Chapter Ninety-Two: Astronomical Price

At last, the wait was over.

Tu Lu’s spirit lifted at once.

But when the slightly plump elder swept his gaze across the crowd, and saw how little enthusiasm there was, he only smiled faintly.

“Fellow daoists may think that botanical spirits are of little worth, but I believe once you hear what these are, you will understand. These three botanical spirits are absolutely fine treasures no less valuable than the Thundercloud Halberd.”

“They are the Substitute Calamity Flower, the Substitute Calamity Herb, and the Substitute Life Fruit.”

“What?”

“The Substitute Life Fruit?”

“The stuff of legend!”

The hall fell silent for an instant, then erupted at once.

The slightly plump elder was exceedingly pleased with the effect, and smiled again.

“Just as you have guessed, the Substitute Calamity Flower can ward off curses and poisons; the Substitute Calamity Herb can dispel heavenly tribulation and dao wounds; and the Substitute Life Fruit can even stand in for death itself, dissolving the calamity of life and death!”

“These three botanical spirits are companion-born treasures, and so they will be auctioned together. The reserve price is one million Thunderstones, and each bid must be no less than one hundred thousand!”

At this, Tu Lu’s face changed drastically.

Yet the allure of these three botanical spirits far exceeded his imagination.

Before he could even recover, the price had already been driven up to three million.

Wu Hao narrowed his eyes as well. “I did not expect the Heavenly Dragon Hall to have such plans. The Substitute Calamity Flower need not be mentioned for now, but the Substitute Calamity Herb and Substitute Calamity Fruit are both things one can only encounter by chance and never seek. Especially the Substitute Calamity Fruit—it is equivalent to having one more life. Its value is immense; even those Transformation Realm Venerables, and perhaps even the Divine Transformation Sovereigns, would likely go all out.”

Tu Lu clenched his teeth and asked, “Brother Wu, I only need the Substitute Calamity Flower. Can I negotiate with whoever wins the bid?”

“I’m afraid that’s unrealistic.” Wu Hao shook his head.

“Unless the winner is a Sovereign of extremely high standing, this kind of thing is a hot potato for anyone. These old foxes are too seasoned to reveal their identities, let alone make a private deal with you.”

Tu Lu’s heart sank completely.

By now the price had already exceeded five million. Although there were far fewer bidders, the bids were still climbing.

Nothing was more precious than life, and these Divine Transformation Venerables were fighting with all they had.

Wu Hao listened to the bids and suddenly said, “Brother Tu, I can try making a move, but I’m not certain I can win it. Even if I do, I can only hand the Substitute Calamity Flower and Substitute Calamity Herb to you; the Substitute Life Fruit must stay with me, or I will have no way to answer to my family.”

“Many thanks, Brother Wu!”

Tu Lu was overjoyed.

Wu Hao nodded and was about to speak.

But Tu Lu hurriedly said, “Wait.”

Wu Hao was startled. At that moment, from Tu Lu’s true body seated in the ordinary section, a voice suddenly rang out.

“Six million!”

The entire venue fell silent at once.

Everyone turned to look. After the price climbed above one million, those who could bid were basically only the big shots in the private rooms on the honored tier, but this six million bid had come from the ordinary seats.

Yet when they saw it was merely a body-forging junior, all of them frowned.

“What kind of fool is allowed to bid in the first place? Absolute nonsense!”

From a private room in the honored tier came a displeased voice.

“Ahem.”

The slightly plump elder said awkwardly, “Fellow daoists, any bidder must demonstrate sufficient financial strength, or they will be regarded as troublemakers and expelled from the auction. May I ask whether this fellow daoist truly has six million Thunderstones?”

At this, Tu Lu’s true body turned pale, as if only then realizing what he had done. He clenched his teeth, revealing a look of unwillingness.

Then he slunk out of the auction in disgrace.

Seeing this, the slightly plump elder grew even more embarrassed.

“All right, please continue.”

“Six million two hundred thousand!”

“Six million five hundred thousand!”

...

“Enough.”

Not long after, Tu Lu opened his eyes and spoke.

“Just for show, to the one surnamed Zi?” Wu Hao asked.

Tu Lu nodded.

By now, the price of the three botanical spirits had already been driven up to seven million, but the pace of bidding had clearly slowed.

Even on the private-room side, bids came only after long intervals.

At this moment, Wu Hao smiled faintly and called out, “Ten million!”

“What?”

Everyone turned toward Wu Hao’s private room.

Many Divine Transformation Venerables furrowed their brows.

Ten million—this was already the entirety of most Transformation Realm Venerables’ wealth. The issue was no longer whether they wanted to contend, but that they could not afford to.

“Hmph, ten million one hundred thousand. I don’t know who the fellow daoist in that private room is, but please show some respect!”

Wu Hao did not even blink.

“Twelve million. If any of you can bid higher than that, then this young master will not continue.”

This time, the entire hall fell silent.

Even those Divine Transformation Venerables dared not speak.

Because they... could not afford to follow.

If not for the latter half of his words, they might still have said something unpleasant to spite Wu Hao, but with that added, they no longer dared.

If Wu Hao truly stopped bidding, they would not be able to produce so many Thunderstones at once, even if they wanted to.

Much less spend their entire fortunes to buy the Substitute Calamity Fruit. Whether it was truly worth it or not, they would have to consider carefully.