Whale Rubber, Mysterious Herb

Gu Rong gazed gloomily at Ning Bei beside him.

"Bei Er, you're quite filial. You even know that your mother treats you well?"

Gu Rong clearly knew that Ning Bei had bought this evening dress for his mother, so he praised Ning Bei's filial piety.

But the tone in which he said it sounded strange no matter how one heard it. It was almost as if he were reminding Ning Bei, I treat you well too. Where's my gift?

Ning Bei awkwardly scratched his head.

"Bone Grandfather, when I see something suitable for you later, I'll buy it too. You've treated me so well, so I should show my respect to you as well."

Gu Rong nodded in satisfaction at those words.

"There's no need for a gift. I'll accept the sentiment."

Looking at Gu Rong's broad-minded expression, Ning Bei was speechless. "I'll believe anything but that. You're a rotten old man, and you're terribly wicked."

The auctioned items would be handed over in exchange for payment once the auction ended, so the auction continued.

Ning Bei had little interest in the storage Soul Tool and Catgirl Maid that came afterward, so he did not participate in the bidding.

That continued until the fourth auction item was pushed onto the stage.

"The fourth auction item is a recently popular batch of Elixirs. They were made by the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect's Grandmaster alchemist: ten Wound Recovery Pills, ten Spring Return Pills, and ten Power Storage Pills."

As she spoke, she pulled away the red cloth covering the display cart, revealing several white Jade Bottles.

The mercenaries in the center of the auction hall immediately erupted. They had come several times just to bid on these Elixirs. One had to know that in Soul Hunting, these inconspicuous little pills could save lives.

Unfortunately, they were too popular, and the mercenaries had failed to obtain them in the previous auctions.

"The starting price for the Elixirs is 200 Gold Soul Coins. Each bid must increase the price by at least 10 Gold Soul Coins."

This starting price immediately sparked discussion among the mercenaries below.

"Damn it, why did the price go up again? Last time, the starting price was only 150 Gold Soul Coins!"

"Exactly. Support Soul Masters are hard to find, and the Elixirs are so expensive. This is going to cost us our lives."

But those complaints were quickly drowned out by the curses of their fellow bidders.

"If you think they're too expensive, you don't have to bid. That'll leave fewer competitors."

"That's right. Just give up, you paupers."

"Enough chatter. Turn right when you leave. Have a safe trip, and thank you."

The few people who had complained about the price were immediately enraged and flushed with embarrassment when they heard the mockery from those around them.

"Who said we weren't bidding? Here, 220 Gold Soul Coins."

"Bah! You're only adding 20. Do you think you're giving alms to beggars? Here, 250."

Before long, the thirty Elixirs of various types had been bid up to 500 Gold Soul Coins.

In the private room, Ning Bei clicked his tongue repeatedly and cried out that they were robbing people.

While he had been in the Sect, Ning Fengzhi had told him that Elixirs were in short supply and that their prices might rise.

But now that he was seeing it with his own eyes, wasn't this increase far too outrageous?

"Sure enough, no matter what world you're in, selling medicine is a hugely profitable business."

Gu Rong beside him also smiled as he stroked his Beard.

"Bei Er, these Elixirs are quite popular."

"Yeah."

Gu Rong did not reveal that Ning Bei was the one who had made the Elixirs, probably because he was worried that too many ears were listening.

In the end, the thirty Elixirs sold for the high price of 600 Gold Soul Coins, several times more than Ning Bei had imagined.

Thirty Elixirs was Ning Bei's output for two days. It seemed the Seven Treasure Chamber of Commerce also understood the art of hunger marketing. It was simply absurd.

After the Elixir auction ended, the next auction item was brought out.

Ya Fei pulled away the red cloth, revealing a black lump on the display cart.

"This is ten-thousand-year-old Whale Rubber found at sea by the Lord Soul Masters of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect. It's the key to opening the door to a happy life, oh. Honored gentlemen, are you ready to act?"

