Chapter 321: Kindred Mark
Han Li offered no response to Shu Tiansheng, but his mind was racing.
At this point in the auction, the value of the auction items was gradually beginning to increase, with the exception of a few items that bucked this trend.
The Blood Crystal Lotus Root was quite a precious spirit plant, but it was already slightly lacking in value compared with the past few auction items, so it seemed increasingly unlikely that it was going to appear.
The same thought seemed to have occurred to Shu Tiansheng as well, and he was becoming more and more agitated. After all, if the Blood Crystal Lotus Root didn't appear in the auction, then he wouldn't be able to obtain a Blush Cloud Fire Crystal from Han Li, and he would most likely lose some trust from Han Li as well.
At this moment, an item had just been auctioned off, and a new item was brought out to replace it. The new item was a fist-sized fire-attribute True Immortal Stage demon beast core that was giving off a fiery red glow, within which were circles of tiny crimson runes.
"This is the demon core of a Golden Scale Red Wyrm at the pinnacle of the late-True Immortal Stage, meaning it was one step away from the Golden Immortal Stage at the time that it was slain. Its core is imbued with tremendous fire attribute law powers, making this an object of immeasurable value for those using fire-attribute cultivation arts. The starting price is 60 Immortal Origin Stones," the short figure declared.
Han Li nodded slightly to himself upon seeing this.
According to the provided description, the demon beast that the core had been procured from had been at an extremely lofty cultivation base, and the law power fluctuations emanating from its core was far superior to that of the demon core of Zhong Luan's black crane steed. With that in mind, even Han Li was feeling a little tempted to participate in the bidding.
However, such a precious demon core was undoubtedly going to be quite expensive. He had already saved up quite a large number of Immortal Origin Stones, but after the past 200 years of cultivation and pill refinement, he only had just over 1,000 left, so he couldn't afford to make unnecessary purchases.
"60!"
Shu Tiansheng had made the first bid.
"80!"
A female voice rang out, this time from Han Li's other side.
Han Li turned in that direction to find a petite figure seated on a chair to his left near the edge of the venue, and judging from her voice, she seemed to have been quite young.
Han Li had some recollection of her as she was the last person to arrive at the auction venue, and she was giving off a cold and unapproachable aura.
"90!"
This bid had come from a tall cultivator seated to the right side of the venue.
"100!" Shu Tiansheng called out.
"120!"
The female cultivator seemed to have been insistent on placing bids in increments of 20 Immortal Origin Stones.
Shu Tiansheng hesitated momentarily, then decided to drop out of the bidding war. This was already a very high price, and it wasn't worth making any further bids.
"130!"
The tall cultivator raised the price once again.
"140!"
The female cultivator was completely unfazed.
Han Li shook his head slightly upon seeing this.
140 Immortal Origin Stones was quite a large sum, even for a mid-True Immortal cultivator, and it was already far too much to pay for a late-True Immortal Stage demon beast core.
The tall cultivator was silent for a moment, then placed another bid. "145!"
"150!"
A hint of disdain had crept into the female cultivator's voice, and she seemed to have been losing her patience.
This time, the tall cultivator finally fell silent and didn't place any further bids.
Everyone present immediately turned to the female cultivator while shaking their heads, but she merely ignored them.
The short figure on the auction platform was naturally extremely pleased, and he quickly announced the sale of the demon core.
"A True Immortal Stage demon beast core is quite a precious object, but the next auction item is even more valuable, so be sure not to pass up on it," the short auctioneer declared as he swept a hand through the air, and a large crimson jade box appeared on the stage.
The entire box was giving off a layer of translucent crimson light, as well as a faint sweet fragrance that was wafting through the air in all directions.
The short auctioneer made a hand seal, and the lid of the jade box flew off on its own amid a flash of light.
Inside the box was a length of crimson lotus root that was around the same thickness as a human arm. It was preserved extremely well, and even the whiskers on the roots hadn't been damaged in the slightest.
Furthermore, the lotus root was glittering and translucent, looking as if it had been carved out of blood jade.
The lotus root was giving off a gentle crimson glow that formed a band of crimson light several inches above it, and the rich aroma of sweetness that it was giving off was quite reinvigorating even to all of the formidable mid-True Immortal cultivators present.
Shu Tiansheng was both ecstatic and relieved to see this, as was Han Li.
It seemed that he had made a misjudgment. The Blood Crystal Lotus Root was indeed very hard to find, but as long as it wasn't over 50,000 years of age, it would've been lacking in value compared with the previous few auction items. However, this one was definitely no less than 100,000 years of age.
However, in the next instant, his brows suddenly furrowed slightly.
He had noticed a subtle detail, which was that there was a gray area on the Blood Crystal Lotus Root that was around the size of a fingernail, and it seemed that the area had been contaminated.
"This is a Blood Crystal Lotus Root. Normally, a Blood Crystal Lotus Root wouldn't have made an appearance this late in the auction, but this one is already 150,000 years of age, making it an extremely rare specimen. I'm sure some of you have already noticed this gray spot on the lotus root. This is not a result of the lotus root being damaged. Instead, it's a rare kindred mark," the short auctioneer declared.
Many of the auction-goers erupted into chatter upon hearing this.
"Some of you may not be aware of what a kindred mark is. Essentially, if two spirit medicines are growing too close to one another, their spiritual power will impact each other, thereby resulting in the emergence of kindred marks," the short auctioneer continued.
