Xu Zhengyang stared at the Mysterious Water Pill in the middle of the auction cart, feeling an inexplicable stirring of desire. His Innate Soul Power had troubled him all along. Even after so much time cultivating, and even though he had taken a Mysterious Water Pill back then, his Innate Soul Power was probably still only between ranks two and three. No matter how much he had trained his body or tempered his Martial Soul over the years, the meridians within him remained unusually clogged.
Had he not risked his life gaining experience outside over the years, enduring countless trials and dangers, and repeatedly exceeded his limits when absorbing Soul Rings, he could never have reached rank twenty-six.
With the appearance of the Mysterious Water Pill, people throughout the auction house began bidding. Clearly, they all understood its value.
As expected, the price soon exceeded the original ten thousand gold soul coins and raced up to twenty thousand.
For ordinary Soul Master families without much influence, auctions were their only way to obtain Mysterious Water Pills. Yet the pills were produced in extremely small quantities and seldom appeared at auctions.
Even after the price reached twenty thousand gold soul coins, fierce bidding continued, pushing it straight toward thirty thousand. That was a full three times the Mysterious Water Pill's actual value.
Thirty thousand gold soul coins was no small sum. At current prices, an ordinary household spent only a few gold soul coins a year. One gold soul coin equaled ten silver soul coins, and one silver soul coin equaled ten copper soul coins. In the original story, Huo Yuhao had sold his grilled fish for just five copper soul coins apiece.
In other words, on Blue Star, one gold soul coin would have been worth several thousand yuan, while ten thousand gold soul coins would have been worth a full ten million, far more than the entire fortune of an ordinary Soul Master family.
Xu Zhengyang had money because his father was a Class 4 Soul Engineer, and he himself came from a branch of the Xu Clan. Even so, when his father left back then, he had given Xu Zhengyang only a hundred thousand gold soul coins.
After two years of saving, Xu Zhengyang had only a hundred and fifty thousand gold soul coins on him, and that was after selling large quantities of Soul Beast corpses and flesh, along with some spiritual herbs he had no use for.
Over the years Xu Zhengyang had spent roaming Soul Beast forests and ice fields, whatever else he might not have gained, he had gathered plenty of spiritual herbs. Valuable spiritual herbs were especially likely to appear in places rarely visited by humans. Many poisonous herbs also grew within the toxic miasma of the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well, and these were of little use to Xu Zhengyang.
Seeing the bidding climb higher and higher, Xu Zhengyang raised his bidding paddle and directly offered thirty-one thousand gold soul coins.
The room fell briefly silent. The few people still bidding seemed both surprised and wary at this dark horse that had suddenly charged into the fray.
After repeated deliberation, one of them raised his paddle and offered thirty-one thousand one hundred gold soul coins, making one last attempt to test the waters and struggle on.
But Xu Zhengyang wasted no words. He raised his paddle again and directly offered thirty-two thousand gold soul coins, without the slightest hesitation.
Those who had intended to bid were now weighing the Mysterious Water Pill's true value. Normally, it was worth only ten thousand gold soul coins. The price had now surpassed three times that amount, making it severely inflated and hardly worth buying.
Judging by Xu Zhengyang's manner in particular, although he had bid only twice, he was clearly determined to have it. If they kept competing like this, they probably would not get it anyway and would only drive up the price.
In the end, Xu Zhengyang won the Mysterious Water Pill for thirty-two thousand gold soul coins. This was also his first successful bid at the Starlight Auction House.
The auction continued, but even by the very end, the Soul Devouring Carving Knife Xu Zhengyang had been longing for never appeared, leaving him somewhat doubtful.
After the auction ended, an attendant led Xu Zhengyang to a private transaction room, where he paid thirty-two thousand gold soul coins and received the Mysterious Water Pill he wanted.
Just as the transaction clerk across from him was about to leave, Xu Zhengyang suddenly spoke.
"Please wait a moment. May I ask you about something?"
The clerk looked puzzled. "Mr. Long Aotian, every item at our auction house has been verified. There is absolutely nothing wrong with this Mysterious Water Pill."
Xu Zhengyang said, "It isn't about the Mysterious Water Pill. I wanted to ask whether you auction any items for Soul Engineers here."
The clerk shook his head. "Items for Soul Engineers are generally very valuable and seldom appear at auction. Carving knives in particular are extremely rare. After all, every Soul Engineer treasures their carving knives and won't sell them lightly."
"However, our auction house does have a carving knife up for auction. Unfortunately, because of its high price and certain special reasons, it has failed to sell several times already. If you're interested, it should appear at next week's VIP auction."
Xu Zhengyang's expression brightened. "What is the starting price for this carving knife? And on what exact date will it be auctioned?"
Although puzzled, the clerk continued, "Although this carving knife has failed to sell several times, its price is very high. The exact price is still under discussion, but barring any surprises, it should exceed two hundred thousand gold soul coins."
"The auction will be held on the first of next month, at the VIP session four days from now."
Xu Zhengyang's face lit up at these words, but he soon found himself torn again. He had only a hundred and twenty thousand gold soul coins left, nowhere near enough to buy the Soul Devouring Carving Knife. He had never expected to find himself short of money at a time like this.
Xu Zhengyang thought it over carefully. He actually had many valuable things on him. A single Class 5 Soul Tool was worth around two hundred thousand gold soul coins, but his father had personally prepared all of these for him. They were also one of the reasons he had been able to stay safe throughout his long period of training in Soul Beast forests.
Xu Zhengyang hesitated for a while before speaking. "Since you handle transactions, you should be able to appraise items. I happen to have something I'd like to auction."
The clerk's expression brightened. Although he could not tell the exact age of the person before him, he was certainly either wealthy or of high status. Otherwise, he would not have bought the Mysterious Water Pill so readily.
"Mr. Long Aotian, you can rest assured. Our Starlight Auction House is the largest auction house in the entire Star Luo Empire, and also the fairest. We can certainly fetch a high price for your item."
"May I ask exactly what you wish to auction, so that we can appraise it?"
Without hesitation, Xu Zhengyang took out the nearly thousand-year-old Polar Ice Fox Head Soul Bone he carried. Although its age was somewhat low, it was a rarely seen Head Soul Bone, and a spiritual-type Soul Bone at that. Its value was certainly considerable.
The clerk's eyes widened in surprise at the Soul Bone Xu Zhengyang produced. He could clearly sense the abundant Soul Power within it, and it was preserved in exceptionally complete condition, without a single flaw.
Under normal circumstances, an absorbed Soul Bone would not disappear when its Soul Master died. However, a Soul Master's use of a Soul Bone caused a certain amount of wear, so the better its condition, the higher its value.
A Head Soul Bone preserved so perfectly was indeed extremely rare.
Only after studying it carefully for a while did the clerk speak. "Mr. Long Aotian, although this Soul Bone is relatively young, it is perfectly preserved and is an extremely scarce Head Soul Bone. Its value is already comparable to that of a thousand-year Soul Bone. According to our auction house's estimate, it should be worth no less than a hundred thousand gold soul coins."
Xu Zhengyang nodded. "All right. Sorry for the trouble, but please arrange to auction it as soon as possible. It needs to be sold before the first of next month. You can transfer the money directly into my account afterward."