Chapter 35 – Long’er Scalp

“You’re right, this is a Ginseng Baby. But, look, it’s natural, rather than an artificial piece of art. With 10 centimeters in height, it vividly displays itself in the shape of a fat baby. If it wasn’t extracted and it was left in the soil for another 500 years, it’d probably be brought to life.” The old man in the billowy silver gown vividly described the Ginseng Baby to the audience.

“As a first-grade medicine, the main function of the Ginseng Baby is divided into two aspects, one for healing, and another for reviving the dead. No matter how severe your injury is, as long as you heart still beats, consuming this Ginseng Baby raw will save your life. Isn’t that amazing? You’re all experienced cultivators, who will occasionally be invited to a fight and get wounded, this Ginseng Baby will certainly help you out if faith decides that you’re to lose a fight. Er… Okay, I bet everyone here has a better knowledge than me on this piece of medicine. I won’t show off in front of all of you. Initial bidding price is 500 gold coins and the bid increment is no less than 10 gold coins. Let’s start!” The old man rounded his speech up and started the auction for the first item.

Shortly after the old man finished his words, one of the bunny girls held the Ginseng Baby in front of the audience, to allow them to have a closer look.

This was really an eye-opening event for Xu Yi, as he never thought, that in his lifetime he’d see a real Ginseng Baby, which was only supposed to exist in legends.

“680 gold coins, guest No. 24 bid 680, anyone else?”

“700 gold coins!”

“Oh, 700 gold coins, guest No.3, Alright, 700 gold coins, first time!”

“720 gold coins!”

“720 gold coins, guest No.17!”

“800 gold coins! I come from an alchemy family. My name is Qi Ming. This time, I’ll use this Ginseng Baby to refine a special pill. As you all know, if you eat the Ginseng Baby, it only serves the purpose of healing, but we have various pills on the market which have the same function. I suggest you guys just let me get this Ginseng Baby.”

The crowd burst into an uproar on hearing the name of Qi Ming.

“Elder Qi! He’s part of one of the three most prominent alchemy families. I heard that he’s capable of refining all kinds of Bigu [1] pills, that are needed in the forged body stage. He really lives up to his reputation as the top pill-maker.”

“A Bigu Pill is nothing when compared to his most recent product – a Shen Yuan Pill. Guess what, he plans to use this Ginseng Baby as a raw material for this innovative Shen Yuan Pill.”

“I guess some of you might’ve already known, that that Shen Yuan Pill is a must if you’re in the transition period between a forged body and an ocean of qi. It’ll help you awaken the power in your dantian, which is the location where your qi is concentrated. Actually, these kind of pills are easily available in the empire and other prominent families. Indeed, they have since long monopolized the supply of these pills, preventing pariahs, as they call them, from cultivating into higher realms. However, currently, I’m in the middle of my research, and I’m confident I’ll succeed in refining this Shen Yuan Pill. As soon as my Shen Yuan Pill goes on the market, you guys will certainly benefit from it, especially those who are stuck in the realm of a forged body.” Elder Qi was rather eloquent, passionately persuading the other guests.

Most of the cultivators here were touched by Elder Qi’s remarks, they gave up on bidding. No doubt, the Ginseng Baby was eventually bought by Elder Qi at 800 gold coins.

“I really appreciate your understanding and help. I’m here solely for the Ginseng Baby, since I won the bid, there’s no reason for me to stay here any longer. I promise that I‘ll bring the Shen Yuan Pill to this auction room once it’s successfully refined.” Elder Qi bowed to the rest of the guests and walked away through the backdoor.

Soon, three man got up from their seats and followed behind Elder Qi. They considered the Shen Yuan Pill as a potential investment project and decided to negotiate with Elder Qi on the front end investment issue.

A leap of excitement struck Xu Yi, he could feel his blood pressure surging. The Shen Yuan Pill was extremely tempting for him, so that he could break through the forged body and enter into an ocean of qi. Thankfully, however, his rational mind restrained him from rushing after Elder Qi.

