The Sky-High Priced Stone

After several rounds of unremarkable auction items, the atmosphere in the hall had been warmed up to a critical point.

Ya Fei pressed her jade-like hand down gently, signaling for the hall to quieten.

Her charming and moving voice was transmitted clearly into everyone's ears through the sound-amplifying magic stone.

"Ladies and gentlemen, I presume you have already grown a little impatient."

"In that case, this humble one shall stop keeping you in suspense."

"Next up is the final grand finale of this auction!"

The moment her voice fell, the breathing of the entire auction hall seemed to stall for a heartbeat.

Thousands of gazes—burning, greedy, and expectant—converged in unison upon the auction stage.

A maidservant carried a tray crafted from cold jade, walking onto the stage step by step with extreme caution. Her pace was steady, yet her slightly trembling hands betrayed the nervousness in her heart.

The tray was covered by a heavy piece of red silk.

Ya Fei stepped forward and personally lifted the silk.

There was no dazzling treasure light as imagined, nor were there any astonishing energy fluctuations.

A piece of pitch-black stone, roughly the size of a fist and appearing entirely unremarkable, lay quietly in the center of the cold jade tray.

"What... what is this?"

"Is there a mistake? A broken rock?"

A suppressed commotion filled with confusion erupted from the floor.

Ya Fei had anticipated this, and her captivating, beautiful face remained adorned with a confident smile.

She did not offer an explanation.

Instead, she extended a slender, jade-white finger, and at its tip, a wisp of pale red fire-attribute Dou Qi slowly condensed like a docile fire snake.

Under the gaze of thousands in the hall, she gently tapped that finger onto the black stone.

Hum—!

The very instant the two made contact!

A visible, bone-chilling white frost erupted violently from the surface of the Obsidian!

This cold was not merely a low temperature; it carried an absolute suppression that seemed to originate from the depths of the soul, enough to make every expert in the hall who practiced fire-attribute techniques tremble!

Crack! Crack! Crack!

The surface of the cold jade tray began to rapidly coat itself in a thick layer of white frost, visible to the naked eye!

The temperature in the vicinity of the entire auction stage plummeted abruptly!

In the front row, Aoba Pa and Jialie Bi both saw their expressions change drastically at the same time!

They could clearly feel that the Dou Qi within their own bodies was experiencing an instinctive fear in the face of this pale cold, causing their circulation to become sluggish!

"This item is called the 'Exotic Flame Sensing Stone'."

Ya Fei withdrew her finger, her melodious voice ringing out slowly through the silent hall.

"It has only one purpose."

"When brought within a certain range of a true Exotic Flame, it will produce such a phenomenon. The closer the distance, the more intense the chill!"

Boom!

One stone stirred up a thousand ripples!

If the previous phenomenon had only shocked the crowd, then Ya Fei's words at this moment were like a thunderbolt, crashing violently into everyone's minds!

A compass for finding Exotic Flames!

The value of this item could no longer be measured in gold coins!

It was a hope to ascend to the heavens in a single step and change one's destiny!

Inside the private room on the second floor, Su Chen watched calmly as the faces below twisted with excitement and greed, his long fingers tapping lightly against the armrest.

The good show had begun.

"The Exotic Flame Sensing Stone, starting bid, one hundred thousand gold coins!"

Ya Fei's voice rose sharply.

"Each increment must be no less than ten thousand!"

"Now, the bidding begins!"

One hundred thousand gold coins!

This figure plunged the hall into an instant, deathly silence.

This price was already enough to purchase a decent Xuan-tier intermediate Dou Technique!

However, this deathly silence lasted for less than three breaths.

"One hundred and ten thousand!"

A rough, thunderous roar exploded from the mouth of Aoba Pa! He was the first to stand up, his eyes bloodshot, staring fixedly at the stone on the stage.

"One hundred and twenty thousand!"

Jialie Bi followed almost immediately, his voice cold and filled with unyielding provocation.

"One hundred and thirty thousand!"

"One hundred and fifty thousand!"

"One hundred and eighty thousand!"

The price, like a wild horse breaking free from its reins, began to skyrocket at a frantic pace!

Several local factions in Wutan City were almost all involved, and every bid drew gasps from the crowd below.

In less than the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, the price had been forcibly pushed to the height of three hundred thousand gold coins!

This price had already caused the faces of many small clan heads to turn pale, forcing them to sit back down in frustration.

"Three hundred and fifty thousand!"

Aoba Pa gritted his teeth and shouted a new high.

Fine beads of sweat had already seeped from his forehead.

However, just as he thought this price would temporarily stabilize the situation, a hoarse voice, sounding like two pieces of sandpaper rubbing together, suddenly rang out from an inconspicuous corner in the back row.

"Five hundred thousand!"

Hiss--!

A uniform sound of gasping echoed throughout the entire venue!

