Chapter 222: Golden Eyes!

Selling the only valuable thing he owned, the next auction items had nothing to do with Liang Qu.

He sat in his private box, listening with everyone else for amusement and to broaden his horizons.

"Divine Gang Dew—regenerates severed limbs below the Wolf Smoke level, clears meridians and removes blockages; starting bid, one thousand taels!"

"Earth Treasury Wood—a rare tree species that survives underground for a thousand years without dying, then reawakens; half-charred, half-vegetal, half-alive, half-dead; this one here is a Golden Thread Nanmu seedling; starting bid, twelve hundred taels!"

Half-alive, half-dead; half-charred, half-vegetal.

Clearly, like the Two-Life Flower, it was a treasure of similar yet distinct nature, ideal as nourishment for cultivating the Dragon-Tiger Golden Body.

Unfortunately, Liang Qu had no means to bid; he had barely three hundred taels on him, forced to watch as someone else purchased it for forty-six hundred taels.

"Purple Bamboo Sinew—a century per node, the ultimate bowstring material; starting bid, eight hundred taels!"

"Thunder Seal Technique—a mid-tier martial art; starting bid, five hundred taels!"

"Bone-Hard Axe—a spiritual weapon."

"Ice Step—leaves frost with every footfall."

Rare treasures, cultivation techniques, spiritual weapons, and armored gear—all were present at the auction.

By the time the sixtieth item was auctioned, prices had surged past ten thousand taels of silver.

Inside the private box, Yang Yang Dongxiong spent eighteen thousand taels to win a rare treasure.

Liang Qu was not surprised.

The Guangwu Hall's revenue, when he passed through Pingyang Town, already yielded several thousand taels annually; now it reached tens of thousands.

Not to mention Yang Yang Dongxiong's other income streams—for example, last year the County Magistrate of Chaojiang hired his Master to preside over affairs, surely at great cost.

As starting bids climbed higher, the bidding circle shrank from the first and second tiers to only the front rows of the first tier and the entire second tier; after one hundred items, few in the first tier even raised their bids.

After a full hour, over a hundred items had been sold, leaving Liang Qu stunned by the sheer wealth of Pingyang County's elite.

Zhu Zhu Bingcan on stage showed no sign of fatigue; his face remained flushed, even slightly exhilarated.

A servant pushed a cart onto the stage, covered by a black cloth.

"The final item of today's auction."

Zhu Zhu Bingcan gripped the black cloth and yanked it off in one motion; it floated gently down to the floor.

"Eternal Immortal Vine—extends a commoner's life by eight years; even a Entering Zhen Xiang Master may extend life by over three years; starting bid, fifty thousand taels of silver!"

Finally, the final item had arrived.

The Eternal Immortal Vine—a life-extending treasure worth eight full years!

As the grand finale of Pingyang County's first-ever auction—and the future capital of Pingyang Prefecture—the starting bid of fifty thousand taels did nothing to dampen the crowd's fervor; the entire hall erupted into a bidding frenzy.

"One hundred thousand!"

"One hundred thousand! Bidder No. 8 offers one hundred thousand!"

Liang Qu recognized the voice as Xu Xu Yue Long's—casual, indifferent, showing no trace of gravity, less focused than when he went fishing on the river with his rod every day.

"One hundred fifty thousand!"

"One hundred fifty thousand! Bidder No. 15 offers one hundred fifty thousand!"

"One hundred sixty thousand."

"One hundred eighty thousand."

"Two hundred thousand!"

From one hundred sixty to two hundred thousand, each jump of tens of thousands of taels was spoken as lightly as the few copper coins Aunt Zhang from Liang Qu's home spent daily buying vegetables.

"Two hundred fifty thousand."

Liang Qu thought the voice calling two hundred fifty thousand sounded familiar; after a moment's thought, he realized it was the County Magistrate of Pingyang.

He had met him before at the academy; the disdainful glance during writing practice still burned in his memory.

Bidders were fired up; the price of the Eternal Immortal Vine quickly soared to three hundred thousand taels!

At this point, even Yang Yang Dongxiong had no right to join; fewer than a handful of people in the entire hall could still bid.

Liang Qu counted: clearly, the leaders of the Three Judicial Offices, two from the Demon-Hunting Bureau, two from the River Office, plus Magistrate Jian Magistrate Jian Zhongyi—six people total.

Of course, there might be other powerful figures hidden among the crowd, merely uninterested in life-extending treasures.

As the grand finale, bidding had already lasted half a cup of tea—twice as long as any other item—and the number kept rising.

Three hundred fifty thousand, three hundred eighty thousand, four hundred thousand.

"Four hundred fifty thousand!"

"Four hundred eighty thousand!"

Four hundred eighty thousand!

Everyone was suffocated by the staggering sum.

Even if it wasn't their own money, hearing such an unimaginable fortune made hearts skip beats and limbs turn icy.

"Four hundred eighty thousand once!"

"Four hundred eighty thousand twice!"

"Four hundred eighty thousand thrice!"

"Sold!"

Latest address

Zhu Zhu Bingcan brought down the gavel like driving an iron nail into wood.

