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The moment Liu Huabai spoke, the entire hall fell silent. Even the members of the Liu Clan sitting behind him were stunned.
Only Xiao Yan looked at everyone strangely.
After quite a while, the white-haired elder on the stage came to his senses. He slammed the wooden gavel down hard on the auction table before him and called out:
"Liu Clan Head Liu Huabai bids one hundred Spirit Coins, going once. Are there any higher bids?"
Everyone in the hall abruptly snapped out of their daze. The silent auction hall instantly erupted into a clamor, like a vegetable market that had just opened for business.
Behind Liu Huabai, the Liu Clan elders rose to their feet one after another, glaring at him. But with Xiao Yan present, none of them spoke up to berate him. They merely stared fixedly at Liu Huabai with furious eyes. Liu Huabai remained fairly calm. Even after bidding one hundred Spirit Coins, he continued to gaze unhurriedly at the Sect Breaking Pill, waiting for the white-haired elder to bring down the gavel and settle the matter.
A moment later, the white-haired elder smiled as he glanced at the cultivators in the auction hall. He brought down the wooden gavel and called out:
"Liu Clan Head Liu Huabai has bought the seventh-tier Sect Breaking Pill for one hundred Spirit Coins. Congratulations, Clan Head Liu, on obtaining one seventh-tier Sect Breaking Pill for one hundred Spirit Coins!"
The wooden gavel fell with a dull bang, settling the sale. The white-haired elder's words reached Liu Huabai and the others. Liu Huabai sat in his seat without expression, while the other Liu Clan elders, aside from First Elder Liu Xincheng, all looked dejected. They let out sighs of despair and dropped heavily into their seats.
Only when the white-haired elder on the crystal platform brought out another auction item did everyone in the private room turn their attention back to the screen.
The white-haired elder took out a cloak and once again began to describe its wondrous qualities to the crowd in a clear voice. Xiao Yan gave it only a glance before ignoring it and turning to Liu Huabai beside him. Sensing Xiao Yan's gaze, Liu Huabai dared not be negligent. He turned respectfully toward Xiao Yan and asked:
"Does Senior have a question, or has Senior taken a liking to this cloak? If so, I will help Senior secure it immediately."
As he spoke, he turned toward the cloak, but Xiao Yan curled his lips and had Liu Huabai turn back. Seeing the puzzled look in Liu Huabai's eyes, Xiao Yan smiled and nodded before asking somewhat curiously:
"Tell me, what are those Spirit Coins you just used to bid on the Sect Breaking Pill? Explain them to me."
Liu Huabai's brows rose at the question, then could not help furrowing. His expression turned somewhat strange, and he looked at Xiao Yan as though he were an alien.
"Senior, you actually don't know what Spirit Coins are?"
Xiao Yan's pupils contracted slightly, and his expression changed a little. He froze for a moment, then his eyes darted about before he continued:
"In the past, I always cultivated deep in the mountains. Although I did come out before, this really is the first time I've heard of these Spirit Coins. So tell me about them and let me see what they're used for. When I get the chance later, I'll get a few million myself and play around with them."
Liu Huabai's mouth twitched. Senior Xiao Yan, even if your strength has reached the Dou Sheng level, what do you take Spirit Coins for? A few million? Even with everything my Liu Clan has amassed over the past few centuries, plus the Wu Clan you wiped out in one sweep earlier, the two clans together only had twenty or thirty thousand. And you ask for a few million the moment you open your mouth. I'm afraid you couldn't get that many even if you went out and robbed people.
Liu Huabai did not say any of this aloud, nor did he dare to. Xiao Yan had given him a very clear warning earlier. If he spoke now and said something that displeased Xiao Yan, killing him would take Xiao Yan no more than a slap.
So after a brief moment of thought, Liu Huabai gathered his words and explained to Xiao Yan:
"Spirit Coins are the true universal currency of the continent. Unlike gold coins, Spirit Coins are minted from Spirit Stones, which form from Earth Qi in the earth's veins after it has condensed over many years. One Spirit Coin is equivalent to one hundred thousand gold coins, but absolutely no one would be willing to exchange Spirit Coins for gold coins. Gold coins are merely worldly wealth, after all, and are worth nothing to truly powerful experts.
"Spirit Stones, on the other hand, are energy crystals rich in extremely pure heavenly and earthly energy. They allow cultivators to cultivate faster and are excellent cultivation resources. Spirit Stones can also serve as the power source for certain formations, sustaining their operation.
"Of course, Spirit Stones are divided into three grades: low, mid, and high. Different grades contain different amounts of heavenly and earthly energy, and the purity of that energy differs as well.
"But there are also some extremely rare Supreme-Grade Spirit Stones, which cultivators can directly absorb and refine to increase their strength. These Spirit Stones are no less rare than some spiritual medicines that have already gone extinct, and are extremely hard to come by. Even if someone happens to find one, they have to absorb and refine it quickly, because if powerful experts learn that someone is carrying a Supreme-Grade Spirit Stone, it really could bring a fatal disaster upon them. After all, as the saying goes, an ordinary man is innocent, but carrying a jade treasure makes him guilty. This has made Supreme-Grade Spirit Stones even scarcer on the continent. Whenever one appears, it stirs up a storm of blood and slaughter."
