Chapter 1316: Abyssal Red Lotus
Translator: CKtalon Editor: CKtalon
With the auction having taken such a turn, Jing Yuesha was full-on chortling when she saw Prince Boundless Heaven's expression.
Her chortling made many girls that had come with their sect's seniors snigger as well. They were not from the Outcloud Empire so they obviously didn't care who Prince Boundless Heaven was.
The usually suave Prince Boundless Heaven that won the hearts of countless girls suddenly became the butt of the joke. Even Princess Redjoy beside him gave him a disdainful look. All of this turned Prince Boundless Heaven's face as black as a wok's bottom.
He truly wanted to jump forward and tear apart the table on the platform. Fuck this auction. Are you kidding me!?
However, he knew that the matter was purely a result of his own foolishness. He never thought about the Ground Demon Ape having ten fingers because whenever he encountered treasures at that level they were usually owned by someone else or purchased from a store. As such, they were stowed away for long periods of time and only one unit was displayed.
But the items the old fellow had taken out were harvested from the source. They were naturally in a set.
Having thrown out money for no reason and thus failing to win the favor of the beauty, instead receiving the mockery of others, Prince Boundless Heaven could only take a deep breath to barely compose himself. If he didn’t, he could have burst a lung from anger.
Just as he went to say a few words to Princess Redjoy to conceal his embarrassment, he heard Yi Yun say to Jing Yuesha, "When one postures to impress a girl, his failure becomes all the more foolish."
The words that were at the tip of Prince Boundless Heaven's tongue stuck there.
He glared angrily at Yi Yun and felt all his blood surge to his brain. He nearly shattered his teeth from gritting them.
He knew that engaging Yi Yun in a war of words would only add insult to injury. All he could do was tolerate it.
"Punk, I'll remember this…" Prince Boundless Heaven thought to himself with a sunken expression.
…
At that moment, the second auction began.
Elder Mu looked calm and composed while he left the auctioning to the coquettish beauty.
With the first auction setting a precedence, the second auction happened very quickly. The price naturally did not rise as high as 2.6 million like before. Instead, it stopped at 950,000.
The person who bought the set of treasures at 950,000 mid-grade Spirit Jade was the sickly man from the first auction.
He seemed to be in such desperate need of the treasures that when he got them for the price of 950,000, he was extremely excited.
"Thank you, Senior Mu! Thank you!"
The man thanked Elder Mu incessantly. At the same time, he looked at Yi Yun and seemed to have a good impression of him.
Upon seeing the man's expression, Prince Boundless Heaven was incensed. Treasures he had bought for 2.6 million had been bought for less than a million by the fellow. He felt disgusted, as though he had eaten a fly.
"There's nothing to thank me for," said Elder Mu with a chuckle. At that moment, everyone was looking at Elder Mu, hoping to see him produce another Ground Demon Ape's finger bone or Black Jade Flower Fruit.
These things that did not catch Yi Yun's eye were highly coveted by others. When they heard from Yi Yun that there were at least ten finger bones and seven fruits, all of them started hoping for the price to fall. Perhaps they could buy a set at an extremely low price! That would be quite a bargain!
However, Elder Mu did not produce the jade boxes anymore. Instead, he took out an emerald-green porcelain bottle.
From the size of the bottle, it did not seem like a vessel that contained herbs like before.
"Elder Mu, didn't you obtain several ancient Fey bones and Black Jade Flower Fruits? Why aren't you selling them anymore?" Someone from the crowd asked.
"Selling two sets will do. The rest can wait. I'll sell them again in the future," the old man replied, playing down the matter.
At that moment, the people who were waiting to buy the items were rendered speechless. They originally felt that 950,000 was a little expensive. They hoped that the price would continue dropping but Elder Mu had stopped putting the items up for purchase.
"This old fellow knows how to create artificial scarcity."
Yi Yun stroked his chin. In his previous life, that was not something new. But in a martial world, it was a rare concept. It was no wonder the old fellow was able to use his title as founder of the Heavenly South Peaks Meet to raise the meet to such a high profile event.
From the looks of it, it was not easy to exploit the old fellow.
Just as Yi Yun was pondering over the matter, Elder Mu had poured out something from the small bottle. Everyone looked over and saw a black wrinkled seed. It was not striking in any way.
What was this?
Many people shook their heads. They had never seen such an item before. However, they knew that it was definitely something useful if it was Elder Mu taking it out.
At that moment, Master Su, who was sitting in the row closest to Elder Mu, had his eyes light up. "Elder Mu, may I take a look at this item!?"
