GASP!
As soon as Ye Xuan’s words fell, the entire crowd drew in a collective sharp breath. Everyone stared at him as if he were an absolute idiot. This kid was playing with fire, practically digging his own grave. The massive auction house instantly fell so dead silent that one could hear a pin drop.
At that moment, inside VIP Room 1, both Mou Liubing and Mou Dahai harbored terrifying murderous intent in their eyes. If they weren’t in an auction house, they would have inevitably lost control and slaughtered Ye Xuan on the spot.
HEHEHE.
Only Hongyue’s giggles echoed through the venue. Surprisingly, a hint of admiration flashed in her eyes as she looked at Ye Xuan.
She smiled and said, "Guest 1888 bids 1,701,000 Super Soul Crystals! Are there any higher bids? 1,701,000 Super Soul Crystals going once...
"1,701,000 Super Soul Crystals going twice...
"Is no one else bidding? Then I’m going to drop the hammer. 1,701,000 Super Soul Crystals going th—"
"1,900,000!"
Seeing that Hongyue was about to drop the hammer, Mou Dahai’s voice rang out again. He simply couldn’t hold back anymore! This time, he directly raised the price by 200,000. This was the absolute limit of the personal funds he could mobilize. If the kid could still match this price, he would have no choice but to concede. He kept his eyes locked on Ye Xuan, closely observing his reaction.
Ye Xuan seemed to notice Mou Dahai’s glare. He offered a faint smile and casually raised his bidding paddle.
"1,901,000."
Adding a mere one thousand with each bid felt like a deliberate slap in Mou Dahai’s face. The older man’s expression turned ashen, contorting into something as terrifying as a demon.
"Guest 1888 bids 1,901,000! Any higher?"
Back in VIP Room 1, Mou Liubing gritted his teeth. "Grandpa, are you out of money? Why don’t we borrow from the family’s funds for now and pay it back later?"
Mou Dahai shot him a harsh glare. "Embezzling family resources without permission is a grave crime. Do not bring that up again."
"Then what do we do? I really need that Qishan Evergreen Ivy."
"Hmph, let that brat hold onto it for us for now!"
"Grandpa, you mean..."
A sharp gleam flashed in Mou Liubing’s eyes. Then, he smiled—a dark, sinister smile.
"1,901,000 Super Soul Crystals going once.
"1,901,000 Super Soul Crystals going twice...
"1,901,000 Super Soul Crystals going for the third time... Sold! Congratulations to Guest 1888 for winning this stalk of Qishan Evergreen Ivy. By the way, you had better make sure you actually have the money to pay for it. Otherwise, the consequences will be severe—fatal, even!"
Hongyue’s voice suddenly deepened, her gaze chilling like the stare of a demon.
Ye Xuan didn’t reply. Instead, he weighed his options.
He thought, "Based on my previous experience, one stalk of Qishan Evergreen Ivy will only allow me to refine one hundred and fifty batches of Super Spirit Pills. Even though I was short on auxiliary Spirit Medicines last time and had to stop for a day, I estimate I could process at most one hundred and sixty sets of materials. That yields roughly over two thousand four hundred pills. To push my cultivation to the 9th Layer, dealing with a consumption rate three times the norm, I’ll need over seven thousand two hundred top-grade Super Spirit Pills. That means I need at least two more stalks of Qishan Evergreen Ivy. What a headache. Why is my consumption rate so absurdly high? Others can break through an entire layer just by consuming the Qishan Evergreen Ivy directly, yet I need three whole stalks—and that’s only if I refine them into Elixirs first! If I were to consume the Spirit Medicine directly, I might need nine stalks, or even more."
Right as Ye Xuan was feeling a headache coming on, Hongyue’s voice echoed out again.
"Alright, let’s continue with the next item..."
Hongyue clapped her hands, and another stunningly curvaceous hostess walked onto the stage, carrying a box in her hands.
"What could it be? Let’s reveal the answer right now."
Hongyue slowly opened the box. Upon seeing the item resting inside, everyone in the venue was utterly dumbfounded. Lying within the box was a green vine that resembled a serpent.
