Great Yin Dynasty
Old Long had drunk too much and had fallen asleep, snoring loudly.
Without the nagging of the person in front of him, Long Xuan finally focused his attention on the auction.
Only then did they realize that the auction was already coming to an end, and the final item was about to be auctioned.
The final item up for auction was undoubtedly the Living Wood. Long Xuan immediately perked up and focused all his attention on the Living Wood that had just been placed on the auction stage.
As soon as the Living Wood appeared, unsurprisingly, the entire venue erupted into chaos. Everyone stared greedily at the Living Wood on the auction stage, their faces flushed and their breathing rapid.
Many Gu King stood up from their seats, staring intently at Living Wood as if they were looking at a stunningly beautiful woman, eager to possess her.
Although the Living Wood is not tall, it is shaped like a human, with hollow eyes and a mouth on its trunk, making it extremely bizarre in appearance.
The moment the Living Wood appeared, it immediately attracted everyone's attention. The Gu King couldn't take their eyes off it, as if their souls had been captured by the Living Wood.
"Hehe, as expected of the Qian Clan Merchant Association, you truly value your reputation. This Living Wood has been in your hands for so long, and not a single piece of bark has fallen off."
City Lord Yan Pojun carefully examined the Living Wood and found no signs of damage, so he sincerely praised it.
He asked himself honestly, if he were the one guarding the Living Wood, he would definitely try every means to cut off a piece of bark. At worst, he would find a scapegoat. The easiest thing to find in this world is an excuse, and he had too many reasons to get away with it.
The merchants of the Qian Clan Merchant Association were the most intelligent; they could certainly have come up with a reasonable explanation, yet they did not. He couldn't help but admire the character of the Qian Clan Merchant Association.
Qian Jinjin, who had already appeared on the auction stage, smiled and said, "The Qian Clan Merchant Association has always valued integrity. Integrity is the foundation of a chamber of commerce. How could the Qian Clan Merchant Association dare to forget its roots?"
"Although Living Wood is heavy, it cannot outweigh reputation. Nothing can buy the reputation of the Qian Clan Merchant Association."
Upon hearing this, all the Gu King in the room nodded with smiles. Even Long Xuan, who was far away in the Long Family Estate, showed an approving expression. Don't ask him how he heard these people talking; his clone was eager to learn and had already taught himself lip reading. This explanation made perfect sense.
As the saying goes, it's always good to have many skills. Long Xuan's current knowledge of obscure subjects goes far beyond just lip reading; he can even pick locks.
"It's getting late, so I won't delay any longer. I'm sure everyone here understands the uses and value of Living Wood."
"The starting bid for the Living Wood is 10 billion! Bidding begins now!"
Qian Jinjin's clear voice suddenly rang out, causing everyone in the room to gasp in surprise.
The starting bid was 10 billion Spirit Stone. Although they were prepared, they were still taken aback by this astronomical price.
What does 10 billion Spirit Stone mean? The vast majority of forces in the Western Land couldn't even come up with 10 billion Spirit Stone even if they sold off their clan's property. This number is simply too outrageous.
However, there are quite a few forces that can come up with 10 billion Spirit Stone. The Qian Clan Merchant Association has given them a full three months to prepare, and all ten major clans in Blackstone City can raise 10 billion.
However, this does not include the Western Land Long Family. The Western Land Long Family insisted on researching the Dragon Blood Battle Gu Recipe. Researching a Supreme-grade Gu Formula is incredibly expensive; it's a bottomless pit. Even if they poured in 10 billion, it might not be enough.
They're already lucky they don't owe any money; where are they going to get 10 billion?
All the Long Family Gu King present wore bitter expressions. They had no chance of competing for the Living Wood and could only sit below and watch longingly.
They were short of money and didn't spend much on the other treasures auctioned. They were just there to watch the excitement and see if they could take advantage of any chaos that might arise.
The Medicine Clan seems to have withdrawn from the competition. Now, the Alchemy Clan is probably the richest family in Blackstone City, after all, they are in the pill business, which is definitely one of the most profitable businesses.
The head of the Alchemy Clan family immediately shouted, "Our Alchemy Clan offers 11 billion!"
Everyone in the room immediately turned their attention to the head of the Alchemy Clan family, secretly marveling at his appearance.
Good heavens, they offered 11 billion without even blinking. It seems that 11 billion is far from the limit for the Alchemy Clan. The Alchemy Clan's wealth is indeed well-deserved.
However, even though the head of the Alchemy Clan family had already quoted an astronomical price of 11 billion, it was still too cheap compared to the value of the Living Wood, far from enough. How could he possibly scare people away by adding another billion?
Soon another person shouted, "I'll bid 15 billion!"
The sudden voice startled everyone. Good heavens, a bid increased by four billion! That's insane! Who's so rich? Everyone turned to look at the bidder.
Upon discovering that the person in room number three had a large "wealth" character embroidered on their clothes, everyone felt a chill.
Good heavens, they're from the Cai Clan Merchant Association! Only Cai Clan merchants dress like that, wearing hats that look like gold ingots, exuding an aura of wealth.
The Cai Clan Merchant Association possesses the God of Wealth Gu, which can gather wealth. It is a cross-domain chamber of commerce on par with the Qian Clan Merchant Association, and it is truly incredibly wealthy.
Perhaps only the Cai Clan Merchant Association could so casually offer 15 billion, completely disregarding this outrageous figure.
Seeing that the bidder was the Cai Clan Merchant Association, no one was surprised by the price.
