It Nearly Passed Unsold
"Congratulations, sir, on purchasing Profound Gold Sand at the reserve price!" Wu Sihai came out and congratulated Yue Qianchou, who was settling the bill.
"This is truly a joyous occasion. I was prepared to put up at least three million, but who knew that no one would bid against me? It's really strange. Sigh! I just can't figure it out!" Yue Qianchou shook his head and sighed.
"Three million?" Wu Sihai chuckled awkwardly. This commotion had cost his Wu family 500,000 high-grade Spirit Stones for nothing; anyone would feel a pang of pain. The Wu family members beside him were speechless. They simply couldn't understand how such a thing could have happened. Logically, with this troublemaker involved, the price should have been even higher! This was truly unacceptable!
Yue Qianchou deftly pulled out fifty supreme-grade Spirit Stones, dazzling everyone once again. After he returned, Wu Lei held the pile of supreme-grade Spirit Stones and said with a wry smile, "These originally belonged to us, but now we can only take ten. What's wrong with those people outside? I really can't figure it out."
"Sigh!" Wu Sihai sighed, "Put away all the supreme-grade Spirit Stones! Prepare 400,000 high-grade Spirit Stones for the seller."
As the crowd watched the first buyer stagger back, a collective sigh escaped their lips; this madman had gotten a bargain. On stage, Wu Tai couldn't help but glance at Yue Qianchou times, then with a wave of his hand, the fourth item was brought out.
A member of the Wu family carried out a wooden tray covered with a red cloth, which bulged in the middle, and it was unclear what was covered. Another member of the Wu family reached out and lifted the cloth, revealing a jade bottle, about the size of a child's fist and only about half the height of a chopstick, with a faint green hue inside.
Wu Tai smiled again and said, "What's in this bottle should interest everyone. It contains about a teacup of 'Wood Spirit Liquid'."
"Wood Spirit Liquid?" Many people exclaimed in surprise. Many powerful figures from various factions who had been leaning back immediately sat up straight, their eyes gleaming with excitement. Hearing the commotion, Yue Qianchou turned around to look, thinking to himself, "Could this be some kind of treasure again?"
Wu Tai explained, "As you all probably know, this 'Wood Spirit Liquid' is the essence of a spiritual tree that lives for ten thousand years. If a tree that has gained sentience cultivates for ten thousand years without becoming a spirit, it will inevitably reciprocate the essence of heaven and earth by continuing its cultivation. It will expel ten drops of 'Wood Spirit Liquid' every day, from sunrise to sunset. After a year, the essence will be exhausted, and the tree will wither and die. Although the spiritual tree is dead, the 'Wood Spirit Liquid' it expelled has tremendous effects. For example, a single drop of it can increase the growth rate of spiritual herbs cultivated in our Cultivation World by a hundredfold. It is truly miraculous. If any sect has any top-grade spiritual herbs, they will know how slowly these herbs grow. Some take several years to mature, and some even take decades or hundreds of years to flower and bear fruit. Even if they produce seeds, they have to wait for many more years. With this 'Wood Spirit Liquid,' even a spiritual herb that is hundreds of years old can flower and bear fruit in a day with just a few drops."
Wu Tai observed the reactions of the crowd and smiled, "Alright, I won't say any more. The starting price for this item was originally one million high-grade Spirit Stones, but due to the impact of the previous auction, the seller specifically contacted our auction house to lower the starting price to eight hundred thousand. The starting price for 'Wood Spirit Liquid' is eight hundred thousand high-grade Spirit Stones. The highest bidder wins, and the minimum increment is no less than fifty thousand high-grade Spirit Stones. Please place your bids!"
"Damn it! After all that rambling, I thought it was some kind of treasure. Isn't this thing just like the purple chaos in Utopia? What use is this crap to me? I can have as much purple chaos as I want, and I can use as much as I want, with a starting price of 800,000. Even if it were given to me for free, I'd still find it cumbersome." Yue Qianchou muttered to himself.
He shifted his body, and Wu Lixue's eyes immediately lit up. She gripped the sign tightly, ready to show it to everyone as soon as he called out. She was getting quite engrossed in the game, but Yue Qianchou shifted again to make himself more comfortable. Wu Lixue watched him anxiously, practically ready to grab his ear and yell, "Hey! Don't fall asleep! This is a good thing!"
The scene was eerily quiet; you could probably hear a pin drop. All eyes were on the number one buyer, wondering what tricks he would pull this time. After waiting for a long time without any response, Wu Tai on the stage grew impatient and chuckled, "For such a treasure to appear here is a once-in-a-lifetime fortuitous opportunity. Is there really no one willing to take it?"
