Just as Wu Tao was about to make a choice, You Meng spoke up to stop him, advising him to pick the unremarkable treasure that resembled a stone.
As for Teng Ling'er, she was at a stall run by a member of the Zhan Clan, sifting through items and selecting another oddly shaped stone.
The first to be appraised was the stone Wu Tao had chosen. After identification, everyone discovered that this seemingly ordinary stone was actually the resin of the Tree of Life.
"In the primeval era, there was a tree called the Tree of Life. The Tree of Life aged eight thousand years for each year, and only reached maturity after a hundred years."
"After maturity, the flowers, leaves, and fruits of the Tree of Life were all excellent spiritual medicines, mainly used for alchemy."
"The tree itself contained a vast amount of life force, making it an immortal wood and a top-tier Heavenly grade spiritual material."
"And this stone, which appeared unremarkable on the surface, was the resin of the Tree of Life."
"This mass of resin was sealed by its bark in the primeval era, and over time it solidified into amber. It was taken out by someone unknown!"
"Now, this mass of resin, buried deep within a spiritual脉 and absorbing spiritual energy for countless years, has condensed into a speck of innate wood spirit essence, the source of life. It is more effective than any healing pill!"
Upon discovering this, everyone present was deeply moved. A mass of resin, even from the primeval era, was not particularly significant. After all, in the cultivation world, age did not always equate to value. A giant mountain existing since the primordial era, while ancient, would be worthless without any spiritual energy. Only treasures that held value since the primordial era would retain even greater value when passed down to the present, infused with ancient spiritual energy.
However, the resin within the amber stone Wu Tao had chosen had not only retained its essence over the years but had also continuously absorbed spiritual energy, nurturing it into innate wood spirit essence! Such an immortal treasure, if used for cultivation, would be equivalent to many top-tier immortal pills.
Meanwhile, on the other side, the stone Teng Ling'er had chosen, when cut open, revealed golden dao stone, a supreme refining material for offensive magical treasures. A tiny speck of golden dao stone would draw the competition of many Core Formation stage experts, let alone the entire piece Teng Ling'er had selected!
If one were to compare the value of golden dao stone and innate wood spirit essence in the Nine Provinces cultivation world, it would be difficult to say for sure. However, in the underground cultivation world where wood attribute spiritual materials were scarce, the value of innate wood spirit essence far surpassed that of golden dao stone. Therefore, in this round, Wu Tao had won.
The current score was one to one, a tie between Wu Tao and Teng Ling'er.
The third round of treasure betting began. Teng Ling'er immediately selected a treasure, and upon cutting it open, it turned out to be the Earth grade high-grade spiritual material "Dragon's Tear."
Wu Tao, on the other hand, chose a particularly ugly-looking stone. He selected this item because he had a feeling that something within was attracting him... perhaps something that would be of great benefit to him.
"I'll go with this one. Even if I lose in the end, You Meng can still escape on her own, and the loss won't be too great!" Wu Tao silently decided, choosing the entirely black object.
"Please appraise it!" Wu Tao said cautiously.
As a result of the appraisal, the entirely black object turned out to be something condensed from an inauspicious aura. Inauspicious aura was what people referred to as being plagued by misfortune. If the inauspicious aura was too strong, then a person would find everything they did unsuccessful. While inauspicious aura had some value, it was not particularly great. Therefore, Teng Ling'er had a complete victory in this round.
At this point, the treasure betting score was two to one, with Teng Ling'er temporarily leading Wu Tao.
The fourth round of treasure betting began. The item Wu Tao selected was called the Seven-Treasure Exquisite Soil. The Seven-Treasure Exquisite Soil was a treasure with a strong connection to Buddhism. It was the precipitation of Buddhist nature, very helpful for Buddhist cultivators in forging their Buddha golden bodies.
Soil with less precipitation of Buddhist nature was called Exquisite Treasure Soil, and soil with more precipitation was called Double Exquisite Treasure Soil. The more Buddhist nature precipitated, the greater its value. Thus, for every added treasure, its value would double. The Seven-Treasure Exquisite Soil, if sold to Buddhist cultivators, could fetch at least seven thousand spirit stones.
Teng Ling'er, on the other hand, seemed to have exhausted her luck. She had mistakenly picked a valueless scrap. In this round, Wu Tao had won without a doubt, and Teng Ling'er had lost. The current situation was a tie at two to two after the fourth round.
The fifth round began. Wu Tao had already spotted a sacrificial treasure from the primeval era. This treasure was covered in many mysterious runes, clearly indicating its immense value. However, Wu Tao was somewhat indecisive, unable to determine if this treasure was a fake.
