Chapter 870 - Twists and Turns

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio  Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

“What? An elixir that enhances the soul?” someone from the crowd exclaimed.

Then, numerous voices broke out from the crowd. It was like a volcano had erupted! After all, this was unlike the Yellow Springs Root, which was a spiritual item of the universe. Although it was able to enhance Soul Energy, it was hard to come by and was unable to fulfill all of the needs of the martial artists. However, since elixirs were produced from energies, everyone had the chance of acquiring them!

Master Gao nodded lightly, then said, “Right. Soul enhancement is a special effect of the Heart Refining Mortal Dust Liquid, which is an ancient elixir! Besides, it’s also extremely useful for the cultivation of souls!”

Once again, murmuring and exclamations rippled through the crowd.

“It’s impossible!” someone voiced their doubts amid the crowd’s collective shock.

Hu Wangui was the most doubtful of them all. “The elixir recipe for the Heart Refining Mortal Dust Liquid isn’t a secret. I think that all of the big influences hold a copy of its recipe. As to why this elixir hasn’t re-emerged in Jiuzhou even after such a long time, all of us are aware of the reason. So… Isn’t it too early to be happy?”

Hu Wangui had really dampened their spirits. Upon hearing this, a number of people calmed down and started pondering it.

They figured that if the elixir-producing House Yuan had such an elixir recipe in their collection, the big influences in Tianya City surely had it as well. This elixir was not exactly difficult to be manufactured, as it was only a middle-grade elixir. But, the people still wondered why it hadn’t been manufactured for so long.

The reason was that one of its main ingredients had become completely extinct. This ingredient was the Heartbroken Zither Grass! This spiritual grass had been exterminated long ago, thus becoming just a speck of dust in the history of time.

One of the main ingredients of the Dragon Phoenix Spiritual Elixir had also become extinct, but had not been completely wiped out. Thus, it was no wonder that the influence behind Hu Wangui could mass-cultivate the material, as some of it grew in the Glittering Jewel Wonderland.

Nonetheless, the Heartbroken Zither Grass had indeed been annihilated, and the world had not seen it for hundreds of thousands of years. Hence, the re-emergence of the Heart Refining Mortal Dust Liquid was extremely unreasonable, which is what made it so surprising!

Hu Wangui seemed to have seen through the Red Blood Palace’s scheme. “Haha, did you set up this fraud in order to save the situation because you’re too afraid to lose?”

His words caused the crowd to stir. If the Red Blood Palace had really done that, it would not just be an auction that they lost, but also their reputation! After all, nothing was more abominable than instilling hope in people, then causing them to despair right afterward!

The auctioneer then said, “I’m not responsible for convincing you to believe. I’m only in charge of evaluating the authenticity of the auction items. I’ll now draw out three drops and invite three people to come forward and have a taste. The first up will be Shopkeeper Hu, since you are the most doubtful! The second quota can be given to Fairy Ling, who seems genuinely interested in the spiritual liquid! And… Let’s give the last quota to Lady Lü from the Purple Cloud Palace.”

Hu Wangui frowned and sneered. “Great! I do want to try it!”

Fairy Ling put on a cool smile and scanned guest room number two, then said, “Alright. I’ll show its owner some respect by trying it as well.”

However, the woman from the Purple Cloud Palace with the surname Lü kept quiet. She simply jumped up to the platform as gracefully as a divine butterfly, took a drop of the spiritual liquid, and consumed it. The changes on her face could not be discerned, as she was wearing a veil, but delight could be seen in her eyes through the veil.

“It really did enhance the Soul Energy! From the look of its color, smell, taste and its effects, this is truly the Heart Refining Mortal Dust Liquid!” she then exclaimed.

Fairy Ling then consumed the drop of liquid as everyone cast envious looks at her. Blinking her pretty eyes, she said indifferently, “It’s the Heart Refining Mortal Dust Liquid. I will swear to that at the risk of my own reputation.”

The verification by these two women satisfied those who had doubts. After all, Fairy Ling was known for her noble identity, and she had no reason to conspire with the Red Blood Palace to deceive them.

However, there was one more person left, and his judgment was the most important of all. In fact, when Hu Wangui walked up to the stage and examined the item up-close, he knew from experience that it really was the long-extinct Heart Refining Mortal Dust Liquid.

