Upon hearing Xu Zimo's words, Lin Feng turned his head and gave a cold, icy stare.
He then said calmly, “After this auction is over, elders from Grand Heaven Mountain will escort us away. Are we still supposed to be afraid of that Monk Kuwu?”
“What can you do now anyway? If I’d known, my father should have let me handle the auction,” Xu Zimo shook his head and said.
“You have a plan?” Lin Feng asked urgently.
“First tell me, why is your father bidding for the Heavenly Lotus Flower?” Xu Zimo asked.
Lin Feng looked around, then finally stepped up to Xu Zimo and whispered, “It seems to be for healing an elder from our Grand Heaven Mountain. I don’t know the rest.”
Xu Zimo nodded, looked toward the first floor, and said loudly, “Monk Kuwu, our Grand Heaven Mountain’s secret techniques definitely won’t be shown to you. But I’ve studied the Six Cuts of Ghost Zen. If you want that, I can tell you.”
“Why should I believe you?” Monk Kuwu replied.
“You have no choice but to believe me. Otherwise, you’ll never find the Six Cuts of Ghost Zen anywhere else in this world,” Xu Zimo said.
“Fine, I’ll trust you this once. If you lie to me, I’ll hunt you down to the ends of the earth. I’ve got no ties, and I’m not afraid of your Nine Heavens Imperial Sect,” Monk Kuwu declared bluntly.
Xu Zimo nodded slightly, then turned to Lin Feng and said, “Place the bid.”
“You really learned the Six Cuts of Ghost Zen?” Lin Feng asked with a frown.
“You’re auctioning your item. Don’t ask about things you shouldn’t,” Xu Zimo said coolly.
“Six million,” Lin Feng called out directly.
He was putting up five million himself, and Monk Kuwu would cover the remaining one million.
Hearing that price, no one else in the audience competed. The red-robed elder brought down the gavel to finalize the deal.
Not long after, the Heavenly Lotus Flower was brought forth.
It was placed inside a box to prevent the flower’s Buddhist essence from being depleted.
Lin Feng paid the six million spirit crystals, intending to later collect the extra million from Monk Kuwu.
……
The auction continued to heat up.
Finally, when only the last three items remained, the entire venue fell silent.
Everyone knew these were the three highlight items of the event, meant for the powerhouses to vie over. The rest were just spectators now.
“The items we’re about to auction are the grand finale of this auction. I believe everyone already knows this,” the red-robed elder said with a smile.
“But I’ll still give a brief introduction.”
With a wave of his right hand, a high platform slowly rose from the ground.
On top of the platform was a transparent dome.
Inside it was a heart, pounding rhythmically with a thump, thump, thump. The heart was golden-red in color, emanating bursts of lightning and flame.
Even with the transparent cover shielding it, the power it radiated was enough to shake everyone present.
“The Heart of Thunderflame, a creation of heaven and earth. Only one of these appears every thousand years,” the red-robed elder said, smiling.
“If you want to obtain this Heart of Thunderflame, I won’t bother telling you how perilous and grueling the journey is. To reach the Sky’s Edge is a near-death endeavor. The starting bid is ten million spirit crystals, and each raise must be no less than one million.”
As soon as the elder finished speaking, someone on the second floor called out, “Twenty million.”
“Who’s that? So filthy rich?” someone muttered and turned to look.
It was the room belonging to the Mountain River Imperial Sect.
“In recent years, the Mountain River Imperial Sect has been rising fast, seemingly poised to lead the Five Great Imperial Sects.”
“No kidding. Give them a little more time, and they might even become an Empyrean Sect.”
“Thirty million spirit crystals,” called out Yan Song from the Jade Heaven Mountain’s room.
“Why is Jade Heaven Mountain competing with us?” a voice from the Mountain River Imperial Sect side, Chu Cichao, said loudly and casually.
“Forty million spirit crystals,” Chu Shanhe called out calmly.
“Fifty million,” another voice from a different room on the second floor immediately followed.
“It’s Old Man Withered Tree,” someone whispered.
“What does he want the Heart of Thunderflame for? That thunder and fire within it is practically his nemesis. He can’t even use it.”
“Who knows? He probably has his own plans.”
“Sixty million,” came a bid from yet another room, this time from the World Sovereign Empyrean Sect.
The World Sovereign Empyrean Sect had kept a low profile during this trip to Bright Flame City. No one even knew who their leader was.
“One hundred million spirit crystals,” came a bold shout from the Mountain River Imperial Sect, trying to cap the bidding.
“One hundred million spirit crystals and one hundred divine crystals,” Old Man Withered Tree said calmly.
“Divine crystals? Is he crazy?” someone below exclaimed.
Everyone knew spirit crystals were the most commonly used currency on the Eternal Lands.
Most transactions used spirit crystals.
But above spirit crystals, there were even rarer and more precious crystals, such as divine crystals and demon crystals.
On the God-Demon Battlefield in the Eternal Lands, many spirit crystals absorbed divine or infernal energy over time, gradually transforming into divine or demon crystals.
These two types of crystals were among the most valuable in the entire Eternal Lands.
Since Old Man Withered Tree had bid using divine crystals, any further bids would also need to use divine or demon crystals. No amount of spirit crystals could match the value.
“Two hundred divine crystals,” came a bid from the World Sovereign Empyrean Sect.
“One thousand demon crystals,” shouted the Mountain River Imperial Sect.
“This really is a clash of titans. We’ll probably never even see this many divine crystals in our lifetime,” someone in the crowd sighed.
“One thousand one hundred divine crystals,” Old Man Withered Tree coughed and continued, “If you outbid me, I’ll withdraw.”
Inside the Mountain River Imperial Sect’s room, Chu Shanhe frowned slightly and turned to an elder beside him. “This price is already beyond our budget.”
“That old bastard Withered Tree, could he be a plant sent to drive up the price?” Chu Cichao said carelessly.
“But at this point, backing out would feel a bit bitter,” the elder replied.
“Princess, the decision is yours. After all, the Heart of Thunderflame is a once-in-a-lifetime chance.”
“Three thousand one hundred demon crystals,” Chu Shanhe slammed the table and shouted.
With a final gavel strike from the red-robed elder, the auction platform revealed the second grand finale item.
“Several thousand years ago, the Eastern Region saw the rise of a legendary sage called the Grand Empyrean Heaven-Unity. I’m sure everyone’s heard the name.”
The red-robed elder introduced with a smile, “Today’s auction item is something left behind by Grand Empyrean Heaven-Unity.”
He removed the dome from the platform, revealing a stone inside.