What’s more, it was truly not worth emptying his coffers for a piece of Sky Treasure Silk. Whether or not this fellow wanted to target him, Ning Cheng decided to give up. He was not a mule, and although he could not obtain the Sky Treasure Silk right now, he could definitely get it with some patience. This kind of item was not as precious as the Time Stone anyway. As such, letting him pay several times its actual price made him feel a little reluctant.
The price this time stayed at 31,000 Perpetual Moon Pills, but Dai Jia kept shouting, “31,000 Perpetual Moon Pills going twice, are there no other quotes? Without another increase, this Sky Treasure Silk will belong to this friend…….. 31,000 Perpetual Moon Pills going thrice, congratulation to this friend for obtaining the Sky Treasure Silk…..”
At this time, sitting in the corner of the auction hall, a round-faced teenager stared at the congratulation message in front of his seat and the words 31,000 Perpetual Moon Pills with a pale face. He did not even have a single Perpetual Moon Pill.
He felt furious that Ning Cheng used Perpetual Moon Pills for bidding and wanted Ning Cheng to cough up more Perpetual Moon Pills. Therefore, as soon as Ning Cheng quoted a price, he would immediately add another thousand to the previous quote. However, the round-faced teenager did not expect that this fellow would not raise the price again and would instead actually stop quoting.
What should he do now?
Cold sweat trickled down the face of this round-faced teenager. He knew that he could not offer anything in exchange for this quote, which was tantamount to provoking the auction house. The only result in this scenario would be immediate death.
“This friend, please pay the quoted Perpetual Moon Pills. Only after the closure of this deal can the next item come out. Please do not waste everyone’s time here…..” As ten breaths passed by, the Sky Treasure Silk had still not changed hands. This caused Dai Jia, who presided over the auction, to speak up with displeasure.
The moment Dai Jia’s remark came out, some of the people within the auction house guessed that someone had malicious intentions for increasing the price to such a level. The fellow who raised the price to 31,000 Perpetual Moon Pills most likely did not expect that the opponent to suddenly back off. Such a tactic was equivalent to lifting a heavy stone and purposefully smashing it down on their own feet.
“I don’t have any Perpetual Moon Pills, but I am willing to mortgage it with something else…..” Someone spoke up with an almost crying-like voice, causing everyone’s gaze to swivel to a seat in the corner.
Because this fellow did not sit inside a booth, the display also did not show a booth number. But now that this fellow spoke up, others naturally figured out his location.
When Dai Jia heard this, her expression immediately turned cold, “Go ahead. Report the items you want to mortgage. Let us determine if they can cover the full amount.”
At this auction, one could also purchase items with collateral of the same value; however, one had to report this in advance, and the auctioneer could only continue bidding after the valuation. If this cultivator could not come up with something equivalent to the auction price, even if the cultivator offered himself up, it would be a direct violation of the auction house’s regulations. Since Dai Jia let the cultivator talk about collateral, it was already showing enough mercy.
Perhaps she showed such mercy due to the cultivator not looking very old. However, even if she showed compassion, the other party must take out the said items for collateral and valuation.
As Dai Jia said this, the restrictions around the cultivator immediately dissipated and everyone saw the fellow who had made the mess. It was a round-faced teenager with a distinct Celestial Novice Cultivation, who really did not look too old.
“I’m sorry, I do not have enough collateral on me right now, but I am willing to write a promissory note. I just need to find my Uncle-master, and I can pay the amount in double…..” The round-faced teenager also seemed to have realised that the situation had turned severe for him. Although his tone had not devolved into a crying fit, it still contained a few tremors.
Dai Jia gave a snort and had nothing more to say.
An abrupt voice then resounded, “No reason to disrupt the proceedings of the auction house, kill without mercy……”
Suddenly, a huge palm reached out containing a powerful oppressive aura. Even the cultivators in the Celestial River Realm felt suffocated under the oppression to the point that they could not even breathe properly. This also indicated that this was a powerhouse in the Life and Death Realm. One could imagine that once this huge palm closed, this teenager with the Celestial Novice Cultivation would definitely turn into a meat paste.