The shock he felt upon realizing this was far greater than the women’s, but he was reluctant to admit it. Then, after a long hesitation, he consumed the liquid drop.

A long while later, he opened his eyes slowly, seeming to be very peaceful. He then nodded his chin lightly, and as the people looked at him expectantly, he said, “Yes, this is indeed the Heart Refining Mortal Dust Liquid.”

A commotion ensued in the audience upon hearing his claim. Even Hu Wangui, who was on the opposing side, had validated the authenticity of the Heart Refining Mortal Dust Liquid! Hence, it must have re-emerged for real!

Right when everyone was immersed in their surprise, Hu Wangui said coldly, “But… The effect of the soul enhancement was too weak! It was not even as great as the Yellow Springs Root. So… Chances of achieving a breakthrough into the Almighty level with it are nearly zero! This ancient Heart Refining Mortal Dust Liquid is very disappointing!”

Everyone that heard this couldn’t help but wonder… Is it possible that the effect was really so weak?

“Fairy Ling, Lady Lü, is this true?” an elderly man with a great reputation asked from his seat among the crowd.

Fairy Ling was calm as she replied, “That’s right. This Heart Refining Mortal Dust Liquid’s effect was fairly ordinary, so I must admit that it seems that the rumors have been exaggerated.”

The woman with the surname Lü from the Purple Cloud Palace lightly nodded her head and said, “Yes, the effect wasn’t as good as the rumors led us to believe.”

The expectant auctioneers’ hearts sank when they heard the unanimous claims.

“Master Gao, I’d like to hear from you…” An onlooker addressed Master Gao, still unwilling to give up.

“What else is there to talk about? It was recovered from some ancient remains, and the medicinal effect has clearly diminished due to years of negligence! It’s ridiculous how the Red Blood Palace tried to turn the tide by misleading people. Everyone, don’t be fooled by such a low-class trick!” Hu Wangui seemed to have seen right through it, and he spoke up before Master Gao could reply.

Whispers spread throughout the crowd, and all of the people were communicating their anxieties and doubts. Upon hearing their murmuring, Hu Wangui smiled coldly. In his mind, he had complete control of the situation now.

“Haha, it’s just like what Shopkeeper Hu said… This vessel of the Heart Refining Mortal Dust Liquid has an ordinary effect, which is slightly inferior to the Yellow Springs Root,” Master Gao agreed with a smile.

The audience calmed down from their agitation upon seeing his unalarmed smile, but disappointment still filled their eyes as they received the confirmation from Master Gao.

Master Gao then went on to explain, “The reason for this is simple… It’s because this is a vessel of a defective sample of the Heart Refining Mortal Dust Liquid! It isn’t due to long years of storage, but a failure in its manufacturing!”

As Master Gao spoke, his eyes were bright as the sun, emitting a radiant light. He then added, “I can guarantee with my reputation that the refining period of this spiritual liquid didn’t exceed five days! In other words, it was refined by the modern martial artists!”

What? Upon hearing this, hopeful gleams crept into the crowd’s disappointed eyes once again.

Hu Wangui sneered. “Really? How about you show us one that is refined successfully if you’re truly capable?”

Master Gao nodded without hesitation and said, “As you wish!”

As he clapped his hands, another female servant, who was on standby by the side, came forward, holding a jade box in her hands. In contrast to the dark purple spiritual liquid in the jade vessel, the liquid in the jade box was lilac in color, and it was dreamily resplendent. As such, its color fit the color description of the Heart Refining Mortal Dust Liquid more precisely.

Lady Lü’s bright eyes emitted a look of surprise as she gazed at the jade box with delight. At the same time, a bright light flashed in Fairy Ling’s eyes as she glanced over to guest room number two!

“This is the perfect Heart Refining Mortal Dust Liquid that was refined successfully. According to the elixir gradings, it belongs to the third grade, which is fairly high. What’s most precious about it is that it’s completely free of impurities, which indicates that the manufacturer achieved a paramount mastery in the extraction of elixirs, which comparable to the effect of the State of Transfiguration!” Master Gao was being quite generous with his praise.

He then added, “I’ve tested it myself, and its effect on soul enhancement exceeds double that of the Yellow Springs Root! One who’s reached the ninth-grade fairy only needs to consume 100 drops of it, and they can train their Soul Energy to perfection, thus fulfilling the requirement to break through to the Almighty level!”

