Chapter 692: Auction

The sound of gongs rang out in waves.

One astronomical figure after another was called out from within the private boxes.

The fiftieth item was a dragon-species Great Demon, which had been broken down into twenty-two separate lots.

After another hour or so, the one-hundred-fiftieth item was equally extraordinary: a pure white Great Demon phoenix bird!

The phoenix bird had a golden crown atop its head, feet like gold, eyes as narrow and long as willow leaves, and seven long feathers trailing from its tail, each one magnificent and extraordinary.

According to the introduction, it was impervious to water and fire, immune to blades and spears, and refining it into Phoenix Face Pills could keep one's complexion from fading and make one's body fluids fragrant, while refining it into Phoenix Body Pills could enhance one's movement techniques and alter one's constitution...

The auction method was the same as for the Gray-Bearded Dragon, only there were only eighteen treasures broken out from it, four fewer.

"Auspicious signs of dragon and phoenix."

Liang Qu looked toward the seven gold feathers that had been removed and carefully packed into special long cases by the attendants; if he remembered correctly, even the cheapest one among them had sold for the high price of 380,000 taels.

It had to be said that this was worthy of being the first auction after the Imperial Capital's New Year festivities.

Two Great Demons.

Both dragon and phoenix present.

What he had seen and heard would be enough to boast about for quite a while once he returned to Pingyang Prefecture.

Thinking of Pingyang.

He wondered how the construction of the islands on the water was coming along?

Had Lanzhou already been annexed?

Lanzhou was at the intersection of two rivers; wanting to take it smoothly would not be simple.

His thoughts drifted away.

With nearly two hundred treasures auctioned off, the daylight gradually brightened, the wind and snow outside the window lessened, the hanging jade fragments under the eaves clattered, and it was as if the thick water mist had been scraped away from between heaven and earth, leaving it clear and distinct; peddlers and porters shuttled back and forth, a monk holding an alms bowl turned the street corner, and the storyteller pulled his clothes tighter.

"Hoo!"

Liang Qu blew a breath, raised his hand to wipe away the half-frozen accumulated snow on the windowsill, and the whole chunk fell off, shattering into several pieces on the ground.

"Time to eat, I'm a bit hungry."

Xu Zishuai stretched, lay diagonally on the arhat bed, and dangled his lower legs.

Liang Qu turned around: "The invitation said they would arrange a luncheon, so it should be coming soon."

The words had barely fallen.

The room door was knocked.

"Hey! Speak of the devil."

Xu Zishuai rolled over and sat up, opening the room door.

Attendants holding food boxes filed in, and the most eye-catching among them were two five-layered large copper basins.

On the copper basins, which were lined with crushed ice, were spread slices of crystal-clear meat, scattered like flower petals, with a small bowl of seasoning embedded in the crushed ice; apart from this, there were hot dishes, soup, and rice, but they were unremarkable.

Xu Zishuai squatted down and looked at the copper basin, somewhat puzzled: "Fish sashimi?"

Fish sashimi was raw fish; it was delicious, but some people liked it and some didn't, and ordinary people risked getting parasites in their stomachs from eating it; without family wealth for medical treatment, it could cost them half their life.

Since it was a luncheon, they should have chosen something with broader appeal, so why pick this kind of food?

"My lord, you misunderstand; this is not fish meat, but dragon meat," the lead attendant raised her hand to introduce it.

"Dragon meat?"

Liang Qu walked forward and picked up a slice with his chopsticks.

This slice of meat really did have a touch of mystery, its texture clearly visible, with a faint aroma of wine, and the surface seemed to be covered with a layer of pale golden light, looking slightly thicker than it actually was.

"For VIPs who spent over 200,000 taels this morning, our firm has dragon meat sashimi and phoenix meat rolls to offer, as a small token of our appreciation."

The attendant opened the upper layer of the copper basin, and underneath were the meat rolls.

"Honored guests, please enjoy; both items have been prepared using the Imperial Kitchen's precious wine meat-tenderizing method, selecting three-year-aged wine made from Origin Spirit Fruit to dissolve the Great Demon's impervious flesh, making it melt in the mouth with a faint wine aroma."

Large expenditures have extra benefits indeed.

The dragon whiskers were just over 190,000, and in addition, some dragon meat and dragon scales were over 30,000; Liang Qu's total spending was exactly around 230,000.

