As soon as they entered the auction house, their vision abruptly darkened. Pitch-black darkness surrounded them; the walls and floors throughout the auction house were all black.
Under Xiao Yan's soul power inspection, the auction house's walls and floors were all built of black stone. Moreover, judging by some of the visible patterns on the floors and walls, the entire auction house had likely been constructed from a single piece of black stone.
Tsk, tsk. To build an auction house from a single piece of black stone in a place like this-the Heavenly Cloud Chamber of Commerce's wealth was truly terrifying.
Xiao Yan and the others followed Xiong Man through a series of left and right turns until they came to an ink-black stone door.
Xiong Man stepped forward to the door and pressed his palm against it. He circulated his Dou Qi to his palm and steadily infused it into the stone door. Amid a rumbling sound, the door slowly opened, revealing a private room over a hundred square meters in size.
Xiong Man let out a hearty laugh and stepped aside, allowing Xiao Yan to enter first. Only then did he follow Liu Huabai and the others inside.
After entering, Liu Huabai looked at the walls on all sides, which gave off a faint, gentle glow, the lustrous white, smooth floor, and the rows of exceedingly comfortable-looking seats. He could not help clicking his tongue in admiration:
"Tsk, tsk, a different person gets a world of difference in treatment! Whenever I come, I only get an intermediate private room. Yet Senior came just once on a whim, without even making a special request, and you already had this prepared. Hey, Xiong Man, looks like you've been planning to curry favor with Senior Xiao for a long time, haven't you?"
At that, Xiong Man grinned and chuckled, the flesh on his face bunching up. Xiao Yan was already accustomed to it. He found a seat and sat down first, and the others followed suit. Xiong Man remained standing and walked over to the faintly glowing wall in front of them. Dou Qi once again surged from his hand.
Xiao Yan raised an eyebrow slightly. The wall that had been giving off a faint glow was actually becoming crystal clear. Rings of ripples spread across it like waves on water, making the whole wall look utterly mysterious.
A moment later, a crystal screen appeared before them. Beyond it was a spacious auction hall, now packed to capacity. Waves of clamor echoed through the hall, making it exceptionally noisy.
The clear peal of a bell slowly rang through the auction hall. As it sounded, the tremendous clamor gradually died down, and countless gazes turned to the crystal stage, eyes burning with anticipation.
Only then did Xiong Man's burly figure turn around. He sat down beside Xiao Yan in a seat that had long been reserved for him and joined the others in looking at the auctioneer on the crystal stage.
"Hehe, everyone, I expect you've already grown a little impatient from waiting. In that case, this old man won't annoy you with any more official pleasantries."
The white-haired elder in splendid robes smiled as he surveyed the densely packed sea of heads in the auction hall. Finally, his gaze swept discreetly over the representatives of the factions from other cities seated in the front rows, and his resonant voice echoed through the hall.
As an experienced auctioneer, he naturally knew exactly what the people below wanted and did not want to see. Thus, he had tossed the hackneyed opening introductions straight beyond the ninth heaven. Admittedly, his move did win a round of applause from the entire hall. At the very least, even the faction representatives seated in the front rows nodded slightly.
"For this annual auction, our Heavenly Cloud Auction House selected Qingyang City from among these many cities as the main venue. I believe this auction will certainly not disappoint you."
As soon as the elder finished speaking, he clapped his hands lightly and announced in a clear voice:
"This old man declares the Qingyang City Heavenly Cloud Auction open!"
As the elder's declaration rang out, a blinding light erupted from the enormous crystal stage. Only after quite some time did it gradually fade.
On the crystal stage, a long sword lay on the auction table before the white-haired elder. Its entire length was a vivid green tinged with blue, and under the lights, it reflected a beautiful, chillingly cold sheen. Judging by the traces of energy circulating over the blade, the sword was clearly sure to be formidable, and presumably the work of a master.
The eyes of the crowd below suddenly lit up. The white-haired elder was clearly very satisfied with this response. A pleased smile appeared on his wrinkled old face, and his shadowed old eyes narrowed to thin slits.
Looking down at the crowd, the elder slowly began his introduction:
"This sword is called the Jade Water Orchid Sword. Forged from jade water azure metal, it cuts through iron like mud and can vanish upon entering water, becoming utterly invisible within it. It is extremely well suited to water-attribute cultivators. Paired with a high-level water-attribute Dou Technique, its power will multiply severalfold! It is a rare divine weapon with a peerless edge! If you are interested, do not be stingy with the money in your pockets! Money should be measured against strength. Once you have strength, isn't wealth no different from dung? Hehe."
As the elder spoke, he picked up the Jade Water Orchid Sword. With a tremor of the blade, ripples like waves on water spread out around it.
