The Auction, Part 1
"Next, please welcome the 300th item for auction. This is Sword Yi crafted from the sword wings of Peak Third Tier Swordfish, combined with various materials. It is a top-grade Law Treasure, not only combining offense and defense, but also increasing the user's flight speed. Even Golden Core Stage may be able to temporarily escape the pursuit of the Nascent Soul Realm expert."
"Starting bid: 15,000 Spirit Stone; minimum increment: 500 Spirit Stone."
Shen Ge looked at the pair of palm-sized Sword Yi on the display stand. The wings were made up of small swords, gleaming with a cold, azure light.
The design is impeccable, and it's also very practical. Just considering the increase in speed, he's tempted.
In just a short time, the price has already been raised to 20,000 Spirit Stone, and it continues to climb, showing just how popular this Law Treasure is.
Shen Ge touched his Storage Bag. Over the past ten years, he had managed to save up some Spirit Stone, but he also needed to cultivate, so he didn't have many Spirit Stone on him, only 80,000 Spirit Stone.
He doesn't have a lot of wealth, but that's in comparison to those powerful sects. Among Rogue Cultivator, it's rare to find someone of the same cultivation level with as many Spirit Stone as him.
"Twenty-five thousand Spirit Stone."
Shen Ge glanced at the direction of the bid and called out, "Thirty thousand Spirit Stone."
Upon hearing this, the person who was about to raise the price immediately withdrew their bid, revealing a look of surprise. This item was basically worth no more than 30,000 Spirit Stone, yet it had been bid up to the maximum price in one go.
"Thirty thousand Spirit Stone, senior brother, why don't you give up? This is already the highest price, a 30% premium. It's not worth adding any more," a junior sister advised her senior brother.
"Damn it!" The man glared fiercely in Shen Ge's direction and shouted, ignoring his junior sister's attempts to stop him, "Thirty-one thousand Spirit Stone!"
"Thirty-one thousand Spirit Stone! Is there any fellow Daoist who can offer a higher price? Such a top-grade magic Law Treasure, which combines offense and defense and is well-rounded in all aspects, is rare indeed. Fellow Daoists, if you miss this opportunity, you may never encounter it again." On the display platform, Guan Fei encouraged everyone with a slightly seductive voice.
Of course, she still had some reservations and didn't dare to go all out in persuading people. After all, there were too many people at the scene, and she was just an auctioneer. If some people felt they had lost out afterward and blamed her, she would be in trouble.
Shen Ge glanced indifferently at the direction of the bidding, then called out, "Thirty-five thousand Spirit Stone."
"Good heavens, who is this? Thirty-five thousand Spirit Stone! That's almost a 50% markup! Even if you have a lot of Spirit Stone, you can't spend them like that."
"Damn it, does he have too many Spirit Stone to spend!" the man who had previously bid 31,000 shouted angrily. He was about to bid again when his junior sister covered his mouth.
In a private room, a young man smiled, took a sip of his tea, and said softly, "Interesting. Do you think he'll keep raising the price if I intercept this Law Treasure?"
"Junior Brother Han, don't cause any unnecessary trouble. This Law Treasure is good, but we don't need it. Let's save the Spirit Stone for the other items later."
"Alright, alright, I won't get involved."
On the display stand, Guan Fei was still enthusiastically encouraging everyone. "Any fellow Daoists willing to bid? Any fellow Daoists willing to raise the price further? Top-grade Law Treasure are extremely rare, and there's only one of these in the entire auction!"
After calling out for a while, seeing that no one else was bidding, she announced, "Congratulations, fellow Daoist, on successfully purchasing this top-grade Law Treasure for 35,000 Spirit Stone. Please settle your account in the back office later."
"Now, please welcome the next item for auction."
The next few items were also Law Treasure artifacts, but their quality was much lower than that of the Sword Yi. Most of them were low-grade or mid-grade Law Treasure, and even the high-grade Law Treasure only appeared once.
But that makes sense. Law Treasure have always been scarce. Although Luo Heaven Sea has far more refining resources than Heavenly South, it's impossible for every Golden Core Stage to have a Law Treasure. Therefore, there are very few Law Treasure for sale on the market.
Feeling that the subsequent auction items were uninteresting, Shen Ge got up and went backstage to retrieve the Sword Yi.
Led by a maid, he arrived backstage. As soon as he entered, he felt a pressure from a Nascent Soul Realm, but it dissipated as soon as he made contact.
Shen Ge immediately looked warily at the old man sitting on the recliner next to the door, and after a moment of silence, bowed and said, "Greetings, Senior."
The old man waved his palm-leaf fan, gesturing for Shen Ge to go straight in.
Shen Ge nodded, then followed the maid directly into the room.
Upon arriving at the exchange counter, an elderly man at the Golden Core Peak asked without looking up, "Which item is this?"
Number 300.
"Thirty-five thousand Spirit Stone. Pay the Spirit Stone first, then the goods."
Shen Ge took out 35,000 Spirit Stone and handed them over. A moment later, the old man behind the counter handed out the Sword Yi Law Treasure: "If there are no problems, leave quickly. You can continue participating in the auction if you wish."
Shen Ge carefully inspected the Sword Yi, and after confirming that there was nothing wrong with it, he nodded to the old man, then turned and left. However, as he passed by the old man at the door, he still bowed and paid his respects.
The old man squinted at Shen Ge's departing figure and murmured, "This junior's spiritual power is rather special. I wonder what kind of cultivation Cultivation Method he practices."
After changing seats and settling down, the auction had reached the 350th item.
"Now, please welcome one of the final ten items for auction!" Guan Fei announced eagerly, instantly igniting the atmosphere in the entire auction hall.
Before long, four experts at the Golden Core Peak escorted the box onto the display platform. After putting the contents down, they did not leave but stood quietly to the side, exuding a powerful aura of pressure.
Guan Fei bowed to the four men, then carefully stepped forward and opened the box, from which a burst of white light immediately emanated.
Guan Fei carefully reached into the box and took out an egg the size of a human head. The white light was coming from the cracks in the egg.
"As you can see, fellow cultivators, this is an egg, a Sea Dragon egg. Because the egg has cracks, it's uncertain whether it can hatch. The starting bid for this egg is 30,000 Spirit Stone, and each bid must be at least 1,000 Spirit Stone."
"A Sea Dragon egg? My God, did they kill that fourth-tier Demon Beast, the Sea Dragon, in the Outer Sea?" someone exclaimed.
"What a pity, the egg is broken. Whether it can hatch into Sea Dragon is now unknown. Otherwise, this egg alone could probably sell for sixty or seventy thousand Spirit Stone."
"If it hadn't been broken, this egg wouldn't be here."
There was a lot of discussion, but no one made a bid. It seemed that no one was optimistic about the egg. After all, if it turned out to be a dead egg after being bought for tens of thousands of Spirit Stone, it could only be used to fry eggs. Moreover, its medicinal power was not even as good as a Golden Core Stage pill.
Seeing that no one was bidding, Guan Fei hurriedly explained, "Fellow Daoists, although there are risks, the rewards are quite substantial. Once this Sea Dragon egg is successfully hatched, you will possess a Sea Dragon spirit beast destined to become a fourth-tier Demon Beast. This investment is definitely worthwhile."
"With so many cracks in your egg, Xiantian. Even if it hatches, it'll probably only reach the Golden Core stage," someone sneered.