The object was s.h.i.+mmering with golden light, and it seemed to be a bone from an unknown giant beast.
Even though it was only an incomplete bone, it immediately released a primordial aura as soon as it was revealed, and even though Yue Liantian was already prepared, he still hurriedly took several steps backward in a cautious manner.
Everyone else in the venue let loose cries of alarm in the face of this powerful aura, and some were even forced to release layers of protective devilish light.
"How could a mere bone possibly possess such a fearsome aura?"
"Could this be a bone from the few types of legendary ancient beasts?"
"That"s impossible! Even the bones of those ancient beasts wouldn"t possess such an astonis.h.i.+ng aura!"
"Brother Yue, please tell us what that thing is!"
Everyone erupted into a frenzy once again as they stared at the giant bone with shocked expressions.
"Hehe, all in due time, Fellow Daoist; this is an auction item, so I"ll naturally introduce its origins to everyone. Seeing as there are clearly many fellow daoists who are interested in it, I won"t delay any further; this isn"t the bone of some ancient beast; it"s the bone of a true spirit," Yue Liantian said with a smile.
"The bone of a true spirit? Wouldn"t that make it a priceless treasure?"
"That"s impossible! Even the Sacred Ancestors would be fighting over a treasure of this caliber; how did it end up here?"
The stir that had been created on this occasion clearly even the reaction to the holy brick, and most of the devilish beings present were very skeptical.
Han Li"s expression also changed slightly upon hearing this, and he immediately focused his gaze on that giant green bone.
All of a sudden, he detected a slightly familiar sweet and fragrant scent from within that primordial aura, and it seemed to be similar to the aroma of some medicines. However, the medicinal aroma was extremely faint, and he wouldn"t have been able to detect it had it not been for his regular contact with all types of spirit medicines.
At the same time, an urgent and elated cry rang out in Han Li"s spiritual sense. "Master, I can sense that that bone will be extremely beneficial to me. If possible, please purchase it for me."
This was none other than Qu"er"s tender voice, and it was even trembling slightly from excitement.
Han Li faltered slightly upon hearing this, but offered no response. Instead, he released a wisp of spiritual sense toward the giant bone, upon which a hint of bewilderment appeared in his eyes.
At this moment, Yue Liantian continued, "This bone isn"t from this realm. Instead, it was swept into this realm through a certain spatial rift. It is indeed a bone from a true spirit being, but due to its age, we"ve already verified that it no longer contains any true essence or spirit marrow. As such, not only are we unable to ascertain which type of true spirit this bone once belonged to, its true spirit aura has also waned to an extremely significant extent, so it"s completely incomparable to the other true spirit bones that have appeared in this realm in the past. Having said that, it"s extremely resolute, and if it were to be refined into a treasure, it definitely wouldn"t be any less powerful than a normal spirit treasure.
"As for why it appeared in our city, the reason is similar to why the holy brick also appeared during this auction; the former of the bone simply wanted to get rid of it as soon as possible to avoid trouble. Before we begin the bidding, I can give all of you 15 minutes to examine this true spirit bone. Those who are interested can even come onto the platform for a closer examination if you"d like."
As soon as his voice trailed off, Yue Liantian swept a sleeve through the air to release an azure incense burner, which landed on one corner of the stone platform.
There was a stick of incense that was half a foot long and had just been ignited protruding out of the incense burner, and at the same time, Yue Liantian flipped a hand over to summon a silver talisman, which he plastered onto the true spirit bone.
The astonis.h.i.+ng primordial aura was instantly subdued, and everyone heaved a collective internal sigh of relief.
After hearing Yue Liantian"s explanation, the skepticism and befuddlement on many people"s faces had faded.
In essence, this could barely even be considered to be a true spirit bone; it was only roughly equivalent to a rare tool refinement material, so it wasn"t all that absurd for it to appear in Blood Crow City.
Even so, there were still many high-grade devilish beings who were very interested in this giant bone, and not only were there many people releasing their spiritual sense toward it, a few of them had even made their way onto the platform for a closer examination.
However, all of them were very disappointed by the results of their examination.
Just as Yue Liantian had said, aside from some residual aura, there really wasn"t anything of use to be found in the giant bone.
The true value of a true spirit bone lay primarily in the true essence and spirit marrow it contained; even if the tiniest amount could be found in the bone, its value would immediately swell by thousands of times. However, the absence of those things naturally put a heavy dent in its value.
Han Li sat in his seat for a while, and only after there were no more devilish beings on the platform did he make his way over to the true spirit bone before gently laying a finger on it.
Yue Liantian appraised Han Li briefly, but merely smiled and allowed him to do as he pleased.
