Chapter 557: A Preposterous Bidding War
Although it was a spontaneous auction, the atmosphere was abnormally fervent. The one hosting the auction was a fifth rank sect head. He had no wishes or desires and was fully aware that he didn’t have the resources to battle for the pill. In addition, his sect had received no end of benefits from the Regal Pill Palace in the past, so he had naturally volunteered to host this auction.
“Everyone, can I say a few words?” w.a.n.g Jianyu couldn’t help but open his mouth again when he saw the auction about to start.
Xiang Wentian could barely keep his anger in check when he saw w.a.n.g Jianyu jumping out again. “w.a.n.g Jianyu, you have the most amount of issues here. Hurry up and fart out whatever you have!”
He wasn’t ordinarily such a crude person, but he simply couldn’t remain composed when he’d fully understood the effects of the Longevity Pill. Being able to extend his lifespan up to a maximum of eight hundred years was an incredible temptation! However, this w.a.n.g Jianyu wouldn’t stop running his mouth, buzzing around like an annoying fly!
w.a.n.g Jianyu felt a bit awkward at hearing that, but still summoned his courage and raised his hands in a cupped fist salute towards Xiang Wentian. “Elder brother Xiang, it’s not that I want to keep talking, but has everyone considered what would happen if this Longevity Pill doesn’t have the effect of extending lifespans? What then?”
These words were like a cold bucket of water on everyone’s fervor. The value of the pill had blinded everyone, but w.a.n.g Jiangyu’s reminder awoke them to this potential problem. What if the Regal Pill Palace was boasting and had severely exaggerated things? The scene instantly cooled as everyone looked over to the Regal Pill Palace.
Palace Head Dan Chi was quite forthright as he spoke. “Haha, all’s fair in the world of transactions. If everyone feels that this is too risky, then we can cancel the auction. After all, it’s not us who are desperate to sell the pill.”
Elder Yun Nie also smiled. “Since everyone feels this as the case, then let’s cancel it.” He rose and prepared to walk off the stage.
When Jiang Chen saw that the two heavyweights had both spoken, he naturally rose to his feet as well. “I was the one who refined the Longevity Pill, and my original intentions were to save it for the elders of my sect. If it hadn’t been everyone here fighting over it, I hadn’t planned on selling it either.”
Xiang Wentian was starting to panic now. He hastily rushed forward and pulled at Dan Chi. “Ole brother Dan Chi, don’t speak words out of anger. Ole brother Yun Nie, show me some face. Let’s all calm down, calm down.”
Palace Head Dan Chi roared, the very picture of enraged innocence. “Ole brother Xiang, it’s not that I don’t want to show everyone face, but there are some here who deny my sect the proper respect it is due! At the end of the day, we’re all fourth rank sects. We all behave with a certain bearing. But right here, we have someone who insists on nitpicking at the details, fanning the flames of drama, and crying wolf when we’ve placed our hands on our hearts and opened the doors of our sect to do honest business. What would you do in our situation?!”
w.a.n.g Jianyu snorted coldly. “Dan Chi, don’t try to pretend that you’re that innocent. Why would you feel so guilty if your Longevity Pill is really that miraculous?”
Xiang Wentian’s patience had been well and truly overdrawn. It was plain to him that the Regal Pill Palace was erupting in anger. If w.a.n.g Jianyu continued down his path, then he really might ruin everything. “w.a.n.g Jianyu, shut the h.e.l.l up! Another word out of you will mean nothing less than declaring the entire Sacred Elephant family as your enemy!”
Notwithstanding Xiang Wentian’s true feelings of rage at potentially missing out on this opportunity, his wrathful performance was also to ensure that the Regal Pill Palace was rea.s.sured by his show of support. That way, hopefully, they might not really put the Longevity Pill away.
Honored Master Tian Ming also chimed in. “If none of you believe in the effects of this pill, I’ll gladly take it off your hands. I’ll take on the risk freely, no need to fear if it’s an exaggeration.”
