After the heads of the seven great clans entered the auction house, they headed straight for the foremost seats in the VIP section, taking their places right beside Long Xuan.
Sensing the aura of Spiritual Sea Realm powerhouses emanating from the seven of them, Long Xuan immediately felt mountains of pressure bearing down on him, as though he were sitting on a bed of needles.
His worries had been correct. In such a short time, Spiritual Sea Stage powerhouses had already been drawn here. If this dragged on for a few more days, it would surely attract a whole flock of Gu Kings.
He did not dare guarantee that all his preparations could fool a Gu King's eyes.
Upon seeing those great figures enter, the Rogue Cultivators who had been bidding most fiercely immediately wilted. They had already been hesitating before; now, they did not dare bid at all.
"Long Family Head bids 1.1 million Spirit Stones. Does anyone wish to bid higher?"
Qian Jinjin swept her gaze around the room and called out, "1.1 million Spirit Stones, going once! 1.1 million Spirit Stones, going twice! 1.1 million Spirit Stones, going three times!"
"Sold! Congratulations, Long Family Head!"
Qian Jinjin struck the table with her little golden hammer, and the dust settled.
At the same time, the maid carrying the jade tray stepped down and came before the Long Family Head, completing the transaction with him on the spot.
"Hehe! Long Family Head, I need to save my Spirit Stones for the finale auction item this time, so I won't compete with you. Otherwise, you wouldn't have gotten it at such a low price. I just wonder—after wasting 1.1 million Spirit Stones the moment you arrived, do you still have the qualifications to compete for the Fossil Ore Vein?"
Beside him, the Feng Family Head, who had always been at odds with the Long Family Head, spoke with a smile that did not reach his eyes.
"Hehe! That need not trouble you. My Long Family has vast estates and abundant wealth; we have Spirit Stones to spare. Does one million even count as Spirit Stones? It is merely a drizzle. Tossing it away means nothing."
After inspecting the Spirit-Gathering Pill, the Long Family Head put it into his storage pouch. He shot the other man a sidelong glance and spoke in a disdainful tone.
He sneered inwardly. How naive. The Fossil Ore Vein's value is beyond imagination. Is it something you can possibly win?
Every merchant association in the Far West had come. No matter how many Spirit Stones you had, could you possibly have more than several merchant associations combined?
Even if you smashed every pot and sold every scrap of iron to win the Fossil Ore Vein, were you so certain the other factions would not grow jealous? This was a resource capable of sparking war.
Leaving aside whether one had enough Spirit Stones to obtain it, even if one did, whether one could keep it was another question.
Compared with the other family heads, the Long Family Head was much calmer. He had not been dazzled by the enormous temptation.
Naturally, he also coveted the Fossil Ore Vein, but he would not recklessly charge ahead.
The Feng Family Head likewise glanced at him from the corner of his eye and sneered. "Your Long Family counts as vast and wealthy? Who does not know that your Long Family is an outsider here? It has been less than two hundred years since you established your Lineage here. What family fortune could you possibly have?"
"I think you know full well that you are the poorest, so you want to withdraw from the competition. You certainly know your own limits."
"Who says so? The Fossil Ore Vein will definitely fall into my Long Family's hands. Do you believe it?"
Just as the two were trading barbs, the second auction item entered the hall.
When Qian Jinjin lifted the red cloth covering it, another bottle of Spirit-Gathering Pills appeared before everyone's eyes. Quite a few people were shocked on the spot. There was another bottle? Since when could Spirit-Gathering Pills be mass-produced?
The second auction item had exceeded everyone's expectations, setting many hearts ablaze once more.
This was the auction house's brilliance. When auctioning the same item, they would never tell you how many there were in total.
Otherwise, everyone would entertain thoughts of withdrawing from the bidding, hoping the second item might be cheaper. With a fallback option, they would not bid so ruthlessly. Rarity made things precious; buyers must never know the exact quantity.
Without even thinking, before Qian Jinjin could announce the starting price, the Long Family Head impatiently called out, "I bid one million Spirit Stones!"
Although he was already a Spiritual Sea Stage expert and had no need for Spirit-Gathering Pills himself, as the helmsman of a great clan, he had to consider the Lineage first.
