Martial Peak
chapter-4221

Chapter 4221

Chapter 4221 – Twists and Turns

“M-M-Madam Lan?” Teng Wang’s voice coming from Room A5 rose by a octave.

“It is this Queen. Do you have something you wish to say?”

“N-No, of course not. So it is Madam Lan… haha. Since you have interest in this item, Madam Lan... This Wang will respectfully withdraw.” His voice sounded a little bitter and reluctant.

Although his Disciple required the Heavenly Yuan Seal Stabilizing Pill, the price of 35 million Open Heaven Pills was simply too expensive for him. Even if he had somebody helping him from the shadows, they had reached the limit they could afford. He was powerless to continue pushing forward. Rather than offending Lan You Ruo, it was better to take this opportunity to earn her favour.

Besides, there was no guarantee that his Disciple could successfully advance into the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm even if he did manage to win the bid on the Heavenly Yuan Seal Stabilizing Pill. Any investment was bound to come with certain risks. If his Disciple were to fail in the advancement process, the loss of several millions was enough to shake Clear Heart Palace’s foundation.

Now that the price for the Heavenly Yuan Seal Stabilizing Pill and its pill recipe had been raised to 35 five million in one go, Teng Wang had no choice but to withdraw from the bidding. Even Ye Jian from Room B2 fell silent.

On the stage, the old man from Red Clouds Auction House waited for a short moment before asking, “The gentleman from Room A3 has placed a bid of 35 million Open Heaven Pills. Are there any higher offers?”

The entire venue was silent.

The old man probably knew that the price of this item had reached its limit. The auction house’s original valuation of this item was only 20 million Open Heaven Pills while the current price had nearly doubled that estimation. Thus, he no longer hesitated and shouted, “35 million, going once! 35 million, going twice!”

Inside Room A3, Yang Kai was silently making plans. Once he obtained the Heavenly Yuan Seal Stabilizing Pill and its pill recipe, he could immediately begin his research to see if he could fully understand its recipe and refine it.

If he succeeded, then there was no need to worry about the Void Land’s finances again in the future. A Spirit Pill that could increase the chances of success of a cultivator breaking through to the Open Heaven Realm was an all but non-existent commodity, even in the 3,000 Worlds. Void Land’s wealth would soar in a short period of time just by selling a few such Spirit Pills for several million Open Heaven Pills each. Besides, he had quite a lot of World Source Liquid that was required to refine this Spirit Pill.

“This Ye has something to say. Please temporarily halt the auction!” Just as the old man was about to call out the final confirmation, Ye Jian’s voice rang out from within Room B2.

Yang Kai furrowed his brow and couldn’t help glancing in the direction of Room B2.

[What is Ye Jian up to?] He instinctively sensed that the bidding for this auction item would not go smoothly. Fortunately, he currently had more than 1 billion Open Heaven Pills in his possession. It could be said that he was very rich, so he was not worried even if Ye Jian managed to borrow some money or find somebody to help provide funds.

The old man on the stage said, “Hall Master Ye, please speak if you have something to say.”

The door to room B2 opened all of a sudden. A fair and beardless middle-aged man walked out of the room with a solemn expression. Yang Kai guessed that that man was Ye Jian.

Ye Jian arrived on the stage in a few steps. He cupped his fist at the old man and handed over a Space Ring. His lips wriggled slightly as though he was silently whispering something to the old man.

The old man looked suspicious at first, but his expression stiffened when he heard what Ye Jian said to him and soon revealed an expression of great astonishment instead. Immediately after that, he checked the contents of the Space Ring and looked up at Ye Jian again, “Hall Master Ye, are you certain? This item is extraordinarily valuable!”

Ye Jian gently nodded with a look of determination.

The old man continued, “If you insist, Hall Master Ye, this Old Master will not persuade you otherwise. Please wait a moment.”

After saying that, his Divine Sense surged as though he was communicating with somebody else. A long while later, he nodded and said, “Red Clouds Auction House has agreed to your request, Hall Master Ye. Please return to your seat for now.”

“Many thanks!” Ye Jian cupped his fists with a serious expression. Turning around, he bowed in the direction of Room A3, “Madam Lan, this Ye would like to apologise in advance. Please don’t take offence at my following actions.”

The Proprietress stared at the stage calmly before she suddenly whispered, “Brat, you’ve met a real challenger. You’d best prepare for some heavy bleeding.”

“What do you mean?” Yang Kai had yet to understand what was going on.

At that moment, Ye Jian returned to Room B2 and immediately shouted, “40 million!”

After hearing that shout, Yang Kai finally understood what the Proprietress meant.

Ye Jian had increased the price by 5 million Open Heaven Pills in one go. This not only required great courage but also immense wealth. Moreover, he had never increased the price by such a large margin before when he placed his bids previously. It was almost as though he was a different person altogether.

Hence, Yang Kai felt his teeth hurting.

The old man on the stage lifted the Space Ring in his hand up high, “For your information, Hall Master Ye has just pledged an item to the auction house. Please forgive this Old Master for not disclosing the value of this item. However, Hall Master Ye has the ability to bid and provide payment.”

He provided an explanation because he was worried that other people might misunderstand. The price of the auction item was terrifyingly high after all, so he might be suspected of deliberately driving the price up otherwise.

Yang Kai slowly let out a breath and gazed towards Room B2 pensively. [The Space Ring in that old man’s hands contains the item that Ye Jian pledged just now. Just what did he pledge for him to have the courage to raise the price by 5 million in one go? More importantly, where is his bottom line?]

He might have over a billion Open Heaven Pills in his possession, but he did not wish to waste his money for no reason. [If only I knew Ye Jian’s bottom line, then I can minimise my losses to the best of my abilities. Unfortunately, I don’t even know what item he pledged. How can I figure out his bottom line?]

