Nine Star Hegemon Body Art c1-2048
Page 43
But now just a second tier pill had stumped him. He looked at it forever, even taking out a few small testing tools.
After a bit, Qian Fu’s expression became a bit embarrassed. He didn’t know what this pill was, which was a slap in the face to his status as an appraiser.
Qian Fu’s display was within Long Chen’s expectations. This Flesh Bone Restoration Pill was an extremely unknown kind of medicinal pill according to his Pill Sovereign memories.
Long Chen had had to refine 217 medicinal ingredients in order to condense it.
Those ingredients might not have been all that precious, but that pill formula was exceedingly amazing in the manner that it managed to add up the different medicinal ingredients’ energy to form a unique effect.
Sometimes, there were only a couple of things that needed to be refined. Sometimes, there were just a dozen ingredients that needed to be refined into powder and then, combined together in specific ways in order to refine a pill. But the difficulty of this pill was something many people could only lament at.
When he had refined the Flesh Bone Restoration Pill, it was the first time Long Chen had sensed how broad and profound the Pill Dao was. Various medicinal ingredients could be refined together to have different effects. To be able to find the correct combinations and processes was a god-like craft.
“Cough, if I’m not mistaken, then this should be a healing pill with shockingly great effect.”
Although he wasn’t able to say the name of the pill, Qian Fu still managed to figure out its effect after examining it for so long. He was not an incompetent appraiser. However, he was unable to tell exactly how great the pill’s effect was.
His face was rather red. If he wasn’t able to say what its effect was, then he wouldn’t be able to bring it out to auction. If even he wasn’t clear on its effect, then wouldn’t it be like cheating others to bring it out to auction? That would greatly hurt the Huayun Pavilion’s reputation.
Qian Fu had spent over thirty years as the Huayun Pavilion’s medicinal pill appraiser. He had read through countless tomes and archives. He knew third tier pills and below like the back of his hand. But today had completely toppled his confidence.
“I’m extremely sorry young master, but I am unable to state the name of this medicinal pill, and I’m not clear on its exact medicinal nature. Therefore, we cannot accept this pill.”
Long Chen didn’t overly react to this. However, Fu Gui’s face was completely green. If Long Chen had nothing to auction, then his profit this time would fly away.
“This medicinal pill’s name is the Flesh Bone Restoration Pill. It’s a marvelous medicine for treating outer wounds,” smiled Long Chen.
“I truly am sorry, but even if you say its name, we still can’t accept it.” Qian Fu once more apologized. He had no other choice since he couldn’t risk the reputation of the entire Huayun Pavilion.
After all, it wasn’t as if they could accept whatever he said. If there was even the slightest error, all of Qian Fu’s future prospects would sink.
“No problem. The main thing is that you aren’t able to estimate the medicinal pill’s exact nature, right? I can show it to you,” laughed Long Chen.
“Show it to us?” Qian Fu and Fu Gui were both puzzled.
“Sorry for this.”
Long Chen suddenly took out a long blade and in front of their shocked expressions, chopped it at Fu Gui.
Blood splattered everywhere.
[1] Recall that Fu Gui essentially means rich. People tend to give their pets literal names; for example, someone might name a cat Maomao meaning furry, just like how in English someone might name a cat Fluffy.
[2] Qian=Money Fu=Fortune/Plenty, together meaning plenty of money.
Chapter 54 Auction
The midday sun shined down upon the Huayun Pavilion, making it appear even more majestic and grand than usual. Even though it was scorching hot, countless people still flocked over.
At the front of the Huayun Pavilion was a huge auction hall that was already completely full. Those who were capable of being invited over were all extremely rich, had high statuses, or were true experts.
“Haha, this is my first time attending the Huayun Pavilion’s auction. It really is exciting.” Shou Hou was in a private room looking towards the outside eagerly.
Shi Feng, Fatty Yu, and the others weren’t much better than Shou Hou at controlling their excitement. They could see out of their glass room, allowing them to clearly observe every single thing that was happening outside, but no one was able to see into their glass room.
