Chapter 17: The Dragon Bone

The Gong rang once more in deep tones that reverberated like thunder from mountains.

Madam Jiang entered the stage, robed in black and silver garments that fluttered with every step she took. The air was thick with the tension of the afternoon when the bidding had begun in earnest.

Ao Kuiba regarded the proceedings in his corner with something akin to detachment as he observed the tense expressions on the faces of his fellow Foundation Establishment cultivators. The morning had been but an opener. The true prizes would be unveiled now and the true nature of the players in this drama would reveal themselves.

"The Chamber extends its most humble welcomes to all of you esteemed guests," began Madam Jiang. "As you can see the items to be auctioned this afternoon will bear far greater value than their morning counterparts." Her eyes swept across the attendees taking in the furrowed brows and tense stances. "Now then, let us commence the afternoon session."

The room went completely silent as the first item was brought to the stage.

A vial of clear liquid with flecks of gold danced at the end of a mans arms who was following closely behind the madam.

"Phoenix Essence Dew, harvested from the Flame Mountains of the Eastern Wastes and painstakingly processed by Master Alchemist Wei Ling himself through a rigorous seventy-two step procedure. A single drop and any injury not of the Nascent Soul variety shall be healed instantly. The entire vial contains enough essence to heal twelve different injuries."

There was an eager murmur as the vial was placed on a table along with a set of fine jade scrolls that took up the remaining space between two silk canopies that stood at either end of the room.

Ao Kuiba exhaled sharply as he leaned back in his chair.

The items kept coming, priceless treasures of all manner of material. Fragments of broken swords imbued with the final memories of a Soul Formation cultivator, forbidden cultivation manuals sealed within jade scrolls, a living spirit-beast egg that pulsed with the life force of its unborn occupant.

The Verdant Lotus Clan threw their money around like water as they took home several of the prized items, much to the displeasure of the Celestial Frost Sect who were more selective with their purchases while the independent cultivators picked at the leftovers.

Ao Kuiba didn’t bother bidding for any of the items that passed before his eyes.

Ling Xue from the second floor had sent him several meaningful looks but he had chosen to ignore them completely. It had all been a diversion, a means for him to gain his true prize which was the cultivation technique the Mountain’s End Sect had offered up for auction. He merely watched as Bai Yue of the Celestial Frost Sect secured one of the bounties of the day, her face an uncharacteristically impassive mask. The Verdant Lotus representative was growing increasingly boisterous as he paraded his winnings around for all to see while Elder Xu bid on just one scroll and ended up winning it with a casual flick of his bidding token.

The mysterious hooded figure who had been watching the proceedings with a detached interest remained silent.

---

By the time the afternoon meeting had started to run its course the value of the items being put up for grabs only seemed to rise. The room was charged with energy as the bids shot up with each item, the rival sects finding themselves in a series of glaring standoffs with the Independent cultivators who were far too poor to compete with them directly.

Ao Kuiba remained seated in his usual chair, hands folded across his lap as he observed the proceedings taking place before him.

He was waiting for something.

Something that would come soon enough.

"Esteemed guests. We have saved the best for the last," intoned Madam Jiang her usual stoic composure absent as she gestured for two attendants to bring the last of the items to be auctioned that day to the center of the room. The two figures brought forth a pedestal of jade from the far end of the chamber and placed a small fragment of something on top.

It was a piece of an ancient bone, the color of bone white but with strange markings that seemed to glow from within the very structure of the material itself. Ao Kuiba could almost feel the power the fragment emanated even from where he was perched on the second story balcony.

"This fragment comes from an ancient dragon’s bone. It was unearthed from a sealed tomb in the Western Wastes and is estimated to be more than ten thousand years old." Madam Jiang began her appraisal of the prize. "Though the origins of the creature it belonged to have long since been lost, the power contained within it is undeniable. True dragons are a rare sight in these parts and not a single one of them has been seen in more than a century..."

Ao Kuiba had to bite back a wry smile at her words.

"...The power that resides within the fragment could be extracted and used to form pills that could heal common injuries and ailments, crafted into artifacts or even used as a cultivation aid for those who possessed a strong enough spirit to harness its energy. We have verified the authenticity of this item through every means at the Chamber’s disposal."

The bids came fast and furious at first but as the price climbed so too did the tension in the room. The Cultivators who had once greeted each other with pleasantries now shot venomous stares at those who had crossed their path in the bidding war that ensued. The guards of the Chamber found themselves tensed as they watched the crowd carefully, making sure that none of the agitated cultivators would damage the property of the chamber by accident, or worse, try to outright kill each other in a fit of pique.

Ao Kuiba remained utterly still as he listened to the madam’s appraisal of the piece.

"It is far more powerful than you all know. It has withstood the test of time and bears the mark of power from ages long gone."

The fragment of bone pulsed with power, filling Ao Kuiba’s heart with a strange sense of belonging.

"Starting bid, fifty thousand mid-grade spirit stones."

There was an audible gasp that reverberated around the chamber at the sheer audacity of the opening bid for what was easily the most valuable prize of the day. Fifty thousand mid-grade spirit stones was truly an outrageous sum. Most of the cultivators present would have been hard-pressed to afford even a single bid with what resources they had at their disposal. The morning session may have seen several powerful treasures go for a relatively affordable price but today’s auction had truly lived up to the reputation of the Cultivation Marketplace as a place where only the richest could afford to participate.

Ao Kuiba’s lips curled into a smile at the sheer audacity of the sum.

It was far too little.