Chapter 1097: Motives and Strategies
Over in the chamber of the Li Clan at the other end.
Li Xiangsi had already whacked the head of someone next to him with his palm, berating him. "Shut up and just watch if you don't know who he is! For god's sake, that's the son of the Medicine Valley Master! You will offend the entire Medicine Valley if you offend him! If he really gets angry, our Li Clan can forget about getting any medicine from the Medicine Valley from now on!"
"He's the Little Saint Doctor?" All the Li Clan members were taken aback. "Surely not? The Valley Master is already so old, how can he have such a young son?"
Li Xiangsi snorted and said, "It is rumored that back in the days, the Little Saint Doctor invented a kind of appearance-retaining potion for his mother to preserve eternal youth. But he was worried about the effects of the potion, so he downed a bottle of it himself first and became like this. The potion was obviously a failure, so it was never heard of ever again."
After that, he raised his voice and called out, "Please go on, Young Valley Master. I have already punished this ignorant subordinate of mine, and I hope that the Medicine Valley does not take it to heart."
The Young Valley Master snorted coldly in response and then placed the matter aside, before going on to say, "Just one more reminder to everyone, and that is... To ensure everyone's safety during the auction today, if anyone is found behaving suspiciously, no matter who it is, the Medicine Valley will blacklist him and his clan and will not sell any medicine to them for life!"
After he finished the reminder with the stuffiest demeanor, he said, "The first item up for auction is the white-bearded ginseng." Pinching it carefully with two fingers, he lifted the white-bearded ginseng from the Purple Crystal case and gave it a little wave before placing it back into the case.
This action looked less like something from an auction but more like a magic show instead.
Everyone was rather confused. What kind of treasure could the white-bearded ginseng count as? This junk could be found anywhere! Why would they bring it to such a prestigious auction?
The next moment, the Young Valley Master picked up a piece of paper from within the Purple Crystal case. "This is the certificate of evaluation from the high priest himself."
As he said that, he unfolded the piece of paper and held it before him, reciting the contents out loud, all prim and proper.
Chu Yang died of laughter immediately.
This guy didn't even bother to introduce the item, instead choosing to just recite from a ready-made script! Could he get any lazier... This was the first time he had ever seen such an auctioneer.
He went on to say, "This is white-bearded ginseng originating from the Black Blood Forest. White-bearded ginseng can be used as an ingredient in elixirs after fifty years, with the effect of revitalizing internal energy and nourishing the body. However, this particular white-bearded ginseng is a phenomenal article that has survived three thousand years in the Black Blood Forest. The roots have turned white and the body is black, as if the night sky. Its medicinal properties are rich and abundant, and may be used in place of a ten thousand years-old blood ginseng. Its pharmacology and medicinal effectiveness exceed that of the ten thousand years-old blood ginseng by a fair bit. Category — middle-grade Heavenly Treasure! Martial Artists who consume it can increase their cultivation experience by three hundred years, and increase their lifespan by more than three hundred years!"
He raised his head and said indifferently, "White-bearded ginseng, starting bid, 5,000 Purple Crystals! Please call your bids!"
Everyone was in a state of stupor!
White-Bearded ginseng that survived three thousand years in the Black Blood Forest! Medicinal effectiveness that exceeded that of a ten thousand years-old blood ginseng! What an impressive item this was!
A ten thousand years-old blood ginseng was already unanimously considered a high-grade Heavenly Treasure in the Nine Heavens. But to the high priest, this white-bearded ginseng that was more effective than a ten thousand years-old blood ginseng was only categorized as middle-grade!
Just how... was this possible? How could white-bearded ginseng even grow for three thousand years?
But the high priest's certificate of evaluation couldn't be fraudulent!
No one was more of an expert in the field of medicinal herbs than the high priest in this world. Moreover, to publicize the certificate of evaluation in front of so many people, his choice of words must already lean towards a humbler tone and would never have exaggerated. Because the moment any hint of fraud were to be discovered, the reputation of Medicine Valley would be destroyed along with it too!
The high priest would never fool around with the reputation of Medicine Valley which had been built over several tens of thousands of years.
In that case, this would mean only one thing — this white-bearded ginseng was the absolute real deal! And definitely possessed such capabilities!
On stage, the auctioneer's hammer was already raised. Stiff as a board, he said, "Since everyone is silent, should no one call out any bid after the third and final call, this white-bearded ginseng shall be declared unsold! Going once, going twice..."
"Wait!"
Someone shouted anxiously.
Everyone else also broke out in cold sweat. When he said that he would be very fast in counting down, they really had no concept of the speed he spoke of. Now that they did, what the hell, he practically spared no hesitation at all!
If it had been any other regular item, there probably wouldn't be anything not left unsold...
If any other auction house were to hire him as an auctioneer, the boss must definitely have something loose in their head. They should count their lucky stars if he didn't squander away all the family assets...
"I bid 6,000 Purple Crystals!" someone shouted. Everyone looked over to see a big man with a curly mustache standing with a sign lifted in his hand.
Diwu Qingrou turned to the elder next to him. "Bid 8,000!"
The elder was taken by surprise for a moment before he immediately called out, "The Diwu Clan bids 8,000 Purple Crystals!" The price was increased by a good 2,000 Purple Crystals in one motion, indicating Diwu Qingrou's determination to win.
The moment he heard the words 'Diwu Clan', Chu Yang glanced out from his chamber and Diwu Qingrou's lean and intelligent-looking face entered his line of vision.