They could see that all the famous and powerful people within the capital had come. Normally, those were people they could only look up at, but now those people were only able to sit amongst the crowd while they sat in a private room above them.
“We only got here because of Long Chen’s fame. Otherwise, we probably would never get to have this kind of treatment in our entire lifetime.” Shi Feng sighed.
Shi Feng had already made a complete recovery. But despite that, Shi Feng had still never received such a hard blow.
After that loss last time, Shi Feng had worked hard to recover and managed to profit from the disaster. His determination had become even stronger, and he had broken through repeatedly, advancing to the third Heavenstage of Blood Condensation. He was only one step away from entering the mid Blood Condensation realm.
Even Shi Feng’s father was merely at the mid Blood Condensation realm. Thus, he had great expectations for Shi Feng.
Actually, the reason Shi Feng was able to advance so quickly was both because of his own effort and also because of Long Chen’s medicinal pills.
Shi Feng’s defeat and suffering had been due to his relationship with Long Chen. That had caused Long Chen to feel a bit ashamed, and he had secretly given Shi Feng a Foundation Establishment Pill.
That had allowed him to completely stabilize and steady his foundation. The powerful medicinal effect had allowed him to easily break through his shackles, allowing him to repeatedly advance.
“Right, why would the Huayun Pavilion treat you so importantly, brother Long? Why would they give you such a luxurious room?” Shi Feng was a bit puzzled.
The auction hall could fit tens of thousands of people, but there were only just over ten private rooms. Those were reserved for exceedingly important guests. It was reasonable to say that Long Chen had yet to reach the position where he was qualified for a private room.
“You think they gave us a private room for nothing? Once the auction starts, we’ll have to start spending some crazy money,” laughed Long Chen.
“That’s not possible! Everything at this yearly auction is incredibly valuable. Even if we sold ourselves, we still wouldn’t be able to buy anything,” said Shi Feng.
“Hmph, we couldn’t auction you off even if we wanted to. With your figure, it’d be better to sell you in pieces,” joked fatty Yu. “We’re with brother Long! What are you worried about?”
Long Chen laughed, “Don’t worry. No one’s going to come and kick us out. Oh? Even he has come.”
What surprised Long Chen was that he suddenly saw a familiar figure - Xia Changfeng.
Long Chen ground his teeth. That bastard still hadn’t left! The current Xia Changfeng had already returned to his free and easy manner. He was currently laughing and talking with crown prince Chu Yang.
Behind them was also a beautiful woman - the one Long Chen had defeated in a pill battle, Xia Baichi.
There were also several guards around them. Those guards were all young and under thirty, but despite that, they were all Blood Condensation experts.
And when Long Chen’s gaze fell on one of those men, he felt a familiar spiritual fluctuation.
That fluctuation caused him to think back to the beginning when he had defeated Li Hao. A man in a bamboo hat had used a secret weapon to kill Li Hao to prevent him from leaking any secrets.
He had been wearing a hat that had covered his face, and he had
moved extremely quickly, but as an alchemist, Long Chen’s Spiritual Strength was extremely sensitive.
He didn’t need to see that person’s face. He could rely solely on that spiritual fluctuation to identify the person. That was because each person’s spiritual fluctuation was different. This was a special ability of alchemists, similar to a scent dog’s nose. He could not be mistaken.
“So, he’s actually one of the crown prince’s people.” Long Chen’s eyes narrowed. Could Chu Yang be the mastermind behind all this? But even as he came up with this thought, the crown prince had already brought Xia Changfeng into another private room.
“Look, the fourth prince has come too!” said Shou Hou.
Looking through the glass walls, Long Chen saw that the fourth prince had also come with another group of princes. However, he didn’t see Chu Feng. Most likely he was holed up cultivating.
The fourth prince and the other princes also entered a private room; however, it was a different private room than the one the crown prince and Xia Changfeng had entered.
