Cai Ping smiled as everyone looked at the seed, and didn't recognize it. These were the times she liked the most when she would reveal what the item was and everyone would be shocked.
"This seed comes from a tree that all of you most certainly know about. This is a seed for the ever famous, Yin Gathering Tree." She glanced at the audience as she made the dramatic reveal.
"Yin Gathering Tree? I think I've heard of it before. But where?" someone said.
"Wait! Is this the same Yin Gathering Tree as the one in the Capital?" another person exclaimed.
"Wow, that's an extremely rare seed."
Sounds of awe and surprise rang out from the entire crowd.
In room B1, Ma Rong who was slumping in her seat suddenly stood up straight and alert. Her eyes burning with desire. Alex had never seen his master in that state. Not even when she had gotten the Spirit Cleansing Lily.
'Can it be that the seed is of greater importance than even the Spirit Cleansing Lily?' he wondered.
Cai Ping once again started talking.
"Please quiet down." She said trying to proceed with the auction.
"Can you tell us who is selling such a precious seed?" someone screamed from the back of the hall.
"The seller has told us that they want to be remained unnamed, so we will not be revealing any information regarding them. Now, let us proceed with the auction for the Yin Gathering Tree seed. The bid will begin at 30 spirit stones, with a minimum of 1 spirit stone increase."
As soon as Cai Ping said that, the people in the hall started bidding one after another.
Before Alex could even ask his master why the seed was so important, the bidding war down below had reached a height never seen before.
"Master, what is the Yin Gathering Tree? Is it good?" he asked.
"It's good for disciples that have Yin-related body, spiritual root, or just a regular Yin-aligned cultivation method. It is very beneficial for them. It gathers Yin energy from the surrounding and makes a certain area around it filled with high-quality Yin Qi."
"52 spirit stones," Ma Rong bid as she answered his question.
"Is it better or rarer than a Spirit Cleansing Lily?" he couldn't help but ask.
"In terms of which is better, it depends from person to person. If I were to look at it from the perspective of a normal cultivator, the Spirit Cleansing Lily is infinitely better than the Yin Gathering Tree. However, If I were to look at it from the perspective of a sect leader, the Yin Gathering Tree can bring benefits to the sect that a single Spirit Cleansing Lily could never."
"As for rarity, The tree itself is not rare, as there are more than dozens of them around the Crimson empire. However, the fruit the tree bears is very rare. And to add to that, even the fruits themselves very rarely have a seed in them. So, the seed is considered very rare. It is for sure rarer than the Spirit Cleansing Lily." She said.
"Hmm… master, then why is it being sold for so less?" he asked.
"Well, the seed isn't guaranteed to sprout. Especially if the environment has a lot of yang energy. So, most sellers sell it at a low price of around 50 spirit stones. The auction house probably decided to lower its initial price to gather more bidders to eventually get the price through the ceiling."
As Ma Rong explained this, the bid for the seed kept on going up. It had now reached the 90s.
"1 True Spirit Stone" Ma Rong suddenly bid.
"101 Common spirit stone" a bid came from a room far away from them.
"Damn him. He wants the seed for his honor sect as well." She said out loud. The sect leader of the honor sect that had come to the auction decided to bid against Ma Rong.
"105 common spirit stone," another voice came from a room some distance away. Ma Rong's spiritual sense didn't extend that far, so she couldn't tell who the bidder was.
"110 common spirit stone," Ma Rong didn't back down.
'Master really wants this seed huh,' he thought.
The raging bid kept on continuing. The other bidder had stopped and now it was only the sect leader of the Honor sect versus Ma Rong.
"182 Common Spirit Stones," the Honor sect's sect leader said after some deliberation. He didn't seem like he wanted to spend so many spirit stones on a seed that had less than a percent chance of growing.
Ma Rong fell into contemplation as well. While 180 spirit stones weren't that expensive in her eyes, it definitely was for the Yin Gathering Tree.
"182 Common spirit stones is the higher bid. Anyone who wants to bid higher?" Cai Ping asked.
"182 common spirit stones going once"
"182 common spirit stones going twice"
"182 comm— "
"2 True spirit stones" Ma Rong bid just as the bidding was ending.
Cai Ping smiled. She was always happy to see more bids, as 2 percent of the bid always went to her pockets. The honor sect's sect master didn't bid after that and the seed went to Ma Rong easily after the increased bid.
The next item was brought to the table. It was a large table that was wheeled in with a massive cloth hiding what was inside.
"For our next items, we have—" Cai Ping took off the cloth to show a bunch of pill bottles.
"Wow, so many pill bottles!" the people were shocked.
"Did the auction house accidentally bring out all the pills they needed to sell for today?" someone asked.
Alex looked at the newly revealed items and was surprised. 'I'm up next huh,' he thought.
For some reason, he was starting to get nervous and excited. He couldn't wait to see how much the 135 pills would bring him. He very much looked forward to the next bidding war.