Chapter 418: Three Hundred Copies
Chapter 418: Three Hundred Copies
Translator: Swammped Editor: Hitesh_
"Undying body!" Murong Qingcheng's brows were raised.
For a martial artist below Life and Death realm, the lure of undying body was beyond imagination. Life and Death realm was difficult to attain- this was the common consensus of all Sea of Soul realm experts in the True Spirit Continent. The number of Life and Death experts born every century didn't exceed ten. Although this number was sometimes exceeded, it never increased by too much. It should be known that the continent's population was almost a hundred trillion. Geniuses were like stars in the sky, simply too many to account. Even so, only around ten geniuses managed to enter Life and Death realm in the past hundred years. This was the level of difficulty to enter Life and Death realm.
Therefore, for the absolute majority, Sea of Soul realm was the limit of their potential. They didn't have much possibility to advance further. In that case, the undying body was their final destination. With the undying body, they would at least be able to compete with Life and Death King in a certain aspect. This was enough to drive them crazy.
Ye Chen was also moved. On the surface, the undying body seemed to have two layers, but in reality, there were three. First was regrowing a limb, second was flesh derivative, and the third was rebirth from a drop of blood. The second layer was different from the other two, and not all would be able to attain it. Of course, the difficulty of the second layer wasn't higher than the third, but some would directly jump to the third from the first. Without experiencing the second layer, the time to jump from first layer to third layer would be too long. Moreover, those with outstanding perception and comprehension would advance layer by layer, because that would be the course of making one's foundation strong. Not to mention that directly jumping from the first to third layer was exceptionally hard. More than ninety nine percent of people would have no means to do so. These matters couldn't be clearly explained with words, as one would only understand if they went through the experience themselves.
However, be it first layer, second, or third, undying body was something that ordinary martial artists could only dream about. It could even be said that the undying body was like gaining more potential. Life and death battles, forbidden zones, dangerous territories… with the support of undying body, one would be able to live a long life. It could be regarded as a talent that couldn't be ignored.
Cough!
The old man lightly coughed, then unhurriedly continued, "This item is actually a map, a map to seek the location that has the secrets of the undying body. The starting price is a thousand mid grade spirit stones. I'll repeat again- I personally offer no assurance of this item's authenticity. If it's fake, you won't regret it too much. Otherwise, the starting price would have been much higher."
"A thousand mid grade spirit stones? Old Gao, this price is still too low! Be it true or false, if it contains information about the undying body, its price should be astronomical."
Some people were suspicious. It was not that they had too many spirit stones and wished for the price to get a bit higher, but they didn't feel at ease. A map that contained the secrets of the undying body was definitely not worth a mere thousand mid grade spirit stones. One couldn't say for sure that the map had already been recognized by the auction.
"That's right! Old Guo, what's the meaning of this?"
"If we you don't explain in clear terms, we won't dare to buy this."
The old man said, beaming with smiles, "That's because the map has more than one copies, a total of three hundred copies that are exactly the same. Each copy's price is a thousand mid grade spirit stones."
"What, three hundred copies!"
"What are you playing at?"
The entire auction was in uproar.
The old man was already prepared for such a situation. He cleared his throat and said, "Alright, I will refrain from excessive explanations. Every map's starting price is a thousand mid grade spirit stones. For the majority of people here, it isn't too much of an amount. As for whether it's real or not, everybody will have to decide for themselves. The bid for the first map begins."
The auction was completely silent. Nobody made the bid, as most of the people were observing and waiting.
The old man wasn't worried. In any case, whether the map was real or fake wasn't certain. He didn't believe that nobody would bid. Moreover, once the first bid was issued, there would be second, third, fourth...and so on. The quiet at this moment was one before a storm.
"One thousand!"
A price of one thousand mid grade spirit stones was indeed quite low. If it had been ten thousand spirit stones, it would have been uncertain. Therefore, after a short while of silence, the first bid resounded.
"One thousand one hundred!"
The second bid immediately followed.
In the VIP room three hundred and ninety eight, Ye Chen raised his hand, "Two thousand."
Hearing these words, many people looked towards Ye Chen's VIP room with strange gazes. Everybody knew that he had ample wealth. Not to mention there were three hundred copies, even if there had been only one, not many would have been willing to enter a bidding war with him.
In this manner, Ye Chen obtained the first copy.
Murong Qingcheng smiled faintly. She understood Ye Chen's method. Although three hundred copies seemed a lot, at the end of auction when their number would have been greatly reduced, the prices would instead be much higher. Claiming one at this moment would allow one to save a lot of spirit stones.
The auction of the second copy was the same as the first one. Not many people bid, and its price was stagnating around two thousand mid grade spirit stones.
"Three thousand!"
The bidder was Murong Qingcheng. Although she had given all her spirit stones to Ye Chen, she had an extra mid grade artifact. Even if she were to loan it to auction for a low price, she would be able to obtain twenty to thirty thousand mid grade spirit stones. Her thought process was the same as Ye Chen. Even if it turned out to be fake after purchase, she would lose three thousand mid grade spirit stones at worst.
"This map is quite strange. There are either images of animals or abstract images." Ye Chen opened the beast skin scroll and discovered that this map was unusual. There were no itinerary lines, but a single line that linked everything together. The starting point was a rooster's image, then was a skull, then a toad, two circles, and a square. It was completely indiscernible.