Wu Tai was genuinely worried. The last auction saw items sold at the reserve price, something never before seen at the Wu family's grand auction held every five years. Was this another case of a failed auction? That was unbelievable! The Wu family was a large and powerful clan with numerous members; their annual expenses were considerable. The auction, held every five years, was their prime time for making a fortune. If things continued like this, the entire Wu family would be forced to live off their savings. Aside from that, such an incident would severely damage the Wu family's reputation, making them a laughingstock in the Cultivation World.
Wu Tai took a deep breath. He was determined not to let the auction fail. As long as no one spoke up, he would remain silent. Withdrawing the item from the auction was something he absolutely could not do.
Wu Licheng was also getting restless. After all, this concerned his Lineage. Seeing everyone staring at Yue Qianchou, he, who had been silent all along, tugged at Yue Qianchou and said, "Aren't you going to buy such a treasure?"
Yue Qianchou didn't even turn his head and said, "Tch! You can't just put anything in such a small bottle and call it a treasure."
The surroundings were already quiet, and since everyone present was of a decent cultivation level, they naturally heard everything he said clearly. Everyone suddenly felt a little dizzy; it turned out this guy bought things by the head! What a genius!
Wu Licheng was so choked by his words that he almost couldn't speak. He swallowed hard and said awkwardly, "Don't underestimate this small bottle. The key is that the contents inside are valuable. The starting price is 800,000. If you resell it, you can at least double the price!"
"Really?" Yue Qianchou struggled to his feet, glancing at the crowd behind him with a puzzled look. He thought to himself, "Then why are they all silent? Sigh! This thing is really useless to me. Oh well, I'll just consider it a favor to Wu Licheng! After all, it's not exactly honorable for the Wu family to have something go unsold at auction. Consider it a favor." He nodded and said, "I trust you. I'll buy it. 800,000!"
Upon hearing this, Wu Lixue abruptly raised her plaque, looking triumphantly at the crowd behind her. She was far from thinking about the people worrying about the Wu Lineage, yet she was hoping to take them down in one fell swoop. Those who knew her as Wu Lixue and understood her personality were both amused and exasperated; this silly girl was hopeless!
While this stuff is useless to Yue Qianchou, it's incredibly useful to other sects, especially those that possess rare and precious spiritual herbs. Even sects without rare herbs can't guarantee they won't encounter them in the future. Having 'Wood Spirit Liquid' would solve a major problem. This time, no one will hold back with Yue Qianchou.
As soon as Wu Lixue put down her sign, the room erupted in chaos. Someone immediately shouted, "Nine hundred thousand!" and someone else immediately added one hundred thousand. Then someone else shouted, "One million!"
"One million one hundred thousand" were all bids that skipped the 50,000 difference and were increased by 100,000 each time, until they reached two million. Wu Lixue became restless again and kept looking at Yue Qianchou, as if asking, "Why aren't you calling it out yet!"
Yue Qianchou had never intended to buy this item. He had only bid to give the Wu family face, and now that someone was willing to participate, it was no longer his concern. The people from the Wu family, both on and off stage, breathed a sigh of relief. They now understood that it wasn't that the item was bad and people weren't willing to bid, but rather that they were waiting for Yue Qianchou to ignite the bidding. However, he had clearly ignited the bidding in the last round, so why was there no response? This matter became a mystery that the Wu family could not solve for many years to come.
The grand auction, held once every five years, finally saw the expected frenzy. The price of a bottle of 'Wood Spirit Liquid' skyrocketed. When it reached three million, not only was Wu Lixue anxious, but even Yue Qianchou was tempted. He hadn't expected this item to be so valuable, so he carefully considered whether to join the bidding and get involved.
But when the price jumped to 300,000, he immediately rejected it. Damn it! These guys are all playing dumb; even if I had all the money, I couldn't stop their burning passion. The key is, this thing is completely useless to me! What's the point of buying it at such a high price? I can't be impulsive; impulsiveness is the devil! So he completely backed down this round. Wu Lixue's little mouth, hidden under the black cloth, pouted high. Watching others make a scene was really boring.
When the price reached 6.9 million high-grade Spirit Stones, the excitement subsided, and finally no one dared to touch the 7 million mark. It wasn't that they didn't want to, but even the best item, when the price was too high for their means, naturally no one would touch it. Everything has its value. Besides, the items that followed would definitely not be inferior; everyone present was a seasoned veteran, and no one would act impulsively.
The item was returned to its rightful owner, and only then did everyone realize that the first buyer had only made one offer and then remained silent. Those from the smaller, less affluent groups from the previous round were terrified; thankfully, they hadn't acted impulsively. This madman was capable of making a single offer, and if they had actually offered 500,000 or 110,000 last time and he hadn't said a word, they would have been doomed. This man couldn't be judged by common sense...
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