The auction for the Golden Earth Dragon King Right Leg Bone concluded. To be honest, the others in the private box were somewhat confused as to why Lin Yun didn't participate in the bidding.
The one who understood Lin Yun the most was Xiao Xiao, who had remained silent all along.
He could even give her that hundred-thousand-year-old right leg bone, so why would he care for a soul bone that was only eighty-thousand years old?
Xiao Xiao, leaning into Lin Yun's embrace, instinctively reached out to caress her right leg, a sweet smile blooming on her lips.
She was completely lost in love.
Wu Feng, on the other hand, was even more exaggerated than Xiao Xiao. It seemed like if Ning Tian gave the word, she would immediately go through hell and high water for her.
This one was truly a heavyweight.
Normally, Lin Yun would definitely enjoy this bizarre forbidden romance between Ning Tian and Wu Feng, but right now, he was only interested in the final, main auction item.
What good stuff would the Star Luo Empire bring out to lure Xiao Hongchen, that big fish?
Under Lin Yun's expectant gaze, Xu Jiujiu's figure reappeared on the soul-guidance screen.
This time, Xu Jiujiu was no longer wearing the red dress from before, but had changed into a more luxurious and dignified golden gown. Even her hairstyle and makeup had changed. According to the original story, Xu Jiujiu would only put on this golden gown when the auction item's value exceeded one hundred million gold soul coins.
Clothes make the man (or woman). Although Xu Jiujiu in the red dress was beautiful, she was slightly less stunning compared to now.
One hundred million gold soul coins! Star Luo Empire, what good things will you bring out?
"Next up is the ninth item of this auction, and also the final item," Xu Jiujiu began, her face no longer holding the dignified and polite smile from before, but instead becoming somewhat serious and earnest.
"Seeing that Jiujiu has changed into this dress, many distinguished guests must have already guessed the preciousness of this next item. This is an item that Jiujiu must treat with utmost seriousness, otherwise it would only dishonor it."
"Jiujiu has been a top auctioneer for quite some time now, and countless treasures have passed through my hands. But even I have never auctioned off such a precious treasure. To say something that might be presumptuous, for all distinguished guests present, to witness it firsthand can even be considered an honor."
"Ladies and gentlemen, please look!"
Xu Jiujiu extended one hand to the side, making a gesture of invitation. The perspective of the soul-guidance screen, following her movement, focused on a jade box crafted from exquisite spirit jade.
Facing the jade box, Xu Jiujiu's expression was solemn and reverent. She opened the jade box slowly and carefully, as if handling the most sacred object in the world, one that must not be profaned.
The moment the jade box was opened, a soft golden light seeped out from the cracks, obscuring the true contents within. It wasn't until the box was fully open that the gentle golden light gradually receded, revealing the true appearance of the item inside.
It was a very beautiful flower. Its petals were a vibrant crimson, its stamens a pale gold, and beneath the flower stalk were a few dark green leaves. Especially the few dewdrops on the petals and stamens made the flower appear even more delicate and captivating.
"Oh wow, Glazed Jade Tea?" Lin Yun exclaimed in surprise, leaning back tactically.
The others in the private box were curious about what this flower was, then they heard Lin Yun's voice and all turned to look at him.
"Could it be that you recognize this flower, Lin Yun?" Wang Yan asked impatiently.
Being with Lin Yun, Wang Yan increasingly felt as if all the books he had read in his life had gone to waste. He was constantly being crushed by Lin Yun in terms of knowledge, yet he couldn't control his curiosity and eagerly wanted to know these things he didn't.
Many had expressions similar to Wang Yan's, only Xiao Xiao, Ning Tian, and Ma Xiaotao vaguely guessed something.
"Yeah, I know it. It's just an immortal herb. What's so surprising?" Lin Yun shrugged, his tone rather Versailles-like.
It was merely an immortal herb. When he went to visit the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well with Di Tian later, he wouldn't say there would be as many as he wanted, but there would definitely be enough for several good meals.
"Immortal herb?!" Wang Yan's voice suddenly rose by eight octaves, he didn't even notice his glasses falling to the floor. "You mean this flower is the legendary immortal herb? The immortal-grade medicinal herb that Ancestor Tang San and the others once consumed?"
"Yes, that's right, it is indeed an immortal herb," Lin Yun nodded. "Glazed Jade Tea, an elemental immortal herb. It absorbs the essence of the sun and moon to forge a glazed body. The Glazed Jade Tea flower is noble and elegant, and can help a person undergo a transformation, a complete rebirth."
