Chapter 27: The Auction

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The Third Mountain.

Beside the waterfall—a place rarely visited, undisturbed by others—this was a rare sanctuary for cultivation.

At this moment, a man and a woman faced each other.

Wang Ran blinked, his gaze fixed on Yao Jianjia, who held a red cord in one hand and a candle in the other. He couldn’t help but cough lightly, speaking shyly, “Senior Sister, your pace is a bit fast for me… I’m having trouble keeping up…”

“Enough with your nonsense,” Yao Jianjia replied coolly, her tone calm and distant. “Are you ready?”

Wang Ran lowered his head slightly, a touch embarrassed. “R-ready. This is my first time, so please be gentle, Senior Sister.”

Yao Jianjia, seeing this, said nothing more. She tossed the red cord high into the air, and immediately, spiritual energy surged forth. Like a spirit snake, the cord wrapped itself tightly around Wang Ran, binding him securely.

Wang Ran looked down at himself and smacked his lips. “Senior Sister, your binding technique is a bit lacking. How about we start over? I can teach you—there’s a secret set of ten red cord techniques from my hometown, rarely shared with outsiders.”

Yao Jianjia stepped forward and placed the candle in his hands, just as Wang Ran continued his rambling.

“Let me tell you, these ten red cord techniques are amazing. Take the first one, the ‘Golden Hook Hang,’ for instance—quite impressive. Then there’s the ‘Wind and Fire Wheel,’ the ‘Swinging Autumn,’ ‘Golden Rooster Stands Alone,’ ‘Smooth Plains,’ ‘Wealth in All Seasons,’ ‘Blossoms of Prosperity,’ ‘Overturning Mountains and Seas,’ ‘Scattering Flowers from the Heavens,’ and ‘Fishing for the Moon Under the Sea’… Every one of them is unforgettable. They’re the ultimate rope arts of Dongguan City from my homeland. Sadly, I haven’t seen such mastery in recent years.”

Wang Ran grew ever more animated as he spoke, unconcerned whether Yao Jianjia understood him or not. By the end, he sighed with genuine regret.

A hint of helplessness flashed in Yao Jianjia’s eyes. “Enough with your endless nonsense… Listen carefully: beneath this waterfall lies a spiritual node. Though it is small, it is the reason the Third Mountain thrives with life.”

“In the past month, your cultivation has progressed rapidly, and you’re now at the bottleneck of the first stage of Foundation Building. You must have sensed it yourself—this spiritual node can help you break through in one move.”

“The force at the node is extremely strong and difficult to approach. The cord binding you is a magical artifact. Once you channel spiritual power into it, it will become heavy as a mountain, pulling you down to the node. Once wrapped, it cannot be undone, except by burning it away with the special fire released when you light this candle.”

“This candle has been safeguarded with a water-repelling spell. It will ignite even underwater. After you begin cultivating below, once you break through, light the candle to free yourself.”

“It’s getting late. I’ll stand guard for you here.”

For someone as reticent as Yao Jianjia, she had spoken more today than she usually would in ten days. Wang Ran was momentarily stunned.

A warmth welled up in his heart as he realized the true purpose of the red cord and candle: to help him break through his cultivation bottleneck.

He was gifted and cultivated swiftly, but under Yao Jianjia’s unique guidance, he had advanced even more rapidly—within a single month, he was already touching the threshold of the second stage.

He had been pondering how to break through these last few days, never expecting that Yao Jianjia had been thinking of him as well.

Though she appeared cold and aloof, his Senior Sister truly possessed a kind heart.

Feeling moved, Wang Ran said nothing more, turned, and leaped beneath the waterfall.

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With a splash, Wang Ran felt the river’s chill envelop him. He focused his spiritual power, and the red cord immediately glowed with golden light, becoming incomparably heavy, dragging him swiftly downward.

He concentrated his energy in his dantian, holding his breath with a lungful of true qi, allowing him to survive underwater for about two hours.

He glanced around and saw that the river beneath the waterfall was deep, the bottom invisible. After the time it took for two incense sticks to burn, he finally neared the riverbed.

Amid the clusters of water plants, a spot was venting spiritual energy, creating swirling currents above. That was where the spiritual node lay.

Wang Ran adjusted his course, settling above the node and quickly sitting cross-legged to cultivate.

Once the Immortal Dao Divine Art began to circulate, the surrounding spiritual energy eagerly rushed into his body, forming a small vortex in the depths, with Wang Ran at its center.

As the spiritual power entered, it churned wildly within him before gradually being refined and integrated into his cultivation.

