As for the bearded elderly man, he merely nodded in response with a thunderous expression on his face before making a grabbing motion with his remaining hand.
His dismembered arm immediately hovered toward him at his behest before being carefully stowed away.
Immediately thereafter, the elderly man made a hand seal, and a low buzzing sound rang out from the blue formation on the stage, following which he disappeared amid a flash of spiritual light.
As a holy race being, the elderly man had always been respected and revered, so it was naturally extremely humiliating for him to have an arm dismembered in front of so many people.
As such, he didn't want to remain in the auction hall for even a moment longer, and nor did he want to see anyone for a long time after this.
At this moment, Xiao Buyi suddenly turned to the brocade-robed man who had retreated to the side of the stage, and smiled as he said, "Due to the unforeseen circumstances that have just unfolded, the last auction item has naturally been cancelled. Fellow Daoist Lu, you may take back your spirit stones. Additionally, in order to compensate you for your loss, if you manage to successfully purchase one of the final three items, then you'll receive a discount of 10,000,000 spirit stones."
Thus, he raised a hand and tossed back the bag of spirit stone that had just been issued.
The brocade-robed man was clearly afraid that the Human-faced Wyrm would turn on him as well, so he'd been standing there in silence, hoping to blend in with the scenery.
After hearing Xiao Buyi's offer, the man shook his head and sighed, "So be it. The incident that just took place indicates that I have no affinity with this auction. As such, I won't be participating in the rest of this auction."
After catching the bag of spirit stones, the man immediately turned and exited the auction hall, quickly disappearing from view thereafter.
His departure created a slight stir among the rest of the people in the auction hall, Xiao Buyi's brows furrowed slightly before quickly smoothing out as he turned to the green-scaled woman beside him.
Following a slight nod from Xiao Buyi, the woman reached into her sleeve to pull out a black object before tossing it into the air.
All of a sudden, a string of ferocious cries erupted within the auction hall.
Immediately thereafter, gale-force winds swept forth in all directions as a black clouds materialized out of thin air. The cloud tumbled and churned violently as it expanded to over 100 feet in size, and such a phenomenon naturally drew the attention of all of the beings below the stage.
A burst of screeching rang out incessantly from within the clouds, following which several thunderclaps erupted, and the dark clouds disappeared amid flashes of white lightning.
Thus, an inky-black flying carriage was instantly revealed. The carriage was around 50 to 60 feet in length antiquated patterns carved all over its surface, and an ancient aura was emanating from it.
The carriage was being drawn by four black horned pegasi, and not only did they each have a pair of black wings, most of their bodies were covered by a layer of black armor.
Atop each of these pegasi was a black armored being that was around as tall as an average human. They were all armed to the teeth with swords and bows strapped to their backs, and all of the pegasi, as well as their riders, were hovering completely motionlessly in mid-air, indicating that they were all puppets!
The same cold light was emanating from the carriage and the four pegasus riders, and that suggested that they had been refined from the same material.
Many people below the stage were quite intrigued by the sight of this carriage and the pegasus riders.
"Hehe, this is the second auction item that has been reserved for our finale, the Infernal Earth Battle Carriage. I won't make an in-depth introduction of this carriage, but I'm sure most of you will have heard about its place of origin. I trust that many of you still recall the Earth Spirit Race that was completely eradicated hundreds of thousands of years ago. Back then, they were renowned as the race on the Thunder Continent that was most proficient in puppetry. This Infernal Earth Battle Carriage was made by none other than the Earth Spirit Race, and it was found at a set of ruins left behind by said race. As for its specific abilities, I won't display them here. All I can tell you is that each of these rider puppets possesses mid-Spatial Tempering Stage power, and when all four of them combine their powers, they can unleash a secret technique that has been lost for a long time, and that secret technique is capable of withstanding an attack from an early-holy race being. As for the carriage itself, it has countless transformations, and that will have to be explored by the fellow Daoist who ends up purchasing it," Xiao Buyi chuckled.
