Ye Qiu and the others arrived on the third floor, and upon looking around, saw that the private boxes were filled with people, with only a scant few seats still empty.
They found a seat and sat down.
Compared to the second floor, the boxes on the third floor were not only smaller, but also lacked any pastries, with only a pot of clear tea, exceedingly simple.
“The Yin Yang Sect is so arrogant; I reckon they will be wiped out sooner or later.” The long-browed immortal said huffily.
“Shh!” Lin Da Niao made a shushing gesture with his finger and cautioned, “Daoist, you must never say such words again; if the people from the Yin Yang Sect hear it, we are done for.”
“There is no helping it; who made the Yin Yang Sect a top sect in the Eastern Wastelands, and this is their territory to boot; we had best be careful.”
“Still, Saintess You Rong is truly beautiful!”
Lin Da Niao glanced towards the Yin Yang Sect’s box on the second floor and whispered, “If I could sleep with Saintess You Rong, I would gladly shorten my lifespan by ten years.”
Ye Qiu asked curiously, “Do you know her?”
“Of course I do.” Lin Da Niao said, “Several years ago, Saintess You Rong brought a spirit beast to my father for treatment; I saw her from afar once.”
“Her real name is Xu You Rong, and she ranks tenth on the Heavenly Immortal List.”
“I will tell you a secret; rumour has it that Xu You Rong is not only the saintess of the Yin Yang Sect, but also the illegitimate daughter of the current sect master, Wuji Tianzun.”
Oh?
Ye Qiu felt somewhat surprised.
Lin Da Niao said, “If only I could marry Saintess You Rong; then I would become the son-in-law of Wuji Tianzun, and henceforth walk sideways in the cultivation world.”
The long-browed immortal glanced at Lin Da Niao’s rotund body and said, “Are you not already walking sideways now?”
“Daoist, what do you mean? Discriminating against the fat?” Lin Da Niao said with a bitter face, “I do not want to be this fat either, but I have tried every method, yet cannot lose weight; it vexes me to death.”
The long-browed immortal laughed heartily and said, “Oh right, Da Niao, what is that jade token of yours? Let me have a look.”
Lin Da Niao took out the jade token and handed it to the long-browed immortal, saying, “This is the symbol of our Lin family’s identity.”
The long-browed immortal took it and looked; his expression turned peculiar, and he said, “You little brat, take a look.”
Ye Qiu leaned over and saw that carved on the jade token was a person and a spirit beast; the person held a curved little knife and was castrating the spirit beast.
Beside the pattern was also a “Lin” character.
Ye Qiu could not help but chuckle wryly and said, “Da Niao, I never expected your jade token to be carved in such an original way; most interesting.”
“I think it is rather interesting too.” Lin Da Niao grinned and put away the jade token.
At that moment, an elder appeared on the auction platform on the first floor.
“It is about to begin!” Lin Da Niao said.
Ye Qiu looked down and saw that the elder wore a black robe, with a small goatee on his chin, and his two eyes sparkled brightly, giving the air of a shrewd fellow.
“Please be quiet, everyone!” The elder said loudly, his voice like a spring breeze turning into rain, spreading to every corner, causing people to quieten involuntarily.
Ye Qiu’s heart tightened inwardly, thinking, “This old man is an expert.”
The elder stood on the platform, cupped his hands, and said, “Allow me to introduce myself; this old man is Gongsun Yang.”
“Eh, he is Gongsun Yang?” A look of surprise appeared on Lin Da Niao’s face.
“Do you know him?” Ye Qiu asked.
“I do not know him, but I have heard of his name.” Lin Da Niao said, “Rong Bao Pavilion has five stewards, each responsible for the auction business in the Eastern Wastelands, Southern Ridge, Western Desert, Northern Domain, and Central Continent.”
“The Eastern Wastelands are under Gongsun Yang’s charge; he is a powerhouse at the peak of the Tongshen realm.”
“However, for an auction of this small scale, Gongsun Yang would not usually appear; unexpectedly, he is personally hosting today; it seems there are good items.”