"Of course."
Elder Mu handed the bottle to Master Su. As Master Su held the seed in his hand, he tossed it around and occasionally revealed a look of pleasant surprise. Other times he shook his head.
Upon seeing Master Su's expressions, everyone was baffled.
"What is that seed?" Many people present did not recognize it.
"Sect Master Yi, do you know?" Jing Yuesha asked Yi Yun casually. Unknowingly, Jing Yuesha was already treating Yi Yun as an omniscient being. Asking Yi Yun had become her subconscious response.
"It's an Abyssal Red Lotus's seed," Yi Yun said lightly. He kept his voice very low, and only a few people around him heard it.
"Oh? Abyssal Red Lotus?" Jing Yuesha looked at Yi Yun in surprise. She had never heard of such a plant before. There were too many natural treasures in the world and countless specimens of divine vegetation. Ignoring Jing Yuesha, even Clear Lunar Island Lord only knew a portion of all there was in the world.
Yi Yun did not reply as his eyes shined with a strange flicker.
The Abyssal Red Lotus was very useful to him. The lotus seed was fire-elemental and he could consider using the Abyssal Red Lotus Seed as a main ingredient. By matching it with other divine treasures, he could refine a new Dragon Emperor Relic and attempt to cultivate the Fire Hornless Dragon stance from the Nine Stances of the Ascending Dragon.
Back when Yi Yun ate the first Dragon Emperor Relic, he had only cultivated the Golden Carp stance of the Nine Stances of the Ascending Dragon.
However, the medicinal essence contained in the lotus seed was still a little lacking in terms of the requirement needed to refine the Dragon Emperor Relic.
At that moment, Master Su shook his head and sighed. "Unfortunately, this Abyssal Red Lotus Seed must have been sealed in a land with impoverished Yuan Qi for too long. As a result, it has lost a lot of the Yuan Qi it originally contained. Otherwise, it would truly be priceless."
As a top alchemist, Master Su was fanatical when it came to divine refinement treasures produced by the world. He found it a pity when he discovered such divine treasures that were flawed.
"Haha, it has indeed lost some of its Yuan Qi. You guessed right. It was sealed in an ancient tomb. As the energy of the ancient tomb's array formation had long drained, it resulted in the impoverished Yuan Qi. This Abyssal Red Lotus Seed must have been sealed in there for more than a hundred million years. When I took it out, it was already in this state."
Elder Mu did not conceal the origins of the lotus seed. He abhorred the thought of scamming anyone.
A lotus seed found in an ancient tomb would undoubtedly be tainted by some cadaveric auras. Such energy was the complete opposite of the vibrant life force within the lotus seed, and as a result, lowered its value.
"How about it? Is Master Su uninterested?" asked Elder Mu.
Master Su chuckled without a reply. No one knew what was on his mind.
"Now, if anyone is interested, they can begin bidding."
When Elder Mu spoke, the mood turned silent instantly. No one spoke out.
When Prince Boundless Heaven saw the lotus seed, he felt a little hesitant. He dual cultivated two elemental laws. One of them was fire and so the fire-elemental Abyssal Red Lotus Seed was of interest to him.
However, he had no idea how much Spirit Jade it was worth.
"Senior Mu, do you not have a minimum starting bid for this lotus seed?" Prince Boundless Heaven could not help but ask.
Elder Mu smiled faintly and said, "I never give a minimum starting bid when selling my items. As long as the price is reasonable, I'll naturally sell it."
The value of many divine treasures was hard to appraise. Once a minimum bid was given, it would give people a subconscious notion that the item was roughly worth that much. It would prevent them from bidding high.
Prince Boundless Heaven said with a wry smile, "Since Senior Mu has no minimum starting bid, I'll just shout out something random. Please do not mock a junior like me."
As Prince Boundless Heaven said that, he extended his finger and said, "10 million mid-grade Spirit Jade!"
When he shouted such a price, Prince Boundless Heaven felt a little panicked. In fact, his bid was an estimate based on the amount of Yuan Qi contained within the item.
He appraised the Abyssal Red Lotus Seed to be worth approximately ten million but when he actually shouted such an astronomical number, he felt distraught. He was afraid he had made an overestimation that would make him suffer monetarily.
Many of the people present were only watching. The lotus seed was too rare and those that knew what it did were just too few. The number of people that had thoughts of buying it was even fewer.
