Chapter 11 : Chapter 11
Chapter 11: Let Them Hold It for Me for the Time Being
The next day.
The Myriad Treasures Pavilion auction was held as scheduled.
Under Li Yanzhao’s lead, the group set out for Myriad Treasures Pavilion early in the morning.
About half an hour later, they arrived outside Myriad Treasures Pavilion.
After presenting their invitation, they were led inside by a welcoming maidservant.
As the largest auction house in all of Shenglong Prefecture, Myriad Treasures Pavilion covered an immense area.
Upon entering, the first thing that came into view was a vast open plaza paved in green brick.
The entire plaza was shaped like a bowl. By Li Xingge’s rough estimate, it could hold well over ten thousand people.
Around it stood one sturdy green-robed warrior after another, upright as pines.
Their eyes looked straight ahead, their hands rested on curved sabers, and every one of them remained on constant alert.
The weakest of these green-robed warriors was already at the Body Tempering Realm.
In fact, in a few corners, Li Xingge could even smell traces of danger.
“As expected of the greatest auction house in Shenglong Prefecture. Its depths truly cannot be fathomed.”
Li Xingge spoke inwardly to himself.
Those to whom Myriad Treasures Pavilion sent invitations of its own accord were all considered major clients in its eyes.
Naturally, major clients received different treatment, with private guest rooms set aside exclusively for them.
Li Xingge was no exception.
The welcoming maidservant led Li Xingge and his group to a private room called Room Twenty-Nine of the Earth Wing.
Inside, all kinds of costly fruits and exquisite pastries had already been prepared.
There were even two pretty maidservants in light, refreshing attire attending them throughout.
For some reason, the scene felt strangely familiar.
A faint, indescribable smile curved Li Xingge’s lips.
Li Xingge settled into his seat, and at his side, the two lovely maidservants gently offered him fruit and pastries.
From where he sat, the entirety of the auction hall could be taken in at a glance.
As more and more guests entered, the venue gradually grew noisy and bustling.
Fortunately, the private room where Li Xingge sat was unaffected.
After waiting for about half a quarter of an hour, the auction formally began.
A graceful young woman with a delicate face slowly ascended the auction stage, accompanied by an old man in green robes.
Li Xingge’s gaze was instantly drawn over.
Not because of the beautiful woman, but because of the green-robed old man.
From him, Li Xingge sensed an extremely dangerous aura.
This was a feeling he had never once experienced since breaking into the Qi-Blood Realm.
This old man was an exceptionally terrifying expert.
“Honored guests who have come from all directions, welcome to Myriad Treasures Pavilion.”
“I am Wang Xuanxuan, the Chief Auctioneer of Myriad Treasures Pavilion, and it is my great honor to preside over today’s auction!”
“For this auction, Myriad Treasures Pavilion has prepared for nearly a full year, gathering rare treasures and precious curios from every region. I believe we certainly will not disappoint anyone.”
“At the same time, I also hope that everyone will abide by the rules set by Myriad Treasures Pavilion. No matter what your strength may be, no matter what your background may be, none of you may violate them. Otherwise, it will be treated as making an enemy of Myriad Treasures Pavilion.”
“And now, I hereby declare the auction officially open!”
Upon the auction stage,
the valiant and spirited Chief Auctioneer Wang Xuanxuan announced.
At once, the auction hall rang with thunderous applause like rolling waves.
“Family Head, Myriad Treasures Pavilion is no simple place. Decades ago, there was a foreign cultivator at Major Accomplishment in the Qi-Blood Realm who tried to use his own strength to loot Myriad Treasures Pavilion. The very next day, he was found hanged alive outside its front gates.”
Li Yanzhao said from the side.
Li Xingge nodded to show he understood.
“The first item up for auction today is the Purple Spirit Vine. It is the main ingredient in refining the Solid Origin Pill... Opening bid: five hundred taels of gold!”
The items being auctioned at the moment, while all fairly rare, were merely appetizers. They could not catch the eye of the great powers.
The bidding below came entirely from lesser forces.
As the auction continued in full swing, it gradually reached its true climax.
With the appearance of various rare and precious treasures,
even some major powers began to make their moves.
Among them, a pair of twin slaves at Physical Body Realm Perfection sold for the sky-high price of fifteen thousand taels of gold.
The further the auction progressed, the more valuable the items became.
Among the treasures that appeared, even Li Xingge found some of them stirring his heart.
Unfortunately, his purse was lacking.
“The next item we are about to auction is one in which I believe everyone here will be very interested!”
On the stage, Wang Xuanxuan spoke with complete confidence.
Under the curious gazes of the crowd,
“Up for auction now is a second-tier medicinal pill: the Qi-Blood Pill, refined by Master Tongming, the only second-tier alchemist in all of Shenglong Prefecture. There are ten pills in total, all of them of high quality. They can increase the success rate of breaking from the Physical Body Realm into the Qi-Blood Realm by forty percent!”
The moment those words fell, everyone’s breathing accelerated sharply.
After all, there were very few cultivators of the Physical Body Realm who could resist the temptation of breaking into the Qi-Blood Realm.
But when Li Xingge heard those words, his face turned cold at once.
“Damn it. I miscalculated!”
If it had been an ordinary Qi-Blood Pill, then with the amount of gold he had prepared, he would have been able to secure it.
