Mantis Stalks the Cicada
Everyone turned to look at Yue Qianchou. He was the one who said the words and explained the reasoning, so they naturally wanted to see his reaction. After all, no one knew whether it was true or false; it was all his own opinion. If he made a bid, it was very likely that he was deceiving everyone.
Yue Qianchou closed his eyes to rest, and the stage and audience remained silent. On stage, Wu Tai sighed inwardly; another good deal had been ruined by the number one buyer. After a flurry of speculation, many in the audience suspected that Yue Qianchou might genuinely be out of money and was deliberately sabotaging the deal. Someone shouted, "Three million!"
One person spoke up, and everyone realized that the Seven Star Blood Orchid was indeed genuine. In any case, it was something to be bought to curry favor. What did it matter what kind of flower or fruit it could produce? Did they really expect to get a share of the 'Seven Orifices Exquisite Pill'? Who cares? As long as the elders of the sect are happy, that's all that matters. It will be a great achievement then.
"Three million one hundred thousand!" Someone immediately followed suit.
"Three million two hundred thousand... three million five hundred thousand... four million..." Bidding cries rose and fell, and the price soared. Wu Tai's bitter face on the stage gradually broke into a smile.
Bi Zicong and the others glanced at the unmoved Yue Qianchou, thinking to themselves that he was indeed out of money, otherwise he would have definitely interfered. Wu Lixue, like her brothers, breathed a sigh of relief, casually holding the bidding paddle in her hand, looking around at the excitement. At this moment, she remembered that the Wu family would take a 20% cut from the auction, so naturally she hoped the price would be as high as possible, her big eyes darting around non-stop!
Hearing the bidding rise steadily, Yue Qianchou noticed Wu Lixue shifting and turning, watching the excitement. He opened his eyes and casually glanced at her, understanding her thoughts from her drastically different attitude. The phrase "big boobs, no brains" flashed through his mind. Yue Qianchou smiled slightly, closed his eyes again, and thought, "This is good! The more unexpected it is, the greater the shock! The Four Great Families will likely pay more attention to me. Money is worthless, but if it's spent wisely, I don't mind!" He reassured himself.
Once the price surpassed five million, the bidding suddenly halved, with the remaining bids likely coming from top-tier sects in the Cultivation World. Dongfang Changao of Fu Xian Island and Qiu Wuyuan of the Myriad Demon Palace were also observing coldly, both Chou Wuyuan to acquire the 'Seven Star Blood Orchid.' However, it seemed there were still many bidders, and their pride as the top-ranked sects of Righteous and Demonic paths prevented them from joining the fray for the time being. Both were prepared to be the mantis stalking the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind. But who knew if they were the oriole, or if a hawk or some other predator would suddenly appear!
When the price had been fiercely contested to eight million, fewer than ten people were still bidding. Wu Tai, the auctioneer, regained his confident smile and calmly observed the fierce competition. When the price broke the nine million mark, even fewer people participated. The remaining five took turns pushing the price up to ten million! Then, two of them stopped bidding. Perhaps the price had reached their limit, or perhaps they were conserving their resources for the remaining four treasures. It seemed there might be more bidders later; how could they possibly buy truly valuable items without at least ten million high-grade Spirit Stones?
"Thirteen million!" This bid immediately turned the three-way standoff into a one-man show, and the entire arena fell silent. A short while later, the silence persisted, as if the outcome was already decided. Wu Tai called out with satisfaction, "This gentleman has bid thirteen million high-grade Spirit Stones. Anyone else bidding?" His gaze lingered on the number one bidder who had been bidding every round. Everyone looked around, also glancing at him. Seeing that the number one bidder seemed to be asleep, they thought to themselves, "He really is out of money. We were all fooled by his extravagant bids in the previous rounds."
Many people, after silently calculating the total value of his bids from the three rounds, concluded that he hadn't even brought ten million, and couldn't help but despise his previous show of wealth. Only Bi Zicong and the other members of the Wu family knew the truth didn't think that way. Yue Qianchou was different from the others; the others represented the financial resources of their respective sects, while Yue Qianchou had personal wealth. How many people in the Cultivation World could privately produce over eight million high-grade Spirit Stones? Let alone supreme-grade Spirit Stones!
Yue Qianchou sneered inwardly. Those two people who could casually ask for six or seven million to flirt with him hadn't said a word yet! I don't believe they're short of money.