With more than thirty seconds of silence passing, Prince Boundless Heaven turned even more anxious. Why was he the only one who bid? Was no one else interested? Was his evaluation wrong? The Abyssal Red Lotus Seed was actually not worth the price? Ten million mid-grade Spirit Jade was more than half his savings. It was definitely not easy to bid that much.
Now, he was feeling regret. Was he being rash for shouting such a bid?
"12 million!" Someone seated at the Pillheart Sect's younger generation area shouted. It was none other than Su Muyan.
He was an alchemist so he was very interested in a lotus seed that was rarely recorded in canon.
Upon hearing Su Muyan's bid, Prince Boundless Heaven finally heaved a sigh of relief. From the looks of it, there were others who were vying for it too. Also, the price was about the same as his.
This gave Prince Boundless Heaven the necessary courage to proceed.
"13 million!"
Prince Boundless Heaven raised his hand again. At such huge numbers, he could not raise the prices so quickly like before.
"14 million!" Su Muyan did not back down. He was from the Pillheart Sect. As an alchemical sect, the Pillheart Sect's wealth far exceeded the Outcloud Empire's. But even so, Su Muyan was clearly very serious when making a bid that involved more than ten million.
"This Su guy…"
Prince Boundless Heaven furrowed his brows. The price was already beginning to encroach into the upper limits of his wealth. At this point, adding another million each bid was a burden that would gradually weigh too heavy on him.
…
As Prince Boundless Heaven and Su Muyan were engaging in a bidding war, Jing Yuesha noticed that Yi Yun was staring intently at the lotus seed. His eyes were shimmering.
She probed, "Sect Master Yi, are you interested in the lotus seed?"
"Yes." Yi Yun nodded his head.
Jing Yuesha felt her heart jolt. "Do you plan on spending more than ten million to purchase the lotus seed? Do… you really have a use for it?"
From Jing Yuesha's point of view, Yi Yun was only a junior despite being a sect master. It was unlikely he was in control of that much wealth. More than ten million was not a small amount. Could Yi Yun really compete with Su Muyan who came from a large alchemical sect?
"More than ten million?"
Yi Yun smiled. He had been keeping tabs on Elder Mu's reaction to the bids. He sat there composed and did not really move. Clearly, the bidding prices had yet to reach his reserve price.
In fact, from Yi Yun's point of view, even a flawed Abyssal Red Lotus Seed was definitely worth more than ten million. It was not as simple as people thought. It had more specialized uses.
At that moment, the price had been raised to fifteen million by Su Muyan. The prices were increasing in bids of five hundred thousand. Prince Boundless Heaven hesitated longer and he was beginning to hold back a little.
At that moment, Yi Yun spoke out. He extended three fingers and said calmly, "30 million!"
Oh!?
Yi Yun's bid stunned everyone present.
Instantly, all eyes were on Yi Yun.
He had raised the bid from fifteen million to thirty million at once. He had doubled it!
Furthermore, the person who had made the bid was Yi Yun!
If it was Master Su or King Yi who had bid thirty million, they would be shocked but would not find it too odd. But what was up with this youth? Was he mad?
What was he buying the lotus seed for? Besides… could he afford it?
The people were perplexed. Even Jing Yuesha was dumbfounded. She asked under her breath, "Sect Master Yi, do you have that much Spirit Jade?"
Yi Yun smiled. Before he became Myriad God Sect Master, he had been poor. But now, with the former Myriad God Sect Master and old woman having died, their interspatial rings were his. And with that, all the riches accumulated by the Myriad God Ridge over the years had been picked clean by Yi Yun.
The Myriad God Ridge was a sect that hid a lot. The Myriad God Patriarch was extremely ambitious and it was something the Calm Sea's Clear Lunar Island and the Heavenly Pivot Chapter did not notice. In terms of cultivation level, Myriad God Patriarch was a lot higher than Jing Yueyin and Ren Yunzong.
The Myriad God Ridge's wealth had been severely underestimated by both Jing Yueyin and Ren Yunzong.
Other than that, Yi Yun was now the lord of Myriad God Ridge. The more powerful Elders had soul marks implanted in them. None of them dared to disobey Yi Yun's orders. The other Elders could be ignored but the Zhang and Song family had a feud with Yi Yun. After enslaving Zhang Tianxing and Song Zhanchen, Yi Yun had appropriated their wealth. As much as half their family clan's accumulated reserves had been swiped clean by him.
Now, Yi Yun was definitely a tycoon. He had gathered all the old fellows' riches and the entire sect's reserves!
Thirty million mid-grade Spirit Jade was nothing to Yi Yun!