Chapter 578: His Family Has Mines

"Wasting so much time for a broken corner!" "We want to see the Boundless Gold!"

Even if you can't bid, watching the excitement is fine too.

Therefore, the auction for the Boundless Gold began immediately.

During the opening, intermission, and finale of the Dun Garden auction, they would always bring out heavy-hitting lots, either to warm up the crowd, refresh everyone, or serve as the grand finale.

The heavy-hitting lot to liven up the intermission was the Boundless Gold that had just been brought onto the stage.

He He Lingchuan looked closely and saw that the so-called "Boundless Gold" was actually a broken sword tip.

"What does this mean?"

The complete list of auction items he had seen in the jade slip only contained a few lines of description for the Boundless Gold, with no accompanying images.

But this thing was very popular; the guests in the Hanxiang Hall were increasing, all seemingly here to see it, and in no time, they had packed the auction floor until it was impenetrable.

"This broken sword tip was snapped off from the life-bound magic treasure of the True Person of the First Shore. Its activity is lost, but it contains Boundless Gold," Fu Fu Shanyue explained to him. "Once purchased, Dun Garden can help the guest extract the Boundless Gold from it; if you don't extract it, this broken sword tip can also be kept as a collectible."

He He Lingchuan asked curiously: "A broken sword tip can be a collectible?"

"Yours or mine couldn't, but the True Person of the First Shore's can," Fu Fu Shanyue said quite realistically. "He was once the Sect Master of the Great Return Sect."

"Great Return Sect?" He He Lingchuan was startled. "The former master of Xushan?"

"Yes!" Fu Fu Shanyue continued, "The True Person of the First Shore once fought against the Heavenly Gods and survived until the early Middle Ages; he was a figure who spanned two eras. Even a scrap of his magic treasure is worth collecting, let alone the fact that it also contains Boundless Gold?"

"Alright." He He Lingchuan also knew that for collectibles, it was all about a well-documented provenance and a famous origin; as long as the story behind it was told well, the price would soar.

Leaving aside the history of the sword tip itself, Boundless Gold could enable magic treasures to change, or even potentially add an extra property.

This was quite remarkable.

There was no such peculiar metal in the mortal world; they were a specialty of the Divine Realm, and their supply was extremely scarce. It was unknown which unfortunate god the True Person of the First Shore had snatched his Boundless Gold from. After the Great Ancient War, the passage between the two realms was closed, and the Heavenly Gods could no longer bestow it upon the mortal world, so the source of Boundless Gold was cut off.

The existing Boundless Gold was either hidden in unknown cave dwellings or inside the magic treasures of ancient immortals and demons.

Even for the Between Beijia nobility, getting their hands on it was extremely difficult.

So He He Lingchuan immediately witnessed its preciousness: the starting bid for the Boundless Gold was one hundred thousand silver taels, with increments of five thousand taels.

He He Lingchuan carefully converted it; one hundred thousand silver taels was one hundred million coins, which, if stacked up, could crush quite a few people to death.

Ordinary families wouldn't see that much money in several lifetimes.

But here, it was merely the starting bid for the Boundless Gold.

Soon, he understood that Dun Garden's starting price was actually very low and conscientious, because the first bidder immediately shouted two hundred thousand taels! He was stunned.

He He Lingchuan knew his own weight and was never qualified to participate in such a price war. But this price—

This price couldn't scare others off, because the second person bid two hundred and fifty thousand.

He He Lingchuan glanced sideways at Fu Fu Shanyue: "Why aren't you bidding?"

"What would I want it for?" Fu Fu Shanyue hummed indifferently. "For a Ba, the best weapon is one's own hands!"

Damn it, is Boundless Gold that expensive?

He hadn't brought that much money out! Although the Crown Prince of Chiyan could buy on credit, but...

Twenty thousand seemed to be just the beginning; it was too expensive.

He He Lingchuan looked at him suspiciously, then glanced at Hong Chenglue not far away.

This man had his arms crossed tightly, as if fearing that a careless gesture would be misunderstood by the auctioneer.

Apparently, the General Qingwu General, who had just been restored to his military post, didn't have that much money either.

He He Lingchuan even recalled the plight of Hong Chenglue living in Bai Lu Town in the past. This man seemed born with the fate of a spendthrift, unable to accumulate assets.

After a few rounds, the Boundless Gold reached four hundred thousand taels.

There were still many rich people in Lingxu City.

Fortunately, the bidding slowed down afterward, and the increments were smaller, probably twenty or thirty thousand taels at a time.

This kind of intense competition was the best at attracting guests; in the end, Hanxiang Hall was surrounded three layers deep, and counting the elevated second and third-floor spectators, there were at least a thousand people watching, with applause breaking out frequently:

The price had now reached six hundred and seventy thousand, and only three bidders remained.

One of them, a scholar in a long gown, raised his paddle again and said clearly: "Eight hundred and seventy thousand!"

A collective gasp went around the room.

Bold, that was an increment of two hundred thousand! He He Lingchuan whispered: "Who is this?"

"Ke Ke Yanming, the eldest son of the current head of the Ke family of Tianling," Fu Fu Shanyue said. "His family has mines."

"..."

"I'm being serious," Fu Fu Shanyue said sternly. "His family has two profound crystal mines."

"Profound crystal mines?" And two of them! He He Lingchuan couldn't stop his shock this time. "I thought they only belonged to the state."

There were very few profound crystal mines within the territory of the Yuan Kingdom, and each one was a major discovery, immediately nationalized. Private mining was a capital crime punishable by the extermination of one's clan.