Upon seeing that the bidder was the Cai Clan Merchant Association, the head of the Alchemy Clan felt a chill in his heart.
Even if the Alchemy Clan were incredibly wealthy, how could they possibly surpass the wealth of a large trading guild?
Those large chambers of commerce all have ways to avoid the dangers along the way, so they can make a lot of money by buying low and selling high in various regions.
Don't be fooled by the fact that the Alchemy Clan makes a fortune selling King-Breaking Pill. Compared to those large chambers of commerce, they are nothing. In terms of financial resources, the Alchemy Clan can forget about competing with the Cai Clan Merchant Association.
The head of the Alchemy Clan family, his face grim, slowly sat down; he had already given up on bidding.
Although Alchemy Clan could offer an even higher price, he knew he couldn't compete with the Cai Clan Merchant Association in terms of financial resources, so he might as well give up and continue bidding, as it would be a waste of time.
At this moment, all the Gu King of Blackstone City wore bitter expressions. It now seemed that no local force in Blackstone City was qualified to compete for the Living Wood.
The Living Wood will ultimately be snapped up by forces in peripheral regions, leaving them only to be spectators on their own turf.
Unfortunately, the publicity campaign lasted too long, attracting too many well-funded external forces.
The Cai Clan Merchant Association originally did not do business in the Western Land, but unexpectedly, they were also attracted by a Living Wood.
With the Cai Clan Merchant Association joining the bidding, no powerful force in Blackstone City could withstand the challenge.
"15 billion, is there any higher price? 15 billion once!"
Qian Jinjin's sudden voice finally brought the stunned crowd back to their senses.
Just when they thought no one dared to compete with the Cai Clan Merchant Association's financial power, another voice rang out from VIP room number one.
"Our Great Yin Dynasty is offering 20 billion Spirit Stone!"
When the astronomical price of 20 billion was announced, the entire room gasped again, and everyone immediately focused their attention on VIP room number one, their eyes filled with shock.
It turned out to be the Great Yin Dynasty, a country.
If any power's financial resources could rival those of a large chamber of commerce, it would be the national treasury of a nation.
The Great Yin Dynasty is a super empire from the Moon Land. The finances of a super empire can rival those of the Cai Clan Merchant Association.
Upon seeing a national-level power join the struggle for the Living Wood, everyone's eyes flickered slightly.
In the Western Land, power is based on Lineage; there are no nations.
National civilizations can only be found by going to the center of the Gu World, and the Moon Land, which is adjacent to the east of the Western Land, has national civilizations, one of which is the Great Yin Dynasty.
Clearly, three months of publicity was enough to attract national-level attention.
No country is short of money. With the Great Yin Dynasty participating in the bidding, the price of the Living Wood will likely skyrocket.
In private room number three, a middle-aged, overweight man exuding the aura of Peak Gu King stood up, glanced at private room number one, frowned slightly, and revealed a solemn expression.
Unexpectedly, a country has stepped in. It's not difficult for a country to come up with tens of billions. It seems that if the Cai Clan wants to acquire this Living Wood, they will have to bleed a lot!
After a moment of silence, Cai Xuan directly called out, "My Cai Clan Merchant Association offers 40 billion Spirit Stone!"
He knew that it wouldn't be difficult for a country to come up with 40 billion, so he didn't bother with gradually increasing the price. He directly stated the bottom line of the Cai Clan Merchant Association: if the Great Yin Dynasty could raise the price, then the Cai Clan Merchant Association would give up the competition for the Living Wood.
The moment the price was announced, everyone was shocked again. Four hundred billion! It was an absolutely terrifying price, incredibly extravagant. It was a number that no one dared to imagine. At this moment, they clearly realized just how terrifying the financial power of a large chamber of commerce truly was.
And how many Gu King could someone who could casually produce so many Spirit Stone possibly cultivate? No one dared to imagine.
Five people were seated in the first private room, one of whom was an elderly man dressed in luxurious silver clothes, with a dignified expression and exuding a terrifying aura of Peak Gu King.
Luo Yu glanced sideways at the direction of private room number three, a disdainful look on his face, and said, "Four hundred billion Spirit Stone should be your bottom line, right?"
"Then I won't offer more; I'll offer 40.1 billion Spirit Stone."
In private room number three, Cai Xuan chuckled, "Heh, 40 billion is far from the bottom line of my Cai Clan Merchant Association. The foundation of my Cai Clan Merchant Association is far more than 100 billion."
"However, it wouldn't be worth paying an even higher price. A product's intrinsic value must be considered, along with the associated risks."
"Even if my Cai Clan Merchant Association manages to acquire the Living Wood today, it's not guaranteed we can take it away. Spending 40 billion involves a huge risk, and it's possible that all 40 billion could go down the drain."
"Considering the inherent risks of Living Wood, our Cai Clan Merchant Association withdrew its bid."
"Although you spent an extra 100 million Spirit Stone to win the bid for this Living Wood Living Wood, I'd like to see if you can take it away safely."
"With so many Gu King gathered here, what are the chances of you being attacked once you leave the city?"
"Blackstone City is far too far from the Great Yin Imperial City; there are far too many unexpected things that can happen on such a long journey."
"I'm certain you won't be able to bring the Living Wood safely back to the Great Yin Imperial City," Cai Xuan sneered.
"Heh! Whether I can bring the Living Wood back safely is none of your concern."
"Since I dared to take action, I am absolutely confident that I can bring the Living Wood back."
Luo Yu glanced in Cai Xuan's direction and revealed a confident smile.