Chapter 179 To buy or not to buy
(A/N: Discord link: discord.gg/SC9HNKVj5e )
Li Huang would be lying if he said he was not interested in the [Sun Piercing] arrow prototype, but he wasn't willing to spend this many spirit stones for it. If the excitement in the auction house was any indication, the starting price would be nothing close to what you would have to pay for it in the end.
"Twenty-five million high-grade spirit stones." A voice from one of the neighboring balconies placed a bid.
'They have the strongest desire to buy it out of everyone here…' Turning his head, Li Huang looked at the Divine Arrow sect balcony, where the voice came from. At that moment, he locked eyes with Hou Shuqing, the chief disciple of the Divine Arrow sect, with whom he fought in the Eternal Wail Chasm. They both nodded to each other as a sign of acknowledgment and turned to face the stage.
Before the auctioneer could say anything, the next bid was already placed.
"Twenty-seven million high-grade spirit stones." The bidder this time was from the White Moon sect. Li Huang didn't want to do anything with the White Moon sect, but he couldn't stop himself from taking a quick glance at their balcony. In that fraction of a second, Li Huang identified a few seniors that he had seen with Grand Elder Su Zhi and her apprentice, Lang Yingmin. He Junli and her associates were not present, as they were probably being punished.
Although the Heavenly Sword sect and White Moon sect had a positive relationship with one another on the level of the sect, he did not feel the same way about it on a personal level. Because of this, Li Huang decided to keep their interactions to a minimum to avoid any unnecessary conflicts. Who's to say there aren't a few White Moon sect elders who, as a result of what happened in the Eternal Wail Chasm, would love nothing more than to exact vengeance on him?
Shaking his head, Li Huang got rid of useless thoughts and focused on the auction again.
"Thirty million high-grade spirit stones." The Divine Arrow sect increased their bid again.
"Thirty-two million high-grade spirit stones." The White Moon sect didn't back off as well.
"Forty million high-grade spirit stones." Before the Divine Arrow sect could counter this offer, someone else beat them to it.
'Oh, god dammit!' Li Huang furrowed his brows involuntarily, 'If the Xu family got their hands on it, it would be really bad for us.'
Li Huang didn't know what to do. If he doesn't get involved now, the Xu family might get a powerful item that will help them kill a lot of Li family members. On the other hand, if he gets involved, he might have to risk their plan for this trip because the Xu family would be more cautious in attacking him and others now that they are carrying this powerful item.
Thinking carefully, he decided not to act rashly. The auction was still going, and others had no reason to back off just because they were outbid once.
"Fifty million high-grade spirit stones." He was proven right a few seconds later when the Divine Arrow sect placed an aggressive new bid.
…
"With the final offer of two hundred and seventy-eight million high-grade spirit stones, the owner of the [Sun Scorching] arrow is the Divine Arrow sect." The auctioneer declared, and Li Huang could finally lean back in his chair with ease.
After reaching the one hundred million level, the White Moon sect chose not to continue bidding, whereas the Xu family continued to place bids. A few cultivators also made a few more attempts to enter the competition, but they were unable to keep up with the price changes and withdrew after making only one or two bids.
Li Huang couldn't be happier with the result. He didn't have to intervene, and the winner was the Divine Arrow sect. Li Huang didn't have any particular relationship with the Divine Arrow sect other than a surface-level relationship with their core disciple, Hou Shuqing, but he was sure that they would not try to assassinate him or his family members.
'Well, at the very least, they have no reason to do so now…' Li Huang thought to himself.
"The next item is a pill found in the [Eternal Wail Chasm]." The auctioneer soon announced the next item, "We initially couldn't identify the pill, but after a thorough examination, we now know the true value of this pill." He added to the suspense to build up interest in this item.
'If you have to sell it this hard, it's probably not worth it.' Li Huang mused internally. He is a hardcore believer in the fact that a product should speak for itself.
He was no longer interested, so he sat even further reclined in his chair and made up his mind to watch the auction without participating.
"This pill helps the cultivator in the Meridian Formation realm who consumes it rapidly gain four realm advancements in a matter of days." The auctioneer said that, and Li Huang almost choked on his saliva.
'There has to be some sort of drawback. It can't be all sunshine and roses.' Li Huang gave a satisfied nod to himself. Even if this is a miracle pill, it must still have some negative effects because progressing through four realms is not something to be laughed at; in fact, it is rather incredible.
"You might be wondering about the side effects of such a pill." The auctioneer said and gave it a second or two for everyone to focus on him, "As a requirement, you have to have as few as possible impurities in your body for it to be as effective as possible, and you have to be accompanied by an expert who can constantly inject Qi into your body so that you can advance those four realms without a hitch." He said, and to everyone present in the auction house, it was an understandable requirement. It would be unreasonable for anyone to think that they can advance four realms without a firm foundation, be it naturally or with the help of such a miracle pill. The part about having an expert to help with the process was also acceptable, as one does not spontaneously fill their Qi reserves, so it's understandable to have someone capable of providing that needed Qi.
"Other than the requirement mentioned, there are two side effects. The first one is the pain you have to go through in this procedure, and the second one is that depending on how much impurity you have in your body, you will be in an unconscious state for a while." He finished his explanation with this.
Now, the crowd did not seem particularly enthused about the possibility of taking this pill for themselves or for those who were close to them. It was now clear that if you did have a certain amount of impurity in your body, which can not be quantified, you would fail to survive consuming this pill in the worst-case scenario, and in the best-case scenario, you would also remain unconscious for a considerable amount of time. There was another point to consider as well, as this pill is being auctioned in the Feng family's auction, it would definitely go for a high price, so everyone felt even more hesitant about it.
"This pill is appraised to be at least a grade five variant of the [Burning Lotus] pill." The auctioneer said and this seemingly simple sentence changed everyone's perspective on this item.
In the art of pill refinement, there are nine grades to the pills. The simplest of the pills that are used on a daily basis are grade-one pills, which are usually created by apprentices or by pill masters in large quantities. As pill masters get more proficient in their craft, they are able to create pills of higher grades, which in turn gives them prestige and status. A pill master is referred to as a "three-star pill master" if they are successful in producing grade-three pills without encountering any challenges while doing so.
To understand the value of this pill, one has to remember that there are only a handful of six-star pill masters and just two seven-star pill masters in the world. Sects and clans highly value these elite pill masters because they have attained the pinnacle of their profession.
Their pills are considered treasures, capable of bestowing incredible benefits and enhancing cultivation levels. The rarity of these high-grade pills adds to their allure, making them invaluable assets in the realm of cultivation.
This makes the grade five [Burning Lotus] pill more special, but this in itself is not the reason for the commotion in the crowd. The real reason for it is that there are no known ways to create a [Burning Lotus] pill with a grade of three or higher.
The auctioned [Burning Lotus] pill is not only rare but can be considered a one-of-a-kind creation in this day and age.
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