by Translator: Pokka; Author: 我本纯洁 (I Am Pure); Licensed From: Migu
Xiang Shaoyun did not seem bothered about them at all and merely told them off with an indifferent gaze, "A good dog will know to not block the way. Piss off."
Chapter 182: Icesnow Fruit
"Are you looking to die?" Wen Jinrui's face darkened.
Despite his anger, he did not do anything. He was clear that the moment he attacked, the Cloud Margin Forging Pavilion people would be dissatisfied with him. At that time, the Wen Clan would suffer even more.
Of course, part of the reason Wen Jinrui was able to hold himself back was due to the mask covering Xiang Shaoyun's real appearance. If he saw Xiang Shaoyun's real face, he would most likely lose control over himself and proceed to attack.
"Hehe, sure, try and attack me. Let's see who will be the one to die," Xiang Shaoyun sneered.
"You're cocky, but I refuse to believe you will stay in the city forever. The moment you leave the city, killing you will be as easy as killing a bug," said Wen Jinrui.
"If you are done talking, piss off," Xiang Shaoyun shouted.
Traces of the tiger's roar were mixed within his shout. In such a short distance, the Wen Clan brothers felt their eardrums humming from the impact. Taking advantage of their momentary stun, Xiang Shaoyun entered the auction hall with Mo Mo.
When the Wen Clan brothers recovered, they both stared at Xiang Shaoyun hatefully. They really wanted to kill him.
As for Xiang Shaoyun, he tried looking for a VIP room after entering. Unfortunately, the rooms had all been booked. Thus, he was forced to squeeze with the crowd in the main hall.
I have to show myself in front of everyone here? This is annoying! Xiang Shaoyun sat down and grumbled inwardly.
He was worried that if he did manage to buy an item of extreme cold, it would be hard for him to even leave. A lot of people would love nothing more than to reap without sowing. But now, he had no choice but to act in accordance with the circumstances. In any case, he had the human skin mask. He could take the mask off and appear with a new identity anytime he wanted.
Soon, the auction house was filled with people. An auctioneer walked onto the stage and announced the start of the auction. They started the auction with some tier-3 weapons. Sabers, swords, spears...the weapons were taken out one after another. The crowd's excitement grew as the auction proceeded.
Xiang Shaoyun did not care about these weapons, but that did not apply to many people there. Even Mo Mo was growing excited when she saw the weapons, and it was especially true when she saw a female-styled longsword being put up for auction. She liked the sword she saw a lot, to the point she had the urge to start bidding as well.
She was once the second head of the Redwolf Bandits. Thus, she was also quite wealthy and could afford to join the bidding, but she couldn't bring herself to do it with Xiang Shaoyun keeping silent beside her.
Xiang Shaoyun noticed and said, "If anything catches your eyes, feel free to bid. I'm not a cruel leader who gives my followers zero freedom."
Mo Mo was overjoyed. "Thank you, young master."
Thus, she started bidding. Unfortunately, the people of Cloud Margin Pavilion were too rich. She was soon outbid. She sank into sorrow at the realization that after being a bandit for so many years, she couldn't even afford a sword. It was too sad.
"520 low-grade spirit crystals going once! Any new bids?" the auctioneer asked.
"520 low-grade spirit crystals going twice..."
Xiang Shaoyun shot the hesitating Mo Mo a glance before saying, "600 low-grade spirit crystals."
The increment was too large. Thus, the other bidders all gave up. After all, a tier-3 weapon would generally not be worth more than 500 low-grade spirit crystals. Paying 100 low-grade spirit crystals above the market price was not worth it for many people.
After winning the bid, Xiang Shaoyun asked Mo Mo, "You don't even have a few hundred low-grade spirit crystals? What kind of second head were you?"
Mo Mo blushed and said, "I gave some of my wealth away when disbanding the brothers."
That answered Xiang Shaoyun's question.
"Um, you did well," he praised. After a slight pause, he added, "Feel free to bid for anything that catches your eyes later. I am not one to let my followers down."
Mo Mo was overjoyed. "Thank you, young master."
Soon after, the herb auction segment arrived. The herbs being auctioned were spirit medicines of at least mid-grade and above, with a majority of them being top-grade spirit medicines. Then, an icesnow fruit appeared, causing a large uproar among the crowd.
