Chapter 977: A Cherished Item Will Bring Trouble
The others couldn't be bothered with Zu An anymore when they heard that. They all turned to look at the center of the stage. They had received rumors that this time, a rare treasure was going to be auctioned. Unfortunately, the booklet didn’t say anything about what the precious item was. It was precisely that feeling of mystery that drew their interest. They all wanted to see just what kind of treasure the Hub of Freedom was going to take out this time.
The staff brought out an embroidered case. The gorgeous hostess opened the case, upon which the onlookers subconsciously stood up. They all craned their necks one after another.
The private rooms were above everyone else’s, so Zu An could just calmly glance over. He saw a strangely shaped jade pendant. It was different from a normal jade pendant that prioritized aesthetics and color. It had many patterns on it, but they didn’t have a shred of artistic intent.
“This pendant’s material doesn’t seem like anything special…” There were quite a few people present who were experienced and knowledgeable. Someone immediately voiced their doubts.
The gorgeous hostess explained with a smile, “This pendant looks ordinary, but it contains a tremendous secret. Inscribed on it are the clues to the legendary Milk of Purple Frost.”
Zu An had just been planning to watch the rest of the auction from the sidelines, but when he heard that, his entire body trembled. He had just been searching so bitterly for that mysterious Milk of Purple Frost, and yet he ended up stumbling upon some clues so soon afterward?!
He had to get it for his big sis empress no matter what. However, he quickly frowned. He had only had around six hundred thousand silvers on him, and after buying the wolf fangs and pheasant feathers, he only had four hundred and seventy thousand left. That was probably not enough to buy the most important item in the Hub of Freedom’s auction.
The gorgeous hostess already began her introduction. “The Milk of Purple Frost is a legendary medicine. No matter how heavily injured the soul is, as long as it has not fully scattered, it can be restored to its former state. In the past, even his majesty, with his cultivation, suffered severe damage to his soul in his battle against the Fiend Emperor. This was the medicine he used to recover.
“Of course, apart from treating wounds, it also has tremendous effects in nurturing and condensing the soul. If an ordinary cultivator ingests this medicine, it will grant them the qualification to advance into the master rank. If one at the master rank ingests it, it will become much easier for them to break through into the grandmaster rank. As for someone beyond the grandmaster rank, it has been rumored that it was because his majesty ingested this that he broke through into the earth immortal rank…”
Those who were originally not all that interested in the item immediately widened their eyes when they heard that. They immediately wanted to take the item for themselves.
After all, the path of cultivation became much more difficult after the fifth rank. However, even the difficulty of the fifth to ninth rank added together couldn’t be compared to the bottleneck of the master rank. Many people struggled their entire lives without any hope of crossing that boundary.
As for going from the master rank to the grandmaster rank, it was even more difficult. The world was large and outstanding talents had appeared in abundance, so there were still a good amount of people at the master rank, but there were only a trifling few at the grandmaster rank. There was even less of a need to talk about the even greater earth immortals.
But those who were more meticulous in thought quickly voiced their misgivings. “Why would something so precious be auctioned? Are you not scared that news might leak out, and the masters and grandmasters would come to wipe you out?”
Even though the Hub of Freedom was powerful, the item was something that would tempt even grandmasters. How could people like them be able to possess something like that? Sure enough, the others quickly realized that problem as well. They gave the hostess skeptical looks.
The gorgeous hostess seemed to have already predicted the question. A sweet smile appeared on her face as she explained, “The Hub of Freedom naturally understands that possessing a cherished item may bring trouble, and that is why we have decided to auction it away. Furthermore, we do not have the true Milk of Purple Frost, and these are merely some clues related to it. I believe that those grandmasters and masters will not trouble our Hub of Freedom over something like this.”
The participants nodded inwardly when they heard that. These were just some clues. Even if they obtained them, they still might not be able to find the actual Milk of Purple Frost. Furthermore, the Hub of Freedom had some influence as well. That was why there was indeed no reason for those powerful cultivators to fight over the item.