Many people were already quite temped upon hearing that this carriage had been forged by the Earth Spirit Race, and after learning that the four puppet riders could even keep an early-holy race being at bay, all of them were ecstatic. There were even some people who swept their spiritual sense toward the carriage for a closer inspection, only to be given a massive fright before hurriedly withdrawing their spiritual sense.
As it turned out, as soon as their spiritual sense came into contact with the flying carriage, a strange burst of suction force suddenly erupted from it that forcibly sucked their spiritual sense into the carriage.
This was naturally quite a startling development.
Perhaps it was due to the fact that the carriage still had no owner as of yet, but all of them were able to withdraw their spiritual sense without any impediment. Otherwise, they really would've been in a rather sticky situation.
As such, it was verified that this carriage did indeed possess some extraordinary abilities, and it drew even more interest from prospective bidders.
Han Li was among the beings who had swept his spiritual sense toward the carriage, and he had also developed a sense of curiosity toward it. However, He then immediately heaved a forlorn internal sigh.
The starting price of the carriage hadn't yet been announced, but it was surely going to be very high, seeing as this was a treasure capable of keeping even an early-holy race being at bay. As such, he would simply have to act as a spectator while others bid of the carriage.
However, the Golden Lightning Bamboo still hadn't appeared yet, which meant that in the eyes of the auction house, it was even more important than this carriage and that spirit beast from earlier.
Just as these thoughts were running through Han Li's mind, Xiao Buyi finally announced the starting prices for this carriage. "The starting price for this Infernal Earth Battle Carriage will be 120,000,000 spirit stones!"
Han Li knew that the starting price was going to be quite a staggering one, but he was still taken aback by this massive sum.
As expected, bidding for this Infernal Earth Battle Carriage was extremely intense, and the price was quickly bid up to over 200,000,000 spirit stones. Even so, there were many people who were unwilling to give up.
However, on this occasion, there weren't many holy race beings from the upper level who participated in the bidding. A few of them placed a bid here and there, but all of them gave up on the carriage after the price exceeded 200,000,000.
In the end, the carriage was secured by a graceful woman with a veil over her face for the price of 220,000,000 spirit stones.
This drew a sense of bewilderment from many of the beings present as this woman appeared to only be at the mid-Deity Transformation Stage, so it was quite incredible that she'd be in possession of such a huge sum of spirit stones.
Han Li was also rather surprised to see this, but he quickly cast these thoughts aside as the next auction item was a section of green bamboo.
It was none other than the Golden Lightning Bamboo that he'd offered to the auction house!
"This is a section of Golden Lightning Bamboo, the source of the paramount wood-attribute divine lightning! The starting price is 70,000,000!" Xiao Buyi's introduction was quite concise on this occasion, and he picked up the section of bamboo as he spoke before wav
ing it toward the people below the stage.
A loud thunderclap rang out as countless arcs of golden lightning erupted from the section of bamboo at once, instantly forming a large golden net of lightning.
"Golden Lightning Bamboo!"
"Divine Devilbane Lightning!"
"Paramount wood-attribute divine lightning!"
...
Cries of surprise and elation immediately rang out, and some of them had even come directly from the upper level.
Many people's expressions changed drastically at the sight of the golden lightning net, and a massive stir ran through the entire auction hall!
Chapter 1611: Spirit Engulfing Fire Raven and the Glazed Heavenly Flame Liquid
Han Li's expression remained completely unchanged, but he was quite delighted by this reaction.
It was quite clear that this Golden Lightning Bamboo was even more precious than he'd originally thought.
But then again, even though he'd already mastered the Lightningwield Technique, he still couldn't help but feel that there seemed to be something else hidden within the Golden Lightning Bamboo. Otherwise, the demon monarchs of the earth abyss wouldn't have been so wary of this Divine Devilbane Lightning.
