"One hundred million Taiyuan Crystals!"
When Jiang Wan'er announced the starting bid for the Chenwu Divine Needle at one Taiyuan Crystal, Li Xuan and the others could only shake their heads with wry smiles. Those who could attend the Nine Domains Auction Assembly were all extraordinary in strength and status.
To only bid one Taiyuan Crystal would be quite embarrassing. After a brief silence, someone finally called out a price. However, the opening bid was fifty million Taiyuan Crystals.
As time passed, within just one minute, the price reached one hundred million Taiyuan Crystals.
"This needle is quite good. Does anyone fancy it?" As the bids escalated, Zhu Bing surveyed everyone in the private room and asked.
Ma Tianyu shrugged his shoulders upon hearing this, "Although this needle is good, it requires a powerful soul to activate it. The hype surrounding Chaos Supreme Treasures is considerable, but they must be usable. Pavilion Master Zhu, if you fancy it, then make a bid."
"Pavilion Master Ma is right. Although this needle is excellent, it is likely only usable by cultivators at the Divine Soul Proficient Realm or above. Even if we were to acquire it, we would merely be holding a treasure that brings trouble. Being far from the Six Domains Island, attracting unwanted attention could also be a bother," Zhou Qingzi chimed in, echoing Ma Tianyu's sentiments. His words clearly indicated a lack of optimism for the Chenwu Divine Needle.
Li Xuan had gained some understanding of the Divine Soul levels from Venerable Lin Yunyun.
After the spiritual sense transcended the mundane, it would advance to Divine Soul cultivation, which was divided into seven grades: Enlightenment, Proficient, Victorious, Precious, Marvelous, Divine, and Transformative.
With his current soul strength, Li Xuan had indeed reached the Divine Soul Enlightenment level.
Li Xuan pondered for a moment before speaking, "Since it's an auction, naturally the highest bidder wins. Regardless of whether we can activate it, at least we possess it. As for attracting attention, is our Tianyi Pavilion afraid of other forces? I do find this needle quite appealing, but judging by the current trend, the price will likely soon reach one billion Taiyuan Crystals."
"One billion Taiyuan Crystals? Alas, it seems I am destined to be without this Chenwu Divine Needle," Zhu Bing said with a wry smile, shaking her head.
For this Nine Domains Auction Assembly, Venerable Chen Peng, like Venerable Mu Lanxin, had granted Zhu Bing fifty billion Taiyuan Crystals. It was just the beginning, and if a large sum of Taiyuan Crystals were spent on bidding for the Chenwu Divine Needle, the mission assigned by Venerable Chen Peng might be difficult to complete.
Listening to Zhu Bing's words, Li Xuan looked thoughtfully at Jiang Wan'er, who was holding the tray on the high stage in the main hall.
Although it was preliminarily estimated that the Chenwu Divine Needle would require a cultivator at the Divine Soul Proficient Realm to activate it, Li Xuan felt his own soul strength was not weak. Furthermore, as long as it was nurtured within his divine soul, activating it once should not be difficult.
If he could obtain it, it would undoubtedly be a formidable trump card. Moreover, as a sword cultivator, the Chenwu Divine Needle shared a similar principle. However, the outcome would depend on where the price ultimately settled.
"One hundred seventy million Taiyuan Crystals!"
"One hundred seventy-five million Taiyuan Crystals!"
"One hundred seventy-nine million Taiyuan Crystals!"
"..."
"Two hundred million Taiyuan Crystals!"
As the bids continued to rise, the price had jumped from the initial fifty million Taiyuan Crystals directly to two hundred million. Moreover, the trend showed no signs of stopping, clearly indicating that this was not the bottom line for the Chenwu Divine Needle.
"Two hundred fifty million Taiyuan Crystals!"
"..."
"Two hundred ninety million Taiyuan Crystals!"
The bids kept escalating. At this point, Zhu Bing had already sat down and was drinking tea. It was clear that Zhu Bing had chosen to give up on such a treasure.
The value of Taiyuan Crystals was immense; one piece was equivalent to a hundred Taiyuan Fruits. Furthermore, Taiyuan Crystals were scarce and difficult to obtain, unlike the abundant Taiyuan Fruits. Just thinking about the current price made one's heart ache.
"Seven hundred fifty million Taiyuan Crystals!"
When the price of the Chenwu Divine Needle reached seven hundred fifty million Taiyuan Crystals, Li Xuan and the others straightened up in their seats. This was because when this bid was called out, the bidding in the surrounding private rooms noticeably slowed down.
