Chapter 992: Price Battle
The three Withered Wood Pills were auctioned off separately.
For the first Withered Wood Pill, the starting bid was one hundred million spirit crystals.
After more than ten rounds of bidding, the price of the pill reached one hundred thirty-seven million spirit crystals.
Withered Wood Pills were indeed extremely precious, but many large alchemy sects could refine them, and there was no monopoly.
Therefore, their price was relatively stable, generally controlled within one hundred fifty million spirit crystals, with little fluctuation.
"One hundred thirty-seven million spirit crystals, going once."
"One hundred thirty-seven million spirit crystals, going twice."
Just as Qi Feiyu raised her jade hammer, Zhang Ruochen made his first bid: "One hundred fifty million spirit crystals."
In the auction hall, many cultivators turned their gazes toward Zhang Ruochen, somewhat surprised.
This Blood God Sect Divine Son was being very high-profile tonight, flaunting his wealth everywhere. Buying a Withered Wood Pill, he directly called out the top price.
No one continued to raise the bid, after all, a Withered Wood Pill was worth at most one hundred fifty million spirit crystals.
Kong Hongbi, sitting across from Zhang Ruochen, let out a cold, mocking laugh, finally finding an opportunity to retaliate against Zhang Ruochen.
So, he called out a price: "One hundred fifty-one million spirit crystals."
Hearing Kong Hongbi's bid, the cultivators in the hall all smiled, knowing he was deliberately provoking Gu Linfeng.
Zhang Ruochen didn't even lift his eyelids and called out: "Two hundred million spirit crystals."
"Two hundred one million spirit crystals." Kong Hongbi continued to provoke.
"Three hundred million spirit crystals."
"Three hundred one million spirit crystals."
...
The price kept jumping upward, and soon Zhang Ruochen called out six hundred million spirit crystals.
In the end, Kong Hongbi didn't continue to follow.
Because continuing would be very risky, and Kong Hongbi was worried about falling into Zhang Ruochen's trap.
Having driven the price of a Withered Wood Pill, worth one hundred fifty million spirit crystals, all the way up to six hundred million spirit crystals, Kong Hongbi was quite pleased, feeling a great sense of accomplishment.
In the auction hall, many cultivators smiled, thinking the Blood God Sect's Divine Son was a sucker, since six hundred million spirit crystals could buy four or five Withered Wood Pills.
Only Murong Yue knew that six hundred million spirit crystals was just a drop in the bucket for Zhang Ruochen, hardly worth mentioning.
Next, the second Withered Wood Pill was auctioned, with the starting bid still one hundred million spirit crystals, and each increase at least one million spirit crystals.
This time, Kong Hongbi again clashed with Zhang Ruochen, driving the price up to six hundred million spirit crystals before backing off.
In the end, Zhang Ruochen still bought the second Withered Wood Pill for six hundred million spirit crystals.
At this moment, Kong Hongbi felt quite pleased, shaking off his earlier gloom, a smile curling at the corners of his mouth as he prepared to help Zhang Ruochen raise the price again.
The other cultivators were also happy to watch the spectacle and didn't get involved.
"Next, the third Withered Wood Pill will be auctioned, starting bid one hundred million spirit crystals."
Qi Feiyu's gaze fell on Kong Hongbi and Gu Linfeng, curious whether they would continue their price battle.
Kong Hongbi stared at Zhang Ruochen, looking eager to try.
Zhang Ruochen finally opened his eyes and glanced at Kong Hongbi, saying: "Kong Hongbi, if I, this Divine Son, want to buy the third Withered Wood Pill, are you still going to fight me for it?"
Kong Hongbi was quite smug, smiled, and said: "You took away the Stone Beauty, and now you won't even let me compete for a Withered Wood Pill?"
"That's not it."
Zhang Ruochen said unhurriedly: "I just want to tell you, since I could take the Stone Beauty, taking the Withered Wood Pill is naturally a piece of cake. You're destined to never win anything against me."
With that, Zhang Ruochen directly called out a price that shocked everyone: "Six hundred million spirit crystals."
Kong Hongbi clenched his fists, his eyes flashing with cold light, rage burning in his heart.
Since childhood, who had ever dared speak to him like that?
That simple sentence was like a slap across his face.
"Gu Linfeng is too arrogant, directly calling out a high price of six hundred million spirit crystals. This time, Kong Hongbi probably won't dare to raise it further."
No one knew who said that, but it reached Kong Hongbi's ears.
Kong Hongbi sneered. Six hundred million spirit crystals was just a small amount to him. He had only refrained earlier out of caution.
But now it was different. Gu Linfeng was openly challenging him. How could he lose this face?
"Seven hundred million spirit crystals." Kong Hongbi said.
Zhang Ruochen didn't even blink, saying: "One billion spirit crystals."
Without any hesitation, Kong Hongbi called out another price: "One billion one hundred million spirit... crystals..."
Before he could finish the price, Kong Hongbi already regretted it, silently cursing, "Not good."
Sure enough, Zhang Ruochen didn't continue bidding, clearly letting Kong Hongbi have the third Withered Wood Pill.
Seeing this, Qi Feiyu gently shook her head, quite disappointed in Kong Hongbi.
Before meeting Kong Hongbi, Qi Feiyu had heard many legends about him—defeating the court's War Saint, slaying the Beast King of the wild secret realm.
Whether disciples of the Liangyi Sect or followers of the Demon Sect, they all spoke of him as if he were almost perfect, invincible under heaven, calling him the number one strong cultivator among humans below the Saint realm.
However, after meeting him, Qi Feiyu found his flaws too obvious.
Because he was too easily angered, unable to control his emotions.
Kong Hongbi simply couldn't compare to peerless talents like Ouyang Huan or Zhang Ruochen, who had no flaws. Even compared to Gu Linfeng, he fell short.
