Chapter 629: Auction
Li Qiye quite liked Bai Weng. In addition to being an alchemist, his experience and insight were both very rich. Li Qiye had decided that Bai Weng would be the guide for Shi Hao, so he said: “When Shi Hao joins the palace for training later on, he will need you to watch over him.”
“Rest assured, Young Noble, I will take good care of Shi Hao!” Bai Weng solemnly stated his commitment.
At this time, the old man from the square asked Li Qiye again in an earnest manner: “Young Noble, may I check it again?”
With Li Qiye’s permission, the old man unlocked the seal on the box again and observed the item inside with a serious expression. He looked back and forth and even sniffed it as part of a very meticulous process.
Bai Weng and Shi Hao were also curious and wanted to see as well. However, it was blocked by the old man’s hand, so they couldn’t see it.
After finishing his check, the old man respectfully asked: “Will Young Noble sell this to the square, or do you want to auction it?”
“Auction.” Li Qiye said: “I don’t want refined jades, only other items. As long as others have things that can interest me, then I’ll trade. But if not, then if the square has something I like, you guys may have it.”
“I understand.” The old man replied. He didn’t find it strange at all since Li Qiye easily threw out one hundred Virtuous Paragon Refined Jades. With such a style, it meant that Li Qiye was not part of the nouveau riche or someone who got lucky with treasures along the way. He must have a great background.
The old man had seen countless people and knew that Li Qiye was as formidable as a dragon hiding in the depths of a swamp.
If Li Qiye didn’t lack refine jades, then only unique treasures would be able to interest him.
The old man guaranteed Li Qiye: “Don’t worry, Young Noble, the Golem Square will not disappoint you. A few ancestors with earth-shattering backgrounds are coming to the auction, and I’m sure they will be interested in your item.”
Shi Hao and Bai Weng were both gasping after hearing this. The old man was referring to ancestors from great powers, and perhaps even those from imperial lineages. This type of character was extremely renowned, people they could never come into contact with.
“That would be good.” Li Qiye calmly said.
At this time, Manager Hu asked: “Ancestor, a few guests still haven’t arrived yet, should we start the second half now?”
The old man looked at Li Qiye then nodded his head and said: “Begin, time is precious. Those who are late will have to miss out on this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.”
Manager Hu obediently bowed and went to carry out the order while the old man carefully put the treasure box away. He told Li Qiye right afterward: “Just let us know if you need anything, Young Noble. I have to go take care of something now.”
Li Qiye nodded his head as the old man took his leave. There were only maids left in the room. A maid brought a tray forward with a plaque on it and told Li Qiye: “Young Noble, this is a token of friendship from our master. It is a ‘Noblest Writ’ from our Golem Square. We hope that you will visit us in the future.”
These writs were only given to Demon Kings and ancestors from the great powers with high status. Those who held these writs were the most esteemed guests of the square; ordinary people could never reach this level.
Bai Weng was very familiar with the capital, so he was shaken to see the square's writ. In the country, even the eighteen monarchs didn’t have one, only the Demon King did. But now, the square gave Li Qiye one of them — this was being too generous.
Li Qiye didn’t bother looking at it and casually handed it over to Shi Hao.
Shi Hao was stunned since he had never held an item that represented such high status before in his life.
When the auctioneer stepped onto the stage, Li Qiye said as he sat on the balcony: “The auction is about to begin. Let us see what items the square can take out.”
Bai Weng and Shi Hao stood right behind him. This was their first time attending an auction of this level, so they were able to expand their horizons.
There were many private rooms as well as occupied balconies in this auction hall. Some rooms were pitch black with indistinct figures.
In this situation, many liked to show their face while others preferred to be hidden. However, regardless of their preference, they all had great backgrounds and fame.
Bai Weng, standing on the balcony, was able to recognize many big characters with his great knowledge, so he murmured: “Ninefingers Alchemist, the Flowing Water Valley’s Flood Dragon Monarch, the Heavenly Flame Stone-saint, the Giant Stone Royal Lord…”
However, among those on the balconies, there was only one person who Li Qiye was familiar with. A girl as arrogant as a phoenix displaying its fine feathers was in front of everyone.
This was the arrogant girl who had grievances against Li Qiye, the descendant of the Jian Clan — Jian Wushuang!
