The Auction Begins
"Um?"
Shen Ge snorted softly and turned to look at a white stone on a nearby stall.
This is... White Heart Stone!
This is a real gem! It's even better than Black Soul Wood. Just this one piece, combined with other materials, can be used to forge a defensive Law Treasure. What a pleasant surprise! Shen Ge is currently lacking a defensive Law Treasure.
"Fellow Daoist, have you taken a fancy to this Heavenly Heart Stone?" the stall owner said with a smile.
Shen Ge smiled, deciding not to try and snag a bargain, and asked directly, "How many Spirit Stone will this Heavenly Heart Stone cost?"
"Fellow Daoist, it seems we are destined to meet. I had just set up my stall when you arrived. Since we are so fortunate, I'll give you a discount of five hundred Spirit Stone on this Heavenly Heart Stone, and I'll only charge you seven thousand five hundred Spirit Stone."
Shen Ge frowned. This is cheap? This price is over 10%!
If he added another four or five thousand, he could buy a defensive Law Treasure item directly.
The stall owner looked at Shen Ge with a grin and said, "Fellow Daoist, what's your decision? This kind of thing is extremely rare and hard to come by."
Just then, a voice rang out from the side. "I want this Heavenly Heart Stone; I'm just missing one."
Shen Ge turned her head and saw a middle-aged man with a little girl in a pink dress beside him. The little girl looked timid and shy, hiding behind the man.
The stall owner immediately became interested and looked at the man, saying, "Eight thousand Spirit Stone, how about it, fellow Daoist?"
"Eight thousand?" The man drew a large machete and glared at the stall owner, saying menacingly, "Fellow Daoist, why don't you say it again!"
The stall owner's face turned cold, and he said in a chilling tone, "Fellow Daoist, have you forgotten where you are? What, are you planning to make a move?"
At this moment, gazes came from all around, and several divine senses probed over.
The man, his face grim, snapped, "Fellow Daoist, is it not allowed to argue about this price since it's against the rules?"
"What's wrong with the rules?" the stall owner sneered. "A sale is a matter of mutual consent. I set the price, you pay. If you're not buying, you can get lost!"
The man looked at the Heavenly Heart Stone on the stall, remained silent for a while, and then somewhat relented, said, "Fine, eight thousand it is."
The stall owner shook his head, a mocking look in his eyes, and said, "Now it costs ten thousand Spirit Stone."
"Are you looking for death?!" the man roared, his eyes filled with ferocity.
"These are my items, I can order as many as I want." The stall owner grinned at the man, "If you're not happy, you can take them."
At this moment, the little girl timidly tugged at the man's sleeve and whispered, "Daddy, don't fight, don't fight."
The man glanced at the little girl beside him, hesitated for a moment, then picked her up, glared fiercely at the stall owner, and left.
The stall owner spat in the direction the man had left, then looked at Shen Ge and said, "Fellow Daoist, this kind of person is truly disgusting. He acts like he's the most important person in the world, and he's the third most important person in the world. It's really annoying."
"What a pity, that little girl has such a father, I wonder if she'll even be able to grow up smoothly."
Shen Ge smiled but didn't respond to that.
"So, how many Spirit Stone are you planning to sell this Heavenly Heart Stone?"
The stall owner was taken aback, seemingly not expecting Shen Ge to be concerned about this. After a moment of silence, he said, "Fellow Daoist, you're different from him. The price is still the same, but I'll give you a discount. How about seven thousand Spirit Stone?"
Shen Ge readily took out seven thousand Spirit Stone and handed them over. "Here are seven thousand Spirit Stone, fellow Daoist, please accept them."
So straightforward?
The stall owner carefully put away the Spirit Stone, then paused for a moment before picking up the Heavenly Heart Stone and handing it over. "Fellow Daoist, please keep your Heavenly Heart Stone safe."
Shen Ge put away the Heavenly Heart Stone and left without looking back. Although the Heavenly Heart Stone was overpriced, it would probably fetch even more at an auction.
After wandering around for a while, Shen Ge didn't find anything he liked except for some refining materials. It wasn't that there weren't any good things, but he just didn't like them, and even if he took them, they wouldn't be of any use to him.
Five days later, the auction officially began. Shen Ge followed the flow of people into the auction hall. The minimum entry requirement was Foundation Establishment Realm.
After entering the venue, Shen Ge was not assigned a treasure chest. Instead, he randomly found a seat and sat down.
About an hour later, when most of the people had arrived, the auction officially began.
At this moment, a scantily clad young woman stepped onto the platform and said, "Fellow Daoists, greetings! I am Guan Fei, the auctioneer for this event. It is an honor to meet you all here."
"Enough with the small talk, let the auction begin."
"Now, please welcome the first item for auction."
A young woman carrying a wooden tray walked up, and the host Guan Fei, lifted the red cloth and introduced, "This is a bottle of Foundation Establishment Pill, twenty in total. The starting bid is 15,000 Spirit Stone, and each bid must be at least 500 Spirit Stone higher."
Sixteen thousand Spirit Stone.
Seventeen thousand Spirit Stone.
Bidding was incessant, but most of the bids came from people inside the main hall. However, those who could offer so many Spirit Stone at once were probably small to medium-sized forces, as only they would be in such dire need of Foundation Establishment Pill.
Ultimately, the price of this bottle of Foundation Establishment Pill was raised to 23,000 Spirit Stone. Although it was only a premium of 3,000 Spirit Stone, it was still a successful auction item overall, a great start.
"The next item is a top-grade Law Artifact flying sword, forged from Deep Sea Silver Essence, suitable for use by water-type Spirit Root. Starting bid: three thousand Spirit Stone." Guan Fei held up a bright silver flying sword and displayed it.
Shen Ge was somewhat tempted, but he didn't want the flying sword. What he wanted was the Deep Sea Silver Essence. He planned to use it as an auxiliary material for refining defensive Law Treasure. He had searched the entire market and couldn't find a single piece of this material, which showed that it was not very common.
Five thousand Spirit Stone.
Six thousand Spirit Stone.
While Shen Ge was hesitating, the price had already been raised to seven thousand Spirit Stone. To be honest, as the most common top-grade flying sword-type Law Treasure, this price was enough to buy two of them.
Shen Ge shook his head and gave up the bidding. Although he really wanted it, the premium was too high and not worth it at all. Besides, he didn't necessarily need it; there were other alternative materials.
As he was thinking, Shen Ge suddenly remembered the auction he had attended before. Back then, he owed Mu Wan several thousand Spirit Stone for a top-grade defensive Law Treasure, and he still hadn't paid it back.
Thinking of Mu Wan, Shen Ge was suddenly overcome with sadness, so much so that he didn't pay attention to the items he bid on in the subsequent auctions.
"Next, let me introduce the twentieth item in this auction. This is a Dragon Roar Stone. Fellow Daoists, you can hear the faint sounds of dragon roars emanating from it. This item is perfect for refining sound-based magic Law Treasure, as it has the potential to generate the oppressive power of a dragon's roar. It is also extremely suitable for use as an array plate. The starting price is eight thousand Spirit Stone, and each bid must be at least one hundred spirit stones higher."
Eight thousand five hundred Spirit Stone.
Nine thousand Spirit Stone.