225: Arrogant

Top-tier Materials were scarce goods, especially for Cultivators who possessed the four great arts.

This Profound Spirit Soil was not only a material needed for Artifact Refining, but it could also be used in Alchemy and Talisman making. Thus, as soon as the old man spoke, someone immediately called out a bid.

"I offer two hundred and fifty stones," an old man wearing a moon-white Alchemist's robe called out loudly.

He raised the price by fifty as soon as he opened his mouth, intending to intimidate others and show his determination.

Auctioning such things was a game of Aura.

But this Aura could not suppress the others.

Immediately, another person bid: "I offer three hundred stones."

That was a rugged, burly man who looked like he should be an Artifact Refiner.

Most of those who could compete for such Materials were Cultivators with the four great arts, and their Realm was certainly not low.

They might lack other things, but they certainly did not lack Spirit Stones.

So very quickly, the price of this Profound Spirit Soil, which had a base price of only two hundred Spirit Stones, instantly soared to four hundred.

Even so, it hadn't scared off the other competitors.

Watching this scene, Zhou Luo finally spoke for the first time: "Four hundred and ten stones."

As soon as this young voice rang out, the people present couldn't help but look toward Zhou Luo on the balcony, feeling confused at the sight of that young face.

Could it be that the Lin Family wanted to buy it?

They naturally wouldn't think that Zhou Luo wanted to buy it himself.

After all, only Cultivators who had mastered top-tier arts generally knew how to use such top-tier Materials.

Zhou Luo's bid also slightly startled the few people beside him.

Especially the Fifth Elder, Lin Yan, who said in a deep voice, "What are you buying this for?"

"This Junior wants to use it for Alchemy," Zhou Luo said with a light smile.

"This is a top-tier material," Lin Yan said, unconvinced.

"I'll be able to use it eventually," Zhou Luo replied without much explanation.

In any case, he was already an Upper-Grade Alchemist on the surface; ascending to the top tier was only a matter of time.

Even if he bought a piece of top-tier material, others wouldn't suspect anything.

Hearing this, Lin Yan's face darkened slightly, and he stopped speaking.

Tenth Elder Lin Ze couldn't help but say, "Worthy son-in-law, you're buying this on your own account, you know."

Originally, he had been thinking that if Zhou Luo wanted to buy something, the Family could help him.

But this guy immediately wanted to buy a piece of top-tier material. Although he was the man's father-in-law, he wasn't about to treat money like dirt.

"Don't worry, father-in-law. I've saved up quite a few Spirit Stones from Alchemy over the years," Zhou Luo said with a smile.

He lived a quiet life and had basically no expenses in the Lin Family over the years; everyone had seen this. Not to mention, he had received many gifts from several weddings, so even if he brought out more Spirit Stones, the Family wouldn't be suspicious.

"Four hundred and twenty stones."

Across from them, someone else spoke; it was Lu Chen.

Last time, Lu Chen had been plotted against, causing the Family to suffer losses. Coming to the auction today, if there was a chance to annoy the other party, he naturally wouldn't let it pass.

Moreover, he also needed this top-tier material.

He looked at the Lin Family members opposite him with a chuckle, a hint of disdain at the corners of his mouth.

"Four hundred and thirty," Zhou Luo continued to bid, ignoring him.

"Five hundred."

Lu Chen gave a cold snort. In terms of financial power, he, an Alchemist, had never lost.

"Six hundred!"

Zhou Luo continued to raise the price, and quite violently at that, directly adding a hundred Spirit Stones.

This immediately caused a stir in the hall.

They looked at the young man on the balcony with surprise, their hearts slightly shaken.

Was the Lin Family going to butt heads with the Lu Family?

The discord between the Lin and Lu families was well-known. Now that the two families were competing, the others just watched for the excitement and didn't participate.

As for the old man on the high platform, he wished the two families would act like this; in the end, it was the Azure Origin Sect that would profit.

"Seven hundred!" Lu Chen said in a deep voice.

He had brought at least two thousand Spirit Stones this time; a mere few hundred stones was still acceptable.

"One thousand!" Zhou Luo's expression was calm, and his voice didn't betray a hint of emotion.

He had nearly two hundred Mid-Grade Spirit Stones on him, plus over three thousand ordinary Spirit Stones. If it really came down to financial power, probably no one present could match him.

Moreover, he was an Upper-Grade Alchemist, so having a thousand Spirit Stones was quite normal.

*Whoosh—*

As soon as these words came out, there was an uproar.

