Holding the jade token, Zhao Letian stepped into the auction hall and glanced around—the venue was indeed filled with many people, with almost no seat left vacant.
The venue was fan-shaped and divided into two levels. The lower level had standard seats, while the upper level contained private rooms accessible only for the wealthy, and at the very front was a display platform for showcasing treasures.
Zhao Letian had no special requirements for seating, so he casually chose a secluded corner at the back, sat down, closed his eyes, and calmly awaited the start of the auction.
At the same time, in one of the private rooms on the second floor, Zhao Lingfeng and two powerful members of the Iron Sword Sect had also arrived.
"Junior Brother, what good items can this kind of auction possibly offer? It seems like we are just here wasting our time," one from the Iron Sword Sect disdainfully remarked, while the expression of the other was equally dismissive, coming from a major sect, they inherently looked down upon auctions in a remote small town.
"The items from the little Qingzhou City might indeed be difficult to impress Senior Brother. However, the annual year-end auction by Ten Thousand Treasure Tower may still present some peculiar treasures. Perhaps, Senior Brother might find something of interest," Zhao Lingfeng replied, putting on a forced smile, as the Zhao Family would soon rely on these two from the Iron Sword Sect to boost their presence in the upcoming martial contest in Qingzhou City. He dared not offend them.
"Oh, then let's just watch," said the person from the Iron Sword Sect, quite enjoying Zhao Lingfeng's flattery, and he reluctantly nodded in agreement.
Before long, the auction hall was filled to capacity, with no empty seats remaining.
"Respected Ji Hongling, representing Ten Thousand Treasure Tower, welcomes distinguished guests to the first auction of this year's year-end series!"
Suddenly, Ji Hongling in a red long dress elegantly stepped onto the stage, scanned the audience, and loudly spoke.
The men in the audience focused their gazes on Ji Hongling, their eyes revealing a fervent admiration.
Ji Hongling's figure and appearance were truly exceptional.
Although Zhao Letian was also observing Ji Hongling, he remained quite calm.
"Is it him?" Ji Hongling's gaze momentarily hesitated when sweeping over Zhao Letian; his appearance was the same as half a year ago, she wouldn't forget. This important guest who facilitated her promotion to the manager, especially since she had already guessed that this guest might very well be Zhao Letian, the pride of the Zhao Family. Contentsourcedfrom*–MyVirtualLibraryEmpire.
"The time of all distinguished guests is precious, I will spare further redundant words. Now, let us begin the auction directly. The first item up for auction is an elixir recipe capable of refining a First-grade Primordial Beast Pill. This elixir enables a peak ninth level demon beast from the Primordial Martial Realm to ascend directly to the True Martial Realm. As everyone knows, demon beasts advance very slowly in cultivation. With just one Primordial Beast Pill, your Spirit Beast can save much cultivation time. Owning this elixir recipe allows for continuous production of countless Primordial Beast Pills, and the value of which, I believe the distinguished guests understand far better than myself. Very well, the starting bid for this elixir recipe is one thousand Mid-Grade Essence Stones, with each bid increment not to be less than one hundred Mid-Grade Essence Stones. Let the bidding begin," Ji Hongling said, taking out an ancient yellow scroll from her storage ring and displaying it before the crowd.
"Primordial Beast Pill?" Zhao Letian thought to himself as he sat below; he indeed needed such elixirs for the several hundred peak ninth level Mantis beasts he possessed. However, he was only interested in the pills, not the recipe.
Due to the inheritance memories of the Dragon Clan, he already had access to various elixir recipes, including numerous Primordial Beast Pill. However, he had always been busy with his cultivation and lacked the time to delve into alchemy methods.
He had not expected that a simple elixir recipe could sell for so high a price; it seemed that in the future, when he needed Primordial Stones, he wouldn't necessarily have to sell Cultivation Techniques or Martial Techniques.
"The first auction item is a valuable recipe; it looks like Ten Thousand Treasure Tower is really splurging this year."
"Although the recipe is great, it's too expensive. We average martial artists simply can't afford it."
"It's useless for average martial artists anyway; only Alchemy Masters can make use of it."
The crowd's mood instantly buoyed with discussion.
"Three thousand Mid-Grade Essence Stones, this young master wants this recipe," a confident young voice suddenly emerged from a private room upstairs, clearly coming from someone wealthy and prestigious.
A murmur of surprise rippled through the crowd. Starting the bidding with a price three times the initial, it was clear this person was determined to secure the recipe.
"How can you think of snapping up such a precious recipe with just three thousand essence stones? Humph, I bid three thousand five hundred!" an elderly voice resounded from a corner below, equally intent on winning.
"That's Elder Huo, he is a well-known First-grade Alchemy Master in the city, he would never pass up a recipe."
"Elder Huo, this recipe is very useful to me, I hope Elder Huo could let me have it," the young man upstairs said politely yet firmly, unyielding in his pursuit of the recipe.
"Humph! Boy, since you know who I am, do you think it's possible for me, an alchemy master, to simply let go of this recipe? Save your breath, keep bidding!" the old man grumbled, his temper seeming rather fierce.
"If that's the case, then let's continue; four thousand Mid-Grade Essence Stones," said the young man.
"Four thousand five hundred!" The old man was not willing to back down.
"Six thousand!" The young man grew impatient.
"Who exactly are you? The four big families of the city all give me a bit of respect. Are you sure you want to compete with me for this recipe?" The old man frowned fiercely, peering towards the private room upstairs. Six thousand Mid-Grade Essence Stones had already gone beyond his limit.
"Elder Huo, no offense intended. I am indeed Sun Shuhao of the Sun Family. This recipe is intended for my two senior brothers," the young man in the private room explained.
"Sun Family's young master, Sun Shuhao? Are your senior brothers perhaps the powerful ones from the Ten Thousand Beast Sect?" the old man asked, slightly taken aback.
"Old man, since you already know of our Ten Thousand Beast Sect, you should be well aware of the value of this Primordial Beast Pill recipe to our sect members. Do you still want to continue the competition?" a middle-aged man's voice came coldly from the private room.