"And that’s not all. I also heard someone found a talisman, specifically a Protective Talisman. The Cultivator couldn’t determine its grade from the patterns, so they sought her out for an appraisal. After appraising it, she wrote the number ’two’ on the back. Later, an experienced buyer bought the talisman. It turned out to be a level-four Protective Talisman! It was incredibly valuable."
"What? She auctioned a level-four Protective Talisman as a level-two? This woman is an absolute disaster! With that kind of skill, how did she even sneak into this auction as a consignment manager? This is a large-scale auction held only once every four years; it can’t even compare to those minor auctions from before."
"Who knows? She might be the mistress of some big shot."
Ye Xuan remained oblivious to the surrounding gossip. At this moment, inside Room Nine, a young woman was beaming with a bright smile.
"Please take a seat, sir! Let me pour you a cup of tea."
A steaming cup of tea was placed before him. Ye Xuan’s face twitched slightly as he said, "There’s no need to be so polite. I’m here to consign something."
"What is it? A brick, or a Jade Ring? Can I take a look? Don’t let my young age fool you; I have an excellent eye for these things. If you have genuine treasures, I definitely won’t let them go under the radar. Of course, don’t even think about tricking me with fakes or defective goods."
"A brick? A Jade Ring?"
"None of those? Is it a Jade Treasure, or some miraculous herb?"
Ye Xuan was slightly taken aback. "You don’t accept Elixirs here?"
"Oh? It’s an Elixir." The woman’s enthusiasm vanished in an instant, her tone tinged with disappointment.
"If you had come a few days ago with Elixirs, we would have accepted them. But now, we already have Elixirs of every grade in stock. We are no longer taking them. Right now, we only accept rare oddities that Cultivators can’t easily identify. Only novel items can be added to the auction at the last minute. For example, look at this item on my desk. It might look like a piece of yellow paper, but it’s actually a Fireball Talisman. The patterns on it can draw upon the Power of Heaven and Earth to directly manifest a fireball. Its destructive power is immense."
"So you’re saying you don’t accept Elixirs anymore." Disappointment flickered in Ye Xuan’s eyes.
Across from him, the woman looked equally crestfallen. "Is this your first time consigning items? Do you really not know the rules? If you want to consign common items like Elixirs and Spirit Medicine, you have to come several days in advance before our quota fills up. On the day of the auction, we only accept rare oddities."
"Is that so?" Ye Xuan frowned slightly, wondering if rare oddities meant treasures like the Dragon Capturing Cauldron. However, he knew such things were not easy to come by.
That’s right, he had also obtained a meditation cushion. He had no idea what it was used for; it only caused the Fire Attribute Spiritual Qi within his body to enter a slight Frenzy. He considered bringing it out to show the woman, but she was even younger than he was. Would she really know what it was? Even with the inherited knowledge of his ancestors, he couldn’t figure out the cushion’s purpose. He figured it was a lost cause to expect this young woman to know.
Right, he also had a few level-three Protective Talismans on him. He had obtained them after wiping out the Ning Family. With this in mind, Ye Xuan asked, "Does a level-three Protective Talisman count as a rare oddity?"
The woman frowned slightly. "It technically does, but its grade is too low, and we’ve already collected enough of them. Please think carefully, sir. Do you have any other good items? You’re my first client today, and I really don’t want to see you leave empty-handed."
Ye Xuan pondered for a moment. He still had a Thunder Talisman. He had acquired it from Liu Ruoxi. It was a peak level-five talisman with astonishing destructive power. At a critical moment, the Thunder Talisman could save his life. He had no intention of consigning a life-saving trump card. After racking his brain, he couldn’t think of any other treasures he had on hand.
"I don’t think I have anything else."
"Are you sure? In that case, you may leave. I won’t see you out." The woman let out a heavy sigh. As she spoke, she picked up the tea she had just brewed for Ye Xuan and downed it in one gulp.
Speechless, Ye Xuan stood up and muttered under his breath, "Is the competition in the Three-Star Main Town really this fierce? To think I can’t even sell a Demon Spirit Pill."
He turned the doorknob, preparing to leave. The water that had just reached the woman’s throat was violently spat out. A moment later, she let out a loud gasp.
"Wait a minute, handsome!"
She rushed over to Ye Xuan’s side, her face flushed with excitement as she asked, "Did you just say a Demon Spirit Pill? You have a Demon Spirit Pill?"
Ye Xuan nodded. "Yeah, but didn’t you say you’re not accepting Elixirs?"
The woman’s tone instantly grew frantic. "I said we aren’t accepting Elixirs, but I never said we aren’t accepting Demon Spirit Pills! Oh my goodness, I just never expected you to have such a high-grade Elixir. Please, sit down! Take a seat! Let me pour you a fresh cup of water."
A Demon Spirit Pill! The more of such scarce Elixirs, the better! In the Three-Star Main Town, no faction would ever complain about having too many Demon Spirit Pills.
The woman poured him a new cup of water and then asked, "Handsome, why don’t you bring out the Demon Spirit Pill so I can take a look?"
It was obvious that she doubted the truth of his words. She wondered how such a young man could possess a Demon Spirit Pill, especially since he wasn’t a member of the Mou Family. The Golden Dragon embroidered on Ye Xuan’s chest certainly looked domineering, but she didn’t recognize it at all. In Mou Family Town, no clan used a Golden Dragon as their crest.
"Sure." Ye Xuan nodded and retrieved a Demon Spirit Pill.
The pill was pitch-black all over and covered in intricate patterns. These pill veins had naturally formed during the fusion and Core Formation process.
"It really is a Demon Spirit Pill."
Although the woman was young, she did have a bit of experience—but only a little. She continued, "Give me a moment to examine this closely."
Holding up a magnifying glass, she scrutinized the pill carefully. Her posture made her look like a seasoned professional. After a long while, she announced with absolute confidence, "I’ve confirmed it. It’s a low-grade Demon Spirit Pill."
Ye Xuan was instantly left speechless. Low-grade? As an Alchemy Master who possessed an Alchemy Treasure Book like the *Pill Book*, how could he not know the grade of the Elixir his mother had given him?
He couldn’t help but say, "Look closer. Are the patterns on a low-grade Demon Spirit Pill really this deep?"
The woman tossed the magnifying glass aside and patted her chest, declaring solemnly, "Handsome, you have to trust my expertise. I am a professional Treasure Appraiser. Your Elixir is absolutely of low-grade quality. Although the patterns are deep, they aren’t clear. And while the pill is round, it isn’t full."
Ye Xuan frowned. "Are you running a scam operation here?"
The woman instantly bristled with anger. "Our World Auction House is a nationwide franchise! How could we possibly be a scam operation? That’s slander!"
"Slander? If this isn’t a scam operation, then why are you insisting my mid-grade Elixir is low-grade? Save your nonsense about the patterns not being clear and the pill not being full. If it were clear and full, it would be a high-grade pill."
"Huh? Really?" Puzzled, the woman flipped open a book on her desk—a detailed guide on Elixir appraisal.
She skimmed through a few pages before offering an apologetic smile. "Oh my! I’m so sorry, handsome! I remembered it wrong. ’Lustrous color but incomplete fullness, deep veins but unclear patterns’—that exact description indeed classifies it as a mid-grade Elixir. I mistook it for low-grade. Ah, my bad, I completely admit my mistake."