Eternal Life: Talent Grows with Age-Chapter 289 - 184: A Sharp Blade Above Desire

"The B-rank alchemists of the White Cloud Cave Mansion are still lacking in heritage compared with these clan families."

Lu Chang’sheng thought to himself.

There was really nothing that could be done about it. Many families might not hold as high a position as him, but after countless years of hard work, they’ve gathered contacts and resources, accumulating heavy foundations.

The auction had entered a fever pitch, with even the Xu Family of Lingnan and the Murong Family of the Purple Bamboo Forest—both Foundation Establishment families—bidding to secure items.

These families were truly Foundation Establishment clans, their strength on par with the Gu Family of Platinum Immortal City and the White Cloud Cave Mansion.

Just then, Wang Ya onstage suddenly brought out an item, causing a stir below.

It was because this wasn’t, strictly speaking, a Foundation Establishment-level item, but rather a "key."

A Turtle Shell Map from a Foundation Establishment-level alchemist in Futu Domain.

"A lot of people should recognize this piece—this is a Turtle Shell Map left behind by the Profound Turtle Alchemist of Futu Domain. There are some handwritten notes from him on it, and if you’re lucky, you might uncover a second-grade pill formula."

Wang Ya flashed a sweet smile.

Many in the crowd looked tempted, but more cultivators seemed unmoved.

"Heh, Fellow Daoist Wang Ya, isn’t it rare to see the Profound Turtle Alchemist’s Turtle Shell Map up for auction? Is this one different in some way?" an old cultivator suddenly asked aloud.

The Turtle Shell Map had appeared across various domains before, triggering frenzied pursuits by alchemists. Some even fell into evil paths just to snatch it away.

In the Guangnan Domain and surrounding areas, a second-grade alchemist was already a big deal, not to mention that the Profound Turtle Alchemist was far from ordinary.

His strength had reached late Foundation Establishment, and his alchemy Dao cultivation was approaching third-grade. At the Peach Blossom Banquet, he was an absolute celebrity.

And anything left by him, such as the Turtle Shell Map, naturally drew people like moths to a flame.

"That Profound Turtle Alchemist is famous for his alchemy Dao, but he’s even more well-known for raising all kinds of turtles. He even had a spirit pet with Profound Turtle blood, so people called him the Profound Turtle Alchemist."

Wei Zhen, seeing Lu Chang’sheng’s confusion, offered an explanation.

"Items left by alchemists at that level are definitely treasures. Why do people seem so hesitant, though?" 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝔀𝓮𝒃𝙣𝓸𝒗𝒆𝒍.𝙘𝒐𝒎

Lu Chang’sheng glanced around. Many cultivators wore skeptical looks.

Clearly, they weren’t interested in this so-called Turtle Shell Map.

"Heh, that’s actually related to the Profound Turtle Alchemist’s turtle-raising hobby. He liked to jot down insights on turtle shells, but most of these ’insights’ are trivial or random. Some people went through hell to snatch a Turtle Shell Map, only to find scribbles about the Profound Turtle Alchemist’s adventures in brothels."

Lu Chang’sheng’s face twitched. "So, it’s really just luck of the draw."

"Still, since the Wang Family dares to put this Turtle Shell Map up for auction, they must be pretty confident, right?"

Wei Zhen nodded.

Sure enough, Wang Ya chuckled and said, "This Fellow Daoist guessed right. After our Wang Family’s appraisal, there’s about a sixty percent chance this Turtle Shell Map isn’t just daily musings."

"Of course, as you all know, the writing instruments used by the Profound Turtle Alchemist weren’t ordinary. We wouldn’t dare break the spirit array on top of it, so we could only judge by other clues."

"Therefore, if we made a mistake, we can only apologize to whomever wins the bid."

That was the real reason the Turtle Shell Map wasn’t valued highly.

The moment the writing on a Turtle Shell Map was exposed to air, it would vanish in a flash.

So the auction house couldn’t possibly check the contents beforehand, making appraisal errors a definite risk.

And like Wang Ya said, it’s pretty much a coin toss.

"Alright, still, there’s a decent chance you could get something valuable—alchemy Dao insights, second-grade pill formulas, or even cultivation methods from the Profound Turtle Alchemist!"

Wang Ya announced the starting bid: 500 lower-grade spirit stones.

About the same as some of the earlier Qi Cultivation items.

Since this was only a possibility, even though it involved a second-grade alchemist, its value took a heavy hit.

"Thinking about bidding, are you?" Wei Zhen asked when he noticed Lu Chang’sheng looking interested.

"Somewhat, yes."

"Take my advice and think twice. Don’t let Wang Ya’s sales pitch fool you—most of what’s written on these Turtle Shell Maps are scattered experiences in alchemy Dao, nothing like a full jade scroll. If it were that complete, it’d be priceless, sure. But turtle shells aren’t exactly big, and the info they carry is limited. At best, you’ll get some scattered insights—hardly worth pouring a bunch of spirit stones into."

Wei Zhen clearly knew his stuff.

"Thanks for the reminder, but I still want to give it a shot."

Lu Chang’sheng replied.

Right now, his alchemy Dao was stuck at a bottleneck. If he could glimpse a second-grade alchemist’s experiences, he might get some unexpected gains.

Plus, with his Golden Finger, just looking at someone else’s experiences could trigger variable boosts.

Even if it couldn’t help him break through the Qi Cultivation bottleneck, he’d still rake in a ton of experience.

"Most important, the price is still manageable!"

Because of the uncertainty factor, most people weren’t willing to throw too many spirit stones at it. When the bidding hit 4,000 spirit stones, the number of contenders dropped off sharply.

Now, only a handful of powers were still in the running.