Heavenly Dao Engine
Chapter 1532 - 1532 883 This is His Secret_2

Chapter 1532: Chapter 883: This is His Secret_2 Chapter 1532: Chapter 883: This is His Secret_2 Haishan City was originally a commercial hub, a Holy Land thick with the scent of commerce. No one voiced any objections when Qi Tian demanded spirit stones before agreeing to provide healing. It’s just that Qi Tian’s asking price was too high, not something the average person could afford, and those cultivators who could afford it were not necessarily willing to pay such a sum. As a result, in the beginning, there were very few who were willing to seek Qi Tian’s assistance.

However, in such a large Sacred Cultivation Place as Haishan City, what never lacked were people of wealth and power. While the average person might have balked at the conditions posed by Qi Tian, these individuals found them quite ordinary. Not long afterwards, someone was brought to Qi Tian through the intercession of Zhang Shuguang.

This individual’s situation was similar to that of Zhang Rusheng, with their meridians severely damaged. They had sought healing from others before, which only mended some of the meridians, but the few main meridians remained blocked.

After examining the person’s condition, Qi Tian immediately quoted a sky-high price of one million top-grade spirit stones per meridian without any hesitation. The person did not even hesitate for a moment before agreeing to the price.

In just half a day, Qi Tian had reopened all of the damaged meridians for this individual, restoring them to their original condition. The person was both shocked and elated. Before coming to Qi Tian, there had been some doubts, but now they held Qi Tian in the highest esteem. Without saying another word, they paid Qi Tian the agreed-upon price of six million top-grade spirit stones in total.

Once word of this spread, those who had been skeptical about Qi Tian were all taken aback. The individual whom Qi Tian had healed was much more renowned than Zhang Rusheng. If Qi Tian could heal him, it was certain that Qi Tian was without equal in the realm of healing damaged meridians—at least within this domain, there was no rival to be found.

The cultivators who had been hesitating and watching from the sidelines could no longer bear to part with their money. They flocked to the tavern where Qi Tian resided like the tide, hoping that Qi Tian would take action and help them with their damaged meridians. However, when they arrived at the tavern, they were stunned to find that it was not so easy to see Qi Tian anymore.

Qi Tian’s reputation had been thoroughly established, and too many people wanted to see him. Qi Tian, being only one person, could not possibly help everyone with their meridians. As for who came first, that was even less possible; the Cultivation World has never operated on such rules. It has always been the case that those with greater power have the first right of refusal.

However, Qi Tian altered the rules slightly. He had Zhang Shuguang place a sign outside the tavern, clearly informing everyone that his energy was limited and that he could only unblock meridians for three people each day. As for whom to choose, Qi Tian delegated that decision to Zhang Shuguang.

Zhang Shuguang had already discussed a simple solution with Qi Tian: to hold an auction in his tavern. The slots for meridian unblocking would be sold to the highest bidder.

Those seeking Qi Tian’s help were far from satisfied with this arrangement, but they were completely without recourse. First, they knew that Qi Tian’s claim of limited energy was no excuse—if it were them, even dedicating twelve hours a day to doing nothing else, they still couldn’t unblock the meridians of that many people. Secondly, Qi Tian’s strength spoke for itself; even the Commander of the Commander Manor, Shi Yuxi, had to give Qi Tian some leeway. Who among them could provoke Qi Tian? Hadn’t they seen that Tiger Demon always squatting just outside Qi Tian’s room? Anyone who got bitten by those blood-spraying jaws would surely be bitten clean in half.

The situation was stronger than people’s will, and since they needed Qi Tian to help them unblock their meridians, they had no choice but to follow Qi Tian’s requests. Therefore, Zhang Shuguang’s restaurant became extremely lively every day, with almost all the wealthy and influential people of Haishan City gathering here to participate in the auction hosted by Zhang Shuguang.

Zhang Shuguang was ecstatic. His restaurant in Haishan City was famous before, but its fame was limited to the local area. Now it had spread throughout the entire city, which had immeasurable benefits for the future development of their family business. He was well aware that all this was brought by Qi Tian. Master Qi Tian was not interested in their family’s power, and aside from attending to Qi Tian’s dining and living needs in the restaurant, the only thing he could do to please Qi Tian was to make sure the auctions went smoothly, striving to help Qi Tian earn more cultivation resources every day.

With Zhang Shuguang’s efforts, the auctions went very smoothly every day, and almost every day, the starting bid for a meridian unblocking slot reached a new record. After a month, the minimum bid for unblocking a single meridian by Qi Tian had skyrocketed to the exorbitant price of 1.2 million top-grade spirit stones. During this month, Qi Tian’s daily earnings of top-grade spirit stones exceeded five million, and by the end of the month, he had amassed a total that exceeded 160 million top-grade spirit stones, more than what he had at his peak.

Qi Tian was very satisfied with such results. If possible, he really wanted to stay in Haishan City a bit longer, but with the grand competition approaching, it was impossible for him to stay indefinitely. He instructed Zhang Shuguang to spread the word that he could only stay in Haishan City for ten more days, after which he would leave.

After the news spread, Haishan City plunged into madness. There were still too many people with injured meridians who hadn’t been treated by Qi Tian, and now with Qi Tian leaving, did it not mean their meridians might never be healed? These people instantly fell into extreme anxiety, as no one knew whether Qi Tian would ever come back to Haishan City after this. If he did not return, then the remaining time would be their last chance to heal their meridians. Failing to seize this opportunity meant complete loss. Realizing this, everyone in need of Qi Tian’s help made a silent vow. This was reflected when Zhang Shuguang hosted the auction, where the cultivators bidding for a meridian unblocking slot acted as if they didn’t value top-grade spirit stones at all, bidding fiercely, even if it meant risking ruin.

On the tenth-to-last day, the minimum bid for the unblocking of three meridians shot up to over 1.5 million top-grade spirit stones—for just one meridian.

By the ninth-to-last day, the lowest bid had climbed to a new height of 1.8 million, and on the eighth-to-last day, it surged even higher, surpassing 2.5 million. Following this trend, it seemed highly likely that in the final days, the price would exceed 5 million top-grade spirit stones.

Wang Xuechang had been silently observing Qi Tian all this time, envying his daily earnings of so many top-grade spirit stones. But despite his envy, he did not harbor any ulterior motives; instead, he pondered another matter—whether he should seek Qi Tian’s help.

Wang Xuechang had experienced problems with his meridians earlier in his cultivation. Although they appeared to have been perfectly mended later on, allowing him to successfully cultivate and become a Master in the Nascent Soul Stage, Wang Xuechang realized that his meridians, which seemed to have healed perfectly in the past, still had issues. Every time he cultivated, his meridians would ache faintly. He hadn’t paid much attention to it initially, but a few years ago, he suffered a mishap during cultivation when True Essence flowed through the aching meridian and went astray. Fortunately, he stopped cultivating in time and took a very precious healing pill, avoiding severe consequences. However, since that incident, he had developed a psychological shadow, and every time he cultivated, he either let the True Essence bypass that meridian or proceeded with extreme caution, afraid of making a mistake.

Wang Xuechang suspected that his inability to break through the mid-section of the First Level of Nascent Soul Stage for many years was likely related to this meridian issue. It was his secret; he never dared to discuss it with others, fearing that other Masters of the Nascent Soul Stage might target this weakness of his.