NOVEL NEXT Chapter 616: Astonishing Turn of Events
The three appraisers took turns inspecting the green beast bone, and all of them were rather perplexed, seemingly unable to identify the item.
The three of them exchanged a glance with one another, following which the white-haired elderly man asked, "How many Immortal Origin Stones are you planning to pawn this item for?"
"Thirty thousand!" the blue-robed man declared, immediately creating quite a stir in the venue.
Thirty thousand Immortal Origin Stones was not a small sum. In fact, it was higher than the price of the majority of the treasures sold during this auction thus far, and it was even higher than the current price that the Rippling Horizon Arts had been bid up to.
"This is a rather interesting item, but it has no spiritual power fluctuations at all. May I ask exactly what's so special about this bone that you're asking thirty thousand Immortal Origin Stones for it?" the middle-aged scholar asked.
"This bone is something that I obtained from a set of primordial ruins, almost at the cost of my own life. It may not possess any spiritual power fluctuations, but as far as I can tell, it's completely indestructible, able to remain completely unscathed even in the face of attacks from immortal treasures.
“I tried to have the bone refined into an immortal treasure, but no one is able to mold it at all. Hence, I'm certain that this bone is an exceptional treasure," the blue-robed man declared, but it was clear that he was flailing a little.
A hint of mockery flashed through the middle-aged scholar's eyes upon hearing this, and he exchanged another glance with his two colleagues.
Having worked as an appraiser for so long, he had seen countless people who proclaimed something to be a priceless treasure just because it possessed certain special attributes.
"It sounds like you're also unaware of the value of this item. In order to ensure a policy of fairness and openness, we'll only accept items with clear values, so I'm afraid we can't accept this bone," the middle-aged scholar declared.
"Fei Bin, you idiot!" Daoist Master Jingyang cursed under his breath as a frustrated look flashed through his eyes.
A furious look immediately appeared on the blue-robed man's face upon hearing this, and he was even more embarrassed by all of the mocking looks that were directed his way.
He had actually approached several appraisers with this beast bone in the past, and all of them had given him the same response.
However, with so many powerful figures gathered in one place here, he was hoping that someone would be able to identify the item, but it seemed that his hopes were misplaced.
At the same time, he couldn't help but waver slightly in his own conviction. Could it be that this bone really was a valueless piece of junk?
Right at this moment, a middle-aged man wearing a golden crown suddenly declared, "Hold on, I'll take that bone from you for thirty thousand Immortal Origin Stones."
The man was a High Zenith cultivator, and he was staring intently at the beast bone with a bright gleam in his eyes.
The entire venue immediately erupted into chatter upon hearing this, and everyone turned their attention back to the beast bone.
The three appraisers behind the table also faltered slightly upon hearing this, while the blue-robed man was ecstatic, and he was just about to agree to the offer when Daoist Jingyang interjected, "I'll give you thirty-five thousand!"
The blue-robed man's mouth immediately gaped open in astonishment upon hearing this, and before he had a chance to recover, the man wearing the golden crown increased the price to forty thousand!
"Fifty thousand!" Daoist Master Jingyang immediately retaliated.
"Sixty thousand!"
"Seventy thousand!"
......
The two of them were going back and forth in increments of ten thousand Immortal Origin Stones, and at this point, it had become clear to everyone that his beast bone was definitely some type of extraordinary treasure.
Before long, several more High Zenith cultivators had also entered the bidding war, and the blue-robed man was excited beyond belief.
Meanwhile, the three Immortal Palace appraisers behind the long table were left feeling a little awkward. The beast bone that they had deemed to be completely worthless was now the center of an astronomical bidding war, and each bid that was placed was like a slap across their faces.
Even the auctioneer was looking on in a completely stunned silence.
In the blink of an eye, the price for the beast bone had been bid up to two hundred thousand Immortal Origin Stones.
At this point, Daoist Master Jingyang and the man wearing the golden crown were the only ones who were still persisting.
"220 thousand!" Daoist Master Jingyang spat through gritted teeth.
The man wearing the golden crown could see that Daoist Master Jingyang was reaching his limits, and a cold sneer appeared on his face as he raised the price to twenty-five thousand.
"260 thousand!"
"270 thousand!"
"280 thousand!"
"Three hundred thousand!"
At this point, it was clear from the expression of the man wearing the golden crown that he was also nearing his limits.
