Chapter 21

In the auction house, Xu Tianyang, after signing the tripartite agreement, sat back beside Su Yang and whispered, "Sir, the auction house now needs us to hand over the items for inspection and appraisal."

"Hmm, you go ahead with it."

As he spoke, Su Yang took out a medicine bottle made of Hetian jade from his pocket, took a pill of the Wuji Golden Pill, and handed it to Xu Tianyang, saying, "I'm actually quite looking forward to seeing how the world's wealthiest people measure the value of priceless lives with money."

When Xu Tianyang arrived at the exclusive consignment room and placed the Wuji Golden Pill in the jade box provided by the auction house, he meticulously described the miraculous effects of the Wuji Golden Pill to the staff member responsible for recording information, leaving the latter speechless several times.

If it weren't for knowing Xu Tianyang's identity, he probably wouldn't have believed a word and wouldn't have written the description of the item as Xu Tianyang had said.

After all, the concepts of reviving the dead, regenerating bones, curing terminal illnesses, and extending life by twenty years are things that only exist in novels, and such supernatural products shouldn't exist in reality.

"Mr. Xu, due to the extraordinary nature of your item and its almost unbelievable effects, our appraisers will need a considerable amount of time to verify it. Even if the final appraisal is completed, we cannot fully confirm the efficacy of the medicine you described..."

Xu Tianyang had anticipated this concern and interrupted, "I understand your concern, so I have decided to sign a guarantee agreement with your party. I will provide a high-value guarantee for the effects of this medicine, with a guarantee period of one year and a guarantee amount of 5 billion US dollars."

"If this Wuji Golden Pill fails to achieve the effects I described within the guarantee period, I will pay 5 billion US dollars in compensation."

This time, even with many doubts, they all became meaningless in the face of Xu Tianyang's 5 billion US dollar guarantee.

At the same time, in another exclusive consignment room, Huang Fatzi carefully handed a brocade box to the staff member, saying, "Be careful, this is a priceless treasure."

When the brocade box was opened, a dazzling light caught the eye, and a diamond of breathtaking beauty lay quietly in the box.

"Is this? The Koh-i-Noor from the Tower of London, the world's oldest diamond..."

"You have good eyesight. Don't dawdle, take it to the appraisal team right away. I'm sure to win this billion-dollar bet."

At this moment, after learning the detailed information about Xu Tianyang's consigned item, the three decision-makers of Yubaozhai immediately held a telephone conference.

"I don't believe such a thing exists in this world."

"I know Xu Tianyang, and I think he is genuine. According to reliable sources, he was previously in the late stages of liver cancer and was on the brink of death, but now he appears at the autumn auction with full energy. This already says something."

"Stop guessing. Give me two hours. The vice president of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the most authoritative expert in pharmacology, Lin, is attending an international academic conference in Shanghai. I will go and ask him to come and help with the appraisal. You prepare the necessary instruments. We will see if it's real or not."

"If it turns out to be real, I will be tempted to compete for it."

At this point, the auction had officially started. From the first item, Gustav Klimt's "Church in Cassone," intense competition ensued, and the painting was eventually sold for 120 million US dollars to a European man, setting a good start for the autumn auction.

The subsequent auction proceeded with great enthusiasm, and many wealthy and powerful individuals who were not present also participated through satellite links, expanding the scope of the competition.

The atmosphere in the auction house had reached a fever pitch, and the prices of some items were even driven up by personal grudges, increasing by several times or even doubling.

In a blink, the auction had reached the 16th item, a piece of jade with a translucent green color. Under the light, it seemed to emit a spiritual glow, radiating a gentle luster that made one want to grab it and hold it close.

"The 16th item, the quality of the jade is unknown, the origin is unknown, and the source is unknown. The jade is inscribed with the words 'Tongling Yu Bao.' The starting price is 20 million US dollars."

As the auctioneer finished speaking, many in the audience began to murmur in confusion.

"A jade pendant with no known origin, daring to be priced at 20 million US dollars, did I hear that right?"

"It's outrageous. Even the jade cabbage from Empress Dowager Cixi's tomb didn't sell for this much."

"It seems the first item to fail to sell at this year's autumn auction will be this one..."

Unlike the others, Su Yang, who had been meditating with his eyes closed, suddenly stood up, his eyes shining with a sharp light. With his superhuman vision, he instantly saw the jade pendant clearly.

"Sir, are you interested in this item?" Xu Tianyang asked.

Su Yang slowly sat down and nodded, saying, "Not just interested, but it must be obtained."

Although he didn't understand what was so special about this jade pendant with three unknowns, Su Yang's wish was what Xu Tianyang considered a must to accomplish.

Therefore, when the auctioneer announced the start of the bidding, he immediately bid the starting price of 20 million US dollars.

Unexpectedly, after Xu Tianyang raised his paddle, someone immediately bid 30 million US dollars. This significant increase in the bid price was usually from someone determined to win, and it also had the intention of discouraging other bidders.

Xu Tianyang didn't care about the other party's determined bidding style. Even if it were something he himself wanted, he could easily spend 300 to 500 million US dollars without hesitation.

