14: Auction Storm and the Mysterious Fragment

Stepping into the Mittel Auction House again, Xiao Chen clearly felt the difference in treatment. The guards at the entrance, seeing the silver token on his waist, immediately bowed in salute, their attitude even more respectful than last time.

Soon, Steward Li hurried over upon hearing the news, his face beaming with a warm smile.

"Young Master Xiao Chen, you've arrived! Miss Ya Fei specifically instructed that if you came, you should be directly escorted to the VIP room on the second floor," Steward Li said, leading the way. "There happens to be a small auction today with many good items. If Young Master is interested, you can take a look."

Xiao Chen nodded and glanced at Xiao Yan beside him. Steward Li, being a shrewd person, immediately understood and smiled, saying, "This must be Young Master Xiao Yan? I've heard much about you. Both of you, please come."

Xiao Yan looked at Xiao Chen with some surprise, apparently not expecting Xiao Chen to have such influence at the auction house. He nodded slightly, not saying much.

The two were led to an elegantly decorated VIP room on the second floor. Through a large crystal glass, they could clearly see the bustling auction hall below. After the attendant served fragrant tea and pastries, he respectfully withdrew.

"Xiao Chen, you and this Mittel Auction House..." Xiao Yan finally couldn't help but ask.

Xiao Chen smiled and explained, "By chance, I helped them appraise some items, so we have a bit of a connection." He didn't elaborate, and Xiao Yan was sensible enough not to ask further.

Soon, the auction began. The auctioneer was an experienced elder, not Ya Fei. Item after item was brought onto the display stage: medicinal herbs, magic cores, weapons, and Dou Technique scrolls, mostly of Mortal Rank Mid-Tier to High-Tier, with an occasional first-grade or even second-grade medicinal pill appearing, drawing continuous bids from the hall.

Xiao Chen wasn't very interested in these items; his goal was to purchase large quantities of blood coagulation grass and bone regeneration flower. He whispered to Steward Li, who was standing by the door, "Steward Li, I'd like to procure a batch of blood coagulation grass and bone regeneration flower. The quality must be good, and the more, the better. Can the auction house provide them?"

Steward Li's eyes flashed with surprise upon hearing this, but he quickly returned to normal and smiled, "Young Master, rest assured. These two medicinal herbs are not scarce, and we have reserves in the storeroom. I'll arrange it right away and guarantee the most favorable price for Young Master."

"Thank you for your trouble," Xiao Chen nodded. Having the auction house supply directly saved him a lot of trouble, and both the price and quality were guaranteed.

While Steward Li went to make arrangements, Xiao Chen turned his attention back to the auction. He mainly wanted to see if there were any items containing high energy or clues about souls.

"Scan: Xuan Rank Low-Tier Dou Technique 'Cracked Wind Palm'... Energy reaction is average, replication requires high energy."

"Scan: First-grade medicinal pill 'qi recovery powder'... Energy is acceptable, but useless to the host."

"Scan: Second-tier earth-attribute magic core... Energy is pure, can recover about 50 units, but the price is expensive."

He Scanned several items, but none particularly caught his eye. Until the auctioneer brought out the next item—an incomplete, yellowish, ancient piece of parchment.

"Ladies and gentlemen, this next auction item is rather special," the auctioneer's voice carried a hint of mystery. "This is a incomplete diagram, of unknown material and ancient origin. It depicts some blurry routes and markings, but it's too incomplete to discern its specific destination. Our auction house appraisers' preliminary assessment suggests it might relate to an unknown ruin or treasure, but it could also be worthless. Starting bid, one thousand gold coins! Each increment must not be less than one hundred gold coins!"

A incomplete diagram related to ruins or treasures? A stir immediately arose in the hall, but more people shook their heads. Such treasure maps of unknown origin and incompleteness were, more often than not, a scam, and one thousand gold coins was no small sum.

However, in the VIP room, the moment the system Scanned that incomplete diagram, Xiao Chen's body suddenly trembled!

"Scan: Unknown incomplete diagram (1 / ?)"

"Grade": ???

"Composition": Contains extremely faint but exceptionally ancient, pure soul energy imprints, and an unanalyzable spatial fluctuation.

"Replicable": No (Insufficient energy, insufficient authority, rule-level blockade)

"Recoverable Energy": 1000 units (Warning! Forcibly recovering will completely destroy the internal information structure of the incomplete diagram and may cause unknown spatial disturbances!)

"System Evaluation": Extremely dangerous! Extremely precious! This item is related to high-tier soul inheritance or a lost space. The host's current strength is insufficient to touch it. It is recommended to stay away!"

One thousand units of energy! And clues to high-tier soul inheritance or a lost space!

Xiao Chen's heart pounded! This incomplete diagram was definitely not simple! The system's evaluation of "extremely dangerous" and "extremely precious" indicated that its value and risk were beyond imagination!

Should he bid for it?

Xiao Chen instantly fell into a fierce internal struggle. One thousand gold coins was a huge sum for him (the money he earned from selling blood coagulation powder, plus what he had before, totaled only about two hundred gold coins). Moreover, the system explicitly warned that his current strength was insufficient to touch it, and forcibly recovering it would destroy information and carry unknown risks.

However, one thousand units of energy and the potential clues to soul inheritance were too tempting! This could be a huge opportunity for his rapid rise!

"Eleven hundred gold coins!" Just as Xiao Chen hesitated, someone in the hall had already started bidding. It was a mysterious person wearing a cloak.

"Twelve hundred gold coins!" Another voice rang out, coming from another VIP room on the second floor.