“Hehe, today we get to feel how the princes feel every day,” joked Shou Hou. For them to be able to also sit in a private room just like people on the level of the princes was a very great honor.
They all knew that the reason the princes could enter a private room was because of their high statuses and how much money they possessed.
At this moment, a slender man walked into the auction hall. He had a fair complexion, and despite being already in his forties, he still appeared very handsome.
But that handsomeness seemed rather feminine. For this kind of femininity to appear on a man caused Long Chen to feel a bit cold.
As soon as that person entered, the noisy hall immediately became much more suppressed. Many people completely shut their mouths.
“That person is one of the most powerful experts in the Phoenix Cry Empire. Marquis Ying Zhao,” said Shi Feng with some difficulty.
Marquis Ying Zhao, Martial Wu Yi, and Marquis Long Tianxiao were the three top experts in the Phoenix Cry Empire. Normally, they were called Marquis Ying, Marquis Wu, and the Border Suppression Marquis.
Long Chen’s heart shook, and he turned to get a better look at that feminine man. That person was just as famous as his own father.
At the same time, he recalled what Chu Yao had told him about Marquis Ying being in charge of their training. He didn’t know if it was that person who had given him his own affliction.
As Long Chen was examining Marquis Ying, Marquis Ying suddenly raised his head to look over in his direction. A ray of light shot out of his narrow eyes, and his gaze seemed to penetrate straight through the wall.
Long Chen’s heart jumped. His perception truly was sharp, worthy of being one of the top experts in the Phoenix Cry Empire. Although he wasn’t a pill cultivator, his sensitivity and perception were shocking.
After glancing over at their private room, Marquis Ying acted as if nothing had happened and walked into another private room.
A couple of shocking people also arrived one after another and were allowed to enter a private room. According to Shi Feng, those people included a rich merchant as well as some authorities.
Long Chen nodded. The Huayun Pavilion’s auction was only for rare, expensive items... Having such high-end customers was completely normal for them.
“Welcome everyone to our Huayun Pavilion’s yearly meeting. I am the chief auctioneer of the Huayun Pavilion.”
A flowery voice rang out and drew the attention of the hall. The curtain on the stage was slowly pulled to the side, revealing a gorgeous lady.
That lady immediately drew out the crowd’s startled cries. Her beauty was absolutely shocking.
She appeared around twenty-five years old. Her elegant, narrow eyes and exquisite face were extremely seductive.
The most extreme thing about her was the skintight clothes she was wearing. They were rather low-cut, allowing people to see the pale tender skin beneath.
Perhaps, if that had been all, it would have been fine, but the most frightening thing of all was her deep cleavage that seemed to invite people to jump in.
But since she was standing on the stage, it was impossible to get a good view. Quite a few people stealthily stood up to their tiptoes before helplessly sitting back down depressed. They looked up at the private boxes that had a high vantage point and couldn’t help being jealous.
The eyes of fatty Yu, Shou Hou, and the others almost jumped out. Even Shi Feng’s gaze turned a bit lifeless. The few of them were completely plastered to the clear wall. Long Chen was even a bit worried that they might press too hard against the wall and tumble down.
But Long Chen also acknowledged that this woman was extremely beautiful. Although she couldn’t compare to Meng Qi, she might even be a bit more attractive than Chu Yao.
Of course, while part of this was due to her innate charm, another part was due to her mastery of dressing herself up to accentuate her advantages. With this skintight clothing that basically hid nothing, her beauty was practically destructive, elevating her from just sixty percent beauty to over a hundred percent.
Long Chen patted fatty Yu’s shoulders and scolded, “Can you guys grow up a bit?”
Shi Feng and the others all recovered themselves and quickly stepped back. Fatty Yu lightly said, “Brother Long, don’t worry. The wall’s very sturdy.”
“I’m not worried about the wall, I’m worried that if you keep looking, then drool might cover the floor.” Long Chen pointed to a pool of saliva.
