Reborn As Super Heiress

Chapter 905: Chapter 901 The Ocean Spirit

The ribbon-cutting ceremony ended, and the eagerly discussing crowd finally awaited the moment when the red cloth would be unveiled.

This time, Huo Sining was straightforward, directly taking out the key to open the glass display case and motioned for Li Quan to remove the cloth.

Li Quan was also a bit nervous inside, filled with anticipation for the item beneath the cloth, yet fearing it might not meet expectations. He hesitated for a few seconds before stepping up to the display case.

”Boss Li, hurry up, everyone is eagerly watching. Stop keeping us in suspense!”

Ouyang Jun and others couldn’t contain themselves any longer. Seeing Huo Sining had opened the case, they would have rushed up to remove the cloth if not for protocol. Seeing Li Quan hesitating now, they began to heckle.

”Exactly, hurry up and unveil it!”

The crowd began to shout alongside.

Li Quan braced himself and stepped forward, reaching out to uncover the cloth.

Everyone stared at the glass display case, unblinking, as the red cloth slowly revealed the impressive item inside, standing about one meter sixty-seven tall.

Stunned silence.

Until the cloth was fully removed, no one spoke. All eyes were glued to the glass display case, either in shock, admiration, or open-mouthed astonishment.

In that moment, it seemed everyone’s minds lost the ability to command their actions, standing like wooden figures, with eyes transfixed by the scene before them.

It was several minutes before someone finally snapped back to reality and exclaimed, ”Red Coral!”

This shout snapped everyone out of their stupor, and they began to react, looking at the coral, discussing or muttering to themselves.

”Oh my god, this is a real Blood Coral fossil. Such a big piece, how much must it be worth!”

”No wonder the boss was being so mysterious. Turns out they were hiding such a treasure, no wonder teasing us the whole time!”

”Red Coral! Look at the color and texture, it’s definitely natural. If this were ancient times, it would definitely be a tribute to the royal palace!”

”Such boldness from the boss, bringing out something so incredible. No wonder so many people come to support this store, real strength here!”

While the crowd was discussing, Li Quan by the display case was stunned, his mouth agape in astonishment at the adult-sized Blood Coral in the case, unable to close it for a long time.

Indeed, the item Huo Sining had been secretly guarding was Blood Coral.

She had unexpectedly discovered it not long ago while accompanying Luo Jinzhi on a sea exploration in Mindong. This Blood Coral fossil stood one and a half meters tall, and after retrieving it from the seabed, she had kept it in her storage ring.

Later, for Li Quan’s store opening, she brought it out and specially had a base added to the coral, increasing its height by another twenty centimeters. The whole coral branch then appeared taller, resembling delicate dragon horns, intricately branching thousands of times. It now looked luxuriant and agile, appearing from afar like burning flames or a sprite from the deep ocean.

Natural Red Coral is formed by coral insects piling up, classified as organic gemstone. Its lustrous texture is pleasing in color, ranked alongside Pearl and Amber as one of the three major organic gemstones, listed along with Heavenly Bead as one of the Qibao in Huaxia Buddhist scripture.

In Huaxia, Red Coral is regarded as a symbol of auspicious fortune and wealth, representing nobility and power. Especially in ancient times, Red Coral held a prestigious position.

During the Qing Dynasty, only officials ranked second and above could use precious Red Coral for their hats and ceremonial beads. In Tibet, only high monks could hold prayer beads made of Red Coral.

Since Red Coral only grows in straits and does so extremely slowly, its quantity is exceptionally scarce. Due to its rarity and nonrenewable nature, Red Coral has immense collectible value.

However, most natural Red Coral products on the market are processed coral stones, whether inlaid or polished, essentially post-processed rather than naturally formed. Collectors who have a coral tree over two feet tall already find it extremely rare.

Ordinary Red Coral products, like Red Coral bracelets, each have a value in the tens of thousands, and these are just polished coral stones. A one-and-a-half-meter coral tree like the one at Jubao Pavilion is unheard of.

This Blood Coral’s exterior is especially smooth, its color strikingly conspicuous, its texture intricate. Apart from slight naturally formed blemishes, without any carving or polishing, this coral tree appears dazzlingly beautiful, delightfully smooth, radiant, and crystal-clear, evidently a top-quality Red Coral.

Red Coral not only has an appealing appearance but also medicinal value, promoting blood circulation when worn closely, hence highly popular on the market.

However, due to severe ocean pollution today, top-grade Red Coral has become very rare. Particularly with excessive fishing and mining in recent years, the quantity of Red Coral has dwindled further, making coral transactions on the market measured by the gram.

Among the onlookers, some were not familiar with Blood Coral’s market and couldn’t help but ask, ”I’ve heard Red Coral is very valuable, but just how precious is it? How much is this coral tree worth?”

Someone nearby immediately turned to smile and said, ”Red Coral prices in the market vary greatly, with a range of colors, but the most precious is living coral. Such coral can continue growing on the ocean floor, covered by a membrane, dazzling after polishing, extremely exquisite. Judging by the type of this coral tree, I’d say it belongs to the living coral category, otherwise it wouldn’t have such vivid color and gloss.”

”Commonly found bright red Sardinian Red Coral in the market usually costs over five hundred per gram. Judging by this coral tree’s quality, its grade won’t be lower than Sardinian price-wise. This coral tree weighs at least ten kilograms surely, even priced per gram, this Blood Coral won’t be worth less than five million.”

”Moreover, this natural coral tree, even uncarved, vividly shows nature’s miraculous craftsmanship. Such an item is priced as a whole rather than per gram, naturally making it worth much more. I roughly estimate this coral tree at no less than eight million, possibly even higher.”

The crowd hearing this gasped in shock, staring at the brilliantly lustrous Red Coral centrally displayed in the store, speechless for a long time.