Chapter 23: The Auction Begins
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
The next day, at the Nie family’s trading company in Shangyang City.
A magnificent building was located at the place where people converged on the great desolate region.
Beautiful glazed tiles covered the top of the building, and lanterns with golden dragon patterns hung around it.
At the main entrance, a black plaque with golden edges and engraved with golden words hung high on the top of the gate.
At a glance, one could feel a magnificent aura emanating from the building.
Moreover, today, more than ten late-stage qi condensation servants were standing guard around the building.
There were many people at the main entrance, and they were all about to walk into the building.
At this moment, a beautiful figure appeared at the door..
It was Nie Ling. She glanced at the entrance.
She was wearing a dark green muslin dress today, and her hair was tied up.
Soon, she saw Su Yi and hurried forward.
“Coming.”
“Okay.”
“Let’s go. The auction will start in two hours. Come with me.”
As Nie Ling spoke, she led Su Yi to the back door of the trading firm.
…
“Fellow Daoist Nie, today’s auction is very grand.”
Looking at the stream of people at the door, Su Yi suddenly sighed.
Hearing this, Nie Ling also smiled and said, “of course. The quarterly auction will naturally be a bit more lively.”
“Moreover, with the items you provided this time, I’m afraid that all the aristocratic families from other cities will be present.”
“Oh? are my items that attractive?”
“Hehe, fellow Daoist Su, you really don’t know the difference between a well-fed man and a hungry man.”
…
The two chatted for a while and then entered the venue.
Nie Ling led him to a private room, from which he could see everything in the venue without any hindrance.
As there was still some time before the auction began, almost all the big families have not entered.
On the contrary, the seats in the venue had long been occupied by the small families and some itinerant cultivators.
The crowd below the hall was noisy and lively.
Not long after Su Yi sat down, the crowd of cultivators below the hall suddenly became even noisier.
He looked over and saw a group of people walking in from the main entrance of the hall.
He only felt that the person in the lead looked somewhat familiar, but behind him was actually Li Mengxi.
It seemed that people from the Li family had come. The person in the lead should be the patriarch of the Li family.
He looked at Li Mengxi. Her body was also exuding the cultivation of the late stage of the qi condensation stage.
Within a month, it was as if the world had changed. It was not only Li Mengxi who had changed, but he had also changed.
Who would have thought that he, who had been judged to have no-grade spiritual root, had now caught up to them, or even surpa.s.sed them?
In the path of immortality, time was secondary. In the blink of an eye, a hundred years would have pa.s.sed. So, this month was equivalent to a blink of an eye.
Su Yi sighed at the speed of time pa.s.sing.
In the venue, after the Li family, the other families entered one after another.
“People from the Thousand Treasures Pavilion? They are also here for the auction.”
Looking at the second person who entered, Nie Ling’s brows slightly raised as she spoke.
“That’s the Chang family. The family head, Chang Wentian, is one of the top aristocratic families in the great desolate region.”
“This is the Yue family. The family head, Yue Sanjin, is also one of the top aristocratic families in the great desolate region.”
…
Nie Ling would give Su Yi a brief introduction of each aristocratic family that entered.
Before long, all the aristocratic families entered. Nie Ling looked at him and gently opened her jade-like lips.
“Fellow Daoist Su, I’m going to go down and host the auction. If you have any problems, you can contact me with the immortal destiny seal.”
“Okay, got it. You can go and do your work. I have nothing else to do here.” Su Yi replied indifferently, and Nie Ling left to prepare for the auction.
…
After a short while, he saw Nie Ling slowly walked to the venue below.
The dark green gauze dress revealed her figure, and a veil was hanging over her face, making her look rather solemn and mysterious.
She slowly walked up to the podium and said with her jade-like lips, “I’m very happy that all of you have come to this year’s auction.”
Her voice was not loud, but the noisy voices had all quieted down, waiting for Nie Ling to continue.
“I am Nie Ling, and I will be the host of this auction today. Now, the auction begins!”
“Let’s welcome the first item of today’s auction!”
She clapped her hands, and a pretty maid slowly walked onto the stage with a tray in her hands.
A bronze-colored treasure sword appeared before the eyes of all the cultivators.
“Green Dragon Sword, a high-grade qi condensation stage magic treasure. The starting price is 200 low-grade spirit stones, and each increase in price is no less than 10 low-grade spirit stones.”
