Best Young Master
Chapter 329 - 292 Outsmarting Oneself

Chapter 329: Chapter 292 Outsmarting Oneself

"Hiss~"

Even as the leader of the adventurer mercenary group and a half-step War God realm strongman, Meng Ke couldn’t help but gasp at the sight of Ye Fan taking out six precious high-level Nirvana Pills at once.

Surprised, his gaze was firmly fixed on the six floating Nirvana Pills, as he released his consciousness and used his breath to sense them.

Upon sensing, Meng Ke clearly perceived the rich aura within the elixir pills.

"Top-grade among high-level elixirs?!"

Meng Ke was shocked, his eyes displaying a fiery glow as he hurriedly said, "These are Ghost Mushrooms and Bone Corrosive Spirit Flowers from the Australia Continent, both are rarely seen plant essences."

As soon as he finished speaking, Meng Ke took out two square boxes and opened them quickly, as if he was afraid that Ye Fan would change his mind.

The first box contained a mushroom with a faint black gas floating around its surface, and its top resembled a ghastly face, quite eerie.

The Ghost Mushroom grows in an Extreme Yin Body. Due to long-term absorption of the Evil Yin Qi within the Heaven and Earth Primordial Qi, the mushroom has formed an essence of yin energy inside.

The Bone Corrosive Spirit Flower, a grey flower with nine petals merged into one, surrounded by yin energy, also contains essence of yin energy within its petals.

As an Innate Mage, Ye Fan’s spiritual sensing power far exceeded that of martial artists of the same level. With just one sensing, he recognized the essence of yin energy within the Ghost Mushroom and Bone Corrosive Spirit Flower.

Heaven and Earth Primordial Qi can be roughly divided into Yin Yang Qi, and further divided into the five elements: metal, wood, water, fire, earth.

The key to judging whether a heavenly material is a plant essence is to see whether it contains the essence of Heaven and Earth Primordial Qi.

Now, both the Ghost Mushroom and the Bone Corrosive Spirit Flower contained the essence of Heaven and Earth Primordial Qi, and the quantity was slightly higher than the previously seen Star Blue, both certainly qualified as upper-grade plant essences.

"Mr. Meng Ke, it’s a deal!"

With a slight smile, Ye Fan’s mind stirred, and with the power of telekinesis, he controlled the six Nirvana Pills to float toward Meng Ke.

"Great!"

Meng Ke waved his right hand, and the air stream surged, immediately sweeping the six Nirvana Pills into his hand.

"Whoosh! Whoosh!"

After putting away the Nirvana Pills, Meng Ke didn’t linger. With a wave of his left hand, another air stream was generated, whisking the boxes containing the Ghost Mushroom and Bone Corrosive Spirit Flower toward Ye Fan at high speed.

Seeing this, Ye Fan’s brow flashed with golden light, and two stronger streams of telekinesis shot out simultaneously, acting on the two boxes and making them stably float in front of him.

"Your skill with magic is not low; it should have reached the Innate Realm, right?"

Witnessing this scene, Meng Ke’s pupils slightly dilated, an odd light flickering in his eyes. Magicians were extremely rare in the Cultivation World, and those who cultivated both magic and martial arts were even rarer, let alone reaching the Innate Realm in both!

"Hmm."

Ye Fan nodded with a smile, maneuvering inanimate objects with telekinesis was something only an Innate Mage could do, and it was normal for Meng Ke to recognize this.

His dual cultivation in magic and martial arts had already spread throughout the Huaxia Martial Arts World; there was no need to hide such a fact.

"To have reached the Innate Realm in both magic and martial arts, this Ye Fan is truly formidable."

"Indeed, he has already cultivated both magic and martial arts to the Early Innate Realm. Now, with three plant essences, if he consumes them all, he will certainly step into Great Success or even the Peak of Innate Realm!"