...
In the primeval era, sacrifices were very prosperous, and sacrificial artifacts were abundant. The more this was the case, the harder it became to judge. The more information one knew, the easier it was to counterfeit.
...
After purchasing this sacrificial artifact from the stall owner, Wu Tao infused his spiritual power into it. As the high-priced artifact activated, the mysterious runes on its surface flashed and then disappeared, and the artifact turned to dust. Seeing this, Wu Tao forced himself to appear unconcerned, but his heart ached like he was bleeding.
This time, Teng Ling'er had not made a mistake. "She chose an exotic fire, and it's a top-tier exotic fire..." This was a flame among the top one hundred exotic fires. The name of this exotic fire was "Fire within Wood," a rare innate flame.
...
Innate flames were not like other innate items, which were consumed with use. These were treasures that could be used for a long time.
"She's guaranteed to win... Teng Ling'er is guaranteed to win this round... How can she lose?" someone in the crowd exclaimed.
As expected, Teng Ling'er won the fifth round. The current score was three to two. Teng Ling'er only needed to win one more round to win the treasure bet.
...
At this moment, Wu Tao was carefully examining items on the stall that resembled mud lumps, wrapped in filth. These were treasures left behind after a "dragon turning the earth," known as "earth treasures." The so-called earth dragon was formed after an earthquake, when the ground cracked open, burying various heaven and earth spiritual materials containing spiritual energy. These specialized items condensed and evolved from what was buried deep underground. These earth treasures often contained various precious spiritual materials, invaluable.
However, truly precious spiritual materials were rare among earth treasures, and they were difficult to detect with divine sense, which was why they were placed on stalls for anyone to choose. When Wu Tao selected an earth treasure and cut it open, a special aroma wafted out. This immediately caused a commotion, especially when a mass of mysterious spiritual gel, resembling ambrosia, was discovered to be its true origin, causing everyone to become excited.
"It's purple spiritual gel, the main material for refining the Great Luo Spirit Pill? Its price is comparable to a magical treasure of the Core Formation stage!"
...
"Are you selling the purple spiritual gel? I've been stuck at the mid-Core Formation stage for a hundred years and need this purple spiritual gel to refine the Great Luo Spirit Pill!"
"I, Sun Shangtian, will take this purple spiritual gel! I offer ten thousand spirit stones..."
"Don't mention ten thousand! I offer twenty thousand!"
At this point, a human Core Formation stage cultivator shouted, "I offer thirty thousand spirit stones! Are there any other wealthy cultivators who wish to compete with me for this purple spiritual gel?"
Facing such high prices, Wu Tao simply smiled faintly and said nothing. His current cultivation level was also mid-Core Formation stage. How could he sell his purple spiritual gel to others for a mere handful of spirit stones? After all, purple spiritual gel was the primary material for refining the Great Luo Spirit Pill. And the Great Luo Spirit Pill was one of the best pills for breaking through in the mid-Core Formation stage.
Meanwhile, Teng Ling'er also seemed to feel the pressure. She fully utilized her Myriad Law Immortal Spirit Eyes, sensing the aura of these withered grasses on the stall while observing the specific conditions of each withered grass.
...
Some of these withered grasses were shaped like rabbits, lying there, emitting a jumping aura. Others resembled human figures, with a trace of strong vitality that could be sensed. Still others were coiled like snakes... She sensed them one by one and found that most were merely superficially impressive, their spiritual energy hollowed out, possessing no value. At this point, Teng Ling'er stopped at a withered grass with a very thick stem and root, sensing its vitality.
"However, although this withered grass is extraordinary, it doesn't seem to compare to the purple spiritual gel. Yet, after searching the entire stall, she couldn't find anything better and had no choice but to choose this withered grass!"
...
After splitting this withered grass into four parts, the onlookers collectively let out a gasp of admiration. At this moment, spiritual energy transformed into the shape of a white crane and flew directly out from the withered roots. Someone exclaimed, "It's Cloud Crane Immortal Jade! This jade is one of the thirteen most famous immortal jades in the Great World."
"This immortal jade, formed from an entire jade mountain weathered and refined over countless years, yields such a small piece of immortal jade."
"Cloud Crane Immortal Jade possesses a wondrous ability to accelerate one's comprehension of the Great Dao. Although it is not a true treasure, it is still immensely precious."
After this appraisal and comparison, the purple spiritual gel chosen by Wu Tao was clearly superior to the Cloud Crane Immortal Jade chosen by Teng Ling'er. In this round, Wu Tao won. The current situation was three to three, a tie between Wu Tao and Teng Ling'er.