Speaking of this, Lin Yun was a bit puzzled. The introductions clearly stated that there could only be one immortal-grade herb of each type in every era. Why then did another Glazed Jade Tea appear here, and a mature one at that?
If his own Glazed Jade Tea wasn't safely nestled in his soul tool, Lin Yun would have suspected that his very own Glazed Jade Tea had been stolen by the Star Luo Empire.
"Absorbs the essence of the sun and moon to forge a glazed body!" Ning Tian grew excited, her small face flushed as she leaped from the sofa, rushing to Lin Yun's front and looking at him excitedly.
"Then, can it help us evolve our Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Pagoda into the Nine Treasures Glazed Tile Pagoda?!"
"It can," Lin Yun nodded.
If it couldn't, why would he carry a Glazed Jade Tea with him? He even had Di Tian take some time to get it from the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well. Lin Yun didn't even dare to let the Ten Thousand Beast King go. Letting the Ten Thousand Beast King, a plant-type Fierce Beasts, into the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well would be no different from a mouse entering a rice bin.
The Ten Thousand Beast King could probably assimilate all the herbs in the entire Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well, then quickly evolve into a million-year-old Fierce Beasts, and finally be struck down by lightning.
Immortal-grade herbs had a greater effect on the Ten Thousand Beast King than the Ten-Thousand-Year Profound Ice Marrow had on Ice Empress and the others. Lin Yun wouldn't dare let the Ten Thousand Beast King know where the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well was.
Hearing Lin Yun's affirmative answer, Ning Tian became even more excited. She eagerly pulled out a large number of cards from her storage soul tool: black, red, purple, gold, and multicolored cards, stacking them into a thick pile. All of them were savings cards containing large amounts of gold soul coins, or credit cards representing her identity as a member of the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Pagoda Sect.
If all the cards in Ning Tian's hand were maxed out, they would probably amount to ten digits of gold soul coins.
Her reputation as a rich young lady was beyond doubt.
Lin Yun didn't pay attention to Ning Tian's excitement. Instead, he frowned and carefully examined the Glazed Jade Tea in front of Xu Jiujiu, casually pulling out his own Glazed Jade Tea and placing it in front of the soul-guidance screen for a serious comparison.
The moment this Glazed Jade Tea appeared in the private room, an invigorating fragrance was almost simultaneously detected by everyone. The fatigue from a day of spectating seemed to quickly dissipate in this fragrance, and Ling Luochen and Yao Haoxuan, who were recovering from serious injuries, even felt incredibly good.
Seeing Lin Yun's actions, the others couldn't help but step forward, their eyes unblinkingly fixed on the Glazed Jade Tea in Lin Yun's hand.
An immortal herb! This was an immortal herb!
Almost everyone's eyes held intense longing, and the fervent look in Ning Tian's eyes was undisguised. She could even feel her martial soul trembling, constantly transmitting eager thoughts to her.
The Nine Treasures Glazed Tile Pagoda was within reach!
"Oh, so that's it!" Lin Yun compared them for a long time before suddenly realizing and putting away his Glazed Jade Tea.
After all that, the one Star Luo put up for auction only barely reached the immortal herb level. If one looked closely at the stamens, one could see the crystal-clear glazed color within the pale golden stamens.
Lin Yun's Glazed Jade Tea had nine colors, while the one Xu Jiujiu was auctioning only had seven colors, just barely reaching the immortal herb level.
Not only that, the dark green leaves beneath the Glazed Jade Tea plant also proved that Lin Yun's Glazed Jade Tea had a total of nine leaves, while the one Xu Jiujiu was auctioning only had seven leaves, and one of them had just grown.
Was it because he had Di Tian pluck this Glazed Jade Tea that the other one was able to break through to the immortal herb level?
What a coincidence.
Seeing Lin Yun put away the immortal herb, the others reluctantly withdrew their gazes and returned to their seats.
"How is it, Brother Yun? Is there a difference between the two immortal herbs?" Xiao Xiao asked curiously.
"Of course there's a difference," Lin Yun chuckled, then roughly recounted the differences between the two Glazed Jade Teas, and even took out his own for comparison.
"Will these two immortal herbs have different effects on martial soul evolution?" Ning Tian's expression was a bit anxious.
With two immortal herbs right in front of her, Ning Tian genuinely wanted to get both! She wouldn't mind how many immortal herbs capable of evolving the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Pagoda there were!
"I'm not sure about that, but it's certain that her plant isn't as good as mine. As for its effect on the evolution of the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Pagoda, that can only be known after trying it," Lin Yun answered seriously, without making wild guesses.
If Ning Tian could buy that immortal herb, Lin Yun would be happy to relax.
