Chapter 147: Fierce Competition at the Auction

Chapter 147: Chapter 147: Fierce Competition at the Auction

The auction started with a bang: a purplish-red Illusion Heart Grass. That was practically equivalent to creating a new Divine Separation Realm Cultivator!

In the Eastern Domain, a powerhouse with Divine Separation Realm Cultivation could become an Elder or even a Sect Leader. The significance of a Sect gaining one more expert of that level was plain to see.

How many Martial Artists had their Cultivation stuck at the Peak of the Soul Emergence Realm for decades, even centuries, dying of old age without ever breaking through that bottleneck?

It wasn’t just the Sects that were scrambling for it; even some Cultivators who were personally at the Soul Emergence Realm Late Stage couldn’t suppress their impulses and joined the bidding.

An ordinary Illusion Heart Grass, while also difficult to buy, would cost less than ten thousand taels of silver at most. But this purplish-red one took a full half-hour to sell, fetching a sky-high price of three hundred and twenty thousand taels.

Standing beside the host’s stage, Chu Fan was grinning so widely his eyes were mere slits. ’How many stalks of Illusion Heart Grass grew in the depths of Ten Thousand Beasts Mountain? Forget the mountain; in his Juntian Mirror World alone, he had at least several dozen in storage. And among all the Spirit Medicines from Ten thousand Beasts Mountain up for auction today, this Illusion Heart Grass was actually just a common-grade item.’

When Liu Yicai clapped his hands and a beautiful assistant brought the second auction item to the stage, another commotion erupted below.

"What am I seeing? Is that a Bone Marrow Nourishing Root? Do those things really exist? Don’t anyone dare fight me for it! My little grandson is turning three next month..."

"Li the Crooked, you think you’re the only one with a grandson? ’Don’t fight you for it?’ You’ve got some nerve!"

The Illusion Heart Grass could give a Sect an additional Divine Separation Realm expert.

The Bone Marrow Nourishing Root, however, represented hope. A child who consumed it would undergo a qualitative change in their natural aptitude, from the inside out. Once they began to cultivate, their future would hold infinite possibilities.

Another round of fierce bidding ensued, but despite the Bone Marrow Nourishing Root’s rarity, there were fewer bidders.

The only ones participating were those with young children at home or those from Sects who had promising youngsters they were nurturing.

In the end, the Bone Marrow Nourishing Root was won by Li the Crooked, the one who had spoken up first, for the high price of four hundred thousand taels.

The next twenty-some items were all rare and precious Spirit Medicines with wondrous uses for Cultivators. Almost every single one sold for several, or even dozens of times its original value.

Just from these Spirit Medicines brought from Ten Thousand Beasts Mountain, Chu Fan had already made a fortune.

’Rarity truly makes things precious.’ In reality, for every type of Spirit Medicine sold, Chu Fan had at least a dozen more in his possession; he simply brought out one of each for the auction.

"The next item for auction is a Saber Manual. To be precise, it’s only half a manual," Liu Yicai announced loudly. "But even so, each of the six forms in this half is comparable to a Celestial Level Top Class Saber Technique. If one were to master all six forms, their power would absolutely surpass the Celestial Level Top Class."

"It’s only half a Saber Manual, so how can you dare claim it’s Celestial Level Top Class? Besides, in our Cultivation Realm, everyone wants their Martial Technique to be unique. Since you know it’s Celestial Level Top Class, does that mean someone from your auction house has already practiced it?"

A burly, middle-aged man stood up and questioned loudly.

Some people waited for Liu Yicai’s response as if they were watching a good show, while others already looked at the man with pity.

"It seems you’re questioning our auction house?" Liu Yicai asked leisurely, resting a hand on the parchment scroll before him.

"Since it’s a Celestial Level Top Class Martial Technique, it’s bound to fetch a sky-high price. Isn’t it perfectly normal for us to have questions?"