Unfortunately, the demon monarchs were merely using him as a tool at the time, so even if the Golden Lightning Bamboo were harboring some other secrets, they naturally wouldn't tell him about it.
Han Li had searched through the Flying Spirit Race and Cloud City, but there weren't many tomes that he could find that were related to the Golden Lightning Bamboo and Divine Devilbane Lightning. As such, he could only give up in his search for now and hope that an answer would present itself to him later on.
Just as these thoughts were racing through Han Li's mind, bidding had already begun on the Golden Lightning Bamboo.
All of a sudden, a holy race being on the upper level made a staggering bid of 250,000,000 spirit stones, effectively scaring off many prospective bidders.
However, that holy race being definitely wasn't the only one with a massive budget.
Almost immediately thereafter, bids of 260,000,000 and 270,000,000 were made by two other holy race beings on the upper level.
The voice of one of the bidders was rather familiar to Han Li, and after a brief moment of contemplation, he realized that it was Qian Jizi.
This elder of the Myriad Ancient Race had also set his sights on that section of Golden Lightning Bamboo.
As for the other bidder, it was the man with the Lie surname who had raised his skepticism toward the flawed Glazed Heavenly Flame Liquid earlier.
These two beings made one bid after another, and all of the other prospective bidders could only look on in disappointment and yearning toward the Golden Lightning Bamboo on the stage.
All of a sudden, the atmosphere in the auction hall became a little tense and oppressive.
"300,000,000!"
After a brief silence, the holy race being who had earlier made the bid of 250,000,000 finally placed another bid, and Han Li's heart skipped a beat upon hearing this astonishing price.
This time, Qian Jizi heaved a forlorn sigh and remained silent.
"310,000,000! Fellow Daoist Jing, you're the one bidding against me, right? This section of Golden Lightning Bamboo is extremely important to me, so I hope that you can relinquish it to me." The man with the Lie surname made another after a brief hesitation before directing a polite request toward the other bidder.
However, the man with the Jing surname had no intention of giving up, and he chuckled, "I don't think so, Brother Lie. The Golden Lightning Bamboo is also extremely important to me, which is why I'm willing to place such a high bid for it. I won't be handing it over to anyone. 320,000,000!"
"Alright, in that case, I'll hand over the Golden Lightning Bamboo to you, Brother Jing." The man with the Lie surname seemed to be aware of how wealthy his competitor was, so he also gave up following a wistful sigh.
"Hehe, you have my thanks, Brother Lie!" the man with the Jing surname replied in a triumphant voice, but he was quickly stumped by the scenes that unfolded next.
"330,000,000!" A bid was made by someone on the lower level.
This was a pleasant female voice, and many people faltered upon hearing this before turning toward that direction, only to find that the bidder was none other than the same woman who had purchased the Infernal Earth Battle Carriage.
Everyone was quite stunned to see this, including Han Li.
She had already spent such a massive sum of spirit stones earlier, yet she was still able to make such an astronomical bid; that was insane!
Of course, this didn't truly indicate that her wealth exceeded that of a holy race being, but at the very least, she possessed far more spirit stones than the average holy race being.
"340,000,000!" the man with the Jing surname continued in a dark voice.
"350,000,000!" the woman countered in an unhurried manner.
The man with the Jing surname fell silent once again, but after a brief moment, he made another bid in a frosty voice. "360,000,000! If anyone can make a higher bid than this, then even I won't be able to keep up."
As soon as his voice fell, the woman made another bid in an extremely calm manner. "370,000,000!"
A burst of enraged and incredulous laughter rang out from the cabin that the man with the Jing surname was situated in.
"Good! Seeing as you're so intent on securing this Golden Lightning Bamboo, then I can only wish you a safe trip when you depart from Cloud City!"
After being provoked over and over again by an upper race being, this holy race being finally couldn't repress his fury any longer, and delivered a barely-concealed threat.
