[Chapter 83]
Zhang Wuxian couldn't remember how many years it had been since an adult Fire Scorpion Lion's core had appeared.
After all, Zhang Wuxian wasn't even twenty years old. As far as he could remember, the Tianlu Auction House had never auctioned a Fire Scorpion Lion's core.
Zhang Wuxian was very curious about where Luo Zheng had obtained the Fire Scorpion Lion's core. However, he suppressed his curiosity. As a direct descendant of the Tianlu Zhang Family, he was very clear about the rules of the auction house. It was taboo to not inquire about the origin of the customer's items.
"This adult Fire Scorpion Lion's core should be able to fetch a good price. However, Brother Luo Zheng, do you intend to auction such a valuable item together with this auction or wait until the next one? If you wait until the next auction, our Tianlu Auction House can help you spread the news in advance. This way, we can attract people who are especially interested in the Fire Scorpion Lion's core. The price may be higher, "Zhang Wuxian said.
Although the Fire Scorpion Lion's core was precious, it wasn't something that ordinary people could afford. If the Tianlu Auction House could spread the news before the auction, the effect would be better.
"Why don't we auction it today?" Luo Zheng suggested.
Zhang Wuxian nodded: "That's good too. We originally planned to auction a batch of precious materials for refining weapons and elixir pills. Many old fellows from the imperial city will come. I believe that this Fire Scorpion Lion's core will be auctioned off for a good price."
Then, Zhang Wuxian led Luo Zheng to the back hall of the auction house.
After entering the back hall of the auction house, Luo Zheng was dazzled.
There were several innate masters guarding the doors of the back hall. The aura emitted by these innate masters made Luo Zheng feel extremely dangerous. Their cultivation was not below He Tiancheng's.
In the back hall, the auction house's staff were transporting bundles of precious herbs, items, treasures, and weapons back and forth.
Luo Zheng swept a glance over. Almost every item that was about to be auctioned off was a rare treasure. The value of any one of these treasures was probably equivalent to the Luo Family's several hundred years of savings.
"Elder Hou!" Zhang Wuxian shouted as soon as he entered the back hall.
Not far away, a thin but shrewd-looking old man put down the work in his hands, bent over and said, "Third Young Master, is there anything I can help you with?"
"Where's my brother?" Zhang Wuxian asked.
"First Young Master went to the front hall to welcome the guests," Elder Hou replied.
Zhang Wuxian pointed at Luo Zheng. "My friend wants to auction something. Please appraise it first, record it, and auction it together later."
Old Hou glanced at Luo Zheng and discovered that he was a sixteen or seventeen year old youth. His face revealed a rather disapproving expression. Old Hou was the chief auctioneer of the Tianlu Auction House. What kind of good things had he not seen before? This young man probably couldn't come up with anything too good, so he asked the Third Young Master to entrust the auction.
But since the Third Young Master had said so, he had to give him face.
"This friend of yours, what do you want to auction? Can you let this old man have a look first? "Old Hou stared at Luo Zheng and asked.
Luo Zheng noticed Old Hou's attitude, but did not say anything. He then took out the fire scorpion crystal core from his ring and handed it to Old Hou.
When Old Hou saw the fire scorpion crystal core, his eyes suddenly widened.
Compared to Zhang Wuxian, Old Hou's reaction was even more intense.
After all, Zhang Wuxian was not a professional. In terms of appraising the value of treasures, he only had a superficial knowledge.
But Old Hou was different. Old Hou had been immersed in this line of work all his life. He was the chief auctioneer of the Tianlu Auction House. Countless treasures, divine weapons, and elixirs had passed through his hands.
With just a glance, Old Hou understood that this fire scorpion crystal core was priceless!
"Old Hou, what do you think?" Zhang Wuxian asked.
"This is the crystal core of an adult fire scorpion lion. This fire scorpion lion should be thirty feet tall and sixty feet long. Tsk tsk, who knows how many years it has been since such a large fire scorpion lion appeared. This fire scorpion crystal core can definitely be auctioned as the finale!" Old Hou's shrewd little eyes were filled with excitement.
Hearing Old Hou's judgment, Luo Zheng also felt a trace of admiration. The fire scorpion lion's size was indeed as Old Hou had said. It was about thirty feet tall. To be able to come to such a conclusion just by looking at the crystal core was enough to show that Old Hou's vision was unique.
"What kind of base price do you think we should set?" Zhang Wuxian asked again.
Old Hou laughed mischievously, "As long as such a treasure appears, who knows how many people will fight over it. Moreover, the Asura Battlefield has reopened this time, and the various landowning clans are lacking good weapons. This fire scorpion crystal core is also a treasure for refining tools. I presume that the price will be somewhat uncertain. If we have to set a base price, I think it's best to set it at thirty thousand square crystal stones."
"Thirty thousand square crystal stones!" Luo Zheng couldn't help but cry out.
Old Hou and Zhang Wuxian were both stunned, "Brother Luo Zheng, do you think this base price is too low? Don't worry, if we really auction it, the final price will definitely be much higher than this. "
Luo Zheng shook his head, "No, you misunderstood me. This price is very appropriate!"
How could Luo Zheng complain that this price was too low?
Although he knew that the fire scorpion crystal core was very precious, Luo Zheng didn't think that the price would be so high.
The Blade Insect Queen's crystal core had only been exchanged for 1,000 points, which was about 2,000 square crystals when converted into square crystals.
