Chapter 492 - 26: A Sudden Peril on the Return Journey, Reinforcements from a Thousand Miles

"How the hell are we supposed to compete with that?" Song Lutong nearly exploded. The other bidder had basically shut down any competition from the very beginning.

"Looks like he’s dead set on getting this set. Let’s just wait for the next one," Song Luyun said helplessly. ’Who even bids like that? It must be nice to be so rich you can just throw money around.’

For a moment, the other Cultivators in the hall were also completely silent.

Seeing this, Xia Wanyun called out in a loud voice, "Two hundred fifty thousand Low-Grade Spirit Stones! Are there any higher bids?"

She was met with silence. Just as she was about to bring down the gavel, an aged voice rang out, "Two hundred sixty thousand Low-Grade Spirit Stones."

As the words fell, everyone turned their eyes to the private box of the initial bidder, wondering if he would continue to raise the price.

"I bid three hundred thousand Low-Grade Spirit Stones!"

The familiar voice rang out, naming a price that made everyone gasp and completely crushing the old man’s bid. With the fall of the gavel, the first set of [Foundation Establishment Pills] was sold for the astronomical price of three hundred thousand Low-Grade Spirit Stones.

An hour later, the second set was also snapped up by the same person for the high price of two hundred fifty thousand Spirit Stones, causing an uproar.

"Who is this guy?" Song Lutong frowned. The man’s financial resources were absurdly vast. In the entire Daqi Cultivation World, the number of Cultivators or factions with such wealth could be counted on one hand.

And entities of that caliber rarely had to worry about [Foundation Establishment Pills]. There was no reason for them to come here and be taken for a ride. Five hundred fifty thousand Spirit Stones was a fortune.

"The competition will only get fiercer for the later sets. We can’t afford to just sit back and watch during the third round," Song Luyun reminded him.

Song Lutong nodded slightly but said nothing.

Soon, the bidding for the third set of [Foundation Establishment Pills] began. Perhaps because of what happened the last two times, no one placed a bid right away, making the scene a little awkward.

At that moment, Song Lutong directly bid two hundred thousand Spirit Stones. A jolt went through the crowd. ’Does it have to be this ridiculous? Here comes another one.’

Nearly everyone was intimidated by the sheer force of Song Lutong’s bid. Several people opened their mouths to call out a price, but ultimately decided against it.

In the end, Song Lutong actually managed to win the third set of [Foundation Establishment Pills] for two hundred thousand Low-Grade Spirit Stones—the lowest price so far.

Of course, this price was by no means low, as it included a significant premium.

Song Lutong immediately went to settle the payment with his Spirit Stones. As he was leaving his room, he happened to see a young man walking out of the private box belonging to the bidder who had won the first two sets of [Foundation Establishment Pills].

The man was dressed in white robes. He was handsome, with an extraordinary, martial bearing. His thick, sharp eyebrows, slanting upwards toward his temples, gave him an air of arrogance.

Though young, his aura was so restrained that Song Lutong couldn’t gauge his true depth.

The man in white seemed to sense his stare and glanced coolly at Song Lutong. His gaze was like a sword, making Song Lutong’s skin sting as if it had been pierced.

’Such powerful Sword Intent,’ Song Lutong’s heart skipped a beat. ’Could he be a disciple of the Celestial Sword Sect?’ He quickly averted his eyes and dared not look again.

Normally, he would have glared right back, but he remembered Song Changsheng’s repeated warnings before they left not to stir up trouble.

He settled the transaction with the auction house and received the five [Foundation Establishment Pills]. With that, the mission their family had given them was complete. They still had one hundred thousand Spirit Stones left; with luck, they could get two more pills.

The auction lasted for a full day and night. Over a thousand people engaged in a fierce struggle for the [Foundation Establishment Pills], while the other treasures that appeared in the interim failed to make much of a splash. This allowed many people to pick up some unexpected bargains.

By the end of the auction, Song Luyun had managed to acquire a total of seven [Foundation Establishment Pills]. Two of them were bid on individually, and the competition for them was even more intense than before.

One cost sixty thousand Spirit Stones, and the other cost seventy thousand. It was a good thing Song Lutong and Song Luyun had some savings of their own, or they wouldn’t have been able to afford the second one.

To avoid any new problems arising from delays, the two of them informed Song Qingluo and promptly set off back to Ling Province.

At first, the journey was uneventful. But as their Flying Ship passed a place called Wind-facing Cliff, the weather suddenly turned. The once-clear sky was instantly shrouded in thick, dark clouds.

Strangely, the dark clouds seemed to be targeting them specifically. The surrounding sky remained bright and sunny, with only a single patch of gloom hanging over their heads. The critical part was that they couldn’t shake it; wherever they went, the cloud followed.

"There’s something strange about this cloud."

"What should we do?" Song Luyun asked nervously. She could feel an extremely dangerous power emanating from within the cloud.

Song Lutong’s brow was furrowed. He had never encountered anything so bizarre and, for the moment, couldn’t offer any constructive ideas.

Just then, a deep rumble of thunder echoed from within the cloud, making their eardrums ache. Looking up, they could see dazzling bolts of lightning churning inside, radiating a destructive aura.

Seeing this, Song Lutong suddenly recalled something and exclaimed in alarm, "Oh no! This must be a legendary Thunderstorm!"

"A Thunderstorm?" Upon hearing this, Song Luyun’s face instantly turned deathly pale.

Beneath the serene surface of the Cultivation Realm lay many hidden dangers: invisible spatial rifts that could kill without a trace, Gang wind capable of obliterating a person until not even bones remained, and fatal gales that could kill instantly.

The Thunderstorm Song Lutong mentioned was one such danger.

Thunderstorms typically occurred in regions where the Law of Thunder was in chaos. They normally remained hidden within the void, only manifesting when disturbed.

Such places were numerous. Therefore, even though the sky was vast, one could not simply travel through it at will. Most people preferred to stick to established, well-charted routes, as this was the safest way to travel.