The elder reached into the air with his other hand and drew it toward him. Water vapor in the air condensed into droplets, gathering in his hand into a ball of water the size of a soccer ball. With a wave of his hand, the ball immediately spread out to envelop the entire blade.
An instant later, the Jade Water Orchid Sword vanished from sight before the crowd's eyes.
An uproar broke out across the hall. The crowd turned their burning gazes toward the white-haired elder on the crystal stage. Understanding what their looks meant, the elder smiled slightly and announced:
"The starting price is five hundred thousand gold coins. Everyone, please begin!"
"Jade water azure metal... not bad, I suppose."
Xiao Yan gazed at the long sword and murmured softly, but it did not arouse any real interest in him. At his level of strength, weapons were no longer so important. Besides, he was already accustomed to a weapon like the Heavy Xuan Ruler, with its sweeping movements and attacks that overwhelmed opponents through sheer force. A long sword was far too different.
After all, this was only the beginning of the auction. The good things would naturally come later.
Of course, Xiao Yan's discerning eye made him look down on these things, but that did not mean others felt the same. In the eyes of many water-attribute cultivators below the stage, the sword was already a rare divine weapon with a peerless edge. Thus, as soon as the white-haired elder finished speaking, bids rang out one after another throughout the auction hall.
"Congratulations, young man! Fifteen million! The Jade Water Orchid Sword is yours!"
The bidding was fierce, quickly raising the atmosphere in the auction hall. After the first round of bidding had continued for several minutes, the Jade Water Orchid Sword was finally won at the high price of fifteen million by a somewhat thin-looking man in green, whose face was full of excitement.
Xiao Yan shook his head repeatedly at the sight. To throw away more than ten million on a single sword, how stupid did that cultivator have to be? Rather than buying a sword, wouldn't it have been better to buy some cultivation resources?
The first round of bidding was quick and short. After all, the sword was not suitable for every cultivator, so there were not many bidders.
After several more rounds of competition, the auction reached its middle stage, and it was finally time for those seated in the front rows to make their moves. As soon as the item for this round appeared, it drew the attention of the entire hall.
It was a medicinal pill, and one that had reached the seventh tier: a low-grade seventh-tier Sect Breaking Pill. It could increase a Peak Dou Emperor expert's chances of breaking through to Dou Zong by half. Everyone below the stage was instantly excited, and the cultivators whose strength had stalled at Peak Dou Emperor stared with scarlet eyes at the pill in the jade bottle onstage, just a breath away from rushing up to snatch it.
Even the members of the Liu Clan, who had been sitting quietly in the high-level private room, watched the elder onstage with shining eyes, waiting for him to announce the starting price. Seeing this, Xiao Yan curled his lip and shook his head repeatedly, prompting an awkward smile from Liu Huabai. It could not be helped; the strongest person in the Liu Clan was only a Dou Zong.
Xiong Man also gave the Sect Breaking Pill a solemn look. After bowing in farewell to Xiao Yan, he left the private room. Soon, under the white-haired elder's direction, a new round of bidding finally began.
"The starting price for this Sect Breaking Pill is five million gold coins."
The white-haired elder looked at the crowd below and spoke in an even tone. The moment he said it, however, the entire auction hall fell silent, except for the few people seated in the front rows and a very small number of others. The elder continued to smile down at the crowd without saying a word.
After Xiong Man killed several cultivators who had attempted to seize it by force, everyone understood that the rest of the proceedings belonged to those major factions. Soon, this round of competition finally began.
"Twenty million!"
The first bidder was a man in white seated in the front row. His name was Mo Bei, and he was the son of the city lord of the city nearest to Qingyang City. Arrogant and overbearing, he had once forcibly seized a Liu Clan wagon carrying goods out of the city. But because of his father, the Liu Clan had ultimately let the matter drop.
After Mo Bei, many people gradually called out bids, and the price of the seventh-tier Sect Breaking Pill was raised all the way to seventy million. The one who had made that bid was Mo Bei.
Liu Huabai also bid several times during the proceedings. Only when he spoke did everyone discover that the high-level private room, which had not been opened for so long, was occupied. But the moment Mo Bei heard Liu Huabai's voice, he smiled coldly, and a hint of mockery appeared on his previously faintly furrowed brow.
In the end, Mo Bei's bid was higher, and Liu Huabai was forced down by the steep price.
Liu Huabai's face was dark as water. He took a deep breath and, as though he had reached a decision, rose once more. Looking beyond the screen, he called out loudly:
"One hundred spirit coins."
Mo Bei's pupils abruptly contracted at those words. He said nothing more and sat back down in chagrin.