Chapter 190: Rich and Foolish

Hearing this, Ming Zhengyang understood.

Even if all three Innate Pills were successfully refined, adding three more Innate martial artists to the Seven Luminaries Sect, it wouldn’t be as significant as acquiring a Grandmaster martial art.

He himself had long since broken through to the Innate Realm, so he had no aspirations in that regard.

His earlier remark was just a casual mention.

Since Ji Cang didn’t intend to contend for it now, Ming Zhengyang wasn’t in a hurry either.

Then, he sighed.

"Speaking of Shen Changqing, when I saw him in Lin’an City, his strength was, at best, only at the Innate level. I never expected that he was hiding so deeply."

Ming Zhengyang knew that the person auctioning the Grandmaster martial arts this time was Shen Changqing.

He was no stranger to this name.

Back in Lin’an City, Ming Zhengyang had quite a bit of contact with Shen Changqing.

What he didn’t expect was that a temporary County Magistrate of Lin’an City was actually a Grandmaster-level expert, and a Grandmaster Late Stage at that.

He knew that even his master, the current Sect Master of the Seven Luminaries Sect, was only at the Grandmaster Middle Stage.

"That one’s opportunities are not shallow, but his talent is also rare in this era. Otherwise, even with heaven-defying opportunities, it would be impossible to grow to that extent in such a short time."

Hearing the name Shen Changqing, Ji Cang’s complexion finally changed slightly.

His gaze remained fixed on the auction stage, but his mind was elsewhere.

"Lord Hengjiang’s strength was not weak. I fought him years ago and only narrowly won by a single move. Yet, he perished at the hands of Mierba. Although Mierba’s slaying of Lord Hengjiang may have been due to borrowing the strength of the Barbarians…

Regardless, Mierba’s strength was not weak.

The entire Baijiang Sect was destroyed in his hands.

That one was able to fight for several hours surrounded by an army of eighty to ninety thousand, and finally slay Mierba and leave. This strength is very strong!"

Very strong!

Seeing Ji Cang’s serious expression, Ming Zhengyang’s heart couldn’t help but tremble.

It was the first time he had heard his master describe someone as "very strong."

As the Sect Master of the Seven Luminaries Sect, Ji Cang possessed immense fame and status in the Jianghu, and his strength could be considered among the top experts.

The number of experts in the world who could compare to him was few.

And before this, there had never been anyone who could make him utter the words "very strong."

Because Ji Cang rarely commented on other experts in front of him.

"One hundred and thirty thousand!"

"One hundred and forty-five thousand taels!"

"One hundred and fifty thousand taels!"

The auction for the Innate Pills continued, the ability to increase the success rate of breaking through to the Innate Realm was enough to make ordinary people fight tooth and nail.

If Meridian Opening martial artists could be called experts in the Jianghu, then Innate martial artists were already qualified to sit in a region.

Who knew how many Meridian Opening peak martial artists were stuck at that realm their entire lives, unable to break through the limit.

The Innate Pills being auctioned now were a hope for them.

On the other side, in a wing-room.

Returning Origin Master sat there, silently listening to the bidding outside, not speaking easily.

Beside him sat several youths.

These people were all outstanding disciples of the Returning Origin Sword Sect. Their purpose in participating in the black market auction in the capital was not only to contend for Grandmaster martial arts but also to bring these people out to see the world.

They had not disguised themselves when entering the black market but wore bamboo hats to conceal their appearance.

Now, inside the wing-room, everyone had removed their hats. If Shen Changqing were here, he would recognize that one of them was Cui Cheng, whom he had met in Lin’an City.

"Sect Master, are we going to make a move?" a disciple asked.

Returning Origin Master tapped his fingers on the table, with a calm and composed demeanor.

"Don’t rush, let’s observe a bit more!"

Innate Pills were also quite useful to the Returning Origin Sword Sect.

After all, the Returning Origin Sword Sect didn’t have many Innate martial artists. If they obtained Innate Pills, he was confident in nurturing several Innate martial artists.

In that case, the strength of the Returning Origin Sword Sect would increase significantly.

Of course, Returning Origin Master’s current goal was still the three Grandmaster martial arts.

However, upon arriving at the auction house and learning that a large number of sects had come, he didn’t have much confidence in the Returning Origin Sword Sect obtaining even one of the three Grandmaster martial arts.

If there was no way to contend, then settling for second best wouldn’t be out of the question.

Soon, the price reached two hundred thousand taels.

Warden No. 2 wore a happy expression, very satisfied with the atmosphere of the venue.

The higher the price of the auctioned items, the more commission the auction house would extract.

As the host, the benefits he would receive were self-evident.

But with the price reaching two hundred thousand taels, there were now fewer people still contending.

After all, this price was enough to empty the coffers of a small family.

To participate in the auction at the cost of financial ruin for a fleeting opportunity, if successful, it would naturally be worthwhile, but if it failed, there would be no chance of recovery.

Suddenly, Returning Origin Master spoke, his clear voice spreading from the wing-room.

"Two hundred and fifty thousand taels!"

Instantly, the scene fell silent.

Just now, it was still at two hundred and ten thousand taels, and now someone had directly raised the price by forty thousand taels.

