The treasures searched for from the Heavenly Gate are mostly referred to as Supreme Treasures. If a martial arts secret manual is found, it is called a Supreme Martial Art.
In the Heavenly Gate, there are opportunities that defy the heavens, but the martial artists who can obtain these opportunities are few and far between. Each treasure is of the highest quality, and to search for them often requires the cost of one's life.
Lin Hao sized up the golden bowl held by the woman, his eyes lighting up. The white-haired elder of the auction house had not lied; the small golden bowl was indeed found from the first Heavenly Gate. However, it seemed to be severely damaged and could no longer be used, as if it were sealed.
Such a severely damaged Supreme Treasure has no practical use and can only be used for display at most.
"To repair this severely damaged Supreme Treasure... it would require a complete reworking..." Lin Hao fell into deep thought, pondering in his heart.
In the four major families of Flowing Cloud City, repairing such a Supreme Treasure is akin to a pipe dream. Only in the forging rooms of the sects might it be possible to repair it. However, the cost of repairing a Supreme Treasure is not small. Unless a Great Forger is invited, how could an ordinary sect afford to have a Great Forger take action?
At this moment, in the auction house, whether it was the major family forces or the disciples of the sects, they all showed little interest in the golden bowl being auctioned. Although the item was good, it was unfortunately unusable, and at best could only be used as a decorative magical treasure, with no practical use.
This situation seemed to be within the white-haired elder's expectations, and he was not surprised.
If the golden bowl could be successfully activated, the Bai family would have already spent a large sum to acquire it themselves and might not have put it up for auction.
"The golden bowl is likely in a sealed state, so its true form cannot be seen. Although it is severely damaged, if a Master Forger is invited to repair it, there is a good chance of success... Gentlemen, the bidding can now begin, with a starting price of two medium-grade spirit stones." The white-haired elder scanned the crowd and then spoke.
At this moment, the auction hall was filled with discussion, and no one immediately bid, as they seemed reluctant to bid on an item with no practical value.
...
"A Supreme Treasure... it is indeed tempting, but it is severely damaged. Not to mention that our Holy Heaven Sect cannot invite a Great Forger, even if we spent a great deal to invite one, there is no guarantee that the Supreme Treasure can be repaired... Moreover, the cost of inviting a Great Forger and the materials for repair would be enough to buy a Supreme Magical Treasure, which is not cost-effective at all..."
A woman from the Holy Heaven Sect pondered for a moment and then spoke.
Upon hearing this, several other disciples of the Holy Heaven Sect nodded in agreement, all concurring with the woman's words. Bidding two medium-grade spirit stones for a useless Supreme Treasure was simply not necessary, and the sect might even blame them.
For a moment, the Holy Heaven Sect disciples fell silent, with no intention of participating in the bidding.
The Immortal Sword Sect and another sect force had the same thoughts as the Holy Heaven Sect and did not plan to bid on this useless item.
"Hehe... It is still a Supreme Treasure, and bidding to keep it for display is not impossible... I bid two medium-grade spirit stones." A high-ranking member of a major family finally made a bid.
Seeing someone start the bidding, another high-ranking member of a major family said, "I bid three medium-grade spirit stones."
"Three? Did your Li family travel all the way to Flowing Cloud City just to bid on this sealed Supreme Treasure... Very well, I'll let it go to you." The elder who had bid earlier chuckled and waved his hand, not intending to continue the bidding. Bidding at the starting price was already his limit, and any higher would be unnecessary.
Bidding three medium-grade spirit stones for such a useless treasure seemed to be the limit. The major forces that had planned to bid at the starting price all fell silent.
At this moment, the white-haired elder of the auction house began to count down. If no one continued to bid, the sealed Supreme Treasure would be taken by a major family in the hall.
"I bid four medium-grade spirit stones." Just as the dust was about to settle, a white-robed man coldly spoke.
Upon hearing the bid, everyone looked toward the bidder, who was a disciple of the Immortal Sword Sect who had previously given up on bidding.
The white-haired elder's eyes lit up; four medium-grade spirit stones was already a good price.
The major families remained silent. If they continued to bid, they would need to raise the price to at least five medium-grade spirit stones. The sealed Supreme Treasure seemed not worth this price, and moreover, the bidder was a disciple of a sect. No one wanted to offend a sect disciple over a useless Supreme Treasure.
"Brother Xing, what use do you have for this useless treasure? Four medium-grade spirit stones is not a small amount, and you might be blamed by the sect..." A woman from the Immortal Sword Sect looked at the leading young man.
This cold young man, known as Brother Xing, was the leading senior brother of this trip, an inner disciple of the Immortal Sword Sect, and a core figure among the inner disciples.
Upon hearing this, the stern young man said, "Worry not, these four spirit stones belong to me personally and have nothing to do with the sect."
