Chapter 269 The Auction
The Blood Sect, similar to the Gnawing Devils Sect, committed all manners of crimes. But because its members were quite strong, no one dared to mess with them.
“City Master, what level is the Qi Art of the Sect Leader of Blood Sect at?”
Ji Feng, too, was so curious about the man that he asked softly.
“I heard that he’s at the first level of Holy God. He’s mighty. My honored guests, you’d better not mess with him if you don’t have to. Otherwise, the consequences are unimaginable!” Long Shen kindly reminded everyone.
Hua Qiyue smiled but said nothing.
She was at the first level of Holy God as well. It was only that she hid her aura, so Long Shen could not feel it.
Even if Zhu Jian was at the medium level of Holy God, Hua Qiyue was not afraid of him. She was not weak, after all. She wouldn’t be scared of two more people at the medium level of Holy God.
Long Shen personally led Hua Qiyue and the others to the eighth parlor. He was overwhelmed with excitement. After all, to his surprise, a rare divine herb appeared in his auction house, which would make the auction house have a booming business and famous in the world.
The private rooms here were closed so that other auction guests could not see each other and could only hear each other’s voices.
And each room had a small window where guests could see the auction items on the opposite platform. Guests could bid on anything they liked.
“Thank you all for coming here. I am Miss Xu Qing, the auctioneer. The first item on today’s auction is the sword—Spirit-subduing Sword that Lyu Linguang used 500 years ago. Start with five hundred taels of gold!”
On stage was a woman wearing a white skirt. She had an attractive figure which made males indulge in fantasy.
The auction block opened slowly in the middle, and something was lifting a black sword. With a gentle smile, the auctioneer was slowly lifted up.
The whole body of the black sword was carved with simple and ancient lines. As soon as it appeared, there was an air of desolation. The crowd sighed with emotion. Five hundred years later, its owner was gone, but it was still there.
Now the Spirit-subduing Sword was about to change hands again. It was still a mystery to the crowd who would be its new owner.
“1,000 taels of gold!”
A faint voice came from the No. 1 window.
Hua Qiyue raised her eyebrows slightly. The voice sounded unhurried. And the No. 1 private room was usually reserved by the Emperor’s children. The royal family had privileges, after all.
“1,500 taels of gold!” It was another mark-up from the No. 5 private room.
After all, it was a famous sword used by a famous person. Who wouldn’t want it now?
It was said that Lyu Linguang had once held this sword, killing tens of millions of evil beasts. The battle put him on the map.
It was because of his sword that he was able to display his strength to the fullest.
The sword gained an offer of 150,000 taels of gold. Finally, no more markups were offered.
And Hua Qiyue always felt a pair of eyes staring coldly at her.
Why did she feel this way when no one could see her? It was really weird.
“Princess Qianyang is nearby,” said Yun Shimo abruptly. He sensed the aura of Princess Qianyang.
Hua Qiyue froze. The others were shocked.
“She followed us out? And she knows someone in a certain room?”
Ji Feng was quite surprised, too. He thought that even if Princess Qianyang’s injury had healed, she could only obediently follow them to Xuanyuan City since she had no strength to assassinate them.
He didn’t expect her to have a prestigious backer so soon.
“Princess Qianyang is not as simple as we thought… But on the whole, we harmed her…” Hua Qiyue frowned. Although Princess Qianyang’s jealousy was terrible, and she had tried to kill her, in any case, Yun Shimo betrayed her first. This was a fact that could not be changed.
Everyone quieted down, and another treasure began to be auctioned.
But none of these treasures appealed to them. In their eyes, only divine weapons were worth buying.
Moreover, Hua Qiyue possessed two divine weapons—the Drunken Flower Fan and the Spirit-Melting Vase. After the Spirit-Melting Vase recognized a master, it would return to its previous size.
Therefore, Hua Qiyue would turn her nose up at those treasures in the eyes of others.
“Next, we are going to auction a very rare divine herb in the Tianyuan Continent—the Ginseng with Nine Souls! I believe many of you have only heard its name and seen its shape from books, but have never seen its appearance in person?”
The auctioneer’s words caused an immediate uproar.
“How can that be? Is there any Ginseng with Nine Souls in the Tianyuan Continent? City Master couldn’t be deceived, could he?”
“Haven’t you heard the legend that a Princess named Hua Qiyue in the Changjing Kingdom owned this divine herb and it sold for a sky-high price? It’s probably true!”
“So, Hua Qiyue has come to the Yuewu Kingdom?”
There was much discussion among the crowd. Meanwhile, all eyes were fixed on the auction block for fear of missing a second.
The auction block rose slowly, and a Ginseng with Nine Souls was lying quietly on it, shrouded in purple holy light.
The purple holy light caused a greater stir. Countless people exclaimed in surprise, “Oh my, it’s really the Ginseng with Nine Souls!”
“It looks like it! Even if it is not, it is also a very rare medicinal herb. I can’t miss it this time!”
“Please be quiet, everyone. This Ginseng with Nine Souls is from a mysterious client who asked us to put it up for sale in Longting Auction House. The one who makes a good offer will get it. Now the auction begins. The starting price is 100,000 taels of gold. Each bid increment is not less than five hundred taels!”
