A Record of a Mortal's Journey to Immortality: Immortal Realm
Chapter 612: Insider Information

Chapter 612: Insider Information

Two hundred years was nothing more than the blink of an eye in the Floating Cloud Mountain Range.

Over the past two hundred years, the residents of the mountain range continued to while away their days, engaging in various hobbies and leisurely activities, enjoying life in the ways that they saw fit, as opposed to focusing on cultivation.

During this time, some more residents had moved into the mountain range, while some had left, but not much attention was paid to these personnel shifts.

The True Immortal Realm was still the same True Immortal Realm, but several generations had already passed by in the mortal world, and perhaps even dynasties had come and gone.

Every once in a while, Han Li would return to Jade Gathering City to search for Profound Zoysia Crystals, and during those trips, he had sold and bought pills and spirit medicines from many of the shops in the inner city.

As a result, they had all become quite familiar with him, and it soon became common knowledge that there was an outer sect elder of the Fire Leaf Sect searching for a Floral Heart Stone.

However, during his past few visits to the city, Han Li noticed that many places in the city were under repair, and decorations had already been put up on some of the main streets in anticipation for the celebratory ceremony that was to take place in the city once every three thousand years.

In particular, over the past few months, ships had been flying into the city from all parts of the Black Mountain Immortal Region and even from the neighboring few immortal regions, so all of the docks in the city had become very busy.

There were also all types of signs and banners hung up outside the shops in the city, carrying phrases like "great quality and fair prices" and "all immortals and mortals welcome". There were also some more unique advertisements like "buy one get one free", "big discounts inside", and "don't miss these once-in-three-thousand-years savings".

Compared with the past, there were more people in Jade Gathering City, and all of the immortal inns in the city had already reached full capacity. As a result, many of the sects in the city had opened up their spare courtyards for visiting merchants and cultivators to live in, earning some rent in the process.

Even the usual peace in the Floating Cloud Mountain Range had been broken, with many of its residents planning to enter Jade Gathering City during the festivities to see if they could acquire some items to their liking.

Even though they lived quite close to Jade Gathering City, they were anticipating the celebrations just as eagerly as all of the foreign cultivators who had gathered from far and wide.

This was because during the seven days in which the celebrations were held, all of the restrictions in the city were lifted, and everyone was allowed to visit the outer and inner cities as they pleased.

On top of that, hundreds of auctions hosted by various different powers were going to be held in the city, and the most prominent one of all of them was none other than the auction jointly held by the Black Mountain Immortal Palace and the Hundred Creations Mountain in the Jade Kun Pagoda.

The reason why this auction was garnering so much attention wasn't just because of its powerful official backing. Instead, it was because there were several premium items that appeared in virtually every single auction that were highly sought after even for High Zenith Stage Jade Immortals.

Whenever such a treasure appeared, a fierce bidding war would inevitably follow, and regardless of who managed to secure the item in the end, it would be a story that was told for a long time to come.

Seven days before the commencement of the ceremony, Han Li arrived in the Jade Kun Pagoda with Daoist Master Jingyang.

There was an underground palace inside the pagoda, within which were all types of intricate arrays and restrictions, and there were also three Golden Immortal Stage elders stationed inside at all times. This was where all of the auction items were being stored.

Han Li and the other two pill appraisers began to appraise the pills and spirit medicines among the auction items with Daoist Master Jingyang in accompaniment, cataloging the items one after another.

Only on the eve of the ceremony were all of the auction items finally cataloged and stored away appropriately.

Having already grown accustomed to a peaceful life of leisure, the past few days of toil had taken quite a toll on Daoist Master Jingyang, and as soon as all of the tasks that he had to attend to were completed, he immediately made his way to the courtyard that Han Li was staying in.

Even before he announced his arrival, Han Li had already opened the door before inviting him into the room.

After Daoist Master Jingyang had taken a seat, Han Li poured a cup of tea for him, then jibed, "It's a good feeling to be doing everything in person, isn't it?"

"It's been a very long time since I've had to conduct official duties like this, and I have to say, it's quite exhausting," Daoist Master Jingyang replied with a wry smile.

He then took a slightly disdainful glance at the tea that Han Li had poured for him before asking, "Do you have any more Fire Drop Wine?"

"Didn't I already give you the wine recipe? Why are you still asking me for wine?" Han Li asked.

"Don't be so stingy! Your wine is much more aged than mine! My wine is only less than 150 years old, so it doesn't taste anywhere near as good. Also, I'm not just drinking your wine for free, I have some insider information to divulge to you," Daoist Master Jingyang said as he lowered his voice in a mysterious manner.

