16. The Spirit Phoenix Broom
But her primary goal was to find Yan Chuyue, who had secretly come here from the Yan Estate.
Seeing that Qiu Shui seemed to have put aside her worries for the time being, discussing the pastries with Chun Lian, Gong Yiling walked to the window and looked through the thin gauze at the room opposite theirs.
According to the book, Yan Chuyue was in the eastern VIP room.
However, Yan Chuyue was no longer the helpless young lady she once was. Her new soul brought decisiveness, intelligence, and courage.
Getting close to her and asking for help with her condition wouldn’t be easy.
The first step was to attract her attention…
“Distinguished nobles, esteemed families, and reclusive sects, welcome to the Yaoshan Auction House.”
Just as Gong Yiling was pondering this, a voice finally came from below.
The auction house was a circular building like a colosseum, with a central stage, rows of ordinary seats surrounding it, and three levels of VIP rooms above.
An elegantly dressed woman on the central stage opened the auction.
“As you all know, this auction features some rare items.” The woman smiled. “And this time, we’ll be auctioning the items in a different order. The first item we’ll present is one that was originally intended for the finale.”
“A mid-grade, supreme quality pill, the Qi Condensation Pill.”
The woman opened the ink box in her hand, revealing a jade-like pill.
Surrounded by a seven-colored cloud of pill energy, the pill faintly emitted a golden glow.
Supreme quality was truly dazzling, even making a pill look like a precious gem.
Gong Yiling glanced at the projected image that appeared on the south wall, momentarily captivated by the pill’s brilliance.
“This Qi Condensation Pill can increase the success rate of cultivators advancing from Core Formation to Core Transformation. Even a top-grade pill can increase the rate by thirty percent, while a supreme quality pill can increase it by fifty percent.”
“Moreover, the supreme quality Qi Condensation Pill also has remarkable effects on Core Transformation cultivators, strengthening their foundation and nurturing their core.”
“Five pills will be sold together. The starting price is two thousand taels of silver. You can also bid using spirit stones of different qualities. Each bid must be no less than the equivalent of two hundred taels of silver.”
“Please begin.”
As soon as she finished speaking, someone immediately bid five thousand taels.
As the first item of the auction, this price had already set a new record for the Yaoshan Auction House.
But the price didn’t stop there.
“Five thousand two hundred.”
“Five thousand six hundred.”
“Six thousand taels.”
“Seven thousand five hundred taels!”
A booming male voice from below suddenly silenced the crowd.
Gong Yiling poked a hole in the window screen and glanced down, spotting a bald monk with a staff.
This guy should be the Tiger Stripe Monk, ranked on the villain list, who planned to follow Yan Chuyue after the auction for profit.
Gong Yiling’s eyes flickered, an idea forming.
“Ten thousand taels.”
The bid from the third floor stunned the monk, who had been confident of winning.
A look of annoyance flashed across his face, but he didn’t dare to act against the unidentified VIP on the third floor.
“This young master has bid ten thousand taels. Is there a higher bid?”
The woman had expected the bid to trigger another round of competition, but then she realized that this was likely the highest price for the Qi Condensation Pill. Ten thousand taels for five supreme quality pills was already a high price. Without further delay, she brought down the gavel.
“Ten thousand taels once, ten thousand taels twice, ten thousand taels thrice, sold!”
Got it.
Gong Yiling put down the speaking tube and winked at Qiu Shui.
This would help Qiu Shui break through her bottleneck and create the impression of a wealthy patron for Yan Chuyue, making it a worthwhile investment.
However, she had only brought around three hundred thousand taels of silver, plus a set of close-fitting soft armor for each of them, and some life-saving items she didn’t know how to use.
She needed to be careful with her spending.
“This young master has given our auction a good start, and I believe the items in this auction will not disappoint you. Next is the second item—”
For a long time after that, Gong Yiling didn’t bid on anything.
The magical weapons and armor being auctioned were practically scrap metal compared to what she had in the Blood Orchid Palace. If she wanted money, the armor they were wearing could be sold for millions.
As for martial skills that complemented cultivation techniques…
Chun Lian didn’t need them, Qiu Shui’s healing and plant-based techniques were too niche, and she herself didn’t know what she could learn besides demonic arts.
There was no point in buying useless things.
However, the appearance of one particular item made Gong Yiling’s heart skip a beat.
“The next item is a ‘blind flow’ item.”
A “blind flow” item was an item whose authenticity the auction house didn’t guarantee. The price wouldn’t be high, and if the buyer found it useless, they could sell it back to the auction house for half the price.
These items were usually auctioned during intermissions, mainly for entertainment and to calm the bidders down.
Of course, occasionally someone would get a genuine item, like the Nine Worlds Evil King’s sword.
The buyer had simply wanted a cheap sword for practical use, but the genuine artifact, after hundreds of thousands of years, had decayed and couldn’t even cut wood.
Such were the woes of buying authentic artifacts.
But Miss Gong recognized this item at a glance.
“This item is the Spirit Phoenix Broom, said to be able to summon the ancient divine beast, the Phoenix. Legend has it that over a hundred years ago, a general in the Four Kingdoms’ old capital used this item to summon a Heavenly Venerable-level Spirit Phoenix, sweeping away the invading demonic sect.”
Gong Yiling felt like she was suddenly being called out.
“But after that, this feather broom never appeared on the continent again until recently. Perhaps its destined owner is among you today.”
The host spoke dramatically, while the audience listened with amusement.
Despite the dramatic presentation, everyone understood the unspoken rule of “blind flow” items.
Could you trust infomercials? No. And that was the right attitude.
No one questioned or expressed curiosity. After the host finished her elaborate story, she announced the starting price with some awkwardness.
“Starting price: one thousand taels.”
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