After the woman called out thirty green spirit stones, the crowd collectively gasped, surely only a family like the Cao clan could afford such a price?
“Rumour has it that Cao Xueqing, the Cao clan’s second-ranked prodigy, possesses a Three-Vein Yin Body. It seems the rumour is true, otherwise, the Cao clan would never spend such a fortune to bid on the Extreme Cold Yin Fruit.”
“If Cao Xueqing truly has a Three-Vein Yin Body, this Extreme Cold Yin Fruit will bring her immense benefits, potentially making her the Cao clan’s top genius, even surpassing all prodigies of the other two great families. Thirty green spirit stones are absolutely worth it.” …
The crowd’s astonished murmurs reached Lin Xiao’s ears, causing his brows to furrow immediately.
The Cao clan’s second-ranked prodigy, Cao Xueqing, had a Three-Vein Yin Body?
That was an extraordinarily terrifying physique. Back when the Heaven-Devouring Spirit Emperor was a junior eighth-grade Spirit Controller, he encountered a fully matured Three-Vein Yin Body cultivator who had reached the peak Martial Emperor realm. Their combat power was terrifying, comparable to a low-tier Martial Saint, and it took the Spirit Emperor’s heaven-defying methods to suppress them.
To think the Cao clan had a prodigy with such a fearsome physique.
In that case, the Cao clan would surely spare no expense to secure the Extreme Cold Yin Fruit.
This meant that if Lin Xiao wanted to obtain it, he would have to pay an enormous price.
Of course, someone was even more anxious than Lin Xiao. Barely moments after Cao Xueqing’s bid, an old man’s voice came from the No. 3 private room, “Thirty-five green spirit stones!”
Lin Xiao was slightly taken aback, it seemed the other two great families were very unwilling to let the Extreme Cold Yin Fruit fall into the Cao clan’s hands.
“That old fox Xu Yi!” In the No. 1 private room, Cao Ting angrily slammed the table, saying in a low voice, “Add five more, let’s see how much they can keep up!”
“Yes!” Cao Xueqing nodded beside him, her eyes flashing with a cold glint, then she called out, “Forty green spirit stones!”
The crowd was shocked again, in just two bids, the price of the Extreme Cold Yin Fruit had risen by ten green spirit stones.
After a brief pause, the old man’s voice from the No. 3 private room rang out again, “Forty-five green spirit stones.”
“Hiss!”
The scene fell silent once more, adding five green spirit stones at a time, how ruthless was that?
Cao Ting’s face turned the colour of liver, originally, they could have secured it for thirty green spirit stones, but with Xu Yi’s interference, the price had been forcibly raised by half.
“Fifty green spirit stones!” At this moment, Cao Ting himself called out, his tone thick with gloom.
Everyone present could sense the anger in Cao Ting’s voice.
When the price reached fifty green spirit stones, even the No. 3 private room fell silent.
Even for a great family like the Xu clan, fifty green spirit stones was a significant sum to consider.
Moreover, the fruit wasn’t of much use to them, unlike the Cao clan, who had a compelling reason to pay such a price.
Another key reason was that they were all here to bid on the Dragon Saliva Heavenly Pill. Spending too many spirit stones before that auction would leave them unable to compete later.
Sure enough, after a long wait, the No. 3 private room remained silent, clearly giving up.
“Ahem!” At this point, Shi Jindou scanned the private rooms and asked, “The natural sixth-grade pill, the Extreme Cold Yin Fruit, at fifty green spirit stones, any further bids?”
While asking, Shi Jindou deliberately emphasised “natural sixth-grade pill” before the fruit’s name.
“That cunning merchant!” In the No. 1 private room, Cao Ting frowned, inwardly fuming. Mentioning the natural sixth-grade pill now was clearly a ploy to remind Xu Yi and drive the price higher.
However, he didn’t believe Xu Yi would ignore the Dragon Saliva Heavenly Pill auction, even if he understood the fruit’s value.
For the Cao clan, if forced to choose, it was better to have a fifth-stage Martial Monarch break through to the seventh stage than to wait for a genius like Cao Xueqing to mature.
“Fifty-five green spirit stones,” came an old man’s voice from the No. 4 private room, which had been silent until now.
“Lu Yu!” Recognising the voice, Cao Ting identified the speaker as none other than Lu Yu, a seventh-stage Martial Monarch of the Lu clan.
Unexpectedly, the Lu clan was also stepping in.
Shi Jindou was slightly surprised, chuckling inwardly, it seemed the Lu clan also didn’t want the Cao clan to acquire the Extreme Cold Yin Fruit so easily.
“Fifty-six green spirit stones, that’s my final price, take it if you want it!” Cao Ting declared directly.
His meaning was clear, if the other two families wanted to keep raising the price, they’d better be prepared to win it, as the Cao clan would not bid beyond fifty-six.
Hearing this, Cao Xueqing’s brows furrowed deeply, her eyes flashing with cold killing intent, “The Xu and Lu clans, if you stop me from getting the Extreme Cold Yin Fruit, I’ll make both your families pay a heavy price in the Primordial Spirit Pool Secret Realm!”
The hall fell silent, no one daring to speak, as they could sense the thick tension between the three great families.
They also knew that with Cao Ting’s words, the Xu and Lu clans would have to think carefully before raising the bid further.
After a long silence, a chuckle came from the No. 4 private room, “Heh, Elder Cao, you win.”
Cao Ting’s face darkened, this was no victory, the two families had won, forcing them to spend an extra twenty-six green spirit stones for nothing.
Hearing the opponent’s words, Cao Xueqing quietly sighed in relief. For her, no Dragon Saliva Heavenly Pill could compare to the importance of the Extreme Cold Yin Fruit.
But she couldn’t sway the clan’s decisions.
“Then, I must thank Elder Lu for conceding,” Cao Ting responded, his voice dripping with gloom.
“Heh!” Shi Jindou on the stage chuckled, the price of fifty-six green spirit stones significantly increased their commission.
“Since there are no further bids, the Extreme Cold Yin Fruit goes to…”
Before Shi Jindou could finish, a young man’s voice rang out from the No. 1 private room, “Fifty-seven green spirit stones.”
The scene froze instantly, the No. 1 private room hadn’t bid in a while. They’d almost forgotten the wealthy figure inside.
As the words rang out, gasps echoed through the hall, everyone imagining how furious the Cao clan must be.
The Cao clan had declared they’d stop at fifty-six green spirit stones, the Lu clan had backed off, and the Xu clan stayed silent, yet now, the youth from the No. 1 private room had emerged, raising the bid by just one green spirit stone.
Though no cold aura emanated from the No. 2 private room, the crowd felt a chill in the air.