Chu Yang's pupils contracted ever so slightly and then a smile crept up his face. It was Chu Yang's request to the Medicine Valley to especially send an invitation to the Diwu Clan.
And now, Diwu Qingrou was indeed here.
Chu Yang had a slight smile on his face as he thought to himself that the Diwu Clan was indeed short of elixirs after all.
The auctioneer on stage held his hammer high as he yelled, "Bids? Bids? Any more bids?" In the blink of an eye after the three calls, he immediately shouted, "Going once! Going twice! Going thrice! Sold!"
"Thump!"
The hammer fell!
Everyone was drenched in perspiration.
This quick and decisive pace... Others probably hadn't even weighted their gains and losses and he actually already let the hammer fall so resoundingly.
In the time that followed, Diwu Qingrou made his move without stopping. 8,000 for the first, 10,000 for the second, 18,000 for the third... and won thirteen types of elixirs successively! Spending a grand total of 400,000 Purple Crystals!
Thereafter, Diwu Qingrou turned contemplative.
"The price is getting higher and higher. While it's not that we cannot afford it, we would end up offending others if we were to bid. Our Diwu Clan cannot afford to make enemies that are too powerful yet, so our gains from this auction shall cease here."
Diwu Qingrou remarked calmly.
"Why? That's such a pity!" The Supreme Martial Artist at his back still could not really understand what Diwu Qingrou was thinking. The grade of the elixirs was getting increasingly higher and though they were still stated as mid-grade, everyone could tell that they already far exceeded the usual benchmark of what was considered mid-grade, be it the effectiveness, price or other factors!
The hammer price was already more than 25,000 Purple Crystals!
Furthermore, Diwu Qingrou was on a roll right now. The moment he called a bid, no one would compete against him! The clan was in dire need of these, so why was Diwu Qingrou giving up this opportunity? They had brought a full two million Purple Crystals today too.
Diwu Qingrou closed his eyes. He said impassively, "The first wave of goods is a throwaway, the kind that is considered to be of standard to the Nine Super Clans, but not worth investing huge amounts of money and lowering their status to fight for. It is obvious that they are intended for the smaller clans. That is why I did not hesitate to use our absolute advantage and devoured them all! The real show after this is not something that we can stomach. Moreover, us acquiring these is just right, neither too much nor too little, able to satisfy our needs for quite a long time but will not raise any suspicions."
He continued, "One must be content! Only take what you can stomach, for fear of overeating and die from bloating. Poverty will not take a man's life but once you are well-to-do, you will be able to take a man's life."
Seeing that the Diwu Clan was no longer bidding, Chu Yang's eyes intentionally or otherwise flitted over every now and again. When he saw that Diwu Qingrou indeed did not have the intention to bid any further, Chu Yang sighed inwardly, a little disappointed and secretly impressed at the same time.
He shook his head and mentally canceled this phase of his plan! He gestured in mid-air the character for 'tolerance'.
A little disappointed, Dong Wushang gave a little shake of his head before looking at Mo Lei'er. On the accounts book, she wrote a few words —'Diwu, high level of tolerance', followed by a mark of emphasis.
Chu Yang looked away from Diwu Qingrou and instead started to frown, as if pondering over something.
This move was, at present, half a success and half a failure.
The success was in the Diwu Clan's acute lack of elixirs, while the failure was in Diwu Qingrou's own perseverance. Chu Yang abandoned the plan at once, in favor of an alternative.
As expected, the herbs up for auction subsequently were of an increasingly higher grade. Three of them were consecutively won at high prices by another Wang Clan.
However, Diwu Qingrou could already feel, clear as day, that in the highest level of the three classes of chambers, eyes starting to move around the whole venue.
Thick discomfiting waves of aura, bringing with them their owner's strong displeasure, swept to and fro across the venue.
Diwu Qingrou's eyes flickered. The moment a clan bidded more than once on something, he would detect and trace the aura to its respective owner. A precise web of data started to slowly take form inside his mind.
The Zhao Clan had already stepped on the Li Clan's toes. Before the Li Clan could call out a bid, the article that they were eyeing was already snatched by the Zhao Clan...
The Wu Clan's bid this time seemed to have angered the Yè Clan...
All these seemed to have no connection to each other, but Diwu Qingrou instead linked them all to the terrain, strengths and weaknesses, and self-interests of each respective Super Clan. In no time at all, a mental list of potential candidates whom he could, according to these factors and various circumstances, make use of, sow dissension among, use as a scapegoat, or frame and set up, etc... formed within his mind.
Chu Yang's brows were furrowed as he schemed and plotted.
Diwu Qingrou's brows were similarly drawn together too as he schemed, plotted and strategized.
If anyone were to observe these two at the same time, they would surely discover that these two were doing the exact same thing right now! In fact, even their analysis of the pros and cons in their minds varied little from each other!
...
Since these were all treasures anyway, some clans basically waited with their mouths open, ready to shout the moment the starting price was announced. They had the same mindset — there was no loss no matter what they were to buy anyway!
Since they so conveniently encountered such a silly and inexperienced auctioneer, they would be a fool not to quickly call out their bids.
On the fifteenth level, the few Super Clans opened their mouths but before they could even call out their bids, the items were already won by others. Yet they couldn't bring themselves to fight with these people, so they could only watch as the elixirs disappear from them.
Below, many were beaming with joy, completely unaware that tempers were already quietly flaring in the upper levels with great danger lurking in the dark! And thus, the foundation for a fatal disaster was so easily laid down.