Chapter 860: The Five Great Cauldrons of the Regal Pill Palace
Jiang Chen suddenly felt a sense of shame. He hadn’t quite brought himself to respect Wei Xing’er all along, and it wasn’t just because of Ling Bi’er’s warning. Rather, it was because Wei Xing’er’s previous style of doing things had been overly unruly and sinister. To put it succinctly, she’d been poisonous. She would achieve an end regardless of the means. Naturally, Jiang Chen wasn’t fond of that.
In reality, Ling Bi’er had never slandered Wei Xing’er. She’d only warned Jiang Chen to be on her guard around the other girl. Everything Ling Bi’er had said was true, because Wei Xing’er had decided to make a move against Jiang Chen soon afterwards. The Wei Xing’er at that time had truly possessed all the attributes of a succubus. Only, as things changed with the pa.s.sage of time, the paradigm s.h.i.+ft within the Myriad Domain had given Jiang Chen the chance to see another side of Wei Xing’er.
Jiang Chen might have saved a fair number of people in the Myriad Domain, like the group young geniuses he’d rescued at the entrance of the Paramount Realm. However, in his heart, he would never have expected Wei Xing’er to do the same. And yet, that girl had done exactly that. It was just that their individual methods at been different, that was all!
As they spoke, the remaining customers of the auction had more or less all arrived. Following that, the voice of the auction master echoed throughout that the auction would be entering its preliminary stage.
“The situation of your Regal Pill Palace’s prisoners is more complicated. They normally don’t enter the markets, nor do they appear at auctions. But it appears that every faction regards your Regal Pill Palace as a very important ent.i.ty. They all want to lay hands on a few disciples for interrogation about the Longevity Pill recipe.” Wei Xing’er explained, “The highlight of this auction is the sale of slaves. However, there definitely won’t be anybody from the Regal Pill Palace. Right now, everybody wants to use the people from your sect to get rich. Even if they’re not interested in the Longevity Pill, they still hope that they can lure you out by seizing members of the Palace. You know how much you’re worth, no?”
Jiang Chen smiled indifferently. If those people really thought that way, he could only laugh at them for being too naive. If they could force him to show himself by simply capturing a disciple of Regal Pill Palace, then something must be wrong with his brain. There were many people he cared about in the Regal Pill Palace, but very few people would cause him to show himself. There were some people Jiang Chen had never even interacted with. Naturally, he wouldn’t out himself for the sake of the so-called “sect righteousness”.
That wasn’t righteousness. It was foolishness.
“Miss Wei, you said that your sect’s Elder Wu Hen retreated with the Regal Pill Palace Head and others. Perhaps you have some information regarding them?” Jiang Chen abruptly brought up this matter.
Wei Xing’er shook her head helplessly. “If there was news about Elder Wu Hen, I would definitely seek help from him. He’s the only one in the sect with knowledge and experience. He was more open-minded than that obstinate sect head.”
Jiang Chen had a deep impression of this Elder Wu Hen. Initially, when he’d acquired a Invisible Chameleon Cloudpine in the restricted area of Mt Rippling Mirage, that Elder Wu Hen had pursued him endlessly with a thousand strategies. Finally, they had engaged in a battle of wits that had ended with Elder Wu Hen’s retreat. The elder was able to advance or retreat according to the situation. He was a rather impressive being. Only, he, Palace Head Dan Chi and the others were only a group of sage realm cultivators. How long could they last under such merciless pursuit? How were they doing today? Jiang Chen was quite worried on their behalf.
Huang"er suddenly asked, “Miss Wei, I’m curious. We’ve completely disguised ourselves. How did you recognize us? I feel that I have some confidence in my ability to change my looks.”
The answer to this question was something Jiang Chen was also curious about. It was just that he hadn’t asked it yet. Wei Xing’er’s delicate smile was rather ambiguous. Her clever eyes turned towards Huang"er, “I’m afraid that you won’t like the answer to that question.”
Huang’er smiled softly, shaking her head instead.
“Alright, I’ll tell you then. I, Wei Xing’er, was born with a very sensitive nose. Detecting a man’s scent is especially easy for me. The scent of your man here, do you know how unique it is to me, how memorable? Moreover, you two were so close to me. I might still be able to detect it even if you were a few hundred meters away.”
There were various talents within the world of cultivators. Some people seemed to have received heaven’s favor and were born with exceptional eyesight, which helped tremendously in training various arts of the eye. Others had keen ears that were incredibly sensitive to all kinds of sounds and movements. Naturally, there were also people with a good sense of smell as they’d been born with a exceptional nose. Who’d have thought that this Wei Xing’er possessed such a unique advantage? For anyone who wanted to refine pills, this talent was truly akin to receiving a gift from the heavens. In terms of pill refinement, sense of smell was vital in identifying spirit herbs and evaluating pills.
The preliminary stage of the auction concluded as they chatted. The real stage was about to begin.
“Honored guests, we welcome everyone to the Dragon & Phoenix’s monthly auction. The format of this auction will remain the same as usual. It is split into two parts, an auction for goods and an auction for slaves. We will begin with the goods. As everyone knows, ever since the Myriad Domain collapsed, there have been an outflow of valuable items and slaves from that domain. We will never run out of business in the next hundred years.”
There were numerous big and small sects in the Myriad Domain that were now tens of thousands of slaves. Valuable items were also indeed flowing out like a gus.h.i.+ng river. Even the Great Scarlet Mid Region would need at least a hundred years to fully a.s.similate the Myriad Domain.