Gu Linfeng seemed lustful and arrogant, but he was actually quite wise, not so easy to deal with.
In the end, Kong Hongbi spent one billion one hundred million spirit crystals to buy the third Withered Wood Pill.
This price battle left both Kong Hongbi and Zhang Ruochen somewhat wounded, with Zhang Ruochen only slightly ahead.
The next few treasures auctioned included sacred art-level secret manuals, spiritual medicines thousands of years old, sacred artifacts, and sacred pills.
None of them caught Zhang Ruochen's eye, so he didn't bid.
However, the Grand Minister of Works took a liking to a seven-thousand-year-old Golden Bodhi Fruit and spent one billion seven hundred million spirit crystals to buy it.
Finally, the auction entered its second half, and the soul of the Azure Armored Sacred Elephant, as the fifty-seventh auction item, was brought to the auction stage.
The elephant soul was sealed inside a palm-sized bronze censer.
Streams of azure light shot out from the censer's holes, forming a hazy pattern. Faintly, one could hear the sound of elephant roars coming from within the censer.
Qi Feiyu's fingers gently held the bronze censer, looking exceptionally elegant, saying: "The Azure Armored Sacred Elephant is a seventh-rank lower-level barbarian beast. It was killed by one of our sect's palace masters who entered the wild secret realm."
"The starting bid for the Azure Armored Sacred Elephant's soul is five thousand sacred stones, with each increase no less than one sacred stone."
"The bidding begins."
Five thousand sacred stones were equivalent to five hundred billion spirit crystals. It was clear how valuable a seventh-rank beast soul was. Even an ordinary sacred clan might not be able to afford it.
Only two factions were bidding for the elephant soul, one from the Inscription Guild and a deeply established medieval aristocratic clan.
The Azure Armored Sacred Elephant's soul could not only be used to refine pills but also to create an artifact spirit for a sacred artifact, so it had great value.
If refined into a furnace of Sacred Elephant Body-Tempering Pills, it could yield between eight thousand and ten thousand sacred stones in value. Therefore, the alchemist elder from the Inscription Guild was determined to get it.
In the end, that alchemist elder called out a price of six thousand sacred stones, forcing the other elder from the medieval aristocratic clan to back off without raising the bid further.
It was at this moment that the Grand Minister of Works, sitting beside Zhang Ruochen, began to bid: "Six thousand five hundred spirit crystals."
The Grand Minister of Works had a loud voice, shaking the walls and floor of the auction hall.
Everyone's gaze turned to the Grand Minister of Works, and they shook their heads.
Many wondered how a monk could be so wealthy.
"This monk is buying the Azure Armored Sacred Elephant's soul, probably to cultivate some kind of Buddhist secret art," the cultivators present murmured.
In truth, the one who really wanted to buy the elephant soul was Zhang Ruochen.
However, Zhang Ruochen was worried that Kong Hongbi would interfere again, and if so, even twenty thousand sacred stones might not be enough to secure the soul.
Zhang Ruochen wasn't afraid of a price war, but fighting Kong Hongbi tooth and nail while letting the Demon Sect profit was not a wise move.
In any case, no matter how he bought it, the Azure Armored Sacred Elephant's soul absolutely could not be lost.
Kong Hongbi glanced toward Gu Linfeng's direction, saw that Gu Linfeng was meditating with his eyes closed, and withdrew his gaze, not getting involved.
Kong Hongbi didn't think the Grand Minister of Works was bidding on Gu Linfeng's behalf.
Because, in his view, Gu Linfeng was a very arrogant person. If he could bid himself, why would he let someone else do it?
At this moment, the most frustrated person in the auction hall was undoubtedly the alchemist elder from the Inscription Guild.
He was about to buy the elephant soul when, out of nowhere, a barbaric monk appeared.
The alchemist elder pondered for a moment, gritted his teeth, and called out: "Six thousand six hundred sacred stones."
"Seven thousand sacred stones."
The Grand Minister of Works shouted at the alchemist elder again, sending out ripples of sound that left the elder dizzy.
The alchemist elder glared at the Grand Minister of Works, tremblingly extended a wrinkled finger, and said: "Monk... you're ruthless..."
"Seven thousand sacred stones, going once."
"Seven thousand sacred stones, going twice."
"Seven thousand sacred stones, sold."
Seeing Qi Feiyu strike the jade hammer, the Grand Minister of Works showed a wild joy, rubbed his hands, and laughed: "Uncle-Master, I told you we could buy it for less than ten thousand sacred stones. You didn't believe me."
Zhang Ruochen nodded in satisfaction, saying: "I'll still give you ten thousand sacred stones. Seven thousand will go to the Pearl Light Pavilion, and the remaining three thousand are yours."
The Grand Minister of Works widened his tiger-like eyes and said: "Three thousand sacred stones, all for me?"
"Don't be so surprised. That's what you earned with your own skill." Zhang Ruochen said lightly.
Kong Hongbi naturally heard the conversation between Zhang Ruochen and the Grand Minister of Works, and he was even more furious, feeling as if he had been toyed with.
If he had known that the one buying the elephant soul was Gu Linfeng, he would have at least doubled the price.
Zhang Ruochen seemed completely oblivious to Kong Hongbi's murderous glare, stood up, and prepared to leave the auction hall.
Since he had secured the Azure Armored Sacred Elephant's soul, there was no need to stay any longer.
"Next, the item to be auctioned is a former national ancestral artifact of the Holy Bright Central Empire." Qi Feiyu's pleasant voice rang out from the auction stage.
Zhang Ruochen had already stood up, but his whole body trembled, and he stopped in his tracks, sitting back down in his seat.
(Chapter Two will be updated tomorrow afternoon.) (To be continued.)