Invincible Soul Emperor

Chapter 183: Chapter 183 Spiritual Fire

Qin Yue had personally inspected the jade stone but hadn’t found anything unusual. If it hadn’t been collected from the ancient battlefield, it would have been nearly identical to ordinary jade.

So, deep down, I really didn’t want Ye Qingchen to waste his money on this. But on second thought, he is certainly not someone who acts on impulse. Perhaps he has seen something special about this jade stone after all.

With that in mind, Qin Yue stopped herself from intervening and instead announced, ”Two thousand one hundred low-grade Spirit Stones, going once. Is there a higher bid?”

The crowd remained silent. Without much delay, Qin Yue called out again, ”Two thousand one hundred low-grade Spirit Stones, going twice.”

Qin Yue raised her hammer, ready to finalize the sale. Just then, a voice from a private room on the second floor called out a new bid.

”I bid two thousand two hundred low-grade Spirit Stones!”

Ye Qingchen frowned. I thought I’d successfully snagged a bargain, but someone had to jump in at the last second.

The reason Ye Qingchen was so interested in this jade stone was that he sensed an aura emanating from it that made his Fen Tian Earth Fire faintly thrum with excitement. When Qin Yue first presented the stone, he had activated his Dual Pupil Martial Soul and peered inside it. To his astonishment, he discovered a dormant Spirit Fire Seed hidden within!

Ye Qingchen had recently been searching the Pill Emperor’s Heart Sutra for clues on how to evolve his Fen Tian Earth Fire, which had given him a new understanding of Heaven and Earth Strange Fires. The Spirit Fire Seed within the jade, although a lower grade than a Heaven and Earth Strange Fire, could still be assimilated by a Martial Artist. This was precisely why Ye Qingchen was determined to obtain it. Fusing with this Spirit Fire Seed would undoubtedly grant his power and his prowess in Alchemy another rapid boost.

Moreover, a Spirit Fire Seed like this would sell for at least 10,000 low-grade Spirit Stones on the open market. If he could buy it for just over two thousand, it would be an absolute steal.

But what Ye Qingchen hadn’t expected was for someone to suddenly step in and compete with him. Could they have also discovered the Spirit Fire Seed inside the stone?

What Ye Qingchen didn’t know was that the bid had come from the private room occupied by Cheng Zhibin. Of course, Cheng Zhibin lacked the ability to see anything extraordinary about the jade. What he did know, however, was that the previous bidder was Ye Qingchen. To this day, Cheng Zhibin firmly believed that Ye Qingchen had stolen his glory. If he had been the one to cure Qin Zhantian, his status would have skyrocketed.

Now that all that potential prestige had been snatched away by Ye Qingchen, Cheng Zhibin was bidding just to spite him. Besides, I’m not afraid of getting stuck with it if he backs out. It’s just over two thousand low-grade Spirit Stones. As a fourth-rank Alchemist, why would I care about a sum like that? And who knows, if there’s actually something good inside, I’ll be the one who makes a killing!

Ye Qingchen, however, grew worried. He only had 2,600 low-grade Spirit Stones left. If the other party kept bidding, he wouldn’t have the funds to compete. Still, he wasn’t ready to give up just yet and called out a new price, ”Two thousand three hundred low-grade Spirit Stones!”

”Two thousand four hundred low-grade Spirit Stones!” Cheng Zhibin countered immediately, without hesitation.

Ye Qingchen frowned and pressed on, ”Two thousand five hundred low-grade Spirit Stones!”

”Two thousand six hundred low-grade Spirit Stones!” Cheng Zhibin followed instantly, raising the price to the absolute limit of what Ye Qingchen could afford.

Ye Qingchen sighed. It seems this Strange Fire Seed isn’t meant to be mine.

Noticing that Ye Qingchen had gone silent, Qin Yue understood he must be short on Spirit Stones. She gave a discreet signal to a maid inside his private room. These maids had been personally assigned by Qin Yue to attend to Ye Qingchen, and she had already given them various instructions.

The maid saw Qin Yue’s signal, nodded, and approached Ye Qingchen. ”Young Master, you may not be aware,” she said softly. ”Every distinguished guest in a private room is entitled to a line of credit of up to 10,000 low-grade Spirit Stones at the Rising Sun Pavilion. You simply need to repay it later. And it’s completely interest-free.”

Hearing this, Ye Qingchen’s eyes lit up. Honestly, I really don’t want to give up on the Spirit Fire Seed. Since I have a credit line of 10,000 low-grade Spirit Stones, I must fight for it!

With this thought, he immediately called out a new bid, ”Two thousand seven hundred low-grade Spirit Stones!”

”Two thousand eight hundred low-grade Spirit Stones!”

The bidding war continued. No matter what Ye Qingchen bid, Cheng Zhibin would always top it by another hundred low-grade Spirit Stones, his sole purpose being to vex him.

When the price reached three thousand low-grade Spirit Stones, Ye Qingchen, now thoroughly provoked, raised the bid dramatically. ”Four thousand low-grade Spirit Stones!”

An increase of a thousand at once drew gasps of shock from the crowd in the hall. By now, Li Zongrui was numb with shock. He stopped complaining about Ye Qingchen in his head and simply focused on enjoying the show.

Hearing the bid of four thousand, Cheng Zhibin was momentarily stunned. He quickly recovered and stated calmly, ”In that case, I’ll bid four thousand one hundred low-grade Spirit Stones!”

”Six thousand low-grade Spirit Stones!” Ye Qingchen shot back without hesitation, another massive jump intended to show his absolute determination.

This increase of nearly two thousand low-grade Spirit Stones in a single bid pushed the price far beyond the jade’s starting price.

This time, Cheng Zhibin didn’t continue. Instead, he laughed loudly and shouted toward Ye Qingchen’s room, ”Don’t think I don’t see the trap you’re laying for me! If I were to bid six thousand one hundred, you’d just back out, wouldn’t you? So, congratulations on buying a worthless piece of broken jade for such a high price!”

The mockery in his voice was blatant, but Ye Qingchen was unbothered.

So what if I spent six thousand low-grade Spirit Stones to get the Strange Fire Seed? Its actual value is over ten thousand. When you get down to it, I still came out ahead. The only problem is that I need to figure out how to repay the Rising Sun Pavilion as soon as possible!

When Ye Qingchen didn’t respond, Cheng Zhibin assumed he was seething with shame and humiliation, and he laughed triumphantly.

Ye Qingchen lost interest in the subsequent auction items. After securing the jade stone, he sat in his room and quietly waited for the auction to conclude. Only then did he have the peace of mind to savor the delicacies before him.

After the auction ended, Qin Yue took a short break and then came directly to Ye Qingchen’s room. Seeing him feasting, she smiled faintly. ”Now that you’ve got what you wanted, congratulations are in order!”

With that, Qin Yue sat down beside him.