After this, there was basically nothing left for Lanling to do.
The only remaining suspense was how much his Nirvana Blood would sell for.
The treasures that followed were still extremely rare, but Lanling had completely lost interest in them. Only one item managed to catch his attention, a magic mirror.
That’s right, a magic mirror produced by Soren.
The mirror was over one metre long and one and a half feet wide.
Then, the entire auction hall erupted into excitement.
Although the mirror’s starting price was only ten thousand gold coins, far less valuable than the previous treasures, it triggered the fiercest bidding war of the day.
Lanling became certain that there had to be a smuggling route between the Southern Wilderness and the human kingdoms, allowing goods from the human world to flow in continuously.
The price of the mirror rose again and again.
Only then did Lanling realise he had been rather self important.
He had believed that either his Nirvana Blood or the Fleeting Years Pill would become the undisputed stars of today’s auction and attract the fiercest competition.
Instead, the Fleeting Years Pill had only attracted two bidders, and the Nirvana Blood probably would not provoke much competition either.
In the end, this mirror became the true centre of attention.
It was the item everyone desperately wanted.
The vast majority of the guests had come specifically for this mirror.
In the end, the magic mirror, which measured less than one square metre, sold for the astonishing price of sixty nine thousand gold coins.
Compared to the Fleeting Years Pill and the Ghost King’s Eye, the price was not especially high.
However…
It had to be remembered that this was merely a mass produced product.
No one in the world understood its production cost better than Lanling.
Its cost was definitely less than one gold coin.
Even after including manufacturing losses and quality control, the total cost still did not exceed one gold coin.
Yet it had sold for sixty nine thousand gold coins.
It was truly unbelievable.
Of course, it was not entirely surprising.
Back on Earth, when glass mirrors first appeared, a small one could be worth hundreds of thousands of francs, equivalent to tens of millions of yuan.
Lanling could not help sighing as he remembered the past.
Back then, he had controlled both the salt fields and the magic mirror industry.
Later, he had even become the trade overlord of the Eastern Sea.
He had practically earned money while lying down.
Unfortunately, all of that was now gone.
He wondered who had ultimately taken control of the gunpowder factory, the magic mirror factory, and the Chaotic Stone Salt Fields.
Had they all fallen into Queen Zhiyan’s hands?
After the nearly one square metre magic mirror was purchased by an extremely wealthy woman, the atmosphere of the auction suddenly cooled.
Most of the women had come solely for the mirror.
Now they settled back and watched the rest of the auction unfold.
…
More than half an hour later, the auction entered its final stage.
“Next comes the grand finale of today’s auction.”
The female chief auctioneer raised her voice several degrees before carefully taking out a box.
She opened it and removed a jade bottle from inside.
“The final treasure, Nirvana Blood from the Ancient Era.”
“As for its value, I don’t think it needs any further explanation. For certain people, taking Nirvana Blood is equivalent to being reborn.”
Very few people knew what Nirvana Blood actually was.
Therefore, most of the guests merely looked at it with mild surprise.
How had such a thing become the grand finale?
The female chief auctioneer did not explain further.
Those who wanted it already knew just how priceless Nirvana Blood was.
Those who did not want it would not care, no matter how much she explained.
Then she announced the starting price.
“One hundred and fifty thousand gold coins.”
The opening bid was terrifyingly high.
Yet compared to the Brilliant Star Tear and the Fleeting Years Pill, it did not seem excessive.
After all, this was Ancient Nirvana Blood.
Such a peerless treasure might not appear even once in several decades, or perhaps an entire century.
But that was simply how the world worked.
The rarest item was not always the most valuable.
Take the so called Brilliant Star Tear, for example.
No one knew it was actually the Ghost King’s Eye.
Even so, people had still driven its price above one hundred thousand gold coins.
Nirvana Blood was unimaginably rare.
To those who needed it, it was priceless.
To those who did not, it was utterly worthless.
Sure enough, after the female chief auctioneer announced the starting bid, no one responded.
Half a minute passed before a hoarse voice finally spoke.
“One hundred and fifty thousand gold coins.”
It was Princess Shayan of the Rakshasa King.
Her voice was simply too distinctive.
After making her bid, she said directly,
“Everyone may bid fairly. There is no need for any reservations.”
Immediately afterwards, another person joined the bidding.
“One hundred and sixty thousand gold coins.”
The bidder was someone Lanling recognised.
