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Chapter 322: Tricking Fools

Children, aged three to five, ran and played nearby, making the scene appear even more peaceful.

The small river that flowed down from the mountain looked as clear as a mirror. The water was so clear that the fish scales beneath could be seen.

"Huh?" One of the women suddenly exclaimed in surprise.

"What is it?" the others asked, turning to her.

"Look at the water..." she said, pointing to the river. The others followed her gaze and immediately noticed something strange.

The river water had begun to take on a faint reddish-gold color, forming swirling clouds like ink dissolving in water. But it wasn\'t ink—it looked like... blood?

And it was blood with a golden hue!

The reddish-gold blood spread rapidly, transforming the entire river into a river of blood. To make matters worse, white bones began to surface in the water, creating a terrifying sight!

"Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh—"

Two of the women were so frightened that they stumbled back and fell to the ground. The others hurriedly grabbed their crying children and ran back to the village. As they fled, the sky turned fiery red, and a flock of birds took off from the forest, flying away into the distance.

By the time they reached the village entrance, the mountains echoed with rumbling sounds, seemingly mixed with the roars of some bird or beast.

"Village chief! Village chief!" they shouted as they reached the village, only to find a large group of people already gathered in front of the ancestral hall.

"Why the panic?" The elderly village chief, leaning on his cane, spoke in a deep voice. "Don\'t be afraid! Stay calm!"

"There are monsters on the Phoenix Sheep Mountain!" a child cried out in fear.

"Don\'t talk nonsense! That’s not a monster!" the village chief quickly corrected. "That\'s the celestial beast of Phoenix Sheep Mountain waking up!"

"Ah?" The younger ones looked surprised and puzzled. On the other hand, the older villagers were not surprised but slightly excited.

The village had long-standing legends about ancient celestial beasts.

It was said that thousands of years ago, a divine phoenix and a mountain sheep[1] mated here, giving birth to a deformed creature known as the Phoenix Sheep.

The phoenix was an ancient celestial beast on par with the dragons. While stories of draconic descendants were common, phoenix descendants were the complete opposite. This was because the dragons, being the most numerous among celestial beasts, loved to interbreed with various races.

In contrast, the phoenixes were not only few in number but also detested interbreeding. The birth of the Phoenix Sheep had been a beautiful mistake.

The mountain sheep, although a demonic beast, was no match for the Divine Phoenix. It died immediately after giving birth, as the fetus had drained too much of its spiritual energy. The Divine Phoenix did not acknowledge this hybrid creature and left long before its birth.

The newborn Phoenix Sheep was left unattended in the mountains for seven days, nearly dying from cold and hunger. Eventually, kind villagers living at the foot of the mountain found it. Initially, they thought it was a beautiful lamb and took it home to raise.

To their surprise, as they continued raising the lamb, it grew wings.

The villagers were stunned and they thought they had raised a monster. In their fear, they wanted to kill it. However, the family that found the Phoenix Sheep had grown attached to it and decided to protect it with their lives.

The family eventually sent it back to the mountains, instructing it to run far away and never return.

It wasn\'t until years later that a wave of demonic beasts swept through the area and several powerful demonic beasts attacked the village.

As the villagers faced imminent danger of being slaughtered, the Phoenix Sheep suddenly appeared. Over the years, due to its bloodline, it had evolved into a powerful spirit beast and single-handedly fought numerous enemies. After a fierce battle, it successfully protected the village.

The villagers gathered around the Phoenix Sheep and realized that despite it having lived in the mountains, hunting for food, it had never strayed far and had silently watched over the village all along.

In the years that followed, it continued to reside on the mountain, which, in honor of its guardian, became known as Phoenix Sheep Mountain.

The younger villagers were astonished. They had heard the legend of the Phoenix Sheep protecting the village, but witnessing the legend in real life was truly shocking!

"The celestial beast Phoenix Sheep has been sleeping in the hidden realm for the past thousand years, awakening briefly every thirty years before returning to its slumber," the old village chief explained solemnly. "Zhuzi, hurry to the Daoist temple outside the city and inform the priests that the Phoenix Sheep has awakened!"

...

"Next up is the Dragon Embroidered Jade Fan from the distant Fuyao Kingdom across the sea! This exquisite item is exclusive to Fuyao craftsmanship. With a gentle fan, it creates a fragrant breeze that attracts dancing butterflies. When infused with foundational qi and wielded forcefully, it unleashes a powerful wind imbued with dragon\'s breath, capable of breaking steel and bending iron! We start the bidding at one thousand Vermillion-Bird coins, with increments of fifty Vermillion-Bird coins."

The auctioneer on the stage was still trying hard to promote it, but there weren\'t many interested in the Dragon Embroidered Jade Fan.

In auctions, the best items were usually saved for last, with the second-best placed at the beginning to warm up the event, while the items that appeared in the middle were generally mediocre.

After the initial few valuable items, the atmosphere in the hall had also cooled down.

