Realms In The Firmament

Chapter 43 – The Marvelous Dan Beads

“I have spent my entire life in the field of auctioning. I have struck the gavel thousands of times. However, it is my first time introducing such a dan in an auction. It is only a middle class dan, but it is of an unbelievably high quality.”

Upon hearing Guan Wan-Shan’s words, especially the fact that the middling dan possessed such a high quality, many people subconsciously smiled.

It was definitely the first time!

The Pei Yuan Dan.

[Editor’s note: Pei Yuan, 培元 refers to the training of the chakra core.]

From the perspective of an ordinary person, this kind of dan medicine was truly marvelous. Just one piece could heal nearly all illnesses and strengthen one’s physical condition. However, this was only true for ordinary people.

For cultivators, while the Pei-Yuan dan was not the lowest class of dan medicine, it was rather close to that level. Strictly speaking, by stating that it was a ‘middle class’ medicine, Guan Wan-Shan was actually overpraising it!

As its name suggested, Pei-Yuan Dan was merely a kind of normal dan, that the sects gave to their rookies to strengthen their bodies and train in the initial steps of their cultivation. Once they had built a solid foundation, there was no longer any need for such low-level medicine.

Basically, it was a valuable thing for ordinary people, but garbage for cultivators.

However, it was precisely this lowly medicine, that had abruptly been refined to such a level that it was even radiating the legendary dan clouds!

This was something no one had ever seen before.

“Usually, we identify items on our own, but today, for this legendary treasure, please allow me to invite the Patriarch of the Ling-Yun Sect – Xiao Mo-Yan, presbyter of the Cang-Shan Sect – Li Chang-Qing and presbyter of the Qing-Yun Sect – Meng Wu-Fei on stage to judge the item.” Guan Wan-Shan bowed respectfully.

These three men, which even included the Patriarch of a major Sect, were the most powerful men in this room at the moment.

None of them hesitated, as they immediately made their way onto the stage.

When faced with such a legendary item, the chance to examine it from close up, was of course, largely advantageous.

A purple jade bottle, that had a soft glow, was placed on an intricate platform.

Under the watchful gazes of the spectators, Guan Wan-Shan cautiously opened the bottle. Immediately a white mist rushed out from inside the bottle.

Although the purple jade bottle itself was opaque, the moment it was opened, it glittered with a mesmerising bright light. The next moment, the entire bottle had turned almost transparent. Everyone in the auction hall could clearly see the single bead of dan medicine contained within the bottle.

It was precisely the dan medicine that was radiating the warm and bright light, that pierced even the walls of the opaque bottle. This scene had captured the attention of everyone in the audience.

Even though light was supposed to be blocked from exiting or entering this bottle, this supreme dan bead’s mystical glow had actually managed to penetrate through the walls of this bottle.

The white mist, that had gushed out from the bottle, coalesced above the bottle, forming a thin layer of fog. Unexpectedly, instead of dissipating, this fog was actually accumulating, both in size and in density. Gradually, a cloud about two meters in diameter was formed over the bottle

As the mist continued to rush out of the bottle, the cloud continued to expand. It didn’t seem to have even the slightest intention of scattering.

The next moment, a delicate and light fragrance started to spread throughout the room. Although the fragrance was subtle, it had instantly permeated the entire auction hall. Anyone who inhaled it, felt their spirits being lifted, as the smell refreshed and relaxed them.

Within moments of its appearance, the delicate fragrance had already entranced the entire audience.

“This smell… This is absolutely from a supreme dan from the heavens!”

The prime dan-maker of the Ling-Yun Sect, Shi Yue, trembled, as he gazed at the bottle that contained the dan bead, on the platform. An extreme obsession could be seen in his eyes, while his face had already turned into a deep red color.

He looked like he wanted to immediately rush onto stage, hug the bottle to his chest and never let go!

A dan bead with a dan cloud like this, was something he had dreamed of his entire life.

To refine a dan bead to this extent, it truly represented the peak of the field of dan-making! No one could surpass that!

Li Chang-Qing, Xiao Mo-Yan and Meng Wu-Fei, who were standing the closest to the dan bead, were also shocked!

The mystical dan cloud, that no one had seen for almost ten thousand years, actually existed in the real world?

And it was right here in front of their eyes!

In front of the greed-filled gazes of the three men, Guan Wan-Shan capped the bottle. Only after the bottle was sealed did the cloud above began to waver. It slowly dissipated, scattering into white mist that travelled in all directions.

When the dan cloud finally disappeared, Guan Wan-Shan unexpectedly opened the bottle again. As pristine dan energy surged out from the bottle once more, a dan cloud began to form.

This action greatly angered people that worked in the field of dan-making, as they stared at him like they were about to rip him apart.

Wasn’t this bastard purposely destroying the dan bead?