Two minutes later, although only two parties were bidding, the price of the jade pendant with three unknowns had already been raised to 56 million US dollars, which left many of the wealthy in the audience stunned.

"An item with no known origin or fame, being bid up to such an outrageous price, is truly insane."

"Money can't buy what one truly desires. There are always strange items that are bought by strange people. You get used to it after seeing it enough times."

In a private box on the second floor of the auction house, a young girl in a purple suit with waist-length hair pouted and complained to the old butler standing beside her, "Old Uncle Zhong, didn't you say no one could recognize the origin of that jade pendant? Why is the other party so persistent? If this continues, my allowance won't be enough."

The old butler, known as Old Uncle Zhong, frowned and said, "Miss, although there are no more than ten people in the world who have cultivated the 'True Reality Dharma Eye' and can see through the essence and sense the spiritual energy within jade, there might still be experts present."

"This jade pendant is the most spiritually rich among the thousands of jade pieces I have seen in my life. It is of great help to us cultivators. If Miss can obtain this jade, she will likely reach the fourth level of the 'Heavenly Demon Technique' within three years."

Upon hearing this, the purple-clad girl bit her finger, looking thoughtful. Her expression at that moment was so captivating that it could instantly charm 99.9% of men in the world.

"Old Uncle, I still have 100 million US dollars given to me by the family head before we left. Miss can use it to bid on this jade."

Old Uncle Zhong closed his eyes and thought, "This second miss has extraordinary talent, but she loves to tease people. She even used the 'Heavenly Demon Charm' on me, an old man. If I hadn't watched her grow up, I might have been thrown off balance."

The purple-clad girl, having achieved her goal, lazily stretched her arms and smiled, saying, "Old Uncle is still good to me. Hmph, now that I have more funds, I'll see if I can't outbid you."

Ten minutes later, a scene that left everyone, including the decision-makers of Yubaozhai, baffled occurred.

The jade pendant with three unknowns had been bid up to 170 million US dollars.

When Xu Tianyang bid 180 million US dollars without hesitation, the purple-clad girl in the private box was so angry that her face turned cold. She pressed her palm on the armrest, and an invisible force penetrated the wood, causing the rosewood armrest to crumble into powder in an instant.

"Old Uncle, find out which bastard is deliberately competing with me."

"Miss, the family head instructed you to be as low-key as possible before we left. It's best not to cause a commotion. Everyone here has some background. Although our Li family doesn't fear anyone, it's not worth it for a piece of jade."

"Hmph, if you won't help me, I'll find out myself." The purple-clad girl, hearing Old Uncle mention her father, felt a bit intimidated and pouted in a huff.

In the main auction hall, a faint smile appeared on Su Yang's lips. He withdrew the aura that had enveloped a hundred meters around him and thought, "Interesting, after more than three hundred years, I have found someone who has inherited the magic sect's legacy. They are cultivating the 'Heavenly Demon Technique,' which is no less powerful than the 'Heart of Dao Seed Demon.' This auction is proving to be quite fruitful."

Su Yang, who had undergone nine reincarnations, last encountered a member of the magic sect more than three hundred years ago.

At this moment, Su Yang had quietly used the "Heaven and Earth Connection" to inject a solid aura into the body of the purple-clad girl.

When someone was bidding against Xu Tianyang, Su Yang had initially only wanted to use his aura to lock onto their location, but unexpectedly discovered that they were cultivating the 'Heavenly Demon Technique,' which was comparable to the 'Heart of Dao Seed Demon' in power.

So, he decided to use the "Heaven and Earth Connection" to lock onto them, planning to visit them in the future when he had the time. After a thousand years of nine reincarnations, it was heartwarming to encounter someone who was still practicing the magic sect's secret techniques.

After all, the old man who had taken Su Yang as a disciple had instructed him before parting, "If you have the heart, don't let the magic sect disappear." Although it wasn't a strict requirement, Su Yang, remembering his master's kindness, took it to heart.

Over the past thousand years, the magic sect's lineage had been preserved and continued, partly due to Su Yang's occasional assistance.

After successfully bidding on the jade pendant, Xu Tianyang was quite puzzled, saying, "I can't believe someone would fight to the death for this thing. It's strange."

Su Yang smiled lightly and said, "There are always people who can recognize the value of things. The jade pendant you just bid on is priceless. Even compared to my Wuji Golden Pill, it is far superior."

"Sir, what makes it so special?"

For this nearly hundred-year-old subordinate, Su Yang had nothing to hide. He whispered, "Not only is 'Tongling Yu Bao' inscribed on this jade, but I also used the 'True Reality Heavenly Eye' to observe it. It contains a vast amount of spiritual energy. If one knows the upper-level internal cultivation techniques and the method to absorb it, possessing this jade will increase the speed of cultivation by three to five times. Moreover, if my guess is correct, this jade might be the personal item of the young master of the Jia family from the past."

"Isn't that a fictional item?" Xu Tianyang was surprised, knowing that Su Yang was referring to the protagonist of "The Story of the Stone," who was said to be a reincarnated jade.

"I don't know if it