Chapter 348: Section 135: The Rich and Arrogant Zi Di
Dun Dao City, Black Market auction.
Not long after the auction for the Ship Spirit Repair Scroll, Zi Di and her group finally waited for the first batch of materials they planned to purchase.
A female fighter, holding a small wooden box, stood on the stage.
A beam of light shone onto the small wooden box, while the rest of the area remained dimly lit.
The fighter slowly opened the small wooden box, revealing a small pile of metal ingots inside. Under the light, the metal ingots sparkled with a dazzling silver-white brilliance.
The eyes of the people below were all focused on these metals.
Zi Di felt a warmth in her heart and whispered to herself, “As I thought, Mithril ingots.”
Mithril is a rare metal, far more precious than Gold. It is very light, with an extensibility comparable to Bronze, yet its hardness surpasses that of steel. In poetry, this metal is praised as “light as a feather, tough as Dragon Scale,” an obvious use of hyperbole.
Most crucially, Mithril possesses strong affinity for Magic. Its conductivity for Mana and demon energy is exceptionally strong.
Therefore, the majority of Mithril’s uses are in forging Magic Tools or as the primary material for drawing Arrays.
The auction officially began, and the price of this small box of Mithril ingots continued to rise.
When the price seemed to stagnate, Zi Di made her move, abruptly declaring a high bid.
“Is it the Purple Vine Chamber of Commerce?” Someone still followed, not intimidated.
Zi Di raised her bid again, showing her determination to win at all costs.
“3, 2, 1, bang.” The auctioneer finished the countdown, “Congratulations to the Purple Vine Chamber of Commerce for successfully purchasing this box of Mithril ingots.”
The Mithril ingots were taken away and directly delivered to the box where Zi Di and her people were seated.
A person in charge from the Black Market accompanied them, greeting Zi Di with a smile on his face.
As they were conversing, a small murmur arose from the hall.
“Aojin!”
“Am I seeing things?”
“I didn’t expect Aojin to appear at this auction!”
“Why wasn’t it listed on the item description?”
“Clearly, this is a special item inserted mid-way through the auction!”
The crowd discussed amongst themselves while eyeing the small pile of Aojin on the stage with burning gazes.
Aojin is a synthetic metal, while Refined Gold has its native veins in nature. This is the biggest difference between the two.
In terms of price, Aojin is more expensive than Refined Gold, classifying it as an Advanced Alchemy Material. Refined Gold’s range is in the upper-middle class.
Mainly because the primary method of refining Aojin is the combination and melting of Refined Gold Bar and materials like the Arcane Crystal.
Zi Di’s gaze was immediately captured by it.
The transaction had already concluded, and the receptionist from the Black Market tactfully retreated.
Zi Di bid twice, but the price of Aojin climbed steadily and was ultimately bought by one of the only two major families in Dun Dao City.
Inside the box of the City Lord, the Housekeeper ground his teeth, “If it weren’t for the Ship Spirit Repair Scroll consuming too much of my funds, how could I have lost?”
The auction of Aojin caused a small surge of excitement.
Following that…
“Congratulations to the Purple Vine Chamber of Commerce for successfully bidding on the Bronze ingots.”
“Congratulations to the Purple Vine Chamber of Commerce for obtaining these three tons of Sea Blue Ore.”
“Let’s congratulate the Purple Vine Chamber of Commerce, the new owner of this pile of Obsidian!”
Zi Di made frequent purchases, acquiring a large amount of alchemy materials.
These actions caught the attention of everyone present.
Zi Di’s purchasing targets had been completely exposed.
“This isn’t good. Although the Black Market auction happens once a month, these alchemy materials are accumulated over a quarter before being auctioned.”
“Having just acquired Aojin, our expenditure has exceeded the budget. Send someone, contact the Housekeeper of the City Lord’s residence…”
“As local forces, we must join hands to fend off the outsider. We can’t let the Purple Vine Chamber of Commerce stir up trouble in Dun Dao City!”
Responsibles from the City Lord’s residence and the two major families quickly communicated in secret, reaching some form of agreement to work together.
Afterward, they began to oppose Zi Di, inflating the prices.
Zi Di endured, securing various alchemy materials at even higher prices.
“My Lord, this can’t be good,” the responsible person of the Purple Vine Chamber of Commerce in the area was sweating profusely.
Di Lou and Sanda also looked distressed, realizing their side was being targeted by the local forces.
Beneath her mask, Zi Di’s expression was resolute, “No matter.”
Another item was displayed inside the hall.
Similarly in a small wooden box, it contained a pile of silver-blue metal ingots with a certain luster.
“Refined Gold!” Zi Di’s eyes heated up slightly.
The production of Refined Gold is very low, its rarity comparable to Mithril. It also possesses strong magical affinity, more often used to craft weapons and armor.
Refined Gold is relatively heavy, with its greatest strength being its hardness!
It is known as the hardest metal, far surpassing steel in terms of hardness.
The Justice Pirate Group lacked Refined Gold.
They previously obtained some from Mysterious Monster Island. But after a period of depletion, there was hardly any left, making a large supply a necessity!
“A small box of Refined Gold ingots, starting bid of 1500 Gold. Each bid must increase by at least 100 Gold, let the auction begin,” the auctioneer shouted.
Before others could even react, Zi Di immediately placed a bid, “2000 Gold!”
The hall fell silent for a moment, as everyone was daunted by Zi Di’s bid.
