One by one, the auction proceeded smoothly. Nobles, organizations, sects, and even royals participated in the bidding. The prices weren't overly high, yet the commotion it brought was drastic.
Yi Ling hadn't found anything good so far. She wanted some of the rare herbs, but she was in a predicament. She sighed.
"Now we move on to the Low Spirit Stones. These spirit stones were among the treasures found in the ancient cave. They will help a cultivator with their breakthrough. Due to the scarcity of spiritual energy, these stones can be used as a mediator. Bidding will start at 100,000 gold coins per set of 10; we have 5 sets in total," the host explained.
"150,000! I must get this one for the sect master!"
"200,000! I won't let this get away from me!"
"500,000!" someone yelled from the second floor.
People were curious to see who was bidding so high, yet they couldn't see anything. The window was covered, making it a one-way view from the inside.
"Is it worth that much, Yu'er?" Yi Ling whispered.
"For these people, maybe. For you, master, no. They are worthless compared to the Blue Rose Palace's spiritual energy," Linyu bragged.
"Oh, is that so? Wish we had some to sell though. We'd get rich by then." She giggled. She was starting to like money. It could buy any food she wanted to eat, and she drooled at the thought.
Linyu took a cloth from his pocket and wiped Yi Ling's mouth. He had gotten used to his master's antics. In the short time they had been together, he could boldly say that his master was an odd person. Sometimes courageous, sometimes childish, and sometimes well-mannered. It felt like she had multiple personalities, and well, that might be the case too. He promised himself to never let anything happen to his new master. He didn't want a repeat of what happened with his past master. He sighed.
They both had poor souls, both sighing inside the room. Fortunately, the staff had provided some tea at least. Yi Ling was thirsty. They were seated in Box 6 on the second floor.
By the time she finished her tea, the fifth set of low spiritual stones was sold.
"We will now begin the bidding for the Spiritual Sword. This is the most valuable treasure we found in the ancient cave. It is a low-tier spiritual rank weapon."
The audience was silent, and then noise broke out. This was a sensation! Even though the sword was only low-tier rank, it was still a very valuable weapon. Blacksmiths rarely make any spiritual weapons nowadays. Only the higher-rank kingdoms can, and even then, they can only produce about one every ten years. That's how valuable they were! The audience was now agitated; they couldn't wait to get their hands on it!
"We will start bidding at 5 million gold," the host announced.
"6 million!"
"7 million!"
"Weak! 10 million!"
The prices were now getting so high. Yi Ling's eyes were bulging. She couldn't believe it! These old geezers had so much money!
"15 million!"
"No, I want this one for my sect master! 20 million!"
The lower-income groups were shocked, like Yi Ling. They wished to get their hands on the sword as well, but they couldn't afford it, even if they sold everything they owned. They all sighed.
"50 million!" A voice rang out from one of the rooms on the second floor. Everyone went silent. They couldn't afford it anymore.
"Any higher bidders?" No one said anything. They all looked at the second floor. "Sold to Box 3!" The host was now grinning from ear to ear.
"Now for the last item, I present to you all: a whole bottle of spiritual water." The host proudly presented the item. There was no need to explain; everyone knew what spiritual water could do. Everyone could feel the spiritual energy that it emitted. This water was a legendary treasure! It was written about in books! One could never find spiritual water for sale anymore, not even in the wild. Unless you go to the Spiritual Beasts' Territories, which you'll likely die before obtaining it! And if someone did, it would be one of the men from the higher-ranked kingdoms. They would only keep it for themselves!
"100 million gold coins!" A voice could be heard from Box 1 before the host could even say a word.
All this time, aside from Box 6 where Yi Ling and Linyu were, only Box 1 and Box 6 hadn't bid on anything. Now Box 1 bid a whopping amount of gold coins.
Everyone was flabbergasted. They weren't even able to react yet to the item, and now everyone was already outbid. They all silently cried inside.
"110 million gold coins," Box 4 interjected.
"120 million!" Box 1 didn't want to be outbid.
"130 million," Box 4 countered.
"150 million!" Box 1 was now agitated. He needed this item so badly.
Box 4 was silent for a while, thinking if it was worth it. Before he could raise it up, a beautiful voice rang out from Box 6.
"200 million!" Yi Ling countered. Linyu was shocked. Why is master bidding on her own item? He stared at her.
When the host heard the voice coming from Box 6, his brows furrowed. One is not allowed to raise the bid on their own item, but then he remembered that Linyu and Yi Ling were both male. He must have brought a lady friend, he thought. So he let the matter pass. Poor guy, it was Linyu's servant boy who made the bid after all.
Box 1's teeth gritted. No! This treasure is mine!
"250 million gold coins! Let's see if you can top that!" he yelled back to Box 6.
Yi Ling smirked. Gotcha. "I guess it's my loss, young master. You win this round." Yi Ling's beautiful voice attracted everyone's attention. She must be really beautiful too, they thought.
"Any higher bidders? None? Sold to Box 1 for 250 million gold coins!" The host then ended the auction.
"So that's why. I now learned something from master," Linyu praised Yi Ling. She was just trying to earn more money. His new master was sly as a fox. He smiled at her.
"Smart! Good thing I didn't have to explain it to you, Yu'er." Yi Ling was grinning like an idiot. Now I can eat all those foods! It was all about the food in Yi Ling's mind.
Mu Xin, who was watching everything, shook his head. He now found another side of her. Everything was getting interesting, he thought. Always because of her. He smiled warmly.