At the same time, in front of the table, the sexy bunny girl held another item in her hands. She then walked in front of the audience to show the second item of this auction. This new item made Xu Yi completely forget his obsession for the magic pill mere seconds ago. He would patiently wait here for something that’d suit him.

Two hours later, 13 items were auctioned, including powerful weapons, magic medicines and even a three-eyed monkey. Sadly, none of them were suitable for Xu Yi.

“The next item: A Long’er’s Scalp. According to the historical records, Long’ers existed thousands of years ago. There is a legend about the Long’er, that says that it boasts the blood of dragons and has a fiery nature. Strangely, Long’ers are fond of coolness in daylight and hotness during the night. That’s why it inhabited the bottom of a volcano, where it was able to swallow up big chunks of ice and spit out fire. In terms of medical use, the most valued part of a Long’er, is located on its head – the scalp, which is as thin as a cicada’s wings, yet at the same time, is so resilient that it’s almost impenetrable by swords. Plus, it’s resilient to both fire and water. You may not believe me, but it is true that the Long’er will swell its whole body once it becomes infuriated, so the scalp can be easily expanded or shrunk.” The old man held a thin piece of the scalp in his hand, which precisely fit into his palm.

Soon, four strong servants went onto the auction stage, and each picked up a corner of the scalp. They jerked the scalp, until it reached such a size that it covered half of the room. All the guests were attentively watching the scalp, without batting their eyes, in case they would lose the chance to witness this magical moment.

Soon, one of the servants took out a sharp sword and stabbed it directly into the scalp. Amazingly, the scalp wasn’t broken, there wasn’t even so much as a mark left from this stab.

Soon after, another servant lighted up a bunch of wood and threw the scalp into the burning fire. After quite some time, the scalp was taken out, fully intact, shimmering as brightly as before.

Suddenly, a guest in the corner stood up and bombarded a series of questions about this scalp.

“My apologies. I’ve got a couple of questions. Water-proof as well as fire-proof, impenetrable by sword, yeah, I’m amazed by all those qualities, yet I’m not convinced that this is one of a kind. I suppose most of the guests here plan to use this scalp as protective clothing, right? What if the opponent exerts extreme strength while wielding his sword, I mean, the performers on the stage are ordinary guys whose strength is weak. What if an experienced cultivator held the sword and stabbed at the scalp, will it still be undamaged?”

“What’s more, as cultivators, we’ve to defend ourselves from swords, spears, fists and even kicks. Perfect protective clothing will cushion the power of the attack. I’m wondering, if this scalp has some shock absorbing functions? If not, then it isn’t a perfect item.”

The old man in silver gown stroked his beard and smiled at the questioner: ”Good questions! But I’m telling you, that anything auctioned in this room is one in a million. In order to remove your doubts, I will invite some volunteers to help me out. As far as I know, some of our respectful guests here have already stepped into the realm of an ocean of qi. Would anyone offer me a hand?”

“I’ll have a try!” A guest in the first row voluntarily stood up.

“Since you’ve already entered into the realm of an ocean of qi, I guess you’d better take off the hood and let us know who you are. Otherwise, others will be suspicious if you’re compelled to do so.” The old man said.

“Good idea! Elder Li, you’re right. There are only a few cultivators in Guanan who have reached an ocean of qi. Once I take my hood off, you’ll all recognise me. Haha.” The volunteer unveiled himself, exposing a square face, straight eyebrows and a pair of sparkling eyes.

“Gao Junmo!”

“General Gao!”

“Black Clothing Gao!”

“Seven Sword Gao!”

The crowd exploded into an uproar, it seemed as if they were all rather familiar with the man who stood in front of them.

…………………

[1]: bigu: a popular Taoist practice by refraining from eating grain.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bigu_(avoiding_grains)