Chapter 150: Bidding
A streak of azure light descended onto one of the staircases outside the Golden Cloud Pavilion, then faded to reveal a burly man with a coarse beard, and it was none other than the disguised Han Li.
He took a glance at the majestic palace before him, then strode directly toward the entrance.
Many black-robed attendants were standing on either side of the entrance, tending to each and every arriving cultivator.
A black-robed attendant immediately approached Han Li with a smile as he asked, "Are you here for the grand auction, Senior?"
"What else could I possibly be here for?" Han Li asked as his brows furrowed slightly with displeasure.
"Please allow me to explain, Senior. This year's auction is a little different from the auctions of previous years," the black-robed attendant said.
"How so? Han Li asked."
"There are far more participants in this year's auction than previous years, so in order to restrict the numbers and keep out patrons who only intend to watch the auction with no intention of purchasing anything, it's been decided that each participant must issue a sum of spirit stones as an entrance fee. However, all you need to do is purchase any item during the auction, and the entrance fee will be returned to you," the black-robed attendant explained in a respectful voice.
"I see. How many spirit stones do I need to pay?" Han Li asked.
The black-robed attendant was just about to reply when a middle-aged man who appeared to have been a supervisor hurriedly arrived on the scene as he yelled, "How dare you be so insolent to this esteemed senior? Get out of here, I'll attend to this senior myself!"
Han Li took a glance at the middle-aged man to find that he was a Body Integration cultivator.
"Please don't take any offense, Senior, he's just an ignorant little brat that has no idea what he's doing. These rules only apply to regular patrons. For an esteemed True Immortal cultivator like yourself, you can go straight through the VIP passageway, and there's no need to submit an entrance fee. Please come with me, Senior," the middle-aged man said in a respectful voice.
Han Li was rather amused to hear this.
It seemed that power was paramount no matter where he went, and those with superior cultivation bases were always given preferential treatment.
Han Li gave the middle-aged man a slight nod, then made his way into the golden palace.
From the outside, the palace didn't appear to be all that remarkable, but only after stepping into the palace did he realize just how astonishingly massive it was.
The palace was split up into three levels, with the bottom one being a vast hall that resembled a giant plaza.
At the very front of the hall was an auction platform, which was still completely empty at this moment.
There were countless seats positioned around the hall, forming a series of tiered stands, and most of the seats were already occupied, giving the area a rather rowdy and and crowded atmosphere.
"These seat are prepared for the ordinary cultivators. Please come with me to the VIP area on the second floor, Senior," the middle-aged man said as he led Han Li up the staircase to the second floor.
There were several hundred wide and spacious seats on the second floor, with large gaps between the seats. There was a tea table beside each seat, upon which were placed some fruits and spirit tea.
Many of these seats had been occupied as well, and all of the people on the second floor were True Immortal cultivators, several of which Han Li recalled seeing at the island master's manor a few years ago.
Han Li was led to a seat by the middle-aged man, and there was a very good view from this position, allowing him to clearly see the auction platform down below, granting all those on the second floor a sense of superiority over those in the hall below.
Han Li nodded in response, then turned his gaze toward the third floor as he asked, "Who are the ones up there?"
On the third floor was a series of independent rooms that had restrictions placed upon them, making it impossible to see into the rooms from the outside, and it was clear that they were reserved for guests of even higher prestige than the ones on the second floor.
Han Li wasn't disgruntled by the fact that he hadn't been invited to the third floor, he was merely curious.
"The third floor is reserved for all of the island masters," the middle-aged man explained.
Han Li nodded in response, then withdrew his gaze and didn't say anything further.
The middle-aged man was rather busy, and he called over a beautiful female attendant to tend to Han Li before excusing himself.
Han Li wasn't bothered by this at all, and he sat in silence, waiting for the auction to begin.
Time slowly passed by, and it didn't take long before the hall on the first floor was at full capacity, and there were barely any available seats on the second floor, either.
Over two hours later, three loud gong strikes rang out, reverberating throughout the palace.
The rowdy venue immediately fell silent, and an elderly man with a white beard and a rosy complexion made his way onto the auction platform. It appeared that he was the auctioneer.
"That's Master Wen!"
A flurry of quiet chatter rang out within the hall, and Han Li's expression changed slightly as he realized that this elderly man was a guest elder of Black Wind Island and only one of three Earthly Pill Masters on the island.
"Thank you for attending our centenary grand auction. I am extremely honored to be serving as your auctioneer today," the elderly man declared in a boisterous voice that echoed throughout the entire venue.
As soon as he began speaking, all of the chatter immediately died down, and the venue became extremely quiet.
"There are lots of familiar faces here, and of course, there are also some friends who are only attending the auction for the first time, so I'll have to lay out some rules for the auction. All items are sold with top-grade spirit stones as the unit of currency, and if you don't have enough spirit stones, you can use immortal origin stones instead at an exchange rate of one immortal origin stone to 100 top-grade spirit stones.
“Alternatively, you can submit items in exchange for spirit stones, and the value of those items will be appraised by these three here," Wen Hua said.
