“That’s right, it is indeed a Baby Ginseng. This Baby Ginseng is three inches in height. With its hundreds and thousands of hairs, it is clearly over five hundred years old and is a spirit herb of the highest grade. If undiscovered, it could possibly cultivate a human form after another five hundred years. Of course, since it was discovered, it means that its fate is not strong enough. For it to be used to make medicine is simply its destiny.”

The silver-robed old man picked up the Baby Ginseng and displayed it to the audience. He continued, “Distinguished guests, you are all knowledgeable men. I believe that even without me saying, you would all know that Baby Ginseng is a top grade divine medicine for treating injuries and preserving one’s life. As long as you still draw a single breath, no matter how injured you are, by picking a bunch of its roots and eating it raw, you would be able to hang on to your life. Gentlemen, you are all practitioners of the Martial Way, and you would naturally understand that as practitioners, we are constantly under the risk of battle. With so many opportunities to injure oneself, keeping a spirit herb handy is akin to having an additional life. Alright, I shall bore you no further. This spirit herb is exceedingly rare, with a starting bid of five hundred gold, and a minimal increment of ten gold. Please begin your bidding, gentlemen.”

This time, it was truly an eye-opening experience for Xu Yi. Baby Ginseng was the stuff of legends, and it was actually placed on the table right in front of him.

As Xu Yi sat there shocked with his mouth open, the bids for the Baby Ginseng had already soared in the blink of an eye.

“680 gold! Guest number 24 has offered 680 gold. Is there anyone with a higher offer?

“700 gold!

“700 gold! Guest number 3 with 700 gold. 700 gold going once!

“720 gold!

“720 gold! Guest number 17 with a bid of 720 gold!”

“800 gold! I am Qi Ming of the Pill Cauldron Hall. I am trying to buy this thousand year Ginseng Baby to use it to make a pill. As you all know, eating a thousand year Ginseng Baby raw will only have the effect of preserving life or healing injuries, and pills that serve the same effect are available on the market as well. Why go through the trouble to compete with me!”

With Qi Ming’s identity revealed, the room went into an uproar.

“To think that this is one of Pill Cauldron Hall’s Three Pill Kings, Elder Qi. I’ve heard that Elder Qi is able to concoct the Inediate Pills that those at the Body Forging stage can eat. He is truly a master alchemist.”

“What is a mere Inediate Pill? I’ve heard that Elder Qi is trying to create a Divine Origin Qi Pill. Could it be that he is buying the Ginseng Baby for the purpose of creating it?”

“If that is so, I hope that all of you would stop competing with Elder Qi. As you all know, the Divine Origin Qi Pill is a vital divine pill for us practitioners at the Body Forging stage to break into the Qi Ocean stage. As such, divine pills have been monopolised by the Imperial Court as well as the various sects and powerful families. Individual practitioners like ourselves may not even get our hands on one throughout our entire life. If Elder Qi really manages to create a Divine Origin Qi Pill, no matter where it ends up being sold, it would still give us practitioners at the Body Forging stage an additional chance to try our fates.”

With this speech, the crowd murmured its agreement. In the end, the Ginseng Baby was successfully won by Elder Qi.

Qi Ming held his fists in a salute and said, “Thank you, fellow practitioners, for your virtuousness. I came here only for the Ginseng Baby. Now that I have it, I shall take my leave. If I am really able to concoct the Divine pill, I will definitely fork out a quota and auction it here at Linglong Hall.” With that, he made his way to the door and left.

The moment Qi Ming left, three people actually followed him out the door as well. Evidently, the Divine Origin Qi Pill was capable of moving people’s hearts. Even though Qi Ming had not successfully concocted it, there were still people willing to invest in it beforehand, as long as there was a sliver of a chance that it would succeed.