Excellent!

"Come, let's taste it, let's taste it!"

Liang Qu greeted them enthusiastically.

The group sat around the long table; they had just eaten Great Demon meat a few days ago, but this was their first time tasting "dragon and phoenix."

【Water Marsh Essence +5】

【Water Marsh Essence +5】

The dragon sashimi had a rich and full mouthfeel, and amidst the coldness was a unique, mellow aroma of meat juices; it melted directly upon entering the mouth, an explosion of umami that rushed from the oral cavity to the top of the head.

Just for such deliciousness, the dragon meat he bought was not a loss!

The dragon meat in front of him wasn't much, and the essence was relatively low, but once he finished eating what he had bought, he should have tens of thousands of essence points.

Truly, the whole body is a treasure!

If a mere Great Demon dragon species is like this, what must a Demon King dragon species be like?

Compared to the dragon sashimi, the phoenix rolls were unexpectedly springy, very chewy when bitten into, and crisp.

The little Mirage Dragon followed and got a slice, holding it with both claws and gnawing on it happily.

Fragrant!

The auction continued outside the private box, and the further it went, the more the various treasures were basically things one could only look at but not buy.

Couldn't afford them.

They were tens of thousands or hundreds of thousands at every turn, and in the middle, even more Great Medicines and Great Elixirs appeared, and even fragments of Wu Sheng Profound Weapons—a small piece the size of a palm, touted as miraculous.

The fourth and fifth floors were shouting non-stop.

Xiang Zhangsong asked: "Senior Brother Lu, why can fragments of Wu Sheng Profound Weapons attract so many people to fight over them? Could it be that one can comprehend something from them?"

Lu Gang shook his head: "If one could comprehend something, the emcee would have said so long ago; since they are fragments, they are mostly from those who died in battle, and there was simply no time to engrave any divine ability or will inheritance. Buying them back is purely for the material."

"Material? To be re-smelted?"

"Correct. Ten years of practicing martial arts is no match for a single divine weapon; ordinary iron ore casting can cut meat and chop bone without a problem.

But if you encounter a Martial Artist, it won't be so effective; without folding-forging techniques, you have to switch to Profound Iron. Profound Iron is naturally more precious and rare than ordinary iron, but it's still easy to find if you spend more silver.

However, once you reach the Grandmaster or Wu Sheng realm, it's not that there are no rare minerals in the world that can directly injure them, but they are extremely rare and hard to come by.

If you can't find them, it's better to choose former Wu Sheng Profound Weapons; since they could be made into Profound Weapons, the material itself won't be bad.

Even if it was inferior at first, through the nourishment of a Wu Sheng, ordinary iron can be nurtured into Profound Iron, and Profound Iron can be nurtured into Divine Iron."

Heaven and earth can nourish divine minerals and immortal gold, and so can people.

Liang Qu had a deep understanding of this.

His Fubo had been used until now, and the main material was Ink Dragon Gold, but compared to the initial Ink Dragon Gold, it was definitely different; it was just that the divine iron nurtured by everyone was different, and he couldn't be bothered to come up with another name.

The so-called Profound Weapon fragments, without special reasons, were just selling a piece of special metal.

Until the auction items reached the last few, the Heaven and Earth Long Qi that everyone had been longing for finally appeared.

A small bronze square tripod was held in both hands by a Great Martial Artist and respectfully presented.

Everyone cast their gaze over.

The emcee didn't keep them in suspense and directly opened the tripod lid.

Crackle!

A flash of brilliant electric light crackled and bloomed from the small bronze tripod, illuminating the surroundings.

This is...

Thunder?

Everyone was astonished.

"Startling Thunder Long Qi! Top-grade Long Qi!"

Top-grade Long Qi!

The uproar in the venue was even greater than when the dragon-species Great Demon appeared in the morning.

"Those who consume this Qi can easily cultivate thunder-path divine abilities, subdue demons and eliminate evil, and move with divine speed. This thunder is Startling Thunder, corresponding to the thunder of the Awakening of Insects, the opportunity for all things to grow; it can not only destroy, but also has the effect of rejuvenating and healing! The consignor is willing to trade item for item; the starting price is two Great Medicines; if in silver, the starting price is one million..."

The emcee was halfway through his words.

Someone in the sixth-floor private box spoke up.

"One Vast Sea Profound Whale Pill."

(End of chapter)