Chapter 711: Earth Spirit Fruit
“Yes, every time the hidden sects take in disciples, they hold a massive auction at the magical merchant association headquarters. This time, it’s tonight.”
Then, Liu Lei hesitated before saying, “Each person must pay 100 gold coins to enter.”
One hundred gold coins equaled 10,000 silver coins. A silver coin was enough for a normal family to live on for a week.
After bidding Liu Lei farewell, Ye Mo took Mu Xiaoyun to look at several hotels. They were all full. If he weren’t going to the auction, Ye Mo would have stayed at the Hang Shui Hotel. However, since he was attending, he didn't want to risk causing trouble that might reveal his identity to Liu Lei, despite Liu Lei being a good person.
Thanks to Ye Mo’s large quantity of gold, he found a suitable place to stay a little further from Hang Shui Square—the Blue Sea Hotel. It was clean but slightly more expensive, a detail Ye Mo disregarded. He took Mu Xiaoyun to their room and immediately began changing their appearances.
Half an hour later, Ye Mo was once again the big-bearded man, and Mu Xiaoyun an older female warrior.
“Are we going to the auction?” Mu Xiaoyun asked.
Ye Mo nodded and smiled. “I still have a few hundred tons of gold in my storage ring. I’ll trade it for gold coins here. I wonder how many gold coins my gold bricks will fetch.”
Ye Mo’s gold bricks were from the U.S.—each nearly 10 kg.
Ye Mo and Mu Xiaoyun jumped from the window, purchased a chariot, and headed towards the Magical Merchant Bank.
Although it was dark, the Magical Merchant Bank was still open.
Ye Mo entered, producing 1009 gold bricks. He stacked them on the ground, covered them, and told Mu Xiaoyun to wait while he went inside. One thousand gold bricks weighed approximately 10 tons.
Inside, he found the bank somewhat modernized. While there were no computers, magnetic cards were used, though gold checks remained the most common form of transaction.
The moment Ye Mo presented a gold brick at the counter, the manager became interested. He’d seen pure gold before, but never cut so cleanly or in such large pieces.
Because Ye Mo’s gold bricks were far purer than gold coins, the bank offered 10,000 gold coins per brick. Ye Mo was pleased with the price.
When the manager heard the big-bearded man mention having 1000 more bricks, he was nearly overwhelmed. The sheer quantity of gold bricks left him dazed.
…
An hour later, Ye Mo left the bank with Mu Xiaoyun, possessing 10 million gold coins. He kept 10,000 gold coins in Mu Xiaoyun’s ring and exchanged the rest for 100,000 gold coin checks.
News of the transaction quickly reached the merchant association’s higher-ups. Yun Ziyi, upon arriving at the bank, was astonished by the gold bricks. The customer's wealth was staggering. Had he really transported them by horse cart? Remarkably, there were no markings on the gold bricks.
Of course, Ye Mo had wiped off the English inscriptions.
…
When Ye Mo and Mu Xiaoyun arrived at the auction, many people were already present.
One hundred coins was the entrance fee; a private room cost up to 1000 coins, though more expensive options were available. Ye Mo only needed a 1000 gold coin private room.
After paying 1000 coins, Ye Mo and Mu Xiaoyun entered room 392, which contained fruit.
The auction began shortly.
Ye Mo scanned his spirit sense and grew cautious. He detected more than ten Great Heaven Masters, and three whose power he couldn't fathom, offering a new perspective on the varying power levels present.
He needed to be careful; otherwise, he risked ruin. Ye Mo was relieved to see Jie Xun absent. However, he did spot the Ci Hang Jing Mosque’s room; Luo Xuan and her senior martial sister were not present.
He also saw Taiyi’s room. An old Daoist monk he couldn't assess, another Great Heaven Master, and a young Daoist monk were present. A buxom woman was also present, an unexpected companion for the young monk.
Ye Mo also spotted the Shang Qing Mountain sect. Yu Yuyan had joined them, but they appeared far less wealthy than Tai Yi.
The auctioneer was a young woman in a revealing red dress. She reminded Ye Mo of Yun Bing.
Like Yun Bing, she possessed a voluptuous figure. The difference lay in her seductive eyes, unlike Yun Bing’s cold gaze.
Thinking of Yun Bing, Ye Mo sighed, wondering how she and Ting Ting fared. He planned to visit them with Luo Ying and Ning Qingxue upon his return.
“Welcome everyone to the triennial Hang Shui hidden sects auction! I’m Meng Lan, and I’ll be conducting the auction. Many valuable items await; everyone is sure to find something appealing.
The auction begins! Our first item is a solar-powered camera. We cannot produce these locally; it clearly records images.”
Ye Mo was speechless. If the entire auction consisted of such items, he would deeply regret attending.
To his surprise, it sold for 10,000 gold coins—the equivalent value of a gold brick, worth several hundred thousand USD. However, the gold coins held the buying power of several million USD. They were doing brisk business.
Ye Mo again used his spirit sense and noted the contemptuous expressions of many hidden sect members. Clearly, they understood the camera’s true worth.
Fortunately, genuinely valuable items soon appeared: magical artifacts, ores, pills, and cultivation methods. Ye Mo was not yet interested.
“Our next item is an Earth Spirit Fruit. Its purpose is well-known, but I’ll reiterate: it provides a 90% chance for a Black-level cultivator to reach Earth-level. Earth-level peak cultivators have a 20% chance of reaching Great Heaven. It enhances cultivation at lesser stages by 100%. The starting price is 50,000 gold coins; each bid must be at least 100 gold coins—”
Before she finished, the audience buzzed.
Upon hearing “Earth Spirit Fruit,” Ye Mo was startled. He used his spirit sense to examine the wooden box; it indeed contained an Earth Spirit Fruit, identical to those on Luo Yue Continent. This was curious.
With an Earth Spirit Fruit, Ye Mo could immediately create a cauldron of essence-increasing pills, enabling him to reach the tertiary stage of Chi Gathering.
He had to obtain it.