"350 thousand!" Daoist Master Jingyang declared with a hint of strain in his voice, and all of the auction-goers instantly drew a collective sharp breath upon hearing this.
"350 thousand Immortal Origin Stones? Do you really possess such immense wealth? If you can bring out that many Immortal Origin Stones or things of equivalent value right here, then I'll concede the bone to you, but if you can't, then you'll be liable for intentional meddling!"
Daoist Master Jingyang's expression darkened slightly upon hearing this, while Fu Yuhai turned to him with slightly furrowed brows, then declared, "Of course. The rules of the auction cannot be broken by anyone without consequences."
"Good. Let's see the Immortal Origin Stones now," the man wearing the golden crown said with a cold sneer.
Han Li took a glance at Daoist Master Jingyang.
Perhaps this wasn't apparent to others, but he was seated right next to Daoist Master Jingyang, so he could tell that the latter was feeling very uneasy.
It seemed that he really didn't have enough Immortal Origin Stones to support his bid.
"I'll present the Immortal Origin Stones to this blue-robed fellow daoist here after the auction," Daoist Master Jingyang harrumphed coldly.
"This bone is not an auction item, so there's no need to wait until the end of the auction. If you truly possess sufficient wealth to support your bid, then why not show everyone? Could it be that you don't actually have as much money as you claim?" the man wearing the golden crown sneered.
"Fine, if you insist, then take a good look!" Daoist Master Jingyang said as he rose to his feet, then swept a sleeve through the air to release a burst of white light, enveloped within which were around a dozen items, most of which were materials, but there were also two immortal treasures and a vial of pills.
The collection of items descended onto the appraisers' table, and every single one of them was giving off astonishing spiritual power fluctuations.
"Please appraise these items to determine how many Immortal Origin Stones they're worth," Daoist Master Jingyang requested.
The three appraisers exchanged a glance with one another upon seeing this, then commenced the appraisal process, while the man wearing the golden crown looked on with slightly furrowed brows.
At the same time, Daoist Master Jingyang's voice rang out in Han Li's mind. "Fellow Daoist Li, do you have any spare Immortal Origin Stones? I need to borrow some from you."
"How much do you want?" Han Li asked through voice transmission.
"Eighty thousand," Daoist Master Jingyang replied.
"That's not a small sum," Han Li mused.
Daoist Master Jingyang was ecstatic to see that Han Li hadn't turned him down, and he immediately said, "I know, but rest assured, I can return the entire sum to you within 10 years."
"That beast bone must truly be an exceptional treasure for you to have spent so much money on it. I've examined it carefully with my spiritual sense, but haven't discovered anything remarkable about it. May I ask exactly what it can be used for?" Han Li asked.
"Truth be told, the beast bone is a spatial treasure, but its aura has been concealed by an extremely advanced restriction, and that's why you can't detect anything from it," Daoist Master Jingyang explained after a brief hesitation.
"I see..."
"How about this? If you lend me the eighty thousand Immortal Origin Stones, regardless of what's inside the beast bone, you can have a third of its contents," Daoist Master Jingyang proposed.
"Given the sincerity of your offer, it would be downright rude of me to refuse. Having said that, I want to be present when you're opening this spatial treasure," Han Li said.
Daoist Master Jingyang's expression changed slightly upon hearing this, but ultimately, he nodded in response. "Alright, but please don't tell anyone about what you see when the time comes."
Han Li also nodded in response, then pulled out a small storage ring before covertly stuffing it into Daoist Master Jingyang's hand.
Daoist Master Jingyang inspected the contents of the storage ring momentarily, following which a hint of elation flashed through his eyes.
The appraisal was quickly completed, and the middle-aged scholar declared, "We've appraised these items to be worth no less than 120 thousand Immortal Origin Stones."
Daoist Master Jingyang swept a sleeve through the air once again, and two streaks of light containing a pair of storage rings descended in front of the three appraisers.
"The rest of the Immortal Origin Stones are in there," he declared.
The three appraisers briefly examined the pair of storage rings, and it was declared that one ring contained eighty thousand Immortal Origin Stones, while the other contained seventy thousand, and that was sufficient to cover the cost of the beast bone.
"If you're still not convinced, then I invite you to examine the storage rings yourself, Fellow Daoist," Daoist Master Jingyang said as he turned to the man wearing the golden crown.
The man merely gave a cold harrumph and didn't respond.
With that, the impromptu auction for the green beast bone drew to a conclusion.