But the City Lord’s Housekeeper immediately followed up through the Magic Device, offering, “2100 Gold Coins.”
Zi Di scoffed, “3000 Gold Coins!”
The Housekeeper of the City Lord, and representatives from both major families, pupils shrank. Just as they hesitated and thought about raising their bids, they heard Zi Di bid again, “3500 Gold Coins!!”
The Housekeeper of the City Lord and the heads of the two families stiffened, sensing the Purple Vine Chamber of Commerce’s determination to win at all costs, and they could only reluctantly concede, grinding their teeth in frustration.
Zi Di decisively secured the Refined Gold.
Her firm attitude made everyone at the auction wear a serious expression and they began to whisper amongst themselves.
“The Purple Vine Chamber of Commerce is still staggeringly powerful despite its damages.”
“Why are they so intent on purchasing these materials? Could they be planning something big?”
“Damn it, at this rate, I haven’t been able to acquire much alchemy materials for my family. How am I to complete the task given by my family?”
The Refined Gold was immediately sent to the private box.
After paying the Gold Coins, Zi Di watched nearly ten boxes in the private box and exhaled a breath of stale air, “With this, the hardest part of the procurement plan’s target has been completed.”
The materials in the private box were not all of it.
The Sea Blue Ore previously purchased by Zi Di was not among them. These ores, weighing three tons, were temporarily placed outside. Their quality had been personally confirmed by Di Lou, who had gone out specifically for that purpose.
Suddenly, someone ran up to the stage and conversed quietly with the auctioneer before promptly stepping down.
“Next, we have a special treasure,” the auctioneer announced, still sporting a hint of amazement on his face. “Ladies and gentlemen, please look!”
Four fighters from the Black Market step onto the stage, carrying a briefcase.
Upon opening the briefcase, the audience saw a pile of black crystals and were all puzzled.
But the Housekeeper of the City Lord exclaimed in astonishment.
The heads of the other two major families also quickly recognized it and couldn’t sit still any longer, standing up immediately.
These black crystals were of varying lengths and sizes, but all were elongated.
Their entire bodies were deeply shadowy, emitting an unfathomable chill, and their auras were uneven, ranging from Bronze, Black Iron, to Silver.
“To be honest, although I have long heard of such treasures, this is my first time seeing one in the flesh,” the auctioneer said with emotion. “They look like crystals, but they are essentially the essence of a soul.”
“Absorbed in a certain way, Transcendents, whether cultivating Fighting Energy, Magic, or even Divine Arts, can enhance their spirit and increase spiritual power.”
By this point, the hall had erupted with continuous exclamation.
Finally, the auctioneer declared, “Yes, these are Soul Crystals!”
The hall was abuzz.
The creation of Soul Crystals required the use of Undead Magic. Each Soul Crystal represented a living being’s life. The more intelligent the life, the higher the quality of the Soul Crystal.
People were terrified of Undead Mages.
But for Soul Crystals made by Undead Mages, they were desperately coveted!
Such a large batch of Soul Crystals was definitely rare on the market.
“2000 Gold Coins!” Zi Di preempted the auctioneer, seizing the initiative.
“Dream on, 2500 Gold Coins!” immediately countered the Housekeeper of the City Lord.
“3000 Gold Coins,” came the rough breathing of one of the family heads.
“3500 Gold Coins,” declared another family head fearlessly.
Zi Di snorted dismissively, “5000 Gold Coins!”
The auction house was stunned for a moment, then bids came from the hall, “5500 Gold Coins!”
“You think we’d be scared by you? 6000 Gold Coins!”
“I must have this today, 6500 Gold Coins!”
“Please give me some face, I bid 7000 Gold Coins.”
“What’s your face worth? 7500 Gold Coins.”
“Gentlemen, with so many Soul Crystals and our limited strength, we must join forces to bid. After winning, we can divide them based on the amount of funds each has put in, what do you say?”
“Good idea.”
“Count me in!”
Thus, someone rallied everyone’s strength and bid 8000 Gold Coins.
Yet, 8000 Gold Coins was not the final mark; the price continued to climb.
The auctioneer was excited to the point of trembling in his voice.
Zi Di also made several bids in the latter half, raising each time by only 100 Gold Coins, and ultimately “reluctantly” gave up.
The final price for the Soul Crystals was 9100 Gold Coins.
This price exceeded that of most Golden Level weapons and neared the lowest-grade Holy Artifacts.
After a successful trade, the auctioneer was flushed and quite excited.
He knew that, despite the high price of Soul Crystals, its final price of 9100 Gold Coins still seemed somewhat inflated. This was mainly because the atmosphere of the auction was too fervent; people competed with each other and lost a portion of their rationality in a kind of impulsive shopping.
The trade of Soul Crystals was the climax of the entire auction.
Afterward, people showed obvious lethargy in the auction, lacking the spirit and gusto.
Zi Di then proceeded to make her moves again.
First, she purchased a series of Earth Element resources such as the Essence of Granite, Essence of Obsidian, and so on, followed by a series of potions such as Neutralizers, Grinding Agents, and Maintenance Oils. Finally, during the antique auction session, she successively acquired a completely damaged Golden Level armor, a pile of broken ancient pottery jars, and an Obsidian Stone Statue Ghost with its mind core pierced by an arrow.
With the closure of the auction, Zi Di not only perfectly completed her task but also reaped benefits beyond the plan.
The sale of the Aojin and Soul Crystals not only allowed her to keep going until the end of the auction but she even had a surplus of Gold Coins left.