Some of the cultivators sitting near the low-end areas of the auction hall felt even more frightened. They immediately realised that they should never even think of creating a mess unless they had grown tired of living.
“Don’t kill me, I am looking for my Uncle-master. My Uncle-master and my master are both powerhouses. I will definitely repay all the Perpetual Moon Pills. Hey…….” The boy finally started to cry and spoke up while whining.
“Wait….. I’ll help him pay those Perpetual Moon Pills.” After seeing the round-faced boy, Ning Cheng suddenly spoke up with a Celestial Essence-infused voice.
The people within the auction hall felt surprised. The person who offered to pay the Perpetual Moon Pills turned out to be the one from booth 391. Just now, this round-faced teenager had butted heads with this cultivator from box 391 and had deliberately marked-up the price to such ridiculous levels for the cultivator in box 391 before that cultivator finally backed off. This caused the round-faced teenager unable to cough up the quoted Perpetual Moon Pills. Because of this violation, the auction house had immediately moved to kill this ignorant fellow.
However, none amongst the cultivators present in the auction hall expected that the fellow from booth 391 would show a willingness to pay the Perpetual Moon Pills that the other fellow owed. Such people who requited evil with good were something rare within the world.
The round-faced teenager also felt surprised and even stopped crying. He did not think that he would encounter such people who requited evil with good.
Whether this round-faced teenager looked too young, or because this round-faced teenager said that his master and uncle-master were both powerhouses, Dai Jia actually agreed to Ning Cheng’s proposition. “Since our friend from booth 391 is willing to help pay the quoted Perpetual Moon Pills, our auction house will transfer the ownership of the Sky Treasure Silk to this friend from booth 391. Hopefully, such an incident would not happen in the subsequent auctions.”
Although Dai Jia spoke with a friendly tone, everyone could feel the unmistakable murderous intent from her words. Ning Cheng also felt impressed with Dai Jia that not only did she agree for him to pay the Perpetual Moon Pills, she even transferred the ownership of the Sky Treasure Silk to him. Dai Jia had figuratively gifted the Sky Treasure Silk to him, which was tantamount to doing him a favour.
[1]
Amuse-bouche is a type of appetizer, often accompanied by a glass of complimentary wine, and served both to prepare the guest for the meal and to offer a glimpse of the chef’s style. The term is French and literally means “mouth amuser.”
Chapter 0594 – Obtaining The Jade Card
Translated By – DemonKiller
Checked and Edited By – Livewidsmile
Proofread By – DemonKiller
Please do not host our works anywhere else without our permission.
Although Ning Cheng was not a ‘good’ person; however, as soon as he saw the round-faced teenager, he knew that this fellow had something to do with Cang Wei. That is because this fellow carried a faint yet distinct aura that he had only felt from Cang Wei. As long as someone had met Cang Wei in person, no one would have recognised this aura with just a glance.
After putting away the Sky Treasure Silk, Ning Cheng knew that he had to meet up with this round-faced teenager;
however, it would have to wait till after the auction.
Although Ning Cheng and the others had not personally experienced such a near-death encounter, it definitely created a greater sense of urgency in his heart. Without strength, one simply had no place in this world. Moreover, it would be utterly natural for someone to kill such a person quickly. Similarly, if an Eternal-level powerhouse had quoted the price, even if the quotes were not in Perpetual Moon Pills, the auction house would have found it impossible to kill them despite the act ruffling some feathers.
It looks like he would have to curb the usage of Perpetual Moon Pills. After entering the Immortal Jade Star, he would immediately search for a method to advance to the Celestial Bridge Realm. For that to happen, Ning Cheng would have to save as many Perpetual Moon Pills as possible. If he could not even protect his own life, what else was there to talk about?