"According to my knowledge, kindred marks can be both good or bad, and in bad cases, the energy in the spirit medicine will become very chaotic and weak, making it completely unusable," one of the auction-goers declared.
Even though his body was concealed within a blue and white light barrier, just like everyone else, it appeared that this was quite a portly individual.
"That is indeed true, Fellow Daoist. Kindred marks can have different effects on spirit medicines, but we've already had this lotus root appraised by masters in spirit plant agriculture, and they've determined that this kindred mark has a positive influence. Not only is the energy in the Blood Crystal Lotus Root not chaotic in the slightest, it's abnormally pure and dense, so all of you can rest assured," the short auctioneer replied.
This declaration was followed by another smattering of chatter.
"The starting price for this item will be 80 Immortal Origin Stones, and each successive bid must go up by increments of at least five Immortal Origin Stones," the short auctioneer declared.
"85!"
"90!"
"100!"
……
The purported special characteristics of the Blood Crystal Lotus Root made it an even more desirable item to everyone. Not only was it an exceptional spirit plant for bodily nourishment, it was an extremely prized treasure for anyone using body refinement cultivation arts, and even before Han Li had placed a single bid, the price had already exceeded triple figures.
Han Li merely sat still in his chair, seemingly contemplating something.
He was determined to acquire this Blood Crystal Lotus Root, but instead of being in a hurry to make a bid for it now, he was going to enter the bidding war at the end.
He turned to Shu Tiansheng as he said, "Looks like your sources were correct, after all. This is for you."
He flipped a hand over to produce a fist-sized Blush Cloud Fire Crystal as he spoke, then offered it to Shu Tiansheng.
They were seated near the back of the venue, and there weren't many people around them, so they didn't have to hide what they were doing.
The female cultivator who had purchased the fire-attribute demon core just so happened to look over at them at this moment, and she immediately sat up noticeably straighter at the sight of the Blush Cloud Fire Crystal.
Shu Tiansheng was ecstatic, and he hurriedly accepted the crystal. "Thank you, Fellow Daoist!"
Han Li offered no response as he turned his attention back to the ongoing auction.
After a few rounds of bidding, the price had climbed all the way to 150 Immortal Origin Stones, and that bid had been made by none other than the portly figure from before.
In the wake of this bid, all of the other bidders fell silent.
"160!"
Han Li had finally made his first bid.
The portly man turned to take a glance at him, then harrumphed coldly as he called out, "170!"
"190!"
Han Li's voice remained calm and level, and it seemed that had absolute confidence.
The portly man hesitated momentarily, then placed another bid.
"200!"
Han Li's brows furrowed slightly upon seeing this, and he didn't want this to drag on any longer, so he decided to put his foot down once and for all.
"250!"
Shu Tiansheng turned to Han Li with a stunned expression, as did many of the other auction-goers.
A 150,000-year-old Blood Crystal Lotus Root was indeed extremely precious, but this was far too heavy a price to pay.
Han Li paid no heed to everyone else, and even though he was looking directly at the Blood Crystal Lotus Root on the stage, he was also keeping tabs on the portly figure out of the corner of his eye.
This time, the portly figure hesitated once again before deciding to concede.
The short auctioneer was already very pleased with this price, and with no further bids coming in, he declared the Blood Crystal Lotus Root as having been sold to Han Li.
Han Li heaved an internal sigh of relief as an excited look appeared in his eyes.
He had finally gathered all of the materials required to refine the Myriad Axis Pill, and all he needed was a piece of the Blood Crystal Lotus Root to grow more.
As these thoughts were running through his mind, the next auction item was brought out.
It was a piece of artwork that depicted a mountain, a river, and a palace.
The scroll that contained the artwork was blue in color, and it was giving off a glacial aura. It was clearly a formidable treasure, and the glacial qi that it was giving off was also interspersed with law fluctuations, indicating that it was an immortal treasure.
However, one corner of the scroll was slightly damaged, and that was the only imperfection.
"This is an immortal treasure by the name of the Profound Glacial Scenic Painting. It contains extremely formidable profound glacial qi and can unleash several types of glacial attacks. Unfortunately, it's a little damaged. The starting price will be 65 Immortal Origin Stones," the short auctioneer declared.
Han Li's eyes lit up slightly at the sight of the blue scroll.
This was indeed quite a formidable treasure that didn't contain any less law powers than the blue immortal sword from before, and the fact that it was a scroll indicated that it definitely had to have been more versatile than the sword and much more difficult to refine.
Even though it was slightly damaged, it was still quite a powerful treasure, and at this point, the bidding had already begun, with the price quickly rising to 90 Immortal Origin Stones.
"95!"
Han Li had also placed a bid.
He was quite interested in this immortal treasure, so he would be willing to purchase it as long as the price wasn't too high.
"100!"
This bid was placed by the female cultivator who had purchased the fire-attribute demon core.
Han Li took a glance at the female cultivator, and right as he was considering whether he would continue to participate in the bidding, another voice rang out from the front row of the venue.
"150!"
Han Li immediately shook his head and decided to drop out of the bidding war. This was already higher than the price that the immortal sword had been purchased for, and all of the other bidders fell silent as well.
Visit freewe𝑏(n)ovel.𝘤ℴ𝑚 for the best novel reading experience