Don't look at the Yuan Kingdom's monarch as mild-mannered in his usual dealings; he never showed mercy when killing people under this pretext.

Profound crystals could be regarded as solidified spiritual energy, and in this era of waning spiritual energy, the importance of profound crystal mines went without saying.

"Most are," Fu Fu Shanyue explained. "The Ke family performed meritorious service, and the gods were greatly pleased, thus they received the privilege of mining profound crystals. These two mines were originally rewards bestowed by the Emperor upon founding heroes, and because their descendants withered, they were originally going to be nationalized. But then the Ke family came along... and the Heavenly Gods extended the mines to his family. This favor has lasted for over a hundred years; no one in the country can compare to them."

"What service did he perform?" The gods aren't stingy, are they?

"He found a legendary supreme treasure for the gods; what exactly it was, I don't know either." Fu Fu Shanyue said not without envy; even the Chiyan monarch had a hard time scraping money together, unlike these people who sat on a mountain of treasure and made money while lying down. "The Ke family has close ties with the Heavenly Palace. I heard they regularly go to the Star-Plucking Terrace to have an audience with the Heavenly Gods; this is an honor others wouldn't even dare to imagine."

Fu Fu Shanyue chuckled softly: "Actually, these old, long-established noble families in Lingxu City look down on the Ke family, calling them country bumpkins from out of town, rich but vulgar. The Ke family spends money without blinking, which is probably to spite these people."

He He Lingchuan understood.

Between Beijia had been founded for nearly six hundred years, prosperous and powerful, with plenty of long-lived noble families.

They formed an almost solidified circle and didn't like to let newcomers play along.

The Ke family arrived late, yet received divine favor, and had the air of a nouveau riche, so they were naturally annoying.

He He Lingchuan's heart stirred: "Where did the Ke family come from?"

Fu Fu Shanyue looked left and right, appearing somewhat cautious. Then, taking advantage of the applause for the stage, he whispered two words: "Yuan Kingdom."

He He Lingchuan's heart shook violently: "No way?"

These two words were like a thorn in the heart of the Demon Emperor; if touched accidentally, he would kill to vent his anger. How could he enfeoff a noble from the Yuan Kingdom? Besides, wasn't the Yuan Kingdom destroyed over a hundred years ago, and its descendants forced to live on the Twilight Plains, generations of men as slaves and women as prostitutes? How could a Yuan person be an official here? "The Ke family abandoned darkness for light back then and reported the Yuan Kingdom's conspiracy to Lingxu City..." Fu Fu Shanyue's lips barely moved, "and thus performed a great service."

Reported? He He Lingchuan's breathing paused.

It seems that before the Yuan King rose up in the past, the Ke family had already defected.

Fu Fu Shanyue added: "The Ke family's two profound crystal mines even supply Lingxu City year-round."

So they are the official designated supplier? If they aren't rich, who is? He He Lingchuan and Fu Fu Shanyue sighed in unison.

Hong Chenglue, not far away, turned back to look at them, looking puzzled.

It was evident that he had actually been watching He He Lingchuan all along.

Fu Fu Shanyue looked at him and asked He He Lingchuan: "Do you have a grudge against him?"

The first sentence hit the nail on the head. He wasn't stupid; how could he not see the undercurrents between these two? Hong Chenglue's expression had been ugly just now, as if he would draw his sword at the slightest disagreement.

"Yes." He He Lingchuan sighed again. "It's all old, messy business. I explained a couple of things just now, and after a cup of wine, we let bygones be bygones."

"Oh, I seem to remember he also went to the Fu Kingdom." Who doesn't have some unpleasant little secrets? Fu Fu Shanyue didn't ask further. "If you need help, just speak up."

He He Lingchuan patted his shoulder gratefully: "Not for now, I was just startled. I heard he had long been exiled to the provinces; how did he suddenly appear in Lingxu City?"

"He became famous very early; over ten years ago, he was a successful and high-spirited youth. But the waters of Lingxu City are very deep; he didn't navigate them well in his early years and had to hang up his seal and leave. I heard National Master Shuangye repeatedly pleaded for him, which is why he was brought back from abroad and restored to his post."

"National Master Shuangye?" He He Lingchuan remembered something, his heart shaking violently. "In that case, he is close to National Master Shuangye?!"

"Close?" Fu Fu Shanyue laughed. "He was long ago categorized into National Master Shuangye's faction."

"So that's it." He He Lingchuan's gaze shifted, a realization dawning on him, several thoughts connecting at once. "So that's it!"

In this instant, he understood many things.

He He Lingchuan took a sip of wine: "I see, this General Hong seems somewhat resentful and out of place with today's atmosphere."

"He has just returned to Lingxu City, so he has to be a bit restrained."

"Waiting for an opportunity to lead troops and perform meritorious service?"

"Yes. National Master Shuangye brought him back, and he has to prove himself." Fu Fu Shanyue laughed. "It's strange; those who appear brilliant and talented outside inevitably lose their luster after entering Lingxu City."

He He Lingchuan added silently in his heart: That's because the waters of Lingxu City are too deep and too murky.

A six-hundred-year-old ancient capital—can a talented newcomer really find an opportunity to showcase their skills after entering here? Fu Fu Shanyue pointed at himself: "Of course, I'm the exception."

He was currently a hot topic in Lingxu City, and his momentum was strong.

On the stage, the bidding for the Boundless Gold finally ended, and it truly fell to the Ke family.

Ke Ke Yanming showed a determination to win, forcing other competitors to retreat.

Of course, it could also be because other noble families didn't want to compete with the Ke family in terms of money; after all, most people who competed in wealth with them were just asking for humiliation.

(End of chapter)