It was the elderly Great Shaman, Master Youda.
Back then, he had taken Nirvana Blood and transformed from a useless man into a genius.
It had completely changed his destiny.
“One hundred and seventy thousand,” Princess Shayan called calmly.
“One hundred and eighty thousand,” Master Youda replied.
Neither of them sounded emotional.
Yet both clearly intended to win at all costs.
Their identities were also extraordinary.
One was the daughter of the Rakshasa King.
The other was the Rakshasa King’s Great Shaman.
“One hundred and ninety thousand.”
“Two hundred thousand.”
“Two hundred and ten thousand.”
“Two hundred and twenty thousand.”
The bids continued rising in turn.
Neither side showed the slightest intention of backing down.
Clearly, neither of them intended to use the Nirvana Blood personally.
They simply wanted it in case it was ever needed.
If they missed this opportunity, no one knew how many years it would be before another bottle appeared.
The women who had been casually watching the auction suddenly became interested again.
How could such a tiny bottle be so valuable?
“Three hundred thousand.”
Princess Shayan’s breathing had already become slightly hurried.
The elderly Master Youda hesitated.
He belonged to a powerful family.
During the past century, he had had almost no material desires.
As a result, he had accumulated an astronomical fortune.
Even so, three hundred thousand gold coins was approaching his limit.
In terms of wealth, he could never compare with the Rakshasa royal family.
More importantly, he did not know whether bidding for this bottle of Nirvana Blood was Princess Shayan’s own decision or the will of someone above her.
If it represented someone else’s orders, he absolutely did not wish to offend the supreme Rakshasa royal family.
Just then, a man’s voice echoed through the hall.
“Five hundred thousand gold coins.”
The hall exploded into an uproar.
Even the Master of Tiandi Pavilion felt as though he could barely breathe.
The entire Tiandi Pavilion earned less than two hundred thousand gold coins in a year.
Take today’s auction as an example.
Most of the items had been consigned by others.
Only the magic mirror belonged to Tiandi Pavilion itself.
That meant they would receive only a fifteen percent commission on most of today’s sales.
For items selling above fifty thousand gold coins, the commission on the excess dropped to ten percent.
For anything above one hundred thousand gold coins, the commission on the excess beyond that point was only five percent.
Furthermore, an auction like today’s only happened once every few years.
Ordinary monthly auctions usually achieved total sales of only a few tens of thousands of gold coins.
Today’s treasures were either absolute hard currency or exceptionally rare items.
The quality of the auction was extraordinarily high.
The Brilliant Star Tear had already failed to sell eight times.
Why keep auctioning it?
Because its reputation alone enhanced the prestige of the auction.
To be honest, obtaining a treasure like the Fleeting Years Pill once a year was already enough.
As for Nirvana Blood, having it appear once every decade or so was sufficient to greatly increase Tiandi Pavilion’s reputation.
Even so, hearing someone bid five hundred thousand gold coins was almost suffocating.
Compared with the human kingdoms, the Wilderness possessed far richer gold mines.
Yet even so, the Chief of the Chimera Tribe had spent decades accumulating only around one hundred thousand gold coins.
Lanling clearly sensed Princess Shayan’s breathing pause after the shocking bid of five hundred thousand gold coins.
Instinctively, he looked towards the middle aged man who had made the bid.
There was absolutely nothing remarkable about him.
His appearance, build, and temperament were utterly ordinary.
Throughout the auction, he had gone almost completely unnoticed.
Yet at the very last moment, he had stunned everyone.
The Master of Tiandi Pavilion wanted to curry favour with Princess Shayan and was about to speak.
However, Princess Shayan immediately raised her hand, stopping him.
“Five hundred and ten thousand gold coins.”
She spoke those words with obvious determination.
“Six hundred thousand gold coins.”
The man casually raised the bid to an even more astonishing figure.
He increased it by one hundred thousand gold coins in a single step.
Clearly, he was absolutely determined to obtain the Nirvana Blood.
He cared nothing about the cost.
Nor did he show the slightest concern for Princess Shayan’s identity.
His actions declared that he was prepared to bid even higher if necessary.
Princess Shayan fell silent.
Although she was the Rakshasa King’s daughter, her wealth was still limited.
Five hundred and ten thousand gold coins was already an astonishing amount.
The female chief auctioneer did not dare begin the countdown.
She simply waited quietly for Princess Shayan’s response.