Master Gao sounded excited. As a treasure appraiser, nothing pleased him more than discovering a priceless treasure with his own hands!

“Double the effect of the Yellow Springs Root!” an onlooker exclaimed, while others from the crowd exhaled sharply in surprise upon hearing this.

At the moment, the jade box had become the center of everyone’s focus. No one could tear their eyes from it.

“Right now, both sets of the Heart Refining Mortal Dust Liquid will be auctioned together. The bottom price for the defective version is 50 crystals, and no bid can be less than five crystals! As for the perfect version, the bottom price is 100 crystals, and no bid can be less than 10 crystals! The bidding starts now!” Master Gao proclaimed, clearly in high spirits.

After all the twists and turns so far, the Heart Refining Mortal Dust Liquid had finally ignited desire in everyone’s heart! This was especially the case for the ninth-grade fairies, who had been in prolonged stagnation. They now regarded it as the turning point of their lives, and all of them joined in the bidding.

Both the defective and perfect versions were being intensely fought over. After some time, the price of the defective version had been raised from 50 to 100 crystals! As for the perfect one, its price had shot up to 500 crystals from its original price of 100!

And… The price kept rising! At first, many artists were only watching the fun, without caring much about the auction. Also, most of them did not have enough crystals with them and could only watch as the price skyrocketed, having no choice but to quit the bidding halfway through. This caused many of them to be sick with remorse, realizing that they had missed a golden opportunity.

A while later, both sets of the Heart Refining Mortal Dust Liquid had been auctioned. The defective one was sold at a high price of 150 crystals. As for the perfect one, its price shot up to an extremely high price of 800 crystals!

The Heart Refining Mortal Dust Liquid was a middle-grade spiritual elixir. Normally, the low-grade spiritual elixirs were worth 10 crystals, the middle-grade were worth 100, and the top-grade were worth around 1,000.

However, a middle-grade spiritual elixir like the Heart Refining Mortal Dust Liquid was sold at the sky-high price of similar top-grade elixirs! So, it was obvious how extremely sought-after the elixir liquid was!

Even then, this price was such because the auction house had kept the auction secret on purpose, not making it known to the public. Otherwise, it would have attracted even more people’s interest, and the price could have risen up to 1,000 crystals!

The defective liquid was purchased by a ninth-grade fairy, while the perfect liquid was sold to Gongsun Wuxie, the wealthy young lady. Although the auction had officially ended, everyone was still caught up in the excitement of it all.

“Master Gao, is this spiritual liquid still on sale?” one of the martial artists who did not manage to purchase it asked. Several others asked this same question, as everyone was clearly unwilling to reconcile that they had missed this chance.

Master Gao looked over to guest room number two, then said, “It’s better to let the owner of the spiritual liquid answer this question…”

Instantly, all eyes were riveted on the guest room, where Su Yu was. Fairy Ling’s eyes glimmered as she thought… The owner of the spiritual liquid is really in there!

Hu Wangui was startled upon hearing this and asked, “What? How could it be him?”

Fei Hang and Yu Linglong were shocked too, and Fei Hang exclaimed, “It’s Su Yuxian!”

They could not have imagined that the owner of the final item was the unknown shopkeeper of a small elixir store, Su Yuxian! At that moment, a ferocious light flickered in Hu Wangui’s eyes, and his heart was beating wildly.

All he could think at that moment was… This person must be gotten rid of!

The effect brought about by the Heart Refining Mortal Dust Liquid was too overpowering. Once it was refined on a grand scale, it would certainly draw an insane amount of profits.

They had gone to great lengths to oppress the Red Blood Palace, but now it had a chance of retaliating! This unknown brat, who came out of nowhere, had overturned their victorious outcome!

Hu Wangui was very decisive. So, after giving it only a moment’s thought, he, along with the three people around him, charged toward Su Yu.

At the same time, Fairy Ling laughed with delight, then said, “You’ve finally shown yourself!”

Then, with a flash of her gorgeous shadow, she also charged toward guest room number two. Judging from her mannerisms, it appeared that she was about to capture Su Yu and question him about the whereabouts of Heartbroken Zither Grass!

Following their leads, some ill-intentioned people used the chaos as a shield and charged toward guest room number two as well, all with the hopes of seeing the expert who had recovered the Heart Refining Mortal Dust Liquid with their own eyes!

All of a sudden, the place erupted in complete chaos!

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