Han Li only lingered momentarily in front of the giant bone with a contemplative expression before withdrawing his finger and returning to his seat.
When the stick of incense in the incense burner was finally incinerated into dust, Yue Liantian swept a sleeve through the air to withdraw the incense burner, then announced in a serious voice, "Alright, time"s up. The auction will now begin, and the starting price is 50,000,000!"
In contrast with the bidding for the holy brick, this announcement was met with complete silence. No one was making any bids, but Yue Liantian simply waited with a faint smile, seemingly completely unconcerned by this.
"50,000,000!"
After a long while, the first bid was finally made.
"52,000,000!"
"56,000,000!"
Others began to join in on the bidding as well, but there were only six or seven of them, far less so than the bidders that had been interested in the holy brick.
It was no wonder that this was the case; this was indeed a true spirit bone, but its uses were severely limited, so there naturally weren"t many people willing to fork out so many devil stones for it.
Even so, the price still climbed steadily, and with three or four bidders still in the running, the price was bid up to a staggering 70,000,000.
The highest bidder was a devilish woman whose get-up suggested that she was quite wealthy.
The other bidders immediately fell silent, and it seemed that they were planning to concede.
A hint of elation flashed through the devilish woman"s eyes upon seeing this.
"70,000,000 going once... 70,000,000 going twice... If there are no further bids to be made, then this true spirit bone will go to this fellow daoist. Hehe, let me remind you that if you miss out on this opportunity, it will be extremely difficult to obtain another true spirit bone in the future," Yue Liantian chuckled, seemingly rather unsatisfied by this current price.
"Would I be able to sell off some items here if I don"t have enough devil stones?" The person who had raised the question was none other than Han Li.
Yue Liantian seemed to be quite pleased to hear this, and he replied, "Of course. Regardless of whether it"s treasures, pills, ingredients, materials, or cultivation arts, as long as it"s something of value, our auction house will be willing to offer devil stones in exchange. However, we"ll only be offering two-thirds of the market price, and we offer no returns even if you fail to secure the auction item you desire."
"Alright, then I would like to sell some things; please pause the auction for now," Han Li said.
"Sure, please head to the rear hall; you"ll be able to sell off your valuable possessions there." Yue Liantian waved a hand, and the devilish woman beside him immediately stepped forward as Han LI"s guide.
Thus, Han Li followed the woman into the rear hall...
Around 15 minutes later, Han Li returned to his seat and immediately made a bid of 80,000,000.
Such a staggering price naturally created quite a stir throughout the entire venue, and many people were scrutinizing Han Li"s cloaked figure, trying to guess who he was.
The devilish woman"s expression changed slightly, but she was clearly determined to secure the true spirit bone as well, and she immediately upped the price. "82,000,000!"
"90,000,000!" Han Li countered without any hesitation.
A hesitant look finally appeared on the woman"s face, and after making a bid of 91,000,000, she suddenly turned toward Han Li"s direction, and said, "Fellow Daoist, I am from the Hai Family of Wither City. This true spirit bone is something that will be of great use to my family; if you"re willing to hand it over to me, our Hai Family will be sure to thank you with a handsome reward."
"The Hai Family of Wither City? Is that the Hai Family that"s led by Sacred Ancestor Ku Ji? Why did they send someone all the way to Blood Crow City?"
"The Hai Family is one of the few major tool refinement families of our holy realm; could it be that they"re interested in this true spirit bone?"
"That woman is quite powerful; could she be a direct lineal descendant to Sacred Ancestor Ku Ji?"
The Hai Family was clearly quite a powerful family, and many of the devilish beings present were appraising the woman with awe and veneration in their eyes.
However, Han Li completely ignored her and made a bid that sent a jolt running through all of the bystanders" hearts. "100,000,000!"
Even if this woman were related to a Sacred Ancestor, as long as the Sacred Ancestor in question wasn"t anywhere near Blood Crow City, there was no need for him to worry.
The woman"s expression darkened significantly upon seeing this, and she gave a cold harrumph, but didn"t place any further bids.
"Alright, then this true spirit bone will go to this fellow daoist!" Yue Liantian hurriedly announced in an elated manner.
Han Li rose to his feet and made his way onto the stone platform, then handed over the required devil stones before stowing the true spirit bone into his storage bracelet.
Thus concluded the auction, and as Han Li departed from the auction house, Qu"er"s excited voice rang out in his mind.
"You must"ve discovered what"s so special about this true spirit bone as well, Master. With that bone at our disposal, there"s a good chance we"ll be able to elevate your spirit body to the Grand Ascension Stage!"