However, the woman completely ignored him as if she hadn't even heard what was being said. After Xiao Buyi announced that she had successfully placed the final bid for the auction item, she made her way onto the stage in an unhurried manner, then issued the required spirit stones in exchange for the Golden Lightning Bamboo before returning to her seat.
The fearlessness being displayed by the woman evoked a sense of wariness in the heart of the man with the Jing surname, and he merely chuckled coldly before falling silent.
"Alright, we have now reached the grand finale of the auction, so allow me to present our most precious auction item. Hehe, I'm sure all of you know what it is already. The final auction item is a vial of 13 Myriad Wonder Pills. I'm sure I don't need to elaborate much on the extraordinary effects of Myriad Wonder Pills; not only are they ideal for breakthroughs to the holy race, consumption of the pill can cleanse one's essence and enhance one's constitution. In the past, Myriad Wonder Pills have been sold during prior auctions, but they've never been sold in batches of more than three or four at once. In all honesty, even I was quite stunned that the elders of the Crystal Race were willing to offer so many Myriad Wonder Pills to be sold during this auction. If it weren't for the fact that I'm hosting this auction, perhaps I would participate in the bidding as well. I won't be able to use them for myself, but these pills would be more than ideal for a junior or disciple of mine," Xiao Buyi said with a forlorn look on his face.
After that, he accepted a faint silver vial from one of the armored beings on the stage, then raised it high above his head.
The holy race beings on the upper level may not have been overly tempted by these pills, but the beings on the lower and middle levels were all staring intently at the silver vial in Xiao Buyi's hand with scorching desire in their eyes.
All of them either wore solemn expressions, or ones of unbridled excitement or anxiety.
"Alright, that's enough rambling from me. Without further ado, the starting price for this vial of Myriad Wonder Pills is 300,000,000!" Xiao Buyi announced with a smile.
After hearing this starting price, Han Li stroked his chin and crossing his arms, then leaned back into his seat expressionlessly before closing his eyes.
At this moment, Han Li's mind had completely drifted away from the vial of
Myriad Wonder Pills before offered on the stage. Instead, he was contemplating how he could get his hands on its refinement method.
If the ingredients used were all plant-based items, then he could refine countless such pills for himself. If these Myriad Wonder Pills really were as extraordinary as everyone proclaimed, then with the assistance of the true spirit bloods within his body, there was a very good chance that he'd be able break through to the Body Integration Stage through consuming these pills.
Thus, Han Li fell into deep thought...
Close to a day later, within the secret chamber of his cave abode on Dreamcloud Mountain, Han Li sat in a cross-legged manner with a faint blue pouch in one hand, and a small white vial in the other.
He bounced the pouch up and down in his hand as a faint smile appeared on his face.
This pouch naturally contained the top-grade spirit stones that he'd received from the Four Races Auction, and they were most likely sufficient to cover close to half of the costs incurred by using the super teleportation formation. If Cai Liuying really were willing to issue the other half of the costs, then he'd most likely be able to gather the remaining sum of spirit stones quite easily.
The last time he'd attended an auction was back in Deep Heaven City of the human race, and he'd clearly underestimated just how wealthy foreign beings from other continents were. Thus, the costs required to use the super teleportation formation were no longer a problem to him.
All he had to do next was to travel to the Vast Glacial Realm, gather the tool refinement material for the Stone Cocoon Race, secure the designated treasures for Cai Liuying and Duan Tianren, and he'd be able to teleport back to the Tian Yuan Continent thereafter.
On top of that, his trip to the Vast Glacial Realm would be a brilliant opportunity for him to break through a bottleneck. As such, it would be very much in his best interest to cultivate to the pinnacle of the early-Spatial Tempering Stage. In that case, he'd be able to use the vast abundance of spiritual Qi in the Vast Glacial Realm to facilitate a breakthrough to the mid-Spatial Tempering Stage.
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