Chapter 630: Imperial Cauldron
Chapter 630: Imperial Cauldron
One grand character immediately asked in a serious tone: “A cauldron from the Alchemy Kingdom? Which Alchemy Emperor did this belong to?”
“Dear honored guest, this cauldron was owned by the Hundred-grass Alchemy Emperor and followed him when the emperor was still young. Anyone who studied the Alchemy Kingdom knows that the Hundred-grass Alchemy Emperor was one of the greatest regarding plant cultivation since the start of time. His usage of the cauldron was not limited to pill refinement, it contains many benefits regarding growing plants.
“Because of his great skill at cultivating plants, he was called the Hundred-grass Alchemy Emperor. However, after becoming an emperor, he focused on immortal pill refinement instead, so he thought about switching to a different cauldron. Eventually, he found one that was more suitable for pill refinement, so he exchanged it with the cauldron that he had used for the first half of his life.” The auctioneer was able to provide the history of the cauldron quite well. Surely the Golem Square had spent a lot of effort on this matter.
A Demon King inquired: “If this Heavenly Cauldron belonged to the Hundred-grass Alchemy Emperor, then why did the Alchemy Kingdom let it be lost in the outside world?”
The Alchemy Kingdom was a behemoth in the Alchemy Realm as well the entire Stone Medicine World. One sect with three emperors — how formidable was this? Not to mention that it even produced four Alchemy Emperors.
Although Alchemy Emperors were not comparable to Immortal Emperors since they couldn’t sweep through the world in an invincible manner, they had a prestigious status and great fame. Since the start of time, both eternal existences and Godkings would need an Alchemy Emperor eventually. Sometimes, even Immortal Emperors would need Alchemy Emperors.
The kingdom’s first Immortal Emperor was also its progenitor, Immortal Emperor Yao Zu. He used the dao of alchemy to become an emperor, so he was not only an Immortal Emperor but also an Alchemy Emperor. Thus, he was both the first Immortal Emperor and the top Alchemy Emperor among the four in the Alchemy Kingdom. 1
Thus beckoning this question: how could such a monster let the cauldron that belonged to the Hundred-grass Alchemy Emperor be lost to the outside world?
The auctioneer calmly answered: “Honored guests, you can rest assured about this matter. Anything auctioned by our Golem Square definitely has no problems and won’t be asked to be returned. However, if everyone is still worried, then I will reveal the true origin of the cauldron.”
He paused for a moment before continuing: “After the Hundred-grass Alchemy Emperor changed his cauldron, he gave his old one to a close friend. This friend treated this cauldron as his family heirloom for generations. If it wasn’t for the fact that the master of the cauldron needed a huge amount of spirit medicines, he wouldn’t have been able to bear giving up this treasure.”
The auctioneer guaranteed once more: “This cauldron is up for auction, so our Golem Square can guarantee that the Alchemy Kingdom will definitely not ask for it back from whoever wins it!”
The guests couldn’t be blamed for showing such concerns. After all, a monster like the Alchemy Kingdom was a source of dread for the other big characters. It would be big trouble if obtaining this cauldron with a dubious origin would provoke the Alchemy Kingdom in any way.
After the guarantee from the square, one person quickly asked: “What is the starting bid for this cauldron?”
The auctioneer answered: “The starting point for this cauldron is 80,000 Virtuous Paragon Refined Jades, and each successive bid must be in increments of 10,000. The highest bidder will win.”
Many people became dejected after hearing this. Even 80,000 of the lowest grade Virtuous Paragon Refined Jade were still Virtuous Paragon jades after all — something extremely incredible.
How frightening was this starting price? Many big shots here were startled by this price since it already eliminated a lot of the guests without enough money.
The auctioneer continued on: “I won’t expand on the preciousness of a Heavenly Cauldron. We’ll begin now. 80,000 to start, bid!”
Although this price could scare people to death, an alchemist was unperturbed and gave his bid: “90,000!”
The cauldron that belonged to the Hundred-grass Alchemy Emperor was too tempting. This emperor was quite renowned, after all. Think about it, a cauldron that had been with this emperor for half of his life — how priceless was this?
Despite its monstrous price, many people still desired it: “100,000!”
The arrogant Jian Wushuang raised her voice: “200,000!” She immediately doubled the bid in one go.
In an auction, this type of bidding would surely cause annoyance. Although some bidders were very unhappy with Jian Wushuang, they had to swallow it as they didn’t dare to utter a word. Who would want to mess with the golden daughter of the Jian Clan?
