Chapter 242: Jade Dew Spirit Bud
With the starting price slashed, the heckling ceased. The atmosphere in the auction hall shifted instantly from hostility to predatory focus.
The bidding resumed.
Round after round, the price climbed steadily, eventually crossing the 200 Mid-grade Spirit Stone mark once more. This time, however, the momentum didn’t stall. The crowd’s fervor was palpable; people were no longer shouting insults, but numbers.
Jiang Chen watched the proceedings with a detached interest. He didn’t open his mouth yet. He watched as the field of bidders thinned out, two-thirds of the room dropping away as the price surged toward 250 Mid-grade Spirit Stones.
Eventually, the competition boiled down to two men. They were cautious, tactical—the kind of bidders who waited until the very last second to raise the stakes by the minimum increment of 10 stones, terrified of overpaying.
When the bid hit 270, one of them let out a frustrated sigh and slumped into his chair, shaking his head.
Liu Sang scanned the room, a smug, triumphant grin spreading across his face. “It seems this tree belongs to me?”
“280,” a calm voice cut through his victory lap.
Liu Sang’s smile curdled. He whipped his head around, glaring toward the back of the hall. The speaker looked utterly unremarkable—just another nondescript loose cultivator lost in the crowd. And yet, this nobody had the audacity to interject at the finish line.