Chapter 283 - Enormous Gains
Shi Hao had no idea why that bone ended up here, and he could not tell whether it was the real thing or not without holding it in his hand. He wanted to obtain it badly.
“Is it really the Heavenly Bone? Why is it being auctioned first?” Asked a befuddled audience.
The red-clothed woman on stage was shockingly curvaceous and possessed an incredibly enchanting charm. Upon hearing the question, she held up the translucent white bone and showed it to the crowd. She then added, “It indeed looks like a Heavenly Bone, but it is a flawed one. It does not contain any symbols and is not a treasured artifact either. However, its hardness is unparalleled and surpasses everything else. We’ve tried many methods, for instance, bombarding it with the mightiest treasured artifacts, and even refining it within a furnace, but it continued to remain intact.”
“It’s only a broken bone without any symbols, after all. No wonder they display it this early to auction it off. It’s nowhere near a priceless treasure.”
“They should have said so beforehand. My heart almost skipped a beat. If that really was a Heavenly Bone, the Human Emperor himself would come down here to bid for it.”
The crowd commented and felt a load lifted from their shoulders, for most of them do not have the strength to compete for a Heavenly Bone. At the same time, there were some discontent among the voices. In trying to warm up the scene, the two people on the stage had unsettled the crowd quite a bit.
“It’s not completely empty. There are some indistinct patterns on it, but they are not symbols.” The old man on the stage added.
The VIPs were given the privilege to touch the treasures during the auction.
That was an opportunity most welcomed by Shi Hao. After holding it in his hand, he was more than certain that it was of the same material with the bone bearing the True Primordial Record. He was absolutely sure now.
Some loose lines were inscribed on that translucent white bone, but they were too cluttered to be any bone texts or precious techniques. His eyes flickered with light, but in the end, he handed the bone back to the girl who then went on to other rooms to show the bone to other guests.
“One hundred spiritual jades.” Bid someone.
“Five hundred spiritual jades from me!”
“One thousand!”
Despite the lack of symbols, the special material still attracted much attention. Many were bidding for it, hoping to take it home to study closely.
The so-called ‘spiritual jade’ is a form of jade stone bearing the essence of heaven and earth. It was a precious material that could assist one’s cultivation.
Gold and silver of mortals were useless to cultivators. Only this kind of materials that could be used for cultivation was regarded as currency.
In fact, to common cultivators, several hundred spiritual jades were already quite a lot of money. The price of this bone was raised directly to over a thousand spiritual jades, which was unexpectedly high.
Shi Hao scratched his head, for there was not a single piece of spiritual jade in his pocket. He was now considering whether or not to sell that block of Ocean Blue Essence, because he still had similar objects in his heaven and earth pouch.
“How much is an Ocean Blue Essence like this worth?” He asked the girls in his room.
A girl was startled by his question and made a face before answering him. “It’ll be priceless. They used to offer an unbelievably high price for a fist-sized one.”
“In that case…” Shi Hao put his fingers together and cut into the Ocean Blue Essence. With a metallic sound, he cleft down the size of a knuckle and handed it to one of the girls. “Help me call out my bid.”
“Ah…” The two girls in his room cried out in surprise. One of them took the stone with trembling hands, while the other one ran off at once to inform the people in charge in the auction house. It was such a reckless use of resources. He was wasting such a treasure!
“I’ll… offer a piece of Ocean Blue Essence.” The girl bidded with a trembling voice.
Clamour filled the auction house immediately. What exactly was Ocean Blue Essence? The material itself was not very hard, but by adding it into an artifact during the refinement process, it could improve the quality of the treasured artifact significantly. It was a material that was hard to come by.
This kind of object could promote improve the quality of an artifact, so it was truly a heavenly precious material.
The translucent white bone was indeed special, but was it valuable enough to be traded with a piece of Ocean Blue Essence? There were no symbol imprints on it, and it was not a spiritual artifact, so no one thought it was worth it.
“I’m very interested in this bone and I want to obtain it.” The girl’s heavenly voice from earlier spoke again. It also came from a VIP room.
She had someone fetch a symboled bone and took it outside the room. It was glittering purple in color, and multicolored light flowed around it. The bone was obviously valuable.
Many people were amazed. That bone could be used in running formations, or be sacrificed and refined into an extremely powerful treasured artifact. It was a primordial precious bone of an adult archaic descendant.
“I’ll offer another piece of Ocean Blue Essence.” Shi Hao bid himself this time and was about to hack off another block.
“Cut us some slack, young master!” People of the auctions house got there just in time, and several old men were almost shivering with fear. It would be such a pity if this whole block of treasure were cut into pieces like this. If the entire thing could be used in the refinement of a large scale magical instrument, it might even produce a supreme treasure!
Appraisers of the auction housed arrived. These old men were definitely authority figures in their field. It was most unbearable for them to see a treasure being spoiled like this. They felt like they were being torn apart by Shi Hao’s act, and wished they could give the devilish brat a good kick.
“I have no spiritual jades. Can you lend me some, then?” Shi Hao said.