By this point, Xiao Yan was gradually beginning to understand the use of Spirit Coins. Gold coins simply could not compare to them. No wonder the Liu Clan elders had been so angry when Liu Huabai spent just one hundred Spirit Coins.
Xiao Yan took a deep breath and turned back to watch the heated proceedings in the auction hall. The white-haired elder was smiling at the crowd below the stage, occasionally glancing toward the high-class private room where Xiao Yan and the others were.
After quite a while, under the crowd's impatient gazes, he slowly extended his hand. A palm-sized jade box lay quietly in it. Everyone below frowned. It looked like a medicinal ingredient was inside, and such things were only attractive to alchemists. For them, the chances were too slim.
The white-haired elder paid no attention to their changing expressions. Instead, he reached out and gently opened the jade box, revealing a vermilion fruit resting inside.
In an instant, the auction hall erupted into a clamor. Almost everyone except Xiao Yan stared at the vermilion fruit in the jade box with burning eyes. Xiao Yan gave the vermilion fruit only a glance before paying it no further attention. He sat in his chair and began to doze, leaving Liu Huabai and the others looking extremely awkward.
The white-haired elder smiled as he looked with satisfaction at the people seated below. After quite a while, he finally spoke with a smile:
"Hehe, I presume none of you are strangers to this vermilion fruit. Hehe, that's right. This vermilion fruit is none other than a Scarlet Fire Vermilion Fruit."
The crowd below immediately broke into an uproar. To Dou Emperors and Dou Zongs like them, the Scarlet Fire Vermilion Fruit was a heavenly and earthly spiritual medicine of the greatest appeal.
Scarlet Fire Vermilion Fruits grew deep within volcanoes, drawing on the spiritual power of the flames inside to nourish their growth. They could convert the fire spiritual power they absorbed into extremely pure heavenly and earthly energy and store it within the fruit. If a Dou Emperor or Dou Zong expert consumed one while attempting a breakthrough, they could directly break through their bottleneck and advance in strength. With good luck, they could even use the violent energy within to break through again. It was a supreme treasure in the hearts of Dou Huang experts and Dou Zong experts.
The crowd stared excitedly at the Scarlet Fire Vermilion Fruit in the jade box in the white-haired elder's hand. Another satisfied smile appeared on his face. His gaze swept across the hall, and beneath everyone's burning gazes, he slowly opened his mouth and announced:
"A Scarlet Fire Vermilion Fruit four hundred years old. Its owner has said that it may only be exchanged for Spirit Coins. The starting price is ten Spirit Coins."
Without hesitation, someone below immediately called out a bid:
"Twenty Spirit Coins!"
"Hmph! You have the nerve to bid that? Fifty Spirit Coins!"
"One hundred Spirit Coins!"
The fierce bidding below made Xiao Yan slowly open his slightly sleepy eyes. He raised an eyebrow and glanced at the screen showing the heated bidding, a smile appearing at the corner of his mouth. Then he closed his sleepy eyes again and fell fast asleep.
This round of bidding went on for a long time, lasting more than ten minutes. In the end, Mo Bei secured the Scarlet Fire Vermilion Fruit for the high price of three thousand Spirit Coins. Even Liu Huabai was ultimately defeated and sat back down helplessly.
With the Scarlet Fire Vermilion Fruit secured by Mo Bei, the white-haired elder swept his smiling gaze across the hall and spoke again:
"I trust that everyone obtained what they wanted today. Of course, it doesn't matter if you didn't, because, as you all know, the time that follows is for you to make exchanges among yourselves. As long as you don't come to blows, we at the Heavenly Cloud Auction House will not interfere. So I'll leave it to you. Now, I announce that this year's Heavenly Cloud Auction has come to-"
"Wait!"
Hm? That shout of "wait" jolted the entire hall. Everyone looked toward its source, where a tall, burly, bald man with a fierce, fleshy face and a knife scar like a maggot was walking step by step toward the center of the crystal platform. The shout had come from him.
The white-haired elder bowed to Xiong Man and greeted him respectfully:
"President."
Xiong Man nodded and grunted in acknowledgment. He walked to the center of the crystal platform, turned to the crowd below, and said:
"At today's auction, I intend to help a senior put a few more things up for bidding. None of you object, do you? Rest assured, the things that senior asked me to auction are all things you wouldn't normally even be qualified to see. That senior is in a good mood today and wants to broaden your horizons. Are you willing? Oh! Right, as for that Scarlet Fire Vermilion Fruit or whatever, heh! Compared with Senior's things, it's nothing but trash."
"What?!"
The entire hall broke into an uproar at his words. Mo Bei, seated in the front row, also stood up with a burning look on his face and asked Xiong Man:
"Hehe, in that case, when will President Xiong Man start the auction?"
"Hahahaha! Easily done. I announce that the auction will continue. Remember, the items coming up can only be bid on with Spirit Coins!"
"What?!"
Another uproar swept through the hall.