Chapter 642: Greenstone Azure Flame
After Mo Qing announced the auction results, Xiao Ming sighed softly and then looked deeply at the pavilion where the Fire Spirit Clan was located.
He could see the haughty young man through the window.
If this guy hadn't meddled, he wouldn't have had to spend an extra four million Sovereign Spiritual Liquids. Although he ultimately secured the Six Paths Celestial Tree, it still left him somewhat irked.
"The old man next to that guy from the Fire Spirit Clan is quite strong, even stronger than I was at my peak," Qing Yanjing whispered beside him.
Xiao Ming nodded slightly.
At her peak, Qing Yanjing was at the Perfected Earth Sovereign stage. This elder was slightly stronger than her, likely just a Quasi-Heavenly Sovereign. Unless this elder was one of those rare geniuses who could challenge beyond their realm, he wouldn't be Xiao Ming's match.
However, now was not the time to think about teaching the Fire Spirit Clan a lesson, as the auction was still in progress.
Soon after, Master Mo Qing brought out the nineteenth auction item.
It was precisely the second ingredient Xiao Ming needed for his alchemy.
A ball of light appeared in Master Mo Qing's withered hands, revealing a fruit no bigger than a palm. The fruit was a dull yellow color with tree-like patterns sprawling across its surface. It appeared remarkably inconspicuous. If it hadn't been presented by Master Mo Qing himself, it would have been hard for anyone to guess that it was the legendary "Withering Luxuriant Divine Fruit."
In the world, there existed a divine tree called the Withering Luxuriant Divine Tree. Its lifespan was incredibly long, and even after countless disasters, it had survived for eons without perishing.
It was said that this divine tree would wither and flourish once every thousand years, and each cycle would produce a single fruit—the Withering Luxuriant Divine Fruit. Consuming this fruit was said to heal all injuries within the body and dramatically improve one's innate qualities, akin to being reborn.
Because of this, the Withering Luxuriant Divine Fruit had always been highly sought after by countless powerful individuals. After all, treasures that could improve one's innate qualities were extremely rare, not to mention those that could also heal old ailments.
As such, whenever a Withering Luxuriant Divine Fruit appeared, it would trigger fierce competition among many powerful individuals.
Inside the vast auction house, numerous eyes blazed with intense desire and longing. Had it not been for their common sense reminding them that starting a fight in such a place would be akin to courting death, some might even be tempted to snatch it by force.
On the auction stage, Master Mo Qing observed the numerous greedy gazes, yet his tone remained calm as he announced, "Withering Luxuriant Divine Fruit. The starting bid is twenty million Sovereign Spiritual Liquids."
The entire palace paused as soon as these words were uttered, followed by a collective gasp. Such a high starting bid was out of reach for ordinary powers!
Indeed, such divine items were only obtainable by the wealthy!
It wasn't long after Mo Qing's words that a bid made everyone gasp again.
"Thirty million Sovereign Spiritual Liquids!"
The crowd looked towards the source of the voice and saw it was the same pretty boy who had bid before.
"Holy shit! This guy must have spent over fifty million Sovereign Spiritual Liquids by now! His strength isn't that great; how does he have so much Sovereign Spiritual Liquid?"
"Maybe they stumbled upon some powerful faction's inheritance."
"What kind of inheritance could that be? An ordinary continent couldn't come up with that much Sovereign Spiritual Liquid in a year."
Countless whispers filled the air, and the gazes that looked towards the Xiao Ming trio were filled with envy, surprise, and greed.
Of course, no one doubted whether Xiao Ming really had that much Sovereign Spiritual Liquid, as causing trouble in the auction house would have severe consequences. No one would risk their life as a joke.
Those with the ability to compete visibly changed their expressions in response to the sudden increase of ten million.
Although the Withering Luxuriant Divine Fruit was indeed precious, the price of thirty million Sovereign Spiritual Liquids was too painfully high!
Furthermore, given the bidder's tendency to raise his bids, thirty million was clearly not the upper limit. It could potentially go even higher, which made it not worthwhile.
