The Path of Immortality: Starts With Creating Water Bear Gu

Chapter 43: Long Wanlis Scheme

After all, there had been no publicity about it. Those with well-informed sources knew that the finale of this auction was an unclaimed fossil mine, with an immeasurable total value. They all craned their necks, faces alight with excitement.

However, most people did not know what the final auction item was. When they heard Qian Jinjin's introduction, the whole place erupted in an uproar.

All the onlookers and rogue cultivators were stunned, gasping in astonishment.

This auction item was simply terrifying; it scared them out of their wits. In all their years of traveling far and wide, it was the first time they had heard of auctioning off a fossil vein location. It was certainly an eye-opener.

Many marveled that only the Qian Clan Commerce Association could handle such an auction item. No other chamber of commerce could manage it. First, verifying the authenticity of the information would be difficult. If the chamber of commerce were to make a trip themselves, it would be surprising if their powerful forces didn’t take over the mine.

When wealth reaches a certain level, credibility becomes meaningless. Besides the Qian Clan Commerce Association, no one else could handle this.

Because of the Qian Clan's Commerce Association, most people believed the news without doubt, their faces flushed with excitement, and the auction hall buzzed with noise.

"Silence!"

Qian Jinjin made a gesture to quiet the crowd. Once the noise had subsided, she continued, "I believe you have all been eagerly waiting, so I won't ramble on. The unclaimed fossil vein starts at one billion spirit stones. Let the bidding begin!"

The starting bid of one billion spirit stones made everyone gasp. One billion spirit stones as a starting bid—who knew what the final price would be?

But the most excited was Long Xuan. The grin under his mask nearly reached his ears; he was thoroughly exhilarated.

To be honest, a billion spirit stones was still very low. After all, the various clans had little preparation time, and this was just a resource-poor small place. Here, a price breaking a billion was already enough to cause shock. No power could easily take out more than ten billion spirit stones.

If it were auctioned in a larger place, this mine could fetch tens or hundreds of billions. But this couldn't be helped. Even if he could sit in a teleportation array for free to a large region, he wouldn't dare.

Satisfied with the small profits, he was already content with selling for a few billion in a small place. He didn't dare to venture into affluent areas full of powerful people.

As soon as Qian Jinjin finished speaking, the Patriarch of the Feng clan couldn't wait to shout, "I'll bid one billion one hundred million spirit stones!"

One billion spirit stones was not a small amount for a Clan in a poor area. Once spent, many things couldn't be done.

But he understood that even spending ten billion spirit stones to get the mine would be a huge profit—a massive profit. This item wouldn't lose value no matter how many spirit stones were spent. It was guaranteed to be a sure profit.

Other Clans heads understood this too, so they all started to raise their bids.

The only one who remained calm was the Patriarch of the Long Clan, who sat there leisurely, drinking tea and watching the excitement as if uninterested in the fossil vein.

The price quickly climbed to two billion spirit stones. Despite the clans' inadequate preparations, they managed to offer two billion spirit stones, showing the extraordinary foundations of the Seven Great Clans of the Far West.

If given time to sell treasures and Clan assets, two billion spirit stones might just be a fraction.

However, even with the unprepared state of the various powers, acquiring the mine for two billion spirit stones was impossible.

At this moment, major Merchant guild also joined in. Their wealth and ability to mobilize funds were superior to the Clans, quickly pushing the price to three billion spirit stones.

But three billion spirit stones were still far from enough. At this moment, Qian Jinjin made a secret gesture, and the disguised Qian Duoduo finally made his move, raising the bid directly to four billion spirit stones, shocking everyone. They wondered where this chubby man came from, able to take out so many spirit stones in one go. His background must be unusual.

None of the seven Clan heads had a chance to speak now, except for the Long clan Patriarch. The other heads' faces turned pale, fists clenched in extreme reluctance.

With inadequate preparations, they couldn't take out four billion spirit stones. The price had far exceeded their limits, not even giving them a chance to hesitate. They were entirely out of the auction.

All the Clan head's faces turned extremely grim.

"Damn it! Where did this fat man come from, with so many spirit stones? I'll kill him for his treasure when we get out," said the Feng clan head, slamming the table in frustration.

The only calm one was the Long family patriarch, who gave Qian Jinjin on stage a meaningful look, his eyes filled with deep meaning.

He had a guess but no evidence.

In terms of wealth, how could the families compete with the Merchant guild association? He had mentally prepared for this before coming; this scene didn't surprise him.

Even if the Qian Clan Commerce Association didn't bid, he believed the Long clan couldn't compete with the other large merchant guilds.

The Long clan patriarch turned to the other heads, smiling, "Heh! You see the situation now. We can't compete with those Merchant guilds. Look, the price has already reached four billion five hundred million spirit stones and hasn't stopped."

"In terms of total wealth, our families might not lose to those Merchant guild's, but the special nature of Merchant guild's means they always reserve large amounts of spirit stones for transactions. In emergencies, they can quickly gather a large amount of spirit stones from their shops."

"In this unprepared state, how can we compete with a Merchant guild's association?"

"Now, our only option is to unite. Each Clan puts in one billion spirit stones, a total of seven billion spirit stones to secure this fossil mine."

The Long Clan patriarch squinted, his eyes gleaming with wisdom, "The profits from the fossil mine are immense. Even divided into seven parts, it's enough for us to share."

"If we unite to exploit this fossil mine, at least we can get one-seventh each. If we don't unite, we won't even get a piece of fossil. I'm sure you can do the math!"

"Most importantly, if we unite, we can avoid unnecessary wars. Even foreign powers would think twice before targeting us."

The Long Clan patriarch confidently scanned the other heads, certain they would agree. They had no choice but to agree.

This was his strategy devised on the way here. He never intended to take the mine with just his Clan's strength.

Otherwise, even if they could secure the mine, the risk would be too high. With Feng Qingyang's sinister nature, how could he let the Long Clan grow without causing trouble?

So, he dared to spend so many spirit stones to buy a large number of Spirit Gathering Pills. It wasn't that he wasn't interested in the fossil vein. His plan, if successful, wouldn't require spending so many spirit stones.

As soon as he finished speaking, the other family heads showed thoughtful expressions, exchanging glances and looking tempted.

Indeed, uniting at least meant getting one-seventh. Without uniting, they wouldn't get anything.

Besides, one-seventh was substantial. If the fossil mine was large, the seven Clans might even find it insufficiently manned.

The head of the Shi Clan slapped his thigh, excitedly saying, "Great idea! Let's do it. I agree. Whether you agree or not, we weren't well-prepared, but neither were the chambers of commerce. I think two or three Clans joining forces is enough to secure the fossil mine. Seven Clans aren't necessary."

With this, the other heads were startled, daring not to hesitate. They had no choice but to agree. Otherwise, they'd be left behind, widening the future gap with the other Clan. They wouldn't want that.

So, all the Clany heads quickly expressed their agreement, afraid of missing out.

Only the Feng Clan head's face was dark, unhappy.

At this moment, he finally understood why Long Wanli spent so many spirit stones on Spirit Gathering Pills. He was planning this all along.

If the seven Clan joined forces, they wouldn't need to deplete their strength. Each Clan would only contribute a small part of their spirit stones, leaving plenty for buying more resources.

What a brilliant plan. If he had known the Clan would unite, he wouldn't have saved those spirit stones. He was equally interested in the Spirit Gathering Pills. Every family had their talents. If he had known, he would've competed for the Spirit Gathering Pills.

Now, Long Wanli had gained a huge advantage, becoming the biggest winner of this trip.

"what a scheme! Truly well calculated!" Feng Qingyang thought angrily.