Chapter 338: Acquiring Moon Tree |
“Courting death! I bid 9 billion!”
The Burial Demon Old Ghost’s gaze pierced toward the second VIP room, his killing intent undisguised.
However, the person in the second VIP room didn’t seem to take the threat seriously, immediately replying, “I bid 9.1 billion!”
The Burial Demon Old Ghost slammed the table heavily and stood up instantly. For years, no one had dared to disrespect him like this.
He immediately extended his spiritual force toward the second VIP room, but the protective barrier around each room blocked his attempts to discern the identity of the bidder.
“Do you have a death wish? If you have the guts, announce your name!” The Burial Demon Old Ghost growled with murderous intent.
The Jade-faced Rakshasa glanced at the second VIP room, her expression contemplative, but she showed no intention of increasing her bid.
“Haha! Who I am doesn’t matter. Would you seek revenge just because I reveal my name? Is this the extent of the famed Burial Demon Old Ghost’s tolerance, one of the Four Evils of the Sinful Lands?”
“Here at the auction, the highest bidder wins. If you want the Heaven-defying Pill, keep raising your bid. Threatening me won’t work.”
The entire auction hall was stunned, and everyone began speculating about the identity of the person in the second VIP room, who dared to disregard the Burial Demon Old Ghost so openly.
Aside from the other three members of the Four Evils, few would dare to treat the Burial Demon Old Ghost with such disdain.
No one would have guessed, not even in their wildest dreams, that the one sitting in the second VIP room was merely a Spiritual Sea-stage Gu cultivator.
“Fine! You’re the first to anger me in years. Let’s see how you plan to leave this place with the item. Without sufficient strength, some treasures are simply out of reach.”
The Burial Demon Old Ghost sat back down with a dark expression, ceasing to bid further.
Having killed countless Gu Kings in his life, 9 billion was already his limit. He simply couldn’t afford to offer more, which only fueled his frustration.
Inside the second VIP room, the Fourth Young Master sneered coldly. Competing financially with the Qian Clan's Chamber of Commerce? Utterly foolish.
Even if asked to bid 20 billion more, he could do so without hesitation. The sheer number of spirit stones the auction had already collected was astronomical. If he wanted a specific treasure, who in this hall could rival him?
With the Burial Demon Old Ghost out of the running and the Jade-faced Rakshasa seemingly reluctant to continue bidding, the other Gu cultivators stood no chance. The rest of the audience could only glare resentfully, unable to compete financially.
Seeing no new bids for a long time, Old Qian finally spoke:
“The current highest bid is 9.1 billion spirit stones from the guest in the second VIP room. Does anyone else wish to offer more?”
“9.1 billion, going once!”
“9.1 billion, going twice!”
“9.1 billion, sold! Congratulations to the guest in the second VIP room!”
Qian Lao beamed as he instructed an attendant to deliver the Heaven-defying Pill to the second VIP room.
Long Xuan observed the scene indifferently. He didn’t care who ultimately acquired the Heaven-defying Pill—as long as the spirit stones were transferred to his account, that was all that mattered.
Meanwhile, the rest of the Gu cultivators stared longingly at the Heaven-defying Pill, their thoughts turning sinister.
If financial means failed, the only way to acquire the pill was by force.
The allure of enhanced talent was impossible to resist.
Many *lGu Kings clenched their fists, focusing their spiritual senses on the second VIP room, scrutinizing its occupant’s every move.
The appearance of the Moon Tree had drawn many Gu Kings, and the oppressive spiritual force surrounding the second VIP room was palpable—even Long Xuan, seated nearby, felt the pressure.
He anticipated that once he bid for the Moon Tree, he’d face a similar predicament. However, he figured most of the Gu Kings would remain fixated on the Heaven-defying Pill, leaving fewer competitors for the Moon Tree.
When the attendant delivered the Heaven-defying Pill to the second VIP room and transferred nearly 10 billion spirit stones to Long Xuan’s first VIP room, the final item of the auction was presented.
Since auction organizers charged a 5% commission, Long Xuan received 8.6 billion spirit stones in total.
After securing the spirit stones, Long Xuan turned his attention back to the auction platform.
There lay a massive tree with crescent-shaped yellow leaves. However, the leaves were sparse, as if someone had stripped it bare.
The lack of leaves wasn’t a significant issue. With the help of Medicinal Gu, new leaves would eventually grow.
However, under Long Xuan’s perception, the Moon Tree was dead, which made him frown deeply.
He needed the juice from the leaves to create an eye solution, crucial for perfecting the evolution of the Eye of Heavenly Secret. Such a transformation required a large quantity of the solution.
A dead tree that couldn’t regenerate leaves would never suffice.
Long Xuan tapped his fingers rhythmically on the table, lost in thought.
Repairing it with Repair Gu wasn’t an option given the tree’s level. The only solution was to attempt to revive it. He wondered if Medicinal Gu could help achieve this.
The Moon Tree was brought onto the stage by several Qian Clan Gu cultivators, but the audience showed little interest, the hall remaining eerily quiet.
Most were still fixated on how to seize the Heaven-defying Pill and paid no attention to the Moon Tree.
The Heaven-defying Pill had completely overshadowed the tree, which would otherwise have been the star of the auction.
Old Qian broke the silence with a chuckle:
“Haha! Apologies for the sparse leaves on the Moon Tree. Our Qian Clan didn’t strip it bare, I assure you.”
