Chapter 256: Huge Profits
In a palace above a cloud, a beautiful female cultivator with an extraordinary aura slowly opened her eyes and woke up from her nap.
She tapped her finger lightly in front of her, and a cloud immediately transformed into a mirror of profound light. The scene inside gradually became clear, and the scene of the Myriad Sun Building’s auction appeared.
“Cloud guards.”
The woman called out lazily, and a cloud immediately gathered in front of her.
Two cultivators in white appeared out of nowhere. The two cloud guards did not say a word and knelt on one knee in front of the woman.
“Investigate the cultivators in the second-rate VIP room No. 73 of the Myriad Sun Building.”
“Yes!”
After acknowledging, they turned into clouds and dispersed again, as if they had never appeared.
The auction house was supposed to have the obligation to protect the privacy and safety of its customers, but in the face of the pressure of some large forces, even if it was a matter of principle, privacy might not be so absolute.
The woman’s eyes pa.s.sed through the Profound Light Mirror and glanced at a certain Foundation Establishment cultivator in the image. Only then did she wave her hand to let the Profound Light disperse. She used her slender palm to hold her face and fell into a satisfied slumber again.
“He possesses Merit Blessing and is surrounded by Dao essence that does not dissipate. What an interesting person.”
…
“Guests, may I know your seats?”
Jiang Li and the others followed the path that was surrounded by misty clouds until they walked into the auction venue. A beautiful Qi Refinement realm maidservant walked over quickly and asked with a sweet and business-like voice.
Jiang Li did not answer and directly handed over the exquisite VIP card.
When the maidservant saw the color of the card, her att.i.tude became even more respectful. She bowed slightly and said softly.
“Guests, you are level-two guests. Please follow me.”
After she finished speaking, she hurriedly led the way while Jiang Li and the others followed behind.
It was indeed quite tiring for Qi Refinement realm maidservants to work in such a place.
The venue was really too huge. Cultivators with insufficient levels would have to spend a lot of time walking.
After traveling for nearly half an hour in the pa.s.sageway that emitted a slight fragrance, they stopped near the auction platform.
Second-rate VIP room, No. 73.
As Jiang Li walked into the s.p.a.cious VIP room, the soles of his Cloud-Treading Boots stepped on the carpet that was covered in exquisite fur. The soft feeling made him unconsciously feel comfortable.
This was the feeling of being pampered.
In front of the VIP room was a one-way, transparent, full-length crystal.
Through the crystal window, the cultivators inside could see the auction stage 300 steps away from them from a good angle.
At this distance, high-level cultivators could clearly see the flapping wings of mosquitoes. It did not pose much obstruction.
If this crystal window was activated with spiritual qi, it could also zoom in on the scene in the distance.
Looking down at the chairs of the third-grade guests and ordinary compet.i.tors, he sighed again. This was the difference.
Fortunately, he had chosen to enter the Scripture Storage Valley back then and walk the path of a core disciple of a righteous sect.
If he chose to become a rogue cultivator or join some small sects, he might become very strong. However, he should be sitting on the chair below now.
“Guests, please take a break here. If you need anything, please inform the service staff at any time. We will do our best to satisfy the needs of our esteemed guests.”
As soon as the female cultivator finished speaking, the door of the other room next to theirs was pushed open.
Two maidservants with messy hair and disheveled clothes escaped from inside and ran away while stumbling a little.
The maidservants’ faces flushed red. Clearly, this service was also included in the request.
“Please find us an appraiser to do a price evaluation. We have something that we want to bid in the auction.”
Jiang Li did not make things difficult for her. He waved his hand and let her leave.
“Alright… alright, sir. Please wait a moment.”
As long as the goods were a.s.sessed by the Myriad Sun Building, they could temporarily add them to the auction.
However, compared to the items given in advance, such a temporary auction would have a certain disadvantage.
This was because the items given in advance would be attached to the list of invitations and seen by others.
Cultivators who needed it would specially rush over and prepare in advance. Naturally, they could bid higher prices.
However, they had already sorted out the list of items before Jiang Li found out about this, so he could only do this.
The maidservant lowered her head and left. Not long after, there was a knock on the door of the VIP room.
After opening the door, an appraiser carrying a professional appraisal toolbox entered their room.
“Sirs, what do you want to auction? I am a high-level appraiser of the Myriad Sun Building.”