Getting involved with the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Pagoda Sect was very troublesome. This sect was most skilled at building relationships and connections, as could be seen from Ning Fengzhi's generation ten thousand years ago. Once involved with this sect, it wouldn't be so easy to break ties.
Especially with the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Pagoda Sect currently declining, their will to survive and grow would only become stronger.
Lin Yun didn't have time to waste on such trivial matters.
As for Ning Tian…
She glanced at the Glazed Jade Tea in Lin Yun's hand, then turned to look at the Glazed Jade Tea on the screen. After secretly gritting her teeth, a determined look appeared on her face.
"I want them all!"
Xu Jiujiu's introduction also came to an end. In her description, this Glazed Jade Tea became an all-powerful cheat item for evolving martial souls, enhancing talent, and undergoing a complete rebirth. She claimed that by consuming it, one could gain the potential for godhood, just like the original Shrek Seven Monsters.
However, in reality, she herself had never consumed an immortal herb. She could only prove through some superficial experiments that immortal herbs indeed greatly benefited Soul Masters.
All other speculations stemmed from the legends of the Shrek Seven Monsters from ten thousand years ago.
But her words did not cause any suspicion. Everyone firmly believed the legend that "as long as you consume an immortal herb, you can possess the potential to become a god." This was all thanks to Tang Fozu's ten thousand years of cultivation; otherwise, how could mere immortal herbs make them so fanatical?
Even the Sun Moon Empire team, perennial enemies of the Douluo Three Empires, looked at the immortal herb with intense fervor, especially Xiao Hongchen, whose sapphire eyes showed hints of bloodshot.
Lin Yun's talent had severely impacted him, making him question what he even counted for compared to Lin Yun.
But now, this immortal herb in front of him gave him hope of catching up to Lin Yun.
"Only I, Xiao Hongchen, am most qualified to consume this immortal herb!"
...
"Immortal herb, Glazed Jade Tea! Viewing time thirty minutes, bidding will begin after thirty minutes." Xu Jiujiu smiled faintly, her figure gradually fading from the screen, while the exquisite Glazed Jade Tea occupied the entire soul-guidance screen, displaying all its details on the soul-guidance screens of each private box.
At this moment, everyone went crazy, frantically gathering funds regardless of the cost.
Dou Ling Empire, Heaven Soul Empire, Body Sect, Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy…
The most frenzied was Xiao Hongchen. He pulled out a large number of exquisite soul tools produced by Mingde Hall from his storage soul tool and began trading with the Starlight Auction House to gather massive amounts of funds.
The Star Luo Imperial Family directly made a killing from this.
Even if Xiao Hongchen, while maintaining rationality, didn't sell any confidential Mingde Hall soul tools, it was still enough for them to make a significant profit.
The calmest person present, ironically, became Ning Tian. She sat there with her arms crossed and one leg casually propped up, her jade foot swinging her crystal high-heeled sandal back and forth, waiting for the auction to begin. In front of her lay a thick stack of cards.
With ten digits worth of gold soul coins right in front of her, which pauper would dare to compete with Young Miss Ning in wealth?
Thirty minutes flew by in an instant.
Many forces that hadn't gathered enough funds pounded their chests in frustration, their eyes filled with unwillingness as they looked at the immortal herb. This included groups like Dou Ling Academy, Diao Academy, and the Body Sect, which had fewer presences in Star Luo City and hadn't managed to gather much gold soul coins in total.
Xiao Hongchen, on the other hand, who had ample funds, exuded an air of arrogance. He sat casually on the sofa, like a general ready to march into battle at any moment.
What he said was actually true.
The marketplace is like a battlefield, and he, Xiao Hongchen, was going to dominate the upcoming auction!
The soul-guidance screen lit up again, and Xu Jiujiu smiled, speaking: "Viewing time is over. The immortal-grade herb, Glazed Jade Tea, is now open for bidding. The starting price is twenty million gold soul coins, and each bid must not be less than one hundred thousand gold soul coins."
"Distinguished guests, please—"
The soul-guidance screen suddenly split into two. On one side was Xu Jiujiu, holding the jade box with a smile, and on the other was an image of the Glazed Jade Tea, along with a string of numbers below the image.
20,000,000!
"I'd like to see who dares to compete with me!" Xiao Hongchen's eyes turned bloodshot. He picked up the bidding device and pressed a button directly. The twenty million on the screen instantly jumped to thirty million!
On the other side, Ning Tian elegantly picked up her bidding device, pressed a few buttons, and confirmed.
Thirty million surged again to fifty million.
This was a war of money!
(End of Chapter)
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