"Ten billion dao stones!"
The voice came from one of the VVIP chambers. A murmur spread throughout the auction hall.
The Ghostlight Sovereign had entered the bidding. For a moment, the competition slowed as guests considered what that meant.
The ruler of the Southern Region was not someone who spent such a sum casually. If she wanted the pill, she likely had a reason.
Perhaps someone under her protection had suffered a soul injury. Perhaps she intended to study the pill's medicinal properties.
Or perhaps she simply understood its value better than everyone else. Whatever the reason, her participation changed the atmosphere.
"Fifteen billion!" another VVIP chamber called, belonging to an unknown figure.
Then a third. "Twenty billion!"
The Scarlet Emperor had suddenly joined. The entire hall seemed to tighten.
Even the guests who had been bidding enthusiastically a moment earlier began reconsidering their resources. They might have possessed enough wealth to compete with powerful clans, but bidding against the Scarlet Emperor was another matter entirely.
And yet, the Emperor had not entered the auction to intimidate others. He wanted the pill.
"Twenty-five billion dao stones!" the Ghostlight Sovereign countered.
"Thirty billion!" The Scarlet Emperor's voice was calm, almost indifferent. A few people exchanged astonished looks.
The pill had now reached a price that would have been unimaginable to most cultivators. Yet the bidding continued.
"Thirty-five billion!"
"Forty billion!"
"Fifty billion!"
Even the Liu sisters were beginning to feel the pressure. They remained composed, but their eyes shone as the price climbed higher and higher.
Meanwhile, those other VVIP rooms that had remained silent throughout the first segment did not back down either.
One after another, nee and mysterious guests entered the competition. No names were announced, because these people's identities were entirely unknown.
Yet their bids were decisive, their wealth immense, and their determination unmistakable.
The pill had attracted precisely the sort of people Xiao Chen had hoped to draw into the auction.
The Scarlet Emperor, the Ghostlight Sovereign, and several other figures whose intentions remained hidden behind layers of privacy formations.
Xiao Chen watched from his seat, his fingers resting against the armrest. This was very good.
The first segment had been designed to encourage spending. The second was aimed at the guests' priorities in order to force their hand.
What kind of seller would he be if he did not provide what his customers wanted? With just the Soul-Returning Miracle Pill on the stage, those priorities were becoming obvious.
Some wanted the knowledge that came with studying such a pill, other wanted it simply for its use, others wanted the opportunity to acquire something that might never appear again.
A select few even seemed determined to obtain the pill at any cost.
"Eighty billion dao stones!"
The Scarlet Emperor's bid rang through the hall and, for several moments, no one answered.
Liu Yue glanced at her sister. The price had reached a level at which even some of the wealthiest guests might have begun to hesitate.
The Ghostlight Sovereign's chamber remained silent. So did several of the other VVIP rooms.
Perhaps the competition was finally nearing its end. Liu Ning took a small step forward.
"Eighty billion dao stones. Do we have a higher offer?"
Silence.
"Going once—"
"Wait." Liu Yue raised her hand and her sister paused. The two exchanged a brief glance before Liu Yue turned toward the audience.
"There is one additional detail our distinguished guests should know."
A ripple of impatience passed through the hall. The item had already been examined. Its properties had been announced. What more could there be?
Liu Ning smiled. "The Soul-Returning Miracle Pill currently on display was refined... by the sole disciple of the Mythical Lord Duotian."
For an instant, the auction hall became utterly still. Then the entire building erupted once again, shaking its very foundations.
"Lord Duotian?!"
"The Mythical Lord Duotian?!"
"Impossible! That ancient figure's teachings were supposed to have vanished!"
"His disciple is alive?"
"No, wait! Wasn't there a young alchemist at the Pill Tower who produced several pills of impossible quality?"
The commotion spread through the public seating, the private rooms, and even the highest VVIP chambers.
Jin Huang blinked, then he leaned toward Xiao Chen. "If this works, I demand payment."
Xiao Chen stared at him. "Naturally, you'll be compensated."
Jin Huang nodded and returned to watching the stage. Luo Ran, however, looked as though his entire worldview had just collapsed.
Jin Huang glanced at the empty plate beside him. "I'm out of snacks."
Luo Ran slowly sank into his seat. "I can't do this anymore."
On the stage, Liu Yue allowed the uproar to continue for several moments before raising her hand.
"Of course, the Obsidian Treasury makes no claim regarding the full extent of Lord Duotian's teachings. We can only attest to the identity of the alchemist responsible for this pill and the results of our own examination."
It was a careful clarification. It was also entirely unnecessary. The damage had already been done.