"It seems we're getting close," Zhou Qingzi remarked.
Ma Tianyu nodded in agreement, "At this price, it's indeed not low. The final price is estimated to be within one billion."
Everyone nodded slightly. Following the current trend, one billion Taiyuan Crystals was already the limit.
"Eight hundred thirty million Taiyuan Crystals!"
After another five minutes, the bidding for the Chenwu Divine Needle, though slow, had surpassed eight hundred million Taiyuan Crystals. However, only four bidders remained, clearly indicating that the final destination of the Chenwu Divine Needle was imminent.
"Eight hundred thirty-five million Taiyuan Crystals!"
At this moment, Li Xuan suddenly called out a bid. His voice, amplified by the unique barrier within the private room, immediately echoed throughout the main hall.
Ma Tianyu and the others were taken aback, then they all turned to look at Li Xuan.
Seeing their reactions, Li Xuan quickly explained, "I find this Chenwu Divine Needle quite suitable for me. If I can acquire it within one billion, it would be excellent."
"Pavilion Master Li Xuan, Venerable Mu has assigned us a task this time. If this..." Elder Geng Tian hesitated before speaking, his words clearly reminding Li Xuan not to waste too many Taiyuan Crystals.
"Rest assured, I have it under control," Li Xuan replied with a smile, naturally understanding Elder Geng Tian's implied meaning.
Not only did Li Xuan not need to use the fifty billion Taiyuan Crystals given by Venerable Mu Lanxin, but he also had twenty billion from the other four pavilion masters.
Furthermore, before departing, Venerable Bai Suxin had also given Li Xuan a spatial ring. Upon inspection, it contained a staggering thirty billion Taiyuan Crystals.
"Eight hundred thirty-six million Taiyuan Crystals!"
"Eight hundred thirty-seven million Taiyuan Crystals!"
"..."
"One billion Taiyuan Crystals." As the bids continued to climb, Li Xuan calmly called out his bid again. Ma Tianyu and the others exchanged wry smiles and then collectively shook their heads. After all, this was Li Xuan's own affair, and they could not interfere too much.
"Nine hundred fifty million Taiyuan Crystals!"
At this moment, a bid suddenly came from another private room, directly increasing the price by fifty million Taiyuan Crystals. Li Xuan frowned slightly and, after a glance, immediately called out, "Nine hundred fifty-one million Taiyuan Crystals."
"Nine hundred sixty million Taiyuan Crystals!" As soon as Li Xuan finished speaking, the previous bidder's private room immediately countered. The other private rooms had stopped bidding after the price reached nine hundred fifty million Taiyuan Crystals, clearly no longer intending to continue.
Li Xuan remained silent for a moment, then bid again, "One billion."
"Pavilion Master Li Xuan..." Elder Geng Tian immediately exclaimed.
However, before he could finish, Li Xuan waved his hand and shook his head. Li Xuan was not one to act impulsively. In terms of enhancing his own strength, Li Xuan did not feel that spending one billion Taiyuan Crystals was a waste.
Seeing this, Elder Geng Tian had no choice but to fall silent. After all, Li Xuan was the Pavilion Master of the Wood Pavilion, and it would be inappropriate for a subordinate to repeatedly obstruct him.
"One billion and one million Taiyuan Crystals."
"One billion and ten million Taiyuan Crystals."
"One billion and eleven million Taiyuan Crystals."
"One billion and twenty million Taiyuan Crystals."
"One billion and twenty-one million Taiyuan Crystals."
"..."
"Eleven billion Taiyuan Crystals." Li Xuan took a deep breath and called out his bid again. Li Xuan was not surprised by someone suddenly making a move. It was a treasure, naturally, someone would covet it.
However, the victor would depend on who had the deeper pockets.
Although Taiyuan Crystals were extremely precious, Li Xuan currently had no immediate use for them. In that sense, these Taiyuan Crystals were merely useless items in Li Xuan's possession.
"Eleven billion Taiyuan Crystals. Are there any other esteemed guests who wish to bid?" After Li Xuan's bid of eleven billion Taiyuan Crystals, the private room that had previously bid fell silent. After a five-second wait, Jiang Wan'er smiled and asked.
As Jiang Wan'er finished speaking, the surroundings remained silent. After waiting for several seconds, Jiang Wan'er spoke again, "Since no one wishes to bid further, I hereby declare that the first treasure has been successfully auctioned to private room number seven!"
Li Xuan let out a slight sigh of relief. Although he had spent eleven billion Taiyuan Crystals, at least the Chenwu Divine Needle was now his.