"You really aren’t afraid of trouble, are you?" Jing Xiao couldn’t help but roll her eyes at Ye Chen after Hong Fang left.
How could she not know what kind of consequence his actions would cause?
Even Zhen Yunqi couldn’t help but give him a look.
However, as always, Ye Chen remained calm.
"It’s just some trouble, so what’s there to be afraid of?" he replied with a shrug.
Although him auctioning the tier-6 formula can cause a lot of commotion, there were many things that would be advantageous for him.
Moreover, even if everything fell apart, he wasn’t the kind of person who would fear and panic. So, he remained carefree as he always was.
Watching him like this, Jing Xiao couldn’t help but pout. She really wanted to ask, what will you do if things don’t go your way? But thinking that the chances of this happening were low, she didn’t say anything.
’Why am I worried about him? He had protection from the Su family, the Buddhist Temple, and even the Blue Moon pavilion. It’s very hard for someone to kill him, and even if someone wants to, no one will do it in broad daylight.’
’Also with his current actions, things might take a different turn,’ she thought to herself with a relieved look.
…
"The next item is a treasure map of Forbidden Land!"
"This is not some fake or famous copy of the map but the original one with the proof of its credibility. The person who wanted to auction this map had brought some special things and herbs that could be found only in Forbidden Land!"
"Of course, that person didn’t venture too deep; however, the map is real because it’s written in the ancient language and is more than half a million years old. Also, the top experts in the pavilion had appraised the map with the current explored area of forbidden land and had confirmed there are not many differences between both."
"This is a rare and excellent opportunity if any of you want to venture to the forbidden land for a fruitions encounter! Although the journey might be dangerous, as long as one can benefit, it’s worth it, so do strive to bid for this map!"
"The starting bid is 500,000 mid-grade spiritual stones with the minimum increment of 10,000!"
"Let the bid begin!" Qian Yuexi announced as she showcased an old, worn-out beast scroll, which was the so-called map of forbidden land.
"Hiss! No way it’s real, right?"
"If it is, then whoever gets their hands on it might strike it rich."
"Damn it, why does it have to be this expensive? Can’t they sell a copied version of the map for a cheaper amount?"
"Are you an idiot? If it was easy to copy, they would’ve done it long ago!"
"Yeah, the forbidden land is very strange. You don’t remember what happened inside. Also, such old maps of forbidden land can only be seen, not remembered."
The crowd in the auction hall couldn’t help but become extremely noisy.
Almost every cultivator in the kingdom knew about the forbidden land, which is situated at the edge of the western province.
No matter the cultivation realm, you can go inside and search for your opportunity. However, there are a lot of dangers, such as ferocious beasts, ghost cities, unknown formations, poison mist, and the list goes on.
Because of this, a map with a safe route was important. But certainly, it was not easy, as many would just forget everything that transpired inside the forbidden land. Only some will remember a few things and draw a map based on it, which was not entirely accurate.
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Nevertheless, many hoped to get such a map, as the opportunity inside forbidden land can be considered heaven-defying. There were even rumors that tier-9 herbs grew inside like weeds.
So how could not everyone be excited after knowing the map was real?
Even Ye Chen displayed a hint of interest.
"600,000!"
"650,000!"
"700,000!"
A fierce competition of bidding started as if the map was some kind of divine treasure.
But everyone understood if the map was real, they might really strike it rich, gaining a lot of benefits.
Of course there were some problems, such as the map needing to be brought inside the forbidden land, as it can’t be remembered and copied.
Which meant if there was some accident and everyone died inside, they would not only lose the people and map but also the spiritual stones they had spent.
It was an opportunity with an extreme risk. So only top second-grade sects and powers bid for it.
The fiercest person in the bidding was not the royal family or top three sects but the Wu family of the eastern province.
They were the closest to Forbidden Land and knew many things more than other powers, as many cultivators shared a lot of discoveries with them. This was because they were magnanimous and had always been good with rogue cultivators.
There was no way they would be able to keep calm if someone else got their hands on treasure that was beside their territory, and all they could do was just watch silently.
"1 million spiritual stones!" Wu Tianlei didn’t hesitate and directly placed the biggest bid, cutting off all the second-grade sects.
They might have more spiritual stones than this, but it was after all generational wealth; unless it was something that could benefit their disciples and sect, they wouldn’t spend spiritual stones carelessly.
So now only the top families, the first-grade sect, and the royal family remained.
Of course, Ye Chen was also here, but he wasn’t bidding yet.
"1 million fifty thousand spiritual stones!"
"1 million hundred thousand!"
The bidding was still as fierce as ever because to these top powers, a few million spiritual stones were nothing.
If not for the fact Su Qiming had spent a lot of money on Su Ying, it would’ve been easy for him to take out a few tens of millions at such an auction.
But since he didn’t have that much, he was silent, not participating in the bidding.
Just like this, the bid soon reached one and a half million, an astonishing amount to anyone below.
"Senior Wu I know that you want this map, but I am also interested in having it, so forgive me for my offense," the crown prince Ji Feng apologized sinisterly before placing his bid.
"1.6 million spiritual stones." He spoke in neither an overbearing nor an arrogant manner.
This time no one suspected the sincerity in his words because the Wu family had close ties with the royal family. Moreover, not many disliked the Wu family here, as they would share important discoveries about the forbidden land.
Although they kept some of them, still not many found fault with it because many powers had benefited from them.
"Crown prince, Senior Wu I have also taken a liking to this map of Forbidden Land, so I won’t be polite." Cheng Hao spoke calmly and placed his bid.
"1.7 million spiritual stones!"
"1.8 million!"
"1.9 million!"
After him, Zhi Qiang and the Lin family followed.
It didn’t look like anyone wanted to give up on this map even if the risk factor was high.
…
"These people want this map so they can find some life-prolonging herbs or an opportunity for their old powerhouses who are at the end of life," Jing Xiao explained to Wang Yiyi, who wore a confused look at why everyone was bidding so aggressively for a single map.
After all, the risk factor was high. What if they lost the lives of people as well as the map?
However, if they can get an old powerhouse to live for a few more hundred years, then it could be seen why no one had given up yet.
"Senior brother, do you want that map?" Li Mei couldn’t help but inquire as she saw his gaze fixed on the beast scroll for a while.
"Yes, I want that, but let’s see how far the bid goes first," Ye Chen replied after a moment of thought.
Although he had no spiritual stones on him now, it could be deducted later from the auction of the tier-6 pill formula.
…
"2.4 million!"
"2.5 million!"
The bidding couldn’t help but become a little slow after reaching two million. Even Wu Tianlei was hesitating to bid further or not.
After all, he understood the forbidden land best; even if there was a map, the probability of death was more than seventy percent.
It was not worth spending so much, especially since the Wu family was weaker compared to others, so the chances of death might even be higher.
Hence, after a moment, he gave up.
Like him, many others also withdrew, leaving only Ji Feng and Cheng Hao competing with each other.
However, their confrontation didn’t last long as the crown prince Ji Feng backed out after a few bids.
"The highest bid is 3.1 million mid-grade spiritual stones! Is there anyone who wants to bid further? If not, the map of Forbidden Land will belong to the guest in No. 4 Dragon Hall!" Qian Yuexi announced, intentionally or unintentionally, glancing at the No. 1 dragon hall.