Boom!
Below, the loose cultivator hall erupted into a frenzy once more. The elders of the major sects were already growing impatient, frantically throwing out their bids.
“Five hundred and fifty!”
“Six hundred!”
Inside VIP Room Number Eight on the second floor, Su Yueli stared at the pitch-black stone fragment. At this moment, her body, hidden beneath her black robe, actually began to tremble slightly, completely out of her control.
It was not out of fear, but because the Tenth Realm Ji Dao blood qi within her body had reacted the very instant she laid eyes on the stone fragment.
She could clearly feel her intuition screaming: Take it! I must have it!
This item was absolutely the supreme key that could help her shatter her mortal shackles and truly usher in a brand-new era for the mortal martial path!
But...
Su Yueli glanced at the over three thousand mid-grade spirit stones that had just been transferred to her token. Listening to the bids outside, which had already soared to nearly seven hundred high-grade spirit stones, a sense of financial embarrassment made her grit her teeth in frustration.
She did not have enough money.
Her funds were not even enough to qualify for bidding. Feeling somewhat unwilling to give up, her consciousness swept through her storage bag.
The remaining half of her herbs still lay inside. There was quite a large number of those bizarre spiritual grasses with strange patterns, which even she could not recognize.
She wondered if these remaining herbs were valuable enough to qualify for a temporary barter with the Wanbao Merchant House.
But no matter what, she had to try.
A ruthless glint flashed in Su Yueli's eyes. She turned around, gestured to the female receptionist standing to the side, and spoke in a low voice:
“Go and invite your chief appraiser from downstairs to come up. Tell him I have another batch of goods that I want to put up for auction immediately.”
A moment later, there was a knock on the door, and it was pushed open.
The grey-robed old man who had appraised her items earlier rushed in. Cupping his hands, he asked, “Guest, do you have more rare treasures on hand that require urgent appraisal and auctioning?”
Su Yueli pulled down her hood and said in a cold voice, “I don't plan to auction them. There isn't enough time. I want to use the remaining spiritual herbs to barter directly with the owner of that True Spirit Dharma-Image Jade Fragment downstairs.”
With a flick of her wrist, she poured out the remaining half of the herbs from her storage bag.
The old man glanced at them and was instantly shocked.
Some of the herbs on the table were indeed similar to the goods sent for auction over the past two days, but three of them emitted a spiritual light that even made his heart skip a beat.
“This is... the Nine-Leaf Jade Cicada Flower? And this one... the extremely pure and yang Earth Core Fire Essence Ganoderma? And could this be the legendary Dragon Blood Undying Grass?!”
The old man picked up the three peerless immortal herbs one by one, his entire being trembling with excitement.
After repeated examinations, he finally gave a baseline valuation.
The Nine-Leaf Jade Cicada Flower was conservatively estimated to be worth two hundred high-grade spirit stones.
The Earth Core Fire Essence Ganoderma was worth three hundred high-grade spirit stones.
As for the most heaven-defying one, the Dragon Blood Undying Grass, its starting price was a whopping six hundred high-grade spirit stones!
Combined with the remaining scattered rare medicinal materials, the total baseline value of this table of herbs reached an astonishing one thousand three hundred high-grade spirit stones!
Su Yueli tapped the table. “Old gentleman, is it enough to exchange these items with the owner of the stone fragment downstairs?”
Hearing this, the old man's face fell into an awkward expression, and he let out a helpless sigh. “My lady, to tell you the truth, the owner of the True Spirit Dharma-Image Jade Fragment downstairs specified that they only want spirit stones and will accept nothing else. Although your items are excellent, they will absolutely not agree to a barter.”
Su Yueli's brow furrowed slightly. Looking down at the increasingly heated bidding, she asked in a deep voice, “Then does your Wanbao Merchant House buy them directly? Give me a price. I want cash on the spot.”
The old man's eyes lit up, and he nodded repeatedly. “We do! Of course we do!”
“Our Wanbao Merchant House can represent our headquarters and directly purchase this batch of goods from you, saving them to be the grand finale items for the next auction. However...”
