Though speaking of the starting bid held little meaning.
Even one million lower-grade spirit stones was no small sum. In the hall, those truly qualified to compete were few.
“Five million!”
Perhaps finding it too tedious, Feng Ming Bo, seated below the stage, raised it straight from one million to five million.
That was the way of the wealthy. They treated money as if it were nothing.
Many who had readied bids shut their mouths. In their hearts, they cursed Feng Ming Bo to drop dead at once.
“Six million!”
Feng Qingyan said flatly.
He had come to the auction house this time for precisely this Golden Crow Sword. After all, the strong loved to solve riddles. This Golden Crow Sword, a mere immortal-grade treasured artefact, could not be used by anyone. It left him, a Yin-Yang Realm expert, somewhat baffled.
For that very reason, he had made a special trip here. He meant to take it back for close study. Who knew what insights he might gain?
“Seven million!”
The bidder remained Feng Ming Wan Chong.
“Feng Ming Wan Chong, are you a child? Whatever I want, you must have too?”
Feng Qingyan smiled and asked.
“If you desire something, I will deny it to you. See what you can do about it?”
“Then I want it no longer!”
Feng Qingyan sought the Golden Crow Sword only for study and play. It held little practical value.
He had no wish to lose too much money over this Feng Ming Wan Chong in the end.
With the two of them out of the bidding, the scene grew abruptly quiet. Yun Ya had not foreseen this.
After all, if the Golden Crow Sword could not be used, to many it was little better than scrap. Martial artists were not all fools.
It had already reached seven million lower-grade spirit stones. Who would take such a loss?
“Seven million one hundred thousand lower-grade spirit stones!”
Just as Yun Ya thought the treasured sword might go unsold, a voice rang out.
She turned to look. It was Feng Yanran.
“You mad girl, did you not have only five million lower-grade spirit stones? How now do you have funds to bid on this?”
Feng Qingyan glanced at Feng Yanran in puzzlement too. He asked, somewhat uncomprehending.
“Not me!”
Feng Yanran shook her head but found it hard to explain.
She had not meant to bid on this thing just now. Yet she heard Ling Xiao send her a sound transmission in secret, asking her to help take it.
Since it cost her nothing, she naturally did not mind.
Ling Xiao could not bid in person.
After all, he now played the role of the ghost-masked gentleman. If he took the treasured sword and it later appeared before the crowd.
Any fool would know the ghost mask linked to Ling Xiao.
“Seven million one hundred thousand lower-grade spirit stones. Does anyone else wish to raise?”
Yun Ya looked about the hall. The result left her somewhat helpless.
No one wished to contend further with Feng Yanran for this immortal-grade treasured artefact.
Immortal-grade treasured artefacts appealed mainly to Heavenly Human Realm martial artists who valued them. At Cave Heaven Realm cultivation, one sought divine-grade treasured artefacts.
Though the Golden Crow Sword could evolve on its own, who had the spare time to hunt the Twelve Sacred Flames? Even with the time, success was far from certain.
This thing was merely a pretty-sounding swindle.
“Very well then. Congratulations to Miss Feng Yanran on successfully taking the Golden Crow Sword!”
Yun Ya announced the result with some reluctance.
Seeing this, Ling Xiao breathed a quiet sigh of relief.
The price for the Golden Crow Sword was not high. One might even say it was far too low.
At least for him, it was.
For this sword was not so simple as it seemed on the surface. What Yun Ya had said was far from complete.
Though Ling Xiao had not yet fathomed the Golden Crow Sword fully, once he had it in hand and returned to study it closely, all would become clear.
Feng Yanran took the Golden Crow Sword and followed Feng Qingyan back first to the Clear Void Academy.
Of course, the seven million one hundred thousand lower-grade spirit stones for the Golden Crow Sword went on account.
Ordinary folk dared not run tabs here. Yun Ya would not extend credit either. From this, one could see that Yun Ya’s ties to that Heir Feng Yin Shan were no ordinary matter.
Ling Xiao left the VIP lounge and headed into the appraisal pavilion. He meant to reclaim his funds, then buy medicinal ingredients, refine the Heavenly Spirit Divine Pills, and return for closed-door cultivation.
He waited only a moment in the appraisal pavilion when Yun Ya returned with a beaming smile.
“Senior, here are twenty million lower-grade spirit stones. Please take them.”
Yun Ya handed her own storage ring straight to Ling Xiao.
“Your auction house is most generous. No commission then?”
Ling Xiao asked curiously.
“This time the commission is waived. Also, please take this red jade waist token, senior. Our Heavenly Dragon Auction House has branches not only on the Divine Phoenix Continent but on Five Immortals Island, White Tiger Continent, and even other continents. One might say it spans the entire Profound Realm. With this red jade waist token, when you auction items at our Heavenly Dragon Auction House, the commission drops from ten percent to one percent!
Moreover, if you mean to bid on things, we shall treat you as a martial artist in the reckoning.”
Yun Ya said with a smile.
“Will this not cost you too dearly?”
Though Ling Xiao was most pleased in his heart, he knew too that this red jade waist token was no easy prize.
“Senior need not suspect. The reason I give you this token is simply that I hope you will favour our business more in future. If you have newly refined pills, bring them to our Heavenly Dragon Auction House for sale. That is all.”
Yun Ya said with a smile.
“That will do then.”
Ling Xiao took the red jade waist token casually and stowed it in his storage ring.
Such benefits were not to be spurned.
The other’s demands were modest in any case.
In future, to earn money, he would likely still auction pills. The partnership with the Heavenly Dragon Auction House could endure.
This Yun Ya was a woman more profound than he had imagined.
At first, Ling Xiao had seen her as a princess of the Holy Dynasty with strong independence.
Later, encountering her here, he reckoned her a deft hand at intrigue.
Only just now, hearing Yun Ya say the Heavenly Dragon Auction House had branches across the entire Profound Realm, did he suddenly understand.
This Yun Ya was likely far from simple on the surface.
Was this woman’s status merely that of a princess of the Holy Dynasty?
What sort of expert was she truly?
At this thought, he gave Yun Ya several more glances. Yet even the analytical power of his Mountains and Rivers Martial Soul could not pierce her.
“Take these seven million one hundred thousand lower-grade spirit stones. It is the payment for the Golden Crow Sword.”
Since he could not see through her, Ling Xiao saw no point in guessing. In any case, he now stood in partnership with this woman, not enmity. No need to complicate matters.
“So that is it. Then Miss Feng Yanran bid on the Golden Crow Sword for the senior?”
Yun Ya saw the light.
“You are wrong. It is a gift from me to Ling Xiao. I hope you will not leak this affair. Otherwise, our partnership ends.”
Ling Xiao said flatly.
“Senior, rest assured. I absolutely shall not.”
Yun Ya could sense that the ghost-masked man trusted her more now. Otherwise, he would not have told her this.
Thus she must repay that trust. She dared not break the agreement.