Han Li could only give a wry smile upon hearing this, then swept a sleeve through the air to summon a dark gray wine jar.

"This is the final jar in my collection, and it's even older than the one I treated you to last time, so whatever insider information you have for me better be worth my while," Han Li said as he removed the clay seal of the jar.

As the rich fragrance of the wine filled the entire room, Daoist Master Jingyang's eyes immediately lit up, and he eagerly filled a teacup with wine before downing it in one go, then smacked his lips with a blissful expression as he savored the residual flavor of the wine.

"This is truly some exceptional wine," Daoist Master Jingyang praised as he reached out for the wine jar again, only to be stopped by Han Li.

"What insider information do you have to tell me?" Han Li asked.

"Can't you wait for me to have a few more cups of wine first?" Daoist Master Jingyang complained.

"Hurry up!" Han Li urged.

"Fine... The Profound Zoysia Crystal that you're looking for has turned up. The final batch of auction items that arrived this afternoon just so happened to include a Profound Zoysia Crystal," Daoist Master Jingyang revealed.

An ecstatic look immediately appeared on Han Li's face upon hearing this.

"Don't celebrate just yet!" Daoist Master Jingyang continued. "The projected starting price for the crystal will be one thousand Immortal Origin Stones, and the final selling price could easily be several times the starting price. Do you have enough money to afford it?"

Han Li was internally rather amused to hear this. For the average Golden Immortal, several thousand Immortal Origin Stones would indeed be a significant sum, but it wasn't a concern at all for Han Li.

"Don't forget that I'm a pill refinement master, Fellow Daoist Jingyang. My spending is very extravagant, but I can earn money just as quickly. I've already planned for this for a very long time, so I'm naturally well prepared," Han Li replied with a smile.

Despite Han Li's reassurance, Daoist Master Jingyang wasn't entirely convinced that Han Li wasn't being overconfident. Having attended so many of these auctions himself, he had seen far too many people going in with what they perceived to be more than sufficient funds, only to fall well short in the end.

However, instead of directly expressing his skepticism, Daoist Master Jingyang said, "If you don't have enough Immortal Origin Stones on the day, you can pawn some pills to our Hundred Creations Mountain, and I'll make sure to offer you some good prices. If you wish to buy back the pills, you can do so at the same price. How does that sound?"

"That's very kind of you, Fellow Daoist Jingyang," Han Li replied as he pushed the entire jar of Fire Drop Wine toward Daoist Master Jingyang.

......

The next morning, a resounding bell chime rang out across the entirety of Jade Gathering City.

All four of the inner city's gates were opened, and the cultivators stationed at the city gates had also been removed, but the number of cultivators patrolling the city walls had increased by severalfold.

As the restrictions on the city gates faded, all of the cultivators that were already waiting outside eagerly poured into the inner city.

The peaceful streets and alleys of the inner city instantly became very rowdy and lively as throngs of people spread throughout the inner city, with some visiting the shops that lined the streets, while others went to attend the auctions being held.

All of a sudden, the inner city had become even more lively and bustling than the outer city.

At night, the decorative lanterns in the inner city were lit, basking the entire place in a bright red glow, and fireworks were also set off atop the city walls to further enhance the celebratory atmosphere.

Six days flew by in a flash, and it was finally time for the heavily anticipated Jade Kun Pagoda auction.

As part of the auction's organizer panel, Han Li and Daoist Master Jingyang were able to enter the auction venue ahead of everyone else.

From the outside, the Jade Kun Pagoda appeared to be no different from an ordinary pagoda, but it was extraordinarily spacious inside.

At the center of the pagoda was a large circular stone platform that was clearly going to be used to display the auction items, and there was a tight and orderly circle of small guest suites around the stone platform.

Overall, there were several hundred of these guest suites on the first, second, and third floors.

Each suite contained a table and a cushion, and on each table was placed an incense burner, as well as some spirit fruits and a flagon of fine wine.

Han Li and Daoist Master Jingyang made their way into a guest suite on the second floor, and inside was a young woman in a palace dress, who immediately brought in an additional cushion before filling their cups with wine.

Han Li took a glance at the woman, and to his surprise, she was not an actual person. Instead, it was a puppet that was giving off a Core Formation Stage aura.

Han Li withdrew his gaze from the puppet, then asked, "Are you really not going to host the auction, Fellow Daoist Jingyang?"