Chapter 159: The Bronze Iron Shard

"Elder Feng has offered one hundred and fifty low-grade spiritual stones. Are there any other bids?" Looking around the slightly quiet venue, the middle-aged man in purple robes asked with a smile.

After a few seconds passed and no one stepped forward to raise the bid, the middle-aged man wisely pressed his advantage. He picked up the small hammer and struck it heavily, thus finalizing the buyer.

Seeing that the item had been claimed by someone else—and by the renowned Elder Feng of the local Feng family at that—quite a few people suppressed their greedy thoughts.

Had the item been won by a rogue cultivator, they might have had a chance to waylay and murder the winner for the treasure. However, once an item fell into the hands of Elder Feng, even if they were given several more strands of courage, very few would dare to make a move.

The Feng family still commanded considerable prestige within Poison Dragon Town.

"Haha, now, let us continue the auction!"

Withdrawing the Cyan Spirit Potion, the middle-aged man waved his hand, and the lights on the high platform dimmed once more, leaving only a single beam of illumination focused on the center. From a jade plate presented by an attendant, he picked up a piece of bronze the size of a palm, covered in traces of rust.

It had clearly existed for a considerable span of years.

Beneath the lamplight, the bronze piece appeared pitch-black and devoid of any luster.

"Tell me, what is this thing? Isn't it just a scrap of iron? Surely your Wright Auction House isn't trying to fool us with a mere piece of bronze skin like this." Upon seeing what the man had brought out, several people immediately expressed their dissatisfaction.

"Haha, can't you all trust the reputation of the Wright Auction House? This is no ordinary piece of bronze. According to the professional appraisers of our auction house, we can only roughly determine that this object seems to be a carrier of some sort. As for what is contained within, we have tried numerous methods, yet we remain unable to breach the bronze. Even a powerhouse of the Ancient Dan Realm from among our auction house's directors once made a personal attempt, but shockingly, he was unable to leave even a single mark upon it."

"Therefore, we firmly deduce that this item is by no means ordinary," the middle-aged man explained.

"Really? Even a powerhouse of the Ancient Dan Realm couldn't leave a mark?" some people questioned. The strike of an Ancient Dan Realm powerhouse was immensely formidable; destroying a mountain peak would be no difficult task, yet they were currently told that such a person could not leave a trace on this object, which made it truly hard for them to believe.

Many in their hearts concluded that the auction house was exaggerating the facts in an attempt to inflate the value of the auction lot.

"Kid, let me tell you, you must win this item. It will definitely be of use to you," Elder Mu suddenly spoke up, reminding Ye Cheng.

"Mm, a good item? What is it? Could it be some profound martial art?" Ye Cheng asked in startled confusion.

"Don't ask so many questions. Just win it first, and you'll find out. If you fail to secure this item, you won't even have time to regret it," Elder Mu replied impatiently, before falling completely silent.

Ye Cheng called out to him several times in his mind, but received no response.

"What is it, little brother Ye Cheng?"

Seeing the peculiar expression on his face, Liu Yan, who was sitting beside him, furrowed her delicate brows and asked.

"Eh? It's nothing!" Ye Cheng smiled. On the surface, he remained entirely calm, but in his heart, he had already resolved to get his hands on this piece of bronze. Although he had no idea what purpose it served, he trusted Elder Mu's discernment; the old man would never tell him to bid on this item without a reason.

"Haha, whether this thing turns out to be a blessing or a curse depends entirely on whether those present have the courage to take a gamble," the middle-aged man in purple robes said with a smile.

"Everyone may now begin placing your bids. The starting bid for this item is ten low-grade spiritual stones."

The information he had received from the appraisers regarding this bronze piece was extremely scant. Given their professional integrity, saying any more would easily devalue the item severely, so it was better to leave a sense of mystery for the customers. Perhaps that mystery could drive up the price considerably.

However, everything he had said previously was the absolute truth; this seemingly unremarkable piece of bronze could indeed withstand the personal strike of an Ancient Dan Realm lord from their auction house without leaving a scratch.

Whether in business or at an auction, the most important virtue was credibility. This chief auctioneer naturally spoke the truth, merely employing a slight touch of salesmanship.

"How marvelous could a piece of bronze possibly be? A starting bid of ten low-grade spiritual stones? Hmph, I don't have that kind of idle money to throw away." Someone immediately gave up, while others remained silent, deep in thought.

After all, buying this item carried a high probability of ending up with sheer junk, though there was a slim chance it might be a treasure. But if it truly were a treasure, why would the auction house be willing to part with it? Many doubted this in their hearts.

Moreover, even the professional appraisers and powerhouses of the Ancient Dan Realm could not figure it out, and an Ancient Dan Realm expert could not leave a mark upon it. Could it be that if they bought it back, they would actually be able to unravel its secrets?

These speculations caused countless people to retreat. This investment carried too much risk; with a starting bid of ten low-grade spiritual stones, many simply could not afford to play this game.

Yet, although most people showed no interest, there were still a few willing to take the risk. The silent atmosphere was broken within dozens of breaths.

"I bid eleven low-grade spiritual stones." The person who spoke was a middle-aged man—none other than Hai Tianming, the head of the Hai family and the father of Hai Chao.

"Oh, I didn't expect the family head of Hai to have the refined taste to study this piece of bronze. However, as it happens, my Feng family also holds a rather strong interest in it." Elder Feng Yang, who had just won the Cyan Spirit Liquid, spoke up at this moment. The Hai family had not been on very good terms with his Feng family lately, leaving the old man with some lingering grievance in his heart.

Originally, Elder Feng Yang had not intended to make another move, but upon thinking of the arrogant demeanor displayed by the Hai family over the past few days, he could not help himself and called out.

"You old undead bastard!" Hai Tianming cursed inwardly, but a hypocritical smile immediately bloomed across his face as he said, "Since Elder Feng is also interested, then naturally, the highest bidder shall win."

His tone sounded extremely cordial.

"I bid fifteen low-grade spiritual stones!" Hai Tianming raised his hand and announced.

"Twenty low-grade spiritual stones!"

"Twenty-one..."

"Thirty!" Elder Feng retorted without the slightest hesitation, adding to the bid back-to-back.

"I say, Family Head Hai, there's no need for you to raise it by one at a time; how troublesome. Why don't you just state your absolute limit? If you do, perhaps this old man won't bid against you anymore," Elder Feng said with a smile. In truth, he was already starting to beat a retreat in his heart, fully intending to press his advantage and stop. The moment the other party raised the bid again, he would immediately cease, lest he threw away dozens of spiritual stones just to vent a petty grievance.

"Hmph, this old fogey!" Hai Tianming's expression shifted between light and dark. His original limit was only twenty-five low-grade spiritual stones, yet the former had directly pushed the price up to thirty stones. After pondering for a moment, he finally shook his head. "I give up."

"Ah!" The moment Elder Feng saw the other party give up, he inwardly cursed that he was in trouble—he had overplayed his hand. He had never had any real interest in this piece of bronze to begin with, but now he would be forced to buy it whether he wanted to or not.

Just as no one else in the venue was raising the bid, Ye Cheng saw that the timing was right, raised his hand, and called out, "Thirty-one low-grade spiritual stones!"