Therefore, after weighing the pros and cons, surprisingly, no one else participated in the bidding.
When Master Mo Qing waved his sleeve and the bell rang, the fruit officially fell into Xiao Ming's hands.
Xiao Ming happily stretched and relaxed a bit upon seeing this. He had finally obtained two of the main ingredients for the Spiritual Transformation Pill, and although the Stellar Origin Fruit was still missing, it should be possible to find it quickly by entrusting it to the auction house.
The Withering Luxuriant Divine Fruit, once refined into a liquid, could also be used to refine a pill to help Qing Yanjing recover from her injuries.
However, the greedy gazes around him made him frown.
"It looks like it won't be easy when we leave this place."
Qing Tan and Qing Yanjing also noticed the greedy gazes hidden in the shadows. No longer the naive girls they once were, a cold gleam flashed in their eyes. "Let them try if they dare. Who knows, they might end up giving us tens of millions more Sovereign Spiritual Liquids."
Xiao Ming smiled, but his smile lacked warmth. He did not enjoy robbing others for no reason. However, he could not be blamed if they came to the door themselves.
Dong.
Another crisp bell rang out in the auction house, prompting everyone to straighten up. Even the small pavilions' windows were flung open as everyone's eyes were fixed on the auction stage.
They knew what was coming next would be the highlight of the auction!
Many of these elite forces had come specifically for this final item.
Xiao Ming also lifted his head at this moment. His eyes looked curiously at the auction stage. He was eager to see what kind of treasure could actually attract these many elite forces.
Under the gaze of countless eyes, Master Mo Qing did not present the item as casually as before. Instead, his expression was solemn as he carried out a tray covered with a golden silk cloth.
The temperature in the entire palace rose noticeably the moment the tray was brought out!
"Next up for auction is..."
Master Mo Qing lifted the golden silk, and a shimmering teal light filled the air. After that, a teal crystal was revealed. The crystal looked ancient, as if it had been handed down from the primordial era. It exuded an aura of wild antiquity.
A mass of emerald-green magma seemed to be slowly flowing within the crystal.
The teal light swirled, and it faintly appeared as if a majestic and imposing azure dragon was taking shape inside.
Countless eyes gazed at the teal crystal. They could clearly sense its uniqueness.
Master Mo Qing pointed at the crystal under the gaze of countless eyes and said, "In this world, there are countless powerful flames that are effective for alchemy, combat, and other purposes. However, these flames are difficult to find. Fortunately, our auction house was lucky enough to discover this flame in an ancient ruin."
"After our examination, this flame has been identified as 'Greenstone Azure Flame,' which ranks sixty-second on the Divine Flame Ranking!"
"Greenstone Azure Flame, ranked sixty-second on the Divine Flame Ranking?!"
A wave of shock swept through the crowd. The Great Thousand World was full of thousands of Divine Flames, but the most famous ones were those listed in the Divine Flame Ranking.
Like the Sovereign Celestial Body Ranking, the Divine Flame Ranking had ninety-nine ranks, and the Greenstone Azure Flame, ranked sixty-second, was undoubtedly a super flame that could make Alchemy Grandmasters vie fiercely for it!
Xiao Ming was also surprised when he heard this, but quickly furrowed his brow. If this flame was as good as it sounded, why would anyone want to sell it? Wouldn't it be better to keep it for oneself?
Sure enough, Master Mo Qing soon explained why this thing was being sold.
"This flame appears to have developed a sort of sentience. In the past, three high-ranking Master Alchemists contacted our auction house to subdue it, but all three failed and died in their attempts."
This revelation caused an uproar throughout the palace. High-ranking Master Alchemists were only one step below Grandmaster Alchemists. It should be noted that a Grandmaster Alchemist could be considered on par with a Heavenly Sovereign powerhouse.
However, such formidable individuals were all killed by this flame!
It was no wonder that this item was being auctioned off. The auction house likely considered it a cursed item!