Chapter 88: Mysterious Bronze Cauldron, Secret Art of Peace!
As the auctioneer spoke, the first blind auction item, which was the fifty-first auction item, was brought up.
Lifting the red cloth, it revealed a bronze cauldron, only palm-sized.
The kind that could be placed on a table for display.
“This cauldron weighs approximately 143.8 kilograms, with an extremely high density of 158.4 tons per cubic meter, eight times that of gold! It is clearly no ordinary item.”
“Furthermore, our probes indicate that temperatures above 10,000 degrees Celsius cannot affect it in any way. Attacks from the Spirit Yuan Realm Peak also cannot leave a mark on it.”
“More importantly, three years ago, its previous owner, when facing a Spirit Yuan Realm Peak evil spirit, threw this cauldron out, and it suddenly transformed into a giant cauldron, emitting a dazzling golden light, instantly heavily injuring the evil spirit and thereby killing the enemy.”
“It is speculated that the power of this cauldron may originate from the Ancient God Yu of historical mythology, passed down through the Xia, Shang, and Zhou dynasties, capable of suppressing evil spirits and taming mountains and seas.”
“Of course, this is just speculation; the specifics are for each person to interpret.”
“This small cauldron is clearly a powerful Ancient God’s Item. The starting bid is ten million, with each subsequent bid no less than five hundred thousand!”
To be honest, after hearing the introduction, Bai Yu was quite tempted by this item.
His ability was intelligence, after all!
He could use his intelligence to understand items that couldn’t be researched.
However, upon hearing the starting bid of ten million, he couldn’t help but grimace; it was too damn expensive.
“Fifteen million!”
“Eighteen million!”
“.”
“Twenty-three point five million!”
Bai Yu thought carefully; with his personality, he didn’t like owing money.
In the intelligence from the Seventh Page, it was precisely because he didn’t borrow money that he missed out on that page.
But now, he had various good things that could generate income, they just couldn’t be cashed in immediately.
Thinking this, he felt there was no need to be embarrassed; the money could be repaid! Moreover, he still had sixty million on hand, so he didn’t need to borrow money yet.
He couldn’t help but ask Li Yunbin, “Captain, how much do you think this is worth?”
“What? You want to buy it?”
“I am indeed a bit tempted.”
“Hmm, it’s hard to say the exact price, as its function isn’t even fully understood. But if we consider it as a Magical Treasure for dealing with Spirit Yuan Realm Peak evil spirits, let’s tentatively assign it a power level of 25. It’s definitely worth over five million.”
“If it’s better, it could be worth ten to twenty million. This kind of item is a blind box; people are uncertain, so the premium won’t be too severe.”
With that, Li Yunbin raised his paddle: “Twenty-five million!”
“Bidder 125 offers twenty-five million. Are there any other bids? This item is related to the Nine Cauldrons of Huaxia’s Nine Provinces, and it might hide a great secret.”
“Twenty-six million!”
Seeing someone bid, Li Yunbin unhesitatingly increased it to twenty-eight million.
He was clearly intending to bid for Bai Yu.
Bai Yu quickly said, “Captain, let’s take it slow.”
“Don’t worry, it’s just a little money. If you improve your strength, it’s beneficial to our team. Moreover, with your joining, we’re encountering more major cases, and our enemies are getting stronger. Let’s consider this auction as an opportunity to improve our strength! Besides, the money spent is also contributing to the canal, so it’s not a waste.”
“No… the main thing is that I can afford this money right now.”
This, in turn, surprised Li Yunbin.
“You have tens of millions?”
“Captain, did you forget about that soup?”
Hearing this, Li Yunbin did recall. He just didn’t expect Bai Yu to have obtained such a large sum of money so quickly.
The research industry is truly profitable!
Wang Wen: Read more, understand?
At this moment, the auctioneer had already struck the gavel.
Sold for twenty-eight million.
“I’ll pay the extra two million.”
“No need, no need. With my earning ability, I’m not afraid at all.”
He thought to himself: Buying a small cauldron for nearly 30 million, will it not be a significant loss? This is much more expensive than what he bought at a street stall! He could only rely on intelligence.
Next, there were over a dozen more blind auction items. Among them, a sword that looked somewhat rusty caught Li Yunbin’s eye, and he acquired it for fifteen million.
Qin Wanqing also purchased a treasure resembling a white paper umbrella for eight million. Its currently detected ability was to enlarge and defend against attacks.
Originally, there was a long spear-type weapon. Li Yunbin saw that Jiang Chen liked it and wanted to acquire it, but Jiang Chen repeatedly said it was more practical to buy items with known functions.
He didn’t have the confidence to fully explore these blind box items.
And so, another two hours passed, around five in the afternoon.
Less than an hour remained until the end of the first half.
The blind auction items were sold out, and Bai Yu hadn’t seen the Dragon Blood Tree.
‘Are both items not in the first half?’
