Chapter 79 : Auction
Many people had come to attend the auction. Besides the main hall below, almost all the private boxes on the second and third floors were filled. When the time indicated on the invitation arrived, the auction house doors closed, and the auction officially began.
Someone walked onto the auction platform at the front of the hall. When the crowd below saw this, the previously noisy hall quickly quieted down. The person glanced at the packed hall, then surveyed the windows of the private boxes opening one after another upstairs, seeming somewhat satisfied before announcing, "Ladies and gentlemen, the time has come, and today's auction now begins."
With these words, the people in the hall immediately perked up, their gazes fixed intently on the stage.
Everyone knew the auction house's conventions—the best items were always saved for last, and today's auction was of considerable caliber, meaning the later items would be treasures ordinary people couldn't afford. The people in the main hall weren't invited guests; none had the ability or money to compete with those upstairs, so their attention naturally focused on the earlier items.
However, conventions aside, the first auction item wouldn't be too shabby—it was a matter of face. The auctioneer on stage raised his hand, and several people carried a cage onto the stage. When the red cloth was lifted, a small beast was revealed, cowering in a corner of the cage, timidly looking at the audience below.
"This is our first auction item today, a Six-Tailed Spirit Fox... As you all know, fox-type spirit beasts' cultivation is reflected in their tails. A three-tailed fox, comparable to a Foundation Establishment human cultivator, is merely ordinary among its kind. A six-tailed spirit fox, with cultivation at least equivalent to a Nascent Soul True Lord, is already outstanding among foxes. The nine-tailed celestial fox is a legendary being comparable to a Grand Achievement ancestor.
"We can't afford to provoke a nine-tailed celestial fox, but our auction house has coincidentally captured a six-tailed spirit fox. This little six-tail has just recently advanced, with cultivation comparable to Nascent Soul, though it appears somewhat weak now due to injuries sustained during capture. If you take it home, establish a contract, and nurse it back to health, it will certainly be a valuable asset."
The man paused after his introduction, then added, "Or you could use it for other purposes as well."
The audience below had already begun discussing, with buzzing voices like flies hovering around one's ears, causing headaches. The little white tiger peered down from the window and immediately spotted the small fox trembling in the cage.
The little fox had bright red fur, looking quite beautiful, and counting carefully, it indeed had six tails—for Jiang Mo, accustomed to foxes having only one tail, these tails seemed excessive. The fox was well-maintained, each tail fluffy, all crowded behind it, making it appear top-heavy, as if unbalanced, yet with a strange harmony.
When the audience had discussed enough, the auctioneer announced the starting price: "Alright, you should have had enough time to look. Now the auction begins. Six-Tailed Spirit Fox, starting price fifty thousand mid-grade spirit stones, minimum bid increment one thousand."
At these words, a commotion erupted in the hall, as this starting price already exceeded many people's entire net worth. But none could argue it was unreasonable—after all, this was a Nascent Soul level spirit beast with unlimited potential. If cultivated well and it grew another tail, its power would be incomparable to its current state.
In short, many people were tempted but lacked sufficient spirit stones.
But the world never lacks wealthy people, so after brief discussion, bidding quickly began—
"I bid fifty thousand!"
"Fifty-one thousand."
"Fifty-two thousand."
"Sixty thousand."
"I bid seventy thousand!"
...
Starting from fifty thousand, as more people joined the bidding, the six-tailed spirit fox's price climbed rapidly. The little white tiger, perched at the window, merely blinked and the price had already risen to one hundred thousand; blink again, and it reached one hundred fifty thousand.
Having never used spirit stones and unaware of their purchasing power, the little white tiger had no concrete understanding of this frenzied bidding, but she could see that many had entered a state of competitive fervor. By the time bids exceeded two hundred thousand, few bidders remained in the main hall, as empty pockets acted like a bucket of cold water, forcing even the most enthusiastic to cool down and regain their senses.
But this didn't mean the end, as people in the private boxes began participating in the bidding as well.
None from the third floor participated, but many from the second floor called out bids. The little white tiger looked back and saw that Yun Qingyue's expression remained calm; she hadn't even glanced at the six-tailed fox, clearly uninterested.
Oh right, Senior Sister's pets tended to die, except for the white tiger. She probably wouldn't dare buy that little six-tail to raise.
With this thought, the little white tiger's mood inexplicably improved. She puffed out her chest, her tail swaying, and suddenly lost interest in watching people bid for the little six-tail. She turned and leaped into Senior Sister's embrace, raising her furry paws to point at various items in the fruit plate on the table, acting coquettishly, begging to be fed.
Yun Qingyue didn't know why she had suddenly become so affectionate, but this small request was easy to satisfy. She glanced at the fruit plate, then selected a milky white spirit fruit to feed her. When the little white tiger bit into it, her mouth was filled with a milk fragrance.
The milk tiger hasn't been weaned yet, so this was perfect.
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The six-tailed spirit fox was finally sold for four hundred thousand mid-grade spirit stones, purchased by a cultivator in a private box on the second floor. Although from Yun Qingyue's box, they couldn't clearly see who was in that box, the voice calling out bids sounded quite familiar.
The little white tiger thought about it and realized it was probably the voice of Senior Brother Qu from the Spirit Beast Garden. The little six-tail being bought by him probably wasn't a bad thing.
The excitement brought by the six-tailed spirit fox gave the auction an auspicious start. Subsequently, auction items were brought onto the stage one by one, all fetching prices that satisfied the auction house. Talismans, magical treasures, formation disks, medicinal pills, or spirit fruits, spirit herbs, spirit materials, spirit beasts—all sorts of things appeared on the auction stage, from low-grade to high-grade items, one after another.