"Once he steps into the Peak of Innate Realm, he will definitely have the strength to compete for the top five in next year’s Qing bang competition!"

...

Hearing the conversation between Meng Ke and Ye Fan, the cultivators below gradually came out of their shock, discussing with envy.

"If this bastard consumes the three plant essences, his strength will definitely soar. If he then uses the Wudang Sect’s treasure Taiyin Xuan Sword, his combat ability will be impressive."

While the cultivators were discussing, Ye Long couldn’t help but look greedily at the boxes containing the Ghost Mushroom and Bone Corrosive Spirit Flower, contemplating in his heart, "But it doesn’t matter. As long as I get the Black Iron Fist Set, I can still treat him like a dog!"

"Three plant essences..."

Xiao Selang, the martial arts genius of the Tian Shan Sect, also coveted as he watched Ye Fan put away the Ghost Mushroom and the Bone Corrosive Spirit Flower, his eyes filled with deep desire.

However—

Thinking of his master, Cang Bo, exchanging the High-level Magical Artifact ’Black Iron Fist Set’ for plant essences for him, Xiao Selang’s envy lessened a bit, and he slowly withdrew his gaze.

"Next, the auction will continue..."

On the stage, Long Yue spoke again. Since Ye Fan and Meng Ke’s exchange did not violate the auction’s rules, she made no mention of what just happened.

Generally, the first item at the auction is only second to the finale item, and then the rest are auctioned off in ascending order of price.

For example, the second auction item was a talisman with a calming effect and could also prevent the entry of Evil Yin Qi. It was similar to one of the talisman’s effects Ye Fan had made for Su Liuli, but its quality was much lower.

Eventually, the talisman was acquired by a super-rich businessman from Nangang for a high price of 100 million.

After the talisman, various heavenly materials and earthly treasures, martial arts techniques, magic artifacts, and elixirs appeared in the auction, but most were of low quality. Only after the 150th auction item did rare heavenly materials begin to show up.

And as various precious medicinal herbs appeared, Ye Fan bid again, spending nearly 70 billion Huaxia Coins to buy twelve materials for alchemy, including those for the Returning Essence Pill. The ingredients for the Nirvana Pill, however, did not appear.

As time passed, the auction gradually approached its end, but the emotions of the cultivators below were surging—they knew the later it got, the better the treasures!

"Up to this point, the auction has successfully auctioned off 180 items. The following 6 items will be the most precious items of this auction—any one of them could be the final showpiece at other auctions!"

Seeing the excitement of the cultivators below, Long Yue cleverly teased them before suddenly raising her voice, "The 181st item is the Returning Essence Pill refined by the Evil Emperor Chu Xuanji!"

Whoosh—

As Long Yue’s words ended, the auction hall erupted in shocked murmurs!

The Returning Essence Pill, like the Nirvana Pill, is one of the high-level elixirs most needed by cultivators, and this Returning Essence Pill was refined by the Evil Emperor Chu Xuanji himself!

"The Returning Essence Pill can allow cultivators to restore their inner strength and Mind Power after consuming it. Although its effects may not match the Plant Essence, it excels in its rapid recovery speed, and at crucial moments, it serves as a life-saving talisman for cultivators!"

Long Yue seemed very pleased with the reaction of the cultivators below. She deliberately picked up the Returning Essence Pill in her hand and said, "This Returning Essence Pill in my hand was refined by the Evil Emperor Chu Xuanji, with unquestionable quality. Its starting price is two billion Huaxia Coins—let the bidding begin!"

"Twenty-one billion!"

"Twenty-five billion!"

"Twenty-eight billion!"

...

For a time, the auction hall was boiling over, with the powerful Martial Arts Sects and Families bidding fiercely for the Returning Essence Pill as if mad.

Seeing this scene, Chu Ji couldn’t help but look at Ye Fan with admiration.

Auctioning the Returning Essence Pill and the Nirvana Pill was Ye Fan’s decision.

