Tan Xiu's Inscription
Chou Wuyuan bought the two thousand supreme-grade Spirit Stones for a full forty million high-grade Spirit Stones. No one was surprised, since Qiu Wuyuan was the Chou Wuyuan. He obviously had wanted to buy them for a long time. However, the reaction of Fu Xian Island surprised everyone, as they were rather passive when bidding.
Logically, the Spiritual Qi capacity of a supreme-grade Spirit Stones should be roughly equivalent to that of ten thousand high-grade Spirit Stones, so doubling the price is indeed a bit excessive. However, the rarity of this item is undeniable; it's been countless years since it last appeared in the Cultivation World. Ordinary disciples certainly cannot enjoy such items; only those elders with high prestige within the sect are qualified to possess them.
Ordinary Law Treasure can't be distributed to everyone after purchase, but this kind of thing is what the elders like the most. After all, the supply of Spirit Stone is limited for elders of any sect. It's not good to give them too many. If you give each elder tens of thousands of high-grade Spirit Stones at once, even if they don't say it, they will definitely have a lot of complaints in their hearts.
But this is different. You can't just give one to every disciple, can you? Many sects have a large number of disciples. Even if you break each supreme-grade Spirit Stones into several pieces, it still won't be enough. Those who are qualified to enjoy it are naturally those who are highly respected and hold high positions. So this thing is really the best item for bribery. Whoever gets it back is guaranteed to gain both fame and fortune, and be praised by everyone.
Yue Qianchou in the audience, was furious. In the previous rounds of the auction, he had spent nearly eight thousand top- supreme-grade Spirit Stones, equivalent to almost eighty million high-grade Spirit Stones. This auction had doubled the price, meaning his supreme-grade Spirit Stones were now worth over one hundred and fifty million high-grade Spirit Stones. He had watched helplessly as others made a profit, feeling like a complete idiot, forced to swallow his bitterness. It was impossible not to be angry.
I was feeling a little guilty for ruining their auction, but now they've made a fortune, much better than taking a cut from the auction. I imagine the rest of the supreme-grade Spirit Stones have ended up in the Wu family's pockets.
Wu Sihai hadn't expected the price to double. In that case, he felt a bit bad for Yue Qianchou; it was practically slapping him in the face, treating him like an idiot. Despite his thoughts, he didn't show the slightest sign of displeasure. He calmly concluded the grand auction and warmly welcomed everyone to continue attending other free auctions.
The event ended, and those who left were the four buyers who had made some gains. After each of them received their treasures with their tokens, Dongfang Changao and Chou Wuyuan, having already revealed themselves, calmly left the auction house. Even if everyone knew that these two possessed treasures and a huge sum of money, who would dare to rob them?
The other buyers were arranged by the Wu family to travel through a secret passage to the Wu Lineage compound, then revert to their true forms and quietly cross the river back to "Hat Island" on the other side. No one knew who the second buyer was. As for Yue Qianchou, he naturally returned to "Serene Guest Hall" in a huff after leaving the secret passage.
After Bi Zicong and the others returned to the Serene Guest Hall from Hat Island, they all clicked their tongues and looked Yue Qianchou. They all knew he was rich, but they didn't expect him to be this rich. Wu Lixue, however, tilted her pretty head and kept looking at him, pondering a question she didn't know when she would understand—how could he be so rich!
Yue Qianchou slumped in a chair, rolled his eyes at the group, and said irritably, "Don't bother me, I'm annoyed right now!"
Before the group could speak, a voice came from outside. "What's bothering you? Is it because of those supreme-grade Spirit Stones?"
Outside the garden, Wu Sihai walked in alone, chuckling. The younger generation quickly bowed. He waved to them, then chuckled at Yue Qianchou, who remained motionless in his beanbag chair. The latter, thoroughly annoyed by Wu Sihai, was far from ready to greet him.
"What? Are you angry that I put the supreme-grade Spirit Stones you paid for up for auction?" Wu Sihai laughed.
"Oh!" Yue Qianchou stood up and rolled his eyes, saying, "So you knew it was me all along! No wonder you were so brazen!"
