Chapter 151: The Mysterious Essence Stone

After the "Sevenfold Rejuvenation Pill" was auctioned off, the auction continued. The auctioneers presented the second item: a fifth-grade armor of the Earth rank, which was sold for 45,000 gold coins.

Seeing this transaction price, Ouyang Feiyun was furious. "Damn it! A piece of shabby armor, ranked far below our Sevenfold Rejuvenation Pill, yet it sold for 45,000 gold coins. Are these people blind?"

No sooner had he spoken than a burly man with a thick beard standing beside him stood up and cursed, "Fuck, who’s blind here? I like this armor, and I’d be willing to pay 100,000 gold coins for it! If you think your pill sold for too little, take it up with the Crown Prince—that’s who made the bid!"

"I..." Ouyang Feiyun wanted to retort, but hearing that the 30,000 gold coins bid came from the Crown Prince, he dared not speak further. Disheartened, he quietly slipped out of the auction hall.

Ouyang Feiyun feared offending the Crown Prince and was even more afraid of being discovered by the Ling family. Selling a seven-tier treasure-grade pill instead of offering it to the Ling family would surely upset them, so before they found out, he fled.

The auction went on. After the Earth-rank fifth-grade armor was sold, several other rare treasures were auctioned off one after another, but none caught the interest of Xin Lang, Huangfu Huijing, and the others.

Xin Lang and Huangfu Huijing were waiting for the auction of Xin Lang’s treasure-grade ninth-rank “Marrow Purifying Pill” to see how much it would fetch. This would help them gauge the price of the Saint-grade third-rank “Marrow Purifying Pill.” Saint-grade pills were valuable but had no established market price, so once they had a clear benchmark, neither Huangfu Huijing nor Huangfu Shaoqi would miss the opportunity to buy.

While Xin Lang and the others awaited the treasure-grade ninth-rank “Marrow Purifying Pill,” an item caught Xin Lang’s attention.

It was a crystal stone, about the size of a fist, completely transparent with sharp edges, perfectly shaped.

“Essence Stone!” Xin Lang exclaimed with delight in his heart.

The auctioneer held the crystal stone, called an “Essence Stone,” and announced loudly, “One premium crystal stone, starting bid: 1,000 gold coins!”

Crystal stones were a specialty of the northern barbarian tribes of the Jiuzhou Continent, highly favored by the nobles of the Great Xia Dynasty, and a principal component of jewelry and necklaces. They were as famous as the jade from the southern Xiluo Kingdom. However, raw crystal stones, despite their size, were less popular than finished crystal jewelry because buyers still had to have them cut into smaller pieces and reworked, which was less convenient and costlier than buying finished products.

The “Essence Stone” was different from ordinary crystal stones; its value was thousands or even millions of times greater, a treasure in the secular world. Xin Lang had come to know about Essence Stones through Hong Xiu.

Essence Stones contained abundant heavenly and earthly essence, serving as spirit stones for disciples of immortal sects to quickly replenish their energy. Xin Lang had seen Hong Xiu use one before, so he could distinguish it from common crystal stones.

“Hopefully, no one else recognizes it!” Xin Lang anxiously hoped.

“1,100 gold coins!”

“1,200 gold coins!”

“1,300 gold coins!”

Seeing that the bidders showed little enthusiasm, Xin Lang breathed a sigh of relief. “They clearly don’t know the true value of this Essence Stone.”

“1,500 gold coins!” Xin Lang bid a moderate price—not too high, but enough to show determination to win.

After Xin Lang’s bid of 1,500 gold coins, the two previous bidders shook their heads, hesitating.

The auctioneer waited for a while and said, “One thousand five hundred gold coins, first call!”

A few seconds later, “One thousand five hundred gold coins, second call!”

Despite Xin Lang’s experience with trials and tribulations, his heart tensed slightly. Just as the auctioneer was about to call “One thousand five hundred gold coins, third call!” a sudden voice shouted, “One thousand six hundred gold coins!”

Xin Lang was surprised to see it was Shangguan Ningyu beside Huangfu Huijing. “Shangguan…”

Shangguan Ningyu looked indifferent and said, “This is an auction house. If I see something I like, of course I’ll bid on it!”

Xin Lang was somewhat speechless but smiled faintly. “Shangguan, I was planning to get this crystal stone to make two sets of jewelry and necklaces, as gifts for you and Huangfu. So, please don’t compete with me.”

Shangguan Ningyu replied, “I have my own means. I can buy it myself and make them. No need to trouble you.”

“Uh…”

While Xin Lang and Shangguan Ningyu were speaking, the auctioneer began the third call. Xin Lang hurriedly raised the bid to 1,700 gold coins and said to Shangguan, “If we keep bidding like this, whoever wins will end up paying a lot more. How about this: I buy it first, then I’ll share it with you as much as you want!”

Shangguan Ningyu slyly blinked her big eyes and asked, “Xin Shao, do you really want this crystal stone that badly?”

“Although it’s not worth much, I just happen to need a raw stone like this for something special,” Xin Lang answered cautiously.

“Oh… so it’s a must-have?” Shangguan Ningyu asked again.

“More or less,” Xin Lang said.

“Hee hee, alright! I’ll add another 100 gold coins!” Shangguan Ningyu raised her bid by 100 gold coins.

Seeing the Essence Stone’s price rise another 100 gold coins, Xin Lang’s temper flared! He wanted to grab this little girl and give her a good spanking.

It wasn’t the amount—one or two hundred gold coins—but the fear of attracting unwanted attention. If anyone recognized the Essence Stone’s true value, the price would skyrocket; even a million gold coins might not be enough.

Feigning calm, Xin Lang said, “Shangguan, what would it take for you to give up bidding?”

Hearing this, Shangguan Ningyu smugly said, “I also want to buy your Saint-grade third-rank Marrow Purifying Pill, but that’s too expensive. Could you give me a discount?”

Upon hearing this, Xin Lang relaxed. As long as she wasn’t after the Essence Stone itself, it wasn’t a problem. “If you ask, I’ll even give you one for free. But only if you agree to go on a date with me!”

“A date?” Shangguan Ningyu’s cheeks flushed faintly. She glanced at Huangfu Huijing and said, “No dates! You don’t have to give it away for free—just give me a discount.”

“Alright!” Xin Lang didn’t want to argue about the date and agreed to her terms immediately. He resolved to teach this little girl a lesson once he got the Essence Stone.

He raised the bid another 100 gold coins, pushing the price to 1,900 gold coins.

“20,000 gold coins!” Suddenly, a bid came from the private room where Xin Lang was.

Huangfu Huijing looked at Xin Lang with a sly smile. “I want a discount too!”

Xin Lang, not wanting further complications, gritted his teeth and said, “Fine, I’ll give you a discount too! Fifty percent off enough?”