The middle-aged man sighed lightly, showing no signs of panic. In fact, he even wished for the item to go unsold, as that would provide an opportunity for someone to swoop in.

"Old ox, this auction is so unprofessional, using item exchange as bidding," Chen Xun frowned slightly, transmitting his thoughts to the black ox. "Trading a five-hundred-year-old defective medicinal herb for a thousand-year-old one? It's like wearing _gloves_ to catch a wolf _bare-handed_."

"Moo!"

The big black ox nodded in discontent. In terms of familiarity with medicinal herbs, it hadn't met its match yet. Clearly, the herb was damaged, and only a sucker would trade for it.

As the middle-aged man stood on the platform, about to let the item go unsold, a message suddenly came through:

"Friend, willing to trade a thousand-year-old ebony mushroom?" His eyes widened in surprise, and he turned to Chen Xun, gesturing apologetically. "Excuse me for a moment, I'll go inquire."

After saying a few words to someone nearby, the man nodded, swiftly leaving with a communication token in hand.

Several pairs of eyes turned to Chen Xun; their meaning unclear.

Boom!

"Moo!"

Suddenly, the big black ox let out an angry bellow, while Chen Xun, without looking around, slammed a yellow-grade worthless mountain-opening axe on the table, spilling the tea, exuding a rather intimidating aura.

Many of the foundation-building cultivators behind him trembled, quickly averting their gazes, and lowering their heads.

Even the several golden core cultivators withdrew their gazes. This guy's temper was a bit strange; nobody wanted to casually offend someone while away from home.

Chen Xun snorted coldly, his gaze turning quite grim. If they thought they could bully him at will, they were mistaken. He wasn't leaving the city...

Not long after, two maids hurried over to apologize, tidying up the table and chairs. They informed Chen Xun that the man was willing to make the exchange.

Chen Xun and the big black ox got up and headed towards the backstage. They were quite uninterested in this auction. It was just a small disturbance, a way to show dominance.

In the backstage, Chen Xun reluctantly paid the processing fee of several hundred spirit stones and finally got the Yuan Chen Ginseng. However, his eyes were tinged with some regret and dissatisfaction.

At this moment, the elegant woman approached lightly. "It seems, friend, you have some knowledge of medicinal herbs?"

Chen Xun sighed deeply. "I know a little, but I don't know if this Yuan Chen Ginseng can revive."

"If you're interested, after the auction, there will be a gathering of Golden Core cultivators. There are many opportunities outside the Qian Nation." The woman's smile was perfect and quite tempting. "After the event..."

"No need; thank you for your kindness. I'm just about to go into seclusion," Chen Xun interrupted her, "If there's another chance, I'll be sure to come. Goodbye."

"Moo," the big black ox also greeted her, indicating there would be a next time.

The two figures hurried away, not giving her a chance to continue the conversation. The elegant woman's eyes showed surprise; it was unexpected that there were cultivators uninterested in opportunities.

However, since everyone was a Golden Core cultivator, it wasn't appropriate to insist. Moreover, they dared not cause trouble.

Not long after, she withdrew her gaze, continuing to look at the group of Golden Core cultivators in the auction venue, pondering something in her mind.

Meanwhile, the auction continued. The Yuan Chen Ginseng was just a small episode. The real finale had yet to appear, and the venue became even more heated.

...

On the way, Chen Xun's cultivation gradually decreased, and in the blink of an eye, he had become a mid-level Foundation Building cultivator.

With such a large flow of people in the Imperial City, and with no notable reputation, no one would pay attention to an ordinary cultivator and spiritual beast.

"Old ox, we got it!" Chen Xun's eyes were calm, but he was quite happy. He transmitted his thoughts, "But let's not participate in such auction gatherings in the future."

"Moo?" The big black ox was initially excited, but Chen Xun's words suddenly left it dumbfounded.

They had thought they were going to continue buying information. The major shops in the city didn't sell Golden Core stage spiritual herbs; they only bought them.

"Not professional at all. With such a setup, I could organize an event by shouting at the foot of the mountain," Chen Xun scoffed, quite dissatisfied. "The more you participate, the more trouble you invite. And most importantly, where in the world do you have to pay processing fees when buying things?!"

"Moo moo!"

The big black ox suddenly realized this, its eyes widening in understanding. Indeed, shouldn't it be the seller who pays? They were double-dipping! It nudged Chen Xun, understanding now. It wouldn't participate in such events again.

They had already walked onto the streets, blending into the endless crowd of cultivators. Chen Xun looked around.

"Old ox, to celebrate our first successful auction, let's buy some monster meat."

"Moo~~" The big black ox grinned widely, having not eaten Chen Xun's cooking in a long time.

"Hehe, we should live it up in our little days, right?" Chen Xun chuckled, his hands behind his back, his eyes full of joy as they walked around, taking in the sights. "That person carrying the huge sword looks quite heroic... at least it's a high-grade yellow-ranked one."

"Moo~" The big black ox's head also leaned against Chen Xun's body. They mostly communicated via telepathy when outside.

In the bustling market below Qin Immortal Mountain.

Here, people were bustling about, bargaining, and haggling, and there were even more stalls. However, most of them were Qi Refining stage cultivators, hoping to make a fortune at the centennial event.

Chen Xun and the big black ox slowly made their way back, passing through crowds of people, until they reached a stall selling monster blood and meat.

It was manned by a big man with a full beard, a ninth-level Qi Refining cultivator who did some talisman business.

When he saw Chen Xun approaching, he quickly got up. "Senior, what can I get for you?"

"I want a whole head of Red Lightning Wolf. How much?" Chen Xun squinted slightly, probing with his spiritual sense. The wolf seemed to have been killed in one strike, and its blood and meat were well-preserved.

The big man's eyes lit up, and he began to introduce enthusiastically, "Senior, the skin of this Red Lightning Wolf can be used as a seal pen, and its blood and meat can be used to draw talismans. What a keen eye you have!"

"Hehe, I know. Just give me the price," Chen Xun chuckled.

"Well... I dare not deceive you, Senior. A Red Lightning Wolf at the fourth level of the Qi Refining stage should cost at least... 60 low-grade spirit stones," the big man said, his face slightly red as he rubbed his hands and looked at Chen Xun intently.

He frowned upon hearing the price. It was much more expensive than the market rate.

The big black ox sniffed around, seemingly checking the freshness of the Red Lightning Wolf, making the big man sweat a little. How could even this spirit beast be a cultivator?

"Senior, with the centennial event approaching, the demand for monster blood and meat is high, so the price is a bit higher," the big man chuckled, nodding at the big black ox as well. "How about this, two seniors, you can have it for 55 low-grade spirit stones!"

"Alright, if I come back next time and you're still here, I'll buy from you again." Chen Xun seemed to have made a sudden decision, taking out the spirit stones from his storage pouch. "I'll take this Red Lightning Wolf."

"Thank you, Senior!" The big man didn't even bother to count the spirit stones; he just bowed deeply.

After they left, the big man counted the spirit stones with a happy face. Suddenly, he was startled. Why were there 60 spirit stones? He was about to rush out to return the extra spirit stones, but he couldn't see their figures even after looking around for a while. He could only bow in the direction they had left, thanking them.

What he didn't know was why Chen Xun had given him 60 spirit stones. The reason was simply his momentary respect for the big black ox.