Chapter 224
"Moreover, he is, after all, the personal disciple of the Saint King Xuanji of the Ziwei Sacred Land. If I go too far, it will inevitably damage the relationship between the Holy Academy and the Ziwei Sacred Land."
"That's true!" Xiao Minghuang frowned slightly and said, "This matter is really troublesome... How about this, if Xiu'er has nothing else to do during this time, she can stay with me. If Li Gaoyang comes to bother us again, I will personally drive him away."
Xiu'er is the personal disciple of the Hundred Inquiries Pavilion Master, representing the face of the Holy Academy, but she is just an ordinary disciple of the inner court and doesn't need to worry about so much.
"Really?" Xu Xiuer was overjoyed. "Thank you, Princess!"
Xiao Minghuang waved his hand, indicating that she didn't need to take it to heart.
Lin Wanqiu secretly curled her lip and rolled her eyes at her.
Their precious time together as a couple is ruined!
Just then, footsteps came from the stairs, followed by the voices of auction house staff.
"Distinguished guests, tonight's auction is now beginning. Without further ado, let's present the first treasure!"
Since it's a small, monthly auction, there are no pre-auction preparations; the treasures are brought out directly.
Soon a beautiful young woman came in carrying a tray. She opened the Brocade Box on the tray, and a soft, lustrous light shone out. Inside the Brocade Box lay a perfectly round and translucent bead, about the size of a thumb.
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The auctioneer introduced, "This is the 'Thousand-Year Snow Lotus,' a spiritual herb that grows in extremely yin places. It contains abundant spiritual power, and its effects are no less than those of Earth-grade pill. Moreover, its taste is fresh and sweet. Most importantly, it is an excellent tonic for nourishing and beautifying the skin, making it most suitable for young and beautiful female cultivators..."
"Starting bid: 100 High-grade Spirit Stones; minimum increment: 10 stones!"
Upon hearing his explanation, the few female cultivators present all showed expressions of surprise.
The shape of living beings is predetermined by heaven, and even the smallest size has its own cause and effect. Even the elixir of youth can only maintain one's appearance, but this snow lotus can make one's appearance even more beautiful.
Immediately, the sound of bidding filled the air.
Most male cultivators scoffed at this.
"Appearance is determined by fate, something that Thousand-Year Snow Lotus cannot alter. Only Saint-grade Spirit Medicine could possibly change it!"
"Fellow Daoist, you are mistaken. After consuming the snow lotus, the female cultivator's mood improved, her complexion became radiant, and her appearance improved as well. I was just planning to buy some to give to my Dao Companion... 1050!"
To be honest, the cultivators who would spend a lot of money to buy beauty placebos are probably mostly female cultivators who aren't particularly good-looking. Truly stunning female cultivators would naturally look down on such things.
Inside the private room on the top floor, Xiao Minghuang and Lin Wanqiu remained calm and showed no interest whatsoever in the so-called Thousand-Year Snow Lotus.
Although Xu Xiuer had a faint urge to bid, she knew that if she made a bid at this moment, wouldn't that be admitting that she wasn't beautiful enough?
Clearly, the female nuns in the hall quickly realized what was happening and didn't continue bidding for long.
In the end, the snow lotus was sold to a middle-aged male cultivator for 1,100 High-grade Spirit Stones.
The auction continued, and one item after another was brought up, but most of them were quite common and failed to pique Xiao Minghuang's interest.
It wasn't until the ninth item was brought to the stage that Xiao Minghuang's gaze finally fell upon the display stand.
It was a dull-colored pill with dark green markings on its surface, looking as if it were moldy, but it faintly emitted a faint fluctuation, which made it seem somewhat different.
The auctioneer said, "I believe everyone has already sensed the unusual nature of this pill. This pill is both common and unusual."
At this moment, some knowledgeable people had already seen through the deception and scoffed, "It's just Saint-grade discarded pill, what's so strange about it?"
As is well known, the rarer the materials used to refine pills, the lower the success rate. The failure rate often exceeds 80%, and even the highest-level pill formulas have a success rate of only about 50%.
Therefore, it is not uncommon for high-level pills to be defective in the market, and even Saint-grade discarded pill often appear.
Despite being mocked to his face, the auctioneer remained unaffected; he understood that customers' normal emotional expression was part of the auction process.
"Since you distinguished guests are aware of this, I will not elaborate further. This pill has been identified as a type of medicine that can help break through bottlenecks below the King Realm. However, due to its extremely poor quality, it is now a useless pill, so its efficacy is practically nonexistent. If your cultivation level is too low, there may be significant side effects after taking it. Please consider this carefully."
"Starting bid: fifty High-grade Spirit Stones; minimum increment: five per bid!"
The order in which the auction items are presented is not random, but follows a certain pattern.
Placing this unappealing item in ninth place was also a well-considered decision.
After all, having such a "piece of junk" beforehand inevitably highlights the preciousness of the final auction item.
Therefore, the auctioneer was not surprised that the discarded elixir failed to sell.
As expected, no one responded after waiting for a long time.
Are there any other distinguished guests bidding?
"Three!"
"Two!"
Just as the auctioneer raised his gavel, about to strike...
"Fifty spirit stones!"
A clear, resonant voice rang out from the VIP suite on the top floor.
"Congratulations to our distinguished guest in the private room for winning the precious pill with fifty High-grade Spirit Stones!" The auctioneer said with a beaming smile.
It was quite unexpected that this discarded elixir didn't go unsold.
Inside the private room.
