Chapter 9: The Ancient Yan Character (Part 1)

Not only was Guo Shieru interested, but even Old Shuai hid among the Gu Mo Lian to peek outside. The entire auction hall was dead silent. Generally, there would be a final item offered at the end of each auction, and it was usually something contested by professionals using solid-form altars.

Xian Xuan said, “The last item for auction is a natural rune—perfectly extracted. It’s a basic fire-type rune, the ancient ‘Yan’ character, possessing immense flame power. It’s one of the best runes for altars. The starting bid is 1.5 million.”

Natural runes were something all altar-level experts coveted. It was unexpected that someone would be willing to sell one. Even natural runes obtained through replication could fetch a hefty sum of gold coins, let alone a genuine one. More than a dozen altar experts’ eyes lit up immediately. Old Shuai also jumped around, urging, “Bid on it! Bid on it! No matter the cost!”

The bidding turned fierce this time. Aside from Fahua, almost all altar-level experts offered their prices. Poor Fahua, who had just spent two million on ten Colorful Stars, could no longer afford to bid on the natural rune. He wasn’t upset, as the value of Colorful Stars was comparable to that of natural runes—it depended on individual needs.

Guo Shieru spoke to Old Shuai, “Old Shuai, our little amount of gold coins might not be enough, right?”

Old Shuai replied, “It’s fine, it’s fine… I can provide Colorful Stars or other refined materials. You must get this natural rune—it’s extremely rare. It’s your luck to find it! Besides, it’s very useful for altars. In our era, if we encountered something like this, we would fight to get it! What does money matter?”

Guo Shieru said, “Alright, I’ll bid!”

“2.3 million!”

“2.5 million!”

“…”

In just a moment, the price of the natural rune exceeded 3 million.

Before Guo Shieru could bid, the price had already risen to an alarming level. By then, most experts using virtual-form altars had withdrawn, as even they couldn’t afford such a price.

As soon as Guo Shieru spoke, everyone was shocked: “4 million!” In truth, he didn’t have 4 million, but with Old Shuai’s backing, he dared to bid that high.

Yuan Kaocheng glanced around and smiled bitterly inwardly. “I wonder which ancient family’s young master this is—spending money like water.” He said, “4.1 million.”

Mo Si Du slammed her cane forcefully and declared, “4.2 million!”

He Daoming gritted his teeth and said, “Four million two hundred and fifty thousand!” Clearly, he could no longer hold on.
Guo Shier thought for a moment before saying, “Five million!”
At this price, the professionals present were in an uproar. It was too exaggerated—even if natural runes were rare and precious, bidding five million for a golden rune from Daqianbao seemed excessive.
Although the masters of the Solid Altar in this era also valued natural runes, they hadn’t reached the extreme level of Crazy Old Man’s time. Crazy Old Man kept muttering, “Cheap… so cheap…”
Mo Sidu said venomously, “That old woman offers five million two hundred thousand!”
Yuan Kaocheng shook his head and sighed, believing the natural rune wasn’t worth that much. He said, “Five million three hundred thousand.” He was already ready to give up.
Guo Shier said, “Six million!”
Mo Sidu glanced at him and thought, “What a madman!” She stopped bidding and sighed, “I can’t help but think of bringing out a natural rune for auction myself.”
He Daoming asked, “I don’t know which sect this kid belongs to, but how does he have so much money?”
Mo Sidu smiled bitterly. “That kid is determined to get it. Well, it’s not a big deal. Natural runes… with enough time, they can be found even in the Eight Paths Heaven.”
It would be great if they could win it, but even if not, she wouldn’t be upset. Though natural runes were precious, they weren’t worth going to extreme lengths for. All the masters of the Solid Altar shared this view, which is why Guo Shier got his wish. According to Crazy Old Man’s estimate, it would have been impossible to obtain this natural flame rune without spending ten to twenty million. Unexpectedly, just six million was enough to drive away those masters.
Crazy Old Man sighed contentedly, “Sigh, these guys don’t know what’s good…”
Xian Xuan clapped her hands. The results of this auction exceeded her expectations. She knew that without Guo Shier continuously bidding high prices, such good results wouldn’t have been possible. She said, “Well, today’s auction is over. Please, this… um, guest, go to the VIP room to rest.”
Guo Shier said, “Let’s go. We’ll head to the VIP room.”
A waiter stepped forward to lead the way, and Guo Shier and the others entered the VIP room.
A moment later, Xian Xuan and an old man came in. Guo Shier took a quick look and realized the old man was also a master of the Virtual Altar. Xian Xuan said, “Daqianbao, auctioneer Xian Xuan. I’m an elder of the Gu Xian family.” She gave a slight bow.

The old man was very fat, somewhat resembling Maitreya in ancient paintings, with a kind and gentle expression, especially his long eyebrows that drooped down to his cheekbones. He said with a smile, “Elder of the Guxian family, a wise man.”

