A Record of a Mortal's Journey to Immortality: Immortal Realm

Chapter 615: Another Beast Bone

Chapter 615: Another Beast Bone

"I see..." Han Li replied in an ambiguous fashion.

"3,800!"

As the two of them were speaking to one another, the black-robed man had placed another bid, this one only raising the price by two hundred Immortal Origin Stones.

"Four thousand!"

Han Li had finally placed his second bid.

He had already secured two auction items prior to this, and this latest bid attracted the attention of many of the people present, including Feng Tianyao and the black-robed man, both of whom were clearly less than pleased.

"4,100!" Feng Tianyao declared.

"4,200!" the black-robed man immediately retaliated.

"4,300!" Han Li declared in an unhurried manner.

Before long, the price had been raised to five thousand Immortal Origin Stones, and the bid had been made by the black-robed man.

Many of the cultivators present were very surprised to see this. While it was true that this was an extremely precious spirit material, this was still far too steep a price to pay.

Such an enormous sum of Immortal Origin Stones could be spent on a whole host of other things, and it seemed that the price was still set to increase even further.

"Five thousand Immortal Origin Stones for a Profound Zoysia Crystal? The two of you clearly have too much money on your hands!" Feng Tianyao sneered before backing out of the bidding war.

Han Li paid no heed to Feng Tianyao's mockery as he calmly placed another bid of 5,100 Immortal Origin Stones.

"5,200!"

The black-robed man refused to relent.

"5,500!" Han Li declared, and at this point, many of the other auction-goers had begun shaking their heads.

"Fellow Daoist Li, as a word of advice from one friend to another, while this Profound Zoysia Crystal is of quite a high quality, this is still far too steep a price to pay for it. Under normal circumstances, 4,500 Immortal Origin Stones should be the upper limit, so there's really no point in making any further bids," Daoist Master Jingyang said.

"Thank you for the advice, Fellow Daoist Jingyang, but this is something that I must acquire. Just as you said earlier, fine treasures and fine wines are priceless, so they must be secured to avoid future regrets," Han Li said with a smile.

"You're using my own words against me! Fine, do as you please. If you don't have enough Immortal Origin Stones, feel free to tell me," Daoist Master Jingyang chuckled.

The black-robed man was silent for a moment, then placed a bid of 5,600 Immortal Origin Stones, only to be immediately outdone by Han Li with a bid of six thousand.

The black-robed man took a long glance at Han Li, then finally fell silent and made no further birds.

The auctioneer was a little disappointed to see the fierce bidding war come to an end, but this was already a far higher price than he expected the Profound Zoysia Crystal to fetch, and after three calls were made with no further bids placed, the crystal was sold to Han Li.

Han Li's expression remained unchanged, but internally, he was lamenting the enormous sum of Immortal Origin Stones that he had been forced to part with.

"You're really going all-out, Fellow Daoist Li. It looks like you're far wealthier than I imagined! Then again, I suppose some things must be done. After all, this is something that you may never encounter again," Daoist Master Jingyang consoled.

"Please don't make fun of me, Fellow Daoist Jingyang. In terms of personal wealth, how could I possibly compare with a deputy mountain master of the Hundred Creations Mountain like yourself?" Han Li replied with a wry smile.

"Speaking of our Hundred Creations Mountain, we're constantly on the search for brilliant individuals like yourself. If you're interested, you can come and serve as a guest elder for us," Daoist Master Jingyang offered.

"It's been a very long time since I've affiliated myself with any sect. Otherwise, I wouldn't have come to a place like the Leisure Valley. I'm already content just to cultivate in such a peaceful paradise, surrounded by friends like you, Fellow Daoist Jingyang," Han Li replied, tactfully turning down the offer.

Meanwhile, the auction continued.

Several more precious items were carried out one after another, with all of them fetching high prices, further heating up the atmosphere in the venue.

At this point, the auction was close to reaching its conclusion.

"Coming up next is one of our final three auction items, and of course, we've saved the best three for last. This is a cultivation art by the name of the Rippling Horizon Arts," the auctioneer declared as he set down a blue box onto the stage, within which was an antiquated blue jade slip.

Many of the auction-goers were rather perplexed, seemingly having never heard this name before, while flashes of recognition appeared in the eyes of others.

"Is this the cultivation art used by the Clear Sea True Lord who once reigned supreme over the Black Mountain Immortal Region?" a blue-robed man asked in an excited voice.

"That's right, this was indeed the primary cultivation art used by the Clear Sea True Lord several million years ago. It can support one's cultivation to the pinnacle of the High Zenith Stage, and it can definitely rank among the top five water-attribute cultivation arts of the Black Mountain Immortal Region.

“Not only can this cultivation art allow one to master the laws of water, there's a chance that the cultivator can even master the more advanced laws of tides, allowing them to unleash the Horizon Tidal Wave, which was once the Clear Sea True Lord's signature ability.

“During the battle in the Moon Sea, the Clear Sea True Lord had used this very same ability to strike down tens of thousands of primordial beasts with a single attack, so its power cannot be overstated.

