novelsite Chapter 143 Qianwu Auction
Chapter 143 Qianwu Auction
On December 16, 2065 in the Chinese calendar, the triennial Qianwu Auction was officially held.
In the virtual universe, above the continent of Qianwu, a floating city silently hovers amidst the clouds. The scenery of this floating city is beautiful, with flowers and plants everywhere. But the most dazzling feature of the entire city is its enormous building—the auction hall. The Qianwu Auction, held every three years, is always conducted in this hall.
Lin Yun, Luo Feng, Hong, and Lei Shen stood inside the teleportation point, holding invitations to the Qianwu Auction. Four beams of light enveloped them, instantly teleporting them to the sky above the Floating City.
"Gentlemen, welcome to this year's Qianwu Auction. Here are your seat numbers."
The waiter respectfully handed four black tokens to the four people. Each token had a semi-transparent screen displaying its seat number—Lin Yun's was KND99286, Luo Feng's was KND99287, Hong's was KND99288, and Lei Shen's was KND99289.
"All four of them are standing close together, not bad." Thor grinned.
The four entered the auction hall, and the sight before them made Thor's eyes widen. The entire auction hall resembled a football stadium on Earth, with stands densely packed all around, the seats stretching as far as the eye could see. Each seat was six meters wide and ten meters high, arranged in concentric circles, seemingly endless.
"There are 300 million seats here," Lin Yun said. "Those who can attend this auction are at least three-star clients."
"A three-star customer?" Thor was taken aback. "What's that?"
"Assets must be at least 1 Chaos Unit," Luo Feng explained. "1 Chaos Unit is equal to 1 trillion Cosmic Coins."
Thor gasped. Although he knew Lin Yun had given each of them 200,000 Chaos Units, the sheer number still shocked him. One Chaos Unit—that was a number he had never even dared to dream of before.
The four found their seats and sat down. Around them sat powerful figures of various races—some like towering iron towers engulfed in flames, some cold, three-eyed dwarfs only a meter tall, and some covered in scales. Each of them exuded a powerful aura; the vast majority were World Lord level experts.
"So many realm lords," Hong said in a low voice.
"The entire Qianwu Universe Kingdom has over 13,000 star domains and millions of realm lords," Lin Yun said. "More than 1.8 million people have come to participate in this auction."
Thor swallowed hard and remained silent.
Three hours later, the auction officially began.
A bald old man carrying a black tortoise shell stood in the center of the auction hall, his three-dimensional silhouette, nearly a thousand meters tall, appearing in the air above. His clear voice instantly spread, echoing throughout the entire auction hall.
"Welcome everyone to this year's Dry Witch Auction!" the old man said with a smile. "You can call me Old Barto. As always, Old Barto is hosting this grand event!"
"The previous Ganwu Auction had 1316038 participants, while the statistics for this auction have just come out—1823959! That's 182 million, more than 50 more than last time!"
The auction hall was filled with noise.
"Enough with the chit-chat! The official start time for this auction is fast approaching. Before the auction officially begins, as usual, let's have a pre-auction to warm things up." Old Barto pointed to the side, where a huge screen immediately appeared, displaying a magnificent cosmic galaxy.
"This is the Tana Star Region! It's a small star region, ranking low among the more than 13,000 star regions of the Qianwu Universe Kingdom, comprising a total of 668 star systems. Previously, it was the territory of an Immortal powerhouse. However, this Immortal being is preparing for a life-or-death adventure and therefore wants to sell the entire star region. Therefore, the pre-auction highlight of our auction is this very star region—the Tana Star Region!"
The auction hall was filled with noise.
"Starting price: 300 Mixed Yuan Units! Each bid must be a multiple of Mixed Yuan Units."
"400 Mixed Yuan Units!" The price immediately soared.
In the blink of an eye, it became 860 mixed units, and was eventually sold for 1000 mixed units.
Thor stared in disbelief: "Only 1000 Chaos Yuan per star field? Does that mean the 20 Chaos Yuan Lin Yun gave us could buy 200 such star fields?"
"That's how it is in theory," Luo Feng said. "But auctions of these small star systems are rare, and prices tend to be inflated. However, 20 Chaos Yuan is indeed a huge sum of money."
After the warm-up auction concluded, the auction officially began.
"Now we have the first batch of auction items. You can all see the 1000 items to be auctioned on your auction tokens," Old Barto shouted. "Now we have the first item—92 members of the Berna race, a metallic life form."
Items were auctioned off one after another like flowing water. The lowest selling price was still tens of billions of cosmic coins, while the normal prices were hundreds of billions of cosmic coins.
Lin Yun has not made a move yet; he is waiting.
"Lanko Fruit is the best item for cultivating spirit beasts and plant life. Even if one is seriously injured, consuming Lanko Fruit will have a healing effect. 100 Lanko Fruits make up one unit. There are 39 units of Lanko Fruit here. The minimum price for each unit is 1000 billion cosmic coins."
