The Cursed Blade

The long sword had a gilded scabbard with intricate carvings, a black hilt, and was approximately 1.5 meters long.

Gu Ding secretly glanced at Bigge from the side and noticed that he was staring intently at the long sword. Gu Ding immediately made up his mind and decided to help Bigge take the sword away.

"You may have heard of the name of this knife; it's called Darkness." The female auctioneer's expression became slightly unnatural when she mentioned the name.

Upon hearing this name, the expressions of some people who had initially shown great interest in the knife immediately changed.

"That's right, this is the legendary cursed knife," the female auctioneer continued to explain. "Many people may not know the origin of this knife, so let me explain."

"The first owner of this sword was a demigod from the Near Ancient Era. Even with the strength of this demigod, he was still killed by the sword draining his life force."

"After that, the knife changed hands many times, and each owner died due to exhaustion of life force. Later, someone discovered that the knife was cursed."

"It has been passed down to this day. The previous owner of this knife was the Mad Blade Viscount of the Fei Me Universe Country. When he gave up this knife, he had less than a hundred years of life left."

Mad Blade Viscount is a Twelfth-Order Gene Body powerhouse. In the Fei Me Universe Country, he is National Treasure -level expert and previously served as a marshal in the military. Anyone granted a title by the Federal Government is at least a Twelfth-Order Gene Body powerhouse. Those granted the title of viscount are the cream of the crop among Twelfth-Order Gene Body.

The auctioneer's explanation was so shocking that Gu Ding, who had originally intended to help Bigge win the longsword, completely lost interest.

Whether it's the legendary demigod or the Mad Blade Viscount, both are far more powerful Bigge. If even these people couldn't be freed from the curse, Bigge certainly couldn't.

"However, this sword only absorbs the user's life force when it is used. Moreover, it grants a three- to ten-fold increase in combat power. And most irresistibly, it is said that this sword contains the Sword Dao Insights left by its first owner. More than one person, including Mad Blade Viscount, has confirmed the truth of this claim. Opportunity and danger always go hand in hand, so interested buyers can place their bids. The starting price for this sword is 5 Star Coin, and each bid must be at least 500 million Star Coin higher." After recounting the sword's curse, the female auctioneer also mentioned its advantages. She and the organizers were reluctant to discuss the curse, but the auction business required honesty with bidders and no concealment to avoid future disputes.

"Captain, can you help me buy this knife?" Bigge turned to look at Gu Ding.

"Big guy, don't be silly. This thing is cursed. Didn't you hear what the auctioneer said? Even demigods can't avoid it. You'll be drained in a few days." Liliath quickly advised her, as she always kept her distance from dangerous items of this type.

"Bigge, I also think this knife isn't suitable for you." Gu Ding was unwilling to refuse Bigge's request, but he also felt that the knife was too sinister. "Absorbing life force, that kind of curse sounds creepy, and there are so many examples of strong people dying before."

Bigge lowered his head, and judging from his expression, he seemed genuinely unwilling to give up.

"Gu Ding, buy it for him," the Sea Emperor suddenly said. "The curse is actually a special kind of energy restriction in a way. If my unlocking authority is upgraded to a higher level, it should be able to be lifted. Even if the unlocking authority cannot be upgraded in the short term, I have quite a lot of information about curses in my database. I can also look for ways to break this curse. Until then, we can try to make him use this knife as little as possible, or even not at all."

"The Sea Emperor just said he would find a way to lift the curse on this sword. I can help you bid for it, but you must promise to use the sword as little as possible or not at all until the curse is lifted." Generally speaking, the Sea Emperor's suggestions are carefully considered, and since he thought it was worth buying, Gu Ding didn't have many questions.

At this point, there weren't many people participating in the bidding, and each bid was increased by the minimum amount of 500 million, which brought the price up to 6.5 billion.

"Seven billion!" Gu Ding pressed the bidding button and announced his price.

"Seventy-five billion!" Not long after Gu Ding pressed the bidding button, someone else raised the price on the other side.

Gu Ding frowned and pressed the bidding button again, "Nine billion!"

"Nine billion! Is this our final bid?" the female auctioneer continued, enticing the crowd. "Even if you don't use this knife, it's a great collectible. Since it's unused, it won't be cursed, so you can all rest assured. Is anyone willing to offer a higher price?"

After the female auctioneer's persuasive tactics, the bidding intensified again, this time reaching a staggering 10 billion.

Gu Ding frowned again and asked the Sea Emperor in a low voice, "Is there a rule in this Auction House that requires payment on the same day?"

"No, you can pay when you pick up the item. A staff member will contact you after today's auction. You can tell them you're not picking it up today. They're not worried about you running away because you're on record as a seller, and they know you can afford to pay." The Sea Emperor had already read the Auction House rules and knew the process very well.

"Two hundred billion!" Gu Ding didn't bother with any more haggling and immediately doubled the price.

The auctioneer was taken aback by the bid; she hadn't expected anyone to be so eager to acquire the knife. However, she quickly recovered. "A bidder has already raised the price by 10 billion Star Coin, bringing it to 20 billion Star Coin. Anyone else willing to bid higher? 20 billion Star Coin, first time... 20 billion Star Coin, second time... still no objections. 20 billion Star Coin, third time... Sold!"

Bigge became slightly excited when he heard the word "deal".

"Don't get too excited yet. We probably won't be able to get the knife today. We've only sold one crystal ball so far, and even if someone picks it up today, with all the money we have, we won't have 12 billion Star Coin in total. We'll have to wait until the other items are auctioned off before we can pay and take delivery," Gu Ding, patting Bigge on the shoulder.

"Hmm," Bigge nodded, offering no objection.

The Auction House continued, and the eight-hour Auction House to an end. Including the crystal ball at the beginning, a total of four items consigned by Gu Ding were sold. Each time, the buyers were from the same private room and they were very generous.

Gu Ding sold the four items for a total of 28 billion Star Coin. As soon as the Auction House ended, staff members approached Gu Ding.

"Sir, all four items you consigned have been picked up by buyers, totaling 28 billion Star Coin. We charge a 5% handling fee, and your account now has 26.6 billion Star Coin available. You still have one item you won in the auction that you haven't claimed yet. Would you like to claim it now?"

"Those people in that private room were quick," Gu Ding grinned. "Let's go get the knife!"

(Thanks to [Watched Flash] for the generous donation!)

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