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Chapter 50: Tang Feng Vomiting Blood
Even though there were a lot of movements at Linlang Pavilion after the incident in the secret room, no one within the great hall had noticed it. After the chaos of the first auction item the once a year, large-scale auction continued in an orderly manner.
Xiao Chen watched helplessly as the auction carried on. Currently, the auction had already reached its midpoint but Ao Jiao had not come back yet.
He no longer dared to carelessly bid on anything. He had already purchased a Rainbow Flame Python Inner Core. If he purchased something again, he would only have one more chance after that.
At this moment, the second climax of the auction was about to start. When the auctioneer said the next item was an Inferior Grade Spirit Stone, the atmosphere of the auction hall surged again.
Spirit Stones are miraculous natural treasures. It contained the purest Spiritual Energy, and  when an ordinary cultivator used a small piece of Spirit Stone they would be able to raise their cultivation by a realm.
Aside from this, if they used it in battle, they would be able to completely replenish their Essence. Unlike the fire attributed inner core, where only certain people could use it, this could be used by everyone. It was very effective for cultivators below the Martial Saint realm.
The rarity of the Spirit Stone can be compared to the precious Moonstone. In the Tianwu Continent, aside from the Jin Nation who had the largest Spirit Stone Vein, they were mostly monopolized by the supreme sects. If ordinary cultivators or small powers wanted to obtain Spirit Stones, they could only do so via some irregular channels.
The auctioneer below introduced the item in a loud voice, “Everyone, please take a close look! What we have here is a real Inferior Grade Spirit Stone. I believe everyone already knows about the value of a Spirit Stone. Thus, I shall not elaborate further.”
“Although it is only the lowest grade of Spirit Stones, it is still worth 1 million silver taels. Thus, its starting price is 500 thousand silver taels. Each raise has to be at least 100 thousand silver taels.”
Just as the auctioneer finished his introduction, there was the sound of many enthusiastic biddings. Everyone in the crowd were people who were familiar with treasures. Naturally, they understood the value of this Inferior Grade Spirit Stone.
Amongst the crowd, there were many who came just for this Inferior Grade Spirit Stone. The price of the Spirit Stone kept rising until it hit 1 million silver taels, before the number of people bidding decreased.
1 million silver taels was actually a threshold. After all, not everyone was like the Tang Clan or Xiao Clan. They were not people who could throw out 400 thousand or 500 thousand silver taels on a whim. Even for those with money, they had to evaluate how much their clan could afford first before cautiously make a bid.
Tang Feng, who was in VIP booth 11, smiled, “It is time for us to start bidding. The clan head had given us clear instructions. We definitely have to obtain this. Call out a bid of 2 million.”
When Tang Feng’s bid was called out, the auctioneer immediately reported his bid excitedly, calling it out in a loud voice, “VIP booth 11 is making another move. He calls a bid of 2 million silver taels. Is there anyone with a higher bid?!”
With regards to this high bid of 2 million, most of the people in the great hall lost all hope of obtaining it. Those people who were still able to compete were likely to be located within the VIP booths on the fourth floor.
Just as expected, someone within VIP booth 3 immediately raised the bid to 2.2 million. Then someone from VIP booth 4 raised it to 2.5 million.
“2.5 million, what an auspicious number. VIP booth 4, are you not going to raise the bid again?” After the guest in VIP booth 4 made his bid, the auctioneer immediately called out in humor.
[TL notes: The Chinese writes their number in this manner: Ten 十, hundred 百, thousands 千, ten thousands 万, hundred million 亿. 2.5 million is 250 ten thousands. 250 is actually a way of scolding someone an idiot in China]
The person in VIP booth 4 cursed silently and raised his bid to 3 million. The auctioneer immediately beamed with joy as he called out the latest bid.
Xiao Chen was actually very interested in this Inferior Grade Spirit Stone. To people of the Martial Disciple realm, its effects were even more apparent. Using himself as an example, if he used this Inferior Grade Spirit Stone, he would immediately become a Superior Grade Martial Disciple.
Furthermore, it was not like medicinal pills. It would not leave behind any side effects like making his cultivation unstable, or cause problems for his cultivation in the future. This was because the energy within the Spirit Stone was the purest Spiritual Energy.
After using it, his cultivation realm will immediately increase. The Essence in his body would require one day to adjust and be digested before stabilizing on its own. It will not leave behind any side effects.
Unfortunately, Ao Jiao was not here. Xiao Chen did not dare to simply mess around. He had already done so once. He could not waste his remaining two chances. Ao Jiao already had something in mind.
However, when Xiao Chen saw the saw the intense bidding for the Spirit Stone, he could not resist. This was a Spirit Stone that could raise his cultivation realm.
Xiao Chen said grudgingly, “Where in the world has Ao Jiao run to? Why is she not back yet?”
“Since you want it, then get it.”
The sudden voice startled Xiao Chen. When he turned his head back, Ao Jiao was standing behind him. Xiao Chen was about to grumble, but he noticed that her complexion was poor. Thus, he held back his grumbling.
“Hey! Ao Jiao! Are you alright? Why is your complexion so poor?”
Ao Jiao said, “Even if there is something wrong with you, nothing will happen to me. Do you think that my body is the same as yours? To think that you are trying to judge things based on my complexion. This Spirit Stone is something good for you, so you can get it.”