At this time, Gongsun Yang cupped his hands on the platform and said, “Welcome everyone for coming to support; this old man thanks you all.”
“The rules of Rong Bao Pavilion are doubtless clear to all; for every auction item, it goes to the highest bidder.”
“Since you gentlemen are all here for treasures, this old man shall not waste time; let us begin now.”
Gongsun Yang finished speaking, took out a porcelain bottle, and said, “Inside this is a Spirit Gathering Pill, without rank, but upon consumption by the user, it allows triple absorption of heaven and earth spiritual energy within half a shichen.”
“Starting bid, one thousand spirit stones; each increment no less than five hundred spirit stones.”
“Please bid!”
After Gongsun Yang spoke, bids came successively from the boxes.
“One thousand five hundred!”
“Two thousand!”
“Three thousand!”
“Three thousand five hundred!”
“Five thousand!”
“…”
In the end, the Spirit Gathering Pill sold for ten thousand spirit stones.
Ye Qiu inwardly clicked his tongue in wonder; he never expected a rankless Spirit Gathering Pill to fetch ten thousand spirit stones.
“It seems there are many rich people in the cultivation world!”
Immediately after, the second item began.
This time, ten stalks of ten-thousand-year spirit herbs appeared on the platform.
Gongsun Yang said, “Ten stalks of ten-thousand-year spirit herbs, base price ten thousand spirit stones, each increment no less than one thousand spirit stones; please bid, gentlemen.”
However, this time, the scene was deathly quiet, with no one bidding.
Evidently, the ten-thousand-year spirit herbs did not attract interest.
“What, are you gentlemen not interested in spirit herbs?”
Gongsun Yang then took out another porcelain bottle from his sleeve, smiling as he said, “One hundred thousand spirit stones plus one low-grade yellow-tier spirit pill; starting bid ten thousand spirit stones; gentlemen, opportunities like this do not come twice; grasp it well!”
In an instant, the crowd vied to bid.
“Ten thousand five hundred!”
“Thirty thousand!”
“Fifty thousand!”
“Seventy thousand!”
“Eighty thousand!”
“One hundred thousand!”
In mere seconds, the bid reached one hundred thousand spirit stones, with no sign of stopping.
Seeing this scene, Ye Qiu thought to himself, “Even a low-grade yellow-tier spirit pill is so valuable; if I could become a yellow-tier alchemist, would I not make a fortune?”
“It seems I must hasten my efforts to become an alchemist.”
Bidding continued around them.
“One hundred and twenty thousand!”
“One hundred and fifty thousand!”
“Two hundred thousand!”
“Two hundred and fifty thousand!”
“Three hundred thousand…”
In the end, the second auction item sold for three hundred and fifty thousand spirit stones.
“This auction is boring; let us leave!” The long-browed immortal said, “I smell a stench.”
Lin Da Niao sniffed with his nose and asked, “Why do I not smell it; what stench?”
The long-browed immortal looked utterly depressed: “The stench of money!”
Lin Da Niao laughed and said smilingly, “Daoist, Brother Chang Sheng, if you fancy anything later, tell me; I will bid it and give it to you.”
“That is loyal! Da Niao, you are a brother for life!” The long-browed immortal finished speaking and stared eagerly at the platform.
Thereafter, more than a dozen items were auctioned, all selling at sky-high prices.
At this moment, a servant carried a tray onto the platform, covered with a piece of red cloth.
“The next item up for auction has a starting bid of one hundred thousand spirit stones, with increments no less than fifty thousand spirit stones.”
Gongsun Yang finished speaking and lifted the red cloth, revealing at once a verdant little grass on the tray.
“What is this thing?”
“Why is the starting bid so high?”
“Could it be a divine herb?”
Whispers arose around them.
Gongsun Yang said, “This grass is not a divine herb; it is merely an ordinary grass, but this grass is not ordinary either.”
“Gentlemen, please look.”
Gongsun Yang extended his finger and gently tapped; at once, the little grass emitted a shrill sword cry, and a peerless sharpness burst forth.
