Chapter 690: Pale-Bearded Little Flood Dragon

The several-zhang-tall drum was taken down early.

On the central high platform, the emcee grabbed the gong mallet and swung it hard; the sound of the gong was deafening.

"Heaven Dragon Gold! Material for Profound Weapons, sixty-eight thousand taels, sold!"

What the hell.

The first auction item is going for nearly seventy thousand?

Xu Zishuai stretched his long neck, gazing at the dark gold nugget on the red lacquer tray.

This so-called Profound Weapon material, Heaven Dragon Gold—a piece the size of a single thumb, or even half a thumb, would require one to be stingy with the material just to forge a pair of nail clippers.

"Cao Shixiong, is Heaven Dragon Gold really that expensive?"

"Since it's called a material for Profound Weapons, the price is naturally exorbitant," Lu Gang nodded. "Remember the Ink Dragon Gold that Junior Brother Liang used to add to the Fubo earlier? The two are born together, but Heaven Dragon Gold is a cut above."

Liang Qu sat up straight.

Although there were no hard rules for the auction items, there was an unspoken rule of starting small and ending big; there was no such thing as having low-grade items as the finale and high-grade items first. In Pingyang Prefecture, the opening bids were basically in the low thousands.

The auction was expected to last three and a half hours, with at least several hundred items; by the time it reached the end...

Auctions of this scale happened three times a year!

Lu Jia laughed and said, "Brother Liang is visiting the Imperial Capital for the first time and doesn't know the inside story. It's just a customary warm-up. Imperial Capital auctions have a penchant for this routine; the opening items are high in quality, but often lacking in quantity. Unless one has their own reserves, a piece of Heaven Dragon Gold the size of half a finger can't do anything at all."

"So that's how it is."

What followed was the same as what Lu Jia had said.

The next three items all sold for over fifty thousand, the fourth dropped to the thirty-thousand range, and the fifth to twenty thousand.

Whether the atmosphere in the venue had heated up, Liang Qu didn't notice, but even with the drop, not a single item sold for less than ten thousand taels, which spoke volumes.

Buying whatever was auctioned ultimately involved private secrets. After the first few items were sold, Lu Jia chatted a bit about sect views, but knowing it was their first meeting, he felt staying too long would be improper, so he stood up to take his leave.

"My Lord Liang, please sit comfortably; I won't disturb you further. If you need to find me, just let an attendant know. Everyone in the Tianbo Tower knows me."

Liang Qu stood up to see him to the door: "Thank you for your company today, Brother Lu. Your insights into the Ancient Dynasty have truly opened my eyes. Another day, I must play host at home and invite Brother Lu to a banquet."

"That would be excellent; I look forward to it."

The gong sound did not cease.

"In the southern part of the Qishan mountain range in Peizhou, a Grade C Profound Water Iron mine vein, starting bid at two hundred thousand taels. Each increment must be no less than thirty thousand taels. All guests have a map of the mine's trend on their private room tables. Those interested may flip through it; bidding starts in a quarter of an hour."

"Eight Bashui snake eggs; feed them well for thirty years and they can become demon beasts. A hundred zhang in length, they are the superior snakes that roam the great rivers and lakes. Wouldn't that be magnificent? They are truly useful beasts for guarding the home and enjoying the water. The first snake egg, starting bid at five thousand taels!"

He returned to his seat.

Liang Qu and his senior brothers flipped through the booklets in their hands, shocked in their hearts.

They even sell mine veins!

The booklet contained the entire trend map of the Profound Water Iron mine vein, including nearby forests, rivers, transport conditions, the amount previously mined, and individual accompanying rare minerals. It was detailed down to the smallest point, and every page had the Tianbo Chamber of Commerce seal, meaning the content had been verified—you might buy it and lose, but you wouldn't be cheated.

Profound Water Iron was not uncommon; eighty percent of the standard arrows and short spears in the River-Lake Office were cast from Profound Water Iron because the material was cheap and had excellent toughness, allowing it to be cast multiple times using the folding-forging method.

A sharp weapon for water warfare.

Not just Profound Water Iron, there were two other mineral deposits on the table, namely Rain-Dew Stone and Sand Gold, stretching for five li.

Dong!

The gong sounded again.

"Grade C Profound Water Iron mine vein, one million eight hundred and fifty thousand taels, sold!"

"They really have money."

Liang Qu sighed.

The person who spent nearly two million to win the bid was in a fifth-floor private room; he wondered who was so wealthy and imposing.

One million eight hundred and fifty thousand was obviously just the beginning; subsequent costs for mining, transport, smelting, and so on would be huge, and doubling the cost was a given. Breaking even would not be an easy task.

The auction items continued one by one, with all kinds of rarities available. Even if one didn't buy, it was an eye-opener. Until a certain stage, the emcee deliberately paused and struck the gong three times.