“I bid 210 spirit stones.”
Just as Nie Ling finished speaking, there were people already bidding below the stage.
Following that, there were a few more voices.
“Hmph, 210 low-grade spirit stones and you want to take away this high-grade ai condensation stage artifact? Dream on, I bid 260 low-grade spirit stones.”
“I bid 300 low-grade spirit stones, this is a qi condensation stage artifact. What a bunch of ignorant fellows.”
“I bid 400!!”
…
With this high-grade artifact as the opening item, the items that followed were much more exciting, and the bidding was intense.
In less than the time it takes for two incense sticks to burn, Nie Ling had already auctioned off more than ten items.
Later, after bidding off a top-grade qi condensation realm mirror artifact, Nie Ling paused for a moment, then clapped her hands again.
A bottle of medicinal pills was placed on a tray and brought up.
Finally, it was the item that Su Yi had sent for auction.
“Ten high-grade qi condensing pills, starting price 300 low-grade spirit stones. Each increment is not less than 50 low-grade spirit stones.”
As soon as these words were said, the whole place was in an uproar, especially those big families, who were all rubbing their hands.
The upper limit of consuming high-grade qi condensing pills was very high, and each pill had the effect of two days of cultivation + 5.
For those young misses and masters who had not yet built their foundation, this could be said to be extremely enticing.
After an intense compet.i.tion, 10 high-grade qi condensing pills were sold to a big family with the surname Chen at the price of 450 low-grade spirit stones.
The next item was the top-grade qi condensation pill. After a round of bidding, it was finally sold to the aristocratic families of other cities, the Chang family, for 300 low-grade spirit stones.
“Very good. It seems that the interest of the fellow Daoists has not been dampened. Next, please bring out the third item from the bottom.”
Nie Ling’s light voice rang out in the venue. After hosting the auction for so long, even her forehead could not help but show a trace of sweat.
“10 high-grade mystic condensing pills, 400 low-grade spirit stones as the starting price. Each increase in price is no less than 10 low-grade spirit stones. Begin the auction.”
The starting price was four hundred low-grade spirit stones. This had already made those itinerant cultivators give up.
They also knew that the remaining items were not something they could compete with.
“500 low-grade spirit stones.”
Panyu city’s Lu family elder raised his placard and said indifferently.
“600. High-grade mystic condensing pills are not that easy to refine.”
The one who raised his sign was the head of the Li family in the sky-cla.s.s private room.
“Ahem, My Yue family offers 800 low-grade spirit stones. Fellow Daoists, My Yue family has more disciples. Can I part with this high-grade mystic condensing pill?”
The elder of the Yue family emphasized the word ‘high-grade’. Moreover, the price he offered also exceeded the price of the high-grade qi condensing pill. It was really not worth it if the compet.i.tion continued.
“Hehe, since elder Yue has expressed his feelings, then it’s not polite of me to s.n.a.t.c.h someone else’s love.”
The Li family head smiled faintly and stopped bidding.
10 high-grade mystic condensing pills were auctioned off to the Yue family.
Following that, everyone’s breathing became much heavier.
They did not if the Dao-grade condensing pill would be the finale, or would it be the ape wine?
“The next item is a Dao-grade mystic condensing pill. Everyone should understand the effects of it, right?”
Nie Ling lifted the red cloth on the tray and opened an exquisite small box.
It was a pill as smooth as jade, and a faint Dao aura circulated around its body. It was like flowing water, but also like yin and yang.
As soon as this pill appeared, the entire auction hall was filled with a faint pill fragrance.
Nie Ling looked at the restless aristocratic families and no longer wasted time. She shouted, “Dao-grade mystic condensing pill, starting price is 1,000 low-grade spirit stones. Each increase in price is no less than 100 low-grade spirit stones. Begin the auction!”
As soon as she finished speaking, the Thousand Treasures Pavilion raised its sign.
“2,000 low-grade spirit stones.”
Hiss–
The moment this price was raised, the entire venue was almost silent. Who would start the auction by doubling the starting price?
Seeing that the venue had not moved for a long time, a trace of joy flashed in the eyes of the Thousand Treasures Pavilion’s representative who raised his sign. He knew that he achieved the dramatic effect he was looking for.
However, little did he know, many of the partic.i.p.ants have come in from afar for exactly this item.
“My Li family offers 2,100 low-grade spirit stones.”
“My Chang family offers 2,200.”