In Ye Fan’s words, it was the perfect opportunity to use the money from auctioning these two high-level elixirs to purchase alchemy materials and make a profit from it.

And in order to drive up the price, Ye Fan had deliberately made it known through Chu Ji when contacting the organizers that they were refined by Chu Xuanji.

The titles of Evil Emperor, Divine Doctor, Array Master, a Supreme Strongman of the Gang Qi Realm who practiced Dual Cultivation of Magic and Martial Arts, the second-ranked expert on the Dragon Ranking, a hero who saved the world...

Chu Xuanji had too many titles under his name. Although Ye Fan had already surpassed Chu Xuanji in alchemy, in terms of fame, he was far behind Chu Xuanji!

Seeing his plan succeed and noticing Chu Ji’s gaze, Ye Fan smiled and winked.

"Thirty-six billion!"

In the end, the Returning Essence Pill was won by a martial arts genius from the Xingyi Sect.

Although the number of masters in the Xingyi Sect was not particularly high, the sect had a vast number of Outer Disciples and had opened martial arts schools in many places across Huaxia and the world, wielding significant influence. Its annual operating income was staggering, second only to the two major Sects of Shaolin and Wudang!

In such circumstances, the martial arts genius of the Xingyi Sect did not feel the pain of spending thirty-six billion for the Returning Essence Pill; instead, he looked at Ye Fan with envy, jealousy, and hatred.

He remembered how Ye Fan had displayed the Nirvana Pills to everyone as if they were mere cabbages...

"The 186th item is a Nirvana Pill, also from the hands of the Evil Emperor Chu Xuanji. In quality, it matches the one Mr. Meng Ke previously exchanged, and its starting bid is still two billion Huaxia Coins!" Long Yue spoke again, glancing unconsciously at Ye Fan, her eyes also carrying a hint of envy.

Just like with the Returning Essence Pill, the Nirvana Pill caused a frenzy among the cultivators below, and because Ye Fan had previously exchanged the Nirvana Pill for the Plant Essence, its price was driven even higher, eventually selling for forty-three billion.

The three items auctioned later included a high-level cultivation method, a high-level martial arts skill, and a top-grade mid-level magical artifact ’Thunder Blade’ used by Martial Artists.

Among them, the Thunder Blade was sold for sixty-eight billion to a martial arts genius from the Saber Sect.

The Saber Sect, one of the well-known Martial Arts Sects in the Huaxia Martial Arts World that specialized in saber techniques, has a long history. The renowned Sword King Wang Wu of the past was a representative figure of the ’Saber Sect’.

"Finally, it’s time for the last showpiece item!"

"Who knows what treasure will be the finale?"

"The only thing more valuable than the Plant Essence has to be a high-level magical artifact, right?"

...

After the 185th item, the Thunder Blade, was auctioned off, the cultivators below began to discuss again.

Although most of them didn’t have the strength to bid for the final showpiece item, they were eager to know what treasure could be the grand finale of this auction.

"The wait is finally over!"

As the cultivators discussed, Ye Long muttered to himself and clenched his fists tightly. His gaze was burning with desire as he fixed his eyes on the stage, his expression one of determination to win.

Hm?

Noticing the change in Ye Long’s emotions, Ye Fan’s heart stirred, and upon seeing Hong Lie on the stage, he immediately understood that Ye Long might have known in advance what the finale treasure was.

Clang!

Ye Long’s heart suddenly tightened—Ye Fan had just acquired three Plant Essences and was fully capable of competing with him for the Black Iron Fist set!

"The optimal dose for consuming Plant Essence is three pieces. If he already had some, he wouldn’t need to exchange for three—so he must only have the three Plant Essences he exchanged for!"

To be on the safe side, Ye Long gritted his teeth and secretly made a decision. (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to vote for it with a recommendation ticket or a monthly ticket at Qidian (qidian.com). Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please go to m.qidian.com to read.)