Chapter 99: The Auction Begins!
It had to be said, this auction house was quite large—no less so than the auction houses of the sects Yun Yi had wiped out in the Black-Corner Region.
Rows of exquisite seating, those enormous private boxes, and at the very end of the line of sight, an auction platform built almost entirely of dazzling crystal—it was dizzying to behold.
The entire auction house was circular, the auction stage in the center. Encircling it were the boxes belonging to the guests participating in the auction. Practically every seat had an unobstructed view of the items displayed on the auction stage.
"The Mite'er family has really gone all out this time. All these are treasures rarely seen normally!"
"If the rumors of a seventh-tier pill are true, then these things will seem utterly insignificant."
"A seventh-tier pill!"
"In all my life, I've never even seen a sixth-tier pill. Never thought I'd live to see a seventh-tier pill. Heh! Let's see who dares call me ignorant in the future!"
Early that morning, many families, high officials, and celebrities of the Holy City of Jia Ma had already entered the auction house to wait.
There were even quite a few unidentified black-robed figures flickering into view. Judging by their auras, they were all individuals of profound strength, yet didn't seem like people from the Jia Ma Empire. It seemed the Mite'er family's promotional work had been very effective.
At that moment, a sudden commotion came from the entrance. Those who had entered earlier saw this and immediately turned around to look, curious.
There, the heads of the top powers of the Jia Ma Empire—the Imperial Family, the Mu family, the Nalan family, the Yun Lan Sect—were gathered at the entrance, waiting together for someone.
Before long, the Mite'er family's carriage slowly approached. Hai Bo Dong was the first to appear. Seeing this formation, he was visibly taken aback.
"You all..."
"Hai old man, where is the Grandmaster?"
Clearly, they hadn't all appeared here together because of Hai Bo Dong, but because of Jiang Yun.
"Grandmaster Jiang, he—"
Just at that moment, Jiang Yun stepped out of the carriage with Zi Yan and the others. Seeing the group, he said without a ripple of emotion: "I've kept you all waiting."
Looking at Jiang Yun's group, everyone present was somewhat astonished, their eyes full of disbelief.
The first impression Jiang Yun's group gave was: young. In their imaginations, Jiang Yun should have been either an elderly person like Fa Ma or a middle-aged man like Gu He.
Who could have imagined he would be this young? He probably wasn't much older than Nalan Yanran at most, right?
"This is Jiang Yun, Grandmaster Jiang, an alchemist. All the pills appearing at this auction are provided by the Grandmaster!" Hai Bo Dong explained to the group with a smile at this moment.
At the same time, this confirmed his identity!
"Greetings, Grandmaster!"
Coming back to their senses, Jia Xingtian and the others hurriedly clasped their hands and spoke respectfully.
"Greetings, everyone. The auction is about to begin. I'll head in first!"
Politely returning the greeting, Jiang Yun led the girls, signaling Ya Fei without looking back, and headed straight for the auction.
Jiang Yun's detached attitude made the members of the group, each with a thousand words to say, suddenly feel as if a fishbone was stuck in their throats, unable to utter a single word.
"Everyone, don't be anxious. Grandmaster Jiang hasn't left yet. Wait until the auction is over, then go seek an audience with him!"
Just when everyone was at a loss, Hai Bo Dong stepped forward and spoke.
The group suddenly realized—only now remembering that this auction also had a batch of high-quality pills! If they could exchange for some, this trip would certainly not be in vain.
As the crowd poured in and entered their boxes, seeing Nalan Yanran still in a daze, Yun Yun said with some concern to comfort her: "Yanran, don't overthink it. Compared to your peers, you are already far ahead!"
"Teacher..." Yun Yun's words brought Nalan Yanran back to her senses. Looking at the worried Yun Yun, Nalan Yanran shook her head. "Teacher, only today have I realized how narrow my vision was before, looking only at the Jia Ma Empire, never seeing the world outside."
"A genius like Grandmaster Jiang Yun is one who can truly stand at the peak of the continent!"
"I believe I can do it too!"
Looking at the girl full of high aspirations, Yun Yun smiled with gratification. But at the same time, bitterness welled up in her heart. She was not at the proud, spirited age Nalan Yanran was.
At her current level, she could already comprehend the difficulties of cultivation. She clearly knew that Jiang Yun and they were not from the same world. It wasn't something that could be caught up to through effort and ambition alone.
But how could she bear to use reality to shatter her disciple's hopes?
Jiang Yun's appearance had indeed given Nalan Yanran a tremendous shock, and at the same time fiercely broadened her horizons. So this was what a genius from the outside world was like. At this moment, she recalled the matter of her annulled engagement.
Thinking of that youth who had shouted 'Thirty years east of the river, thirty years west of the river,' she once again firmly believed that she had not been wrong back then.
She would not be bound by a mere paper engagement contract. She, Nalan Yanran, had far more ambitious pursuits.
