Dragon Scale Stone

The crowd held their breath, and the venue instantly fell silent.

The surrounding lights dimmed slightly, with only the rising wooden table in the center enveloped by several soft yet bright beams of light, making it exceptionally conspicuous.

Four stewards from the Mysterious Yellow Pavilion, clad in uniform attire and exuding a solemn aura, worked together to carry an object covered by thick red silk. They walked steadily to the wooden table and carefully placed the object upon it.

The object was about half a person's height and irregularly shaped. However, beneath the red silk, a faint ancient and vast aura emanated, as if it held the weight of endless years.

All eyes were drawn to it, even those of the prominent figures in the private boxes above. Everyone knew this was the main event of the Mysterious Yellow Pavilion's inner chamber today.

It could be a top-tier gambling stone, or perhaps even contain astonishing treasures.

"This stone was brought back by our Pavilion Elder from the dangerous fringe of the 'Primordial Forbidden Ruins' three months ago," Steward Lu said in a gentle voice that clearly reached everyone's ears. "After joint appraisal by several of our Pavilion's stone masters, its surface patterns are said to subtly align with the ancient Dao, and the probability of it containing a treasure light is extremely high. It might be the champion of this Stone King Gathering. Today, we shall use this stone to liven things up for all of you."

The crowd couldn't help but erupt in a clamor.

"The Primordial Forbidden Ruins are exceptionally perilous. Since it came from within, it's definitely worth looking at," Xuanyuan Che said with a slight smile.

On stage, the red silk was respectfully unveiled by a steward.

Instantly, a massive stone block, dark brown all over, its surface covered in natural, profound patterns resembling dragon scales or tortoise shells, appeared before everyone.

The stone's surface also had several natural holes, through which a faint light seemed to escape, drawing everyone's spiritual energy to probe within, only to be blocked by an invisible force.

"What a stone!" a seasoned gambling stone enthusiast exclaimed, "Look at its skin and texture, ancient and robust, the patterns naturally formed, with hidden radiance within. It's absolutely extraordinary!"

"Something from the Primordial Forbidden Ruins? That's a place of great danger, but also great opportunity!"

"This stone is priceless. I'm afraid only those big shots in the Heaven-tier private boxes would dare to make a bid..."

A buzz of discussion filled the venue, with everyone's gazes burning, yet mostly tinged with reverence and self-awareness. The starting price for a stone of this caliber was likely astronomical.

Inside the Purple Serenity private box, Lei Mingjian's eyes widened. "My heavens, just looking at this stone, you know there's good stuff inside! This trip is truly worth it!"

Xuanyuan Che's gaze fell upon the "Dragon Scale Stone." A faint golden glint flashed deep within his eyes before vanishing. He stroked his chin and said calmly, "The stone is not bad, it's a bit interesting. However, the best things aren't always in the biggest stones."

Just then, Steward Lu below spoke again. "This stone is named 'Dragon Scale.' Its starting price is one million High-grade Spirit Stones, with minimum increments of one hundred thousand. Esteemed fellow Daoists, please begin."

Upon hearing the bid, the venue quieted down considerably. One million High-grade Spirit Stones! That was enough to cripple a medium-sized sect, and ordinary rogue cultivators wouldn't even dare to dream of it.

After a brief silence, someone finally made an offer.

"Earth-tier, number three, one million one hundred thousand." An aged voice came from a private box in the Earth-tier.

"Heaven-tier, number two, one million five hundred thousand." From another direction, someone in a Heaven-tier box directly increased the bid by four hundred thousand, showing their determination to win.

"Heaven-tier, number five, two million."

The price climbed steadily, quickly breaking the three million High-grade Spirit Stones mark. The competition was mainly concentrated among the higher-ranked Earth-tier boxes and the Heaven-tier boxes. The cultivators in the lower Human-tier areas could only look up and sigh in admiration.

Listening to the dizzying numbers, Lei Mingjian swallowed hard, completely giving up on the idea. He grumbled, "They've all gone mad, utterly mad... What if there's nothing inside? Wouldn't that be a colossal loss?"

Xuanyuan Che wasn't particularly interested in the bidding for the "Dragon Scale Stone." His spiritual sense subtly spread out again, not targeting the stone below, but scanning the private boxes where bids were being made, and... the stage above, where Steward Lu, with a faint, unreadable smile on his lips.

"As expected..." Xuanyuan Che's heart stirred. In his perception, Steward Lu's attention wasn't entirely focused on the highly anticipated "Dragon Scale Stone." Instead, he occasionally, intentionally or unintentionally, glanced at some display shelves on the edge of the auction hall. These shelves displayed mostly small, peculiar, but usually overlooked "scrap" stones.

One stone, about the size of a fist, grayish-white all over, unremarkable, even with some pitted surfaces, was casually placed on a shelf in a corner, priced at a mere one thousand High-grade Spirit Stones. However, Xuanyuan Che keenly sensed that Steward Lu's gaze lingered on that stone for a moment. Though extremely brief, it didn't escape his perception.

"This is interesting..." Xuanyuan Che's lips curved into a playful smile. This Pavilion Master, it seemed, had ulterior motives. He brought out the "Dragon Scale Stone" to attract everyone's attention while hiding something good?

If someone with discerning eyes were to find it, wouldn't that be undermining his own reputation?

At this moment, the price of the "Dragon Scale Stone" had been driven up to four million eight hundred thousand High-grade Spirit Stones, with the bid coming from the Heaven-tier, number two box.

"Four million eight hundred thousand, are there any other bidders?" Steward Lu asked with a smile, scanning the surroundings. He seemed quite satisfied with this price.

The venue fell silent. This price was already extremely high; even for distinguished guests in the Heaven-tier boxes, it required careful consideration of the risk.

"Four million eight hundred thousand, first call."

"Four million eight hundred thousand, second call."

Just as Steward Lu was about to make the third call and finalize the sale--

"Purple Serenity box, ten million."