"F*ck, a Gold rank herb. Where did they even find that item?"
"And I thought the axe was already expensive."
"If I had 60,000 low-grade Qi stones, I would be set for a long time."
Fervent discussions rang out among the people on the ground floor. They obviously didn't have enough money to bid for the item, so they could only dream about getting such an item.
"62,000 low-grade Qi stones"
"65,000 low-grade Qi stones"
"70,000 low-grade Qi stones"
Voices rang out from the private rooms as even they couldn't keep their cool now. This was what most of them were here for. They were determined to get this item.
As soon as Melvin saw the silvereye grass on stage, his eyes turned red with greed. He had been stuck as a rank 2 alchemist for about years now, and this was finally his chance.
He was going to do everything in his power to obtain this rare ingredient. He called out in a deep voice,
"85,000 low-grade Qi stones."
The whole auction fell into silence again as the people at the bottom were trying to figure out who would raise the price by a whole 15,000 Qi stones. The faces of the family heads in the private rooms became serious, and they recognized the owner of the voice.
Alchemists were a rare commodity, and they would not want to offend them if possible.
After all, if they offended Melvin, it would impact their ability to procure pills. Many of the people backed off when they heard Melvin's voice.
Melvin was smiling to himself as he knew what was going on. He thought he had won the bid when a slightly hoarse voice sounded, freezing the smile on his face.
"90,000 low-grade Qi stones."
Melvin's face turned cold as soon as he heard the voice. Of course, it was his rival, alchemist Alfred.
Alfred was also a peak Silver rank alchemist, so it was obvious he wasn't going to let this item go easily. Melvin gritted his teeth and called out somewhat reluctantly;
"95,000 Qi stones."
Alfred didn't bid this time. It was as if his previous attempt was just to infuriate Melvin. Seeing that no one else made a bid. The item was won by Melvin, who heaved a sigh of relief after winning the herb.
He had spent a significant amount of his fortune this time because he wanted to make sure nothing unexpected happened. However, he still didn't know that what would happen next wouldn't even have occurred to him in his wildest dreams.
After a successful auction, alchemist Melvin left the auction house in a good mood. He had finally gotten the silver eye grass that he needed to be able to break through to a Gold rank alchemist.
Of course, even with the silvereye grass, he couldn't break through just yet. He still needed to increase his cultivation to the golden core formation realm.
However, he had already reached the peak of the foundation establishment realm, so he wasn't too worried about that. As an alchemist himself, he had some secret methods and means that weren't known to the world.
He was planning to enter seclusion immediately in order to break through and increase his cultivation. After a 30-minute carriage ride, he finally arrived home.
He entered into his courtyard of the mansion and didn't find anything amiss. He had a sumptuous dinner prepared for himself and brought out his best wine in order to celebrate the day's achievements.
Due to his excitement, he had failed to notice the black shadow that was lurking around him, watching his every movement. Since he wanted to enter seclusion as soon as possible, he decided to have one last bout of enjoyment.
As he was enjoying his one-man party, a strange aroma slowly spread out into the room.
He didn't notice it due to his intoxication and was soon fast asleep before he could even recall what was going on. He fell asleep with his face in his food.
The shadow that was hiding in the corner of the room suddenly appeared next to him and gently removed his storage ring. It was a low-grade storage ring that contained the Gold grade silvereye grass that he had just purchased.
This shadow was naturally Adrian. He had been waiting for Melvin in his home all day in order to steal his furnace. He had cased out the entire joint, looking for the best hiding spots and any hidden treasures.
An alchemist's furnace is his greatest treasure, and he wouldn't leave it just lying around anywhere.
Adrian wasn't hoping to find the furnace in the house, but rather, he wanted to catch Melvin off guard. He knew that he would be on alert after just attending an auction and would be wary of ambushes or sneak attacks on his way home.
Even though he was at the peak of the foundation establishment realm, his actual strength was much weaker than a normal peak-stage foundation establishment realm.
Because he was an alchemist, he didn't have much attacking ability.
Even Adrian, with his current skills and cultivation, would be able to beat him with no difficulty.
However, Adrian wasn't willing to take this risk. Not only would he have to expose himself, but he wouldn't be able to end the fight quickly, and Melvin could even run away.
In short, it was just plain stupid. Stealing was much easier and safer.
Of course, this was only for Adrian. Any other individual would find it difficult to even enter alchemist Melvin's courtyard, let alone his room. Getting the ring off his finger would be even harder. Adrian had to use an incense meant to tranquilize beasts.
The incense he used could knock out a peak rank 3 beast in a minute. This was one of the items he had prepared when he was heading into the misty mountains. It's no wonder Melvin didn't even last 10 seconds before he was out like a light.