Even Xu Yi could not help himself, and his heart raced. Breaking the limit of Body Forging and entering the Qi Ocean stage was an extremely large temptation to him. Today, by absolute chance, he had found out that the Divine Origin Qi Pill was the key to him entering the Qi Ocean stage. If not for the fact that he still had his wits with him and could distinguish which matters were more urgent, he would probably have chased after Qi Ming with the rest of them.

The uproar that Qi Ming raised, however, did not last long. Very soon, the audience’s attention was once more focused on the new item on the table.

After two hours, a total of thirteen items were auctioned. There were divine weapons, precious medicine, and even a three-eyed demon monkey, but there still was nothing that Xu Yi really wanted.

Just as Xu Yi was secretly beginning to panic, the silver-robed old man brought out a piece of leather that was only the size of his palm. “Next, the item that we have is a piece of Dragon Alligator scalp. According to records, the Dragon Alligator has existed since ancient times, with a lifespan of a thousand years and the bloodline of a true dragon. It is a creature of a vicious nature that enjoys the cold during the day and heat during night. It inhabits the lowest levels of volcanoes that can be found in places of extreme cold. It is able to swallow ice and spit fire — a creature of unimaginable might. Its body is full of treasures, but the square inch of skin on its head is the most amazing. As thin as a cicada’s wing but with extraordinary toughness. Virtually impenetrable to swords, and impervious to fire and water. Because an enraged Dragon Alligator can balloon in size, this square inch of the scalp can undergo amazing transformation, shrinking or expanding with ease.”

As he finished speaking, the silver robed old man called for attendants to display the palm-sized black leather.

Firstly, four attendants each held one corner of the leather, and then they pulled in all four directions. The piece of leather actually stretched wide enough to cover half the room without any signs of tearing at all.

Afterwards, one of the attendants pulled out a fine sword, and then stabbed with all his might. He went on to attack the leather in all sorts of ways, but it never tore or broke, not even leaving behind a scratch.

Next, the leather was tossed into a fire. After being left to burn for a while, it was taken out again. The leather still remained a glossy black, with no hint of being charred.

Xu Yi was completely absorbed by the spectacle when he heard someone shout, “Waterproof and fireproof, and even capable of withstanding blades. Although this is unusual, it is not anything special. We are all martial artists here. If we buy the leather, it would be used to make armor. In battles between practitioners, what matters most is whether or not it can defend a strong practitioner’s attack. Just now, the attendant’s cultivation is low, and his sword skills weak. If a strong practitioner attacked with a sword, who knows if the leather would still remain unscratched?

“Also, against other practitioners, other than just defending against sharp weapons, punches and kicks are common too. A good armour does not only defend against sharp weapons but also reduces the shock from blunt impacts as well. I wonder, does this piece of leather have such a property? If it doesn’t, then it doesn’t count as anything special. Even if bought, it might as well be for the blacksmith’s amusement.”

In the face of such a troublesome customer, the silver-robed old man was not frantic or angry. He simply stroked his beard and smiled. “How could there be anything useless sold here at Linglong Hall? Since one of our distinguished guests has his suspicions, I shall allow for a test right here and now! I know that there are a few distinguished guests here at the Qi Ocean stage. May I know if any of you might like to come forward to try?”

“I’ll do it!”

A black robed man in the first row and third column stood up.

The silver robed old man said, “For the sake of fairness, could you kindly remove your mask so that everyone can see that you are not one of Linglong Hall’s men? Also, as a powerhouse in the Qi Ocean stage, you must be someone of great standing within Guang’an. Even if you do end up buying this treasure, I believe no one would dare do anything, so why not make a grand appearance today?”

The black robed man laughed out loud, “That is true! Old Lee, of course I am not afraid of people knowing my identity; I’m just here at Linglong Hall to try out something new.”

With those words, he took off his mask, revealing a square, manly face, sharp brows that reached the temples, and a pair of bright, piercing eyes.

Immediately, the room went into an uproar.

“Gao Junmo!”

“Director Gao!”

“Black-Robed Gao!”

“Gao Seven Swords!”

At that moment, lots of sounds were made, but these four terms were heard the most.