Chapter 144: Chapter 133: Sure Enough, You Just Can’t Win a Bidding War Against Xiao Chen

Xiao Chen was lost in thought when he suddenly felt a powerful pressure descend upon him.

A cold, clear voice rang out, "I have heard that Li State has a new fellow Daoist. I, Yaohua, have come to offer my congratulations."

Everyone immediately looked out the window to see a flower basket the size of a house floating in the sky.

A young fairy maiden in iridescent robes stood in mid-air before the basket, offering her congratulations to the Thousand Bamboo Tower.

Her face was exquisitely beautiful, like a flower petal glistening with morning dew. Her skin was fairer than snow, like unpainted porcelain. Her cascading hair fell to her waist, making her look like a beauty who had stepped right out of a painting. Her iridescent robes swayed gently in the wind, at times refracting a rainbow-like light, creating a dreamlike, illusory scene.

The Thousand Bamboo True Man’s voice rang out. "So it is Fellow Daoist Yaohua from the Valley of Ten Thousand Flowers. Please, come in."

Upon hearing this, Master Yaohua took a graceful step forward. With each step, different flowers bloomed beneath her feet, creating a floral path that welcomed her into the top floor.

Only after her figure had vanished did a heated discussion erupt on the third floor.

"Isn’t the Valley of Ten Thousand Flowers in Hezhou? Why would they come all the way to our Li State?"

"How strange. I’ve never heard of Master Ming Yue going to Hezhou, yet she actually knows such an otherworldly fairy."

"I heard once that most of the disciples in the Valley of Ten Thousand Flowers are women. I wonder if that’s true."

...

Steward Chen’s reaction was direct. "Holy shit, what a beautiful fairy."

His remark immediately earned the agreement of Chen Zhiquan, who was at the same table. "Indeed. She’s simply the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen in my life."

Xiao Chen glanced at them. ’Master Yaohua is gorgeous, but isn’t that beside the point?’

’The point is, in the current situation, a Golden Core True Man from Hezhou has made a special trip to Li State. And from the looks of it, it was a sudden visit, which is quite intriguing.’

’At the speed of a Golden Core True Man, it makes no sense for her to be late.’

’The only possibility is that she wasn’t invited and came late after hearing the news.’

Xiao Chen also didn’t see Master Yaohua bring any other disciples from the Valley of Ten Thousand Flowers. ’She probably left in a hurry,’ he thought.

’Then again, that’s just a guess. It’s also possible she just prefers to travel alone.’

This brief interlude quickly passed.

After all, the Daoists were conversing on the top floor, which had little to do with those on the third floor.

Everyone was more interested in the auction catalogs for the second half of the event, which they had just received.

Xiao Chen quickly browsed through it and discovered that many items in the second half were even better than those in the first.

’I wonder if they were held back on purpose, or if someone added more items during the intermission.’

"Hey, a Five-Colored Golden Lotus!"

Halfway through the catalog, Xiao Chen was delighted to discover that a Five-Colored Golden Lotus would be featured in the second half.

This was a great find. He had already experienced the benefits of the Foundation Establishment Pill, so he absolutely could not miss out on this Golden Lotus.

.

Xiao Chen enthusiastically flipped to the last page of the catalog.

Unfortunately, his original target, the Rock Core Maitong, was not listed.

But he had no time for disappointment; the final, show-stopping item immediately captured all of his attention.

"Donghua Yin Yang Wood, the Wind and Thunder Dual Swords!"

Xiao Chen stared at the three-foot-long Flying Swords in the catalog, completely unable to look away.

’First of all, I’m currently lacking a primarily offensive Magical Artifact.’

’The Fire-Storage Treasure Gourd is more functional, even leaning toward Defense against Fire Magic.’

’Its innate Profound Fire isn’t weak, but it’s not potent enough.’

’Second, the Seven-Star Sword Technique I’m cultivating requires a Top Grade, Dharma Artifact-level Flying Sword to unleash its full power.’

’Finally, both of these swords are Top Grade Magical Artifacts.’

’They’re a perfect match for my Small Three Talents Sword Formation Map, and I could even use them to create a Sword Array in the future, unlocking even greater potential.’

’If I can get my hands on this set of Wind and Thunder Dual Swords, my power would increase immensely in an instant, and my potential for future growth would be significant as well.’

But there was one obvious problem: Top Grade Magical Artifacts were extremely expensive.

And since this was a pair of two, they were bound to be even more costly.

Even though he had earned over eight thousand Spirit Stones in the first half, he still couldn’t afford them.

’What should I do?’

’There’s still an hour before the auction begins. Should I give up on this opportunity, or should I hurry and raise the money?’

Xiao Chen hesitated for a few breaths before deciding that he would borrow what he needed.

He wasn’t actually someone who liked borrowing money from others.

But firstly, this was a rare opportunity that he couldn’t let slip by.

And secondly, he had already found a way to make money quickly, so he was confident he could repay a debt of twenty or even thirty thousand Spirit Stones.

So, after a moment of consideration, Xiao Chen decided to raise the money and bid.

When he thought about a large sum of Spirit Stones, the first person who came to mind was actually Elder Su.

However, Elder Su hadn’t attended the ceremony, so he was ruled out.

Next, he thought of Elder Chen and Steward Chen.

After all, they were some of the only people he knew well.

At that moment, Xiao Chen suddenly realized he really didn’t know many people. ’No wonder Shen Siyue once said I was a bit of a recluse.’

Elder Chen was very accommodating and directly took out Five Thousand Spirit Stones.

Steward Chen also provided two thousand Spirit Stones, and upon seeing this, Chen Zhiquan voluntarily offered three thousand.

The three of them helped him gather a total of ten thousand Spirit Stones.

To be honest, that was no small amount.

It was only because they were important members of the Chen Family that they would be carrying so many Spirit Stones in the first place.

Elder Chen seemed a little regretful. "I did bring a lot of Spirit Stones on this trip, but I spent a bit too much on Spiritual Materials earlier."

"If you’re still short by a lot, I can go and borrow some more for you."

He meant that he would borrow money from the other Cultivators on Xiao Chen’s behalf.