Jian Wushuang’s eyes became cold when she saw Li Qiye sitting on another balcony. She quickly shifted her glance away from this sight that annoyed her; of course she would not act friendly with him.
The auctioneer spoke while standing on the stage: “Honored guests, the auction today formally begins now. This just happens to be our annual auction, so the items this time will surely catch your interest. Our Golem Square wishes for everyone to have a fruitful venture so that you will not feel as if this was a wasted trip.”
The first item was brought up. The auctioneer said: “This first item is an appetizer. Since our Stone Medicine World has the highest concentration of alchemists, I’m sure many friends today are high-level alchemists. I’m confident that this first item will please the alchemy crowd.”
He then opened a trunk. It was full of purple soil as a violet aura spread out with great energy.
“This is the finest soil to cultivate medicines — Violetheart Mud. It is suitable to grow all types of medicines and grasses, especially the soulgrass variety. Of course, there is no further need to describe its effectiveness. Although it is only one trunk, it is more than enough to grow one root of any medicine that you like. The starting bid for this Violetheart Mud is 30,000 Heavenly Sovereign Refined Jades.”
An alchemist immediately bidded: “40,000 Heavenly Sovereign Refined Jades!”
For alchemists, medicine cultivation was a very deep field of research. All of them wanted to grow the best spirit medicine possible.
Cultivation materials, soil, fertilizer, and the techniques were all extremely important factors. A good medicine might be hard to find, but it was even harder to find good soil. In the world of alchemists, good soil was always sought after, let alone the Stone Medicine World with its strong alchemy background.
“50,000 Heavenly Sovereign Refined Jades!” Another big shot named a higher price.
One immediately followed suit: “80,000!”
“100,000!”
After many rounds of bidding, the Violetheart Mud was finally sold for the high price of 800,000 Heavenly Sovereign Refined Jades.
The second item was brought up and introduced by the auctioneer: “The second auction item is a bottle of Longevity Blood. This is the blood of a 2,300,000 year old Longevity Spirit that operates at night. I don’t need to explain the benefits of this Longevity Blood; this is the best of the best, something that all Heavenly Kings desire. The starting price is 400,000 Heavenly King Refined Jades.”
The moment the introduction was over, many great characters were shaken. In the present times, many Heavenly Kings were in control, but many of them were very old and on the verge of death. Longevity Blood was the main ingredient for creating Longevity Medicines. This bottle was definitely the best for Heavenly Kings of any level.
Suddenly, these big characters in the chamber could no longer sit still and started a fierce bidding war. In the end, this bottle of blood was sold for 3,700,000 Heavenly King Refined Jades.
The next few items were all rare treasures and were sold at exorbitant prices since the majority of the buyers were all big shots. One or two items were sold at unbelievable prices.
During the process, Jian Wushuang was a big spender. Her bids were always much higher than others, giving off the feeling that “this lady has too much money.”
Because of this, people were reluctant to compete with her even if they wanted the item. Moreover, most of the big shots here were from great powers, and some of them were of the ancestor level. However, Jian Wushuang was the golden daughter of the Jian Clan, and the Jian Clan was an imperial lineage. Ordinary people didn’t dare to compete with her while the ancestors didn’t want to compete with a junior like her.
Outside of Jian Wushuang’s lavish spending, there was another young man who was also very generous. He raised the price of one item to an outrageous level and bought it without any hesitation, suggesting that he was also not lacking in money.
Meanwhile, Li Qiye didn’t bother looking at the items. They were too common for him, so he was too lazy to bid.
Bai Weng and Shi Hao were different, especially Shi Hao since he was still young and inexperienced. Today, all the items before them were supreme treasures. They wouldn’t dare to dream of these items before, but now they had the fortune of seeing them in person thanks to Li Qiye bringing them to the second half of the auction.
All the spirit medicines had been auctioned off, so everyone was waiting for the rumored Heavenly Cauldron to appear.
Finally, it was taken out onto the stage. It had the appearance of a tree stump — very archaic looking. It didn’t have an oppressive aura, but it had a profound dao intent.
The auctioneer introduced this cauldron: “The next item is this Heavenly Cauldron. The first thing to note is its amazing background; it came from the Alchemy Kingdom.”
These words caused the audience to clamor as all eyes gazed intensely at this cauldron.