Dai Jia’s face once again regained her charming smile and raised another jade box in her hand, “Although we experienced some unpleasantness, the auction still continues. The next thing up for auction is a Fire-attributed Origin Crystal…….”
The Fire Origin Crystal held an irresistible pull over fire-attributed cultivators. As such, the moment Dai Jia spoke the words ‘Fire Origin Crystal’, many gazes instantly converged on the auction floor.
Ning Cheng had no interest in this thing, so he simply sat back with closed eyes.
After the Fire Origin Crystal, Dai Jia brought out more than a dozen different treasures. However, since Ning Cheng still felt happy on obtaining the Sky Treasure Silk, he simply chose to turn a blind eye towards all those items.
A few hours quickly passed by. Sensing that many cultivators had started to get impatient, Dai Jia suddenly raised her voice and spoke, “Friends, please pay attention. You all will only have one shot at seeing such a thing. We will soon be revealing the most eye-catching treasure of this auction, the Time Stone……”
With Dai Jia’s words, the entire auction hall immediately turned more enthusiastic.
Of the many cultivators sitting in here, many came specifically for the Time Stone. Even if they could not buy it, just trying to sense the Laws of Time within the Time Stone would make the trip worth it for them.
Unlike the other auction items, this time, a different female cultivator walked onto the stage holding a tray with a jade box placed over it.
Dai Jia carefully took the jade box into her hands and raised it up for everyone to see, “Distinguished guests. Disregarding our auction hall’s conventions, we will let everyone observe the Time Stone for ten breaths of time before the auction formally starts.”
A round of applause resounded throughout the hall, indicating that everyone else looked forward to seeing the Time Stone. The reason this auction held such a high significance to every powerhouse in here was mainly because of the Time Stone.
At this moment, everyone kept their eyes wide open and concentrated their Spiritual Consciousness over Dai Jia’s hand. Dai Jia then carefully opened the jade box. Causing a flow of time to fill up everyone’s mind.
A dark grey coloured stone appeared in the jade box. Moreover, the flow of time emanating continually surged into the Spiritual Consciousnesses around this piece of rock with no indication of stopping.
The moment ten breaths passed, Dai Jia immediately shut the jade box, and the flow of time disappeared. At this moment, all the people could only close their eyes and continue comprehending what they just sensed. Unfortunately, even if one was a genius, one could not necessarily touch the Laws of Time in such a short period. Even if given ten or even a hundred times the time, one could only glance at the surface of the Laws of Time surrounding the Time Stone and never be exposed to the Laws of Time.
“Such a treasure.” Someone gave out an audible sigh. Even if a cultivator did not buy anything from here, they all felt that it was worth making this trip.
Mi Hui gave out a sigh too, “It is a good thing, unfortunately……”
Shi Qionghua and Jing Yiyi, who sat next to her, understood what their Sacred Master meant. This kind of treasure, even someone like Sacred Master, might never obtain in her life. This was something that an individual simply could not afford, a matter that had no solution. Ten thousand Perpetual Moon Pills would not be too small of a price for it, and a hundred million Perpetual Moon Pills would not be too much for such a treasure. How could one understand the mysteries within it with just a glance?
Even if many people could willingly spend a hundred million Perpetual Moon Pills to purchase this Time Stone, they might never be able to obtain anything from it. However, if one really could sense the Laws of Time from it, then even if its price reached ten billion Perpetual Moon Pills, someone would still try to think of a way to obtain it. However, it was also an impossible matter for someone to sense the Laws of Time using just a single Time Stone. Because of such a hopeless case, even if someone else wanted to bid for it, one would have to face a lot of scruples.
Shi Qionghua heard Sacred Master’s sigh and thought about the ten Time Stones she had on her. She wondered if she should give one of them to the Sacred Master. However, she quickly gave up on the thought.