"Congratulations to Bidder No. 3 for winning the Immortal Vine!"

The final price settled at four hundred eighty thousand taels of silver—the winner: County Magistrate Magistrate Jian Magistrate Jian Zhongyi of Pingyang!

Twenty thousand taels higher than the second-to-last item's final price of two hundred eighty thousand—doubling it!

The crowd fell silent.

Dozens of large ice platforms in the hall emitted cold mist, yet some still pulled open their collars to breathe, as if swept into a flood of gold and silver, gasping for air.

"Four hundred eighty thousand… how long will it take me to earn that?"

Xu Xu Yue muttered, counting on his fingers how much each extra day of life cost.

"Four hundred eighty thousand—that's sixty thousand taels a year, three hundred sixty days a year, totaling one hundred sixty-six taels and six mace per day…"

"If consumed by a Master, it's four hundred thirty-eight taels, three mace, and five fen per day."

Liang Qu looked at Xu Xu Yue in surprise; he hadn't known his fourth senior brother was so good at math—he'd make a fortune as a shopkeeper.

Yet he too was stunned by the absurd number.

A common farmer toiling in the fields all year earned barely a few taels of silver; the cost of one extra day of life equaled the entire output of an ordinary person over thirty or forty years.

How long can a person live? Fifty or sixty years at most—ten years less, ten years more, another forty, and you're sixty.

In other words, the cost of one extra day of life equals a lifetime's labor.

Truly, an inch of time is an inch of gold; gold cannot buy an inch of time.

What treasure in the world is the most valuable?

Only life-extending treasures.

Upon reaching the Master realm, comprehending divine arts, rare treasures alone can no longer break through barriers.

To extend life by a few years, one must rely on external objects.

With power, wealth follows; those willing to spend will naturally inflate the price of life-extending items to astonishing levels, far beyond ordinary treasures.

Yet Liang Qu found it strange.

"If I recall correctly, Magistrate Magistrate Jian should be in his prime—why is he so obsessed with life-extending treasures?"

He had met Magistrate Jian Magistrate Jian Zhongyi in person; he didn't look thirty or forty—even twenty-something would be believable.

"Perhaps he's buying it for an elder in his clan," Xu Xu Yue mused. "I remember the Magistrate Jian family has three Entering Zhen Xiang Masters; one is extremely old—over three hundred and twenty years, alive from the previous dynasty to this one, nearly at the Entering Zhen Xiang limit. Wasn't he Magistrate Jian Magistrate Jian Zhongyi's direct ancestor?"

"No wonder."

Entering Zhen Xiang Masters rarely live past three hundred; three hundred and twenty must mean consuming countless life-extending treasures—just thinking of it is a astronomical sum.

Terrifying.

The depth of a noble family's resources—so terrifying!

"Among us, the most talented is clearly the youngest brother—he might one day establish a Liang Clan! Lasting a thousand years! Don't forget us, your senior brothers and sisters."

Liang Qu smiled: "If I ever establish a clan, I'll arrange marriages with all of you—make us one family."

"Then I'm claiming a child betrothal with you, little brother."

"Count me in too," Xiang Xiang Zhangsong butted in.

Establishing a clan isn't easy; even Entering Zhen Xiang Masters aren't secure unless there are multiple, or one Wu Sheng emerges.

How difficult is a Wu Sheng?

"Not impossible…"

He possessed the Ze Ding; even with only thirty percent fusion with the Ze Rong, he could handle ordinary great spirit monsters—if perfected, could he even challenge a Hunting Tiger beast?

Then the Water Monkey, and ultimately, Wu Wu Zhiqi…

The Heavenly Dragon Wu Sheng is not Liang Qu's endpoint.

The Realm of Rainbow Transformation, the Ascension to Immortality—qi like a ten-thousand-li rainbow, lifespan beyond reckoning…

Lu Gang clapped Liang Qu on the shoulder: "Let's go, younger brother—you didn't just win a pair of Golden Eyes, go collect them."

"Alright."

Liang Qu followed his Master and senior brothers; Zhu Zhu Bingcan was already wrapping up the auction, arranging free meals and coordinating item exchanges.

Liang Qu held his bid number and found the item marked No. 8—the Golden-Eyed Beast.

As he drew closer, the pair of Golden Eyes pulled at him with double the force—he wanted to rip them out and swallow them on the spot.

The attendant used a special tool to carefully remove the pair of brilliant eyes from the massive head of the Jin Jin Jingshou, immersed them in a transparent glass vial, placed the vial on a tray, and presented it to Liang Qu with both hands.

Liang Qu picked up the glass vial, then looked at the Jin Jin Jingshou's corpse being dragged away, and felt an inexplicable surge of emotion.

Sigh.

Spent three thousand six hundred taels, and all I got was a pair of eyes—not even a scrap of meat to eat.

Fortunately, the most valuable part of the Jin Jin Jingshou is its pair of eyes.

These eyes make it far more valuable than ordinary great spirits; the rest of its body is merely bonus.

Not too much of a loss.

"Will I truly gain the Fire-Eyed Golden Gaze…?"

Liang Qu's heart surged with excitement.

Latest address