Someone else asked, “But this item had already been in your possession for so long, so the clues must have already been fully researched. Even if we purchase it at a great price, you all already know the information stored inside. What if while we’re fighting over this thing, you’ve already secretly begun to look for this Milk of Purple Frost? Then wouldn’t we just become your scapegoats?”
Zu An nodded inwardly. The people present weren’t stupid after all. Even someone like Sun Ji wasn’t completely stupid, let alone everyone else.
The gorgeous hostess replied with a smile, “Everyone need not worry. The clues on this jade pendant are extremely mysterious and profound. We at the Hub of Freedom have already researched it for a long time, yet we have made no progress. We would not even know where to start even if we wanted to get a head start.”
“If not even you were able to find out anything, what will we be able to do with it?” the black robed man Zu An had been paying attention to before said in a low, muffled voice.
The hostess showed him a professional smile. “The treasures of the world are not necessarily things that can be found through effort. Many times, they belong to those they are destined to be with. If our Hub of Freedom was not able to make any progress, that means we share no karma with this item. However, that does not mean that no one else will be able to find out anything.”
Zu An thought to himself that this woman really was great at appealing to human nature. There were many intelligent people in the world, and they would all feel they were smarter than others, that they were luckier. They would definitely try to obtain the jade pendant.
Sure enough, there were already some people beginning to urge the bidding on. “Alright already, can we just get on with it and start the bidding?”
The beautiful hostess had a satisfied smile on her face. She slowly said, “This item’s starting price will be one million taels of silver, and will increase in increments of ten thousand.”
The room fell silent immediately. A million wasn’t a small number, after all! It was easy to imagine that the final price was going to be far greater than one million.
But when the first person placed the bid, those present quickly became worked up. They all raised their signs one after another, and the price climbed higher and higher. The price soon reached one million, five hundred thousand silvers.
Zu An had a huge headache. The starting price was far greater than the cash he had on hand. But for the sake of Mi Li, he had to brace himself and go for it.
“Two million!” Zu An decided to just raise the price much higher, hoping that he could use the earlier prestige he had accumulated to scare everyone else off.
Sure enough, the place immediately fell silent when they heard the price. Motherf*cking… That person is trying to raise the price again! They all cursed inwardly and contributed a huge wave of Rage points.
More Rage points poured in, but Zu An didn’t feel happy about it yet. He knew it might not be so easy to purchase the item this time.
Sure enough, a low voice spoke from another private room. “Two million and ten thousand.”
Zu An’s expression sank. The other jade token guests hadn’t participated in his bickering with Sun Ji, but the fact that they were in private rooms clearly proved their strength. “Two million and twenty thousand.” He continued to push the price higher with an overcast expression.
Increasing the bids by ten thousand was pretty much meaningless at this point, however. He began to sort through the treasures he had. Even though he didn’t have enough silvers on hand, he could probably piece together two million and seven hundred thousand with the treasures he had gotten from the red dragon. For Mi Li, he had to buy the item even if he had to spend everything he had.
The person in the other private room fell silent when he heard Zu An raise the price again. He was clearly reconsidering his decision.
The gorgeous hostess below was looking at Zu An with sparkling eyes. This person was not only tall and strong, he was even wealthy at such a young age! He was simply the perfect man! If I can build a relationship with him, I might not have to spend the rest of my life in a place like this…
Just then, Sun Ji spoke up lazily. “Two million and thirty thousand taels!”
Yang Long was surprised, exclaiming, “Young master, you cannot let your emotions affect your decision!”
“Fool, do you think I’m only doing this to fight against that guy? Use your brain; I’m going to buy this thing to offer it to King Yan. Just how many benefits will father and I obtain then?” Sun Ji sneered.
Yang Long was stunned. Indeed, King Qi is his majesty’s uncle. He has already been stuck at the grandmaster rank for a long time already. If he can obtain the Milk of Purple Frost, a breakthrough is all but guaranteed!
The young master does act rather spoiled, but he has clarity and insight when it counts!