The Dao Shard eventually sold for just shy of a billion gold coins. This astronomical price caused many of the guests to wonder why they had even bothered showing up.
Some of them even wished that something ordinary could show up, like a squash or a ginseng root.
Instead, only more and more amazing things kept showing up.
There was a magic sword forged from hell-diamond that sold for eight hundred and forty-four million, a golden cudgel that someone in one of the private rooms paid a flat one billion for, and even a stone egg that someone else paid 1.5 billion gold coins for.
At some point, the less fortunate among the guests became numb to the astronomical prices, and truly started to enjoy the event for what it was.
More and more items sold for higher and higher amounts of gold coins. Eventually, the final item of this segment showed up. A ring of gold, engraved in a strange language with characters that seemed to contain the essence of eternal fire.
Those that saw it found it almost impossible to not desire it without an iron will. Those that did not possess such a thing were convinced they needed to sell every last one of their organs to obtain it.
According to Liu Yue, this was a ring belonging to an Ancient Fiendgod that had perished and left his belongings behind on a distant moon.
That Fiendgod was known only by the name 'Nature's Breaking,' and apparently had been responsible for the subjugation- and eventual destruction- of a large portion of the Netherworld.
This ring was the only item left behind that could not be identified or properly appraised. It could be nothing special, but it could also be something extraordinary.
This was the first time that almost all of the special guests on the top floor took part in the bidding.
It was not long before the price reached a shocking ten billion. In a matter of minutes, that became one hundred billion, then two hundred, then five, then eight.
"Sold to VVIP Room #8 for eight hundred and seventy-one billion!" Liu Ning cheerfully announced.
With that, the first segment of the auction had ended. Liu Ning and Liu Yue told the guests to enjoy the refreshments that would be served during the short break, then they disappeared backstage, likely to take a break themselves.
During the break, the guests broke out into discussions of their own as they relaxed. Some even got up and took walks around the auction house, even going out to the verandas for some air.
Upstairs, the VVIP rooms were silent; no one entered, no one exited.
Luo Ran and Meng Lan's conversation was interrupted by Jin Huang's loud yawning.
"Hey, Lord Obsidian, when am I gonna get to do something? This auction's boring. And I'm all out of food."
Blinking, Xiao Chen turned and saw that Jin Huang had truly eaten everything. Groaning, he sent a message to some servers to have them bring more food, and to prepare the next batch after that.
"Just hang on. The first segment of this auction was always meant to be boring. Now that all the lower tier items have been sold, things are gonna get far more interesting." Xiao Chen grinned as he eyed the many private rooms both below them and on the same floor.
"Gold coins are great, but they're nothing compared to the higher forms of currency that this next batch of items are worth."
Jin Huang and Luo Ran perked up at almost the same time.
"You're saying there's another kind of currency? What is it?" Jin Huang probed.
"Dao stones. Just one low-grade dao stone is worth half a billion gold coins, and high-grade ones? Ten times as much." Xiao Chen chuckled greedily as he turned again.
Meng Lan seemed to shake her head almost imperceptibly, but Xiao Chen noticed and shot her a look. She merely returned his gaze with a clueless one.
"What kind of items could possibly go for a large number of dao stones? I can't wait to see," Luo Ran readied himself.
Jin Huang was unimpressed, but couldn't totally kill the curiosity he felt. He would surely be paying attention to this next batch of items to see just how many dao stones they would go for.
Before long, Liu Yue and Liu Ning retook the stage, their countenances full of vigor and light once again. As they made their announcement, the guests streamed back in and took their seats again.
"Thank you all for your patience," Liu Yue smiled and bowed her head. "Now, I am pleased to inform you that the next segment of the auction has begun."
Liu Ning stepped forward as her sister drew back half a step, "As of this moment, the base currency for our operations will switch to low-grade dao stones."
"If you wish to continue using gold coins, please note that the current exchange rate is one low-grade dao stone per every five hundred million gold coins."
"Now, let us begin."
Liu Yue waved her hand, and all those watching held their breath.
A bright red cube was brought out and placed on the stage, all eyes on it as Liu Ning opened it up and gold light spilled out.
"For the first item of the second segment..." Liu Ning and Liu Yue took positions on either side of the cube.
Jin Huang suddenly gasped as he looked down, which caused Xiao Chen's eyes to sparkle.
Inside of the cube was a green herb with golden aura emanating from its leaves, stem and roots. It's presence filled the space as soon as it was revealed, causing a kind of rejuvenating but also heavily oppressive power to weigh on the hearts and minds of anyone who looked at it.
"A Divine Herb... the Seedling of a World Tree! Bidding starts at five million dao stones, and each bid must be higher by at least one million dao stones!"
Liu Yue's announcement, if it were spoken in any other environment, would likely have started a ruthless and bloodthirsty war that could possibly span entire worlds.
"Six million dao stones!"
"Eight million!"
Countless eyes were filled with greed at the sight of this divine herb. Who did not know the legend of the World Tree?
There was actually someone.
"World Tree? What's that?" Luo Ran turned to Meng Lan and asked.
Meng Lan was taken aback at first, but she smiled amicably and explained.
"Somewhere, long, long ago, there existed a dimension that thrived on the branches of a tree so large it could likely span the universe. This was the World Tree, and its inhabitants were among some of the oldest recorded living beings."
"They are called... ancients."
Jin Huang swallowed his excitement. He had heard the term before- in fact, he knew one particular ancient rather well.
His All-Aspect Cultivation Teacher. Mr. Nagira.
Admittedly, the ancient had not been his teacher for very long, but he had worked tirelessly in his attempts to help Jin Huang figure out how to cultivate.
He felt he owed the man a great deal, and was saddened to know that he had sacrificed himself in order to help them escape the Earthly Realm.
Reflecting on this, Jin Huang fell into a peculiar state. He looked down at his palms, repeatedly opening and closing them, as a strange kind of melancholy welled up inside of him.
Xiao Chen seemed to notice something as he glanced over at Jin Huang, but he soon returned his attention to the raucous bidding taking place.
Luo Ran and Meng Lan continued to chat about the history of the ancients, with Luo Ran soaking in every bit of information he could. He was like a sponge, taking in every last drop.
Meng Lan was all-too eager to teach him what she knew, and so they both carried on for quite some time.
Jin Huang sighed to himself and he fell back, staring at the well-lit ceiling. "Am I doing the right thing?"
Of course, no one heard his question, so there was no answer that he could possibly get. The question lingered not only in the air... but inside of his own heart.
He reached up and untied his long yellow hair, allowing it all to fall. Then, he leaned over onto the table and put his head down, closing his eyes.