The Arrogant Immortal
Chapter 371 - 370 The Bitterness of the Poor

Chapter 371: Chapter 370 The Bitterness of the Poor

The second auction item took the stage.

"A bottle of Xuanjing Golden Water, starting at ten thousand, with each bid increment no less than one thousand," True Lord Mei Fu struck down with another gavel.

"Dang!"

True Lord Mei Fu said, "Let the auction begin!"

"Ten thousand?" Someone tentatively started.

Someone sneered, "You dare to open at ten thousand? I bid eleven thousand."

"Haha, I bid twenty thousand!"

"Fifty thousand!" The price took such a leap.

The crowd glanced at the person who made the bid, who was cloaked and whose face couldn’t be seen clearly.

Xie Jiuniang looked at the person, "This voice sounds a bit familiar."

"The person next to him is from the Wu Family’s Nascent Soul," Chaoyan reminded.

Xie Jiuniang realized, "I know now, that person is Wu Yu. Have all the people from the Western Region come to the auction?"

"That’s not surprising. It’s not just them, the Sect has people coming over as well. Look further to the left, that person eight seats away, you can see the Tianxu Sect’s robes on the hem of his clothes."

"Indeed."

The auction held every five years is a grand event in the Southern Region.

It’s organized by several families in the Southern Region, including the Nalan Family. Besides the auction items, Wanjiao City’s black market will also feature some scarce resources, attracting many Cultivators.

Chaoyan looked at the stage and asked, "Disciple, aren’t you buying the Golden Water? It’s an excellent aid for Artifact Refining. Add a drop during Magic Artifact creation, and the success rate is ninety-nine percent."

"It could be useful, but I have some," Xie Jiuniang replied.

Previously, when Xie Jiuniang was searching for soul-nourishing items, she found more than a dozen bottles in the Small Tortoise Shell, "Master, do you want some? I still have eighteen bottles."

Chaoyan’s eyes swept over the auction platform.

The Xuanjing Golden Water was sold for one million eight hundred thousand... Well, he really felt the bitterness of being poor.

Compared to his little disciple, he was indeed a poor man!

True Lord Mei Fu’s voice rang out again, "Ladies and Gentlemen, the third auction item, a sixth-order Magic Artifact, the Goose Quill Fan. Made by a famous artisan, starting at one hundred thousand, with each bid increment no less than ten thousand."

"Five hundred thousand!"

A person from box Yi Yi on the second floor made a bid.

When the people upstairs called out a price, everyone in the hall below went quiet.

But the silence only lasted for a few moments before True Lord Mei Fu spoke again, "Five hundred thousand for the first time. There is only one item, so don’t miss out if you’re interested."

"Eight hundred thousand!"

Another bid came from the second floor, but not from the same box.

Xie Jiuniang sat up straight, "Is that from box Yi Qi?"

Chaoyan pondered whose voice this was but couldn’t figure it out after thinking for a while, "I can’t remember. It must not be someone important."

Xie Jiuniang nodded in agreement.

During their conversation, the bids had reached three million.

Only the two people on the second floor were contending until the bid reached three million six hundred thousand. Chaoyan interjected with a bid of four million and secured the fan.

Xie Jiuniang took a Spirit Fruit from the table, bit into it, and asked puzzled, "Your Goose Quill Fan is much prettier, so why buy this one?"

"To study it," Chaoyan had a particular fondness for fans.

Not long after the bid, there was a knock at the door of the box.

It was a staff member of the auction, who delivered the Goose Quill Fan that Chaoyan had just won. Chaoyan paid with Spirit Stones, and the item was his.

Another item was brought onto the stage.

True Lord Mei Fu said, "A high-level Demonic Beast egg..."

The bidding below began.

Xie Jiuniang, however, drooled over the egg.

Chaoyan was speechless, "That egg is fully formed; the little thing inside should be about to hatch soon."

The next moment, she reined in her covetous gaze.

Several more items were auctioned off after that, each fetching prices in the millions. The patrons in the private rooms upstairs rarely made a bid, with almost all of the competition happening among the people in the main hall.

The atmosphere on-site was electric.

This was probably what the auction organizers wanted to see, with bids being called out without the slightest hesitation.

Xie Jiuniang watched with a surging excitement, yet she firmly resisted the impulse to purchase anything, "Master, I’ve heard of people finding bargains at auctions before. Do you think I might be able to find one?"

"Don’t entertain those thoughts."

Chaoyan thought his junior apprentice was indulging in wild fantasy.

Anything that passed through the auction had been appraised by countless experts before. He then thought of the next segment and added with a smile, "That said, it’s not without opportunity."

"What do you mean by that?"

"Once the official auction is over, people from the audience can come up on stage to exchange or auction their items. There’s a chance to find bargains in that segment, but also a risk of being taken advantage of."

"The auction organizers are okay with that?"

"Why wouldn’t they be? They can take a cut from the deals without being responsible for them. Why not reap the benefits?"

"I see," Xie Jiuniang said, eager to give it a try.

She had many valuable items on her; should she go up and auction some off?

On second thought, considering her current circumstances, it was better not to.

The major families had just been forcefully subdued. If she revealed her whereabouts, they might catch wind and come looking for her.

Life had been a little too thrilling lately; it was time to slow down.

Being too tense all the time would lead to a breakdown.

Xie Jiuniang was unaware that Chaoyan had brought her out to gain experience precisely because he feared for her state of mind. His intention was to help her relax.

Spending half a month outside, she had indeed adjusted her mentality.

Onstage, several Spirit Plants were displayed, all over a thousand years old, and the competition for them was fierce.

Chaoyan and Xie Jiuniang once again refrained from participating.

Xie Jiuniang munched on a Spirit Fruit while watching the proceedings with relish, "All the items up for auction are rare treasures; no wonder they are hard to come by in the outside world."

"Of course. That guy, True Lord Mei Fu, wouldn’t have coughed up a Talisman unless I had given him a good thrashing."

Upon hearing this, Xie Jiuniang’s action of eating the Spirit Fruit paused.

Had she just heard some juicy gossip?

Turning her gaze to the composed and mature True Lord Mei Fu onstage, Xie Jiuniang suddenly found it difficult to look directly at him, "It’s not apparent."

Chaoyan picked up a Spirit Fruit from the jade plate on the table and asked curiously, "Not apparent what?"

"That he was beaten up last night."

"Hahaha..."

Chaoyan let out a hearty laugh as he observed True Lord Mei Fu onstage, his expression loaded with meaning.

True Lord Mei Fu inexplicably shuddered.

Who was it? Which no-good was trying to plot against me?

At that moment, Jian Lingyan spoke up again, "Master, a new acquaintance of yours has arrived outside the auction."

"A new acquaintance?" Xie Jiuniang repeated in question.

Jian Lingyan continued, "It’s Miss Nalan Youfang. She doesn’t have an invitation and can’t enter for the time being."

Xie Jiuniang shared this with Chaoyan and then suddenly grasped the main point, "Didn’t I tell you not to probe around? How come you’re doing it again?"

"I’ve chatted with the Artifact Spirit of the auction. As long as I don’t pry into the secrets of the auction or the privacy of the guests, it will pretend not to know," Jian Lingyan perked up at this time.

Chaoyan instructed his apprentice to go downstairs and receive the visitor.

Xie Jiuniang emerged from the private room, her Cloak still on. As she stepped out, she noticed several Divine Senses sweeping over, though they were discreet enough not to intrude upon her personally.

"These Divine Senses belong to the powerful figures of the auction." Jian Lingyan reminded her.

Xie Jiuniang pretended not to notice and continued toward the staircase.