Nanyou and Guo Shieru stepped forward to register, as it was the rule for professionals.

Xianxuan said, “Let me first explain the rules of the auction house. Since you’ve already bid above the reserve price, I hope you have sufficient collateral. Otherwise, the auction results will be canceled, and the previous collateral will be deducted.”

Guo Shieru nodded. “No problem. These materials should be just right.” He took out several jade boxes and placed them in front of Xianxuan.

The wise man reached out to pick up the jade boxes and said with a smile, “I’m an appraiser. Hehe, let me take a look.”

As each jade box was opened, the wise man’s expression grew increasingly serious. Xianxuan asked, “How is it?” The wise man replied, “Their value far exceeds that of the gold talismans used in the auction—extremely high… They can be used as collateral. Well, at least five million. If auctioned, doubling that amount would be normal.”

The materials Guo Shieru brought were all carefully refined by the old man Shuai. The materials themselves were already valuable, and after being further purified using the old man Shuai’s flame ritual, their quality had improved significantly—of course, making them extremely valuable.

After deducting the auction fees, Xianxuan took out the items that Guo Shieru had bid on. First was the Dongting Thunder Talisman set, which Nanyou had bid on. He glanced at it briefly, smiled, and put it away, clearly very satisfied.

Next was a bottle containing ten fourth-grade talisman pills. Guo Shieru checked them and put them into his talisman bag.

Xianxuan took out a talisman bag and said, “This is a set of progression materials. Please count them.”

Guo Shieru checked them carefully and nodded before putting them away. He had prepared this set of materials for Luo Zhan. As for the materials needed by the Eagle Demon, he had already prepared them.

Finally, there was the natural rune that had been bid for six million—the natural ancient Yan character.

This Yan character was one of the basic natural runes, and its extraction was flawless. Of course, in the eyes of the old man Shuai, its extraction was merely passable. If he were to extract it, he could at least raise its grade by one.

It was a very pure character, with faint purple light flowing within it. Apart from this Yan character, there were no other runes—this was the perfect form of a basic rune. Guo Shieru nodded in satisfaction and said, “Very good. We can consider the transaction complete. As for these materials… let’s leave them for the auction. The extra gold from the auction can help us purchase more materials.”

A jade talisman flew out, and the sage caught it and examined it briefly. It was a jade talisman that Old Shuai had secretly given to Guo Shier, containing a list of numerous material names, many of which were mid-to-low-grade, with few high-grade ones.

Guo Shier said, “If there are any natural runes, please help us purchase them directly. No matter how much it costs, we’ll pay.”

Both the sage and Xianxuan showed satisfied expressions. They preferred this kind of customer—who didn’t haggle or bargain and was willing to buy as long as the quality was good.

Xianxuan said, “We’ll do our best to acquire these materials. Once we have them all, we’ll notify you immediately.” With that, she handed a stack of message talismans to Guo Shier. Only then did they realize that the real master was Guo Shier.

……

Back in their residence courtyard, Guo Shier said, “I need time to cultivate. Uncle Eagle Demon, if there are any message talismans from the auction house, you handle them. Nanyou, you help too. I’ll need about three months. Don’t disturb me during this time; I’ll be in seclusion in the underground talisman-making hall.”

Nanyou and Eagle Demon agreed. Guo Shier added, “Uncle Luo, you also need to cultivate quickly to become a high-level Great Sage. I’ve prepared all the materials needed to build a virtual altar. Once you reach that rank, you can start preparing.”

Luo Zhan nodded and said, “Yes, I’ll work hard.”

Only then did Guo Shier enter the underground part of the courtyard. It was a medium-sized talisman-making hall, large enough for his use.

After going underground, Guo Shier activated the defensive talisman array of the hall, then sat down and summoned the Ancient Ink Lotus. He asked, “Old Shuai, shall we start building my altar today?”

Old Shuai emerged from the top of the Ancient Ink Lotus and said, “We can’t delay any longer. You need to advance quickly. There are too many super experts here. Without an altar, relying solely on me… it’s not enough. Only when you have an altar can I play a greater role. Right now, I’m limited.”

Guo Shier nodded. “Yes, I also feel my strength isn’t enough. Even with the Ancient Ink Lotus and you, it’s still not sufficient. A professional with an altar is incomparable to one without one. By the way, Old Shuai, how many layers of solid altars did you have before?”

Old Shuai sighed and said, “Not many. Alas, only seven layers of solid altars. It’s a pity, but I still can’t defeat them…”

Guo Shier was speechless. The seven-layer solid altar was even one layer higher than Li Ran’s most formidable altar he had ever seen, yet this guy still thought it wasn’t impressive enough. No wonder he could use the body of a sacrificial spirit to forcefully seize Salt Old Man’s sacred treasure. If he also had a seven-layer solid altar, he wouldn’t even bother to pay attention to someone like Salt Old Man.
The handsome old man said, “Let’s not talk about those things. Just thinking about them is depressing. Damn it…”