Damn it, wasn’t this the Qishan Evergreen Ivy?!
"Oh my, it’s another stalk of Qishan Evergreen Ivy! Well then, friends who missed out on the last one had better not let this one slip away," Hongyue said with a beaming smile.
While Hongyue smiled brightly on the auction stage, the audience below was cursing inwardly. This auction house was truly shameless! They actually had two stalks of Qishan Evergreen Ivy, yet instead of auctioning them together, they were selling them off one by one. This was absolutely intentional. Earlier, when the Mou Family was fighting so hard they were practically ready to kill over the item, she hadn’t said a word about there being another stalk coming up. Truly, all merchants were greedy opportunists.
After silently cursing the organizers, the crowd looked at Ye Xuan as if he were a massive sucker.
"Poor kid. He spent nearly double the price just to buy a single stalk of Qishan Evergreen Ivy, and he even forged a bitter rivalry with the Mou Family in the process. What a colossal loss."
"Yeah, a total loss! But speaking of which, what’s this kid’s background? I can’t believe he has that much money."
Inside VIP Room 1.
Mou Liubing’s eyes lit up as he burst into roaring laughter. "Grandpa, there’s another stalk! Hahaha! I bet that brat never saw this coming."
Mou Dahai chuckled as well. "This time, this Spirit Medicine is yours. I doubt that kid has any spare cash left to fight us for it anyway."
In the main hall.
Seeing the second stalk of Qishan Evergreen Ivy, Ye Xuan wasn’t frustrated in the slightest; instead, a faint smile graced his lips. Although the auction house’s tactics were a bit underhanded, the appearance of another stalk of Qishan Evergreen Ivy was excellent news for him. The more of this Spirit Medicine he could get, the better. He was absolutely going to secure this second stalk as well.
"Alright, enough talk. Let’s begin the bidding. Same rules as before: starting price is 10,000 Super Soul Crystals, with a minimum increment of 1,000. Bidding starts now!"
As soon as Hongyue finished speaking, a frenzy of bidding swept through the venue once more.
"20,000!"
"30,000!"
"50,000!"
"100,000!"
"..."
In just a few breaths, the price skyrocketed to 500,000. However, everyone knew that these early shouts were merely going through the motions. The Mou Family in VIP Room 1 hadn’t even spoken up yet.
Sure enough, when the price hit 600,000, Mou Liubing finally spoke.
"900,000."
With just one bid, he pushed the price straight to 900,000. The moment this price was called out, the entire hall fell silent. No one dared to bid against the Mou Family again—not even the Patriarch of the Zhou Family. The Mou Family had already been thoroughly provoked once. If someone were to step on their toes again, everyone knew exactly what kind of miserable end awaited them. Thus, an item that was reasonably valued at a million saw no further bids once it hit 900,000.
"Auctioneer? Why aren’t you counting down? What are you waiting for?"
Mou Dahai’s displeased voice rang out.
Hongyue smiled faintly before finally starting the countdown. "The guest in VIP Room 1 bids 900,000 Super Soul Crystals. Are there any higher bids? 900,000 Super Soul Crystals going once...
"900,000 Super Soul Crystals going twice...
"It looks like no one else is bidding. This stalk of Qishan Evergreen Ivy is definitely going to the Mou Family."
"This time it only took 900,000, while that kid spent 1,900,000... Just thinking about it gives me a headache on his behalf."
The surrounding crowd shook their heads, completely convinced that no one would dare place another bid.
Someone subconsciously glanced in Ye Xuan’s direction. They originally meant to offer a moment of silent pity for him, but suddenly, their eyes went wide, their jaw dropped, and they felt their blood begin to boil.
They saw it perfectly clearly. Ye Xuan had raised his paddle. His hand was held high in the air. Under the glow of the auction lights, paddle number 1888 actually looked somewhat dazzling!
In the next moment, Ye Xuan’s flat but incredibly punchable voice echoed through the hall.
"901,000."