Madam Man waved her hand, and behind her, a group from the Purifying Flame Hall had already brought a young man dressed in alchemist's robes onto the stage.
The moment Jiang Chen laid eyes on that long-unseen face, his heart surged with emotion.
It was him. It really was Mu Gaoqi. Though they had not met in years, and though Mu Gaoqi had fallen into slavery, that ethereal bearing about him remained just as it had always been.
Only, his face now carried a few more shades of repression, a few more traces of sorrow. He looked weighed down by heavy thoughts.
And yet, the natural air of the Innate Wood Spirit Physique was unmistakable.
"As you can all see, this is Master Mu, presented by the Star Plucking Gang. A raw jade born with the Innate Wood Spirit Physique. Now, it is time for all of you to demonstrate your prowess!" Madam Man stirred the crowd with her characteristically impassioned words.
"Old Mo, this Master Mu's Innate Wood Spirit Physique is crucial for refining the Pine Crane Pill. If he had not encountered my master, a Pill King with the Innate Wood Spirit Physique could absolutely produce a Pine Crane Pill. Who knows—his Innate Wood Spirit Physique might even help heal your Dao companion's injuries." In his excitement, a sudden inspiration struck Jiang Chen, and he transmitted his voice to the Peerless Emperor.
Upon hearing this, the Peerless Emperor's expression shifted. He turned toward Jiang Chen with a questioning gaze.
Jiang Chen met Mo Wushuang's eyes without hesitation and gave a slight nod.
The Peerless Emperor nodded. "Rest assured. I will make sure he is won. No one can stop it."
Jiang Chen had originally worried he might not be able to hold his ground, but binding the Peerless Emperor to his side made things far more secure.
Perhaps there were things he could not accomplish with wealth alone, but with the Peerless Emperor's deterrence, they could be achieved after all.
"Old Mo, you may step forward. No matter how many Spirit Stones it costs, I will foot the bill in the end. All I ask is that this Master Mu is won—he is incredibly important to me."
"I understand." The Peerless Emperor's resolute gaze gave Jiang Chen his answer.
The Innate Wood Spirit Physique was not only a supreme gift for alchemy but also for healing. On this point, Jiang Chen had not been speaking entirely without basis.
However, though Mu Gaoqi's current alchemy cultivation was decent, it was only at the mid-rank Pill King level. Treating the Peerless Emperor's Dao companion's injuries with Mu Gaoqi's current strength would likely not be enough.
But that did not matter. Jiang Chen had the Wood Spirit Spring. The spring was a naturally occurring healing treasure. Even back when Huang'er had suffered the Hundred Lives Shared Heart Curse—a curse of horrifying power—the baptism of the Wood Spirit Spring had been able to suppress it.
The Wood Spirit Spring could almost be called the holiest spring under heaven, embodying the vibrant, flourishing vitality of the wood attribute.
For treating illness and healing injuries, it was perfectly suited.
A starting price of three hundred million was not high, so the bidding was ferocious from the very beginning. In just a few rounds, the price had already surged past five hundred million.
Given this momentum, it would likely take no less than a billion to finally secure the lot.
One had to say, the competition for alchemy prodigies in Alchemy Fire City had reached a level of near-madness. Mu Gaoqi himself would never have believed, back when he was at Dan Qian Palace, that he could one day be worth so much. After all, not a single person at Dan Qian Palace—not even Palace Master Dan Chi or Elder Yun Nie, those titans of the sect—could produce five hundred million Holy Spirit Stones.
Five hundred million Yuan Spirit Stones, perhaps they could manage. But five hundred million Holy Spirit Stones? A Fourth-Rank Sect's heavyweight would truly never possess that kind of wealth.
Moreover, judging by the way things were going, the final auction price would certainly exceed five hundred million.
The bids in the hall continued to climb. Before long, the price broke through six hundred million.
Then seven hundred million.
Only after the bids surpassed eight hundred million did the frenzied momentum finally begin to slow. Still, a handful of factions continued to vie with one another, placing bids one after another.
But by then, the increments were no longer the dramatic leaps seen earlier. Instead, they ground forward at ten million per bid.
Before long, the price exceeded nine hundred million.
At that moment, Jiang Chen spoke. "One billion."
This single bid instantly shattered the stalemate that had taken hold. The atmosphere in the hall erupted once more.
"Him again? This Champion Shao really is filthy rich."
"Is he planning to blow every last stone he earned from the Bounty Arena?"
"Tsk, tsk—rich is rich. One billion. Heavens, if that were my money, I could spend a lifetime and never use it all."
"One billion—this is the first lot today to hit the billion mark! Looks like nothing less than twelve hundred million will seal the deal!"
"Madness, absolute madness. The Star Plucking Gang must be grinning from ear to ear. Back when they bought Master Mu, they probably didn't pay more than twenty million Holy Spirit Stones, did they?"
"That's a true windfall."
"The Star Plucking Gang has always been known for their business sense. But this time, they've truly struck gold."
Jiang Chen's way of bidding always left his competitors in despair. True to form, under the weight of his billion-stone bid, two more factions whose resolve had already been wavering fell completely silent.
Apart from Jiang Chen, only three factions remained.
Those three seemed determined to win Mu Gaoqi at any cost.