Thus, more than ten rounds quickly passed, with prices climbing from low to high, rising from a few thousand mid-grade spirit stones to tens or hundreds of thousands. After the main hall audience's pockets had been largely emptied, items targeting the honored guests in private boxes began to appear on stage.
Another round of auction began, with a long wooden box placed on the auction stage. The auctioneer opened it to reveal a sword.
It was a pale golden spiritual sword with flowing light seemingly wrapped around its slender blade. Even lying quietly in the wooden box, its sharp aura seemed ready to break through—without the auctioneer's introduction, anyone with eyes could tell this was an excellent sword, and those with good judgment could see it was a fifth-grade or higher magical treasure, suitable for Nascent Soul cultivators!
Among those attending the auction, the highest cultivation was only at the Nascent Soul realm, with many Foundation Establishment cultivators in the main hall just joining for the excitement. When this spiritual sword appeared, it naturally attracted attention, and from the start, the bidding had nothing to do with those cultivators in the hall.
The little white tiger ran back to the window to join the excitement. Amid the rising and falling bids from various private boxes, she even heard Zhong Heng's voice... Wait, wasn't he a broadsword user? Why would he change his sword path for a spiritual sword? She didn't quite understand but was greatly surprised. After a while, she suddenly realized that most bidders were from second-floor boxes, with still very few bids coming from the third floor.
The people on the third floor indeed looked down on that spiritual sword because those who could be on the third floor were all senior disciples. Their talent, strength, and status were all exceptional, and both their masters and sect placed great importance on them.
It was just a Nascent Soul stage spiritual sword. Even before her advancement, Yun Qingyue had already received the higher-quality Fuxue Sword from her master.
But most cultivators didn't have this treatment. For example, Zhong Heng, though he was the dignified second disciple of Mount Mingxia, theoretically should receive a magical treasure from both the sect and his master after advancing to Nascent Soul. But his master wasn't very reliable—Peak Master Qingyu was perfunctory even when teaching disciples, who knew if she would remember this? Perhaps she'd still be in seclusion when her disciple advanced, and Zhong Heng couldn't count on her at all.
In any case, obtaining a magical treasure in advance was beneficial, allowing more time to nourish it with one's spiritual energy, making it more compatible when used in the future. As for the little white tiger's concern about light sword versus heavy sword, it wasn't really an issue.
This round of bidding was intense, with prices soaring to three hundred fifty thousand mid-grade spirit stones, almost matching the earlier six-tailed spirit fox. However, the little white tiger didn't recognize the person who won the spiritual sword; the bidding voice was unfamiliar. Zhong Heng had given up halfway, either because he lacked sufficient spirit stones or because the spiritual sword exceeded his psychological price limit.
By this point, Senior Sister had not bid once.
The little white tiger's enthusiasm for watching the spectacle had waned from initial excitement to slight weariness. She ran back to Senior Sister's side, jumped onto a chair, and grabbed a spirit fruit to munch on—still the milk-scented fruit Senior Sister had selected for her earlier. After biting through the skin, the inside was jelly-like flesh that, when sucked into her mouth, was full of milk fragrance, reportedly a favorite of young cubs.
The milk tiger was inevitably attracted to this spirit fruit and, after finishing one, grabbed another. The fruit plate had some mysterious quality—as soon as she took a fruit, the plate immediately refilled, eliminating any worry about running out.
While the little white tiger was enjoying her meal, she suddenly heard Senior Sister bid: "One hundred thousand."
The little white tiger immediately choked on the "jelly," coughing violently—she had been so focused on eating fruit that she hadn't paid attention to the new auction item. What on earth would make Senior Sister open with one hundred thousand?!
Perhaps because her coughing was too loud, Yun Qingyue, who was in the midst of bidding, glanced back. She helplessly pulled the little white tiger into her arms, using spiritual energy to help her recover while staying attuned to the bidding situation outside. Then, after her bid was surpassed several rounds later, she calmly bid again: "Two hundred thousand."
The little white tiger's recently subsided cough erupted again. She took a moment to look at the auction stage and saw a golden sphere lying quietly on the tray holding the auction item. She didn't know what it was, yet it was worth such a high price from Senior Sister?
Fortunately, Yun Qingyue's bid was indeed high, and with the intimidation of coming from a third-floor box, no one competed with her further.
After a while, the previously dismissed attendant knocked on the private box door, bringing the item Yun Qingyue had just won. Yun Qingyue glanced at it lightly, and after confirming there was no issue, took out a storage pouch, placed it on the tray, and let the attendant leave with it.
The golden sphere was left behind, placed on the table with the fruit plate. The little white tiger stared at it curiously for a few moments, but in the cultivation world, one couldn't discern much about an object just by looking. Moreover, she was a tiger lacking common knowledge, and no matter how she examined it, she couldn't see anything special, nor understand where its value lay.
Curious, the little white tiger pawed at it, but as soon as her paw touched the golden sphere, a surge of energy suddenly rushed toward her. Startled, she quickly withdrew her paw as if electrocuted and vigilantly stared at the sphere.
The golden sphere rolled a few times on the table, then stopped, appearing perfectly normal.
Watching the little white tiger's cautious behavior, Yun Qingyue's eyes filled with amusement. She casually picked up the golden ball and placed it in the little white tiger's arms: "I bought this for you. Take it and play with it."