Jiang Yun arrived at the box the Mite'er family had specially prepared for him and took his seat. The view from here was excellent, able to take in the entire venue at a glance.
His gaze swept over the crowd below. Suddenly, Jiang Yun's eyes paused for a moment, then shifted away as if nothing had happened.
After settling Jiang Yun's group in, Ya Fei excused herself. She was tonight's auctioneer and had to go down to host the auction.
"Teacher, do you think a seventh-tier pill will really appear here?" At that moment, within the crowd in the main hall, a black-robed figure whispered.
Receiving no response, Xiao Yan found it slightly odd and called out again: "Teacher, Teacher!!!"
"Little Yanzi, there are terrifying experts in the venue. It's not convenient for Teacher to speak much. Consider this trip a way to broaden your horizons, to see the world beyond the Jia Ma Empire."
He had come entirely because Xiao Yan heard a seventh-tier alchemist had appeared, with a large batch of seventh-tier pills being auctioned, and so he wanted to come and see for himself.
Also, to see if there was anything that could help restore Yao Chen's soul.
The disciple's earnest intentions were hard for Yao Chen to refuse. Moreover, he himself also wanted to meet a seventh-tier alchemist from the northwest continent. He just didn't expect to receive such a huge 'surprise' the moment he arrived!
That was the pressure of a Spirit Realm soul. He could not be mistaken. The newcomer was not seventh-tier, but an eighth-tier alchemy grandmaster!
In his current state, he dared not reveal even the slightest bit!
In his mind, Yao Chen's voice rang out. Only, his voice was somewhat hurried, as if on guard against something. After finishing, he immediately fell silent again.
Yao Chen's words made Xiao Yan slightly stunned. This was the second time Yao Chen had revealed such a grave tone. The last time... that figure was like a demonic god—even recalling it now still sent chills down his spine.
"Yao Chen has also come?" Recalling that black-robed figure just now and the familiar aura on him, Jiang Yun murmured in his heart.
But at this moment, Yao Chen held absolutely no appeal to him. Perhaps the other still had a few trump cards hidden up his sleeve, but these no longer held much attraction for Jiang Yun.
"Xiao Yun, look over there!" Zi Yan's voice came from the side. Jiang Yun turned his head to look in the direction Zi Yan pointed—it was toward the surrounding boxes. But Jiang Yun, with his keen soul perception, could still sense several unordinary auras within them.
Among them were three at the peak of Dou Huang, their auras linked together. Jiang Yun had a guess as to their identities.
There was one somewhat chilling Dou Huang peak aura that felt familiar to Jiang Yun—an expert of the snake-people clan.
However, the strongest among them was a Dou Zong aura, around the strength of two or three stars.
"These people have also come. The Mite'er family has truly put in no small effort this time!" Retracting his gaze, Jiang Yun spoke with playful interest.
Inside a box.
Three rather elderly men were reclining comfortably on sofas. All three wore green robes, and on their robes were drawn the emblems of a lion, a tiger, and a bear respectively.
The emblems seemed to be formed from some kind of profound, mysterious energy. As the gazes of the three shifted, those three exceptionally ferocious beasts would viciously glare back with their crimson giant eyes.
If someone of weak strength and unsteady will face those killing-intent-filled, violent glares, their legs would involuntarily go soft, or they might even directly lose the will to resist.
Although the three's auras were only at the peak of Dou Huang, the three cultivated the "Three Beast Savage Art," their auras linked together, sufficient to contend against a Dou Zong.
These three were precisely the three Elders of the Mu Lan Valley, neighbors to the Jia Ma Empire in the Mu Lan Empire.
"Big Brother, is there really a seventh-tier pill appearing here?" The bear-emblazoned elder looked at the lion-emblazoned elder in the center and asked in a deep voice.
"If the Mite'er family has made such a grand display, and it turns out to be a trick played on everyone, I'm afraid they don't have the guts for that!"
"A seventh-tier alchemist! Never thought this tiny Jia Ma Empire would be fortunate enough to receive the visit of a seventh-tier alchemist!"
"Second Brother, Third Brother. Even if we don't obtain the seventh-tier pill this time, we must find an opportunity to pay respects to this Grandmaster!"
At the same time.
In another room, a man dressed in golden robes was intoxicatedly savoring the fine wine at his lips. His gaze shifted toward the very central box—the location where Jiang Yun was.
"Interesting. Completely unreadable. What terrifying soul power. It seems the seventh-tier pill is real. I wonder if it's what I'm looking for..."
Sensing the oppressive aura transmitted from within, Yan Luo Tian slowly withdrew his gaze, dropping his eyes, secretly calculating in his heart.
Finally, with the clear, crisp sound of a bell slowly echoing within the venue, on that dazzling crystal stage, Ya Fei, now clad in a grand red brocade robe, was already standing there with a beaming smile.
Her voluptuous figure, tightly wrapped in the red cheongsam, appearing perfectly curvaceous, instantly made the gazes of some in the venue burn with fervor.
