Chapter 336: Opening a Blind Box |
Under the terrified gazes of the surrounding Gu cultivators, the Jade-Faced Rakshasa entered the auction house without resistance, finally settling in VIP Room No. 3. Accompanying her were two red-clothed Gu cultivators exuding the aura of Gu Kings.
"Are you certain about your information? Has the Qian Clan Chamber of Commerce really acquired a heaven-defying pill capable of upgrading two grades of aptitude? Why haven’t they advertised such a treasure yet?"
After sitting down, the Jade-Faced Rakshasa appeared somewhat distracted and directed the question to a red-clothed female Gu cultivator beside her.
"Master, my information is absolutely reliable. Our Rakshasa Sect has planted spies throughout the city, even within the Qian Clan Chamber of Commerce itself."
"This intel comes from a maid serving the appraiser directly—it’s definitely accurate."
"If the Qian Clan hasn’t publicized this, I imagine they’re planning to keep it for themselves."
"A heaven-defying pill like this would stir greed in anyone. The people of the Qian Clan are no exception," the female Gu cultivator said, her lips curving into a cold smile.
"That makes sense..." The Jade-Faced Rakshasa narrowed her eyes. "This pill can enhance a Gu cultivator’s aptitude by two grades and even elevate Heavenly-Grade Aptitude to Divine Grade. It is indeed extraordinary."
"Compared to this treasure, that Moon Tree is insignificant. From now on, our priority is to acquire this heaven-defying pill at all costs."
Clenching her fists, the Jade-Faced Rakshasa's eyes gleamed with ambition.
"Give the order to have all Rakshasa Sect disciples lay ambushes around Sin City."
"If we win the pill in the auction, so be it. But if not, whoever claims it will die, regardless of their identity!"
Her eyes flashed with a chilling intent to kill.
"Understood, Master!"
The female Gu cultivator nodded and swiftly left the room.
Meanwhile, commotion rose from below.
The Jade-Faced Rakshasa glanced down and frowned slightly.
"Burial Demon Old Ghost? So, he’s here after all. With him around, getting the heaven-defying pill won’t be easy."
She tapped her fingers lightly on the table, her expression pensive.
As various Gu cultivators entered one after another, the previously empty auction hall quickly filled up. The venue buzzed with noise as attendees discussed the treasures up for bidding, especially the much-anticipated Moon Tree, which was the focus of everyone’s conversation.
However, there was no mention of the heaven-defying pill.
Long Xuan frowned slightly. Had none of the Gu cultivators below received news of the pill? Was this a deliberate act of secrecy by the Qian Clan Chamber of Commerce, or was it unnecessary to publicize it with the auction about to begin?
Long Xuan pondered deeply.
At that moment, a clear bell rang, silencing the hall.
Long Xuan snapped out of his thoughts and murmured, "It’s finally starting, is it?"
An elderly man stepped onto the auction stage, smiling as he addressed the crowd of Gu cultivators below.
"My surname is Qian, but you may call me Old Qian. It’s my honor to host this auction today. I imagine many of you are eager to get started, so I won’t waste any more time."
"I now declare this auction officially open!"
As soon as Old Qian finished speaking, a beautifully dressed maid appeared, carrying a jade tray. She presented the first item of the auction.
Everyone craned their necks, eager to see what treasure rested atop the jade tray.
However, upon seeing a storage bag, many in the crowd looked disappointed.
Storage bags were ubiquitous items. What was so special about one? Even if it had an unusually large space, it wasn’t enough to pique their interest.
Old Qian seemed to have anticipated the crowd’s reaction and smiled mysteriously.
Picking up the storage bag from the jade tray, he waved it in front of everyone and then placed it back on the table. With a grin, he said, "You may be disappointed, but as you can see, this is indeed a storage bag. The starting bid is 500,000 spirit stones."
"I won’t keep you in suspense any longer. A storage bag being put up for auction by the Qian Clan Auction House is, of course, no ordinary storage pouch. This storage bag is a claimed storage bag and contains treasures within."
"As everyone knows, Gu cultivators do not die, and the storage bag they own cannot be opened by others."
"Forcing them open often results in most of the treasures inside being destroyed."
"However, there is no absolute in this world. Claimed storage bag can be opened without damage when soaked in 'Netherwater'."
"But the price of Netherwater is extremely high—it may even far exceed the value of the treasures inside the pouch."
"Using Netherwater to open a claimed storage bag is not only unprofitable but might even result in a loss."
"This storage bag was accidentally acquired by the seller, who has no idea what treasures it holds."