Murong Qingcheng opened her beast skin scroll. Her brows creased before she said, "Perhaps it's a hint, or it's just false and been made needlessly complicated."
The authenticity of usual maps was quite easy to see. If they had some strange things that couldn't be made sense of, they could pull the wool over people's eyes for a while.
Ye Chen nodded, "There will be a lot of people studying this map. We'll be better off observing from afar."
Three hundred identical copies of one map… Three Yin City had never witnessed such a matter before. After this auction, it was bound to set off huge waves.
Next, the third map was sold for two thousand five hundred mid grade spirit stones.
Fourth map, two thousand eight hundred.
Fifth map, three thousand three hundred.
Up to the fiftieth map, the price didn't exceed five thousand.
But after that, the auction suddenly exploded into action. Bids after bids resounded, and the mark of five thousand was broken for the first time, attaining five thousand one hundred.
Many were regretful. If they had known that the situation would take such a turn, they would have claimed one copy in the beginning. At this moment, the prices had doubled. The clever ones finally resolved their hearts to purchase at this moment. The hesitant ones were still awaiting the time when nobody would bid and they would be able to buy the map at the lowest price. Unfortunately, they never got the chance. The map's price continued to increase. Although there was an occasional drop, it wasn't much.
Humans were quite strange in this manner. When not many showed interest, they also wouldn't. But, when the number of people showing interest increased, they instead wouldn't be able to help but desire it themselves. The people that could truly preserve their original heart were exceptionally rare.
"Ten thousand!"
For the two hundred and twenty third copy, someone shouted a price of ten thousand.
"You're crazy! Ten thousand spirit stones for a map that we don't know is real or fake?" The person beside him looked at him with complex eyes. In reality, he himself wanted to buy one as well.
"I'm not crazy. More than two hundred copies are already sold. If I don't buy it now, even ten thousand spirit stones wouldn't be able to buy it later."
"Let's wait a bit more. The prices might tumble down."
"You can keep on waiting! I don't want to regret it later."
Two hundred and fiftieth map…
"Fifteen thousand."
"Sixteen thousand."
"Eighteen thousand."
The auction eventually turned fiery. Only a forty or so copies remained from amongst the three hundred. The map's authenticity no longer had meaning. Those who wished to buy it would naturally try their hardest to bid, and those who didn't wouldn't be moved regardless of anything. Of course, the latter were pitifully low in numbers.
"Twenty thousand!"
The bidder was in the fifth floor's VIP room.
The old man stared blankly. He could naturally tell that the bidder's voice belonged to Yin Demon Ancestor. A thousand thoughts flashed by in his mind, and he came to an astonishing conclusion. The map was quite likely genuine. At least in the eyes of the latter, it was authentic. Otherwise, there was no need for him to buy his own map. His actions were evidently a show for other Sea of Soul realm experts. After all, a lot people recognized and could tell his identity from his voice. In this manner, nobody would suspect him being the original owner of the map either. On the other hand, if he didn't bid, he would have attracted a lot of suspicions. After all, which Sea of Soul realm expert wasn't moved by the undying body? Sea of Soul realm Masters were no exceptions either.
"What the f*ck! What fraud is this? The first one was sold for two thousand, and now after a few moments, the price has gone all the way up to twenty thousand?"
"Who stopped you from buying it earlier?"
"Brother, let's use the map together. With your strength alone, you might not be able to make much use of it."
"Don't think you'll get your way cheap. I bought it with nine thousand mid grade spirit stones. Hand out six thousand, then we can use it together."
"Who are you trying to cheat? Half of nine thousand will be four or five thousand, no?"
"The price has increased now."
"You sure are ruthless."
On the stage, the old man was beaming with smiles. The situation turned out to be just as he had expected. There were not even one in ten thousand martial artists who could resist the temptation of the undying body. Some people would enter the struggle even while knowing that their strength was insufficient. Of course, they were not overestimating their capability; strength was important, but luck was even more important.
Luck wouldn't necessarily be on the strong's side.
"Only three copies remain. After these three, there will be nothing left. Begin!"
As soon as the old man's voice was heard, unceasing bids resounded, directly reaching thirty thousand. The bidder was a Sea of Soul realm expert. Only a Sea of Soul realm could keep composure under such circumstances. In any case, a few mid grade spirit stones didn't mean much for Sea of Soul realm experts, so he didn't really need to do meticulous calculations.
The following two copies were sold at even higher prices. The second was sold at forty five thousand mid grade spirit stones, and the last one at fifty thousand spirit stones, both claimed by Sea of Soul realm experts.
Astral Reaching experts who had the spirit stones to purchase one before but didn't do so, wished to buy it later on but didn't have enough spirit stones. Such people were feeling an endless regret. They made firm determinations that if such an opportunity arose in the future, they would be decisive and act early. However, it was easier said than done. Those who could remember their original determination at the crucial moment were quite rare.
"Hereby, the auction of maps concludes. Next is the auction's final item."
With the auction of maps, the auction was on the verge of ending. Apart from wealthy Sea of Soul realm experts, the absolute majority was paying no attention to the final item, but trying to study the map. Those who had studied the history of Extreme Yin Region were actually able to see through some clues.