Xu Xiuer looked puzzled. "Princess, you're offering fifty worth of useless pills. These pills are not only ineffective, but also poisonous. If you need pills to help you break through your bottleneck, I can help..."
"Don't worry!" Xiao Minghuang waved her hand. "Let's look at the next treasure!"
This discarded pill is indeed useless to her, but firstly, she can give it to Ye Ruoshui, who might return something useful; secondly, Ye Ruoshui might be able to research the pill's formula, and if she succeeds, she won't need to be stuck at a bottleneck in the future.
At the same time.
Inside another private room in the venue.
A man in purple robes sat in the head seat, with two maids standing beside him.
It was none other than Li Gaoyang, who had just met Xiao Minghuang. He frowned slightly, "That voice... that's it! I was right, they're coming to the auction tonight!"
It turned out that after being driven away by Xiao Minghuang, they did not leave. Instead, they deduced that Xiao Minghuang and the others were probably there for the auction that night, so they waited for them to come to them.
Sure enough, he stumbled upon it!
Li Gaoyang raised his head, his eyes flashing, and said calmly, "We must bid for the last item!"
Xu Xiuer and her group arrived at the auction, but failed to acquire the Thousand-Year Snow Lotus, which was most attractive to female cultivators.
Li Gaoyang did not believe that they were only interested in a single discarded pill.
So, he wanted to buy the last item at auction and then give it to Chen... no!
Give it to the female nun who had just sent him away!
He was captivated by the gentle words of advice he had just heard from the nun.
Compared to her, Xu Xiuer was nothing but a common, vulgar woman, not worth mentioning!
A moment later, the last item for auction was brought to the stage.
When it came to the final, most anticipated exhibit, even in a small venue, the auctioneer couldn't help but keep it a secret.
"This is the grand finale of this auction. It is said to have been brought out of the Great Sage Ancient Tomb by a sage, and after many twists and turns, it finally ended up in the hands of this auction house."
After hearing the introduction, everyone's eyes immediately lit up with excitement.
This is Great Sage Relic!
What kind of being is the Great Sage?
The highest level of cultivation present was probably at most the Nascent Soul Realm; those with higher cultivation levels wouldn't even attend such a small auction.
Therefore, few of the people present had ever seen the Great Sage, and even fewer had seen saints or kings.
Therefore, the title of "Great Sage" was a huge draw for them.
However, some clear-headed monks raised questions:
"Really? What kind of existence is the Great Sage? Would the relics of such a figure be so cheap as to appear at such a small-scale auction?"
Everyone quickly regained their senses.
"Hey! I almost got scammed!"
"Stop keeping me in suspense, just pull back the curtain!"
"Ha, they can even claim a brick from the Great Sage's tomb as Great Sage Relic!"
The auctioneer smiled slightly and unveiled the curtain.
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"Buzz~!"
In an instant, a sword intent soared into the sky. Though not sharp, it carried a sense of decay and dust, as if making one feel rust on their skin and stinging their eyes.
"Such powerful sword intent!" exclaimed a sharp-eyed cultivator.
Though decayed, the sword's edge remains!
"Such a powerful aura!"
"My God! This is Saint's Treasure! It's absolutely Saint's Treasure!"
"Hiss--! How is this possible!"
Its appearance caused the entire audience to erupt in cheers!
Great Sage Relic!
Many people's eyes turned red!
Seeing the reactions of the cultivators present, the auctioneer was very satisfied and said with a smile, "The starting price is one thousand High-grade Spirit Stones, and each bid must be at least one hundred stones higher!"
When the price was announced, the cultivators present gasped in shock.
While the Great Sage Relic are attractive, their prices are undeniably high!
After a while, no one made a bid.
Someone at the table muttered quietly, "I don't think this can really be Great Saint Magic Treasure. If it really Great Saint Magic Treasure, we probably wouldn't even be able to withstand a trace of its oppressive aura..."
"That makes sense. I've seen Saint's Treasure before, and that oppressive aura... tsk tsk! It took me eight years to recover."
Gradually, the cultivators recovered and began to cast suspicious glances at them.
"Hey, tell me, is this really Great Sage Relic? Great Saint Magic Treasure?"
"Could it be that even the Great Saint Magic Treasure can decay and rust?"
"Give us a definite answer!"
Seeing the cultivators' expressions of surprise, the auctioneer's eyes darted around before he declared firmly, "This item was undoubtedly brought from the Great Sage Ancient Tomb. Whether it is a relic of the Great Sage himself, or Great Saint Magic Treasure, is beyond my ability to determine due to its antiquity. What I can tell you is that even a king's full-force attack could not shake this item in the slightest!"
Upon hearing this, the cultivators began to discuss it animatedly.
"It doesn't necessarily have to be Great Saint Magic Treasure, does it?"
"Ha, I knew it! How could Great Saint Magic Treasure possibly appear in a place like this?"
"What a waste of time..."
The auctioneer's later claim that it could withstand a king's full-force attack wasn't particularly appealing.
You could buy ten talismans that have the same effect for the same price.
Moreover, they were in the inner courtyard; what king could possibly attack them?
Therefore, the final item suddenly faced the risk of failing to sell at auction.
Before we knew it, half an incense stick's time had passed.
Whispers could be heard intermittently in the room, but no one actually bid.
The auctioneer glanced around the room, his expression darkening; he thought to himself that this competing item was going to go unsold.
It was around this time.
A voice came from the top floor.
"One thousand spirit stones!"
The voice was neither hurried nor slow, but exceptionally clear, carrying throughout the entire venue.