"This gentleman has offered thirteen million high-grade Spirit Stones. Has anyone else raised the price?" Wu Tai asked again. If no one responds after three bids, the 'Seven Star Blood Orchid' will be returned to its rightful owner.
"Fourteen million!" Just when everyone thought the outcome was decided, someone suddenly raised the bid. It was none other than Chou Wuyuan from the Myriad Demon Palace. Yue Qianchou's heart skipped a beat. Here it comes!
"Fourteen million one hundred thousand!" The man who had bid earlier added another one hundred thousand, but it was clear that his voice was strained.
"Fifteen million!" Chou Wuyuan raised the bid again. The man immediately fell silent, and the crowd clicked their tongues in amazement. There's always someone better!
The room fell silent again. Wu Tai looked around at everyone and announced loudly, "This person has bid 15 million. Is there anyone else raising the price?"
"Sixteen million!" Dongfang Changao made his move. He had no choice but to bid, because many of the old elders of the 'Tianxin Pavilion' on Fu Xian Island were extremely old and nearing their end, making them in greater need of the 'Seven Star Blood Orchid' than other sects. Regardless of whether it was truly as the first buyer claimed, since this legendary item had already appeared, he had to do his best to obtain it; otherwise, he would find it difficult to face the elders of Fu Xian Island upon his return.
Yue Qianchou's eyes snapped open. Hehe! They've finally started bubbling up!
Chou Wuyuan looked at Dongfang Changao. He was now almost certain that this man was the representative of Fu Xian Island, and raised the price again. "Seventeen million!"
"Eighteen million!" Dongfang Changao raised the price again, and he began to suspect that the other party was from the Myriad Demon Palace.
"Nineteen million!" Chou Wuyuan gritted his teeth and pressed on. He had no choice. Although the number of people in his Myriad Demon Palace who were nearing their end was not as many as those on Fu Xian Island, there were still quite a few, and the pressure was immense.
"Twenty million!" The moment Dongfang Changao uttered this price, the crowd below was stunned. To be willing to spend so much money on just the sixth treasure was truly astounding; if these two weren't from Fu Xian Island and Myriad Demon Palace, it would be a miracle. Perhaps it was the bystanders' keener eye, for they immediately guessed the two's origins.
Yue Qianchou was also muttering to himself, "Could these two bastards be from Fu Xian Island and Myriad Demon Palace? Fu Xian Island... Damn it! Whatever, they dared to scam me, I don't care where they're from!"
"Twenty-one million!" Chou Wuyuan raised the price again with a heavy heart. In fact, twenty million was already his bottom line for this Blood Orchid, but when he thought about how the other party was Fu Xian Island, which was superior to the Myriad Demon Palace, he decided that he had to raise the price twice more, even if the other party took it in the end, he would make the other party bleed more, otherwise he would not be able to swallow this insult.
"Twenty-two million!" Dongfang Changao didn't Chou Wuyuan; he only knew that he wouldn't give up on this item for less than twenty-five million. Of course, the immense wealth of Fu Xian Island was also an important reason supporting his decision.
"Twenty-three million!" This was Chou Wuyuan's last bid. After shouting it out, he felt much more relaxed. Success or failure depended on this. He had done his best, and he was sure that the Old Ancestor of the Myriad Demon Palace would not blame him when they found out.
"Twenty-four million!" This was Dongfang Changao's last bid. If the other party raised the price to twenty-five million, he would give up. Too much of a good thing is bad!
Silence! The other person fell silent. Had the contest ended? The hearts of the crowd below pounded. They hadn't expected the Blood Orchid to fetch such an astronomical price, seemingly even higher than the final item at the last grand auction! Fu Xian Island and Myriad Demon Palace were indeed incredibly wealthy!
Unexpected! Completely unexpected! Wu Tai on stage was equally pounding with excitement, as was Wu Sihai in the darkroom. No one had anticipated that the 'Seven Star Blood Orchid' would be so valuable; it was far beyond everyone's expectations. Yue Qianchou, however, was pondering. "It seems buying it at such a high price wasn't a loss," he thought. "I'll probably breed some and sell them; I'm sure I can recoup my investment with a profit. Good stuff, good stuff, not bad! Not bad!"
Seeing that no one else was bidding, Wu Tai excitedly asked, "Seven Star Blood Orchid, the third buyer has offered 24 million high-grade Spirit Stones. Is there anyone else bidding?"
.