"What? That supreme-grade Spirit Stones is yours?" Wu Licheng exclaimed in surprise. The others also looked at Yue Qianchou in shock. Just how many secrets did this guy still have?
"Alright, this isn't the place to talk. Yue Qianchou, and the rest of you, come with me to the Elders' Council Hall," Wu Sihai said solemnly, then added, "Xue'er, stay here."
"Oh!" Wu Lixue replied reluctantly. There was nothing she could do; it was the clan rule that women were not allowed to enter the elders' council hall.
The group turned to leave, but then they saw someone with his nose in the air, pretending not to hear them. Wu Licheng came over, grabbed Yue Qianchou's arm, and dragged him away, saying, "Go! Go!"
"What are you doing! Can't you be a little more civilized... Stop dragging this out, I have things to do..." Yue Qianchou struggled. But Bi Zicong came over and grabbed his other arm, saying, "Stop nagging, what could you possibly have to do?"
Tan Fei and Jing Zuo rolled up their sleeves and were about to grab his leg, and the group tried to carry him away. Wu Sihai turned around, looked at the young people, and smiled, happy for their friendship.
"I'll go by myself, I'll go by myself, damn it! How come the Wu family is like a den of thieves?" Yue Qianchou had escaped the clutches of the group, said indignantly, "Wait a minute, there's something I haven't given to Wu Lixue yet."
As he spoke, he took out a red and black object from his Storage Bag and handed it to Wu Lixue. It was the so-called "Vermilion Bird Egg" that he had bought for 300,000 high-grade Spirit Stones. The latter took it and hugged it to her chest, secretly glancing at her grandfather.
Wu Sihai frowned and asked, "Xue'er! What's going on?"
Wu Licheng quickly took over the conversation and explained to him. After listening, he glanced at Yue Qianchou and didn't say anything more. If it were in the past, he would definitely scold his granddaughter for accepting something worth 300,000 high-grade Spirit Stones for no reason. But Yue Qianchou was a different story. Besides, for this guy, 300,000 was just a drop in the ocean!
The group of six, led by Wu Sihai, arrived at the Wu family's rear stronghold, the Wu family, which was also the Wu family's elders' council hall. Bi Zicong and the others were also puzzled as to why Wu Sihai would bring Yue Qianchou, an outsider, to such a place.
Yue Qianchou looked around as he went, seemingly indifferent, but actually carefully observing the surroundings. He found that the area was loose on the outside but tight on the inside, with strict defenses, befitting Wu family stronghold.
Upon entering the Wu family, Wu Sihai dismissed the other bystanders and led the group to the main hall. Yue Qianchou immediately noticed the numerous memorial tablets placed on the tiered wooden table in the center, clearly belonging to deceased members of the Wu family. He muttered to himself, "Why did this old man bring me here?"
Looking further up, above the wooden table displaying numerous memorial tablets, hung a portrait on the wall. The painting depicted an elegant old man, dressed in a simple robe, standing with his hands behind his back on a cliff, gazing slightly at the stars. The old man's otherworldly, aloof, and proud air was vividly portrayed. The night scene, especially the black ink on white paper, was breathtaking; the entire painting was incredibly lifelike, clearly the result of considerable effort. In the corner of the painting were a few lines of small characters, Yue Qianchou couldn't help but scrutinize intently.
Wu Sihai lit an incense stick first, followed by Wu Licheng and the other three, each holding an incense stick. They knelt respectfully and then placed the incense sticks into the incense burner. Bi Zicong saw Yue Qianchou looking around with a puzzled expression, smiled, took an incense stick, and walked over, saying, "The painting in the main hall is a portrait of my ancestor. Brother Yue, why don't you also light an incense stick as a token of your respect?"
But Yue Qianchou was staring at the portrait, dumbfounded, his mouth agape. What had he seen? He was stunned by a few lines of text in the corner of the portrait, which read, "The sages of the past often sighed, 'If Heaven had feelings,' I was not in my forties then, but now, in my old age, I ponder deeply and have tasted its profound meaning. But it is too late! I deeply regret it! Therefore, I leave behind this portrait of the sage Bi Changchun for future generations to admire, so that they may never forget it! Tan Xiu left this inscription."
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