Thousands of gazes instantly converged on that corner!

An increase of one hundred and fifty thousand in a single bid!

What terrifying financial power!

A lone, burly man carrying a massive, door-sized sword slowly lowered the wine gourd in his hand, his eyes burning as he stared at the auction stage.

Aoba Pa's face instantly turned livid.

He knew that the real powerhouse had begun to exert its strength.

"Five hundred and ten thousand!"

From the other side, a cold voice rang out; it was a mercenary group leader from Black Rock City.

"Five hundred and fifty thousand!"

"Six hundred thousand!"

The bidding had completely entered a white-hot stage.

Every jump in price was like a heavy hammer, striking hard against everyone's heart.

Jialie Bi and Aoba Pa both clenched their fists, their nails digging deep into their palms, their faces flushed red as blood.

They watched helplessly as the price climbed, quickly crossing the limit of what they could bear.

"Eight hundred thousand!"

When the burly man with the giant sword shouted this price again, Jialie Bi trembled all over and finally slumped back into his seat.

He had given up.

This figure was enough to hollow out nearly half of the Jialie Clan's assets. He dared not gamble the future of his entire clan for a vague, ethereal hope.

Aoba Pa was also ashen-faced; he glanced at Elder Gu He beside him and read the answer in the other man's grave expression.

He, too, could only sit down slowly, filled with resentment and humiliation.

The struggle on the stage was left only to those few mysterious powerhouses from outside the city.

"Eight hundred and fifty thousand!"

"Nine hundred thousand!"

"Nine hundred and fifty thousand!"

When the price climbed to the terrifying figure of nine hundred and fifty thousand, the voices on the floor finally began to thin out.

The giant-sword-wielding man and the mercenary leader from Black Rock City both fell into silence.

Even for them, this price required careful consideration.

Ya Fei scanned the entire venue, forcibly suppressing her heart, which felt as if it were about to leap out of her chest, and began to raise the auction gavel in her hand.

"Nine hundred and fifty thousand gold coins, going once!"

Her voice trembled with a trace of imperceptible excitement.

"Nine hundred and fifty thousand gold coins, going twice!"

The entire hall fell into a deathly silence.

Everyone held their breath, waiting for the final owner of this miraculous item to be revealed.

Just as the auction gavel in Ya Fei's hand was about to fall for the third time.

A flat, emotionless tone slowly drifted from a corner of the front-row VIP seats, where a figure had remained silent from the very beginning.

The person was shrouded in a voluminous black robe, having not spoken a single word or made any unnecessary movements throughout the entire event.

At this moment, he simply raised the bidding paddle in his hand.

"One million five hundred thousand."

Four words.

Spoken lightly, as if he were discussing something trivial.

Yet, the figure represented by these four words acted like an invisible nuclear bomb, detonating with a roar throughout the entire auction hall!

The world seemed to have been pressed on mute.

Everyone's movements and expressions froze completely at that instant.

Jumping straight from nine hundred and fifty thousand to one million five hundred thousand!

This was no longer a bidding war.

This was an act of absolute crushing power, built upon a mountain of gold, sufficient to shatter the will of any opponent!

The burly man carrying a giant sword felt his pupils constrict sharply; the fleeting thought of placing another bid was instantly smashed to pieces by this astronomical figure.

He looked at the black-robed figure, and for the first time, his eyes revealed a deep sense of wariness.

The other bidders who were still hesitating turned ashen-faced, abandoning all illusions entirely.

In the face of such an opponent, any struggle appeared pale and laughable.

Ya Fei's red lips parted slightly, her stunning face, which could topple kingdoms, filled with incredulous shock.

Her mind even went blank for several seconds.

One million five hundred thousand gold coins!

This sum was enough to buy half of the Jialie Clan!

She snapped back to reality, her chest heaving rapidly from intense agitation.

"One million five hundred thousand! This gentleman bids one million five hundred thousand! Is there any higher offer?!"

Her voice rang throughout the hall.

No one answered.

"One million five hundred thousand, going once!"

"One million five hundred thousand, going twice!"

"One million five hundred thousand... going three times!"

Thud!

The crisp sound of the gavel falling echoed in everyone's ears like a final judgment.

"Sold!"

Ya Fei's voice was filled with passion, announcing that a brand-new record in the auction history of Wutan City had just been born!

The gazes of the entire crowd, like searchlights, were fixed firmly upon the mysterious black-robed figure, frantically speculating about his identity and origin.

Inside the private room on the second floor.

Su Chen leaned back against the soft chair, calmly watching the frantic scene below.

He slowly lifted the teacup from the table and took a light sip.

Beneath the shadow of his bamboo hat, the corners of his mouth twitched slightly.

The chessboard had been thoroughly stirred.

And he had finally hooked a deep-sea shark, one far larger and more mysterious than he had ever imagined.