Yellow spiritual crystal was the spiritual crystal one tier above orange spiritual crystal. It was a legitimate treasure at the Spirit King Realm. One kilogram of it was worth a hundred kilograms of orange spiritual crystal!
The person who made the bid was obviously Immortal Frostfire Hurricane Mao Tongxiao. There could have been nobody else. She was the empress of the Frostfire Nation. She was the wife of the sect master of the Frostfire Sect. She was, in effect, the mother of all its disciples.
Nobody dared to make any snide comments but everyone was thinking roughly the same thing. This Frostfire Flower on the auction block was most likely a cherished treasure within their faction. As such, there was nobody with a face thick enough to compete with her for this flower. However, having no other bidders was bad news for one person in particular.
Auction Master Hu Bao coughed awkwardly and blinked his weary eyes several times in indignation, "Is there no one else? Anyone?"
The auction hall was silent but everyone's attention was on the two Spirit Emperors facing off.
Chen Wentian stared at the back of Mao Tongxiao's hooded head with great interest. He wasn't that interested in a woman who was so stingy that she didn't show a single body part. Rather, he was interested in her cultivation art, something that utilized a dual-attribute constitution and the ability to wield both ice and fire.
The feeling of her combined spiritual aura left a strong impression. It reminded him of Summer and Winter's Eternal Sutra, the combined Dao left behind by the ancestors of Glacier Palace and Divine Blazing Mountain. He wondered if they were somehow related to Frostfire Nation.
The Eastern Sanmu Subcontinent was a subsidiary subcontinent to the Martial Brilliance Continent. There were no other continent-level lands around. If there was some kind of special secret art, nine times out of ten, it probably originated from a higher power. This was the so-called trickle-down effect in the cultivation world where secret arts from higher realms would inevitably leak down to the lower realms in various bastardized or simplified forms.
As far as he could find, the history of Glacier Palace and Divine Blazing Mountain were tied together. They were both founded around a thousand years ago and before that, there was no record whatsoever of their origins. It was likely that perhaps a pair of disciples from Frostfire Nation escaped from the main continent and established a home in the subcontinent. However, it was difficult to believe that they could have evaded attention for so long.
There was also the issue of the ice and fire dual-attribute constitution. This was the first time he had heard of another faction having this special power. He wondered how the disciples of Frostfire Nation compared to his own disciples.
How the ice sisters developed their dual-attribute constitutions was still a mystery. Chen Wentian wasn't a doctor and he didn't have a great understanding of how spiritual energy, certain secret arts, and medicinal effects could change a person's body and their cultivation base. But as far as he could tell, their constitution had no side effects. All five of them could perfectly utilize the entirety of Summer and Winter's Eternal Sutra. If anything, their constitution seemed to get better ever so slightly every time he slept with them!
He had to hold back a chuckle. The mysteries of the myriad Daos were too profound. A continent was still just a continent. His blue dragon legacy came from a holy world of divine dragons. Who knew what other kinds of powerful effects his dragon physique had.
The staredown between the two Spirit Emperors was finally when Mao Tongxiao let out a melodic laugh, "Grandpa Hu, nobody else is going to bid so how about you just give me this Frostfire Flower for one kilogram of yellow spiritual crystal?"
"Hmph, it's only over when I say it's over! Xiaoxiao, when did you get so daring, you even want to haggle with this old man?" Hu Bao grumbled.
"Hehehe, come on, you know that my price is good. This Frostfire Flower is good but its value is still only at the Spirit Lord Realm. Just like you said, this item can be useful in the right hands but worthless in others."
"You… who knows what kind of tricks your Frostfire Sect has. You say its effectiveness is at the Spirit Lord Realm, who can know for sure? My name is Golden Basin, I still have the reputation of the Golden Basin Auction House to uphold!" The obstinate old man declared loudly.
At this, Mao Tongxiao stood up from her seat. She walked up to the platform before Hu Bao and then bowed deeply, her torso becoming parallel to the floor. Many were stunned by this display of respect. Even though Hu Bao was more senior, their cultivations were the same. Thus, it wasn't often that one immortal from a different faction showed such deference to another.
"Golden Emperor Hu, if you will sell me this Frostfire Flower, the Frostfire Nation as a whole will owe the Golden Basin Auction House a deep debt of gratitude. I have already said that I have been looking for this flower for a hundred years. You don't need to know anymore to understand the implications. This flower is very important to my people. My previous offer was indeed a little lacking and I apologize. I will offer you five kilograms of yellow spiritual crystal."
Hu Bao laughed merrily, his mood suddenly swinging back, "Hahaha! Good, I accept!"
He hurriedly helped Mao Tongxiao up and handed her the flower within its case. The pair of Spirit Emperors, the most powerful individuals present shared another laugh, uncaring about the lesser beings around them.
"This debt of gratitude from the Frostfire Nation is probably too heavy for me to fully accept. However, I haven't met that old dog Frostfire Inferno in a few centuries. Perhaps I can visit sometime. I've been thinking about him recently, how is he doing?"
Mao Tongxiao bowed her head slightly, "Honored husband is doing excellently. He often brings up your name as well. You may visit us anytime you wish!"
"Good, good! Hahaha, I haven't been this happy in years. Alright, the auction is adjourned for lunch. Xiaoxiao, come, I've prepared some special delicacies that I know you'll like!"
With that, the two Spirit Emperors flew up and disappeared into an upper balcony that overlooked the auction hall. Groups of immortals also left to attend various banquets prepared for them.
Chen Wentian remained in his seat and pondered the previous scene with great interest. This friendly exchange between Hu Bao and Mao Tongxiao had deeper implications than just a future visit. The Frostfire Nation was part of the Seven Potentates. The Golden Basin Auction House was a wholly separate power that existed on a relatively equal footing. For Mao Tongxiao to act like this, it represented a shift in the relationship between Frostfire Nation and the Golden Basin Auction House.
Perhaps the auction house and the Seven Potentates were going to much closer from now on. Or, perhaps just the Frostfire Nation acting independently, thus creating a rift within the alliance of the Seven Potentates. Either way, it seemed that a great storm was on the horizon which might upend the power structure of the southern regions.
Chen Wentian was skilled at causing such storms of chaos. He was skilled at taking advantage of existing and underlying conflicts and blowing them out of proportion. And he was also skilled at obtaining the most benefits possible from the ensuing mayhem.
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