The Dou Spirit Pill—one of the peak-grade fifth-tier Pills.
This Pill could be consumed by a Dou Wang. After ingestion, it could directly enhance a Dou Wang's strength by one star, without any side effects. However, there was still a chance of failure, and the success rate depended entirely on the Pill's quality.
A Dou Wang could only ever consume one Dou Spirit Pill in their lifetime. If they attempted to take a second, the effects would be neutralized by resistance, resulting in wasted effort.
Moreover, this Pill could not help peak Dou Wangs break through into the Dou Huang realm.
Even so, the Dou Spirit Pill remained highly sought-after among Dou Wang experts, and was one of the most recognizable fifth-tier Pills in existence.
Due to its strict quality requirements, ordinary fifth-tier Alchemists simply couldn't refine a true Dou Spirit Pill. Even those who managed to refine one usually produced only inferior-grade versions.
Only Alchemists at the sixth tier or above were capable of refining true Dou Spirit Pills, which was why it often carried the reputation of a "pseudo-sixth-tier" Pill despite being classified as fifth-tier.
"To think they're actually Dou Spirit Pills... and two of them."
"At this level of refinement, only a sixth-tier Alchemist could've made them..."
Otto and Frank were full of emotion. Neither of them dared touch the Pills again. Instead, they carefully placed them back into their jade bottles and turned toward the auction house manager.
"The Pills are genuine and extremely high in quality," Frank said gravely. "But if you plan to auction them, I'm afraid the Black Rock Auction House may not be equipped to handle the security concerns."
"Let's do this—I'll inform the City Lord and have elite guards dispatched to oversee the auction. We need to prevent any trouble from arising."
"Thank you, Master Otto!" The manager was clearly aware of the immense value of the three Pills and immediately bowed with deep gratitude.
Although the Black Rock Auction House had been around for many years, the combined worth of these Pills was simply too enormous. They were bound to draw attention from dangerous people, so added security was a must.
After all, the auction house had hosted treasures of this level before—and every time, chaos had followed.
"My lord," the manager continued, "each Dou Spirit Pill will likely start at a base price of three million gold coins. At auction, the final price should be around four million."
He hesitated for a moment, then retrieved a pitch-black card from his robes and handed it to Lin Ran.
"Additionally, sir, the total value of your auction items has qualified you for our Black Rock Auction's highest-level VIP status. This is our Black Crystal Auction Card. For any items you consign in the future, we'll only charge a ten percent commission fee."
"You'll also receive a VIP seat at our premium auction events. This afternoon's auction is about to begin—please refer to the seating number on your card."
"Mm." Lin Ran nodded calmly. Xiao Yixian stepped forward and accepted the card.
"The Recovery Pill doesn't have any special requirements," Lin Ran said casually. "You can sell it however you like, just follow your standard procedures. But the two Dou Spirit Pills—I won't accept gold coins."
"Huh?" The manager was stunned. Otto and Frank also looked on with interest.
"Please clarify, sir," the manager said.
"I want to trade them for items: sixth-rank magical beast blood essence, high-grade beast flames, rare enhancement-type heavenly treasures, seventh-rank beast cores... Actually, never mind. It's unlikely you'd have any of that in a place like this."
Lin Ran's voice was flat, but every word he spoke made the room fall into deeper silence. The items he listed were far beyond what this modest Black Rock Auction House could ever possess. Then again, so were Dou Spirit Pills.
"I'll be in the Black Crystal VIP booth this afternoon. If any suitable items show up, I may consider bartering—possibly with additional adjustments."
Adjustments? Did that mean this young man had something even more valuable than Dou Spirit Pills?
Lin Ran's casual remark stirred deep curiosity. The manager inhaled sharply and bowed again.
"Please rest assured, sir. Black Rock Auction House will not disappoint you."
"Good. Do as you see fit."
Lin Ran gave a faint nod and stood up to leave. Xiao Yixian followed close behind.
As the door gently closed and their footsteps receded, the manager quickly retrieved a miniature treasure case from his spatial ring and carefully stored the three jade bottles inside. Only then did he finally exhale in relief.
"I've never seen this man before, but for him to casually take out three fifth-tier Pills—two of them Dou Spirit Pills—there's no way he's someone our Black Rock City can afford to offend."
Otto sighed and patted the manager's shoulder.
"Spread the word. We've still got time before the auction begins. I'll go notify the City Lord."
"Thank you, Master Otto."
"No need. This is a grand occasion for Black Rock City."
…
After leaving the appraisal room, Lin Ran wandered around Black Rock City with Xiao Yixian, all while keeping tabs on the current situation at the Alchemist Guild.
Sure enough, there had been no reports of any prodigious young Alchemist named Xiao Yan recently. It was clear that after leaving the Magic Beast Mountain Range, the boy hadn't come to Black Rock.
"So... if you didn't come to Black Rock, where could you have gone?"
"Jia Nan Academy? Or the Tagore Desert...?"
Lin Ran murmured to himself, eyes gleaming.
But he wasn't in a rush. That brat couldn't run forever.
After all, he had cultivated the Flame Mantra, and would need Heavenly Flames to progress. The Northwest Continent only had so many of those. Xiao Yan wouldn't be able to avoid him forever.
Unless, of course, the boy had given up on ever advancing his Flame Mantra. If that were the case, Lin Ran wouldn't even bother considering him a threat.
"By now, the Green Lotus Core Flame in the Tagore Desert should've already been taken by Queen Medusa. I wonder if you'll show up there, Xiao Yan."
"Oh, right. In the original story, that so-called Pill King Gu He recruited Yun'er to help him steal the flame from Queen Medusa..."
The moment Lin Ran thought of Yun Yun, a faint trace of longing crossed his eyes.
That woman had left a very special impression. If fate allowed them to meet again—it would be perfect.
After all, his internal Yin-Yang balance was already beginning to slip out of alignment. And it most certainly needed to be corrected.
(End of Chapter)