Liu Yicai smiled. "It appears this guest doesn’t quite understand the rules of Mr. Hong’s Auction House. However, that is no reason to question us. I can answer your question, but after I do, I must ask you and your companions to leave the auction house. You will be barred from participating in any auction held by Mr. Hong’s Auction House for three years. This... is Mr. Hong’s rule."

The man’s expression changed instantly upon hearing this. He shouted, "What? Is Mr. Hong’s Auction House so tyrannical? You don’t even allow people to raise a question?"

"Mr. Hong’s Auction House employs the most famous and knowledgeable experts in the field to form our appraisal department. Every single item sold by us undergoes careful and repeated authentication. If anyone finds an item from our auction house to be inconsistent with our appraisal, we will provide compensation of ten times the auction price. As for your concern about whether our Martial Techniques or Cultivation Techniques have been practiced by our staff, Mr. Hong’s Auction House has put its reputation first since its founding. That is not something you are in a position to question."

"The reason you’re being thrown out is not because you questioned us, but because you disrupted the order of the auction and wasted everyone’s time."

Liu Yicai waved his hand, and several Guards rushed out from the back, preparing to forcibly remove the middle-aged man and his two companions.

"This is outrageous! We are guests! You’re throwing us out just because I asked one question? Where in the world is there such a rule?" the man shouted.

The moment his voice fell, a sword was pressed against his throat. A bone-deep chill washed over him as he saw a figure materialize before him.

The people sitting near him jumped in fright.

The man’s appearance was simply too abrupt. They couldn’t help but think, ’If he wanted to kill us, who here could possibly stop him?’

The man’s angular face was as cold and lifeless as a corpse’s.

"Let me offer a piece of advice: it’s best to follow the rules in Mr. Hong’s Auction House. Are you going to walk out on your own? Or be carried out by my men and thrown into a mass grave?" Although Liu Yicai was still smiling, his words were laced with murderous intent.

The three of them didn’t dare utter a single harsh word as they retreated from the auction hall.

"A minor interruption, shall we continue?" Liu Yicai clapped his hands, snapping some of the still-shaken guests back to their senses.

Everyone was surprised to find that the black-clad man who had drawn his sword had already vanished.

Liu Yicai once again described the value of the Saber Manual, finally bringing the atmosphere back to normal.

This was the moment that tested the value of Mr. Hong’s Auction House’s reputation. Fortunately, after several years of development, its credibility was impeccable.

In the end, this half of the Saber Manual was won by the Profound Celestial Sect, one of the Six Sects and Eight Gates, for three hundred and sixty million taels of silver.

The next item was a Treasure Saber of Celestial Grade Top Class quality, albeit with a small chip in its blade. Due to the damage, the auction house also threw in a ten-jin piece of Celestial Pattern Steel.

Ten jin of Celestial Pattern Steel was worth at least one million taels of silver on its own. Repairing that small chip would only require half a tael of the steel. The remainder could be used to forge a four-foot long sword. As long as the Forging Master was sufficiently skilled, adding a few other materials would be enough to create a Top Class Masterwork Treasure Sword.

Because of this, the bidding price was immediately pushed to ten million taels, with each subsequent bid increasing by no less than five hundred thousand taels.

The auction grew increasingly intense. Many people, desperate to win a particular item, became red-faced from shouting, stopping just short of breaking into an all-out brawl. Cursing each other’s ancestors for eighteen generations was considered a trivial matter.

The more fiercely they competed, the happier the auction house naturally became. All that glittering silver was flowing straight into their coffers!

Three incomplete Martial Techniques sold for a total of 1.2 billion taels of silver. Chu Fan then brought out three Inner Power Heart Methods from the Cultivation Techniques he had obtained at Dingfeng Slope, as well as three more from the Miracle. In total, these six Inner Power Heart Methods sold for two billion taels.

Over the course of the entire auction, the total sales reached nearly ten billion taels of silver.

What did ten billion taels of silver even mean? Take the Shuoyue Kingdom, for example. Its total annual tax revenue was a mere twenty million taels.