"This particular icesnow fruit is 500 years old, a top-grade spirit fruit of excellent quality. For those cultivating the power of frost, this fruit will be very helpful. At the same time, it can create frost energy, granting one resistance against regular flames. The starting price of this fruit is 300 low-grade spirit crystals. Each increment can be no lower than 10 low-grade spirit crystals," said the auctioneer.
Lying quietly in a jade case with frost energy rippling out of it repeatedly, the icesnow fruit looked incredibly tantalizing.
"This icesnow fruit is mine! 400 low-grade spirit crystals!" someone immediately placed his bid.
"Dream on. I bid 450 low-grade spirit crystals!"
"I bid 500 low-grade spirit crystals!"
...
Instantly, the price soared. Before long, it reached the price of 700 low-grade spirit crystals, far surpassing the price of a regular top-grade spirit medicine.
After all, a regular low-grade spirit medicine was worth only a few low-grade spirit crystals and would not exceed 20 low-grade spirit crystals. As for a mid-grade spirit medicine, it was usually worth between 100 to 200 low-grade spirit crystals, while a top-grade spirit medicine was worth about 300 to 500 spirit crystals. But now, the price offered for this fruit had already surpassed the average price by about 200 low-grade spirit crystals.
At this time, a young man in a flaming red armor shouted, "750 low-grade spirit crystals from me, Xie Sanqian. If everyone can do me a favor and allow me to have this fruit, I will forever remember it."
He was Xie Sanqian, the young genius who was not willing to miss out on the fruit. A lot of people stopped bidding, not willing to fight over the fruit with him. But Xiang Shaoyun was similarly not willing to miss out on the fruit either. It would never be bad to gather as many items of extreme cold as possible.
Xiang Shaoyun placed his bid indifferently, "1,000 low-grade spirit crystals."
As soon as he made his bid, he felt Xie Sanqian's sharp gaze land on him. Xiang Shaoyun met Xie Sanqian's gaze and gave him a completely nonchalant smile. In Xie Sanqian's eyes, that smile was a provocation. Xie Sangqian snorted coldly and increased his bid. Xiang Shaoyun showed no fear and increased his bid as well. This time, he increased it by 100 low-grade spirit crystals, showing a generosity surpassing Xie Sanqian's.
"1,300 low-grade spirit crystals!" Xie Sanqian shouted. This was the most he was willing to pay.
At this point, the price was already slightly over his budget. He still had to save some of his funds for the items that were going to be auctioned next in case something he wanted would appear later.
"1,500 low-grade spirit crystals!" Xiang Shaoyun increased his bid, still as calm as ever, causing many people to look at him in a new light.
"Who is this person exactly? He is showing Xie Sanqian no respect whatsoever. From his looks, he seems extremely wealthy as well."
"He doesn't look familiar. Is he from out of town? Otherwise, he wouldn't be so stupid as to provoke Xie Sanqian."
"Maybe he has a backer as well. But it does not matter. When he is in Cloud Margin City, even if he is a dragon or a tiger, he would have to lie down obediently."
"Just watch on. This is unrelated to us. Although the icesnow fruit is an excellent fruit, it is still not good enough to resist the earthcore fire."
Chapter 183: Coldstar Stone
Xie Sanqian did not continue increasing his bid. He merely gave Xiang Shaoyun a vicious glare and committed hi
m to his memory. Wen Jinrui was the one who suddenly took part: "1,600 low-grade spirit crystals from me!"
Xiang Shaoyun gave Wen Jinrui a glance, and Wen Jinrui gave him the middle finger provocatively, greatly annoying Xiang Shaoyun.
"1,700 low-grade spirit crystals," Xiang Shaoyun said.
Wen Jinrui continued upping his bid, "1,700 low-grade spirit crystals."
"1,900 low-grade spirit crystals."
"2,000 low-grade spirit crystals."
...
The two increased their bids one after another, and when Xiang Shaoyun increased the bid to 2,500 low-grade spirit crystals, Wen Jinrui finally stopped.
"Congratulations for getting the icesnow fruit!" Wen Jinrui sneered. He did not have any intention of getting the fruit in the first place. The only reason he joined the bidding war was to annoy Xiang Shaoyun and make him pay more.
