The competition for the Thunder Resonance Fruit was exceptionally fierce. With the addition of Emperor Nian's faction into the fray, the bidding had grown even more cutthroat.
Those rogue cultivators whose treasures had been rejected the day before were now entirely convinced. Just as Young Lord Zhen had said, when their treasures were compared to the ones that had been selected, the gap was unmistakably obvious. Putting their items up at this auction would have truly looked out of place.
Every single item up for bid today surpassed what they had to offer.
The Thunder Resonance Fruit was the twelfth lot — the last of the ordinary treasures. The remaining four were all supreme-grade treasures, even more valuable than this fruit.
As the bidding price continued to climb, many contestants gradually withdrew from the competition.
Among the rogue cultivators, Emperor Ruoyi shook her head with a delicate sigh. "These people are too rich! Brother Hui, when us rogue cultivator heavyweights compare ourselves to the sect titans, we look positively destitute."
Emperor Jingzhong was, after all, ranked among the top three of the six rogue cultivator heavyweights. Within the rogue cultivator world, he was widely considered a wealthy man. But when measured against these sect titans, he couldn't help but admit that his spending was nowhere near as carefree as theirs.
"I'm starting to understand now why Brother Wushuang decided to join Peacock Sacred Mountain," Emperor Jingzhong remarked with a somewhat self-deprecating smile.
Emperor Ruoyi and Emperor Huoyan both turned to glance toward Emperor Wushuang. They saw him looking perfectly composed, wearing a serene and unhurried smile as he watched the lively auction, appearing every bit like a detached observer.
The impression was that Emperor Wushuang had little interest in any of the auction items — because the people of Peacock Sacred Mountain simply didn't participate in auctions.
They had all been figures of comparable fame, yet this stark contrast suddenly left Emperor Huoyan and Emperor Ruoyi with a sense of wistful loss.
By now, the bidding for the Thunder Resonance Fruit had soared past three hundred million Holy Ling Shi.
Jiang Chen watched these people practically bloodshot with competitive fury and found it quite amusing. The Thunder Resonance Fruit was certainly a fine treasure, but at this price, it had clearly far exceeded its actual worth. These people were practically out of spite.
In the end, only three factions remained in the bidding.
One was the Heavenly Dragon Sect, another was the Xia Yu Heavenly Sword Sect, and the third was Emperor Nian's faction.
All three looked determined to win at any cost.
Jiang Chen couldn't understand why Emperor Nian was so fixated. In his view, the Thunder Resonance Fruit was already an extravagant price once it exceeded two hundred million Ling Shi. Now that it had surpassed three hundred million, there was absolutely no reason for Emperor Nian to keep bidding.
Jiang Chen sent a voice transmission to the nearby Emperor Yunzhong. "Yunzhong, go tell Emperor Nian that the Thunder Resonance Fruit is not worth bidding beyond three hundred million. Tell him to withdraw."
Emperor Yunzhong walked over to Emperor Nian and whispered a few words in his ear. Emperor Nian looked thoughtful for a moment before ultimately abandoning the bid with a resigned sigh.
He still trusted Jiang Chen's judgment.
Emperor Yunzhong then deliberately — or perhaps incidentally — cast a meaningful glance toward Han Qiansui, who stood beside the Xia Yu Heavenly Sword Sect Master, Han Qianzhan. Han Qiansui had actually been keeping a close watch on everything happening outside.
Seeing Emperor Yunzhong's meaningful look directed his way, Han Qiansui pondered for a moment, then turned to Han Qianzhan beside him. "Elder Brother, enough is enough."
Han Qianzhan let out a chuckle. "Three hundred and fifty million!"
Long Baxiang of the Heavenly Dragon Sect didn't hesitate for a second. "I bid three hundred and sixty million!"
"Three hundred and seventy million."
"Three hundred and eighty million." Long Baxiang looked as though he had gone completely mad with the competition.
"Fine, then it's yours." Han Qianzhan abruptly changed tack and stopped bidding entirely. This sudden reversal left the entire venue stunned.
Everyone had seen how aggressively Han Qianzhan was bidding — he had looked determined to win at all costs. How had he suddenly dropped out?
Long Baxiang's face lit up with triumph. "Sect Master Han, after all, your Heavenly Sword Sect still falls just a bit short. I told you — nobody was going to snatch this from me."
Han Qianzhan shrugged. "Once it passed two hundred million, I never actually intended to win the Thunder Resonance Fruit. I just wanted to see how deep the Heavenly Dragon Sect's pockets really were. Hahaha."
The smug expression on Long Baxiang's face froze instantly, as if he had been laughing heartily and someone suddenly grabbed him by the throat halfway through.
In that moment, he realized he had been played for a fool.
Jiang Chen, meanwhile, put on his best auctioneer's act. "Three hundred and eighty million going once, three hundred and eighty million going twice… three hundred and eighty million going thrice! Sold! Congratulations, Emperor Baxiang — this Thunder Resonance Fruit now bears the surname Long."
As the auctioneer, Jiang Chen very much wanted to mock Long Baxiang for being a fool with too much money, but he held himself back in the end.
Long Baxiang stared at Jiang Chen's peculiar smile, and the taste in his mouth grew even more bitter. Something about this didn't feel right — he had the distinct impression of having been the sucker.
It was the kind of feeling you got when you accidentally swallowed a fat fly.
"Alright, the twelve Heavenly-grade treasures are now finished. Next come the four supreme-grade treasures. And only after all four supreme-grade treasures have been sold will the auction of the Pine Crane Pill begin."
"The first supreme-grade treasure: one portion of Heavenly-grade Fire Source. What is Heavenly Fire? It is a powerful fire spirit naturally conceived between heaven and earth. Across the myriad worlds, Heavenly Fires are countless. But within the human territories of the Divine Abyss Continent, they are exceedingly rare. Although this particular fire cannot be counted among the very pinnacle of Heavenly Fires, it is still an extraordinarily rare specimen. This fire is called the Rakshasa Flame — a fiercely aggressive fire. It is extremely well suited for cultivators who walk the path of fire. However, it can only be used for killing and cannot be employed in Alchemy. It is, in every sense, a flame of slaughter."