At the same time, on the other side of the auction site, Xu Banxian was instigating a young man sitting next to him.
"Young Master He, it's time for you to make your move. This jade ruyi is the magical artifact I told you about!"
The young man took a sip of tea, raised an eyebrow, and asked, "Master Xu, is this jade ruyi really as powerful as you say? My grandfather's birthday is in half a month. If I want to outshine others at this birthday banquet, this gift is crucial!"
"Of course!"
Xu Banxian stated with certainty, "Young Master He, as long as you present this jade ruyi to Elder He at the birthday banquet, no other descendant of the He family will be able to compare with you."
"Well, Master Xu, I believe you. Don't disappoint me!"
The young man, addressed as Young Master He by Xu Banxian, nodded and then slowly spoke, stating indifferently, "I bid three hundred million!"
Three hundred million!
This figure instantly stunned the entire venue.
Previously, people were bidding in increments of millions, but Young Master He directly increased the price by over a hundred million from the original bid!
That was over a hundred million, not one million, not ten million, but over a hundred million.
The mere fraction of this amount was a sum that most ordinary people in the world could never earn in their lifetime.
For a moment, all eyes turned in their direction.
"So it's the eldest young master of the He family, He Xinwu. That explains it!"
"The He family is immensely wealthy; three hundred million is just pocket change!"
"As far as I know, Young Master He is just an ordinary person, not a cultivator. Why is he joining in the fun..."
The crowd was in an uproar. Chen Xiao also cast his gaze towards He Xinwu.
He saw a young man around thirty years old, dressed in trendy attire that was clearly expensive.
At this moment, he was lounging on the sofa with his legs crossed, with Xu Banxian beside him and two beautiful women attending to him.
"He's also a member of the He family?"
Chen Xiao asked Hua Ge.
Hua Ge quickly nodded, "Young man, don't you recognize him? He's He Xinyi's brother, though not from the same branch... Old Master He has several concubines, and I can't quite recall which branch he belongs to!"
Chen Xiao narrowed his eyes as he looked at He Xinwu. It seemed fate had brought him exactly who he needed, without him even searching.
Now that He Xinwu had bid three hundred million, he could simply ask him for information about He Xinyi's whereabouts!
After He Xinwu announced the high bid of three hundred million, the auction site fell into a standstill.
His opponents who had intended to bid for the jade ruyi all hesitated.
Setting aside whether this magical artifact was truly worth three hundred million, even if it were, they were uncertain if they could compete with He Xinwu.
After all, the He family was incredibly wealthy and could easily produce hundreds of millions.
These master cultivators were certainly not short of money, but precisely because they were not short of money, they never considered money to be of great importance.
This resulted in them being unable to produce large sums of money immediately when needed.
Of course, if they were given time to prepare, they could raise hundreds of millions, billions, or even tens of billions without issue.
However, the problem was that the auction would not grant them that time.
"Three hundred million for the first time!"
"Three hundred million for the second time!"
"Three hundred million for the thir..."
Just as everyone thought the matter was settled and the auctioneer was about to bring down the hammer.
A calm voice suddenly rang out.
"Five hundred million."
Instantly, the entire venue fell into silence.
All eyes converged, and they saw a young man in ordinary clothing calmly raising his hand.
"Where did this kid come from? Five hundred million, what a huge bid!"
"There's no spiritual energy fluctuation from him. It seems he's another ordinary person."
"His accent suggests he's from the mainland. I wonder whose son he is?"
The crowd murmured, their suspicious gazes sweeping over Chen Xiao.
Hua Ge was dumbfounded. He had been wondering who this fool was to bid five hundred million for this broken jade.
Only then did he realize that the person bidding was Chen Xiao.
He stared at Chen Xiao incredulously, unable to speak.
Xu Banxian also looked over. His gaze was malicious, and his mind was filled with suspicion.
"Could it be that old geezer surnamed Huang is trying to oppose me?"
He assumed Chen Xiao, like He Xinwu, was bidding because he was being instigated by Old Huang.
He Xinwu frowned, "A kid from the mainland? Heh heh..."
Then, he casually called out, "Seven hundred million!"
He was determined to acquire this magical artifact, as it was related to his future status within the He family.
You can't catch a wolf without sacrificing your cubs. He was determined to win this jade ruyi today, even if it meant using all his savings!
"Nine hundred million!"
Unexpectedly, as soon as He Xinwu finished speaking, Chen Xiao's bid followed closely.
He Xinwu's eyes widened, and he gasped for air.
Even the auctioneer on stage wore an expression of disbelief.
As a seasoned auctioneer, this was not his first time auctioning magical artifacts.
Therefore, he knew that this jade ruyi was not worth this price at all.
Let alone nine hundred million, even three hundred million was already an inflated price, exceeding its intrinsic value.
Nine hundred million was purely the price for a fool, either someone with too much money to spend or someone deliberately causing trouble.
He Xinwu's expression fluctuated. Nine hundred million was far beyond his capabilities.
Although he was the eldest young master of the He family, his actual liquid assets were not that substantial. Even the seven hundred million he had just bid required him to borrow from various sources to gather.
His family was rich, but that money wasn't his, and he couldn't use it as he pleased.
Seeing that Young Master He was no longer bidding, Xu Banxian urged, "Young Master He, hurry up and bid!"
He Xinwu glanced at Xu Banxian and scoffed, "Master Xu, I've never heard of any magical artifact being worth nine hundred million. Since this kid from the mainland wants to play the fool, let him be!"
As the eldest young master of the He family, he naturally wouldn't admit that he couldn't afford it.
"You!"
Xu Banxian glared fiercely at He Xinwu, "Young Master He, haven't you understood what I said earlier? This is not about money! The value of this magical artifact cannot be measured by money at all!"
He Xinwu frowned, "Master Xu, what do you mean by that? Could it be that the magical artifact has some other extraordinary abilities?"
Xu Banxian hesitated, then finally waved his hand impatiently, "Forget it... I can't be bothered to explain it to you."
Meanwhile, the auctioneer had already brought down the hammer three times, and the jade ruyi was successfully acquired by Chen Xiao.
Chen Xiao finally realized the benefits of having money at this moment. However, even without money, he was determined to obtain this jade ruyi. If anyone else had bought it, he would have simply snatched it!
Watching Chen Xiao idly playing with the jade ruyi in his hand, a malicious glint appeared in Xu Banxian's eyes.
It was evident that he and Chen Xiao were thinking along the same lines!