But now that it was a high-quality Qi-Blood Pill, things had suddenly become uncertain.
The difference between an ordinary Qi-Blood Pill and a high-quality Qi-Blood Pill was only ten percent more success—
but their prices were worlds apart.
And sure enough—
“High-quality Qi-Blood Pill. Opening bid: ten thousand taels of gold. Each raise must be no less than five hundred taels!”
The opening bid alone had already reached ten thousand taels.
Though he felt there was no longer much hope, Li Xingge still wanted to try.
He decided to bid for the first Qi-Blood Pill.
Because the further the auction went, the more expensive the Qi-Blood Pills would become.
People always carried a trace of luck in their hearts.
“Eleven thousand taels!”
Li Xingge spoke.
“The honored guest in Room Twenty-Nine of the Earth Wing bids eleven thousand taels! Is there any higher bid?”
Raising the bid by a full thousand in one step was meant to show his resolve and make others retreat in the face of difficulty.
After all, there were still nine pills left.
And at the same time, across from Li Xingge, inside Room Thirty-Seven of the Earth Wing—
“Damn it, I didn’t expect the competition for the very first pill to be this fierce.”
A middle-aged man in purple robes said darkly.
Beside him, an old man frowned and said, “Family Head, shall we give up on the first pill? There are still nine more to come, after all.”
The middle-aged man in purple shook his head at once.
“No. The later it goes, the higher the final prices will be. If we can’t secure the first one, then we have even less hope with the ones that come later.”
“You also know the family’s current situation. If we fail to take this Qi-Blood Pill, I fear the family will decline in our hands.”
“But the amount of gold we brought is not enough.”
The old man’s expression was troubled.
The middle-aged man in purple gritted his teeth, as though making some painful decision.
“Mortgage the family’s iron mine to Myriad Treasures Pavilion!”
The old man’s expression changed drastically.
“Family Head, that is the lifeline of our family!”
“There’s no helping it now. If we fail to secure this Qi-Blood Pill, the family is bound to decline anyway. At this point, all we can do is gamble.”
The old man let out a sigh.
Thinking of the family’s awkward situation, he finally nodded.
Myriad Treasures Pavilion worked efficiently. Before long, the value of the iron mine had been assessed.
“Honored guests, for this iron mine, we can offer a price of five thousand taels of gold.”
The maidservant in the room said respectfully.
The face of the middle-aged man in purple darkened on the spot.
“Myriad Treasures Pavilion is truly black-hearted.”
He cursed inwardly.
But a man beneath another’s roof had no choice but to bow his head. Though it pained him, the middle-aged man in purple still nodded.
Now that he had enough capital,
he called out in a full, forceful voice, “Eleven thousand five hundred taels!”
“The honored guest in Room Thirty-Seven of the Earth Wing bids eleven thousand five hundred taels!”
Wang Xuanxuan announced loudly from the stage.
“Twelve thousand taels.”
Li Xingge said expressionlessly.
“Twelve thousand five hundred taels!”
Seeing the other side’s posture of absolute determination, Li Xingge’s face grew colder and colder.
Li Yanzhao hurriedly said, “Family Head, the amount of gold on us is not enough. We cannot continue raising the bid. But Myriad Treasures Pavilion does accept assets as collateral.”
“There’s no need.”
Li Xingge sneered.
“Then wouldn’t this trip of ours amount to nothing?”
Li Yanzhao said somewhat dejectedly.
“Who said that? I’m merely letting them hold it for me for the time being.”
Hearing those words, filled with killing intent,
Li Yanzhao’s face changed drastically, and he hurriedly said, “Family Head, you absolutely must not stir up trouble at Myriad Treasures Pavilion!”
“Relax. I’m not that foolish.”
Li Xingge’s expression returned to calm.
Only then did Li Yanzhao finally let out a breath of relief.
What he feared most was that Li Xingge, young and hot-blooded, would act on impulse.
Seeing that there had been no movement at all from Room Twenty-Nine of the Earth Wing for quite some time,
Wang Xuanxuan said, “Room Thirty-Seven of the Earth Wing, twelve thousand five hundred taels, once!”
“Twelve thousand five hundred taels, twice!”
Seeing that no one bid again, Wang Xuanxuan brought the auction hammer down heavily.
“Twelve thousand five hundred taels, three times! Sold! Let us congratulate the honored guest in Room Thirty-Seven of the Earth Wing for winning the first Qi-Blood Pill.”
Inside Room Thirty-Seven of the Earth Wing, the middle-aged man in purple let out a long breath upon hearing those words.
“Finally, I got it.”
Very soon, a martial artist of Myriad Treasures Pavilion brought over an exquisite sandalwood box.
The middle-aged man in purple carefully received it.
His hands trembling, he opened the box. The moment it opened, a rich medicinal fragrance drifted out.
He hastily shut it again.
Then he decisively said to the old man beside him, whose face was filled with envy, “We’re leaving. Return to the family immediately.”
...
Meanwhile, on the other side,
Li Xingge looked toward Room Thirty-Seven of the Earth Wing, his gaze seeming capable of piercing through everything.
And there, above the middle-aged man in purple’s head, there floated line after line of red characters.
“I didn’t expect it to turn out to be an old acquaintance.”
Li Xingge said with a soft chuckle.
But the killing intent hidden beneath that smile could not be concealed at all.