Clearly, not everyone thought this incomplete diagram was worthless; there were also those who recognized its value.

The price slowly climbed. By fifteen hundred gold coins, there were very few people still bidding. After all, the risk was too great.

Xiao Chen clenched his fists. He had no money, but he had the system! If he could replicate a few high-quality medicinal pills... No, that wouldn't work! Not to mention his soul power had just recovered and couldn't withstand continuous synthesis, even if he could synthesize them, selling a large number of high-quality medicinal pills in a short time would surely arouse suspicion, leading to even greater risks.

Just as he was about to give up, a lazy and charming voice, transmitted through a sound-transmitting device in the VIP room, clearly echoed throughout the entire auction house:

"Two thousand gold coins."

It was Ya Fei! She had made a move!

The whole hall was in an uproar! Two thousand gold coins for a incomplete diagram that was almost certainly worthless? What was wrong with Miss Ya Fei?

The two VIP rooms that had been bidding earlier also fell silent, seemingly feeling that this price had already exceeded the incomplete diagram's intrinsic value.

The auctioneer was stunned for a moment, then excitedly shouted, "Miss Ya Fei bids two thousand gold coins! Are there any higher bids? Two thousand gold coins, first call! Two thousand gold coins, second call! Two thousand gold coins, third call! Sold! Congratulations, Miss Ya Fei!"

The hammer fell, sealing the deal.

Xiao Chen felt a mix of emotions: a sense of relief (no more agonizing), and a touch of loss (missing a potential opportunity). But more than that, there was confusion: why would Ya Fei spend so much to acquire this incomplete diagram? Had she seen something, or... did she have another motive?

The auction continued, but Xiao Chen no longer had much interest in watching. He was pondering Ya Fei's intentions.

Soon, Steward Li returned with good news: "Young Master Xiao Chen, the medicinal herbs you requested are ready. One hundred stalks of top-grade blood coagulation grass and fifty stalks of top-grade bone regeneration flower, settled at internal prices, total... eight hundred gold coins. What do you think...?"

One hundred stalks of blood coagulation grass! Fifty stalks of bone regeneration flower! Enough for him to synthesize twenty-five portions of blood coagulation powder, worth over seven hundred and fifty gold coins! And he could gain a large amount of energy points! This was definitely a profitable deal!

However, eight hundred gold coins! He couldn't afford it right now.

Xiao Chen pondered for a moment, then said to Steward Li, "Steward Li, I don't have that much cash on hand right now. How about this? I'll pay a portion as a deposit, and for the rest, I'll use medicinal pills to settle the account."

As he spoke, he took out seven bottles of blood coagulation powder (including those synthesized before and newly synthesized today) and placed them on the table: "These are seven bottles of blood coagulation powder, of the same quality as before. At a price of thirty gold coins per bottle, they are worth two hundred and ten gold coins. I'll pay a hundred gold coins as a deposit first, plus these medicinal pills, totaling three hundred and ten gold coins, as the first batch of payment. For the remaining four hundred and ninety gold coins, I'll pay in installments after I refine more medicinal pills later. How does that sound?"

This was a strategy he had planned long ago: using medicinal pills as collateral for installment payments, in exchange for a large quantity of raw materials, to accelerate the circulation of capital and energy.

Steward Li looked at the seven bottles of blood coagulation powder, a glint flashing in his eyes. He had already received instructions from Ya Fei to satisfy Xiao Chen's needs as much as possible. While this installment payment method carried some risk, given the quality of the blood coagulation powder and Xiao Chen's (and the expert behind him's) potential, it was entirely worth the investment.

"No problem!" Steward Li readily agreed. "It will be done as Young Master says! I've already had the medicinal herbs sent to the back warehouse. Young Master can pick them up at any time. Here are the keys and voucher for the warehouse."

The deal was struck! Xiao Chen paid a hundred gold coins as a deposit and seven bottles of blood coagulation powder, in exchange for the right to claim one hundred stalks of blood coagulation grass and fifty stalks of bone regeneration flower! His grand pharmaceutical endeavor could finally proceed on a larger scale!

As they left the VIP room, Xiao Chen couldn't help but ask Steward Li, "Steward Li, I wonder if Miss Ya Fei found anything when she acquired that incomplete diagram?"

Steward Li smiled mysteriously and whispered, "We can't guess Miss Ya Fei's thoughts. However, Miss asked me to tell Young Master that if Young Master is interested in that incomplete diagram, he can come to the auction house in three days. Miss might have something to discuss."

Xiao Chen's heart stirred, and he nodded, "Thank you for letting me know."

It seemed Ya Fei's acquisition of the incomplete diagram was indeed not a whim. The appointment in three days was likely related to this incomplete diagram and himself.

Carrying a wealth of acquisitions and a hint of doubt, Xiao Chen and Xiao Yan left the auction house. Xiao Yan had also purchased the medicinal herbs he needed, and the two returned separately.

Back in his small house, Xiao Chen looked at the voucher in his hand, representing a large quantity of medicinal herbs, his eyes sparkling with excitement.

The first step of primitive capital accumulation had finally been taken! Next, it was time to go full throttle, synthesize blood coagulation powder, and accumulate energy and funds!

As for the mysterious incomplete diagram and Ya Fei's invitation... he would set them aside for now. Strength was the foundation for dealing with all changes!

He locked his door, took a deep breath, and prepared to begin a new round of synthesis sprint. Beneath the sky of Wutan City, a legend rising through the power of replication was about to officially begin.