“Auction it off. Put this Ocean Blue Essence out for auction.” An old appraiser tried to persuade him.
“That bone fragment won’t cost this much and I still want the rest of this for myself. I’m not selling it all.” Shi Hao refused.
In the end, the old men agreed to put it into his account. They would write down the size he offered away each time and not cut it down at once, because this was like a crime in their eyes!
“I’ll offer a piece of Dragon Bone Iron!” The girl seemed irritated by the competition and took out a divine iron the size of a knuckle.
“What?” The crowd cried out in surprise.
What was Dragon Bone Iron? Even the materials used by the deities in refining their artifacts might not be as rare as this. Legend has it that it was a divine material created when true dragons died in an iron mine.
Even a piece the size of a knuckle was amazing and invaluable enough. Once fused into a weapon, it would create an astonishing treasured artifact.
Shi Hao was left speechless for a while as well. He had only seen Dragon Bone Iron once in the Kun Peng nest, where it was made into a sword core. It was a rough model refined by the Kun Peng, one of the ten archaic vicious beasts.
Relatively speaking, a knuckle-sized Dragon Bone Iron was definitely worth more than a pile of random materials put together. Common people would not have the courage to bid with it.
“How big an Ocean Blue Essence do I need to overbid… that?” Shi Hao asked the appraisers.
Everyone inside the auction house became utterly shocked. They had never expected a symboless bone could attract such competitive bidding. The price was unprecedentedly high.
“You’ll need at least more than half of that Ocean Blue Essence, because the Dragon Bone Iron is a shockingly precious material and way too rare. If we can collect enough of it, we might even be able to create a divine artifact!” answered an old man.
“Then break up the Ocean Blue Essence. I’ll fight it out with her,” said Shi Hao.
In the end, an old man carried that giant Ocean Blue Essence to the stage, which caused a large clamoring in the hall. It was a real treasure we were talking about! The size of it was simply amazing.
“Heng!”
A snort came from the VIP room as a girl looked this way with a disgruntled face. She finally gave up.
The crowd felt their hearts skip a beat at the look of the girl. The teenage girl was around eighteen or nineteen years old and was remarkably beautiful. She was dressed in blue and had clear and translucent skin. She was elegant and ethereal.
Young men of the capital felt their hearts racing at the sight of the girl, for they immediately recognized her. They following her with fervent eyes.
“That’s the pearl of the Thunder Clan. She’s back as well!”
The eldest daughter of the Thunder Clan was renowned for her breath-taking beauty, and she was considered one of the the capital’s greatest beauties. Many men of the younger generations had fallen for her, but no one was able to win her heart.
The surname Lei[1. Thunder 雷] was as ancient as that of the Rain Clan. Their members could be found outside of Stone Country, and even beyond the wastelands. Feng[2. Wind 风], Yu[3. Rain 雨], Lei and Dian [4. Electric 电] were among the oldest surnames of the human race.
“Is her younger sister back yet? She is said to be the ‘brightest pearl’ of the capital, or even the entire Stone Country. She might still be young, but her fame has travelled far,” whispered someone.
The Thunder Clan had another daughter who was only fourteen or fifteen years old. Her beauty was said to be even more stunning and she was frighteningly talented. She had been cultivating away from home for many years, and only came back once a year.
Some even speculated that of Shi Yi’s own generation, if there was someone that could become his match, the person would probably be this brightest pearl of the Capital.
Hearing the discussion of the crowd, Shi Hao couldn’t help but frown. With the help of the Willow Deity, he was able to see pieces of memory from his childhood. He remembered vaguely now that he was somehow connected to the Thunder Clan.
He had heard his parents mention the clan when he was little, and they might have even mentioned the names of the two daughters, but it was all a blur.
“The Thunder Clan has proved itself to be a great ancient clan of the human race. The family here in Stone Country might only be a branch of the entire Thunder Clan.”
Shi Hao’s eyes stopped on a man beside the Thunder Clan’s daughter. He was a young man around 20 years old who gave off a compelling feel. He was most likely a pure blood creature.
Shi Hao could now sense these things after having encountering these types of creatures repeatedly. He had killed them with his own hands, and had become quite sensitive to their presence.
“Creatures of the Archaic divine mountains are involved…” He murmured to himself and shifted his attention away.
In order to show their respect, the auction house made an exception by sending Shi Hao the bone in advance, which was a pleasant surprise. Being a so-called VIP indeed gave him some privileges.
The little pagoda vibrated and said to him telepathically, “Give it to me.”
“No!” Shi Hao refused. The bone was very mysterious and could contain some great secrets. He wouldn’t let the pagoda destroy it that easily.
“You have a point. An unparalleled technique is hidden within it. You can hold on to it for the time being and give it to me when you no longer need it.” It was very rare for the little pagoda to explain in such depth.
On hearing that, Shi Hao could finally put his mind at rest. He did not bid for this precious bone for nothing. It was definitely a treasure.
The auction continued. Everything on display was of the highest quality. The crowd exclaimed from time to time when one treasure after another was taken out. The atmosphere was getting more intense by the second.