It was as if it were a halftime break, and attendants appeared one after another.

They knocked on the doors of the private rooms in turn, either to deliver fruit platters and pastries, or to pour tea and add water.

"Distinguished guests, the auction started at the hour of the dragon, and half an hour has passed. Whether you have won your desired items or not, you must be tired, but do not lose focus, because the next item, the fiftieth, is absolutely astonishing! A dragon-species Great Demon from the Flowing Gold Sea, the Pale-Bearded Little Flood Dragon!"

A dragon-species Great Demon?

Liang Qu, the Little Xiao Xiao Shenlong, and the Dragon-Man triggered the keyword. Their ears twitched, and they all came to the window, leaning down to look.

Inside the wide circular arena, they saw a long dragon, pure white all over, yet under specific lighting, it surged with a layer of faint purple-blue, with a single horn on its head, being carried onto the stage by Great Martial Artists.

There was an uproar in the auction venue.

The long dragon's body was on the smaller side, about thirty-plus zhang, not even comparable to the snake demon they had encountered before, and its neck had a circle of elegant hair just like the Little Xiao Xiao Shenlong.

However, although its spirit was dead, its physical body had not rotted.

Its whole body radiated a thick pressure, not comparable to ordinary water demons!

Undoubtedly a dragon-species Great Demon!

The rarest thing was that its physical body was extremely well-preserved, with only a penetrating wound on its chest and abdomen, piercing the heart and severing the spine—a single strike to kill!

A Great Demon water beast with such good quality was too rare.

The Little Xiao Xiao Shenlong raised its claw to touch the "dragon horn" on its head, flicked its hairy tail, and felt envious.

The other had only one dragon horn, but it was real; it had two, but they were fake.

Eh~

How it wanted to trade.

The emcee shouted: "As everyone knows, there are three True Dragons in the world. Currently, only the True Dragon of the Ehe in the Northern Court survives. Although it is not as fierce as the True Dragons of our Yellow Sand River and Great Huai River, it is the only remaining fruit in the world. This Pale-Bearded Little Flood Dragon is precisely the third-generation bloodline dragon species of the Ehe True Dragon!

For a demon beast to transform into a Great Demon, it must experience three tribulations. This beast was precisely experiencing the last tribulation of a demon beast—the Blood-Flesh Tribulation. After the tribulation, its body was weak and it was resting, but it was unexpectedly discovered by Jiang Zongshi Kou and Jiang Zongshi Lin of the River Source Prefecture. The two joined forces to ambush and kill it, so it is undoubtedly a Great Demon, and the quality is excellent!"

Jiang Zongshi Kou of River Source Prefecture?

Liang Qu found it somewhat familiar, turned his head and asked: "Cao Shixiong Lu, did Cao Shixiong say before that he followed Jiang Zongshi Kou when he asked for leave to visit relatives?"

"Exactly."

"That's quite a coincidence."

With the appearance of an entire dragon-species Great Demon, the entire auction suddenly became heated.

"Dragon head, dragon horn, dragon tendon, dragon bone, dragon meat, dragon heart... they can all be called treasures of the whole body. A single item can be used to refine Great Medicine or forge top-grade Spirit Weapons, so they will be auctioned separately. Distinguished guests, take what you need! All buyers will be gifted a set of blueprints for a full-body Dragon Scale Armor from a Heavenly Artisan, or a chance to refine Great Elixir!"

Liang Qu's index finger twitched.

Participating in this auction, he originally wanted to spend twenty-plus thousand to buy some precious water-attribute treasures to supplement his Water-Marsh Essence, but he never expected to be lucky enough to encounter such a rare item!

The Imperial Capital auction is truly extraordinary.

No wonder everyone yearns for the Great Capital; the opportunities and chances are not comparable to ordinary small prefectures.

It's just...

He turned his head to look at Long Binglin and Long Yao.

Long Binglin said: "My Lord, if you have a need, just bid for it. How can a human compare to a monkey?"

Long Yao nodded in agreement.

Liang Qu cast aside his worries and focused his entire attention.

The first auction item was precisely one of the dragon's treasures—the dragon horn!

The dragon has eight treasures.

Horn, heart, tendon, beard.

Liver, bone, hair, claw.

The horn ranks first!

The dragon horn to a dragon is far superior to velvet antler to a deer; the front end can be used as medicine, and the back end can be used to forge Spirit Weapons.

"Starting bid for the dragon horn, eighty thousand taels, each increment no less than five thousand taels!"

"One hundred and twenty thousand."

"One hundred and fifty thousand!"

"One hundred and eighty thousand!"

With only three bids, the price of the dragon horn soared to nearly two hundred thousand!

The competition was so fierce.

Liang Qu's mouth was dry, and he subconsciously touched his pocket. He had brought a total of three hundred and twenty thousand, which didn't seem to be enough.

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 691 =====