The growth of the younger generation was the key to a clan's future. A genius's time could not be delayed, and they absolutely could not remain stuck at one realm for too long.
Therefore, he wanted however many Spirit-Gathering Pills there were. He would not be stingy. In his eyes, no matter how many Spirit Stones they cost, they were worth it.
At this point, the Feng Family Head said nothing further. In his view, Long Wanli had gone mad, actually daring to squander so many Spirit Stones before the Fossil Ore Vein had even gone up for auction.
Seeing the Long Family Head bid again, the Rogue Cultivators in the back gnashed their teeth in hatred, yet did not dare say anything.
Their status was low, and they did not dare compete with great clans, but there were plenty who did not fear the status of a great clan's family head.
"I bid 1.3 million Spirit Stones!" A fat man in the crowd shouted loudly.
Long Xuan looked over at the sound and immediately grinned when he saw the man. Though the man had disguised himself so that no one could make out his face—
Long Xuan recognized him at a glance as Qian Duoduo. His round physique was only one aspect, merely a reference; the most crucial thing was his progress. A person's appearance could be changed, but their progress absolutely could not undergo any great change in a short time.
For humans and Gu Insects, progress represented maturity before adulthood. After adulthood, progress became a countdown to one's remaining lifespan.
This fat man's disguise technique was superb and could deceive others, but it could never deceive him.
Long Xuan found it strange. People from the auction house could actually participate in the bidding? If so, would this fat man also join the bidding when the Fossil Ore Vein was auctioned? Now that would be interesting.
The Long Family Head furrowed his brow slightly. He had not expected someone to truly be unafraid of him. This person had quite the nerve. After turning to glance at the fat man, he continued, "I bid 1.4 million Spirit Stones!"
Once his words fell, Qian Duoduo did not continue raising the bid.
Others did not know the inside story, but he knew there were four bottles of Spirit-Gathering Pills in total. There was no need to fight the Long Family Head to the bitter end. The third and fourth bottles might be cheaper. As a merchant association steward, he had fallen prey to the same mentality as countless buyers.
No one had dared offer even the sky-high price of 1.1 million Spirit Stones, let alone 1.4 million.
As expected, the second bottle of Spirit-Gathering Pills also fell into the Long Family Head's hands.
Yet when the little hammer came down and a jade tray brought out the third bottle of Spirit-Gathering Pills, everyone completely lost their composure.
There were more! There were actually more! Was there no end to this? Could this be a dedicated Spirit-Gathering Pill auction? Countless people screamed inwardly.
The Long Family Head froze for a moment, and a solemn look began to appear in his eyes.
As the head of a clan, he was knowledgeable and experienced. He knew well that ordinary alchemists could not refine so many Spirit-Gathering Pills. Even the highest-ranked Second-Grade Alchemist in the Far West absolutely lacked the ability to refine this many Spirit-Gathering Pills.
This was enough to show that the alchemist's skill was exceptionally superb. They were very likely a Third-Grade Alchemist, perhaps even a Fourth-Grade Alchemist. When had such a great figure arrived in the Far West?
The thought of finding an opportunity to befriend this person arose in his heart. Alchemists above the third grade were worthy of being treated as honored guests by every faction. For any family head, befriending such a great figure was part of their duty.
Who knew whether this alchemist possessed a secret pill formula that could help a Spiritual Sea Stage cultivator break through to the Marrow Cleansing Stage? If so, befriending such a person might allow the clan to gain another Gu King and raise its strength to another level.
The number of powerhouses was always the most important matter for a clan—nothing else even came close. He had no choice but to take it seriously.
"I bid one million Spirit Stones!"
Once again, before Qian Jinjin could announce the starting price, the Long Family Head cut her off and directly named his bid.
Everyone in the back was about to go mad. Again? Was there no end to it? Did he intend to scoop up every Spirit-Gathering Pill in one net? Was he not afraid such greed would burst his belly?
Qian Duoduo gritted his teeth and shouted, "I bid 1.3 million Spirit Stones!"
"1.4 million Spirit Stones!" The Long Family Head raised the bid decisively, not giving anyone the slightest chance to catch their breath.
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