Song Changsheng’s gaze was instantly drawn to it. He had waited so long, and his target had finally appeared!

Xia Wanyun clapped her hands lightly, and several Attendants carried a tall, tiger-shaped skeleton into everyone’s view.

The skeleton was over ten feet tall and dozens of feet long. Every single bone was perfectly preserved, without a trace of flesh or blood, and showed no obvious signs of injury.

Its bones were a pristine, crystalline white, with faint traces of Demon Qi flowing around them. This was the mark of a Tier Two Demon Beast. Once a Demon Beast reached Tier Two, its flesh, blood, and bones would undergo a world-altering transformation, and their durability would skyrocket.

If you took any leg bone from it, its durability would only be slightly inferior to a Magical Artifact of the same tier. Furthermore, its leg bones, teeth, claws, and tailbone were all exceptional Artifact Refining Materials.

A skeleton of this size, even if dismantled and sold piece by piece, would still be worth a great deal.

However, Song Changsheng wasn’t too worried. At this auction, the White Tiger Skeleton wasn’t considered a top-tier item, and for the average person, there was no need to bid on it.

’You couldn’t just buy it, dismantle it into Artifact Refining Materials, and sell them, could you? You’d lose your shirt!’

Of course, if you had... unique tastes, you could always take it home and make soup.

But back to the matter at hand. He only needed to be wary of two types of competitors. The first were his peers—Artifact Refiners. Any Artifact Refiner would be tempted by such materials.

But this group also knew how to weigh the pros and cons. As soon as the price exceeded their psychological limit, they would typically back down. It would be a surprise if the bidding reached twenty thousand Spirit Stones. They were not a major concern.

The second type was who Song Changsheng was most worried about—Puppet Masters.

Puppet Masters could be considered a variant of Artifact Refiners. They specialized in studying all kinds of puppets, which came in countless forms and had a wide range of uses.

Moreover, they weren’t picky about materials at all. Whether it was living or dead, they could refine it into a suitable puppet. A perfectly preserved White Tiger Skeleton like this, in their hands, could be refined into a Beast Bone Puppet comparable to a Foundation Establishment Cultivator.

Its value would then be difficult to estimate. The price could easily reach tens of thousands of Spirit Stones. The amount of Spirit Stones Song Changsheng had on him really wasn’t a sure bet.

’I hope I don’t run into one of them,’ Song Changsheng thought.

At that moment, Xia Wanyun, standing below, began to speak. "Fellow Daoists, esteemed seniors, this White Tiger Skeleton is exceptionally well-preserved. It is an excellent choice for either Artifact Refining or puppet creation.

"The starting price is five thousand Spirit Stones, with each bid increasing by no less than five hundred. The highest bidder wins. Please begin your bidding."

The moment her voice fell, a portly, middle-aged man with a large head and big ears on the first floor raised his paddle and shouted, "I bid six thousand Spirit Stones!"

Not to be outdone, a Foundation Establishment Cultivator on the second floor announced in a clear voice, "I bid six thousand five hundred Spirit Stones."

Just as Song Changsheng had expected, not many people were interested in the White Tiger Skeleton. The bidding went back and forth between just a few individuals. After several rounds, the price had only risen to ten thousand Spirit Stones.

Finally, a Foundation Establishment Cultivator on the second floor suddenly jumped the bid to fifteen thousand. This price instantly deterred the vast majority of bidders. After all, this was no small sum; some Foundation Establishment Cultivators might not even have that much.

Besides, even if they could afford it, they had to consider if it was worth the cost. The auction was still in its early stages. If they spent lavishly now, how embarrassing would it be to lack the Spirit Stones for something essential to their cultivation later on?

Thus, the vast majority of people chose to back out, including the portly man who had made the initial bid.

"The Daoist in the private room bids fifteen thousand Spirit Stones! Is there a higher offer?" Xia Wanyun gently shook the gavel in her hand, signaling that she was about to bring it down.

Seeing the time was right, Song Changsheng decisively called out, "This old man bids sixteen thousand Spirit Stones."

He deliberately made his voice hoarse and old, so the people from the Earth Fire Sect wouldn’t recognize him. He had dealt with Cheng Yufei numerous times; just as he could identify the man by his voice, the reverse was also true. The moment he spoke, that old fox Cheng Yufei would surely notice something was amiss.

To prevent that guy from causing him trouble, Song Changsheng had no choice but to hide his identity this way.

"Seventeen thousand Spirit Stones." In a private room on the second floor, a young Cultivator with a sinister expression, an Attendant in his arms, frowned and called out another number.

Song Changsheng, of course, did not back down and raised the bid by another thousand.

The young Cultivator immediately grew irritated. In a hostile tone, he said, "I bid twenty thousand!"

Although he noticed the change in the other’s tone, Song Changsheng had no intention of paying him any mind. He had been preparing for this for so long; there was no way he would just hand it over.

So he immediately followed up, raising the bid to twenty-one thousand.

BANG! The young Cultivator flew into a rage, slamming his hand down and shattering the table. He said coldly, "Friend across the way, I, Wuy Luochuan, have set my sights on this skeleton. If you’re willing to stop now, I promise to refine a puppet for you."

"It’s actually Wuy Luochuan!"

Song Changsheng hadn’t reacted much to the man announcing his name, but Song Qingluo, beside him, cried out in surprise.

"What, is he famous?" Song Changsheng frowned, thinking it over. He realized he had never actually heard of this person.

Song Qingluo nodded, her expression grave. "This man is a Tier Two Level Puppet Master. He’s quite famous in Luoxia City. Many Foundation Establishment Cultivators beg him to refine puppets for them."

’Speak of the devil.’ Song Changsheng’s brow furrowed. He knew exactly how attractive this skeleton was to a Puppet Master. It seemed he was in for a "fierce battle" today.