Xiao Chen thought that made sense. Ao Jiao was a Sword Spirit. Even if her complexion seems off, he could not use his knowledge on humans to explain that.
However, Ao Jiao’s other words caused him to be happy, “Can I really get it? I already purchased a Rainbow Flame Python inner core earlier. Based on the arrangement with Nangong Yan, if I get this, I would only have one chance left.”
“Not a problem. The thing that I want is not on auction yet,” Ao Jiao said indifferently.
Xiao Chen smiled, “In that case, I can rest assured.”
The bidding war between the big-shots in the VIP booths was still continuing. At this moment, the bid was already raised to 4 million silver taels.
Within VIP booth 11, Tang Feng drank a mouthful of wine unperturbed, “It’s already at 4 million, it’s time to make my move. Call out 6 million, let's see who is able to outbid me.”
When his escort heard that, he immediately went to the window and called out Tang Feng’s bid.
Seeing VIP booth 11 bid again, the auctioneer’s smile was like a flower blossoming. He said in an excited tone: “The guest in VIP booth 11 is always surprising us. The bid now is 6 million!”
After the auctioneer called out Tang Feng’s bid, the voices in the auction hall started to quiet down. Everyone guessed that this would be the highest bid already.
Normally, Inferior Grade Spirit Stones would go for about 5 million silver taels. Tang Feng already topped that by 1 million, it was clear that he was determined to obtain it.
The guest in VIP booth 4 slapped the table angrily. His face was clearly full of anger and helplessness.
Seeing that no one else was bidding, the auctioneer said, “6 million silver taels... There should not be any higher bid than this. If there is none, then I shall start the count.”
Hearing what the auctioneer said, Tang Feng’s handsome face revealed a pleased expression. He smiled, “Not obtaining that Rainbow Flame Python inner core was not a bad thing. At least now I have enough money to guarantee that I can obtain this Spirit Stone.”
However, after waiting for a while, he did not hear the auctioneer declare the end of this round. He frowned, feeling puzzled, and said to his escort, “Go check out what’s going on. Why has the auctioneer not closed this round yet?”
That escort quickly went to the window and took a look. He only saw that the auctioneer’s expression was sluggish. He was staring at the window of VIP booth 1. His mouth was ajar and he was not saying anything.
He completely lost his demeanor as an auctioneer. The escort quickly cast his gaze at the booth across them. After taking a clear look, he trembled a little as he turned around, “Second Young Master, VIP Booth 1 made a bid again.”
Tang Feng was startled. The wine cup that was approaching his mouth paused. He felt an uneasy feeling assault him.
“VIP booth 1 is bidding again. His bid is the same as before… 10 million… gold taels!” The auctioneer wiped his forehead clear of sweat before finally speaking again.
“Bang!”
Tang Feng shattered the wine cup in his hands once again. He had a sullen expression as he coldly said, “Messing with me? Within Mohe City, no one dares to mess with me like that!”
The crowd below turned chaotic again. If this was the first time he bid 10 million gold taels, as abnormal as it was, it was still possible for people to believe it. No matter how remote the chance was, it was not too ridiculous.
However, the same person in that booth had called out 10 million gold taels for the second time. Even a fool would feel that this was not normal. No one would squander wealth like that.
The situation was now even more chaotic than before. The auctioneer remembered Nangong Yan’s instructions as he did his best to placate the crowd. After expending a great amount of effort, he managed to get the auction back on track.
Ao Jiao gently smiled, “What a scoundrel you are. You actually dared to casually call out a bid of 10 million. Nangong Yan is going to be frustrated to death.”
Xiao Chen shrugged his shoulders, “I prefer things to be straightforward. I don’t enjoy this kind of bidding war. Furthermore, this was something Nangong Yan promised me.”
“He would pay for the things that I want, no matter what the final price is. Whether he is able to do it or not, that’s his problem, not mine.”
For the following items, because the thing that Ao Jiao wanted had not appeared yet, Xiao Chen did not make any moves. The chaos caused by Xiao Chen slowly calmed down.
Just as the auction was about to end, Ao Jiao suddenly called out, “The following item is a Superior Grade Frost Iron. Make a bid for that.”
Xiao Chen did not understand as he said, “What do you want with the Frost Iron?”
Ao Jiao said, “Of course it’s useless to me. Did you think I did not see that you brought so many Moonstones with you? Did you think that Moonstone is all you need to forge a Spirit Weapon? How stupid!”
Xiao Chen blushed slightly, “I did not think too much about that. I thought that I could just use what I have on hand.”
Ao Jiao said, “Using what you have on hand is possible. However, this Frost Iron is the rarely seen Superior Grade Frost Iron. After I purify it, it will be at the peak quality.”
“If all you want is a Profound Ranked Spirit Weapon, then you can give up on this Frost Iron.”
Hearing that Ao Jiao can raise the quality of this Frost Iron, Xiao Chen felt joy in his heart. Peak Grade Frost Iron was extremely rare and precious. Xiao Chen had a smattering of knowledge about it.
In this world, aside from the very rare, naturally occurring Peak Grade Frost Iron, it could only be made by purifying Superior Grade Frost Iron.
However, this method of purification was grasped by very few people in the Tianwu Continent. As far as Xiao Chen knew, only Heavenly Craft Manor was able to do this.
Given the current situation, after he obtain this Superior Grade Frost Iron, with the large amount of Moonstones he had, it was possible for him to forge a Heaven Ranked Spirit Weapon.