Everyone was shocked beyond measure; they hadn't expected a material with a base price of two hundred Spirit Stones to reach a thousand.

The Lin Family was truly wealthy and powerful.

Feeling those intense gazes, the corners of the two Lin Family Elders' eyes twitched.

Stormy waves were similarly surging in their hearts.

Was this kid this rich?

Opposite them, Lu Chen's face was also somewhat unsightly. He didn't think it was Zhou Luo bidding against him, but the Lin Family.

But a thousand Spirit Stones was already his limit; if he continued to raise the price, it would affect his subsequent plans.

For a piece of top-tier material, if the other party was willing to pay a thousand Spirit Stones, what was the harm in letting them have it.

Lu Chen stopped bidding, essentially admitting defeat.

Zhou Luo gave him an indifferent glance.

A thousand Spirit Stones might be the limit for the other party, but for him, it was just a drop in the bucket.

In the end, this piece of Profound Spirit Soil was won by Zhou Luo.

Soon, a beautiful female attendant brought the wooden box to the VIP platform where the Lin Family was located.

After Zhou Luo confirmed the material, he handed over a Storage Pouch.

The Storage Pouch contained a full thousand ordinary Spirit Stones; he did not take out any Mid-Grade Spirit Stones.

After all, if he had used Mid-Grade Spirit Stones, it would likely have aroused the suspicion of the two Elders.

Although the exchange rate between Mid-Grade Spirit Stones and ordinary ones was one to a hundred, the former was scarcer than the latter and rarely circulated in the market; they were only more common in places like the Dragon Phoenix Mountain Range.

After putting away the top-tier material, Zhou Luo's gaze returned to the auction floor.

The auction continued in an orderly fashion. Subsequently, items like Cultivation Techniques, Divine Abilities, legacies of the various cultivation arts, High Grade Talismans, and so on appeared.

It was a dazzling array that stirred up waves of excitement.

However, none of these were what he needed, so he didn't pay them much mind.

The Lin Family, however, made several moves. Especially Fifth Elder Lin Yan; he seemed to have come specifically for this auction, and when he saw an item he needed, he chose to bid without hesitation.

Although Lin Xin didn't get that High Grade Magical Artifact set, she still bought a High Grade Magical Artifact.

By noon, everyone's enthusiasm hadn't faded in the slightest.

After one round of auctions ended, the second round began.

The items for this auction were Spirit Beasts—a total of ten Spirit Beasts and cubs with excellent bloodlines.

Hearing this, Zhou Luo felt a rare flicker of interest. Although he already owned the Rank 3 Spirit Beast Snow Mountain Spirit Cat, the little fellow was still in a deep sleep; perhaps he could find another Spirit Beast.

That way, he wouldn't waste his status as a Rank 1 Beast Tamer.

Soon, the old man on the high platform opened a pet bag and released an exceptionally sturdy black horse.

It stood on the high platform with its head held high. Most striking was its crimson hair, which looked like flames and emitted an extraordinary Aura.

"This is a Blazing Spirit Steed, a Rank 1 High Grade Spirit Steed. It has reached adulthood, and its endurance and speed far exceed those of ordinary steeds. Most importantly, it can release flame attacks and adapt to any terrain..."

The old man introduced it slowly.

Rank 1 High Grade was equivalent to the sixth or seventh level of the Qi Refining Realm, and being an adult meant it didn't need to be raised.

So the old man directly gave a base price of three hundred Spirit Stones.

This price was not low for a Rank 1 Spirit Beast. The reason it was so expensive was mainly because it was an adult Spirit Steed that could be used immediately, saving a lot of rearing costs.

As soon as the old man spoke, someone immediately called out a bid.

Everyone was very interested in this adult Spirit Steed; even Lin Ze participated in the bidding.

Ultimately, this Spirit Steed fell into the hands of the Wang Family for a price as high as eight hundred Spirit Stones.

Next, more Spirit Beasts were put up for auction one after another.

In addition to adult Spirit Beasts, there were also Spirit Beast cubs, Spirit Beast eggs, and so on.

The prices for these would be slightly lower, and some people preferred to raise them from a young age to strengthen the Spirit Beast's loyalty.

Zhou Luo was also selecting a suitable Spirit Beast, but none caught his eye.

Just then, the old man presiding over the auction spoke leisurely.

"The next auction item is somewhat special. It is an unhatched egg. After appraisal, it belongs to a Rank 3 Spirit Beast, the Deep Sea Illusion Turtle..."