At this moment, the organizers brought out a jade bottle. Bai Yu initially thought it was a treasure of Guanyin.
Who knew that what was being sold was the Pill inside.
A light brown Pill appeared in the auctioneer’s hand, who then said, “This Pill is called a Qi and Blood Pill, a new product from the East Sea Province Research Institute. For its specific effects, everyone can look at the large screen.”
Soon, a series of experimental data appeared, and the Big Bosses present seemed very interested.
Bai Yu glanced at it and felt that the data looked quite impressive!
But for his current self, with the Heavenly Thunder Tempering Technique, he didn’t really need this Pill for the Body Refining Realm.
“There are a total of ten batches of Pills, with two thousand Pills per batch. The starting bid is five million Federal Currency, with each bid no less than two hundred thousand.”
As this item appeared, the auction hall instantly became lively.
The transaction prices mostly ranged from fifteen to twenty million.
Li Yunbin’s group actually bought one batch, saying it was for the bureau members to use.
Bai Yu secretly clicked his tongue; the price per Pill was close to one hundred Contribution Points! This was truly expensive.
Following this were other batches of Pills, Talismans, and similar items sold.
All sorts of Big Bosses needed to train their subordinates, so their bids were not low, and the competition was fierce.
This round likely consisted of about five types of items, and everyone had a general idea, so the bidding was quick.
Seeing how sought-after these items were and how high the prices were, Bai Yu thought to himself: ‘Speaking of which, I’ve seen the materials for the Open Acupoint Pill. The cost per pill seems to be only eighty Contribution Points, right?’
‘Although the conditions for industrial production are complex, when averaged out, the cost per pill definitely wouldn’t exceed 100 Contribution Points!’
‘The effect of the Open Acupoint Pill is definitely much more exaggerated than this Qi and Blood Pill! And it can be used in the Body Refining Realm.’
‘For someone like Liu Ruoxi, if her meridians were blocked, taking the Red Horse Grass Potion and the Open Acupoint Pill might give her a chance to enter the Qi Gathering Realm!’
‘Thinking this way, I need to release the production method as soon as possible.’
‘After all, the Alien Races dare to be so rampant; time waits for no one!’
‘Mainly to make it convenient for me to make a lot of money, to make my wallet thicker, and to have more zeros at the end of my bank card.’
Just as Bai Yu thought the first half of the auction was meaningless to him.
A Book appeared before his eyes.
The Secret Art of Peace!
It’s here! It’s here! It’s finally here!
“Everyone has some understanding of history; the Secret Art of Peace is related to the historical figure Zhang Jiao from the Three Kingdoms period.”
“According to current research and verification of Ancient God’s Items, the strength of this Ancient God Zhang Jiao is definitely much greater than imagined!”
“As for this item in my hand, it has been detected that by injecting Spiritual Energy with a Lightning Attribute into it, multiple lightning soldiers can be released.”
“In addition, by flipping through this book, one can also see diagrams for Spirit Body cultivation of Lightning System Techniques.”
“It is an Ancient God’s Item with relatively clear functions.”
“The starting bid is ten million, with each bid no less than one million.”
Upon hearing this, Li Yunbin was already poised to raise his paddle.
This item was highly related to Bai Yu, and he was determined to acquire it.
Seeing the Group Leader’s stance, Bai Yu recalled the hint from the intelligence: he needed to see who would compete for this item and catch the Traitor colluding with the Alien Race!
He quickly stopped him: “Captain, don’t rush, I’ll do it myself, I’ll do it myself.”
“Alright, this item must not be missed.”
From the Captain’s tone, it was clear this item had to be acquired.
This also made Bai Yu curious: how did the other him in the Fate Line manage to miss this item?
He couldn’t understand.
Right! Perhaps he didn’t have a Golden Finger, so he didn’t encounter Professor Feng’s situation, nor the White Dragon incident.
He didn’t come into contact with higher-level enemies.
The Seventh Group’s strength was sufficient to deal with current enemies, so Li Yunbin naturally didn’t plan to spend a large sum of money to improve the team’s strength, and Bai Yu felt too embarrassed to borrow a large sum of money; tens of millions would be considered an astronomical price.
Perhaps it was because of the Disaster that was about to occur today that Li Yunbin finally decided to spend so much money!
If that were the case, compared to the original Fate Line, everyone would have many more treasures on hand to deal with today’s crisis.
However, let’s first see who is bidding for this Secret Art of Peace!
Perhaps he could catch a fish.
“Fifteen million!”
“Twenty million!”
“.”
“Twenty-eight million!”
“Thirty-two million!”
Watching the rapidly escalating price, Bai Yu was astonished and simultaneously noticed He Chenming, who had made two consecutive high bids with large increments.
He Chenming was sitting to his right and front. Bai Yu couldn’t help but observe him.
‘All the information matches. This person is highly suspicious, almost certainly the one.’
“Thirty-five million!”
