Chapter 445

Chapter 445: Thunder Stone

“Five hundred fifty Intermediate Spirits!”

“Six hundred!”

“Six hundred thirty!”

“I bid six hundred fifty!”

The cultivators participating in the auction had keen eyes, and they could see that the thunder core placed on the table was of very good quality, making it excellent material for assisting cultivation or forging spirit tools and treasures.

As soon as the stallholder finished speaking, someone quickly called out their bid.

Others, unwilling to fall behind, followed with higher offers.

The atmosphere was quite lively.

“Seven hundred.”

Wang Chen joined in with a bid.

Initially, he had little interest in the thunder core since he could quickly level up his spells using the Cultivation Panel.

However, the situation had changed. He didn’t expect that after reaching the advanced level of the Sky Thunder technique, the difficulty of cultivation would increase several times, and it would take three to four hundred days to break through to the Master level.

Wang Chen certainly couldn’t afford to invest so much time in this technique.

So, when he saw someone selling a thunder core, he couldn’t help but consider whether he could use such heavenly materials and treasures to speed up his progress.

In this regard, Wang Chen was quite experienced.

“Seven hundred fifty!”

“Eight hundred!”

In the end, after several rounds of bidding, the price of the thunder core climbed higher and higher.

Wang Chen tried to raise his bid twice but was easily outmatched.

He sighed inwardly.

The thunder core is indeed a good item, but the current price was simply absurd.

However, these inner sect disciples fought fiercely for it, each flaunting their wealth, which opened Wang Chen’s eyes.

The final transaction price actually reached one thousand one hundred fifty Intermediate Spirits!

That was incredibly outrageous!

Forget it.

Wang Chen shook his head and left the stall.

“Junior Brother Wang.”

He hadn’t walked far when someone stopped him. “Long time no see, how have you been?”

Wang Chen looked at the smiling female cultivator in front of him and replied calmly, “Thank you for your concern, Senior Sister, I’ve been well.”

This female cultivator was none other than Wu Yanqiu.

At that moment, the tall, thin cultivator who had auctioned the thunder core approached. “Junior Sister Wu.”

He wore a reserved expression and examined Wang Chen with a scrutinizing gaze. “You know this junior brother?”

“Zhao Senior Brother.”

Wu Yanqiu quickly introduced, “This is Junior Brother Wang Chen. He has been cultivating on the island under the Higher Steward.”

She then introduced Wang Chen, “This is Zhao Hongsheng, a Senior Brother from the Zhen Yue lineage.”

Wang Chen bowed respectfully, “Greetings, Zhao Senior Brother.”

The inner sect of the West Sea Sect had over a hundred thousand disciples, primarily divided into Meridian Disciples and Entry Disciples, with the former being the core strength of the sect.

Zhen Yue was one of the nine veins of the West Sea Sect.

Though it was one of the lower three veins, it was still a rank above Wang Chen’s position as an Entry Disciple.

Wu Yanqiu’s tone carried a hint of flattery.

“Hmm.”

Zhao Hongsheng returned the greeting in a grand manner but spoke in a rather indifferent tone. “You two chat; I have something to attend to.”

With that, he strode away.

“Zhao Senior Brother has that kind of temperament.”

Wu Yanqiu lowered her voice to Wang Chen and said, “Don’t mind him, but he really has skills. The matter I mentioned last time was organized by Zhao Senior Brother, and they have gained quite a bit during this time.”

After a pause, she added, “Junior Brother Wang, if you want thunder cores, I can talk to Zhao Senior Brother and let you join the team.”

“Thank you, senior sister.”

Wang Chen smiled, “No need, it’s a trouble.”

“You! This person!”

Wu Yanqiu became a little annoyed. “How can you be so ungrateful?”

Wang Chen reined in his smile and looked at her with calm eyes.

Wu Yanqiu felt an inexplicable sense of guilt under his gaze and instinctively lowered her head.

When this female cultivator lifted her head again, she found that Wang Chen had already left.

She almost bit her Broken Silver teeth in frustration!

Wang Chen appeared quite young, yet he had a deep character and would not easily be swayed by external matters, making him hard to deceive.

Wu Yanqiu felt that her thoughts had been completely seen through by Wang Chen, leaving her humiliated.

Wang Chen remained unaware that he had been labeled as someone “too deep in thought,” but he did not think that Wu Yanqiu’s repeated invitations to join the team hunting Thunder Beasts were a good thing.

Though thunder cores were precious, they were not something Wang Chen had to obtain. The slower cultivation of the Sky Thunder technique wouldn’t make a significant difference to his own strength.

On the other hand, it was clear that Wu Yanqiu had ulterior motives and was cut from the same cloth as Zhao Hongsheng, making her untrustworthy.

He continued to stroll around but found little of value and felt somewhat disappointed as he prepared to leave.

Suddenly, he noticed a table nearby covered with a large number of blue-purple rocks, and his heart stirred.

These rocks, varying in size, were the specialty of Thunder Isle known as Thunder Stones.

Thunder Stones were originally ordinary rocks, but after years of enduring the trials of lightning, their cores had undergone a transformation, allowing them to gather some power of thunder.

Similar to spirit stones.

However, once Thunder Stones are mined, the power of thunder within them quickly dissipates. They cannot be stored for long in a storage bag, and due to their limited utility, they are quite inexpensive.

Even though they are cheap, mining and collecting Thunder Stones is hard work and can be quite dangerous.

The denser the thunder, the better the quality of the Thunder Stones.

Stones of poor quality cannot fetch a price at all.

Seeing these Thunder Stones, a thought crossed Wang Chen’s mind, and he asked, “How much for these Thunder Stones?”

The stallholder was a young cultivator with perfect mastery in Qi Training. His stall was set up in a corner.

Upon hearing Wang Chen’s inquiry, he quickly and respectfully replied, “One pound for one spirit fragment, and if you want a lot, I can offer a discount.”

One pound for one spirit fragment.

Wang Chen felt a bit dazed upon hearing this. Since arriving at the West Sea Sect, he had rarely seen such a low price.

Thinking about the price of thunder cores earlier, he found these Thunder Stones to be incredibly cheap.

However, despite being cheap, a fist-sized Thunder Stone weighed over ten pounds, so it wasn’t exactly very inexpensive.

Wang Chen picked up a Thunder Stone and weighed it in his hand, sensing the power of thunder within the rock as he asked, “How many do you have?”

The stallholder became excited, swallowing hard as he replied, “About four thousand pounds.”

What was on the table was just a sample.

Wang Chen thought for a moment and said, “Twenty Intermediate Spirits will do.”

The stallholder grimaced, “Brother, could you add a bit more?”

Twenty Intermediate Spirits was equivalent to two thousand four hundred spirit fragments; Wang Chen was being quite tough in his bargaining.

“Well, in that case, forget it.”

Wang Chen tossed the Thunder Stone back onto the table.

“Sale! Sale!”

Seeing Wang Chen decisively turn to leave, the stallholder hurriedly called out, “Brother, I’ll sell them for twenty Intermediate Spirits!”

Thunder Stones are not precious items; they can be easily dug up on Thunder Isle, which is just labor work.

He had set up his stall for a long time without anyone showing interest. If he missed Wang Chen, it would be hard to find another buyer.

Not to mention twenty Intermediate Spirits; even if Wang Chen negotiated further down, he was ready to sell.

Wang Chen nodded and took out twenty Intermediate Spirits to give to the stallholder, buying all of his Thunder Stones.