Demon Cultivator in Abyssal Era

"On the other hand, if a family fails to invest its resources in truly valuable individuals, it will inevitably decline."

As Chu Xiu finished speaking, the room fell silent once more. Qin Yunrou gritted her teeth, trying to hold back her tears. How could she not hear that Chu Xiu was referring to her? The Qin Family steward decisively shut his mouth and said no more.

Surprisingly, the two heads of the esteemed families gave Chu Xiu a glance, the doubt in their eyes lessened significantly.

This was indeed the correct way to manage a family. The Qin Family could have developed much better if not for the former patriarch overindulging the kin, leading to a lack of successors.

Otherwise, even after a series of calamities, they wouldn’t be left without a competent successor.

As for the other two Qin Family members, Qin Xiwen felt somewhat indignant, believing that Chu Xiu was also indirectly criticizing him. On the other hand, Qin Chuan’s eyes lit up momentarily before quickly lowering his head.

Of course, Chu Xiu wasn’t bothered by the reactions of these people. He had already fulfilled his obligation by speaking up.

"The next item we present to everyone is no ordinary piece; it hails from the world of [Ten Thousand Feet Water Curtain], an exceptionally rare top-tier dual-attribute material, [Thunder Water Sword Bone]! It possesses powerful [Thunder], [Energy Storage], [Heavy Water], and other attributes! Its grade has reached an astonishing King Tier [Perfect]!"

"Starting bid at 5.7 billion!"

As the host’s voice faded, a murmur of conversation rose again. However, this time the discussion was much more subdued compared to before, not even reaching the level of interest generated by the King Tier Legendary Equipment or the earlier necklaces and jewels.

The reason was simple: artifact refining was uncommon, and most Awakened preferred to buy ready-made equipment and artifacts.

The people in Chu Xiu’s box didn’t care at all, even though the family did have artifact refiners, they didn’t need such high-quality materials. So the conversation continued with laughter and no interruption.

But at that moment, a calm voice rang out in the box.

"Box 27, ten billion."

As Chu Xiu’s voice dropped, the room instantly became so quiet you could hear a pin drop. Everyone stared at him in shock, even the shrewd family heads were momentarily stunned.

"Box 54, ten billion and ten million."

A bid came from the opposite box.

The Xu Family patriarch opened his mouth, just about to say something, but before he could, Chu Xiu pressed the auction button again.

"Box 27, twenty billion."

This time, not only was the box surprised, but the whole auction hall also quieted down considerably, even the host was momentarily dumbfounded.

Such aggressive bidding was indeed rare.

Chu Xiu’s momentum clearly intimidated other potential competitors, causing them to give up.

Ten seconds later, the host’s hammer fell: "This [Thunder Water Sword Bone] goes to the distinguished guest in Box 27!"

Sparse applause rang out at the venue, and the expressions of the two family heads in the box became peculiar.

They had been wondering if this Qin Family patriarch might be a fraud, but then he just casually spent twenty billion without any hesitation???

How rich is he?

And why did he buy a material? Could it be that he himself is actually a High-Tier Artifact Refiner?

This caused their eyes to change once more; after all, a High-Tier Artifact Refiner is much rarer and holds a higher status than ordinary combat professions!

A number of juniors also showed expressions of shock.

Yet Chu Xiu remained calm, all of this was within his expectations.

He had evaluated the worth of each material in his mind. Once he decided to acquire it, he preferred to call out a high price all at once, rather than haggling slowly with others.

What happened next was even more eye-popping. After purchasing the [Thunder Water Sword Bone], instead of stopping, Chu Xiu continued striking, acquiring another eight materials in succession.

The total expenditure directly soared over one hundred and fifty billion!

At this point, the two family heads had no doubts left in their minds. They believed this had indeed brought a significant ally to the Qin Family and their attitude became warmly cordial.

Previously, they were also enthusiastic, but this time, it was out of a sincere desire to establish good relations with Chu Xiu.

The Qin Family steward also wore a broad smile.

