On this world, ninety-nine percent of people fear death. Even those who claim to see through life and death harbor a trace of awe towards it.

The Grand Elder hadn’t transcended life and death; he feared it.

If the Heart Demon can’t be suppressed and one falls into demonic paths, the only outcome is self-destruction!

The Grand Elder thought that the most tormenting thing in this world is waiting for the day of death!

According to the value of the ’Hidden Dragon Sword’, it shouldn’t rank so high, even if it were the last item in the auction nobody would complain.

The reason it was placed so prominently was by his own request; he feared a Heart Method being snatched away by others.

Logically, the chances of such a thing happening were negligible, but the Grand Elder still didn’t dare to take the risk.

Who would have known, it went unsold!

Even though he had predicted this outcome, it was still hard to accept. Instantly, the awe-inspiring Grand Elder seemed to have aged another twenty years.

The Second Elder watched this scene, feeling distressed but said nothing, as he didn’t know what words could bring some comfort to this heartbroken man.

...

The Hidden Dragon Sword felt very familiar to Lin Tian; the material must be the same as the Black Dragon Dagger!

He deeply understood the horror of the Black Dragon Dagger; no weapon could compare to its sharpness.

He was somewhat interested in the Hidden Dragon Sword, but not particularly.

The Hidden Dragon Sword was described in the manual, 1.23 meters long, weighing fifty pounds and seven ounces, making it inconvenient to carry around.

In this era, isn’t carrying a longsword a bit too strange?

Take it back to collect? He didn’t have the leisure interest.

This affair was just a side episode, so it passed, and the auction continued.

The scene heated up again, the twelve families all participated, each having their winnings.

Now up for auction was a rare medicinal herb, which had great effects on the Sea of Qi, so the competition was understandably fierce.

This herb was considered very rare within the family Alliance and was seldom auctioned.

"Room 8 bids, five hundred and thirty million!"

This bid was already quite high; the Wang Family had an aggressive stance, tightly clutching the price.

Lin Tian raised an eyebrow, grinning mischievously at Qu beside him, "Go, add twenty million."

"Huh?" Qu opened his mouth wide, hardly daring to believe it, was he really asked to bid?

"What ’huh?’ Just go."

"Oh." Qu came to his senses, walked to the LCD screen, and glanced back at Lin Tian. Seeing him nod, Qu sighed with relief and wrote the bid.

"Five hundred thirty million, going three—"

As the Fifth Elder was about to drop the hammer, suddenly a ’ding’ sounded again.

"Room 3, five hundred and fifty million!"

Hearing this sound, Qu’s heart thumped; the thrill of such lavish spending was too exhilarating, too stimulating, even if it was on behalf of Lin Tian, it was through his own hands!

"Damn!" Wang Ping couldn’t help but curse; clearly having victory in hand, why did someone come to disrupt?

But Wang Ping had no choice, since the Fifth Elder hadn’t dropped the hammer, everyone still had a right to compete.

Wang Ping raised an eyebrow, feeling a bit annoyed, "What’s with Mr. Zhang? Why does he keep opposing us?"

Sitting beside him, the Wang Family elder was also puzzled, "Could this be a coincidence? Didn’t Mr. Zhang request the Alliance for Qi Sea-clearing herbs a couple of days ago?"

Wang Ping shook his head expressionlessly, "No, this shouldn’t be a coincidence. Whether the Alliance gave him herbs or not, he has no reason to snatch this from us. I think he’s doing it deliberately!"

"Really? When did our Wang Family ever offend him? Besides, the rooms are private, he doesn’t even know it’s us."

Wang Ping sighed, "Then I don’t know, raise the bid, we must get this herb!"

Dong...

"Room 8, five hundred and sixty million!"

Dong...

"Room 3, six hundred million!"

The spectators were puzzled again, what was going on with these two? Had they clashed?

Dong...

"Room 8, six hundred and ten million!"

Dong...

"Room 3, six hundred and fifty million!"

"Damn it!" Wang Ping angrily stood up from the sofa, would this never end?

The elder beside him couldn’t bear the sight, "Wang Ping, how about letting it go?"

"No way! You know as well, this is the only medicine that can save my elder brother!" Wang Ping’s anger twisted his nose; he could see that the opponent was driving up the price, but giving in like that—what about Wang Shi?

Helplessly, Wang Ping gritted his teeth and wrote down: seven hundred million!

When the auctioneer announced seven hundred million, Lin Tian told Qu, "Alright, you can stop now."

Qu nodded excitedly, withdrawing his hand. His handsome face was still a little flushed, spending money like this could be addictive!

"Seven hundred million three times, sold!"

Seeing the Fifth Elder drop the hammer, that herb was now in the Wang Family’s possession!

However, Wang Ping and the two elders were not happy at all; instead, they felt a suffocating frustration, itching to find a scapegoat to vent on!

It was so damn infuriating! Wasting an extra hundred and seventy million, that’s real money! Now that Wang Daoran’s assets have shrunk by more than half, recovery will take at least two or three years.

Money isn’t easy to earn!

"Go get the surveillance from the third floor today, I feel something’s wrong," Wang Ping said to an elder.

"But this is Alliance territory, sending our people to access the surveillance may not be that simple, right?"

Wang Ping’s face was grim, "Isn’t the Alliance formed by our twelve families? Which elder would dare stop you from checking the surveillance? Go on."

"Alright!"

...

"Next, up for auction is a cultivation manual, though it isn’t really a manual, more like the Grand Elder’s accumulated experiences over the years. All cultivators know once the Eight Extraordinary Meridians are fully open, one becomes a high-level Martial Artist. To advance to the next phase, one must cultivate a Golden Core."

"The book up next is called ’Ren Du Golden Elixir’, containing the Grand Elder’s experience in opening the Ren and Du Meridians, and a direct method to cultivate a Golden Core. Starting price, ten billion!"

Some people’s eyes widened, baffled: "Ten billion? That much?"

"Yeah, what’s in that book to warrant such a price?"

Insiders understand the subtleties while outsiders watch the show.

While those unfamiliar with cultivation were debating, families had already started bidding.

Currently, the number one expert on Celestial Dragon Continent is unanimously acknowledged to be the Grand Elder. There’s a rumor that he formed a Golden Core immediately after unblocking the Seven Meridians. Such a method should be a closely-guarded secret, yet it’s put up for sale now.

Ten billion much? Not really, not at all, even the cost-performance ratio seems slightly low.

Understand, a Golden Core expert has tremendous influence on the whole of Luoyan Dock, even in the Legislative Hall.

A Golden Core expert can bring profits far exceeding ten billion, moreover, this book is not a one-time consumable.