Thinking back to the incident with Uncle-master Mi Chen, the reason why the Sacred Master had come looking for Uncle-master Mi Chen was to seek out Uncle-master Mi Chen’s help. However, now that Uncle-master Mi Chen perished, Sacred Master showed no intention of avenging Uncle-master Mi Chen, nor did she show any sadness.
From this, she understood that in Sacred Master’s heart, everything else remained secondary. Perhaps only the Everlasting Sacred Shrine held the priority over all else within her heart. Although she held the title of Sacred Lady, the Sacred Master had also not showered her with enough favours to let her believe that the Sacred Master would abandon her own interests for her. Once Sacred Master learned about the ten Time Stones in her possession, she would definitely ask her to hand them over to the shrine.
It was not that she did not feel willing enough to hand them over, it was just that those Time Stones did not belong to her at all. She also felt deeply confused about her current relationship with Ning Cheng; at the same time, she had a vague thought that she owned Ning Cheng a lot.
……
Dai Jia put the jade box back on the tray, which was now placed in front of her over a jade table before she gave a smile and spoke, “I hope that everyone managed to get a look at the Time Stone. This treasure could potentially aid you to understand the Laws of Time. I believe that the many seniors here would have a much deeper understanding of Laws compared to my shallow knowledge. Therefore, instead of me trying to explain its functions to the experts, it would be much better to let the friends here understand their own enlightenment. This Time Stone has a reserve price of five million Perpetual Moon Pills, and an increase must not be less than 100,000, no purple coins. The auction starts now……”
“5.5. Million Perpetual Moon Pills.” Almost the same instant Dai Jia announced the start of the auction, a quote appeared on the large quotation screen.
“5.7 million Perpetual Moon Pills.” The quote changed almost instantly.
Ning Cheng gave out a sigh, realising that he had lost a lot. He also had no other way. Ning Cheng did not dare to send out Time Stones here for the auction. Although he understood that he suffered a significant loss, Ning Cheng had no other option to pursue either.
“6 million Perpetual Moon Pills”
“6.5 million Perpetual Moon Pills.”
……
“Ten million Perpetual Moon Pills.”
In just a short time, the price of this Time Stone soared to 10 million Perpetual Moon Pills. Once the price reached such a level, the number of people quoting a price also suddenly decreased. With fewer people giving out an offer, the price increase also started to get smaller and smaller.
In the end, the Time Stone finally ended up in the hands of the owner of booth 3 for 13 million Perpetual Moon Pills. Ning Cheng gave out a sigh, lamenting this matter
in his heart. This item exchanged for such good money, while he only managed to obtain less than one-third of the current price, while the auction house earned the rest of the two-thirds.
Ning Cheng felt the itch to come up with another Time Stone or two in exchange for Perpetual Moon Pills, but he immediately quashed the idea. In any case, Time Stones still had some uses for him. At the very least, he could give the Time Stones to Luofei when she wanted to sense the Laws of Time in the future.
With the Time Stone auction ending, it also signified that today’s auction had also almost reached its conclusion, causing many cultivators to start to leave the hall. However, Ning Cheng did not move. He did not come here for the Time Stone, he wanted the jade card that could get him a spot to enter the Immortal Jade Star.
Ning Cheng carefully swept out with his Spiritual Consciousness to look around and found that Shi Qionghua and Jing Yiyi had also left the auction hall with the Sacred Master. Even the round-faced teenager, whom he had helped earlier, had also disappeared. Among all the cultivators within the room, most of them were like Ning Cheng, who wanted to obtain that jade card.
Sure enough, Dai Jia took out a jade card and said, “This is the last item for auction, and it is the jade card for entry to the Immortal Jade Star. The base price is 10,000 Perpetual Moon Pills, and each price increase must not be less than a thousand Perpetual Moon Pills. No purple coins. The auction starts now…..”
“Did you not accept purple coins for this item before? Why do you not accept them now?”
“Yeah, it was all in purple coins in the past. If you don’t want to accept purple coins, then what are we going to use for quoting?”
……
The Gate Of Good Fortune c1-905 Page 479