“Hall Master Ye placed a bid of 40 million! Are there any others with a higher bid?” The old man shouted.

Yang Kai considered for a moment and cautiously threw out a bid, “41 million!”

“45 million!” Ye Jian followed up without hesitation.

Yang Kai was stunned.

The Proprietress commented, “There is a difference between a Disciple and a Son after all. It looks like Ye Jian is determined to compete with you.”

Teng Wang’s Disciple required the Heavenly Yuan Seal Stabilizing Pill, as did Ye Jian’s Son. It was just that Teng Wang pulled out of the competition when the price reached 35 million. On the other hand, Ye Jian was still stubbornly trying to win. It was obvious that he loved and cherished his Son deeply. Also, he believed that his Son would definitely advance into the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm as long as he had the Heavenly Yuan Seal Stabilizing Pill. Why else would he be so fixated upon this item, even if they were Father-and-Son?

“Why don’t you discuss with him to each pay half? You take the pill recipe while he takes the Spirit Pill. I’m sure he won’t reject your offer.” The Proprietress suggested.

Yang Kai considered for a moment before shaking his head, “The Heavenly Yuan Seal Stabilizing Pill has never appeared before. In order to refine this Spirit Pill, the results will be different if I can study a finished product first. Once the Spirit Pill falls into his hands, it will be difficult for me to research the Spirit Pill again.”

“There is no other way then.”

With the Spirit Pill in hand, the hopes of refining a Heavenly Yuan Seal Stabilizing Pill would increase significantly. Although it would cost him a lot of Open Heaven Pills, this investment was undoubtedly worth the money.

“46 million!” Yang Kai raised the bid once more.

“50 million!” Ye Jian’s voice trembled slightly. Even if he could afford to pay this amount, the terrifyingly high price was still heart-breaking. After placing his bid, he added, “Madam Lan, my Son is young and foolish. He made a huge mistake and desperately needs this Heavenly Yuan Seal Stabilizing Pill. Only then will he have the hope of progressing forward. Madam Lan, please listen to my request!”

The Proprietress pretended not to hear and said nothing in response; after all, she was not the one who was participating in the auction, it was Yang Kai. Although she used her identity to scold Teng Wang earlier, it was only her way of helping Yang Kai. How could she say anything under these circumstances?

Seeing that there was no response from Room A3, Ye Jian felt his heart sinking to the bottom of the abyss. Sure enough, a voice soon came from that direction to place a higher bid. The price was increased by just half a million.

Inside Room B2, Ye Jian’s expression crumbled, looking like he had aged several dozen years. Beside him, a young man with large eyes and thick brows smiled bitterly, “Father, let’s forget it. This price... is far too high.”

Ye Jian clenched his fists tightly, “No! I have not lost! I can still continue!”

The young man said, “It’s enough, Father. Even if the item we pledged far exceeds 50 million in value, that is a treasure that belongs to the Sect. If the losses we suffer are too high, it will be difficult for us to provide a sufficient explanation when we return. Father, let’s stop here!”

Ye Jian muttered painfully, “I am aware of that. How can I not be? But, you...”

...

The young man smiled bitterly, “Don’t worry, Father. In the worst case, I will simply never advance into the Open Heaven Realm. Who knows? Things might change in the future. There is no need to waste so much money at this juncture, especially since everyone else in the Sect require a lot of resources for cultivation as well. You don’t need to worry too much about me.”

Ye Jian opened his mouth to speak but finally let out a heavy sigh.

The old man on the stage called out the countdown. Finally, the bidding for the Heavenly Yuan Seal Stabilizing Pill and its pill recipe came to an end. The auction item was sold at a terrifyingly high price of 50.5 million Open Heaven Pills.

The old man presiding over the auction had maintained a stiff expression on his face throughout, but his complexion was quite ruddy at the moment. He felt as though he had gotten the greatest bargain in the world.

This round of bidding also caused countless people to become hooked to the excitement. Be it the regular cultivators in the hall or the Open Heaven Realm Masters in the private rooms, they had never witnessed such a brutal and unexpectedly difficult bidding war before.

When the price first hit 20 million Open Heaven Pills, everybody thought that it would be the limit. Who could have known that Teng Wang and Ye Jian would secretly receive funding from others? Thus, the price rose to 30 million. By the time the price exceeded 30 million, everybody thought that it was the end. Who could have expected somebody to appear out of nowhere and forcibly compete with Ye Jian for the auction item? The price was raised to 50 million as a result.

Throughout the history of all the auctions in the 3,000 Worlds, the only other time an auction could beat this round of bidding in terms of price was when High-Rank resources appeared in the world.

This was only halfway through the auction as well. The second half of the auction had yet to take place, so who could say what other good things might appear?

It might have been that the auction had reached a climax, so the auction house decided to take a short break. During the break, Red Clouds Auction House delivered the Heavenly Yuan Seal Stabilizing Pill and its pill recipe over. Yang Kai paid the 50.5 million Open Heaven Pills and received his items.

Nobody had ever seen the Heavenly Yuan Seal Stabilizing Pill before, so they were very interested in the item. The jade bottle was passed around between the Proprietress, Old Bai, and Yue He. On the other hand, Yang Kai carefully studied the pill recipe.

After some investigating, he was secretly speechless. It was apparently not difficult to refine the Heavenly Yuan Seal Stabilizing Pill. He was confident he could refine the Spirit Pills with his abilities. It was just that many ingredients were required. There were a total of 9 main ingredients. Leaving aside the World Source Liquid, there were 8 others. In addition, there were a total of 72 kinds of adjuvants and many were herbs he had never even heard of before.

...