“Dream on!” Xiang Wentian rolled his eyes.
w.a.n.g Jianyu had received a faceful of dust at Xiang Wentian’s words. He’d wanted to sow some seeds of doubt, and douse everyone’s fervent behavior with questions of the Longevity Pill’s legitimacy. But he hadn’t thought that Xiang Wentian’s desire was completely beyond his imagination!
Xiang Wentian tried every possible method of coaxing he knew before he finally persuaded Dan Chi and Elder Yun Nie to stay. In all fairness, the latter two hadn’t actually planned on cancelling the auction, they just wanted to teach w.a.n.g Jianyu a lesson he wouldn’t soon forget. Don’t you like to run your mouth? Keep running it and see what happens, hmm!
When Jiang Chen saw that the two had taken their seats again, he too smiled and prepared to return to his seat.
Wei Wuying suddenly laughed, “Well, just how many years of life can this Longevity Pill offer? We should at least know this!”
Xiang Wentian had just sat down when he saw Wei Wuying stepping forth next to create trouble. He rolled his eyes and was about to erupt again when Jiang Chen suddenly stood up with a smile. “I’m the one who refined the Longevity Pill, and this is only a lower rank version. However, I hereby announce that if the Walkabout Sect and Sacred Sword Palace partic.i.p.ates in the auction, I will take back the pill. For your information, a lower rank pill will have no problems extending one’s life by five hundred years. You will feel the pill repair your bodily functions immediately after ingesting it. Payment will be immediately refunded if an effect isn’t apparent.”
Jiang Chen didn’t engage in empty bl.u.s.ter. There was nothing more convincing than an on-the-spot refund. The expressions of those from the Walkabout Sect and Sacred Sword Palace immediately changed when Jiang Chen was done speaking. w.a.n.g Han slammed his hand down on the table, “And who the h.e.l.l do you think you are, Jiang Chen? Are you worthy of banning my Sacred Sword Palace?!”
Wei Qing also looked at Jiang Chen sinisterly. “Kid, your arrogance really knows no bound, huh! It looks like I really need to teach you a lesson on how a young, ignorant junior should act!”
Jiang Chen smiled faintly, completely ignoring the two. He looked at the host instead. “We can begin.”
However, this nonchalant att.i.tude sent w.a.n.g Han into paroxysms of fury. He shot to his feet, absolutely infuriated at this dismissal. “Jiang Chen, get the h.e.l.l down here right now! I’ll teach you how you should act in front of your seniors!”
However, a deep growl emanated from Xiang Qin from the Great Cathedral, “w.a.n.g Han, sit your a.s.s right back down! One more word and I’ll break an arm. Two more words, and you’ll have to learn how to wield your swords with your feet!”
Xiang Qin was well aware of how deeply his family head desired the Longevity Pill, and these fellows were continually disrupting the proceedings with unmitigated abandon! As Xiang Wentian’s direct grandson, how would he not understand what this pill meant to his grandfather? Moreover, how could he not understand how meaningful it was for him? If his grandfather could live another five hundred years, that meant his backer would also live another couple hundred years. This was greatly advantageous for Xiang Qin’s development.
If his grandfather fell, then not only would the Sacred Elephant family lose their position as the head of the Great Cathedral, but he would also likely lose the qualifications to become the next Sacred Elephant family head. After all, he had yet to fully grow into his power and fill out his wings. He had to further consolidate his position as the future Sacred Elephant family head under his grandfather’s care. Therefore, Xiang Qin was all too aware of the significance of this pill.
Even though w.a.n.g Han brimmed with killing intent, he still didn’t dare stand up to the first genius of the Sacred Elephant family. He knew that Xiang Qin was nothing if not a man of his word. Thus, w.a.n.g Han glared threateningly at Jiang Chen, his face filled with angered humiliation. It was clear that he had placed the blame of his embarra.s.sment firmly on Jiang Chen’s head.