The guests were no longer looking at the pill in quite the same way.
Before, it had been an exceptionally rare ancient medicine with remarkable soul-nourishing properties, and an even more miraculous effect.
Now, it was a pill refined by the only disciple of a mythical figure whose name carried weight across many generations, and the implications were enough to make even the dumbest people present glean certain possibilities.
If the recipe truly came from Lord Duotian's inheritance, then the pill might represent only a fraction of what a young alchemist was capable of producing.
And if that was the case...
Then allowing someone else to acquire it might mean missing an opportunity that would never come again.
"Eighty-five billion dao stones!" A new bid rang out.
The Scarlet Emperor's indicator flashed once more. "Ninety billion!"
The Ghostlight Sovereign immediately answered. "Ninety-five billion!"
A third chamber lit up. "One hundred billion dao stones!"
The hall exploded. The Liu sisters exchanged a look of barely concealed delight.
They had expected the revelation to raise the price, but they had not expected it to reignite the bidding war so fiercely.
"One hundred and ten billion!"
"One hundred and thirty billion!"
"One hundred and fifty billion dao stones!"
The offers came faster and faster.
Several guests who had been preparing to withdraw abruptly rejoined the competition. Others began sending urgent messages to their attendants, demanding that additional funds be made available.
The Scarlet Emperor remained silent for a moment, then his voice rang out again.
"Two hundred billion dao stones." The hall fell into stunned silence. Even Jin Huang sat upright.
"Whoa."
For once, he was not thinking about food. He was thinking about the number.
Two hundred billion dao stones. That was an absurd amount of money. Xiao Chen, on the other hand, had never looked more pleased.
Behind his polished obsidian mask, the corners of his mouth lifted. The bidding had resumed, and this time, the guests were no longer competing merely for a pill.
They were competing for a chance to obtain something refined by the sole disciple of the Mythical Lord Duotian.
The Soul-Returning Miracle Pill had become the center of the auction, and the true heavyweights had only just begun to reveal how much they were willing to pay.
Suddenly, someone from one of the VVIP rooms loudly cleared their throats. "It seems that the dregs of this world have some truly formidable pockets. But how formidable? Allow this King to test you."
That same voice then spoke a bid that physically hurt the minds of those who tried to wrap their heads around the number.
"One trillion dao stones!"
Those present were more than at a loss. Their brains refused to work, and their eyes refused to blink or look away from that VVIP room.
All others were silent. Even the Liu sisters were struggling to gather themselves. Finally, Liu Ning broke the silence. "If there's no other bid, then..."
Silence continued to reign.
"Sold for one t-trillion dao stones!"
Not knowing what else to do, the people broke out into cheers and applause, congratulating that mysterious and ridiculously wealthy individual.
Then, as the people were just about recovered from the shock of that last item, the other item was brought out.
"Hold onto your robes, people. For this next item is yet another ancient pill... refined by that same disciple of Lord Duotian."
Liu Yue opened the box, and a resplendent white pill was revealed, its aura icy and mighty, as if a mighty snow mountain had suddenly appeared in the auction hall.
At the same time, icy blue dragons roared and flew rapidly in circles around the pill, shaking the hearts of all those with eyes to see.
"We of the Obsidian Treasury present to you..."
"The Absolute-Zero Frozen Heart Dao Pill! A pill so legendary, it can not only grant complete and total immunity to the element of ice, but can also bestow upon any who consumes it total control of that selfsame element!"
"Even if a Fire God were to eat this pill, they would receive the same benefits!"
"The bidding starts at five billion dao stones!"
"Ten billion dao stones!" Someone from the VVIP chambers wasted no time to start the bidding.
"Fifteen billion," the Ghostlight Sovereign joined in.
"Twenty billion!" The Scarlet Emperor's voice was once again heard.
"Thirty billion," came the High Druidess' bid.
Ximen Lanran followed shortly after, "Forty billion!"
At this point, it was clear to the others present that, going forward, this segment of the auction was going to be nothing more than a war between the VVIP guests.
The others no longer qualified to participate in this auction in any capacity other than to be entertained by it.
Jin Huang was delighted. Luo Ran was beginning to wonder whether or not he had been beaten senseless by someone he stole from, and was not simply in a coma dreaming his life away.
Meng Lan appeared thoughtful; Xiao Chen was looking out at the proceedings with a smile in his eyes.
This was precisely what he wanted. In that moment, he did not care what kind of misfortune Jin Huang would bring.
Thanks to him, Xiao Chen's plan was working flawlessly. By the time the third segment came around....
Suddenly, the masked man started laughing in a way that befitted a great and terrible villain.