Fang Yue was stunned as she watched Su Chengyu relentlessly raise his offer. "Have you gone mad? It’s just a necklace, why are you spending so much?" she exclaimed.
"Even if it costs a fortune, it’s worth it if it pleases me. I’ve set my eyes on it, so naturally it’s worth it."
Su Chengyu’s hand finally stopped, and the number on the big screen finally settled at 71 million, a huge leap of 20 million in Su Chengyu’s bidding.
The auctioneer then said, "Guest number nineteen bids 70 million!"
Many in the audience were shocked as well. A normal price for this necklace might have been 40 or 50 million. Because the allure of the Eternal-youth Pill, many were unwilling to spend extra on the necklace. Seeing someone throw 70 million on it naturally surprised them.
Backstage, Lu Yunxi, seeing the bid, said, "Uncle, do you think this necklace is being bought by Su Cheng or Fang Yue?"
"A jump of 20 million suggests it’s Mr. Su. Did he buy it to gift it to Miss Fang?" wondered Chen Yuanheng.
Right then in seating area number sixty-two, a man’s face darkened. He asked an older man sitting beside him, "Uncle Hua, who is number nineteen?"
"I’m not sure," the old man replied.
"Daring to snatch an item from me. He’s courting death!" The man lifted his hand as if to continue bidding, but the old man dissuaded him, "Our goal today is the Yuan-increasing Pill and the Spirit Yuan Pill. Since the Spirit Yuan Pill has already been bought by someone, we must win the Yuan-increasing Pill. Don’t waste money on this necklace. It’s clear the other party will not give up easily."
Upon hearing this, the man withdrew his hand that had been prepared to press the button and gave up on the bid.
"Uncle Hua, before the auction ends, keep an eye out and find out who number nineteen is. I absolutely have to get this necklace," declared the man.
The old man nodded in agreement. The auctioneer had already declared the winning bid.
"Who exactly is the recipient of this necklace? It seems this person matters to you a lot. So much so that you ruthlessly spent such a huge amount and boosted your bid by 20 million to win it over?" Fang Yue spoke with a sour feeling in her heart.
"As long as it’s not for it’s not for you, it’s fine," retorted Su Chengyu.
"You....Hmph! Even if you were to give it to me, I wouldn’t want it. I wouldn’t give it a second thought! You’re so annoying!"
Fang Yue was slowly building up immunity to Su Chengyu’s irritations. She didn’t grind her teeth in anger like she did when she first met him.
After the necklace auction, two more items were auctioned. Su Chengyu showed no interest in them. His only priority that day was the herbs. The purchase of the necklace had been a spur-of-the-moment decision.
Everyone was eager and waiting for the second Spirit Pill to come up for auction.
The second Spirit Pill, the Yuan-increasing Pill, set off another auction frenzy. Everyone scrambled to join the bidding. Its final price of 340 million for a few years of life was a bargain to the wealthy!
The winner of the Yuan-increasing Pill was the same person in seating area sixty-two who had competed with Su Chengyu for the necklace.
After the Yuan-increasing Pill was sold, an age-old ginseng root finally came up for auction. Su Chengyu once again stepped in, buying it for 45 million. After all, four-hundred-year-old ginseng is very rare.
This type of herbal material rarely appears in Hengtong auctions.
So far, Su Chengyu had made a profit of 600 million at the auction. One more Eternal-youth Pill was left, which could sell for at least 200 million, hence he could amass nearly a billion with these pills alone.
If Su Chengyu was willing, with alchemy, he could easily become the richest man in Jiangdong.
The Spirit Yuan Pill, Eternal-youth Pill, and Yuan-increasing Pill are not difficult to concoct, and the required herbs are relatively easy to acquire. He could mass-produce these pills.
Alchemists have always been the wealthiest people in the Cultivation world because not every cultivator can practice alchemy.
Alchemy is a craft separate from Cultivation Magic, and to practice alchemy, one also needs to have the appropriate alchemy prescriptions.
Su Chengyu grabbed nearly a billion but also spent over a hundred million purchasing herbs and a necklace, but it was absolutely worth it.
He didn’t plan to make any further bids in the auction as he had lost interest in the remaining items.
Soon, as the last Pill in the auction, the Eternal-youth Pill took center stage. Fang Yue seemed eager to participate in the bidding. Su Chengyu didn’t try to dissuade her. After all, the money would ultimately fall into his pocket.
The price of the Eternal-youth Pill quickly surpassed that of the Yuan-increasing Pill, which was beyond Su Chengyu’s expectations.
"As expected, women will go to the greatest lengths for beauty," he concluded.
In Su Chengyu’s opinion, the Yuan-increasing Pill was more valuable than the Eternal-youth Pill. In terms of difficulty to produce, the Eternal-youth Pill was the simplest among all three. Chen Yuanheng’s decision to save the Eternal-youth Pill as the final lot made perfect sense now.
The bid was quickly approaching 400 million, and Fang Yue had to reluctantly withdraw from the competition.
After the price hit 400 million, only two parties were left bidding. Fang Yue resentfully suggested, "Can you lend me some money? I’ll buy the Eternal-youth Pill and pay you back later."
"No." Su Chengyu bluntly refused.
Fang Yue glared at Su Chengyu angrily, her chest heaving with indignation.
"Is a beauty- enhancing petty pill worth 400 million? I think you’re losing your mind," Su Chengyu sneered.
"If you’re not lending, then don’t. But quit snarking at me. You don’t understand women at all!" Fang Yue huffed.
Su Chengyu didn’t bother arguing with her. The Eternal-youth Pill was eventually sold for 430 million, 90 million higher than the Yuan-increasing Pill. Su Chengyu was quite satisfied.
After the Eternal-youth Pill was sold, two items were left for the auction but by then, the audience had lost interest. Some had even left the auction.
Su Chengyu also stood up and said, "We should go too. There are people keeping an eye on us. If we leave late, we might run into trouble."
The conversation in the sixty-two seating area was completely captured by Su Chengyu’s Divine Sense. The entire auction venue was as clear to him as it could be.
"Nonsense. This is Hengtong auction. Who would dare to cause trouble here?" Fang Yue retorted.
"After Miss Hou was publicly humiliated, do you believe they will simply let it go?" Su Chengyu calmly stated.
"You’re so powerful. You even managed to kill a demon. You shouldn’t be afraid of the Hou family, right?" Fang Yue gently teased.
"The Hou family has a Great Grandmaster. If the Great Grandmaster comes in person, I’ll be done for. In that case, will you attend my funeral to mourn me?" Su Chengyu responded.
Fang Yue’s expression changed upon hearing this and she promptly said, "Let’s go quickly."
Fang Yue opened the door to leave but noticed Su Chengyu still standing motionless. She hurriedly asked, "What are you waiting for? Let’s go."
"Wait a second. I item."
Su Chengyu was about to leave, but the auctioneer was at that moment introducing the penultimate item. It was a palm-sized jade artifact shaped somewhat like a lotus petal.
Su Chengyu noticed faint fluctuations of nature’s spiritual energy on this jade artifact, which might imply it’s a magic artifact.
Fang Yue came back to take a look and said, "Isn’t this just a jade artifact? It looks very ordinary. If you like it, I can give you one when we go back. My father has a lot of jade collectibles which are all better than this jade artifact."