“Ladies and gentlemen, please calm down. I am not intentionally damaging the supreme dan bead. I just wanted to double check the dan cloud. This dan bead is truly a wonder! Normally, the effectiveness of dan beads will disappear bit by bit when they’re exposed to light, but this dan bead here, can actually absorb natural energy from its surroundings. As long as it hasn’t been consumed, the efficiency will stay full anytime, anywhere! In other words, this supreme dan bead has created its own small circulation system within the world.”

Guan Wan-Shan sighed, “Before this, I believe that nobody would have expected the dan medicine to have such an ability. It has never even been recorded in the dan-making recipes. This is truly the first time, that it has been seen entering this world. The first mystical dan with dan clouds!”

As people exclaimed in wonder, the auction room instantly turned as noisy as a marketplace.

So it was actually such a marvelous item!

The eagerness of the people to get their hands on that bead had multiplied several times.

Guan Wan-Shan was truly a seasoned expert in holding auctions.

With just a few sentences, he had successfully driven the ambiance of the room through the roof!

But what he had said was entirely true – Indeed, this function of the dan bead was something nobody had known about. In fact, people couldn’t even begin to imagine its existence!

The three men on stage slowly nodded.

The eyes of the dan-makers in the room lit up with intense greedy light. They were akin to old perverts, who had been starved of sex for three hundred years, before suddenly seeing a gorgeous beauty lying naked on their beds…

“If someone could extract this special refining technique and apply it to some higher-level dan…” Guan Wan-Shan rubbed his mustache and said, “That would be a grand achievement. That will not only bring us more chances to avoid death, it will also greatly increase our profits…”

Guan Wan-Shan’s continued musings made some people so angry they felt like cursing.

The people who were permitted entrance to this auction hall, none of them were fools. How could they not understand what Guan Wan-Shan was actually trying to do?

This bastard, was he trying to raise the price of the dan bead to the heavens?

But among the audience, the dan-makers were all breathing heavily, their eyes bloodshot! Indeed, this was certainly a peerless treasure they would spend their whole lives chasing after!

After sealing the bottle again, Guan Wan-Shan lips curved into a reserved smile, “Thank you, our three valued guests. Please exit the stage and return to your seats. Our auction for the supreme dan beads will begin right away.”

From the No. 2 balcony, Shi Yue suddenly yelled, “Pray tell, Master Guan. About this supreme dan, how many beads are to be auctioned today?”

In fact, it was the question that had been weighing heavily on everyone’s minds, so they all turned quiet and waited for the answer.

The supreme dan bead was definitely a treasure, but they still needed to know how many beads there were.

If there was only one, then… it would be immensely difficult for most people to acquire it. In that case, many of them might quit the auction before it even began.

Guan Wan-Shan laughed and answered, “Truthfully, it would already be extremely lucky for all of us to see even this one bead, as it is such a marvelous treasure…”

When the audience heard his words, they instantly became incredibly anxious. Some small sects felt like giving up immediately. Even people who belonged to powerful groups had turned pale, as it would surely be a tough fight for them, if there was only one bead.

Surprisingly, Guan Wan-Shan continued his words, “But luckily, we have more than one supreme dan bead at today’s auction. You definitely won’t be disappointed…”

The spectators’ spirits instantly lifted. Did that mean there were more beads? If there were a large number of supreme beads auctioned today, there might be less competition and they might even spendwalk away with a much smaller hole in their purses…

But Guan Wan-Shan added, “…But still, there aren’t that many supreme beads.”

Immediately, everyone in the hall felt like their hearts had been trampled by ten thousand alpacas.

[Editor’s note: Interesting fact – the Chinese term for alpaca is 草泥马 which sounds similar to 草你妈, or fxxk your mother, so it’s often used as a slang replacement.]

They wanted to drag the old bastard down from the stage and give him a good beating.

They felt, that the way in which he kept playing with the suspense in the room, was really annoying.

“…You all want one but that is definitely not going to happen…” Guan Wan-Shan smiled slyly, “After all, everything is priced in proportion to its rarity.”

Everyone tried hard to quell the itch in their hearts, the impulse to beat someone up.

This bastard, is he trying to play us to death?

“Master Guan, just how many supreme dan beads are there? Tell us the exact number.” Xiao Mo-Yan frowned and spoke.

With his status as a Patriarch, he had been reluctant to ask, as he needed to present a calm exterior. However, since the Ling-Yun Sect was mainly committed to dan-making, the supreme dan was especially important to him. Moreover, since the question had come directly from a person as important as him, Guan Wan-Shan would have to answer.

Otherwise, if the number of beads remained unclear, people would fight amongst themselves for the beads, until their wallets became completely empty.

Ye Xiao leisurely crossed his legs. He sat in balcony No. 17, as still as a stone, and overlooked the whole scene.

“Of course. If it is the Patriarch Xiao that wants to know it, I will absolutely give my answer.” Guan Wan-Shan humbly said, “The supreme dan with dan clouds. This time, we have truly done everything we can, but we’ve only managed to obtain ten beads.”

The crowd burst into an uproar!

Ten supreme dan beads!