As soon as his voice trailed off, a trio of cultivators drifted their way onto the auction platform, consisting of a white-haired elderly man in a gray robe, a muscular man in a short blue robe, and an elegant middle-aged woman, all of whom were at the True Immortal Stage.
The three of them made their way over to a long table beside the auction platform before taking a seat.
"I'm sure many of you recognize these three fellow daoists. As elders of the Eternal Prosperity Trading House, the Dark Moon Trading House, and the Taibai Trading House, they have a vast wealth of knowledge and experience, and they'll be sure to appraise all items without any bias, so you can all rest assured.
“In order to ensure the safety of our attendees, fighting is strictly prohibited in Black Wind City, and anyone caught engaging in battle will be punished. Alright, that's enough from me. Without further ado, let the auction begin!" Wen Hua declared as he swept a sleeve through the air.
A muscular man in black carried a giant pristine white box onto the platform, then opened it to reveal a red crystal that was around the size of a human head. There were flame-like patterns on the crystal's surface, and even from several thousand feet away, one could still sense the astonishing fire-attribute spiritual power fluctuations emanating from the crystal.
"This is a piece of high-grade Fire Pattern Bright Jade, an exceptional spirit material for refining top-tier spirit treasures. The base price is 20 top-grade spirit stones, and each bid must go up by an increment of at least one top-grade spirit stone," Wen Hua declared.
"20 top-grade spirit stones!"
"21!"
"25!"
……
As soon as the piece of Flame Pattern Bright Jade was revealed, many people's eyes instantly lit up, and a bidding war quickly began.
Han Li was seated in his chair, watching the unfolding scene down below with a calm expression.
Flame Pattern Bright Jade was indeed a great material, but it was still not enough to catch his eye.
The bidding war continued, and the price quickly rose to 50 top-grade spirit stones, upon which the bidding war finally ceased.
"Sold for 50 top-grade spirit stones!" Wen Hua declared with a wide smile.
He wasn't expecting the first auction item to be sold for such a high price, and this was a very good sign for things to come.
Shortly thereafter, the second auction item was also brought onto the platform, and it was a 30,000-year-old spirit herb, which also went on to sell for a high price.
Time slowly passed by, and one auction item was brought on after another, consisting of all types of precious materials, pills, and spirit treasures, but they had clearly all been prepared for the Body Integration and Grand Ascension cultivators on the first floor.
Han Li was looking on in a detached manner, and up to this point, very few of the True Immortal cultivators on the second floor had cast any bids.
Several hours quickly passed by, and the prices of the auction items were gradually rising. Some extremely precious treasures were beginning to appear, including Divine Spirit Treasures, pills and treasures to be used during tribulation transcendence, and some pills that aided one in breaking through bottlenecks. At this point, the True Immortal cultivators on the second floor were finally beginning to cast bids on a semi-regular basis.
Shortly thereafter, another auction item was carried onto the stage, and it was a huge piece of jade that was dark red in color, and a series of blood-red patterns could be seen on its surface, forming the image of a fire phoenix. Furthermore, the item was giving off potent fire law fluctuations.
Wen Hua's gaze slowly roamed over the auction attendees, then settled on the piece of jade as he introduced, "The next item is this piece of Phoenix Blood Fire Jade, which was formed by the blood essence of a late-True Immortal Stage fire phoenix true spirit following its demise. It contains the power of fire laws, and it's an exceptional primary material for refining Acquired Immortal Treasures.
“The base price is 200 top-grade spirit stones, and each bid must go up by an increment of at least 10 top-grade spirit stones."
This piece of Phoenix Blood Fire Jade contained a remarkable amount of power of laws, and even Han Li was tempted to make a bid for it. However, he didn't have a particularly large stash of spirit stones at his disposal, so after some contemplation, he decided against making any bids.
"210!"
"240!"
"280!"
"300!"
There were many people interested in the piece of Phoenix Blood Fire Jade, but most of the bidders were True Immortal cultivators on the second floor. Even if those on the first floor wanted to get their hands on this precious material, the price was simply too steep for them.
The price for the Phoenix Blood Fire Jade was quickly bid up to 450 top-grade spirit stones, a bid that had been made by a bald red-robed man on the second floor.
With the submission of this bid, the second floor fell silent as well, and no further bids were made, much to the red-robed man's elation.
"500!"
Right at this moment, a bid was made by someone in one of the booths on the third floor. Judging from the voice of the bidder, it seemed to have been a woman, and she had raised the price by 50 top-grade spirit stones in one go.
The red-robed man faltered slightly upon hearing this, following which a hint of anger flashed through his eyes, but after some contemplation, he slowly lowered his hand and didn't make any further bids.
"Sold for 500 top-grade spirit stones!" Wen Hua declared with an elated expression.
The piece of Phoenix Blood Fire Jade was quickly taken to that booth on the third floor.
Han Li took a glance in that direction before withdrawing his gaze. In his opinion, the price paid was more than the item was worth.
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