“The mantra for this ability is naturally enclosed in this cultivation art, but of course, the prerequisites for using the cultivation art are quite stringent. For one, the cultivator must possess a water-attribute spirit physique, and a water-attribute immortal physique would be even better.

“On top of that, prior to reaching the True Immortal Stage, they had to have exclusively used water-attribute cultivation arts, and the True Immortal Physique that they've attained must not be contaminated with spiritual power of any other attributes.

“That's all I'm going to say about this cultivation art. The starting price is three thousand Immortal Origin Stones, and each bid must go up by an increment of at least two hundred Immortal Origin Stones."

Han Li wasn't aware of this Clear Sea True Lord, but it was clear that the mention of his name had stirred up a great deal of excitement among the auction-goers, and the bidding immediately commenced.

It was extremely rare to encounter a cultivation art of such a high caliber, and if it could be used well, then perhaps it could serve as the foundation of a powerful cultivating clan or sect.

Han Li wasn't swept up by the hype, and he continued to chat with Daoist Master Jingyang.

While this was an exceptional cultivation art, it clearly didn't suit him, so he was content to serve as a bystander.

As more and more people began to participate in the bidding, the price was quickly raised to over seven thousand Immortal Origin Stones, and Han Li was quite surprised to see this.

"Ten thousand!"

All of a sudden, the price was raised by three thousand Immortal Origin Stones in a single bid, and all of the other bidders immediately fell silent.

Han Li turned to discover that the one who had made the bid was none other than the blue-robed man who had asked the question from before.

He was only at the mid-Golden Immortal Stage, so it was very remarkable that he possessed such immense wealth.

The blue-robed man was ecstatic to see that no further bids were being placed, but right at this moment, a bid of eleven thousand Immortal Origin Stones was made by a daoist priest holding a horsetail whisk.

The man possessed a tremendous High Zenith Stage aura, but the blue-robed man wasn't intimidated by his competitor's lofty cultivation base as he raised the price further to twelve thousand Immortal Origin Stones.

"Thirteen thousand!" the daoist priest declared in a calm voice.

"Fourteen thousand!"

"Fifteen thousand!"

......

Both of them seemed determined to secure the cultivation art for themselves, and in the blink of an eye, the price had been bid up to in excess of twenty thousand.

All of the auction-goers present were shaking their heads upon seeing this. This was far too steep a price to pay, and one could easily purchase two cultivation arts of the same caliber for the same price.

"Twenty-two thousand!" the daoist priest declared, and it seemed that he wasn't even close to reaching the limit of his budget.

In contrast, the blue-robed man was breathing rather heavily, and it seemed that he was at his limit.

"Elder Zhu of the Water Mirror Sect has made a bid of twenty-two thousand. Is anyone going to outbid him?" the auctioneer asked, and his question was met with silence.

After waiting for a while longer, the auctioneer was just about to declare the cultivation art as sold when the blue-robed man suddenly rose to his feet, then flipped a hand over to produce a beast bone that was as green as jade before declaring, "Hold on, I don't have enough Immortal Origin Stones on me, so I wish to pawn this item!"

The auctioneer faltered slightly upon hearing this, but this was indeed within the rules of the auction, so he hurriedly called for the auction to be put on pause, then instructed the female cultivator on the stage with him to deliver the beast bone to a nearby appraiser.

Han Li immediately sat up straighter as an intrigued look appeared in his eyes.

The green beast bone produced by the blue-robed man was extremely similar in both size and appearance to that bone that he had secured from the skeleton of the giant green rat.

However, his spiritual sense wasn't able to detect any spatial fluctuations or spiritual power fluctuations from this beast bone, and it was as if it were nothing more than a bone from a mortal beast.

Maybe it's only similar in appearance...

Han Li had examined the green beast bone extensively over the years, and he had become more and more convinced that it was a spatial treasure, but some extremely advanced secret technique had been cast upon it, making it inaccessible to Han Li.

All of a sudden, Daoist Master Jingyang abruptly rose to his feet, and he was staring at the beast bone intently with a fervent look in his eyes.

The intrigue in Han Li's eyes grew even more pronounced at the sight of this reaction from Daoist Master Jingyang.

"Do you recognize this beast bone, Fellow Daoist Jingyang?" he asked in a casual manner.

Daoist Master Jingyang immediately realized that he had lost his composure, and he hurriedly sat down again, but instead of answering Han Li's question, he lowered his head in deep thought as if he were pondering something extremely important.

Han Li raised an eyebrow upon seeing this, but didn't say anything further.

Shortly thereafter, the beast bone was taken to a long table, seated behind which were three cultivators dressed in black attire, namely a middle-aged scholar, a white-haired elderly man, and a young woman whose face was concealed behind a veil.

These were all appraisers from the Black Mountain Immortal Palace.

The Jade Kun Pagoda auctions had always reeled in immense profits that were very tantalizing to the Black Mountain Immortal Palace, and in order to get a share of these profits, it had been sending more and more personnel to these auctions with each passing edition.

For this auction, close to half of the personnel involved had come from the Black Mountain Immortal Palace, and this was something that Han Li had heard from Daoist Master Jingyang over the course of one of their conversations.