“Thirty-five million! Is anyone bidding higher? This Book is an item of Ancient God Zhang Jiao, and it may contain more than its current functions, hiding undeveloped secrets.”
At this moment, someone suddenly raised a paddle: “Forty million!”
Hearing this voice, Bai Yu instantly looked over.
Wei Wutao!!
Bai Yu couldn’t help but frown. Weren’t these two guys on the same side? Why were they competing?
The bid was so high…
“Forty million once, forty million twice…”
Li Yunbin, standing beside him, couldn’t help but look at Bai Yu, wondering why Bai Yu was hesitating to bid.
Was he scared by forty million?
There’s really no need to worry about this money!
Just as the auctioneer was about to strike the gavel and Li Yunbin was about to make a bid, Bai Yu raised his paddle and shouted, “Forty-five million!”
Because his voice was relatively young, and the bidding price for this item was somewhat high, others couldn’t help but look over.
Bai Yu even heard someone whisper, “Isn’t this the young man who spoke with Professor Kong Shen?”
Professor Kong’s prestige is truly high; just a simple conversation made these Big Bosses notice him.
Wei Wutao, who had bid forty million, also looked over, frowning slightly. But seeing Bai Yu look at him, he put on a smile and then raised his paddle: “Forty-eight million!”
Bai Yu said without hesitation: “Fifty million!”
This was a formal auction, and the attendees were all Big Bosses, so there was no need for verbal sparring.
Everything was decided by financial power.
After stating the price, Bai Yu stared intently at Wei Wutao. Wei Wutao looked back, his smile unchanged, but he was inwardly feeling a bit uneasy.
He wanted to raise his paddle but hesitated, not doing so for a long time.
“Fifty million for the first time, fifty million… for the second time, fifty million…”
The auctioneer’s voice was noticeably drawn out. The person sitting in the front row, Professor Kong Shen, said with a smile, “Xiao Xi, aren’t you being a bit too deliberate?”
The young woman on stage was already in her thirties. Seeing that the great figure Kong Shen had spoken, she felt a bit embarrassed.
“Fifty million for the third time, sold!”
Seeing that the great figure Kong Shen was supporting Bai Yu, Wei Wutao felt a bit uneasy, thinking that his previous bid was too rash and could expose him.
Moreover, he vaguely knew that the great figure Kong Shen’s Ancient God ability was related to fortune-telling. Could he have detected something?
‘Phew~ It seems I need to cut ties with the Alien Race for now.’
He slowly relaxed, thinking that a few small actions might not lead to trouble.
Out of caution, it would be best to avoid any actions for the time being.
Having successfully acquired the item, Bai Yu breathed a sigh of relief.
This item was a win-win. Wei Wutao’s demeanor strongly suggested he was problematic, and he could be investigated thoroughly later.
However, his deposit had directly become negative.
The next few auction items were quite good, each selling for over thirty million, and then it was six o’clock.
There was a one-hour break in between.
Bai Yu could hardly contain his excitement and asked Li Yunbin, “Captain, can I get the goods now?”
“There shouldn’t be any problem. I’ll accompany you to speak with the organizers.”
“Okay!”
Bai Yu considered that in his original Fate Line, he definitely wouldn’t be in a hurry to get the items.
But now, any variable that could improve his strength might change the situation!
After going to the backstage to pay, Bai Yu noted down the debt he owed Li Yunbin.
After obtaining the two items, they arrived at a special cultivation room within the manor.
Inside the cultivation room.
Bai Yu scanned the surroundings. The room was about forty square meters, with specially made stone walls all around, completely visible, making surveillance impossible.
He then looked at the small cauldron and the Secret Art of Peace in his hands and took a deep breath.
“Phew~ They both feel like great treasures! Especially this small cauldron, it’s over 140 kilograms. If my strength wasn’t good now, I might not even be able to lift it.”
Just as Bai Yu was about to take out the Seventh Page from the Secret Art of Peace, he suddenly remembered something.
“Wait! Damn it, the intelligence only mentioned this item, it didn’t mention how to get this page out!”
Thinking this, Bai Yu scratched his head. He first took out the prepared brazier and started a fire.
After hesitating, he placed the page into it.
It’s not afraid of lightning, so fire shouldn’t damage it, right?
As a result, it really couldn’t be burned!!!
“Damn… it seems I can only wait for intelligence?”
He sighed deeply.
“Sigh.”
After considering it, he decided to use his lightning Spiritual Energy to test the book’s so-called lightning soldier summoning ability.
With this thought, he gathered lightning in his right hand and poured it into the book.
He immediately received two pieces of information: one was to form Thunder Talisman Heavenly Soldiers with lightning, and the other was a demonstration of the cultivation technique for Thunder Talisman Heavenly Soldiers, for learning.
“Wait a minute! I seem to be able to continuously pour in lightning Spiritual Energy…”
He suddenly had a third guess.
“Could it be reaching a certain threshold!? This is usually the pattern.”
Thinking this, Bai Yu suddenly became somewhat excited.