As soon as this high-level appraiser entered the room, his sharp gaze quickly swept past Jiang Li. His gaze only paused on his shoes and Great Mountain Robe for an instant.
It could be seen that this was indeed an experienced appraiser. His eyes would involuntarily look at the artifacts on others.
However, the actual good things that Jiang Li had were not easily seen by others.
The old appraiser arranged some of the artifacts used to test the auction items on the table, and then he waited for Jiang Li to take out the items.
Jiang Li did not speak. He raised his hand and waved it, and a heavy humanoid figure smashed onto the table.
“Corpses?”
Smelling a faint corpse smell, the old appraiser was slightly stunned. It was not that there were no people who auctioned corpses these days, but there were definitely not many.
He raised his eyes to look, but his gaze was covered in the color of blood as a wisp of surprise and bewilderment flashed through his eyes.
He gently brushed his hand across the bright red flower petals and placed it at the tip of his nose to sniff. Immediately, he said in surprise.
“This is… the spider lily!?”
The characteristics of the spider lily were obvious, and its appearance was almost unique. However, he still found it unbelievable because there were too many spider lilies.
“Yes.”
Jiang Li nodded slightly and spoke in a flat voice, “I believe you’re not unfamiliar with the effects of the spider lily. Help me estimate the value of the starting bid.”
“Wait, wait. I have to test it again.”
The old appraiser had already confirmed that this was a spider lily, but he seemed to have discovered something else.
He carefully separated the dense flowers and carefully examined the corpse below.
“According to the current market trend, a fresh spider lily should be priced around 300 low-grade spirit stones.”
“Sir, there are a total of 733 flowers here. Their quality is indeed top-notch. The base price should be above 200,000 low-grade spirit stones.”
“Due to the low production of the spider lily recently, if it’s taken out to be auctioned, it won’t be difficult to auction it for 300,000 to 400,000 if we encounter a cultivator who really needs it.”
Jiang Li did not speak and waited for the other party to continue checking.
“Eh?”
The old appraiser used a small knife to gently cut a hole in the corpse under the spider lilies.
Then, countless white roots were exposed to the air on the muscles and bones under the skin.
“Fresh roots? Did you plant these spider lilies yourself?!”
Looking at the roots growing under the skin of the corpse, the old appraiser cried out in surprise.
“Yes.”
Jiang Li smiled slightly and nodded. This appraiser had finally seen the key point.
“What… what an amazing spiritual plantation technique!”
“Sir, you have actually grasped the reproduction method of the spider lily!”
“Wait, could it be?!”
The appraiser suddenly thought of something.
If he bought these spider lilies along with this corpse…
Did this mean that the buyer could possibly study the method of planting the spider lily from it?
The old appraiser licked his lips. Even though he was used to seeing treasures, it was not easy for him to accurately determine the value of this corpse-grown spider lily.
He hesitated for a moment before saying.
“With this corpse and the spider lilies on it, the starting price can probably be set at around 400,000 spirit stones.”
“After the auction, according to my experience, it should be able to be sold for around 600,000.”
Jiang Li nodded silently, but he could not help but be delighted in his heart.
What was an absurd profit margin? This was it.
Back then, when Yan Hong bought the spider lily, he had spent 580 low-grade spirit stones, nearly double the market price, to buy the flower.
However, at this moment, Jiang Li could casually take out the tip of the iceberg after ma.s.s reproduction and earn back hundreds or thousands of times the profits!
Of course, this kind of profit was only for Jiang Li. The source of all this was his infinite duration buffs.
Reproducing the spider lily in the Yin Burial Coffin similarly required consuming a large amount of Yin qi and spiritual qi. However, to Jiang Li who had the Spiritual Qi Infusion buff, there was simply no cost in doing so.
Unfortunately, with his current body, he was still unable to endure the cleansing of the top-grade spirit stone’s spiritual qi. Otherwise, he, Jiang Li, would really be called a spirit stone cash-printing machine.
“If Sir is willing to sell the spider lily reproduction method directly, our Myriad Sun Building is willing to pay a high price.”
After all, the Myriad Sun Building was a merchant organization. The so-called high price had to first ensure that they had enough benefits.
No matter what, the high price was most likely inferior to the gains from the auction. Jiang Li naturally would not agree.
Moreover, the Yin Burial Coffin and Jiang Li himself were the core necessities, so how could he sell it?
