Looking at Qi Rongsheng's expression, Yu Nian suddenly had a bad premonition. If Feng Chengyuan hadn't been holding Qi Rongsheng back, he would have rushed onto the auction stage.
Yu Nian reached out to block Qi Rongsheng's arm and whispered, "Calm down. That's just a useless knife. It'd be a struggle even to use it for cutting vegetables..."
After hearing Yu Nian's words, Qi Rongsheng's pupils suddenly shrank. He stared at her in disbelief and retorted, "Cut vegetables? You're simply insulting my sincere admiration for Ancestor Xuande! Of course, I'm going to buy it back and enshrine it!"
Yu Nian felt a bit of a headache. In her opinion, this "Pig-Slaying Knife" was truly useless. She couldn't understand why someone would spend all their savings on a piece of scrap iron.
Yu Nian was about to say something else when she saw Qi Rongsheng suddenly turn his head. He stared at Yu Nian seriously and asked, "Do you think what I'm vying for is just the knife?"
Yu Nian replied, "... Otherwise?"
Qi Rongsheng hooked his lips into a smile. There seemed to be a raging fire burning in his eyes as he said, "What I'm fighting for is the dignity of being Ancestor Xuande's number one fan!"
After saying that, he suddenly raised the bid number in his hand and shouted, "I bid three thousand gold!"
Looking at Qi Rongsheng's high - spirited appearance, Yu Nian fell silent.
Three thousand gold in the Ghost Market was no small amount for a Taoist priest after being converted into cash.
After all, practicing Taoism had always been an extremely expensive thing.
For example, Taoist priests had to spend money when traveling, refining magic tools, making pills, and drawing talismans. Not to mention anything else, even the most basic pills cost thousands of yuan to make.
Qi Rongsheng's bid of three thousand gold was really a huge investment.
It was a pity that he overlooked one thing. This was an auction in the Ghost Market, a place filled with demon lords and demon venerables. Three thousand gold was just an appetizer for them.
"The bid from the upper floor is three thousand five hundred gold!"
"Four thousand gold!"
"Four thousand five hundred gold!"
The price of the Pig - Slaying Knife skyrocketed all the way. It only slowed down when it reached six thousand gold, and then there was a back - and - forth bidding war.
Qi Rongsheng's hand clutching the bid number gradually turned white. He stared fixedly at the brocade box on the stage, so tense that he forgot to breathe.
The bid had now reached six thousand gold. He only had six thousand five hundred gold on him in total, and that was all his savings from over a decade. He couldn't afford to bid any more.
Qi Rongsheng carefully glanced at Yu Nian and Feng Chengyuan, who looked calm.
Should he... borrow some money from them?
Just as he was thinking, a black - cloaked man suddenly walked onto the auction stage and whispered something in the ear of the female auctioneer.
The female auctioneer was slightly stunned. Then, with a look of reverence in her eyes, she glanced in the direction of the private rooms on the second floor and shouted, "The bid from the upper floor is eight thousand gold!"
The whole venue fell silent for a moment.
Eight thousand gold could buy four or five top - grade magic tools. This price was really too high. If one were to bet all their money on this knife, they would surely miss out on the treasures that would come later.
Hearing the female auctioneer's words, Qi Rongsheng's body suddenly stiffened. Then, like a deflated ball, he slumped down. He hid himself in the shadows, dejected and silent.
Seeing Qi Rongsheng looking like a lost soul, Yu Nian felt a bit sorry for him. She whispered to comfort him, "That knife isn't anything special. If you really want one, I'll give you one after we leave the Ghost Market."
Qi Rongsheng was stunned for a moment, then frowned tightly and said, "Who wants your knife?"
He turned around self - consciously and buried his face in his arms. He mumbled in a muffled voice, "The one on the stage is a masterpiece of Ancestor Xuande. How can yours compare..."
After being rejected by Qi Rongsheng, Yu Nian didn't insist anymore. Since she didn't understand Qi Rongsheng's thoughts, she turned her head to continue looking at the items on the stage.
"Dear lords, this is the fifth treasure. It's rather special. The starting bid is five thousand gold."
As soon as these words were spoken, all the demons became interested. They all craned their necks to see what the treasure looked like.
With a soft swish, the female auctioneer lifted the red cloth. A blue crystal stone only half the size of a fist was lying alone on the tray. There was an extremely flat cross - section on the stone, as if half of it had been deliberately cut off. At first glance, it looked rather shabby.
All the demons immediately let out a hiss and complained.
"We may be rich, but we're not stupid. How dare you ask for five thousand gold for a useless stone with no spiritual power at all?"
"Such a shabby thing can be put up for sale? Is the Star - Picking Tower really going to go bankrupt?"
"Tsk, what on earth is this?"
...
Amid the commotion, Yu Nian raised her eyes and looked at the crystal stone. Then, she raised her eyebrows in surprise and said, "Pure Origin Stone?"
Qi Rongsheng, who had been feeling down beside her, also raised his head upon hearing this. He carefully examined the stone for a moment and then returned to his self - enclosed state. "What nonsense are you talking about? How could that be a Pure Origin Stone?"
Yu Nian raised her eyebrows but said nothing. In fact, it was no wonder that Qi Rongsheng didn't recognize it. After all, the books had once recorded that the Pure Origin Stone was crystal - clear, smooth, and pure. No matter from which angle, it couldn't be associated with the stepping stone in front of them.
The Pure Origin Stone was extremely spiritual. It was a spiritual stone naturally nurtured by heaven and earth. It was born from the essence of the yin and yang qi and was forged by the light of the sun, moon, and stars. It was rare to find one in a hundred years, and it had the effect of condensing souls and gathering qi.
Most importantly, if the user's spiritual power was strong enough, they could use the Pure Origin Stone to conceal the aura of a spiritual body, making it impossible to search for any information about the spiritual body in the Three Realms.
The one in front of them should have been cut and used, so it had hidden its spiritual light and looked no different from an ordinary stone.
After hearing about the effects of this stone, Feng Chengyuan suddenly whispered, "If this stone were used on Jiang Sheng, would he be able to escape the pursuit of the ghost messengers smoothly and no longer have to hide in the body of the black cat? Then, Jiang Li..."
Feng Chengyuan didn't continue. Yu Nian glanced around at the demons wearing masks with a half - smile. She said in a voice that only Feng Chengyuan could hear, "The bait is ready. The fish will come sooner or later."
The female auctioneer's introduction was not much different from what Yu Nian had thought. However, the demons obviously didn't care much about this stone. Firstly, such a cold - selling item was useless when bought back. Secondly, its high starting bid was enough to make people shy away.
Only a certain demon venerable sitting in the front row of the venue was a bit interested in this stone. Although this crystal stone couldn't be used for the time being, it would be good to buy it back as a collection.
So the demon venerable moved his noble finger and said in a deep voice, "Five thousand three hundred gold!"
The female auctioneer nodded with a smile. Then, she scanned the surroundings, looking for the next bidder.
At this moment, an old and hoarse voice came from the very back of the venue.
"I bid six thousand gold."
All the demons present were stunned and turned their heads one after another.
There was actually someone competing with the demon venerable for the bid? How blind!
Yu Nian leaned over and saw a hunched figure standing in the corner of the venue. The black cloak covered the person tightly.
Her gaze shifted to the person's hand clutching the bid number. The hands were thin, yellow, and trembling constantly, whether from fear or excitement.