As long as you have this "Ren Du Golden Elixir", the chances of cultivating a Golden Core can be greatly increased, and the growth period can be significantly shortened.

But as for whether the legends are credible, it’s up to the wise to see wisdom.

All the family clans take the Great Elder as a benchmark, naturally believing it to a large extent.

"Ten billion and one hundred million!"

"Ten billion and two hundred million!"

"..."

"Twelve billion!"

The price just kept climbing, never stopping.

The twelve family clans were fighting fiercely, some even had red eyes from the competition.

Lin Tian just watched quietly, not in a hurry to make a move, as there’s no point in doing so now.

Soon, the price was pushed to a high of twenty billion.

Lin Tian thought, these bidders aren’t fools; this is a book, not a medication. It can be resold. No matter how high the price, once bought, it can be copied and sold at the next auction next year.

If several experts emerge in the family by then, it must be credited to this book, naturally driving its value even higher, making it unlikely to be a loss-making purchase.

Of course, this is Lin Tian’s viewpoint.

For the true family clans, their tradition from ancient times has been to keep the best things within the family. As for selling it, it’s something they disdain. So resale is simply out of the question!

The price stalled at twenty-five billion, unable to rise further.

These family clans all have businesses among the people, and not insignificant ones, with very considerable profits.

However, cultivation is also a money-consuming endeavor. Herbal baths cost money, rare herbs, training equipment—all these require money, and substantial amounts of it!

Twenty-five billion is already the limit for the majority of family clans. Any higher, while it might not affect their foundation, life would definitely become less comfortable than before.

The true foundation of a family clan lies in their members; the stronger their power, the greater the profits they can bring, the better the connections, and the higher their social status. This is their true foundation!

"Add another ten million," Lin Tian calmly told Qu.

Gulp...

Someone swallowed a mouthful of saliva, finding it hard to believe, still bidding?

Faced with the strange expressions from everyone, Lin Tian just chuckled, not bothering to explain. He was wearing a mask, pretending not to know them, so there’s no need for further explanation.

"Sir... are you really bidding?" Qu looked at Lin Tian worriedly, as it’s twenty-five billion, not twenty-five bucks; what if he can’t pay and drags her down with him?

Lin Tian gave her a reassuring smile, "Don’t worry, I’ve got the money, you won’t be inconvenienced."

"Alright." Qu nodded and did as Lin Tian instructed.

Ding...

The Fifth Elder looked up at the number displayed on the wall of Room Three, and said slowly, "Room Three, twenty-five billion and ten million!"

Even the Fifth Elder, experienced as he was, found it hard to swallow in front of such a number. Though there had been such high prices before, they were extremely rare, and it was just a book after all.

Seeing Room Three again, Wang Ping couldn’t help but suppress the anger rising in his heart, wanting to bid again.

"Wang Ping... let’s forget about it. We can’t handle this price anymore," sighed the elder in the room.

"Let it go? But..."

"There’s no but. It’s twenty-five billion! Our business has already shrunk, and there’s not much capital within the clan. If we spend it all on a book, our capital chain would break within a month!"

Wang Ping’s face looked a bit embarrassed, "No way, can’t the Wang Family afford even twenty-five billion?"

"Have you become stupid from your cultivation? Do you think other family clans are easy to deal with? Everyone knows our business has shrunk. If we spend another twenty-five billion, wouldn’t the other clans take the opportunity to strike?"

This scolding, spittle flying everywhere, really woke Wang Ping up a bit, and he muttered, "Don’t we have someone on the second floor?"

"Let’s forget it, let them compete. I don’t think this is that simple. Besides, can you guarantee no one’s watching our guy on the second floor?"

"These despicable people!"

The elder shook his head, "Oh, you! High martial power doesn’t mean longer life, you still have to guard against hidden threats!"

"I understand now!"

Apart from the Wang Family, there were two other family clans bidding against Lin Tian.

Finally, when the price reached twenty-seven billion, Lin Tian gave up; the price was indeed high, and he felt it was a bit too much.

Actually, Lin Tian didn’t know how much money he had in his account. Every month, people from Xianglong Tea House and Black Gold Security Company would deposit money into it—and the amounts weren’t small. 𝘧𝑟𝑒𝑒𝘸𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝓁.𝘤𝘰𝓂

Plus yesterday’s five billion, with the discount vouchers in hand, he figured he should be able to afford it.

But for a book like this, Lin Tian thought it wasn’t worth it, so he naturally gave up.

Finally, the book was bought by someone on the second floor for twenty-seven billion five hundred million.

According to the prestige order, people from the twelve family clans were on the third floor, with fixed rooms each year, inevitably causing envy.

But on the second floor, identities weren’t exposed, because there were numerous rooms and guests, making it hard to track. So every family clan would randomly arrange a room on the second floor to buy things that might cause envy.

While there was still a chance of being targeted, the risk was much reduced.

...

Inside VIP Room One.

The Great Elder had somewhat recovered his spirits, utterly surprised to see his book sold at such an astonishing price, unable to speak.

"Big brother, how much did you originally think the book would sell for?"

"Five billion..."

"The starting bid was ten billion... big brother, aren’t you underestimating your worth?"

"You’ve misunderstood. That book, in my opinion, requires too much luck and coincidence, and cannot be duplicated," said the Great Elder leisurely.

The Second Elder was a bit confused, "But big brother, didn’t you directly cultivate the Golden Core?"

"Yes, but I paid the price for it! My Heart Demon originated from this!" The Great Elder leaned on the sofa, looking at the ceiling, only feeling deep regret for past actions!

"What... what exactly happened?"

"Cultivation is a meticulous task! Step by step, shortcuts are taboo! I directly cultivated the Golden Core, and was overjoyed, thinking it was destiny. Looking back now, I realize how foolish I was! I cultivated not just the Golden Core, but also a Heart Demon!"