Lin Yun's eyes lit up. Although his Cloud-Piercing Vine had reached 108 main vines, it was still some distance from the peak of the cosmic level. The Lan Ke Fruit was very effective in cultivating the Cloud-Piercing Vine.
"1800 billion," Lin Yun offered.
"I'll have one too." Luo Feng also entered the price.
In the end, Lin Yun spent 1800 billion and 1810 billion cosmic coins to buy two units, while Luo Feng spent 1820 billion to buy one unit.
"The Mechanical Race Battle Suit provides perfect protection for the entire body. An energy shield naturally forms on the outermost layer of the suit, powered by energy crystals within the suit. This particular Mechanical Race Battle Suit is a D8-level suit. Once worn, even a planetary-level being wearing it, or a fifth or sixth-tier Domain Lord, would find it impossible to break through. Starting price: 1 Chaos Unit!"
Lin Yun bid again. Although his Radiant Armor was decent, it was still inferior to the D8-level battle suit of the Mech Race. In the end, he won the Mech Race battle suit for 9.8 Mixed Yuan Units.
"Lin Yun, you're really rich," Thor exclaimed.
"Don't just sit around doing nothing," Lin Yun said. "See if there's anything that suits you."
Thor looked down at the auction list on the token, his eyes suddenly lighting up: "This is great! The secret manual related to the fundamental laws of lightning—'Nine Transformations of Thunder,' starting bid 5000 billion cosmic coins."
"Take the picture if you want to," Lin Yun said.
Thor gritted his teeth and began bidding. He ultimately won the manual for 1.2 units of Chaos.
Hong also made a move, bidding on a manual related to the fundamental laws of light, spending 1.1 units of mixed energy.
The auction proceeded smoothly. A plethora of rare and exotic items were on display, each one enough to drive the domain lords mad. Yet, at this premier event in the Qianwu Universe Kingdom, with over a million domain lords gathered, the bidding was anything but hesitant.
Three batches of goods, totaling 3000 items, were sold out quickly.
"This is the fourth batch of auction items. You can see the 1000 items that will be auctioned next on your auction tokens." Old Barto's voice echoed in the auction hall.
Lin Yun looked down at the token in his hand, his gaze lingering on one of the items.
Divine Weapons.
One of the nine divine weapons wielded by the wielder, its full name is "Hun Tian Yan" or "Ninefold Hun Tian Yan". In its normal form, the weapon is a dark golden rod containing 10081 thin, cicada-wing-like golden swords, each containing incomparably profound primordial law runes.
"The Divine Weapon..." Lin Yun murmured.
He knew that this divine weapon was Luo Feng's destined weapon. In the original story, Luo Feng shone brightly in the Genius Battle precisely because of the Divine Weapon.
"Luo Feng, the Divine Weapon has arrived," Lin Yun said to Luo Feng beside him.
Luo Feng's eyes lit up; he had also spotted the item on the token.
"The next item up for auction is the Divine Weapon!" Old Barto shouted. "The Divine Weapon, one of the nine great divine weapons, is of immense power. You all know its strength. It's not that you won't have enough to wield, it's that you won't be skilled enough. Bidding begins now. There are nine Divine Weapons in total, and the nine highest bids will win. Starting price—5000 billion cosmic coins!"
Before the words were even finished, the price began to skyrocket.
5500亿、6000亿、6600亿、7000亿……价格如同脱缰的野马，一路狂奔。不到片刻，便突破了15000亿。
Luo Feng's breathing became rapid. Although he had 20 Mixed Yuan Units, he was still somewhat nervous seeing the price soar.
"Don't rush," Lin Yun said. "Wait until the price stabilizes before making a move."
Prices continued to rise, reaching 20000 trillion, 21000 trillion, 21100 trillion... but the growth rate began to slow down.
"21800 trillion." Luo Feng entered the quote.
Prices continued to rise slowly, reaching 21900 trillion, 22000 trillion...
Suddenly, the price jumped to 26000 trillion!
Luo Feng frowned, but didn't panic. He entered a new price—32000 trillion.
After prices surpassed 32000 trillion, the growth rate slowed significantly. While the realm lords present were wealthy, their riches didn't fall from the sky.
"36112 billion." Luo Feng gritted his teeth and entered the price.
The number displayed on the screen was frozen at 36101 billion. The ninth-ranked bid was 36101 billion cosmic coins.
"The ninth bid is 36101 trillion cosmic coins. Three seconds left! 3, 2, 1! Congratulations to the nine guests! You have become the owners of this 'Divine Weapon'!"
Luo Feng looked down at the black token in his hand. The screen displayed a line of text: "Congratulations, guest number KND99287, you have won a Divine Weapon."
"Success!" Luo Feng breathed a sigh of relief and smiled.
36101 trillion cosmic coins, equivalent to 3.61 Chaos Units. To him, that's nothing at all.
"Congratulations," Hong said.
"Good weapon." Thor also came over to take a look.
After the Divine Weapon was unveiled, the auction continued. The fifth batch, the sixth batch... one precious treasure after another appeared, leaving the realm lords present dazzled.