"Lacking the resolve to gamble on the contents using Netherwater, the seller chose to put the storage bag up for auction instead."
"He passed on the blind gamble opportunity to others—whether it’s a loss or a profit depends entirely on the buyer's luck."
"By shifting the risk to others, the seller is being clever. No matter the final auction price of the storage bag, he will make a guaranteed profit."
"Now, is anyone interested in this storage bag?"
Upon hearing this, all the Gu cultivators present became intrigued.
This “blind box” game was indeed fascinating. Everyone was curious about the contents of the storage bag—whether breaking it open with Netherwater would lead to a loss or a gain.
The treasures inside were completely unknown; anything could be hidden within. This uncertainty stirred excitement and a gambling spirit in many.
Among the auction attendees, there was no shortage of Gu cultivators who loved taking risks.
However, none of them were rash enough to bid immediately. With such limited information, they first wanted to gather more details before deciding whether to bid and how much to bid.
Someone in the audience finally asked, "The information is too scarce. You should at least tell us whose storage bag this is."
"If this belongs to some major figure, someone we can’t afford to offend, wouldn’t taking it invite disaster?"
Old Qian smiled and replied, "You’re not wrong—it’s a possibility. Gambling on a blind box involves both the potential treasures inside and the risks that come with the storage bag."
"If anyone is concerned that this might belong to a major figure and fears trouble, they are free to abstain from bidding."
"As for the identity of the bag’s owner, how could we possibly know?"
"If we knew who owned it, we could easily estimate the treasures inside. In that case, we wouldn’t bring it to auction as a blind box."
"All I can say is that the seller claimed to have picked up this storage bag by the roadside. He doesn’t know who the owner is or what treasures are inside."
"This is all the information the Qian Clan Auction House has. Whether to take the risk is entirely up to you."
Old Qian confidently surveyed the Gu cultivators below. He firmly believed that the storage bag wouldn’t fail to sell.
It was true that the bag could belong to someone untouchable, but among so many Gu cultivators present, there were bound to be risk-takers.
After Old Qian finished speaking, murmurs of discussion broke out among the Gu cultivators.
"Picked it up by the roadside? What kind of luck is that? Who would be stupid enough to lose their storage bag? I think this bag was obviously stolen."
"If it was stolen, the seller must know who the owner is. If he’s willing to auction it, it probably means there’s nothing valuable inside."
"That’s not necessarily true. In this world, there really are Gu cultivators careless enough to lose their storage bag. The world is full of strange cases."
"Hah! If someone is dumb enough to lose their bag, they might as well lose their head. What treasures could someone that foolish possibly have? I bet there’s nothing good inside. Anyone who buys it will lose money."
The crowd was divided, but the majority believed there wasn’t anything valuable in the storage bag.
Under such a perception, the bag’s auction price naturally wouldn’t go too high.
At this moment, Long Xuan also found the blind box game intriguing and carefully examined the storage bag.
Despite its ordinary material, this didn’t mean much.
Hiding one’s wealth was wise. Many wealthy Gu cultivators deliberately used unremarkable pouches to avoid drawing attention. Long Xuan himself was such a person.
No matter how wealthy he was, he would never carry the world’s most expensive bag at his waist—doing so would be announcing to the world that he was rich.
However, this particular pouch was feminine in style, which wasn’t good news for him.
Some items used by female Gu cultivators couldn’t be utilized by males. A female’s storage bag would undoubtedly lower its value in his eyes.
Using his soul power, Long Xuan probed the strength of the bag’s restrictions. He quickly determined that it belonged to a Gu cultivator in the 'Spiritual Sea' stage.
He was startled. For Netherwater to cost so much that opening a Spiritual Sea stage Gu cultivator’s bag might result in a loss—how expensive was it?
Spiritual Sea stage Gu cultivators were already rare in this world, and most of their storage bag were brimming with wealth. A resource-deprived Gu cultivator could hardly break through to the Spiritual Sea stage.
Long Xuan’s eyes flickered. He decided to use his origin realm ability to replicate the table and the storage bag. He was determined to see for himself what treasures the bag contained.
Meanwhile, bidding had already begun, just as Old Qian had predicted. Plenty of adventurous Gu cultivators were eager to claim this blind box.
The price quickly rose to a million spirit stones. At this point, the bidding began to slow down. Each bidder carefully deliberated before calling out their price.
A million spirit stones was already a steep price. After all, the buyers also had to consider the cost of acquiring Netherwater, which left little room for profit.
With most attendees believing there was nothing valuable in the bag, a million spirit stones was likely the limit.
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