Wang Ran closed his eyes tightly, using the surging energy from the node to assault the barrier of the second stage of Foundation Building again and again.

A month of arduous training under the Spirit-Binding Cord’s suppression, combined with the aid of spiritual fruits, now bore exceptional results. Power accumulated, and now burst forth, causing spiritual energy to surge from his body and the water to churn.

Time passed, though how much was unclear.

Above the lakebed, Yao Jianjia, in her snow-white robes, sat cross-legged in meditation on the shore. After a while, sensing something, she opened her eyes.

The once calm surface of the water began to ripple, the waves growing larger until a vortex formed.

Suddenly, water erupted skyward. Yao Jianjia flicked her sleeve, dispersing the falling droplets with a burst of spiritual energy, keeping herself untouched.

Looking up, she saw a figure leap from the lake, skimming across the water—Wang Ran.

As the spray settled and spiritual power radiated from him, it was clear he had reached the second stage of Foundation Building.

Yao Jianjia nodded in approval and rose to her feet. “Continue cultivating like this from now on. I’ll be entering seclusion for a while. Work hard—don’t disappoint our master.”

Watching Yao Jianjia depart, Wang Ran cupped his hands in gratitude, deeply thankful to his Senior Sister.

Without her help, his progress would have been far less smooth. That spiritual node was the very source of vitality for the Third Mountain and therefore extremely precious. Without being Wind Cliffzi’s disciple, Wang Ran would never have had access to it.

Yao Jianjia’s figure rose into the air, drifting away like mist and smoke, vanishing from sight.

In the days that followed, Wang Ran continued to train daily. Aside from the Immortal Dao Divine Art, he also resumed his cultivation of the Diamond Glazed Body.

This Daoist technique was fearsome, making cultivation an ordeal of pain and torment upon the flesh. Each session was agonizing, as if enduring a fierce battle.

But for greater strength, there was no other way—only grit and perseverance would suffice.

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Time slipped by in that tranquil routine. In the blink of an eye, seven days had passed.

One day, Wang Ran was sipping tea in his courtyard when a young man in white appeared at the gate.

“Brother Wang, it’s been some time. I see your cultivation has improved,” the newcomer’s voice sounded before he even arrived.

Wang Ran glanced up, “Your murderous aura is even heavier. Looks like you’ve had plenty of assignments lately.”

Zhao Xiaobai smiled. “Not bad—I wiped out a whole family.”

“A true harbinger of slaughter,” Wang Ran clicked his tongue.

Zhao Xiaobai laughed at himself. “My path is that of the God of Slaughter. It’s a way destined for carnage—only through killing can I advance. If I don’t kill, I cannot progress.”

As he spoke, he let a hint of his spiritual power seep out—he, too, had reached the second stage of Foundation Building.

Wang Ran could only sigh. Zhao Xiaobai took the opportunity to brew himself a cup of tea, lightly fanning himself. “Brother Wang, I picked up an interesting bit of news on my last assignment.”

“Oh?” Wang Ran looked up.

Zhao Xiaobai swirled his teacup and said, “The Lord of Cloudfall City recently seized a trove of treasures from mountain bandits. Three days from now, he’s holding an auction and inviting all the heroes of Yunzhou. I hear Ye Cang will be there too.”

Wang Ran’s eyes narrowed. “An auction? Now that’s interesting.”

It was the first time since his transmigration that Wang Ran had heard of an auction being held. In this kind of world, leveling up, defeating monsters, finding treasures, secret caves, academies, and auctions all followed a certain pattern.

Typically, such auctions always featured a peerless treasure as the final lot—one that others failed to recognize, but the protagonist alone knew its true worth and claimed it.

That thought stoked Wang Ran’s interest. Perhaps he could reap some unexpected gains, especially since Ye Cang would be attending. His eyes shone with anticipation.

With Zhao Xiaobai’s departure, Wang Ran began preparing for the auction. One could not hope to participate in such grand gatherings without spirit jades.

But that was no obstacle for Wang Ran. Besides the spirit jades he’d found in the underground ruins, he possessed a vast collection of cultivation techniques—these could fetch a good price at auction.

Though most were only three- or four-star grade, they would still be highly coveted by ordinary cultivators, sure to bring in a tidy sum.

He opened the system interface and accessed his personal inventory, where a dazzling array of items were stored. Among the countless techniques, several items stood out most prominently:

A mysterious black cloak that concealed its wearer, a shoulder guard perpetually wreathed in flames, and a radiant golden longsword, its brilliance almost blinding.