As Ya Fei introduced the item, she wore an expression that seemed to say, You know what I mean.

"The starting price is 1,000 Gold Soul Coins. Each increase must be at least 50 Gold Soul Coins."

Hearing Ya Fei's words, Ning Bei's heart jolted. Whale Rubber was the best thing for strengthening the body. The people of this era did not yet know that, and the noble lords only used it to improve their abilities in that area.

"1,300 Gold Soul Coins."

"1,500."

"1,700."

While Ning Bei was thinking, the bidding below had already begun.

Before long, after several rounds of price increases, the final price of the Whale Rubber had reached 2,300 Gold Soul Coins.

Seeing the bidders gradually dwindle, Ning Bei waved to the Maid beside him.

Gu Rong and Xiaotao beside him looked at Ning Bei strangely. Their expressions seemed to say, How old are you? You're playing this dirty?

Ning Bei blushed when he saw their expressions and thought about how to convince them.

"Bone Grandfather, you know that my Pill Pagoda is extremely sensitive to medicine and medicinal materials. Whale Rubber doesn't only have that one function."

After hearing Ning Bei's explanation, Gu Rong and Xiaotao still looked deeply suspicious.

"Oh? Why haven't I heard that this Whale Rubber has any other functions?"

"Young Master, you're still young. You can't do those bad things."

Ning Bei's face fell when he heard their words, and he stopped trying to explain.

"Let's bid for it first. I'll explain everything to you after we return."

The two of them said nothing more after hearing that.

"Oh! The honored guest in Private Room Number One has bid 3,000 Gold Soul Coins. Is there anyone willing to bid higher?"

Paying 3,000 Gold Soul Coins to be a bridegroom for several nights did not seem worthwhile even to these wealthy nobles, so they stopped bidding one after another.

"3,000 Gold Soul Coins, once."

"3,000 Gold Soul Coins, twice."

"3,000 Gold Soul Coins, three times."

"Congratulations to the honored guest in Private Room Number One for winning this ten-thousand-year-old Whale Rubber."

After winning the Whale Rubber, Ning Bei nodded in satisfaction. He did not bid on any of the items that followed, as he did not have much left in his small treasury.

Just as the group thought that there would be no more surprises at this auction, Ya Fei's words onstage caught Ning Bei's attention.

"Next is the final item of this auction: an unidentified herb."

"This herb was obtained by a Soul Master from the auction house during Soul Hunting. When the herb was discovered, it was being guarded by a Giant Stone Rock Python with 9,000 years of cultivation. Although its effects are unknown, an herb guarded by a soul beast that has lived for nearly ten thousand years is surely no ordinary item. Therefore, the starting price is 1,500 Gold Soul Coins, and each increase must be at least 100 Gold Soul Coins."

After hearing the introduction, the people below immediately broke into an uproar.

"1,500 Gold Soul Coins for a worthless weed? This is robbery!"

"Exactly. We don't even know what it does!"

"Who says it isn't? What if it's poisonous?"

Everyone's discussion was nothing but disparagement of the herb.

In the private room, Ning Bei looked at the herb and released his Martial Soul. Seeing Ning Bei's action, Gu Rong hurriedly knocked out the Maid in the private room.

Ning Bei saw that the first level of the Pill Pagoda had erupted with a brighter glow than usual, as if it were extremely interested in the herb before him.

"Bone Grandfather, you saw it too. That herb seems to have some effect on the Pill Pagoda."

Gu Rong nodded solemnly, then shouted toward the outside of the private room.

"3,000 Gold Soul Coins. I want the medicinal herb."

"Oh, the honored guest in Private Room Number One has bid 3,000 Gold Soul Coins. Is anyone willing to bid higher?"

He looked around, but no one responded.

"Then congratulations to the honored guest in Private Room Number One for obtaining this herb."

"This auction has now concluded."