To the side, Wen Jinnuo chimed in, "He is stupid but rich, there's no helping it."
Xiang Shaoyun glanced at the two and replied nonchalantly, "Yes, you're right. I have nothing else, but I have a lot of money."
Those words caused the crowd to raise their eyebrows. Some concluded that he was someone who had recently become rich, while some concluded that he was probably a person with a powerful background.
The auction proceeded with battle techniques, cultivation methods, and some damaged king-grade items. More and more people joined in on the bidding war. For them, these battle techniques and cultivation methods were more worth their money than the fruit earlier.
On the other hand, Xiang Shaoyun showed no interest in the battle techniques and cultivation methods. However, he did not forget to instruct Mo Mo to give the Wen Clan brothers some trouble.
He first told Mo Mo to bid for an incomplete king-grade battle technique. The Wen Clan did not miss the chance to mess with their bid and started bidding as well. But the moment they increased the bid to a point nobody else was bidding, Mo Mo stopped.
The Wen Clan brothers were stunned. They never intended to buy this incomplete king-grade battle technique at all!
Wen Jinnuo wiped his sweat and asked, "Big brother, what should we do? How can we even afford 3,800 low-grade spirit crystals?"
Wen Jinrui had also broken out in cold sweat. He forced himself to calm down and said, "How about asking for father's help? For him, 3,800 low-grade spirit crystals are nothing!"
"B-but without paying, they won't even let us leave!" Wen Jinnuo replied with a sullen face.
They felt like they had raised a rock only to slam it on their own feet. Xiang Shaoyun saw the changes in their expressions from far away and smiled. "Trying to scheme against this young master? You are not enough."
Time passed, and finally, they reached the end of the auction. It was finally time for the auction hall to take out the best treasures they had to auction. The first item was a complete king weapon, starting at 1,000 mid-grade spirit crystals, equivalent to 10,000 low-grade spirit crystals. Its price alone was enough to stop many people in their tracks.
At this point, most of those who were still bidding were basically King Realm cultivators possessing a wealth normal people couldn't compare to. Apart from these Kings, the only ones still bidding were the representatives of the various organizations and clans. A king weapon was extremely attractive to them. Not only would a king weapon increase one's combat power, it was also a symbol of status.
"Young master, are you not interested in the king weapon?" Mo Mo asked curiously when she saw Xiang Shaoyun had his eyes shut in rest.
She was aware that Xiang Shaoyun could totally afford a king weapon. When she saw him doing nothing, her curiosity was piqued. Xiang Shaoyun replied, "A king weapon is only a tool. Without actual strength, not even a king weapon will do much for a person."
Mo Mo savored those words for a bit before saying admiringly, "Young master is wise."
"Um. So long as you stay loyal, king-grade battle techniques and cultivation methods will all be available to you. Don't worry," Xiang Shaoyun said, placating Mo Mo.
To ensure a follower would stay loyal, one had to be sufficiently powerful and needed to provide the follower sufficient benefits for staying loyal. It was something a leader needed to know, and it wasn't a concept that everyone understood. Due to his background as the young master of a powerful sect, Xiang Shaoyun knew more about this than the regular person.
When Mo Mo heard the promise, her heart nearly popped out. If there weren't so many people present, she would have hugged Xiang Shaoyun and planted a kiss on his face in her excitement.
King-grade battle techniques and cultivation methods were things she would never be able to obtain on her own, but she longed greatly for them and wanted nothing more than to obtain one.
Maybe I need to find a chance to seduce the young master, Mo Mo thought to herself.
After two king weapons were auctioned off, a king medicine was put on auction. As the excitement of the crowd was already at an all-time high, the bidding war became even crazier.
That was a king medicine!
It was something all King Realm cultivators longed for, and it was something very hard to obtain. Just having one appear here to be auctioned off was proof of the Cloud Margin Pavilion's wealth.
After two king medicines were auctioned off, an item of extreme cold that drove all the Transformation Realm cultivators crazy appeared—a coldstar stone! The coldstar stone was a rare stone that would only appear at a location of extreme cold. Holding the stone in the hand would instantly turn a person into an ice statue. It was a supreme treasure for those cultivating the power of frost.
"This is it!" Xiang Shaoyun's eyes lit up.
