The Path of Immortality: Starts With Creating Water Bear Gu

Chapter 42: The Final Auction Item

"Alright! You're tough!"

Qian Duoduo cursed silently in his heart, reluctantly giving up on raising the bid again.

The more shrewd a businessman, the more they like to be calculative. He could offer more spirit stones, but the price for the Spirit Gathering Pill was already high. It wasn't this expensive elsewhere, so why would he want to spend more spirit stones?

He knew the inside story—that there was one more bottle of Spirit Gathering Pills left. He could only hope that the last bottle would be cheaper, giving him another chance.

"Calm down! Calm down!" Qian Duoduo took a deep breath.

However, things didn't go as he wished. As soon as Qian Jinjin's small hammer fell and the fourth auction item was brought in, the attendant was still walking over, and the red cloth hadn't been lifted yet, when the patriarch of the Long family couldn't wait to shout, "I bid 1.3 million spirit stones!"

"Poof!" Qian Duoduo was almost spitting with anger.

"This is too much!"

Qian Duoduo cursed in fury, feeling completely defeated.

He knew this was the last bottle of Spirit Gathering Pills and couldn't afford to hesitate any longer. So, he painfully shouted, "I bid 1.4 million spirit stones!"

There was one thing he agreed with the patriarch of the Long family on: a genius's time is precious and shouldn't be stuck at a certain level for too long. Therefore, he was determined to get this last bottle of Spirit Gathering Pills at any cost.

This time, the patriarch of the Long family didn't raise the bid, surprising everyone.

He could also produce more spirit stones, but he believed his family needed spirit stones for many other things. Having already acquired three bottles of Spirit Gathering Pills was enough, and there was no need to invest more.

After all, the number of geniuses in a family is limited. Prioritizing the Spirit Gathering Pills for the few geniuses was sufficient. There were many Gu cultivators in the Spirit Gathering stage, and buying even a hundred bottles wouldn't cover all of them.

However, even though he gave up, there were plenty of wealthy individuals.

It seemed many knew the inside story. After all, Long Xuan had placed the four bottles of Spirit Gathering Pills up for auction in public, so it wasn't a secret to well-informed people.

Those who, like Qian Duoduo, were waiting and watching could no longer sit still and started participating in the bidding.

Especially other Merchant groups that were rich in spirit stones. They had the same mindset as Qian Duoduo, thinking there might be more later and maybe cheaper.

Little did they know there was such a spoiler who raised the price high before they could even mention a base price, leading to each bottle selling at a high price. They could only fight hard for this last bottle.

So, everyone thought the last one would be cheaper, but since everyone thought the same, the competition for the last bottle became fierce. It ended up being the most expensive.

In the end, the price was driven up to 2.8 million spirit stones.

Qian Duoduo looked like he was about to cry. Damn it, he miscalculated.

He had bid 2.8 million spirit stones, and his heart was bleeding. He had lost a lot.

It turned out the previous bottles were the cheapest, especially the first one, which was taken for only 1.1 million spirit stones. If he hadn't been greedy for a lower price and had taken it earlier, none of this would have happened.

Unfortunately, there is no regret medicine in the world. He was filled with remorse.

The high price of 2.8 million spirit stones made the whole venue boil, especially Long Xuan, who couldn't stop smiling. All these spirit stones belonged to him; he was about to make a fortune.

He knew that this was just an appetizer. When the fossil vein was auctioned later, the price would be even higher. These spirit stones might not even be a fraction of the vein's value. It was too early to be excited.

Once the fossil vein was successfully sold, he would not only have money to refine the divine ice flame but also enough to refine the third and fourth Gu worms, allowing him to spend freely for a long time. He eagerly anticipated the final price of the fossil ore vein.

After the auction of the Spirit Gathering Pills ended, the subsequent auctions went smoothly, and the atmosphere calmed down, far less heated than before.

The seven clan heads in the VIP seats showed little interest and didn't bid on anything.

This was not a high-standard auction. Besides the Spirit Gathering Pills and the treasure map brought by Long Xuan, the other items were quite ordinary.

Half of the auction items were antiques from the Empress's ancient tomb. Unfortunately, while antiques were priceless in the previous life, in a world where martial strength was paramount, their value was far less than items that could directly enhance one's power.

Although some people showed considerable interest and bid frequently, the prices were low.

Long Xuan watched as one antique after another was auctioned off, showing a thoughtful expression.

Unsurprisingly, he could see progress on each antique. But what did the progress on the antiques represent? Degree of damage? Shelf life? Or would there be some change after reaching full progress?

As Long Xuan was pondering, the highlight of the auction finally arrived. At this moment, all the Clan heads in the front row became spirited and sat up straight.

The audience also became excited, whispering to each other, no longer drowsy as before.

"Is it finally starting?" The patriarch of the Feng family showed a fiery gaze, licking his lips.

The patriarch of the Long family, who had been yawning, also straightened up, his eyes sharp.

"Hehe! I suppose everyone can't wait any longer," Qian jinjin said with a smile after looking around. "Although the auction house didn't have time to advertise, quite a few well-informed people are here. The fact that all the heads of the Seven Great Families of the Far West are present is beyond my expectations."

"To be honest, our Qian Clan is auctioning the fossil vein treasure map for the first time. I must declare in advance that we haven't been able to verify its authenticity ourselves and can only use the Integrity Gu to confirm that the seller is not lying."

"But you all know that nothing is absolute. There are powers in this world that can render the Integrity Gu's lie detection ineffective. Otherwise, if the Gu worms' power were so divine, there wouldn't be so many unjust cases."

"I can only guarantee that the seller didn't lie according to the Integrity Gu, but if there is any error, our Qian Clan's auction house will not be held responsible."

Her meaning was clear: the auction house could only ensure it was likely true, but if the information was false, they would not bear any responsibility.

She was right. The power of any Gu worm could be broken, including the Integrity Gu's lie-detecting ability.

But logically, a business wouldn't foolishly say this. She said this to scare off those with weak will.

As soon as she finished speaking, some people's faces became uncertain, considering whether to take the risk.

However, the heads of the seven great Clans sneered, undeterred by her words.

While her words were true, any Gu worm's power could indeed be broken, but the Integrity Gu's power was not so easily broken.

If it were that easy to break, why would so many Gu cultivators trust the Qian Clan's auction house, and why would it grow so big?

The other Merchant groups that understood the Integrity Gu best all showed disdainful smiles.

Qian Jinjin's words might fool others, but not her peers. If there were any real risk, the Qian Clan wouldn't rush to auction without any publicity.

Their actions indirectly proved that the information was 100% true, rendering further statements useless.