Jin Shih leaned back in his chair and sipped from a goblet that looked like a fist sized hollowed out grape. It was upside down and the stem was rigid and spiraled at the bottom to form the base. He swirled a dark red juice in his goblet and smiled at Cui Shufen, “This grapeflower wine is even better than the last one I had. Unfortunately, the raw materials are up first so we’ll have to wait for the good stuff.”

Cui Shufen was polite and Sage joined in a little bit as well. Unlike Jin Shih he was interested to see what sorts of materials would be up for sale. There wasn’t a list of the items up for sale, there had only been a few items mentioned to build interest and warn people how much to bring. Besides the few items that were teased the auction goers only knew that the auction was split up into parts. They would be auctioning different types of goods in the different parts. The first up was raw materials. Next, living creatures. The third part was for manufactured goods, like weapons, armor and tools. After that was knowledge: scrolls and skill manuals. Lastly, pills. Alchemical Pills were also technically manufactured, but they got their own category.

The last two categories were the most valuable since they could be passed on to their descendants and improve one’s ability directly, respectively. A weapon or piece of armor would make you stronger and could even be passed to others, but it was nothing compared to a skill or technique that could be taught to every person in a clan and passed down through the generations. The only thing more valuable than knowledge were pills. One’s personal strength was the only real power in this world so the pills that could advance that strength were invaluable. Contributing to one’s sect or family was important, but it paled in comparison to improving your own ability and raising your personal standing.

At the five minute mark, an extraordinarily beautiful woman walked up onto the auction stage. She wore a deep red dress with a swooping neckline and a slit on the side nearly up to her hip. Physically, she looked like a swimsuit model from back on earth, but there was an almost palpable energy in the air. Looking at her for more than a few seconds started to dull his senses and entrance him.

Some sort of seduction or mind control technique… ruthless salespeople.

The woman stalked across the stage a few times before she introduced herself with a sultry voice that seemed to magnify the seducing effect, “Pleasant greetings everyone. I’ll be your auctioneer tonight. Just call me Xiao Mei Mei.”

Sage rolled his eyes. This ‘Little Sister’ was laying it on thick. He wondered if these sorts of tactics worked even in large scale auctions. Considering they were using them, they must have some sort of effect, this wasn’t a bunch of amateurs. After ‘Little Sister’ flirted with the crowd a bit more she finally waved out the first item. A pair of burly guards rolled out a covered table from behind the curtains and then pulled off the lid. On top of the table there was a row of neatly arranged rhizomes. They were thick bundles of roots with a blackish red coloring on the central mass, while the smaller shoots of roots were a brighter crimson. They looked like ginseng roots stained with blood.

“Blood Ginseng! A full dozen and each of them at least 10,000 years old. They’re filled with life force and consuming just a tiny slice from one will extend your lifespan by a decade. We’ll be auctioning them individually, starting at a price of 20,000 Spirit Stones, with a minimum bid increase of 1,000. Let’s begin!”

It was a pretty impressive material. Just as he thought, most auctions liked to start with something pretty good to get people interested and the blood boiling. Then they’d clear out all the cheap stuff and then ramp up towards a finish with the best of the best. While Sage was an alchemist, he’d never focused on it. That art took far too much practice and alchemists burned through whole mountains of materials to improve their skills. It was just too expensive to raise his rank any higher. That said, he still had many lists of the materials used for high level pills. The Blood Gingseng was used mainly to extend the lifespan and to cure rare injuries. A pill that countered life draining or aging techniques usually required Blood Ginseng.

The Blood Ginseng sold pretty quickly. The first one went for thirty four thousand, most people wanting to hold off for the others in the dozen. Too bad they all had the same idea, each ginseng was a few thousand more than the others until the last three. Those three started at 40,000 and only went higher. The people who missed the first nine had to compete desperately over the last three. The last one sold for 81,000 and surprised Sage.

Auctions really do make the most money for rare goods.

Next, there was a fruit that looked like a pumpkin sized purple peach. It had its own small rolling table with a huge platter cover like it was a turkey. When the metal lid was lifted a wave of strange energy rolled over the crowd. Wisps of light and color undulated in the air, distorting the colors in the room like a mirage and starting to twist into different scenes and visions.

“Dreamfruit! Besides tasting like ambrosia, a small slice will send you into a waking dream. They say this dream lets you relive the most intense moments of your life. It’s also the main ingredient for the Samsara Vision Pill. The starting price is fifty thousand Spirit Stones, with increments of five thousand.”

Another interesting item, though not nearly as useful as the Blood Ginseng. The price began to increase rapidly again, immediately ruining Sage’s impression of his own finances. The Dreamfruit on its own was only valuable for people practicing certain specific techniques. The Samsara Vision Pill that it was used to craft on the other hand was pretty famous. It would let you live out dozens of lifetimes, experiencing reincarnation over and over again. The experiences of so many lives could be invaluable for a person who had reached a bottleneck in their training or cultivation.

A few minutes later the Dreamfruit sold for an exorbitant 145,000 Spirit Stones. Thankfully, only the first two items were so expensive and rare. The ones that followed were far less expensive, though still rare in most of the world outside Green Plateau Province. They were the bread and butter of the auction. Items that weren’t so valuable to them, but available nearly nowhere else outside their land. Fist sizes lumps of exotic ores, liquids with unusual properties, rare and extraordinary wood, the items for sale were amazing and Sage wished he could take them all home. Unfortunately, after seeing how expensive everything was he chose to wait and purchase only items that he had to have.

An hour into the auction, Sage finally perked up. Something caught his eye. It was strange looking, like a stone grey insect wing, but the base of it was thick with a round protrusion. When the auctioneer spoke, he finally thought it looked similar to a maple seed. A little wing like seed.

“... the Stonesap Tree produces a sap that hardens into stone after its heated. The seed of the Stonesap Tree is an integral ingredient for the Stoneskin Pill…”

Sage had heard enough and he immediately reached out for the auction controls. He wasn’t exactly a skilled auction bidder, but that wasn’t stopping him. The auction started at five thousand and Sage tried the first tactic he knew of, scaring others with a big bid. He immediately raised the bid to 10,000 and waited. Either he would scare away bidders by showing he wanted it all cost, or he’d catch the attention of others by seeming like he knew something secret about the item. Unfortunately, it looked like the latter was the case. One of the other VIP booths bid 20,000.