Some who still held hope and wanted to contend for the Innate Pill were directly frightened away.

Seeing this, Warden No. 2 couldn’t help but start counting down.

"Two hundred and fifty thousand taels, first time!"

"Three hundred thousand taels!"

Just as he started counting down, another voice broke the silence.

Three hundred thousand taels!

The scene below immediately became somewhat lively.

Three Innate Pills were bid for three hundred thousand taels, which meant that one Innate Pill cost one hundred thousand taels.

Even more so, three hundred thousand taels was almost enough to buy a Grandmaster-level martial art.

However, Grandmaster martial arts were available for a price but not available for purchase. Even if someone really took out three hundred thousand taels, there would be no Grandmaster martial arts for sale.

"Three hundred thousand taels, ha, what great courage!" Returning Origin Master shook his head slightly.

He gave up on the idea of contending for the Innate Pills.

Two hundred thousand taels was the limit. He wouldn’t bid anymore if the price exceeded that.

The Returning Origin Sword Sect had only brought a total of eight hundred thousand taels. Judging from the current intense situation, Returning Origin Master had no confidence that the eight hundred thousand taels would be enough to secure even one of the three martial arts.

"Three hundred thousand taels, first time!"

"Three hundred thousand taels, second time!"

"Three hundred thousand taels, third time, sold!"

Warden No. 2 directly hammered the gavel, and then maids came forward to take away the box containing the Innate Pills. Another maid arrived with a new item.

The first auctioned item was sold for the high price of three hundred thousand taels.

When the transaction was completed, the entire atmosphere of the auction was directly raised to its peak.

"Three hundred thousand taels of silver to buy three Innate Pills, there really are many rich people in the world!"

Shen Changqing was somewhat envious.

When he had thirty thousand taels in his possession, he still thought he was a very wealthy person, but now, in comparison, he suddenly realized that he was still a very poor person.

Wealth was only relative.

Thirty thousand taels here at the auction house couldn’t even meet the starting price.

"I wonder which faction ultimately won the auction."

Shen Changqing looked through the glaze window toward the wing-room from which the voice had come, but unfortunately, he was blocked and couldn’t see the inside.

As for the small holes for transmitting sound, he couldn’t see anything through them either.

Ji Qu said, "The one who can use three hundred thousand taels to auction for three Innate Pills won’t be a major sect. I think it’s some mid-level faction."

"Probably."

Shen Changqing nodded almost imperceptibly.

What the other party said was not wrong. Three hundred thousand taels in exchange for three Innate Pills, and not necessarily pills that would guarantee a breakthrough, was equivalent to betting on an opportunity.

Judging from the current situation, those major factions were unlikely to spend three hundred thousand taels for a possibility.

To put it bluntly, the major sects didn’t lack Innate martial artists.

The ones who truly lacked Innate martial artists were not the major sects, nor were they the small forces, but rather those mid-level factions that were neither high nor low.

At this moment, Warden No. 2 opened the box, revealing a blood-colored ruby.

Upon seeing the Blood Ruby, Shen Changqing clearly felt a surging Qi and blood power emanating from it.

"The Blood Ruby is a treasure that has been nurtured underground for who knows how many years. To be honest, I’m not very clear about how it was formed. But the Blood Ruby has one effect, which is to nurture Qi and blood.

Any martial artist carrying the Blood Ruby will be nourished by this treasure, thereby removing impurities from the physical body and purifying Qi and blood.

My Yuanyang Auction House has a Grandmaster who has experimented and found that this Blood Ruby can even have a certain effect on Grandmaster Realm experts."

After briefly introducing the effects of the Blood Ruby, Warden No. 2 went straight to the point.

"The starting price for the Blood Ruby is twenty thousand taels of silver, with a minimum increase of one thousand taels each time. Bidding starts now!"

After the words fell, the scene was somewhat silent.

After a moment, someone bid.

"Twenty-one thousand taels!"

"Twenty-two thousand taels!"

"Twenty-three thousand…"

There were quite a few bidding voices, but it wasn’t as heated as when bidding for the Innate Pills.

Inside the wing-room, Shen Changqing looked at the Blood Ruby on the auction stage and didn’t have any thoughts of bidding.

Removing impurities from the physical body and purifying Qi and blood.

These effects seemed very good, but upon closer inspection, they weren’t of much use.

Although the Qi and blood power contained in the Blood Ruby was surging, it wasn’t to the point of being shocking.

From this alone, it could be seen that even if the Blood Ruby could remove distractions from the physical body, its effect was very limited.

The claim that it was effective for Grandmasters was even more dubious.

It was very possible that wearing the Blood Ruby for a year wouldn’t be as useful as spending half a day cultivating in the Martial Pavilion’s secret room, allowing the physical body to be cleansed by the inspiration automatically.

There was absolutely no need to bid for something that was of little use.

Ji Qu on the side didn’t show much interest either.

"This Blood Ruby is just an ornament. Perhaps it has a greater effect on martial artists who temper their bodies and open their meridians, but as for later…"

He didn’t finish his sentence, but shook his head, a derisive smile on his face.

Those who bought this thing were rich and foolish.

In the end, the price of the Blood Ruby was fixed at thirty-two thousand taels and was bought by someone.

End of Chapter