The bidding stopped at 2.5 million when Qianxue Sect finally withdrew. Though they didn’t win the pill, seeing Elder He and Master Ruan’s grim and pained expressions made them feel a little better.

Dean Yu remained as calm as a mountain, seemingly unfazed. However, for those observing closely, they would notice that when the final bid was settled, his hand trembled slightly. Tianfu Academy had been poor in the past, but thanks to the profits from Gu Yao’s Qingchen Pills that were donated to the academy, things had improved. Now, with this large sum of spirit stones coming in all at once, the sudden influx of wealth was a bit overwhelming.

Of course, the reward for Master Hu still needed to be paid, but Tianfu Academy would still have a substantial amount left. So, using this influx of spirit stones to create two Golden Core cultivators should be no problem.

“Ahem, fellow cultivators, please quiet down. There is still one Tianyuan Pill remaining. Anyone interested, please make your bid.”