“Seven hundred thousand gold coins.”
Before Princess Shayan could even speak, the middle aged man calmly raised the bid once more.
This time, the entire hall nearly stopped breathing.
Everyone’s heart raced.
Even Lanling felt his scalp go numb.
The annual tax revenue of the entire Furious Wave Kingdom amounted to only around two million gold coins.
Even if gold coins in the Wilderness were worth less than those in the human kingdoms, seven hundred thousand gold coins still represented an unimaginable fortune.
Princess Shayan finally had no choice but to give up.
She had merely shown the slightest hesitation before the other side instantly raised the price by another hundred thousand.
“I withdraw.”
Princess Shayan admitted defeat.
The female chief auctioneer finally let out a long breath.
She genuinely felt unable to breathe.
Her heart had been pounding painfully.
What had been the highest auction price in Tiandi Pavilion’s history?
One hundred and fifty thousand gold coins.
Today, that record had not merely been broken.
It had been exceeded by four or five times.
Nirvana Blood truly was priceless.
To those who needed it, it meant rebirth.
“Seven hundred thousand gold coins… Sold.”
The female chief auctioneer announced in a hoarse voice.
The middle aged man stepped forward carrying a box.
He opened it and began counting banknotes worth one thousand gold coins each.
He counted out exactly seven hundred notes.
Everyone could now clearly see that the entire box was filled with banknotes.
Even after paying seven hundred of them, more than half the box remained.
He truly had not cared about the cost.
Moreover, as he accepted the Nirvana Blood, powerful energy continuously surged from his body.
Layer after layer, it resembled enormous waves crashing endlessly.
Its pressure descended like a mountain.
It was both a warning and a threat.
No one should even think about trying to rob him.
Once the payment and the treasure had been exchanged, the ordinary looking middle aged man picked up his box and left without another word.
He vanished without a trace.
There was no doubt he would become a permanent legend.
There was even less doubt that he had taken a Transformation Pill.
This certainly was not his real appearance.
…
Next came the settlement between Lanling and Tiandi Pavilion.
Lanling’s three treasures had sold for excellent prices.
The platinum dagger fetched fourteen thousand gold coins.
The Fleeting Years Pill sold for the astonishing price of one hundred and thirty thousand gold coins.
As for the Nirvana Blood, it reached the unbelievable price of seven hundred thousand gold coins.
After deducting the auction commission, Lanling still received nearly seven hundred thousand gold coins.
In an instant, he had become as wealthy as the Chief of the Silver Tribe.
The Silver Tribe had monopolised the salt supply for nearly a million people.
Even after decades of accumulating wealth, their savings amounted to roughly the same figure.
Watching Lanling place the Ghost King’s Eye and nearly seven hundred thousand gold coins into a box, the female chief auctioneer hesitated.
“What is it?” Lanling asked.
She replied,
“I probably shouldn’t say this, but you’re alone and have no powerful backing. Carrying both the Brilliant Star Tear and several hundred thousand gold coins will attract countless greedy eyes. I’m afraid you won’t leave Rakshasa City alive.”
If Tiandi Pavilion kept the seller’s identity secret, no one would know Lanling had supplied the Nirvana Blood.
However, everyone had seen him win the Ghost King’s Eye, also known as the Brilliant Star Tear.
That treasure alone was enough to make people kill and rob him.
Not to mention that Ninian was already watching him like a hawk.
Lanling had no doubt about her ruthlessness.
She would certainly send every warrior she had to ambush him and seize the Ghost King’s Eye.
Lanling asked,
“What do you think I should do?”
The female chief auctioneer replied,
“You can ask two people for help. One is Master Youda. The other is Princess Shayan. She has the strongest sense of justice.”
After a brief moment of thought, Lanling decided to seek Master Youda’s assistance.
However, before he had even left Tiandi Pavilion, a Demon warrior approached him.
“Princess Shayan requests your presence.”
Lanling followed him into a courtyard.
Princess Shayan stood waiting there.
“You are alone, yet you’re carrying priceless treasures. That is certain to bring disaster upon you.”
“My elder brother’s newly married concubine will never let you go.”
Lanling had originally intended to seek Master Youda’s help.
But now, it seemed he had little choice.
He bowed respectfully.
“Please guide me, Your Highness.”
Princess Shayan looked at him and said,
“I’ll ask you one question. Answer me honestly, and I guarantee you’ll return home safely.”