“We would like to thank everyone for your honorable patronage. Without any further ado, we will cut straight to the point. The first article is a treasure from the Myriad Domain’s Dark North Sect. Named the Dark North Bell, is the sect’s treasured legacy and can be used for both offense and defense. The Dark North Sect has not even used thirty percent of its might. Only in the hands of an emperor realm heavyweight will this Bell be able to display its power on a greater scale. The starting bid is ten million saint spirit stones. Every bid must exceed five hundred thousand saint spirit stones.”
The Dark North Bell? Jiang Chen had heard of this bell. It was pride and joy of the Dark North Sect. After the sect’s collapse, even this protective treasure had been brought out for auction. Moreover, the price of ten million saint spirit stones wasn’t actually very high.
“This first article is usually be considered one of the most valuable items in this auction. It’s intended to whet our appet.i.tes,” Wei Xing’er sneered.
Although the Dark North Sect’s relations.h.i.+p with the Regal Pill Palace hadn’t been bad, Jiang Chen obviously wouldn’t help them buy this in present circ.u.mstances. As he carried numerous treasures, he wasn’t too concerned about adding this Dark North Bell to his collection. Hence, he only watched emotionlessly as the others clawed eagerly at each other for the Bell.
It had to be said that the wealth possessed by inhabitants of the Great Scarlet Mid Region was a far cry to that of the n.o.bles of Veluriyam Capital. During his time in Veluriyam Capital, he’d seen firsthand how fierce compet.i.tion had been at the auctions there. Items that were above average could easily be inflated to a few dozen million spirit stones. And although this Dark North Bell had been touted so highly, everyone remained restrained while raising the bid, adding only five hundred thousand every time. The price finally rose to twenty million after a long period of time.
“Do you want me to bid?” Wei Xing’er asked.
Jiang Chen shook his head. “No it’s fine. This is just the first item.” With how much he had seen by now, Jiang Chen found himself spurning this Dark North Bell. It wasn’t that the item itself was a failure but rather that Jiang Chen already possessed enough equipment. There was no benefit to bidding for this Dark North Bell other than to attract attention. Even if he won it, was he supposed to return it to the Dark North Sect as a sign of goodwill in the future? Jiang Chen certainly had much better things to do. Moreover, he didn’t even know if there was anyone from the Dark North Sect who was still alive.
The price plateaued when it reached twenty million. In the end, this Dark North Sect was sold to a n.o.ble of the Great Scarlet Mid Region. The second item was a batch of talismans. They appeared to be of rather high level ones. However, Jiang Chen remained indifferent. He possessed many similar talismans, some of which were even superior to the ones for auction.
Wei Xing’er had been observing Jiang Chen all along. When she saw his calm demeanor and faceful of disinterest, she felt a p.r.i.c.kle of curiosity in her heart. This little boy has his sights set so high? Not only did he turn his nose down at the Dark North Bell, he even scorns these life-saving talismans? Everyone has turned into stray dogs with the fall of the Myriad Domain. Why is it that he’s only gotten wealthier instead?
Women were mysterious creatures. Although Wei Xing’er had made a name for herself as a succubus back in the Myriad Domain, she actually had very high standards, perhaps even higher than Ling Bi’er. It was just that their personalities were expressed in polar opposite ways. Wei Xing’er wouldn’t even spare most men a second glance. It was only Jiang Chen who had attracted her attention during the Mt. Rippling Mirage Pill Battles.
Afterwards, when her Azure Smokesnare Powder had failed to work on Jiang Chen and she’d been spanked thrice instead, her heart had truly been pried open. The harder something was to attain, the more curious she was about it and the more she yearned for it. That was why her impression of Jiang Chen had not faded even after these years. Instead, it had grown deeper everyday. At this moment, as she faced the man she’d yearned for all along, Wei Xing’er wanted to present her best side, but she was curious as to how he’d been for the past few years. Today, she could sense from Jiang Chen’s att.i.tude that he hadn’t spent those years worse for the wear. She could infer all these clues from his standards alone. Just as Wei Xing’er pondered upon this, the third item was brought out for display.
“The third item for auction is a set of constructs from the Regal Pill Palace. The Regal Pill Palace was founded on pill dao. The Longevity Pill that everyone is familiar with also initially originated from them. I believe everyone is familiar with this sect. The items for auction today are four of the Regal Pill Palace’s Five Great Cauldrons. The Skyscatter, Skypeak, Skyorigin, and Skywood Cauldrons. Apart from the Skyweave Cauldron, the four of the five great cauldrons have been gathered in this room. Everyone must be curious as to why there is one cauldron missing, right? You might have already guessed it. The remaining Skyweave Cauldron lies in the hands of that thieving Jiang Chen. Whoever can catch and kill that thief can take the Skyweave Cauldron to complete the set. These five cauldrons can contain the fortunes of a fourth ranked sect. I believe everyone is clear on the starting price of twenty million.”
Jiang Chen was naturally completely in the know about these five treasured cauldrons. It was exactly like the auction master had said. The last of the five cauldrons, the Skyweave Cauldron was in his possession. Huang’er and Wei Xing’er both turned their gazes towards Jiang Chen. Clearly, both women knew that Jiang Chen would not ignore matters that involved the Regal Pill Palace.
“Outbid everyone else. I don’t care how much it costs. Help me win those cauldrons.” Jiang Chen immediately took out a storage ring. “There are over a hundred million saint spirit stones in here. If that’s not enough, I have more.” He was a tyc.o.o.n even in the ranks of Veluriyam Capital now. Was there anything more to be said about the degree of his wealth in this insignificant Great Scarlet Mid Region?