Chu Xiu’s performance far exceeded his expectations! Originally, he just hoped that the other party would slightly demonstrate King Tier strength, but as it turns out, this distant Qin family relative is by no means an ordinary King Tier! Either he is a rare King Tier Support Profession, or he is at the pinnacle of Advanced King Tier!

He was almost certain that after this event, the pressure on the Qin Family would be significantly reduced, and various industries would experience a comprehensive revival.

The only person feeling a bit wronged was Qin Yunrou, who quietly said, "Uncle Zhao, the patriarch spent so much on himself, yet is reluctant to grant us even a few millions. Doesn’t some of the money he spent include the family’s...?"

"Silence."

The steward rebuked sharply, his eyes turning cold for the first time in Qin Yunrou’s memory: "Young miss, now is not the time for tantrums. Whatever the patriarch chooses to spend, he must agree, even if it means selling off our Qin Family’s assets to make up the difference!"

"Young miss, you’re already nineteen. It’s time to start understanding a few things."

Qin Yunrou bit her lip tight, lowering her head silently, only to say softly after a long time: "Yes, Uncle Zhao, I know I was wrong."

All of this was naturally sensed by Chu Xiu’s Divine Sense. The steward’s response made him nod in approval internally. Although Qin Yunrou might be a vase, a well-behaved vase is tolerable.

It seemed that although the Qin Family had several minor issues, their overall direction wasn’t wrong, and they might really rise again in the future.

Without further thought, Chu Xiu closed his eyes, quietly waiting for the auction to end.

This auction went smoothly; he obtained all the materials he wanted. After seeing the last ten highlighted items, he would leave.

Quickly, it reached the final ten mysterious items.

As each item was unveiled, exclamations arose from the audience, these ten items were indeed extraordinary; even the least valuable was above five hundred billion.

However, Chu Xiu hardly showed any interest, as he knew there was unlikely to be any surprises.

The reason was simple, truly valuable items, such as [Myth] tier equipment and artifacts, wouldn’t be auctioned off for Huaxia Coin!

And just as he expected, as he reached the end, there was nothing he needed.

"The next item to be showcased is the centerpiece of this auction!" The host’s enthusiastic voice echoed through the amplifier, and Chu Xiu shifted his leg to prepare to leave.

"This item is an [Anchor Point] of a world, and if nothing goes wrong, it could be the most valuable [Anchor Point] in nearly a decade!"

At these words, for a rare moment, Chu Xiu showed a look of astonishment and sat back down.

An [Anchor Point]?

Generally speaking, the price of an [Anchor Point] isn’t very high, like Chu Xiu’s high-level 7 Corpse Demon World back then, its [Anchor Point] was only worth a few billion.

The reason is simple as well; an [Anchor Point] merely provides entry rights, similar to a ticket, while other risks must be borne personally.

How much is a ticket worth?

Even for a mature world where camps have been well-developed and dangerous areas mostly explored, it’s typically only worth tens of billions, usually maxing out at fifty billion.

Unless it’s a high-level [Private World], discovered through [Free Exploration] rather than an Awakening Trial, that can fetch high prices.

An [Anchor Point] like this is typically scarce in such worlds, whereas in a world discovered through an Awakening Trial, no matter how exceptional, the total number of anchor points can reach hundreds in a few years! And they’ll continue to increase! With so many Awakened competing, even the best opportunities are greatly diluted.

However, even worlds discovered through Free Deep Diving rarely qualify as a centerpiece for an annual auction.

Yet coincidentally, Chu Xiu had a world in mind that could be worth that much!

"It couldn’t be this coincidental..."

Before coming, he had come across a world highly suitable for him, yet the [Anchor Point] for that world was extremely hard to obtain, so Chu Xiu didn’t even make it a goal, nor did he dare hope to acquire the [Anchor Point] for that world.

But once obtained, it would greatly aid Chu Xiu in his future development!

"Allow me to introduce the [Hundred Ghosts Melting Furnace] world!"

As the host’s words fell, Chu Xiu sat up straight, his heart racing uncontrollably!

It really was this coincidental!