Their faces all turned red, and they hastily returned to their seats. They also couldn’t help but admire Long Chen’s self-control.
That woman was clearly already used to the crowd’s reaction and didn’t seem uncomfortable at all.
Instead, she actually announced grandly, “I am Yao Niqian and you can call me Niqian. I hope all of you will look after me as I take charge of this time’s auction.”
After saying this, Yao Niqian gracefully curtsied slightly, and the landscape that originally could only be seen from the private boxes was revealed to all.
A huge uproar immediately exploded from the crowd below. But unfortunately for them, Yao Niqian’s movements were extremely quick. Before everyone could completely react, she had already returned to her dignified standing position.
Long Chen’s admiration for the Huayun Pavilion only continued to grow. From Fu Gui, to Qian Fu, to the current head auctioneer, each of them were completely focused on making more money. It would be more direct to just call their auction the ‘Give Me Your Money Auction’.
But Long Chen had to admit that this Yao Niqian truly was skillful. She was already completely able to control the men’s hearts.
Her enticing movements, her quick reveal before hiding it again... such a visual evoked all the men’s desire.
The auction hadn’t even begun, but many of the younger people were already starting to breathe heavily.
Now, Long Chen remembered what Fu Gui had told him at the beginning: through their auction’s embellishments, all their wares would be sold at an incredibly high price. Long Chen now believed it.
Looking at the scene, everyone was already following Yao Niqian’s pace. She smiled and waved her hand; the center of the stage slowly opened, and a stone platform rose up.
Chapter 55 Golden Striped Tiger
Following Yao Niqian’s movements, the stage split open like a blooming flower, and a small stone platform rose out.
That kind of mechanism wasn’t that exquisite, but the entire device was built out of ivory and was as pure as jade, causing it to truly shock quite a few people.
A shining golden battle armor floated atop the stone platform.
That battle armor was extremely thick, and from the golden luster, it had to weigh at least a hundred pounds. With such weight, neither Long Chen or even grandmaster Yun Qi would be able to keep it floating in midair with just Spiritual Strength.
But when Long Chen swept his spir
itual perception over it, he shook his head and scolded inside.
That armor was actually being supported by some very thin props. Due to the length of the armor and its positioning, it perfectly blocked those supportive props from view.
Yao Niqian’s charming voice rang out, “This golden armor was made completely out of gold with a small amount of ‘wind copper’. It comes from a famous craftsman, and its defense is shocking.”
A sword appeared in Yao Niqian’s hand. She slashed the armor so quickly; it was like a thunderbolt in many people’s eyes. A cold gale from the speed of the slash blew over everyone before they could even react, and a clear ringing came from the golden armor.
Her slash just now had completely shocked everyone. The Huayun Pavilion truly was strong; just an auctioneer was a Blood Condensation expert.
And from her slash’s speed, it was obvious there wasn’t the slightest waste in her attack. She was a true expert of the Blood Condensation stage.
A couple of those people who had planned on bringing that bewitching woman back to their homes immediately gave up.
“Everyone can clearly see I used my full strength yet was unable to leave behind a single mark on the golden armor. Its hardness is shocking,” Yao Niqian said to the crowd.
But looking at her bewitching eyes and recalling the huge gust caused by her slash just now, many people had already started to feel that she was the thing whose hardness was most shocking.
“The golden armor is our first item this time. The minimum price is set at a hundred thousand gold coins. Each bid must be at least ten thousand gold greater than the last. The auction has officially begun!”
Yao Niqian smiled slightly. She raised a small wooden mallet and lightly banged it before her.
“150,000!”
“180,000!”
“250,000!”
Countless bidders immediately leaped into action.
But the auction had only just begun, so everyone was still very reserved. The price only went up by tens of thousands.
However, due to how many people there were, the price continued to rise. Even Shi Feng wasn’t able to resist the temptation and shouted out two bids, but he was quickly drowned out.