Upon hearing this, the several young men and women of the Immortal Sword Sect exchanged glances. Brother Xing was a respected inner disciple in the Immortal Sword Sect, and it was not surprising that he had a few medium-grade spirit stones, but using them to bid on a useless treasure was somewhat extravagant, and even they felt the pain of it.
"Brother Xing, please reconsider... After all, four medium-grade spirit stones is a lot, and the sealed Supreme Treasure would require a Great Forger to rework it, along with a significant amount of materials. The total value has already exceeded the limit of an ordinary Supreme Treasure... It is merely found from the first Heavenly Gate, is it worth it?"
Several disciples of the Immortal Sword Sect spoke to persuade him.
"Hehe... In my family, there are three peak ordinary forgers, equivalent to a Great Forger, so bidding four medium-grade spirit stones is a sure win." The stern young man's lips curled up, and his eyes swept the hall like an eagle, not believing anyone would dare to compete with him.
"Who would have thought that Brother Xing's family has three peak ordinary forgers..."
The several disciples of the Immortal Sword Sect were slightly stunned. If this were true, then bidding four medium-grade spirit stones for a sealed and damaged Supreme Treasure would not be a loss. Three peak forgers working together to rework the Supreme Treasure, even if not as good as a Great Forger, would have a good chance of success, requiring only some materials.
At this moment, the white-haired elder began to count down. He could see that few forces in the hall dared to compete with the Immortal Sword Sect for this Supreme Treasure, and the price of four medium-grade spirit stones would deter most forces, after all, it was just a useless item.
"I bid five medium-grade spirit stones." Suddenly, a young man's voice came from the second floor of the auction house.
This voice was like a thunderclap, and the auction hall immediately buzzed with discussion, with all eyes on the second floor. Unfortunately, they could not see the bidder in the private room, only hearing the voice of a young man.
The various forces in the auction hall were extremely surprised. Who was the young man in the private room on the second floor, daring to oppose the disciple of the Immortal Sword Sect for a useless treasure? Was it really worth it?
The stern young man known as Brother Xing frowned and said, "Six medium-grade spirit stones."
As soon as he spoke, the young man's voice from the private room on the second floor came again, "I bid seven medium-grade spirit stones."
At that moment, the auction hall erupted in chaos, and many major family forces speculated about the identity of the young man in the private room, who dared to openly oppose the disciple of the Immortal Sword Sect.
The reason everyone thought the young man was deliberately opposing the Immortal Sword Sect disciple was that a sealed and damaged Supreme Treasure was not worth seven spirit stones. If not to deliberately challenge the Immortal Sword Sect disciple, why would he bid seven medium-grade spirit stones? No one would do such a foolish thing without a reason.
At this moment, Brother Xing's stern face was slightly gloomy, and he coldly said, "Eight medium-grade spirit stones. This sealed Supreme Treasure is something I must have. I hope the brother upstairs will give me some face and consider it a friendship."
As he spoke, the stern young man glanced at the private room on the second floor.
"I bid nine spirit stones." The bidding voice from the private room on the second floor continued, seemingly not hearing Brother Xing's words.
...
"Nine spirit stones... What a large sum, what great courage. The family behind the Immortal Sword Sect's Xing Chenyu is a powerful force in the martial world, though not comparable to a sect, it is far superior to the major families... Someone dares to oppose Xing Chenyu like this, completely disregarding the Immortal Sword Sect and the Xing family."
"To bid nine spirit stones for a useless Supreme Treasure, this young man's identity is not simple. Perhaps he is specifically targeting Xing Chenyu..."
At this moment, the crowd in the auction hall was speculating about the identity of the young man in the private room on the second floor. Only the Lin family disciples recognized the voice as Lin Hao's.
Luo Feng pondered. According to the intelligence he had obtained, Lin Hao could independently refine pills with a 100% success rate, and was said to be a pill-refining genius. At his age, being able to independently refine pills meant his identity was not as simple as it seemed.
Moreover, they later learned that Lin Hao had recently been close to Bai Zhanchen, who seemed to have a 'Heavenly Spirit' level expert backing him, and this expert was much stronger than the peak Bai family patriarch...
Anyone who was not a fool could see something unusual. Behind this complex relationship, the main figure was an extremely powerful 'Heavenly Spirit' expert. Whether Lin Hao had a connection with this 'Heavenly Spirit' expert was something Luo Feng did not dare to think deeply about.
Luo Feng could only be certain of one thing: if Lin Hao had a 'Heavenly Spirit' expert backing him, it was not surprising.
Think about it, a young man from an ordinary family could casually produce secret manuals and independently refine pills with a 100% success rate, and did not care if anyone was watching!
It should be known that the forces behind a young man from an ordinary family were not significant, and to the Bai family, they were like ants. If the Bai family had wanted to capture Lin Hao and use him as a medicine slave to refine pills for the Bai family, would his Lin family dare to say no?