“My lady, the price for a direct purchase by the merchant house will definitely be slightly lower than what it could fetch at an auction. After all, when the various powers compete on the auction stage, there's no telling what astronomical price those old monsters might bid.”
“It doesn't matter. Settle the payment directly. I need the spirit stones right now,” Su Yueli said firmly.
The True Spirit Dharma-Image Jade Fragment before her held a fatal attraction for her Ji Dao blood qi. This was very likely her only key to breaking through to the Eleventh Realm, and she would absolutely not allow it to fall into the hands of her enemies.
Seeing Su Yueli agree so readily, the old man was ecstatic, his mental calculator spinning rapidly.
If they managed this batch of herbs properly, the next auction would definitely bring the merchant house a massive fortune.
To win over this mysterious client with a terrifying background, the old man gritted his teeth and said, “Since you are in urgent need, my lady, I will take it upon myself to raise the price slightly on top of the initial estimate of one thousand three hundred.”
He paused and continued, “How about this... a flat one thousand six hundred high-grade spirit stones? The Wanbao Merchant House will directly purchase this batch of spiritual herbs. What do you think, my lady?”
Su Yueli thought for a moment and finally nodded.
Selling them like this was definitely a loss. If she put them up for auction, she could probably make several hundred more high-grade spirit stones, which was undoubtedly a massive sum of money.
But the auction item right now was far more important!
Seeing this, the old man immediately produced a storage ring and transferred one thousand six hundred high-grade spirit stones into Su Yueli's black token.
After putting away the spiritual herbs, the old man respectfully withdrew from the room.
Walking down the quiet corridor, the old man wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, unable to help but wonder in his heart.
Just who was this mysterious lady?
To casually throw out so many precious spiritual herbs, she must have some heaven-defying hidden giant backing her.
But with such a powerful background, why did she seem so short on spirit stones, even willing to sell them in a rush at a lower price, like a desperate gambler in urgent need of quick cash?
He really couldn't understand it...
The old man shook his head and didn't bother to think further. In any case, the Wanbao Merchant House was guaranteed to make a handsome profit from this deal.
...
Meanwhile, in the auction hall below, the atmosphere had grown somewhat tense.
The bidding for the True Spirit Dharma-Image Jade Fragment had reached a fever pitch. Driven up by the aggressive bids of the major factions, the price had been pushed to a staggering high of eight hundred and fifty high-grade spirit stones.
At this price, the loose cultivator old monsters and the cultivation families of Qingzhou City downstairs had long since fallen silent.
Over eight hundred high-grade spirit stones was a sum that many could no longer afford.
Only the three massive, long-standing sects on the second floor were left, their eyes red as they fought bitterly.
On the balcony of the Chiyang Sect, the red-bearded elder's face was flushed red with annoyance. “Old Monster Han, your Cangyun Sect just spent one thousand nine hundred mid-grade spirit stones to buy those three stalks of Sky Blue Silver Spot Grass. This old man wants to see just how much capital you have left to go head-to-head with me! Nine hundred high-grade spirit stones!”
Next door, the white-haired Elder Zhao of the Blue Moon Sect also sneered, gently pressing his bidding plaque. “Nine hundred and fifty high-grade spirit stones! If you two still have the immortal fate for it, feel free to keep bidding.”
At this moment, the atmosphere inside the Cangyun Sect's VIP room was extremely oppressive.
The withered old man sitting at the very front stared intently at the stone fragment below. Since his lifespan was nearing its end, this fragment, which could allow one to comprehend the true intent of the Law of Heaven and Earth above the Tenth Realm, was practically his only lifeline.
The old man's shriveled lips moved slightly as he transmitted a single word to Elder Han beside him: “Bid!”
Elder Han took a deep breath, the veins on his forehead bulging:
“One thousand high-grade spirit stones! Fellow Daoists, this is already the absolute limit my Cangyun Sect can deploy today. If you can bid higher than this, our Cangyun Sect will yield and no longer compete!”
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