The individual songs from the 'Hymns from a Wintery Flower Orchard' were not at the Spirit Lord Realm. They were at the various lesser realms directly below the threshold of immortality. However, the ancient tablet held at least six complete songs and four more partial ones. It was a great learning tool and Long Yifei would be able to cultivate her voice steadily for a long time while having many different choices of what to sing.
It wasn't only Chen Wentian who had the same evaluation and a couple of competing bids flew in right after him.
"Two million one hundred!"
"Two million two hundred!"
He glanced at those two people, both Spirit Lords. He vaguely recognized their faces as acolytes that were at the opening ceremony for the school year though it was now impossible to guess if they were independent or not. They may have started the school year independent but many would have already allied themselves with the Seven Potentates. The resident powerhouse of the continent would surely not stop with a single one like Immortal Drifting Axe Han Baohu. It was one of the ways they managed to remain so firmly in power.
"Two million three hundred!"
"Two million four hundred!"
The price for the tablet of ancient songs rapidly increased. Several more independent immortals joined in on the action. It quickly surpassed three million, four million, and even five million.
At this point, some of the riff-raff stopped bidding. They weren't really in it to win the final bid but to arbitrarily increase the price for the fun of it. The ones that remained, like Chen Wentian, actually wanted the item for their Sacred Daughters and they continued the fierce battle with money.
Several more minutes passed and the price reached ten million gold taels.
Chen Wentian was the one who finally pushed his opponents to this point as he shouted, "One kilogram of orange spiritual crystal!"
There were a few murmurs of excitement at his proclamation. This was the first time today that an auction item's price reached this threshold. Red spiritual crystal was the lowest tier of spiritual crystal and it was worth one hundred thousand taels. Orange spiritual crystal was the next tier up and contained spiritual energy at the Spirit Lord Realm. It was only fitting that it was a hundred times more expensive.
When it came to fighting with money, the real players only dealt in spiritual crystals. Those that could only peddle gold taels were considered inconsequential by the powerful immortals gathered here today!
"One-point-one kilograms of orange spiritual crystal!" Another immortal countered.
At this current juncture, there was no point for anyone to bid in smaller increments. One kilogram of orange spiritual crystal was worth ten million gold. Point one kilogram of it was worth one million gold. If anyone still dared to bid in tiny increments, it was an insult to the honor of all immortals!
Chen Wentian's voice responded quickly, "One-point-two kilograms!"
He had plenty of money on hand. His budget for this item was at most two kilograms of orange spiritual crystal. In terms of wealth among independent Spirit Lords, few could compare to him. Although he had squandered a lot of it on his disciples already, he still had a sizable reserve.
He continued to raise the price and suppressed all the other independent immortals. Finally, they all fell silent at his latest bid of one-point-seven kilograms.
"One-point-seven kilograms of orange spiritual crystal. Anyone else!" Auction Master Hu Bao shouted, "This stone tablet is one of a kind that we managed to acquire with great difficulty from the ruins. It is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!"
After a long pause, he was about to clap his hands to complete the sale when a lazy voice drifted up from the front rows.
"Two kilograms!"
It was Immortal Bamboo Wave Yang Gehu. Who else could it be?
The detestable man turned around and gave Chen Wentian a mocking smile. "Immortal Blue Dragon Chen Wentian, a very impressive name for a not-so-impressive man. If you have to ability, then keep bidding. If you don't, then move aside and leave it to someone else!"
The attention of the auction hall turned to these two people, including many Spirit Kings and Spirit Emperors. Up until this point, the Seven Potentates hadn't openly antagonized anyone. In the eyes of many, this Immortal Blue Dragon was an unlucky person. Those who drew the ire of the Seven Potentates never survived in the continent for long. It was a sad situation for the victim but also cruel amusement for those not involved.
Chen Wentian kept his facial expressions neutral and replied evenly, "Immortal Bamboo Wave Yang Gehu, I presume. I have heard of you but I have no quarrel with you. I simply want to obtain this stone tablet. If immortal Yang wishes to do so as well, then we will have to fight with our wallets instead of our fists. But perhaps, the winner can treat the loser to a drink afterward?"
He turned back to the auctioneer, "Two-point-one kilograms!"
Yang Gehu laughed, "Only so much? Come on, let's fight! Three kilograms!"
This led to more murmurs across the auction hall. The stone tablet wasn't worth that much money. It was good but it wasn't a Spirit Lord Realm item. This kind of bidding could only be described as overbearing, with a complete lack of regard for money.
Chen Wentian laughed as well, "Immortal Yang certainly has a way of squandering money. Unfortunately, this immortal Chen also likes to squander. Four kilograms!"
This caused even more commotion. Nobody expected Chen Wentian to be equally as brash. Since he had made the bid, then he had the funds to do back it up. Some shook their heads at the ridiculous cock fight between two minor Spirit Lords. Others who knew more about the situation studied Chen Wentian with keen interest.
Yang Gehu scowled and glared at Chen Wentian hatefully. He didn't expect this kind of counterattack. Since he had provoked Chen Wentian first, it was now a matter of pride. How could he let the pride of the Seven Potentates of Jiannan be tread upon by a lowly no-name Spirit Lord and lose face in front of everyone?
But, he didn't immediately shout out a counter bid. Orange spiritual was still orange spiritual, an important resource for cultivation in the Spirit Lord Realm. They didn't grow on trees and even someone Yang Gehu couldn't squander it without some forethought. But thinking about how he had to utter crush Long Yifei's acolyte in front of all the immortals of the continent, it was an easy decision to continue with the fight.
"Four-point-five kilograms!" He declared.
"Five kilograms!" Chen Wentian responded, "I sincerely apologize, Immortal Yang. I really must obtain this song tablet. It is the perfect gift for my Sacred Daughter! She is my most precious person and I cannot disappoint her."
His words were reasonable to everyone but to Yang Gehu, they cut deeply into his psyche. He wanted Long Yifei, badly, ever since he had laid eyes on her. It hurt to hear Chen Wentian talk about her so intimately. It sounded irrational but he was an irrational and passionate person to begin with. He shuddered at the thought of Chen Wentian hugging Long Yifei, kissing her, doing more intimate things to her… No! She belonged to him!
"Six kilograms!" Yang Gehu shouted.
This was met with silence. It was a ridiculous situation but nobody could argue with the sheer wealth that the Seven Potentates possessed. Although Yang Gehu was acting crazily, he could afford to do it!
As for Chen Wentian, he wasn't angered by the situation but amused instead. He had expected some bullying but this amount really was too much. His opponent was simply being too wasteful. Thus, he could only move aside and not stand in the way of their generosity.
He looked away from Yang Gehu's challenging stare and pretended to be greatly interested in the auction brochure. A long moment passed but he didn't respond with a counter bid. He had enough money but he simply gave up.
Unlike these immortals of major clans and powerhouses, he didn't grow up as a prince or young master. He had little regard for something so trivial as one's face. It might be worth six kilograms of spiritual crystal for someone like Yang Gehu to keep his face but to Chen Wentian, it was utterly ridiculous.
"Alright! Anyone else? No?" Auction Master Hu Bao said merrily.
"Wait! What about…" Yang Gehu tried to argue but he was ignored.
Hu Bao clapped his hand loudly, drowning out Yang Gehu, "Sale complete! What an exciting round! Let's have more like this, next item!"
Yang Gehu looked as if he wanted to say something else but it was already too late!
---
Thank you to all my patrons!
Support me and read ahead by 39 or even 78 chapters!
p atreon.com/kigreenwriting
Join my discord for updates, delays, and my ramblings :)
d iscord.gg/dY5UApw