233: Chapter 233 Selling Things

"Fellow Daoists, welcome to the auction of the Qianbao Mysterious Palace. I am Luoxue, and I will be hosting today's trading convention. I hope everyone will strictly abide by the rules of the venue; all treasures will go to the highest bidder."

"Now, the first auction item is presented."

The earlier auction items were basically just weapons or Medicinal Pills that had just reached the ninth rank. No one in the private boxes made a move, and Cultivators in the general area below were the ones bidding. Taking advantage of this time, Lin Qing called the steward over.

After a short while, a young man dressed in a dark gray brocade long robe walked in. As one of the stewards of the Qianbao Mysterious Palace, the newcomer was naturally also a God Realm powerhouse, so having such a youthful appearance was not surprising.

The man had a calm expression and sharp eyes. Having managed various affairs of the auction house for many years and having come into contact with all sorts of Cultivators, he merely cupped his fists in a symbolic gesture.

"I am Lu Zhan. May I ask if you several have treasures to sell?"

Grandmaster and Grand Aunt-Master Qing Yao immediately made a move to act, but over the past few days, they had sold almost everything they could sell. To take out anything more would mean pulling out their truly personal items. Lin Qing quickly stopped them, and then first took out a spiritual plant and placed it on the table.

"Take a look at how much this thing is worth."

That was a plant with a palm-sized flower, with straight and crystal-clear roots and stems, azure-green leaves, and petals glowing with a faint blue light.

Lu Zhan did not care much at first and cast a casual glance at it. However, having seen countless rare treasures and exotic items, he unexpectedly failed to recognize what it was for a moment, and thus had to step closer to examine it carefully.

After quite a while, he looked up at Lin Qing in disbelief.

"May I ask, is this the legendary Youcen Luhua?"

Lin Qing did not answer immediately; instead, he picked up the teacup in front of him and took a sip, only nodding gently under Lu Zhan's expectant gaze.

Although Lu Zhan had not been disrespectful to them earlier, the disdain hidden in his eyes was still noticed by Lin Qing, and Lin Qing naturally had to put on a bit of airs.

"I wonder what the age of this is?"

"Hehe, it seems the discernment of the Qianbao Mysterious Palace's steward leaves much to be desired."

Lu Zhan knew that his initial attitude had made the three of Lin Qing somewhat displeased. He had handled affairs at the Qianbao Mysterious Palace for so many years and was used to genuflecting and bowing before big figures, so he quickly cupped his fists to apologize.

"Apologies, it was this humble one who acted impolitely."

Seeing this, Lin Qing no longer made things difficult for the other party. Although he could find another steward to come over, there was no need to make things so troublesome.

"About fifty thousand years."

"What! Does the guest know what a concept of fifty thousand years is?"

Lin Qing did not answer this time; it was impossible for him to explain time and again. The steward bowed and cupped his fists once more.

"Please wait a moment, honored guest."

After saying that, he backed out of the private box with a bent waist, not knowing whether he went to check records or to find someone with a more piercing eye.

Afterward, a batch of maidservants came in, holding more exquisite tea pastries. Those spirit fruits even emitted a faint spiritual light, and the mist above the tea was condensed from Spiritual Qi.

At this moment, the auction in the venue was still continuing.

"The next auction item, the ninth-rank Divine Artifact Qingning Sword blueprint, starting bid at one hundred twenty million!"

Luoxue's voice was clear and piercing, resembling the clashing of jade stones. Without deliberately raising it, it easily spread to every corner of the auction house.

"One hundred thirty million."

Just as Luoxue's voice fell, someone from a private box placed a bid. Lin Qing was not unfamiliar with this voice; it was Tao Tao.

Tao Tao was not an Artifact Refiner, so Lin Qing immediately guessed her thoughts. However, this time he did not plan to yield; even if he had to spend a few more Spirit Stones, he would win the bid himself. He could not keep accepting the other party's goodwill.

If his identity were exposed in the future and he had a falling out with the Wanyan Spirit Pavilion, he naturally would not lay a hand on Tao Tao, but if Tao Tao were to step forward to plead for him at that time, it would be difficult for him to handle.

"One hundred fifty million."

Lin Qing stated the price in a calm tone, and Tao Tao immediately followed up with a bid, looking as if she was determined to win it.

"One hundred sixty million!"

Originally, there were still some people who wanted to bid, but the bidding frequency of the two was simply too fast. Almost as soon as one party finished quoting the price, the other immediately followed up, stubbornly not giving others a chance to bid.

Tao Tao's voice became increasingly high-pitched, while Lin Qing's tone remained calm throughout. When the price reached three hundred twenty million, Tao Tao finally stopped raising the price.

"Congratulations to the honored guest of Earth-tier Room Ninety-Eight for winning this blueprint of the Qingning Sword at the price of three hundred twenty million."

Inside another Earth-tier private box, Tao Tao sat down resentfully with a look of unwillingness.

"Junior Sister, do not worry. There are similar blueprints later on, and we can just buy them for Junior Brother then."

The several Senior Brothers who came with Tao Tao quickly comforted her. Clearly, they knew the purpose of Tao Tao bidding for this blueprint and even had the heart to lend Tao Tao a helping hand. However, although they had long achieved the God Realm, they were not much wealthier than Tao Tao, because Tao Tao ran a tavern with a good business in the Sect.

After a few rounds, another item that Lin Qing had his eyes on appeared—a ninth-rank Pill Formula. Just at this moment, Lu Zhan walked in again, so Lin Qing could only bid while communicating with Lu Zhan at the same time.

"Two hundred million! Has Steward Lu finished checking?"

Lu Zhan cupped his fists and came to the table once more. Amidst Lin Qing's successive bids, he carefully examined the Youcen Luhua on the table, and only after a long while did he speak again.

"Honored guest, this is indeed a fifty-thousand-year Youcen Luhua. Such a supreme treasure can already be featured in this auction, and can even be arranged among the last few items. I wonder what the honored guest thinks?"

"That is fine, but we might need to use this sum of money later during the bidding. I wonder how your side plans to arrange this?"

"You do not need to worry about that. Our valuation for this Youcen Luhua is fifteen billion. The honored guest can bid in advance according to this price; even if it fails to sell at the end, our Qianbao Mysterious Palace will still acquire it at the price of fifteen billion."

Lin Qing nodded slightly, and then took out a crystal stone from his Storage Ring. This crystal stone had a dark azure background color, with flocculent grayish-white mist patterns entwined inside.

"That works. Take a look at this thing as well."

"This is... Chen'ai Crystal?"

"Correct."

"Ten billion."

"That works."

Although the Chen'ai Crystal and Youcen Luhua belonged to the same grade of treasure, Ore-type items did not account for age, so the price was a bit lower than the Youcen Luhua.

Finally, Lin Qing took out items worth sixty billion. Added to the previous two, the total value reached eighty-five billion.

Afterwards, Lin Qing took out another box and placed it on the table.

"I am not selling the things inside this for now, but just in case, please have Steward Lu give a valuation first!"

Seeing that Lin Qing had taken out so many treasures and yet treated this item with such solemnity, Lu Zhan also subconsciously turned serious.

He carefully opened the box lid, and what came into view was some gray powder, with an aura of "void" rushing toward his face.

It was unexpectedly bone powder of the Return to Void Realm.