Chapter 158: Ancient Tempering Book “Next, this is a tempering technique for weapon refinement that was produced by an Advanced Weapon Refinement Master. A thousand years ago, this person was extremely famous in the cultivation world of the Great Zhou Dynasty. However, it was a pity that he had not managed to advance to Nascent Soul realm and died in the end. Although, it was quite a good ending for his life.” The manager beat around the bust before saying slowly, “That person is none other than Mr. Xu Zhan.” “It’s him!” “That person is incredible!” “I heard that at his peak, he created dozens of supreme-grade spirit weapons! It was said that he even created a perfect spirit weapon. He’s quite amazing and many Golden Cores wished that they could obtain a spirit weapon from him.” Many of the Foundation Establishment Cultivators present have not heard of that person. However, there was a commotion from the Golden Core rooms. Unveiling the cloth from the tray, the manager revealed a thin book that looked a little old with yellowed pages. The manager said in a dark voice, “This is Mr. Xu’s handbook. The starting price is at 100,000 spirit stones and every single bid must be no less than 1,000!” Su Zimo looked at that book. His gaze was burning hot but his heart was ice cold. That ancient book was exactly what he needed and also the purpose of his trip. However, he could not afford it at all. That was not mentioning the fact that the starting price was at 100,000 superior-grade spirit stones. Even if it was at 100,000 middle-grade spirit stones, Su Zimo wouldn’t be able to afford it after a couple rounds of bidding. Indeed, in just a short while, the price of that ancient book rose steadily and was close to 200,000! There were only a couple of people bidding. For ordinary cultivators, this ancient book could be worth nothing. However, it was a priceless treasure for Weapon Refinement Masters. Even if the bidding was not a Weapon Refinement Master, they must definitely have tons of relationship with weapon refinement. Right then, a voice sounded from Room 77, “250,000!” Su Zimo’s eyes flickered and his heart skipped a beat. That voice sounded a little familiar... it sounded like the disheveled old man! Su Zimo was not absolutely certain since it was just a voice and he hadn’t seen the other party. However, it was indeed true that he hardly saw the disheveled old man around the sect these days too. Gasps could be heard from the inner house. Previously, it was at 200,000 but now, it suddenly rose to 250,000. A jump of 50,000 superior-grade spirit stones was no small sum! The few rooms that had been bidding earlier instantly fell silent. “Fufu.” The manager smiled. “The customer of Room 77 sure is generous. Of course, that’s also proof of this ancient book’s value. 250,000. Any higher bidders?” As the manager of Sky Treasure Auction House, he naturally did not want the price to stay here. His statement was also casually reminding the other customers. After a momentary silence, a voice rang out from one of the rooms that was bidding earlier, “251,000.” “300,000!” Immediately after that, Room 77 raised the price to 300,000 before the manager even spoke! This time round, the entire place was stunned! “Could that person from Room 77 be part of the auction house’s staff?” “That’s hard to say given how he just keeps raising the price.” There was a commotion in the seats. After a long time, no one else raised the bid and the manager could only smile. “Are there no higher bidders?” In reality, 300,000 superior-grade spirit stones was more than enough and was almost the limit of how much that ancient book was worth. It would be inappropriate to raise the price any higher. The manager did not bear much hopes and merely declared loudly, “300,000 once.” “300,000 twice.” “300,000...” “310,000!” Suddenly, a dark voice sounded from Room 80. When he heard that, the manager was delighted. “Room 80 has raised the bid to 310,000! Are there any further bids?” Even though he said that, his gaze was fixated on Room 77. A short silence later, Room 77 raised the price once more. “320,000.” This time round, the cultivator of Room 77 was clearly much more cautious, as though anything more than 300,000 was about his limit. “330,000.” The cultivator in Room 80 raised the price without hesitation. Gradually, the cultivator of Room 77 became more hesitant. Each time, he would only raise the price after thinking for a long time. In that period of time, the price of the ancient book was pushed up constantly by the two rooms and was now at 400,000! In truth, the actual value of that ancient book was only around 300,000. However, the value of that item was in how priceless it was. Tempering techniques were mostly kept secret and were difficult to purchase. It was now time for the cultivator in Room 77 to speak. After a long time, there was no sound. “Hahahaha!” Suddenly, an arrogant laughter burst forth from Room 80 as a Golden Core in red robes strode out. With a dark gaze, he looked at Room 77 and scoffed coldly, “Old man, stop holding on if you can’t. Even if this ancient book is given to Ethereal Peak, no one will be able to understand it!” Upon hearing that, Su Zimo no longer had any doubts. Indeed, the door of Room 77 was slammed open with a loud bang. An old man with long, white hair and unshaved sideburns came out in a huff. He glared at the red robed man and asked loudly, “Sima Zhi! Are you going against me on purpose? True Fire Sect has no lack of such tempering techniques, what are you fighting with me for?” “Because I like it.” Sima Zhi smiled smugly. “You...!” The disheveled old man was at a loss for words. Sima Zhi continued leisurely, “Old man, we’re talking about 400,000 spirit stones here. Can you afford it? Look at how poor you are. Fufu, you might have to sell everything you have, right?” The disheveled old man’s face turned steely green. It was as Sima Zhi had said. He only had slightly more than 300,000 superior-grade spirit stones in his storage bag and even that was pooled together with the other four peak masters. 𝘧𝓇ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝘣𝓃ℴ𝓋𝑒𝑙.𝑐𝘰𝑚 It truly meant that he was placing all his net worth and valuables to call for that 400,000! He was determined to get that ancient book. However, it was not for himself – it was for his disciple, Su Zimo! Ever since the five peaks face-off, the disheveled old man had been adventuring outside. He wandered through various auction houses in hopes of purchasing a tempering technique. Su Zimo had long been able to create inferior-grade spirit weapons. However, he was stuck at the step of tempering. Even though the disheveled old man said nothing, he was anxious. He felt that he was letting down Su Zimo’s talent in weapon refinement. Therefore, the disheveled old man would naturally not give up on a rare opportunity to get this ancient book on weapon tempering. However, he did not expect True Fire Sect’s Sima Zhi to be here! True Fire Sect was the strongest in the five major sects in terms of weapon and elixir refinement – they had no lack of weapon tempering techniques as such. The reason why Sima Zhi was bidding relentlessly was because he did not want the disheveled old man to get his hands on that ancient book! “Old man, am I right?” Sima Zhi laughed. “Go on back and don’t come out to embarrass yourself!” Many cultivators in the inner house were watching and making gossips. Even though the disheveled old man looked terrible and was trembling from head to toe, he could not refute. In Room 1, Su Zimo suddenly stood up and looked at Gu Xi. “Chief steward, can you lend me some spirit stones?” “What’s there to lend? If you want that ancient book, just bid for it directly,” Gu Xi seemed to have expected this. She merely smiled faintly and crossed her arms, replying casually.