However, the value of the fire scorpion crystal core was ten times higher than the Blade Insect Queen's!
On this point, Luo Zheng didn't know the market price.
After all, the Blade Insect was a monster beast that reproduced extremely quickly. The Dragon Castle had to kill hundreds of Blade Insect Queens every year.
However, the Fire Scorpion Lion was different. The Fire Scorpion Lion in the entire Eastern Region had been wiped out. The Fire Scorpion Lion was already an extremely rare monster beast. Moreover, the fire scorpion crystal core had excellent special effects when used for refining tools or medicine. The difference in value was naturally huge.
"But this way, there will be two final treasures in this auction. I think it's better to wait for the next auction. This way, the price will be higher …" Old Hou's thoughts were the same as Zhang Wuxian's. Just one fire scorpion crystal core was enough to start an auction on its own.
"No need, my friend thinks that it's enough to auction together this time. Old Hou, store this fire scorpion crystal core first and prepare to auction it later," Zhang Wuxian instructed.
Old Hou then called for someone to skillfully store the fire scorpion crystal core in a brocade box and seal it.
After finishing this matter, Zhang Wuxian brought Luo Zheng back to the side room of the auction house. Zhang Wuxian still had other matters to attend to. He said goodbye to Zhou Xian and the others and would return in a while.
At this time, the auction house was already packed with people.
The people participating in the auction were very complicated. Some of them were wanderers of the pugilistic world, while others were descendants of landowning households.
Most of them were at the Xiantian realm.
Especially in the side room, there were several people whose auras were very strong. Although they could conceal or suppress their own auras, Luo Zheng could still faintly feel that their cultivations were probably beyond the Xiantian realm.
Not long after, Elder Hou appeared on the auction's stage.
As the chief auctioneer of the Tianlu Auction House, Old Hou was already familiar with the people of the imperial capital. Usually, Old Hou would only appear in person when presiding over a large-scale auction. Today, Old Hou personally appeared, which meant that there would definitely be a rare treasure to be auctioned this time.
After a brief opening speech, Old Hou clapped his hands. Someone carried a brocade box to the front of the stage and placed it on the big table in the auction house. Then, Old Hou said, "The first item in this auction is a little special. These are three Yuan Devouring Purple Oxypetalum. You only need to release a small amount of Zhen Yuan to make them bloom overnight! These three Yuan Devouring Purple Oxypetalum have a starting price of three hundred square crystals. Everyone can bid as you wish! "
After Old Hou finished speaking, he opened the brocade box. There were three closed flower buds in the brocade box.
At this time, some delicate women in the auction house exclaimed. Clearly, they were attracted by the Yuan Devouring Purple Oxypetalum.
"Yuan Devouring Purple Oxypetalum?" Sitting in the side room, Luo Zheng blinked twice when he heard this name. "This flower seems to only have ornamental value, right?"
Zhou Xian replied, "Indeed, it only has ornamental value. Yuan Devouring Purple Oxypetalum is very rare in the world. It is known as the most beautiful flower in the world. Someone once said that they would only see this flower bloom once in their life. Even if they died, it would be enough."
Mo Can shook his head. "It only has some ornamental value. It can't be used in medicine. So what if it's beautiful? I'm afraid that only those arrogant and extravagant noblemen would be willing to buy it and give it to their women. "
Luo Zheng nodded and agreed. "A few hundred square crystals is a huge sum to many families. But in the eyes of those noblemen, it's enough to amuse them."
Although this Yuan Devouring Purple Oxypetalum was of no help to one's cultivation, it still attracted many youths to fight over it. The price also rose all the way from three hundred square crystals to eight hundred square crystals before it was bought by a descendant of a landowning household.
Luo Zheng and the others had originally only followed Zhang Wuxian to the auction to watch the excitement. Naturally, they had no interest in the Yuan Devouring Purple Oxypetalum.
Not to mention that they couldn't afford it right now, even if they could, they probably wouldn't buy such a boring thing to feast their eyes on.
After the Yuan Devouring Purple Oxypetalum was completed, Old Hou began to auction the next item.
"The second item is a spiritual weapon. Now that the Asura Battlefield has reopened, if you have a spiritual weapon on you and go into battle to slay daemons, then you'll be like a tiger that has grown wings. This" Heaven Shaking Spear "has a rough appearance, but it's made from purple jade. Although it's a low grade spiritual weapon, its power is comparable to a mid grade one. The starting price is two thousand square crystals," said Old Hou.
Two thousand square crystals. Luo Zheng's heart was slightly moved.
This Heaven Shaking Spear was a low grade spiritual weapon. Luo Zheng didn't care about its power. If he bought it with two thousand square crystals and refined it, how much molten iron essence could he obtain?
A high grade profound weapon usually required five to ten drops of molten iron essence. Then a spiritual weapon would be raised by an entire grade. Perhaps he could refine fifty drops? Or a hundred drops of molten iron essence?
Thinking of this, Luo Zheng was somewhat eager to give it a try.
As long as one dragon scale was lit, Luo Zheng's power would increase. If he could light up ten dragon scales at once, then Luo Zheng's power would more than double in a short period of time. For him, this was definitely a qualitative leap.
If possible, Luo Zheng planned to participate in the auction.
But the following bidding directly made Luo Zheng give up on this plan.
"Two thousand five hundred square crystals!"
"Two thousand seven hundred!"
"Three thousand!"