Bai Weng and Shi Hao’s hearts were beating fast from the bidding of hundreds of thousands of Virtuous Paragon Refined Jades. They didn’t dare to imagine such a monstrous sum.
Another alchemist bidded: “210,000.”
At this time, the generous young man also called out: “250,000!” He was a golem with a body made out of flesh and blood, but his eyes were a golden color. He had a stout stature that made him seem like a majestic and powerful mountain.
However, Jian Wushuang didn’t bother looking at the young man and raised the bid once more: “500,000!”
Her approach made others gasp helplessly. Whose fault was it that she was so rich? She could afford to raise it to any price!
A Demon King followed along: “510,000!”
The young man was much more cautious compared to Jian Wushuang: “530,000.” It seemed like he didn’t want to offend her.
“1,000,000.” But this time, Li Qiye casually threw out his bid.
His bid caused everyone to jump. The generous young man looked towards Li Qiye, and the same went for Jian Wushuang. She coldly glared at him with a sight that pierced through his very being.
However, despite all the gazes, Li Qiye still leisurely sat there on the balcony. Of course, Bai Weng and Shi Hao were not as calm, their rapidly beating hearts were palpitating and their legs were quivering. Nevertheless, they noticed that Li Qiye was still very relaxed; it was as if his bid wasn’t 1,000,000 Virtuous Paragon Refined Jades and instead just a few dozen coins that he could afford to throw into a river without a care.
Bai Weng couldn’t help but wryly smile. Just imagine, Li Qiye could casually throw out 100 Virtuous Paragon Refined Jades, then he gave the Vermillion Flame Cauldron to him. At the same time, Li Qiye intended on grooming Shi Hao, so perhaps 1,000,000 refined jades were nothing to him.
“2,000,000.” Jian Wushuang bidded. Her style was still the same, doubling the sum.
Li Qiye only smiled and didn’t respond to her provocation. However, the generous young man didn’t stay silent. Compared to Jian Wushuang with her bottomless pockets, he was a lot more cautious: “2,050,000.” This type of bidding was meant to show his determination to own the cauldron, but at the same time, his intent of not offending Jian Wushuang.
“3,000,000.” Jian Wushuang didn’t double the bid this time, but it was still a frightening number.
The remaining bidders simply shut up and didn’t dare to bid any longer since they couldn’t match Jian Wushuang.
“3,050,000.” The generous young man raised it by 50,000 once more.
However, no one could stop Jian Wushuang’s momentum as she continued to raise her bid to an intimidating level: “4,000,000!”
The auction became the playground of the young man and Jian Wushuang.
Her bids made it very difficult for the young man. He had no choice but to stand up and slightly bow down towards her direction: “Goddess Jian, I know you are interested in this cauldron, but you are not an alchemist so you might not need such a cauldron.”
However, Jian Wushuang was always arrogant and never gave anyone face no matter who they were: “Whether I need it or not is none of your business.”
The generous young man was still courteously bowing as he said: “Of course, it is none of my business. But honorable Goddess Jian, this cauldron is very important to me. My Huangfu Clan and the Alchemy Kingdom are in-laws, so now that the kingdom’s cauldron has been lost like this, it makes me, an alchemist, feel very terrible. I want to win this auction and then give it back to the Alchemy Kingdom.
“I hope that Goddess Jian will show magnanimity. As long as you agree to let me have this cauldron, you can ask for anything from me.”
“What? Are you saying that this young lady is coveting something that belongs to you?! Also, this young lady doesn’t lack anything!” Jian Wushuang spoke with an imposing aura. Her arrogance was boundless regardless of her opponent. Although her attitude was distasteful in the eyes of others, it also showed that she was an arrogant and confident person.
“No, no!” The generous young man understood her personality, so he hurriedly apologized: “That is not what I meant. What I was trying to say is that, in the future, if Goddess Jian has any order, then just say a word and I’ll carry it out right away.”
Her arrogant character loved it the most when people flattered her. She nodded her head and said: “Very well, Huangfu Hao. Today, this young lady will give you some face. If you bid 5,000,000, then I won’t compete with you anymore.”
The young man named Huangfu Hao quickly told the auctioneer: “I bid 5,000,000!”
Although such practices were not compliant with the rules, today, the price of this cauldron was exorbitant already so even the Golem Square chose to turn a blind eye to what had just played out.
Sure enough, Jian Wushuang kept her word and no longer bidded after Huangfu Hao raised the price to 5,000,000.
1. Yao Zu = Alchemy Ancestor Immortal Emperor.