On the other hand, Wei Qing’s personality was devious and crafty. Although he itched to kill Jiang Chen right then and there, he couldn’t afford to take a public stance against a genius of the Great Cathedral either. He too sized up Jiang Chen in a sinister fas.h.i.+on and plotted on how to handle this thorn in his side.
Jiang Chen stayed as collected as ever, letting the provocative looks slide off him like rain on a rock.
With the Sacred Sword Palace and Walkabout Sect barred from the proceedings, the auction had lost some serious compet.i.tion for the Longevity Pill. The fifth rank sects obviously didn’t have the sufficient wealth to partic.i.p.ate, and the Regal Pill Palace naturally wouldn’t step forth to bid either. As a result, the only bidders left were the Great Cathedral, the Dark North Sect, and the Tristar Sect.
“This is a lower rank Longevity Pill that can be taken by a sage cultivator to extend their lifespan by five hundred years. The starting bid will be placed at three hundred thousand spirit stones. The auction begins now.”
There weren’t that many rules when it came to this spontaneous auction. The auctioneer had barely gotten the words out before the Dark North Sect immediately shouted out, “Five hundred thousand!”
Well well. The bid had immediately jumped to five hundred thousand spirit stones. This figure had just exceeded Jiang Chen’s winnings from his bet. Interestingly, that bet had been based on individual partic.i.p.ation as well. Apart from his own princ.i.p.al, there had been four hundred thousand spirit stones spread between eight partic.i.p.ants. This Longevity Pill had been refined from free materials, but the money earned from it was going into his own pocket. The fifth rank sect geniuses couldn’t help but admire Jiang Chen. They didn’t even have ten thousand spirit stones on hand, let alone five hundred thousand! But here was Jiang Chen with a pill he’d refined in the compet.i.tion soaring to a price of five hundred thousand spirit stones. To make matters even more exciting, this was only the beginning!
The Tristar Sect didn’t dither around either. “Six hundred thousand!”
Xiang Wentian cackled. “One million!”
When it came to the depth of their pockets, the Great Cathedral and Dark North Sect were actually on par with each other. But Xiang Wentian’s momentum was indeed frightening. It was obvious that with less than 60 years left of life, his desire for the Longevity Pill was bordering on obsessive. One wasn’t born with things like spirit stones, and they weren’t something he could take when he finally departed this world. He was determined to purchase this pill even if he used up all the wealth in the sect.
Of course, to the peak existence in the Myriad Domain, a million spirit stones was akin to an ordinary person’s thigh hair. It was next to nothing to him.
Honored Master Tian Ming knew that Xiang Wentian was trying to use his aura to suppress any more bidding, and naturally didn’t back down. “1.5 million!”
“2 million!” Xiang Wentian added another five hundred thousand as soon as Honored Master Tian Ming had finished speaking, as if two million upper rank spirit stones was as a bauble like two candies left over in his pocket.
Tristar Sect Head Zhu laughed ruefully. He finally saw things clearly. These two madmen were h.e.l.lbent on turning this into a bidding war. He’d originally held an opportunistic mindset earlier and thought he had a chance at the winning bid. But with these two lunatics in the mix, getting the Longevity Pill would be nothing but a dream. Shaking his head, Sect Head Zhu decided to withdraw.
Honored Master Tian Ming was a nice guy, but he was also incensed by this kind of provocative bidding. “3 million!”
“4 million.” Xiang Wentian’s tone was as carefree as if he was offering four million pebbles. One had to say, Xiang Wentian’s presence was truly domineering. The aura of bulling through until he reached his goal had already given him an upper hand in the auction, and this kind of grand bidding war was filling the hearts of the fifth rank sects with awe. They’d never seen such generous bids!
Four million upper rank spirit stones for one pill! Even the annual expenses of a sect likely wouldn’t reach this figure. Even the elders and heavyweights of the fifth rank sects had likely never witnessed such an explosive scene, not to mention the young geniuses. Young and old stood stunned at the sight of these two bidding. They couldn’t help but swallow noisily when they turned to look at Jiang Chen in admiration and wors.h.i.+p.