Despite its appearance as an exquisite and mystical artifact, the Dragon Embroidered Jade Fan turned out to be merely an ordinary enchanted tool, as revealed during the auctioneer\'s demonstration. Its starting price of one thousand Vermillion-Bird coins included at least a fifty percent markup, likely reflecting a minimum standard price required for all auction items. If the price were any lower, it wouldn\'t be worthy of this stage.

Even if it ended up unsold, they couldn\'t lower the venue\'s standard.

Of course, it could also have been a test to see how many fools were present in the hall.

After a brief pause, about eight or nine people raised their paddles.

Hmm... with thousands of people here, having fewer than ten fools isn\'t such a bad ratio after all. Chu Liang thought as he watched coldly.

Meanwhile, Wen Yulong fumed with anger.

"I\'ve seen this thing before. If I made it, the cost wouldn\'t exceed three hundred sword coins," Wen Yulong said angrily. "Selling it at such a high price is daylight robbery."

"In such a large auction that was held monthly, it\'s difficult to guarantee that every item is highly valuable. It’s no surprise that a few cheap items might slip through and appear here," Chu Liang remarked calmly. "If you attach straw to a crab, the straw could still be sold at a crab\'s price. Markups are just part of the game."

In the end, the Dragon Embroidered Jade Fan was purchased by a young man of low cultivation, accompanied by two attendants. He seemed to be from a minor immortal sect, likely here to gain experience.

By simply winning the bid for an exquisite and expensive enchanted tool, he could return home and impress his fellow sect members.

"Hehe, the next item is quite intriguing," the auctioneer on stage said with a mysterious smile. The two previous maids exited the stage, replaced by new ones carrying trays.

He lifted the cover from the tray held by the first maid, revealing four pills of different colors.

"Now we invite a few fellow cultivators to come up and taste these pills. Is anyone willing to try?" the auctioneer asked with a mysterious tone.

Since the Pavilion of Celestial Fate was a large and reputable establishment, the cultivators below had no concerns about potential poisoning. Without hesitation, several eagerly raised their hands to participate and were promptly invited up by the auctioneer.

"Here, fellow cultivator, try this pill," the auctioneer said, handing over a pill that the cultivator readily swallowed.

"Hmm?" After taking the pill, he furrowed his brows slightly.

"Can you tell what kind of pill this is?" the auctioneer inquired.

"It seems to be just a regular Spirit-Concentration Pill," the cultivator replied.

"What\'s special about it?" the auctioneer asked again.

"The taste is excellent... I think it’s an apple flavor. It leaves a refreshing and sweet aftertaste. What\'s particularly special is how delicious it is," the cultivator replied honestly.

"Excellent!" the auctioneer said with a smile. He then invited another cultivator onto the stage and handed over another Spirit-Concentration Pill.

This time, the Spirit-Concentration Pill was tangerine-flavored, tasting both sweet and sour.

There were four pills in total, each with a distinct flavor.

After people were given a chance to try the four types of pills, he smiled and said, "These pills were refined by a remarkable alchemist in the city. All of his pills come in delightful fruit flavors! As some of you may know, the price of Spirit-Concentration Pills in the city has been skyrocketing."

He then lifted the cover from the tray behind him, revealing four gourd-shaped storage enchanted tools.

"Here are four gourds containing Spirit-Concentration Pills of different flavors, totaling one thousand pills. We start the bidding at one thousand Vermillion-Bird coins, with each bid increment set at fifty Vermillion-Bird coins!" he announced loudly.

As soon as this item was introduced, the audience burst into laughter.

For these cultivators, the unique flavors were new and interesting but ultimately useless. However, the existence of these pills were undeniably amusing.

Even with the current price hike of Spirit-Concentration Pills in Taotie City, it was unlikely for the price to reach one Vermillion-Bird coin per pill. The starting bid of one thousand Vermillion-Bird coins for a thousand pills represented a markup of at least three hundred Vermillion-Bird coins, and that was just the starting price.

So, while many found it interesting, very few intended to bid. After all, money didn\'t grow on trees, and anyone would feel pain if they spent a few hundred coins frivolously.

Just over half a year ago, Chu Liang, a cultivator at the Spiritual Awareness Realm, had felt worried for three hundred sword coins! Normally, it would have taken him a few months to earn that amount.

Perhaps only a few truly wealthy individuals would bid out of curiosity.

Even Wen Yulong couldn\'t help but laugh as he remarked, "I don\'t know how that alchemist came up with this. Who would pay extra for flavored Spirit-Concentration Pills? This is more absurd than the last item. Everyone knows the standard pill prices; even a fool wouldn\'t fall for this, right?"

Immediately after, he heard Chu Liang next to him raise his paddle and bid loudly, "Two thousand Vermillion-Bird coins!"

1. This animal’s main name is “argali,” but we went with its other name “mountain sheep” since most people probably don’t know what argalis are. See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Argali for more info. ☜