The coldstar stone was capable of resisting the most extreme of flames. It would be the best tool one could have when approaching the earthcore fire. The starting price of this coldstar stone was 1,500 mid-grade spirit crystals. It was not cheap at all.
"2,000 mid-grade spirit crystals. The stone belongs to me, Ye Xuan," said Ye Xuan who had been staying silent all the while.
Apart from him, the many inner disciples of Cloud Margin Pavilion and even the personal disciples were starting to bid as well. Additionally, a few clans were also joining in the bidding. Everyone knew that with the coldstar stone, they would have a chance to approach the earthcore fire. With that, they would have a shot at subduing the earthcore fire.
Thus, regardless of the price, everyone wanted to obtain the coldstar stone. After a while, the price reached 3,000 mid-grade spirit crystals. It was an extremely high price, but a lot of people were still bidding madly.
"I offer 3,500 mid-grade spirit crystals," Li Yaxuan's voice rang out.
Another voice rang out from a different VIP room, "3,600 mid-grade spirit crystals from me."
Xie Sanqian placed his bid as well, "3,700 mid-grade spirit crystals from me."
By this point, each increment was about 100 mid-grade spirit crystals. Nobody was madly raising the price in large increments anymore. After all, they were bidding with mid-grade spirit crystals, not low-grade spirit crystals. Not everyone would be able to wantonly spend mid-grade spirit crystals.
When the price reached about 4,000 mid-grade spirit crystals, the number of bidders started dropping. The latest bid was placed by an unknown person from within a VIP room. His determination to obtain the stone was clear for all to see.
That price forced even Xie Sanqian to give up on it. On the other hand, Ye Xuan was still bidding, causing many people to see him in a new light. Many here knew that the Ye Clan was only a tiny clan. When had they become so rich?
They immediately concluded that Ye Xuan was most definitely hiding a big secret. When the price reached 4,500 mid-grade spirit crystals, Li Yaxuan was forced to stop as well. That price was already far beyond the coldstar stone's actual market price.
Just as everyone slowly stopped bidding, a lazy voice suddenly rang out, "5,000 mid-grade spirit crystals."
Chapter 184: The Headband From the Ancient Forbidden Groun
ds
The new bidder was none other than Xiang Shaoyun. He had been waiting for everyone to be done bidding before he joined in. His timing was perfect. After he spoke, he attracted everyone's gaze. Everyone started wondering who this ordinary-looking man actually was for him to be so rich. They recalled how that man had said earlier that he had a lot of money. It would seem like he wasn't kidding at all when he had said that.
"He must have made all those spirit crystals from selling the top-quality goldsteel stone," Wen Jinnuo said to his brother with an envious look.
"Hmph. He can't stay cocky for long. Soon, everything he has will be ours," Wen Jinrui narrowed his eyes and said.
Li Yaxuan, Xie Sanqian, and Ye Xuan were also starting to pay attention to Xiang Shaoyun. They could sense that Xiang Shaoyun did not feel particularly strong. On the other hand, the young woman by Xiang Shaoyun's side attracted more of their attention.
A voice rang out from the VIP room, "5,100 mid-grade spirit crystals."
Xiang Shaoyun replied without any hesitation, "6,000 mid-grade spirit crystals."
His act of increasing the bid by 900 mid-grade spirit crystals in one go created an uproar.
"Who exactly is that person? Is he stupid? Why is he raising the bid by such a large increment?"
"I guess he is so rich he has no place to spend his spirit crystals. That is why he is using the spirit crystals so wastefully."
"No, if he can get the coldstar stone and then the earthcore fire through these spirit crystals, it would be completely worth it. However, it won't be easy at all to get the earthcore fire."
"Just keep watching. That kid might have a strong background for him to be acting so fearlessly."
...
Xiang Shaoyun did not care at all what these people thought of him. In his eyes, spirit crystals were merely a currency to be spent. After spending them, he could always earn more. As for the coldstar stone, it was extremely rare, and it might be the only one he could get for now. Thus, he could not miss out on it.
"This young master has just offered 6,000 mid-grade spirit crystals. Any other bids?" asked the auctioneer in excitement. He was only expecting to auction the coldstar stone off for about 4,500 mid-grade spirit crystals. Surprisingly, a whale had appeared today.