A charming, coquettish smile on her pretty face, Ya Fei covered her mouth and laughed coyly at the audience below: "Hehe, everyone, I imagine you've all grown rather impatient waiting. In that case, this session of the Mite'er family Heaven-tier auction officially begins!"
Ya Fei knew very well what the crowd wanted to see and hear right now. Thus, she cut straight to the point. Sure enough, this move won her a round of cheers from the entire hall.
As Ya Fei's voice fell, the lights on the stage dimmed considerably. Her fair hand lifted lightly. On the auction stage, a long sword, entirely fiery red, immediately appeared. Under the illumination of the lights, the red patterns on it seemed to come alive, like a blazing flame.
"This sword is named Blazing Sun. It is forged from the fangs of a rank six Crimson Flame Tiger, and can be said to shear through iron like mud. Furthermore, it is perfectly inlaid with a rank five fire-attribute magic core. If someone cultivating the fire attribute wields it against an enemy, their strength will certainly rise to a higher level."
"How important a powerfully mighty weapon is—Ya Fei need not elaborate."
"The starting bid for this sword is one million. Everyone, please proceed."
"A magic core weapon?" Looking at that long sword, Jiang Yun murmured. He had already seen quite a number of weapons in this world. Overall, they were mostly used by those below Dou Wang.
Once one reached Dou Wang, they could manipulate the energy of the world. Only fine weapons inlaid with magic cores like this could provide some amplification. But in Jiang Yun's eyes, this was still somewhat crude.
"Pity I never learned artifact refining. Otherwise, probably even alchemists wouldn't earn money like I could!"
Recalling the spirit artifacts he had seen in the Xie Ling Clan, and then thinking of the artifact refining legacy he hadn't yet had time to look through, Jiang Yun shook his head with some regret.
While Jiang Yun was lost in recollection, quite a few bidding voices already rang out in succession within the auction house.
A rank five magic core weapon held considerable appeal even for a Dou Huang.
This was a treasured item the Mite'er family kept at the bottom of their chests! If not to serve as a backdrop for Jiang Yun's pills at the end, they would never be willing to part with it and auction it off so easily.
The first round of bidding lasted for over ten minutes before the sword was finally successfully auctioned off by a man, his face full of pained reluctance, for three million gold coins.
After the smooth progress of the first auction, next upon that auction stage appeared all sorts of dazzling treasures one after another.
Dou Techniques, cultivation methods, high-rank beast flames, and so on. Once, Jiang Yun even saw a piece of broken copper sheet—goodness knows where the Mite'er family had dug it up from.
In the early part of the auction, no overly explosive or atmosphere-igniting rarities appeared. Moreover, those bidding were merely some second or third-rate families. Those powerful forces with vast wealth had, up until now, not made a single move.
Wiping the fine sweat from her forehead and recalling the items she had just sold, Ya Fei's mood was a burst of delight. This was her battlefield. The transaction volume was her battle record. The higher the final bid, the happier she was.
"Ding—" Another clear bell rang out from the crystal stage. Ya Fei took a small silver tray from an attendant at her side with a smile. On the tray lay a small, transparent jade bottle. Inside the jade bottle tumbled a single pure white pill.
The moment this pill appeared, it drew countless gazes. Everyone knew why the Mite'er family had convened this Heaven-tier auction this time. Now, a pill had appeared. Could this be the pill from the hands of the seventh-tier alchemist?
Instantly, countless people sat up straighter, awaiting Ya Fei's next words!
"Hehe, everyone here has probably already guessed, haven't you?" Taking in the expressions of the crowd below, Ya Fei smiled enchantingly, her red lips parting slightly: "This is precisely a pill made by Grandmaster Jiang."
"This pill, made by Grandmaster Jiang, is a fifth-tier Marrow Jade Pill. After consumption, it can polish one's physique, enhance bodily strength, and if one's luck is good, there is even a chance to gain an opportunity for marrow-cleansing and vein-tempering!"
The moment Ya Fei's words fell, a wave of commotion swept through the auction house. Countless people stared with burning eyes at the jade bottle on the silver tray. Besides pills that could directly raise one's strength and pills that extended life, this kind of pill that could improve one's innate talent was the hardest to come by and the most precious.
Thus, upon hearing that this pill could both enhance physique and offer a chance at marrow-cleansing and vein-tempering, some immediately could no longer sit still. Wasn't this the ultimate foundation-building pill?!
Who doesn't have juniors in their family?
If their luck was good and it produced another genius, that would be an absolute bargain!
"Of course, Grandmaster Jiang's conditions, as I imagine everyone knows: only barter is accepted. The final choice is entirely up to Grandmaster Jiang. So, everyone... you may begin placing your bids!"
Looking over the stirred-up crowd, Ya Fei's smiling words immediately doused some with a bucket of cold water. Barter—that meant gold coins were useless here.
This caused many a person heartfelt agony!