“Still, the tree is large enough to provide three people with the Eye Cleansing process.”
“Washing your eyes with Moon Tree leaves grants immunity to all forms of illusions.”
“With just this one attribute, the Moon Tree is worthy of being the finale item of this auction.”
“The bidding starts at 5 billion. Let the auction begin!”
Long Xuan didn’t bid immediately, waiting patiently for someone else to take the lead.
But then, a sudden development occurred. The person in the second VIP room, who had just obtained the Heaven-defying Pill, attempted to leave prematurely, unwilling to wait for the auction to conclude.
As soon as he prepared to leave, everyone immediately panicked, completely losing interest in continuing with the auction.
“Damn it! He’s actually leaving!”
The Burial Demon Old Ghost instantly stood up, about to chase after him, but then paused and looked at the Moon Tree on the auction stage.
He wanted both of these heaven-defying treasures and wasn’t willing to let go of either. However, he no longer had time to bid. So, he simply declared loudly:
“I currently have 9 billion spirit stones. I’ll bid 9 billion. If anyone bids even one more spirit stone, I’ll relinquish the Moon Tree to them!”
As soon as he finished speaking, a weak voice came from the VIP Room No. 1:
“9 billion and 1 spirit stone!”
The Burial Demon Old Ghost immediately glared in anger.
Attending an auction, and yet, repeatedly being disrespected by nobodies—he was truly on the verge of going mad with rage!
But time was of the essence. He refrained from wasting any more time on harsh words, flicked his sleeves, and swiftly left.
It wasn’t just him rushing to pursue the Fourth Young Master, who had taken the heaven-defying pill; everyone at the auction was also hurriedly chasing after him.
In the blink of an eye, a large portion of the auction hall had emptied out. Other than members of the Qian Clan Chamber of Commerce, only a few remained, leaving Long Xuan completely dumbfounded.
Was no one going to take the Moon Tree???
“Old Qian, can the hammer be dropped now?”
Seeing that the auction hall was practically empty and that no one seemed to be competing with him anymore, Long Xuan spoke up as a reminder.
Old Qian finally snapped out of his daze. Even he hadn’t anticipated such a scenario.
With a wry smile, he said, “If that’s the case, then the Moon Tree is yours. I will personally deliver it to you.”
After storing the Moon Tree into a storage bag, Old Qian led several Qian Clan Gu Cultivators toward VIP Room No. 1.
Meanwhile, Long Xuan had already prepared the spirit stones in a storage bag, wearing a pained expression.
He hadn’t expected the Burial Demon Old Ghost to start at 9 billion, forcing him to bid 9 billion and 1 spirit stone to secure the Moon Tree.
The 8.6 billion spirit stones he had just acquired weren’t enough, and he had to add another 300 million. His hard-earned savings over the years were now completely depleted.
As soon as Long Xuan finished preparing the spirit stones, Old Qian entered with several Qian Clan Gu Cultivators, handing the storage bag containing the Moon Tree to Long Xuan with a smile:
“This is your Moon Tree. Please take good care of it.”
Long Xuan accepted the storage bag, checked to confirm the Moon Tree was inside, and then tossed the storage bag full of spirit stones back.
At that moment, he appeared deep in thought.
According to his original plan, once he secured the Moon Tree, he would immediately tear the Hundred Mile Talisman and escape.
But now, things had changed. Everyone had rushed out to chase after the heaven-defying pill, leaving no one paying attention to him.
Under these circumstances, was it still necessary to tear the Hundred Mile Talisman and flee?
After contemplating for a moment, Long Xuan ultimately decided to stick to his plan.
He would rather waste a Hundred Mile Talisman than risk his safety.
Resolving himself, he didn’t hesitate further. He immediately tore the Hundred Mile Talisman hidden in his right hand. A spatial ripple echoed in the room, and he vanished into thin air.
Old Qian, who was still counting the spirit stones, froze for a moment upon seeing the sudden disappearance of a living person. He rubbed his eyes in disbelief.
However, as an experienced appraiser who had seen countless treasures, he quickly blurted out,
“It’s the Hundred Mile Talisman!”
“This man actually possesses the legendary Hundred Mile Talisman!”
“How cautious! No one was interested in the Moon Tree anymore because of the heaven-defying pill, yet he still used a Hundred Mile Talisman?”
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Meanwhile, in a distant corner...
“Damn it! How can he run so fast? He actually got away!”
The Jade-Faced Rakshasa extended her soul sense to its maximum range but failed to detect any trace of him. Her expression turned dark.
Beside her, a red-clothed female Gu King sighed and said,
“This man is truly cautious. Even in this situation, he was willing to use a Hundred Mile Talisman to escape.”
“The teleportation range of a Hundred Mile Talisman far exceeds the sensing range of a Gu King. It will be very difficult to find him.”
“However, if we send several Gu Kings to search a wider area, we might still have a chance to find him with some luck.”
Before she could finish, the Jade-Faced Rakshasa raised her hand to stop her:
“No need. The heaven-defying pill is what’s important. We must concentrate all our efforts on obtaining it. Do not waste resources on this matter.”
“Since the Moon Tree is not meant to be ours, let it be. We must immediately support the main body.”
With those words, the two figures in the corner disappeared without a trace.