Lin Yun made several more bids, acquiring some rare materials for cultivating the Moyun Vine, as well as some potions and crystal cores needed for cultivation. In total, he spent less than 10 Hunyuan units, a drop in the ocean for him.
Luo Feng also purchased some cultivation resources. Hong and Lei Shen, on the other hand, mainly focused on the secret manuals and treasures related to their respective laws.
The auction finally came to an end on its tenth day.
"All 50 batches of auction items, totaling 5 pieces, have been sold!" Old Barto laughed loudly. "Now we've reached the final climax of this auction—the auction of the final 100 items! Each item in this final auction is either unique or incredibly valuable, and every single one has a starting price of 0!"
The grand finale auction has begun.
The first and most anticipated item—a single golden leaf from the Kras Ancient Tree—was sold for 8990 Mixed Yuan Units. This figure left the Realm Lords present speechless, but it didn't cause much of a stir for Lin Yun.
The auction proceeded one item after another. Some were expensive, some relatively cheap. Lin Yun hadn't made a move yet; he was waiting—waiting for the Demon Slayer skin.
"The next item up for auction is even rarer. Even at auctions in various cosmic countries, it's very difficult to see such an item—the skin of a member of the Demon Slayer Clan!" Old Barto shouted.
The auction hall erupted in excitement.
"The Demon Slayer Clan! One of the pinnacle races among energy-based life forms, possessing the title of 'Strongest Assassin Clan'!"
"As the darlings of this space, their skin contains the secret patterns of the fundamental laws of space. Everyone surely understands its value!"
Lin Yun's eyes lit up. This was what he was looking for—Luo Feng's second clone.
"However, I regret to inform you that this Demon Slayer's skin is incomplete." Old Barto pointed to the screen next to him. "This skin is only a small part of the skin on the Demon Slayer's body; the rest was torn or destroyed in the battle."
A commotion erupted in the auction hall. The damaged skin had little value for cultivation; its main value was as a collector's item.
"Incomplete... incomplete is good." Luo Feng thought to himself with delight. Incomplete items would be much cheaper than complete ones.
"Alright, the auction will now begin, with the starting price remaining at 0!"
"1 Mixed Yuan Unit!" The first offer appeared.
The price began to rise. 1.1 Hunyuan, 1.5 Hunyuan, 1.9 Hunyuan... the numbers kept jumping, and in just a moment it broke through two Hunyuan units.
Luo Feng didn't rush to make a bid; he was waiting for the price to stabilize.
After prices broke through three mixed units, the growth rate slowed significantly.
"3.9 Mixed Yuan Units." Luo Feng entered the price.
The number displayed on the screen remained 3.9 mixed units, and did not change for several seconds.
"3.9 Mixed Yuan Units, any higher bids? Countdown three, 3, 2, 1! Congratulations to customer KND99287, you have obtained the Demon Slayer Clan's Fragmented Skin!"
Luo Feng looked at the message displayed on the token and a slight smile appeared on his lips.
3.9 Mixed Units, Take it.
"Luo Feng, what do you plan to do with this Demon Slayer skin?" Thor asked curiously.
"The Golden Horned Beast can spawn three clones, and the Earthling clone is already there," Luo Feng said. "The second clone will be from the Demon Slayer Clan. The Demon Slayer Clan is the darling of space; with it, my spatial laws can be rapidly improved."
"Good stuff." Hong nodded.
The final item in the auction—a spot for enlightenment in the initial universe (at the realm lord level)—was sold for 37500 Chaos Units. This figure left the realm lords present speechless.
The auction is over.
The four walked out of the auction hall, Thor still savoring the auction.
「这次拍卖会我花了1.2混元，洪哥花了1.1混元，罗峰花了3.61加3.9加零碎差不多8个混元，你花了大概20个混元。咱们四个加起来还不到40混元，离你给我们的20万差得远呢。」雷神掰着手指头算。
"Save the money for later," Lin Yun said. "After the Genius Battle, there will be many places where we'll need money."
"That's true." Thor nodded.
The Divine Weapon and the Demon Slayer Clan skin both ended up in Luo Feng's hands. This was an opportunity destined for Luo Feng, and he didn't intend to steal it. Moreover, what he wanted was a Cosmic Divine Weapon—a supreme treasure that combined the two superior laws of time and space. Such a treasure could not possibly appear at the Qianwu Auction.
"Xiao Lan, where can I find a cosmic weapon?" Lin Yun asked in his mind.
"Master, the Cosmic Divine Weapon is the foremost of the nine divine weapons, and it is extremely rare," Xiao Lan said. "As far as I know, it is extremely rare even in the entire Qianwu Cosmic Kingdom. It can only be found in the core treasury of the Virtual Universe Company, or in the hands of some super-powerful individuals."
"The core treasure trove of the Virtual Universe Company..." Lin Yun murmured.
"Master, once you become a core member of the Virtual Universe Company, you will have the opportunity to access the company's core treasure trove," Xiao Lan said. "At that time, you can apply to purchase a cosmic weapon."
"Then let's talk about it after the Genius Battle." Lin Yun nodded.