"My word, has the Yu Rou Plain cultivation world never seen treasure before? The bidding is this frenzied?"
When the bidding ended, Yang Hong was a little dumbfounded.
The price of spiritual materials had increased by at least 40%, spirit artifacts were doubled, spirit talismans had a minimum increase of 60%, and pills had the lowest increase, generally around 10%.
Spiritual herbs, spiritual plant seeds, and pills were treated the same, with a basic increase of 10%, and the highest not exceeding 20%.
Except for the four batches of spiritual plant seeds Yang Hong bid on, which were bid up by doubling the price.
Therefore, Yang Hong ultimately acquired seven spiritual plant seeds, paying 920,000 spirit stones.
"Sect Master, the Yu Rou Plain has been open for countless years. Its mineral resources have been largely exploited, and any remaining deposits are protected and no longer allowed to be mined," Ran Boren explained in a low voice, seeing Yang Hong's constipated expression.
"Hmm, I see. These are just appetizers. What follows is the main course."
Yang Hong rubbed his nose to mask his embarrassment and then instructed Ran Boren to collect the seven seeds with the spirit stones.
"Alright, the warm-up is over. Let's get to the real show. The first auction item: a sixth-tier spiritual ore – Void Stone!"
"Hahahaha!"
As soon as the old auctioneer finished speaking, the auction hall erupted in thunderous laughter, all of it mocking.
[Void Stone] was indeed a sixth-tier spiritual ore, but it was not as valuable as sixth-tier [God Suppressing Stone]. Void Stone was the primary material for refining storage equipment. Mid-to-high-tier storage rings and storage jewelry were made from Void Stone, and even scraps could be used to craft storage bags. While it seemed useful, Void Stone was abundant throughout the Tai Yuan Continent. This was evident from the fact that Golden Core cultivators at the fourth tier all possessed a storage ring. Thus, the cultivators attending the auction burst into laughter.
The old auctioneer seemed to have anticipated this and was unfazed. He waited until the laughter subsided before saying, "Don't laugh just yet, everyone. Take a look at this piece of Void Stone before you mock it."
With a wave of his hand, two graceful attendants carried a colossal cyan stone, as tall as a person, onto the auction stage.
"It's that big? That's indeed rare, but it's still just that. It's not as good as the chair I'm sitting on," someone remarked.
"Heh, it could pass as a rock garden piece."
"Even as a rock garden piece, it's not ideal. Void Stone is too brittle; it can only be used for refining storage rings."
Even though this piece of cyan stone was exceptionally large, very few cultivators in the audience showed any interest.
The old auctioneer cleared his throat and said, "Ahem... This piece of cyan stone is seven feet high and three feet wide. A Void Stone of this magnitude can already substitute for Xuan Kong Crystal in setting up teleportation arrays. Do you still think it's worthless?"
This statement immediately silenced the mocking laughter. If it could be used to set up teleportation arrays, then its significance would be entirely different. The mainstream material for setting up teleportation arrays on the Tai Yuan Continent was Xuan Kong Crystal, an eighth-tier spiritual ore capable of withstanding immense spatial pressure and tearing, opening spatial passages, and achieving teleportation. However, Xuan Kong Crystal was scarce, leading to numerous tutorials on setting up teleportation arrays. Even sects of moderate scale had methods for establishing them, yet teleportation arrays remained exceedingly rare. If this piece of cyan stone could truly replace Xuan Kong Crystal, it would mean the possibility of setting up a teleportation array.
"Heh, so you all realize its value now. .oγg Now, the starting bid for the sixth-tier [Void Stone] is ten million spirit stones, with a minimum increment of one million spirit stones!"
"..."
This price was too high. Even though this piece of cyan stone could substitute for Xuan Kong Crystal in setting up a teleportation array, its inherent brittleness would significantly shorten the lifespan of the teleportation array and make it prone to damage. No matter how good or large the Void Stone, it could not compare to Xuan Kong Crystal.
"Eleven million. VIP number six of the Xuan character class bids eleven million. This is a discerning fellow cultivator. Are there any higher bids? The quality of such a large Void Stone is considerably stronger than smaller pieces. With proper protection, a teleportation array can be used for an extended period."
Just as the old auctioneer was growing embarrassed and about to announce a change of auction item, Yang Hong bid. Seeing the Void Stone, he thought of how it could be absorbed by the scale space on his hand, further expanding its area.
The old auctioneer was truly embarrassed. Despite his elaborate sales pitch, no one continued to bid. After calling out for three minutes without any further offers, he gritted his teeth and announced, "Perhaps you are unaware, but this Void Stone comes with a bonus: a seed of the Azure Sky Willow tree."
With a wave of his hand, six emerald-like seeds, the size of a thumb, appeared in his palm.
"Twenty million!"
"Thirty million!"
"Fifty million..."
Without the old auctioneer needing to explain, the venue erupted in excitement, and even cultivators in the Heaven-tier private rooms joined the bidding! The Azure Sky Willow was a seventh-grade spiritual plant, an exceedingly rare plant with spatial attributes, and a top-tier material for constructing flying artifacts such as Sky-Walking Pavilions and Void Breaker Shuttles. Flying artifacts crafted from Azure Sky Willow were not only fast but could also expand the space within the flying ship, making it an invaluable treasure! In just two minutes, the price soared to 200 million spirit stones, and only then did the bidding finally cease.
The old auctioneer secretly rejoiced, having narrowly averted disaster. Although he would likely face a reprimand from the sect leader later, at least he had managed to secure a successful opening.
"I believe everyone knows that the Azure Sky Willow grows faster when planted in spirit stones with spatial attributes. What if the Azure Sky Willow were planted on Void Stone? Wouldn't it grow even faster? Don't you cultivators wish to try?"
"Three hundred million spirit stones!"
Just as the auctioneer was enthusiastically promoting the item again, Yang Hong, who had withdrawn from the bidding earlier, re-entered the fray. This surprised not only the VIPs in the private rooms but also the old auctioneer.
"Three hundred and ten million."
Before the auctioneer could call for another bid, someone else offered a price, which caused Yang Hong to frown. He had intended to scare away other competitors with a high price, never expecting anyone to compete with him.
"Three hundred and eleven million."
"Three hundred and twenty million!"
"Three hundred and twenty-one million."
Yang Hong had no idea who the cultivator in the Heaven-tier number six private room was. He simply increased his bid by one million each time, pursuing the other bidder.
"Four hundred million!"
The other party seemed determined to acquire it, continuously raising the bid. While the auctioneer was momentarily stunned, a piece of Void Stone combined with six Azure Sky Willow seeds had quadrupled its market price and was still not stopping. Yang Hong began to suspect that the other party might be a shill, or perhaps even the original owner of the six seeds, given their relentless bidding. The current price had clearly surpassed the normal auction value.
"Could it be that they too have discovered some special connection between these seeds, or can they see the flow of luck?"
With such questions in mind, Yang Hong bid again: Five hundred million!
Whoosh!
All the cultivators in the auction hall were in an uproar. They had no idea that Azure Sky Willow could be this valuable!
"Six hundred million!"
Hiss!
Everyone took a sharp intake of breath. This was too insane! All eyes turned to the Xuan character number six private room where Yang Hong was located, wondering if he dared to bid again.