“Alright, 733 spider lilies and a special corpse that has successfully reproduced the spider lily will be auctioned later. Thank you for supporting the Myriad Sun Building.”
The old appraiser called for someone to bring over a crystal coffin and carefully placed the corpse-grown spider lilies inside. He then handed a proof to Jiang Li before leaving the room.
“Alliance Leader Jiang, there’s actually such a spiritual plantation technique! Geniuses really can’t be speculated with common sense.”
After the outsiders left, the higher-ups of the Great Mountain Alliance in the room looked at Jiang Li one after another. They did not expect that Jiang Li could casually take out such a valuable thing without relying on his status as the Alliance Leader of the Great Mountain Alliance.
Such a young man’s future was really limitless.
Now, they were still fussing about the authority in the Great Mountain Alliance. In the future, Jiang Li might not even take a fancy to this small place.
“Elders, you praise me too much. It’s just that my cultivation method is special and I used a little technique. It’s not much of a skill.”
After handing the spider lilies to the Myriad Sun Building as an auction item, Jiang Li suddenly raised his head as he stood before the crystal window. He raised his head and swept his gaze towards the first-rate VIP room that was in a better position above.
In a VIP room, the originally one-way transparent crystal gla.s.s was automatically removed.
Wu Loulan, the Third Young Master of the Myriad Slaughter Sect, who he had met at the entrance earlier, was sweeping the cultivators below with an invasive gaze.
The ordinary cultivators below frowned and lowered their heads, not daring to look him in the eye. The Myriad Slaughter Sect was very powerful and vengeful. No one was willing to provoke them.
Wu Loulan’s actions before the auction started was actually a very despicable method. It was obvious that he was using his status to suppress others and tell others that if anyone dared to compete with them in the future, it would be equivalent to not giving the Myriad Slaughter Sect any respect.
In this way, they could obtain the auction item they wanted at the lowest price. This kind of action would undoubtedly incur the wrath of many people, but the Myriad Slaughter Sect did not care.
“Young Master’s blood vitality and killing intent are getting stronger and stronger. At this age, even your elder brother is only so-so, right?”
A hunched elder beside him immediately praised. This Wu Loulan looked calm on the surface, but there was a trace of smugness in his eyes.
After all, he was a young man and was not shrewd enough.
“Old fellow, I wonder if that news is true. If it is, we must obtain it no matter the price!”
Wu Loulan also came with the mission of the Myriad Slaughter Sect. This auction had been planned for a long time and gathered all the rare treasures in the world. There was actually something that the Myriad Slaughter Sect valued.
“Hehe, don’t worry, Young Master. Although the Sect Master has something important to do, he has already instructed this old servant to secretly make preparations.”
“Even if that thing falls into the hands of others, he definitely won’t be able to walk more than 50 kilometers away from the city!”
The hunchbacked elder laughed softly. They were from the Demon Sect. How could the Demon Sect care about morals?
Moreover, as long as they were strong enough, the Eastern Region would need their strength, and the Divine Judgment Hall would ignore their actions.
“Good, well done.”
The corners of Wu Loulan’s mouth curled up wantonly. The feeling of watching the cultivators below fall silent in his eyes made him very happy.
While the Myriad Slaughter Sect was arrogant and domineering, the other first-rate VIP guests were also secretly communicating with each other.
These great powers that had been invited here seemed to have targeted an extraordinary item. Could it be that Earth-rank artifact that was used as the finale?
After waiting for nearly two hours, a melodious bell sound finally sounded in the venue. It penetrated the cloud barrier of the building and even Phoenix Sun City below could hear it clearly.
Countless low-level cultivators looked at the island in the sky enviously. Unfortunately, they did not even have the qualifications to go up and take a look.
When he heard this bell, Jiang Li also exited his cultivation state. His Quintet Dao Foundation was extremely firm and could easily withstand the collision of spiritual qi to a certain extent. Therefore, even if he was disturbed, he could still end his cultivation at any time.
If it was anyone else, they would have spat out a mouthful of blood.
Looking at the auction hall in the center of the venue, a very elegant purple-haired old man was already standing on it with a smile. It seemed that he was the auctioneer for this auction.
“It’s finally starting.”
Looking at the huge venue that was almost filled to the brim below, Jiang Li had quite a bit of antic.i.p.ation for the upcoming auction.