As Xiao Zhan’s words left his mouth, the entire hall fell into a brief silence. Moments later, gazes filled with schadenfreude turned toward Gally Bi, whose face was ashen. “Tsk tsk, ten thousand gold coins for a single bottle of Foundation Building Spirit Liquid… This guy is really generous, isn’t he?” Watching Gally Bi, whose face was twitching, Xiao Yan lowered his head and couldn’t help but chuckle softly.
Seeing Xiao Yan’s smug expression, Xuner smiled and said, “A regular second-grade spirit medicine generally costs about three thousand gold coins on the market. The Foundation Building Spirit Liquid, a rare elixir that can enhance the speed of Dou Qi cultivation, is quite scarce, so its price is considerably higher. However, to spend ten thousand gold coins on it, Gally Bi is indeed very ‘generous.'”
Xiao Yan nodded with a smile, smacking his lips, and said wistfully, “A second-grade Foundation Building Spirit Liquid can sell for tens of thousands of gold coins. I bet those powerful alchemists must all be rolling in wealth, right?”
“Alchemists are indeed the wealthiest profession on the Dou Qi continent. Each alchemist has a considerable fortune.” Xuner nodded with a smile, her gaze sweeping over the Foundation Building Spirit Liquid on the stage. “However, as an alchemist’s rank increases, they rarely come out to auction their spirit medicines. At that point, they prefer to barter, and money becomes less appealing to them…”
“Bartering?” Xiao Yan’s eyebrows raised slightly, beginning to understand why the Pharmacist Elder had such a rich collection of items.
“Mm, using techniques, battle skills, or rare medicinal herbs, high-grade demonic cores, and other such items to trade for spirit medicines from alchemists.” Xuner’s small, rosy lips curled up as she said softly, “So, alchemists are the most envied profession on the continent. Everyone wants to become one, but the nearly impossible conditions have dashed the hopes of countless people.”
Seeing Xuner’s slightly regretful expression, Xiao Yan rubbed his nose, feeling grateful for his soul mutation.
Pausing, Xiao Yan turned his gaze to Gally Bi, whose face was ashen.
Gally Bi, shocked by Xiao Zhan’s words, stared dumbfoundedly at Xiao Zhan, who had given up without any hesitation. His eyes twitched rapidly, and after a while, he hoarsely said, “Damn you, you’re playing tricks on me again!”
“Heh, aren’t you the same? It’s just that your mind has been a bit muddled lately, making your performance a bit fake,” Xiao Zhan replied with a faint smile, his tone tinged with mockery.
“Fine, fine, Xiao Zhan, I’ll remember this grudge!” Gally Bi took several deep breaths, his eyes cold and filled with resentment.
Ignoring this threat, Xiao Zhan gave a cold laugh and turned to Ya Fei on the stage, saying, “Miss Ya Fei, let’s proceed to the final auction.”
Ya Fei smiled and nodded, maintaining a discreet smile on her face. In her heart, however, she couldn’t help but laugh. The auction price far exceeded her expectations, and the better the price, the more likely it was to win the favor of the mysterious alchemist.
Sending a consoling smile to the ashen-faced Gally Bi, Ya Fei bent down to take out the last two bottles of Foundation Building Spirit Liquid. She smiled sweetly, her red lips slightly parting, “Ladies and gentlemen, these are the last bottles of the spirit liquid. The starting bid remains at three thousand gold coins.”
Seeing the last bottles of the spirit liquid, the elders sitting next to Xiao Zhan instantly looked tense, quickly casting covert glances at him.
Calmly seated, Xiao Zhan ignored the elders’ looks and scanned the quiet hall before saying, “Five thousand.”
Hearing Xiao Zhan’s bid, Gally Bi’s face twitched again. He moved his mouth, but thinking of his lack of funds, he could only grit his teeth and shut up.
On the other side, Aubba Pa, seeing the calm Xiao Zhan, frowned and tapped his fingers lightly on the back of his hand. His eyes flickered, and he then laughed, “Five thousand five hundred.”
The relationship among the three major families in Wutan City was quite strange. They all wanted to swallow the other two families’ businesses in the city, but none dared to act alone, fearing that the third party would benefit. If they acted together, suspicion and distrust would be inevitable. Therefore, without the certainty of wiping out the others, the three families had to maintain this fragile and peculiar balance.
Each of the three families harbored grievances against the other, and no one liked anyone else. Although Aubba Pa had mocked Gally Bi earlier, now that it was Xiao Zhan’s turn to bid, even if he wouldn’t treat Xiao Zhan the same way as Gally Bi, he was still happy to raise the price and cause some trouble for the Xiao family.
Aubba Pa’s increased bid did not change Xiao Zhan’s expression. He glanced casually and said, “Six thousand five hundred.”
Six thousand five hundred was already beyond the market price for the Foundation Building Spirit Liquid, but Xiao Zhan knew that in the bidding war among the three families, getting the spirit liquid at a low price was almost impossible.
“Haha, Clan Leader Xiao, you’re really generous. But I’m afraid I might get dragged into this. I’ve already successfully purchased the Foundation Building Spirit Liquid, so I’ll leave this to you this time,” Aubba Pa hesitated slightly, apparently wary of repeating Gally Bi’s mistake.
Seeing Aubba Pa’s forced smile, Xiao Zhan also smiled and leaned back in his chair, muttering, “Damn it, made me pay another thousand. This bastard isn’t a good guy either.”
Hearing this, Xiao Yan found it amusing. In such competition, there were no good guys. If it weren’t for the fear of repeating Gally Bi’s mistake, Aubba Pa would have probably added more.
As Xiao Yan watched Ya Fei strike the gavel, he breathed a small sigh of relief. This money would support him for a while, and now he just needed the medicinal herbs to have the Pharmacist Elder make the Qi Gathering Powder…
“The Dou Shi realm is finally within reach…” Licking his lips, Xiao Yan exhaled deeply. He was finally about to cross the first hurdle in his cultivation path!
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