The Lord of Void and Real
Chapter 413

Chapter 413: Chapter 409: Clues to Alchemy Chapter 413: Chapter 409: Clues to Alchemy The auction hall fell into silence, with no one responding.

Just as Ma Xiuxiu had said, the trio of General Jin Kui, Sleeping Moon Scholar, and Immortal Qinghua did not make a move to bid for the Golden Sun Profound Fire, causing Shen Luo's heart to gradually calm down.

“Four hundred and ten immortal jade!” But just at that moment, as if the heavens were against him, a crisp voice suddenly rang out.

Shen Luo's face fell as he turned to look in the direction of the voice, his pupils slightly contracting.

“It's her again, trying to ruin my good fortune!” He thought to himself angrily.

The one who had spoken was not anyone else but the Miss Li who stood behind Immortal Qinghua. The girl herself did not recognize him, but just so happened to cross him again.

“Four hundred and thirty immortal jade!” Shen Luo raised his placard and called out a bid.

“Four hundred and eighty immortal jade!” Miss Li glanced at Shen Luo and, seemingly impatient, casually added another fifty immortal jade.

“Five hundred immortal jade!” Shen Luo had a premonition of ill fortune, offered his highest bid.

“Six hundred immortal jade.” Miss Li scoffed, actually adding another one hundred immortal jade, simply treating the immortal jade like they were dirt.

Shen Luo's heart skipped a beat, his face turning somewhat pale.

“Master Shen, Spirit Fire is indeed rare, but they do occasionally appear in Chang'an City. This price is already clearly high.” Ma Xiuxiu comforted Shen Luo when she saw his expression.

“In that case, I'll have to trouble Miss Ma to keep an eye out for me.” Shen Luo took a deep breath to steady his emotions, and said.

On the high platform, Red Hands Master's face showed excitement. After asking the price twice, he quickly announced the ownership of the Golden Sun Profound Fire.

The auction was gradually reaching its climax. Various rare treasures, precious elixirs, and magical instruments appeared one after another; even several top-grade magical artifacts made appearances.

However, Shen Luo was in low spirits and had little interest in watching.

In a blink of an eye, two hours passed and the auction was finally drawing to a close.

The atmosphere within the auction hall still hadn't abated much, remaining heated and exciting.

Finally, when the last and most anticipated auction item, the top-grade magical artifact “Hundred Sounds Chime” which consisted of sixteen layers of prohibitions and was just one step away from becoming a magical treasure was auctioned off by General Jin Kui for the high price of 2,600 immortal jade, the auction officially ended.

Shen Luo, along with the surging crowd, left Xuanyuan Pavilion.

It was already broad daylight outside now, and the West Market was still bustling with people. It seemed to have been lively all night.

Having let the Gold Sun Spirit Fire slip away right in front of him, Shen Luo felt disappointed. He had no desire to stroll around and immediately bid farewell to Xie Yuxin to leave.

“Master Shen, I will continue to help you inquire about the Spirit Fire. As soon as there is news, I will notify you immediately.” Ma Xiuxiu said.

“I'm grateful for your help, Miss Ma.” Shen Luo bowed his hand in thanks.

“As for the matter of the Alchemy Master, now that the Grand Annual Celebration is over, I will contact him. I believe we will have a result in a few days.” Ma Xiuxiu continued.

Upon hearing this, Shen Luo felt a bit of relief from his low spirits and thanked her again.

It seemed that Ma Xiuxiu had some business to attend to. She called over a carriage that had been waiting outside, boarded it, and left.

Shen Luo and Xie Yuxin did not stay in West market and quickly returned to Changping Alley.

“Friend Shen, I have some things to do and need to be away from Chang'an City for a few days, so the selling of talismans may have to be suspended.” Xie Yuxin stopped outside of Changping Alley, not going in, and said.

“That's not a problem, may I know what are you going to do? Do you need my help?” Shen Luo asked, looking somewhat surprised.

“It's just a small matter, no need to trouble you, Friend Shen.” Xie Yuxin said.

Seeing this, Shen Luo didn't insist any further.

“Zhou Tie is an old friend of mine. Though he's not a monk, he's been living in Chang'an City for many years and is familiar with many places in the city. He's meticulous in his work and can be trusted. If you have any miscellaneous things to do, you can instruct him.” Xie Yuxin continued.

“Alright.” Shen Luo nodded.

Xie Yuxin always acted in a rush. After explaining the situation, he immediately left.

Several days later in the early morning, the walls of Changping Alley reverberated with a bustling sound and smoke from the cooking fires began to rise.

Although the small courtyard where Shen Luo was staying was quite some distance from the busy streets, he could still faintly hear the bustling sounds from the marketplace outside, filled with the smell of smoke and fire.

Shen Luo woke up from his meditation, got up, and opened the window of his second-floor room overlooking the courtyard. He saw an old locust tree outside, where a group of sparrows was chattering non-stop, while the sound of cicadas that had been calling all night had gone silent.

Looking up, he saw quite a few vendors along the street outside beginning to hang up flags and open their doors, ready to welcome customers.

At this moment, a door in the inner courtyard opened. A beautiful, delicate young girl was making her way towards him.

She came to a stop beneath the building, looked up at Shen Luo, and smiled. It was Ma Xiuxiu.

Although it felt a bit unexpected, Shen Luo still responded with a polite smile.

Before long, the door to his second-floor room opened, and Shen Luo welcomed her inside.

“Miss Ma, why have you come here so early? Could it be there's progress with the matter?” Shen Luo asked, pouring a cup of tea for her.

“After you spoke to me about the matter that day, I went back to the business association to inquire. Indeed, we do have an Alchemy Master in our association, but there is only one who can refine Milk Spirit Pills.” Ma Xiuxiu took the teacup, put it down, then began to speak.

“That's great news!” Shen Luo said, delighted.

“Master Shen, don't celebrate too soon. The Alchemy Master is one of the highest-ranking individuals in our business association. Inviting him to help refine the pills is very costly.” Ma Xiuxiu said.

“I'm prepared for that, naturally. May I know how much the elder is charging?” Shen Luo asked indifferently.

“Refining pills consumes more effort than crafting objects, and this Alchemy Master doesn't usually take external requests. Fortunately, he reluctantly agreed because of our friendship. In addition to paying him eight hundred immortal jade as a fee, he also asked for one-third of the final amount of Milk Spirit Pills produced no matter the outcome.” Ma Xiuxiu said.

Upon hearing this, Shen Luo's eyebrows unconsciously furrowed.

Not to mention that the fee was significantly higher than what Shen Luo had expected, but even one-third of the Milk Spirit Pills needed to be given away, which Shen Luo found difficult to accept.

“The price… is beyond my expectations. I wonder if there is any room for negotiation?” Shen Luo hesitated for a moment before speaking.

“Master Shen, I don't mean to make things difficult for you, but this elder has always been eccentric. I am the only one who can say something in front of him. He doesn't care about anyone else. Moreover, he is the type of person who, once he has said something, wouldn't change his mind. I have never seen him haggle with anyone…” Ma Xiuxiu looked helpless, gently turning her teacup.