Hearing the exciting discussion of the crowd, the auctioneer was very excited, too. It was also the first time in her life that she had seen this divine herb. She had no idea how much it would fetch at auction.
“A hundred and fifty thousand taels of gold!”
“Two hundred thousand taels of gold!”
“A million taels of gold!”
The person in the No. 1 private room simply offered a sky-high price. The crowd gasped.
Hua Qiyue and Yun Shimo exchanged a glance. When she auctioned the divine herb in the capital of Changjing Kingdom back then, the highest price was only one million taels of gold.
And here, all at once, one million taels was offered. It seemed that the Yuewu Kingdom was really as rich as the legend said.
“One and a half million taels of gold!”
“Two million taels of gold…”
“…”
The bidding continued. Finally, the guest in the No. 2 private room bought this Ginseng with Nine Souls with 3 million taels of gold.
“Hey hey, Sister Qiyue, you will become the world’s richest in the future. A Ginseng with Nine Souls could sell for three million taels of gold. Tut tut, sell one Ginseng with Nine Souls and you can live a lifetime without worry.” Ji Jing could not help showing an expression of admiration.
Hua Qiyue stroked Tianci’s little head and said, “Money is merely a worldly possession. It’ll be good if it’s sufficient. But here, more money is a good thing.”
“Qiyue, the man in the No. 2 private room seems to be a big shot, too. But we won’t be able to hide our identities for long,” Ji Feng said in a soft voice.
Yun Shimo raised his eyebrows and said, “I’ll kill them, no matter they’re ghosts or deities!”
He meant that anyone who dared provoke him would be killed. He was no longer the man he was a year ago. Back then, in order to avoid Xuanyuan Family, he had to enter Eight Fingers Mountain, lived there in seclusion, and practiced hard.
However, luck was on his side. In a little more than two years, he had ascended to the first level of Holy God. And now his strength had skyrocketed. After some time, he would break through to the medium level of Holy God.
“Next, there is one more Ginseng with Nine Souls. The honored guests who just missed it remember to bid for it!”
No sooner had the auctioneer’s voice faded away than cheers broke out.
The one in the No. 2 private room was Zhu Jian, the Sect Leader of Blood Sect. The ones sitting beside him were, of course, Princess Qianyang and his two maidservants.
Princess Qianyang’s face remained calm, but something stirred inside her, for she knew that Hua Qiyue was the only one who possessed the Ginseng with Nine Souls and that no one else could have it.
That was to say, Hua Qiyue was around!
Princess Qianyang clenched her fists softly. She swore to herself that she would break this woman to pieces!
It was because of Hua Qiyue that she could not get Yun Shimo’s love.
“I didn’t expect that there was such a divine herb in the little Yuewu Kingdom. It seems… there must be someone unexpected today.” Zhu Jian narrowed his eyes. He was a Qi Artist at the first level of Holy God and was warmly welcomed wherever he went.
And if that person had a lot of divine herbs, maybe he could ask that person for a few more?
So this time, the No. 2 private room no longer bid.
As a result, those who failed to buy the Ginseng with Nine Souls previously were so excited as if they had drunk chicken blood. When the bid reached two million and nine hundred thousand taels, no one offered more.
But 2.99 million taels of gold was a pretty penny. Common sects could not afford to buy such a divine herb. The large sects, however, was not so stingy.
Hua Qiyue was very satisfied with both prices.
Next, several more items that neither of them was interested in were auctioned off.
The last item in the auction was the Spirit-summoning Mirror used by Peach Fairy!
“The last item—a treasure inferior to divine weapons and owned by Peach Fairy—the Spirit-summoning Mirror! According to legend, Peach Fairy was not a fairy, but someone who was as beautiful as a fairy and had extraordinary skills. The level of her Qi Art was so high that no one could match her. Every treasure she had was extraordinary. The Spirit-summoning Mirror can take away the human soul.”
The auctioneer carefully picked up the mirror wrapped in black cloth. On the surface, the Spirit-summoning Mirror looked like any other mirror.
But it was powerful.
“Qiyue, buy it!” Yun Shimo said softly all of a sudden.
…
Hua Qiyue lifted her eyebrows. The Spirit-summoning Mirror was not very attractive to her, for she possessed two divine weapons at present.
Moreover, the Spirit-summoning Mirror was secondary to divine weapons, so she was less interested in it.
But Yun Shimo’s words made her pause. She could not help staring at the mirror.
The mirror glowed with pale, silver holy light and was incomparably smooth. If one stared at it seriously for several seconds, he would find that he seemed to have seen a flowing river.
Hua Qiyue felt a familiar aura assaulting her senses, her soul shaking and her mind wandering. For no reason, her mood was stirred by the Spirit-summoning Mirror, and she calmed down all of a sudden.
Inexplicable sadness pervaded her mind. The aura of eternity from the mirror made her had a feeling as if she had heard the whine of evil beasts and the sound of flowers blooming as well. She felt amazing.
“Qiyue? Qiyue? Are you all right?” A voice pulled Hua Qiyue back to reality. By the time she recovered, the auction had begun.
“Shall I buy the mirror or not?”
Since Peach Fairy was a benefactor to Yun Family, Yun Shimo wanted to buy it. In this case, Hua Qiyue made up her mind. But she was puzzled by the inexplicable emotion in her heart.