“The Blood Demonic Ruler is supposedly built from the precious bone of ancient demonic gods. Even though it is damaged and only a noble lord grade weapon now, it is still mendable. Once repaired, its power will be unimaginable.” An old man gave out the introduction.
What he described was a blood-red ruler. Although it was chipped, the ruler was still scarlet like a bloody diamond. Mighty divine energy was spreading out from it.
“It’s mine!” Lord Hun Tian stood up. He was a man of merely twenty five years old with a mountainous figure. He had been guarding the country’s border all these years, and was now an influential figure with great authority.
With this bidding manner, few people dared to compete against him.
As expected, the Blood Demonic Ruler went to him. The price was still shockingly high though, almost to an unprecedented level. However, it wasn’t anything a noble man like him couldn’t afford.
“That ruler was undervalued. Get me four of them and I’ll save your life once.” The little pagoda spoke suddenly.
Shi Hao was dumbfounded. He did not expect the Blood Demonic Ruler to be that valuable. However, he was frustrated by the request. Where on earth could he find four rulers like that? It was not like he could just pick them like cabbage! Moreover, that Lord Hun Tian looked like someone he should not mess up with. He seemed like someone who would stake it all against someone who bid against him. Shi Hao could only let it go this time.
The auction went on and reached another crescendo. This time, it was a precious technique!
The article was a tortoise shell that was inscribed densely with texts recording the divine abilities of the Black Turtle Clan.
Shi Hao was surprised. He did not know that precious techniques were auctionable as well. The unexpected turn of events excited him at once. He was in desperate need of great divine abilities like this, and so he set his mind for that precious technique.
“Many guests here would probably recall clearly that this Black Turtle rose in revolt in the western border in the past. In the end, it was killed by a mighty expert, who also managed to obtain its precious technique and stop its self-destruction.”
The turtle was an extremely powerful descendant. Although it was not of pure blood, it was still a frightening creature. It had turned the western border upside down, and two noble lords were killed during its capture.
“I’ll bid for it with a great killing formation!”
“I offer Netherworld Water!”
“I’ll exchange it with a precious technique of the same level!”
The person on stage had barely finished speaking when the crowd erupted with enthusiasm and started bidding right away. No one even mentioned the spiritual jades now, for money was simply not enough. They have to barter with rare treasures.
Shi Hao felt overwhelmed. It would be extremely difficult to win the bid, but he had to have it. He could not afford to miss out a top-level precious technique like this, because he needed something like this badly.
“Everyone, the elder owner of the shell does not want anything else except for a pill recipe that could cleanse one’s marrow and strengthen one’s bones. The pill needs to allow one to maintain the prosperity of blood essence.”
The identity of the person who killed the powerful Black Turtle back then had remained a mystery. Now that the person showed up again and tried to exchange the Black Turtle precious technique for such a recipe, the crowd believed that the owner should be someone quite old in age.
Shi Hao almost thought about giving up at first. He had stashed quite a lot of good stuff in his heaven and earth pouch, but not all of them could be exposed publicly, such as the True Supreme Water. Now that the request was announced, he started turning things over in his mind.
Suddenly, he remembered the ancient recipes handed down from Stone Village ancestors, that could fulfill the requirement.
He had read the recipes himself and knew the incredible amount of herbs they required. Spiritual medicines were needed all the time, to a point where the main ingredients were divine medicines. The old chief used those recipes to fortify bones for children in the village, but he usually used old medicines as substitutes.
Shi Hao felt that there was no harm in trying. He wrote a note accordingly and sent it out.
In the end, he was told that the mysterious mighty expert had chosen his recipe.
Of course, want Shi Hao wrote earlier were only the name and effects of the recipes.
The deal was a straightforward one. After he wrote down the real recipes, the exchange was completed at once. Everything was done in private and both parties remained anonymous. The auction house made yet another exception and sent Shi Hao the tortoise shell immediately.
Shi Hao studied it carefully. After a while, two beams of splendid light shot from his eyes. He was pleasantly surprised. It was definitely the powerful precious technique that he had been looking for!
The Black Turtle precious technique had a protective effect and could make one’s body almost impenetrable. Shi Hao asked the two girls to leave the room. He then closed his eyes and began to meditate.
Soon after, an earthen glow covered him. His skin hardened, creating ding ding sounds when he tapping with his fingers.
He was only getting started, yet he had already learned quite a few key points. The period of dao comprehension when he was at sea had a significant impact on him. He found it much easier to enter an empty state of mind and hit the groove when studying the dao.
“Wu, I obtained a praying mat in the Kun Peng nest that’s made from the twigs of Kun Wood. After leaving here, I’ll use it to help me with meditation. I believe that I can master this divine ability in no time!”
Shi Hao was utterly delighted, but he did not let his guard down. He only tried out the precious technique for a little while before stopping.
“Even precious techniques powerful enough to dominate a sect can be found here. I’m looking forward to what's coming next!” Shi Hao was becoming excited, and he now expected the auction to reveal more good stuff.