As time passed.
The auction, which had drawn countless experts to come and watch, officially began.
The auction hall was enormous, large enough to hold several thousand people. As the highest-status person present, Xiao Ze was seated in VIP Room No. 1, quietly waiting for the auction to begin.
The Mittel Auction House was excellent in every way, except for one thing that left him rather dissatisfied.
The soundproofing in the private rooms was terrible.
Several thousand people gathered under one roof, and the overwhelming din left someone as fond of quiet as he was deeply displeased.
Fortunately, once the auction officially began, the piercing clamor gradually died down.
A beam of light fell.
It shone on the very center of the auction hall.
The clip-clop of footsteps rang out, stirring the entire crowd. Beneath countless covetous gazes, a hazy, graceful figure swayed out with unhurried steps.
The first thing to catch everyone's eye was a pair of red boots. Their heels were slightly pointed, and as they touched the polished bluestone floor, they rang out with a crisp, melodious chime,
like a string of lovely notes, arousing the most primal desires in countless hearts.
Their gazes traveled upward, and they saw a pair of long, snow-white legs. Under the lights, her crystalline skin seemed to glow, and the smooth curves looked as if they had been sculpted by nature itself.
Higher still, they saw a perfect backside, a slender waist that could be encircled in one hand, a bosom whose outline was strikingly pronounced, and a flawlessly beautiful face that radiated bewitching allure.
"Is this Ya Fei, the woman reputed to be the 'greatest enchantress on the Dou Qi Continent'?"
"Now that I've seen her for myself, the reputation is well deserved."
"She truly is devilishly alluring."
In the VIP room, Xiao Ze looked at the ravishing beauty below. Even his heart, usually calm as still water, rippled faintly.
Every part of her exuded allure and seduction. Her long, narrow, peach-blossom eyes in particular tugged at men's hearts, making them willingly hand over their gold coins.
On the central platform of the auction hall.
Ya Fei stood beneath the spotlight, thoroughly enjoying the gazes from every direction. She wore a vivid red, close-fitting gown, its exquisite, luxurious fabric perfectly outlining her marvelous figure.
A silver sash cinched her slender waist, accentuating its graceful curves to the fullest.
"Welcome, everyone, and thank you for traveling such a great distance to attend this year's Mittel auction."
"As the host of this auction, I, Ya Fei, would like to express my gratitude to you all."
"All right, enough chatter. Let us welcome the first item up for auction!"
As soon as she spoke, her voice, sweet and sultry to the extreme, swiftly spread throughout the auction house. Amid the excited cheers of countless people, she began today's auction.
She gave a graceful wave of her hand, and an attendant hurriedly brought up a jade tray.
The red cloth covering the tray was lifted, revealing a small white jade bottle inside.
"The first item up for auction: a third-grade Spirit Recovery Pill!" Her delicate fingers lifted the white jade bottle. At the sound of her clear, tingling voice, the whole hall fell quiet.
A moment later, a commotion erupted like a mountain torrent and a roaring sea.
Many people cried out inwardly in astonishment. A third-grade healing pill right from the start? This auction truly lived up to its reputation. They had come to the right place.
The very first item had successfully drawn everyone's attention.
"Spirit Recovery Pill? It's actually that pill?" Listening to Ya Fei's introduction, Xiao Ze could only laugh wryly. What were the odds?
The pill he had used to treat Xiao Yan's injuries back then had been a Spirit Recovery Pill.
"Not only can the Spirit Recovery Pill restore Dou Qi, it can also heal injuries. It's among the finest third-grade healing pills. Interested guests may begin bidding!"
"The starting price is fifty thousand gold coins!"
Ya Fei held the jade bottle and swept her gaze across the hall. Feeling the heat of the gazes around her, she immediately let a smile curl across her lips.
"Sixty thousand!" The moment she finished speaking, someone called out a bid.
"Seventy thousand!" Another bid followed right on its heels.
"One hundred thousand!"
In just a few breaths, the price of the Spirit Recovery Pill had climbed to one hundred thousand gold coins, and it was still rising rapidly.
Third-grade pills could be considered precious—or not precious at all.
Their final value depended entirely on whether anyone present urgently needed one.
The bidding continued for a while. Once the price climbed to one hundred and fifty thousand gold coins, the calls for bids grew noticeably fewer.
In the end, a black-robed elder bought the Spirit Recovery Pill for two hundred thousand gold coins.
The final price was somewhat above the standard, but still within a reasonable range.
"Next, we have the second item up for auction: a mid-level Mystic-tier Dou Technique, Wind God Leg!"
"The starting price is one hundred and fifty thousand gold coins!"
As soon as the first item was sold, the second followed close behind.
As one precious item after another was brought to the auction platform, the auction officially got underway.
In just one hour, Xiao Ze witnessed several million gold coins' worth of sales.
Seeing the atmosphere in the auction hall grow ever more heated,
Ya Fei decided to strike while the iron was hot and push the auction toward an even greater frenzy.
"Next, we have the tenth item up for auction!" She waved her hand. The lights on the elevated platform abruptly dimmed, and then a silver tray was slowly brought out. On it lay a timeworn scroll of earthy yellow.
The scroll glimmered with a faint yellow light, looking rather mysterious against the silver tray.
"A Low Earth Tier Cultivation Method: Mystic Yellow Force!"
Silence—
A deathly silence!
The moment the words "Low Earth Tier Cultivation Method" rang out, the auction hall fell abruptly quiet.
An Earth Tier Cultivation Method?
There was actually an Earth Tier Cultivation Method at this auction?
Everyone drew in a sharp breath. Their blazing gazes seemed capable of melting ten-thousand-year-old ice, and even the bewitchingly alluring Ya Fei seemed to have been forgotten.
"An Earth Tier Cultivation Method?" In the VIP room, Xiao Ze's eyes gleamed with interest. He looked around and saw that everyone in the auction hall had been drawn to the Low Earth Tier Cultivation Method.
Their eyes burned with desire, as if they were willing to stake everything they had to buy it.
Even Xiao Zhan, like everyone else, stared at the yellow scroll with burning eyes.
An Earth Tier Cultivation Method was a ticket to becoming a first-rate faction. If the Xiao Clan could win this method at auction, then given enough time, they would surely rise back among the first-rate factions of the Jia Ma Empire and restore the prestige of the Imperial Capital Xiao Clan in its heyday.
"What a pity..." Xiao Zhan looked away and let out a faint sigh.
He understood that with the Xiao Clan's current finances, they simply couldn't compete with the others.
This Earth Tier Cultivation Method and the Xiao Clan were simply fated to pass each other by.
Besides the Xiao Clan, Xiao Ze also sensed more than a dozen Dou Ling-level auras in the auction hall. Clearly, they too were eyeing the Earth Tier Cultivation Method.
Xiao Ze's gaze swept over them one by one before settling on a private room on the floor below him.
In a private room on the lower floor, he sensed three more auras—subtle and profound.
They were no match for him, but they were far beyond anything a Dou Ling could compare to.
"Dou Wang?"
"Interesting."
"What kind of treasure could have drawn three Dou Wangs here?"
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