“Oh my god! 8888! That’s the number of my dreams!”
“Damn! That’s awesome! Who on earth could that be?”
Everyone in the plaza was exclaiming in surprise.
Taoist Master Qing Xu was secretly delighted and very pleased with himself.
Next, Taoist Master Qian Ji pulled up his Daoist robe and revealed his identification pendant with the number 88. It was very eye-catching.
“Even 88 is gone!”
Many people wailed.
At this time, several elders of the cultivator families stood up in disbelief. Then, they respectfully stepped forward, bowed, and shouted, “Greetings, Spiritual Master Qing Xu!”
The plaza immediately became quiet, so quiet that it was almost terrifying!
“Spiritual Master? Qing Xu? Oh my god! He is the elder of Mao Mountain, a figure of the previous generation!”
The next moment, the plaza burst into activity.
“No need to be so polite! You’re Lil Qi, right? You… you should be Lil Hua! It’s been a long time!” Qing Xu exclaimed.
After exchanging pleasantries, he pointed at Qian Ji and said, “Here, let me introduce him to you all. This is the next elder of Mao Mountain! He’s already a half-step Perfected Person and is qualified to be the elder!”
The crowd fell silent again.
In the next moment, there was a huge uproar.
Another half-step Perfected Person!
That was unbelievable!
Last year, the appearance of a new half-step Perfected Person caused a huge sensation. Now, another half-step emerged from Mao Mountain!
“That’s great! Huaxia is blessed!”
“Right! Congratulations!”
The crowd rushed up and warmly congratulated Taoist Master Qian Ji.
Mao Mountain was a reputable sect in the Huaxia cultivation world. They had always been responsible for vanquishing monsters and demons, as well as shouldering the heavy responsibility of protecting Huaxia. It was great news that they groomed a new half-step Perfected Person.
On the other hand, the people of Dragon Tiger Mountain were green with envy.
“Alright, it’s about time. Let’s start the auction!” Taoist Master Qing Xu waved his hand and said.
Everyone sat back down.
Taoist Master Qing Xu and Tang Hao sat to the side.
Taoist Master Zhen Yang walked forward. Someone brought a table and a gavel, which would be the auction stage.
“Silence! Silence!”
Taoist Master Zhen Yang cleared his throat and proclaimed.
When the plaza quietened, he said, “I think everyone here is anxious to start, so I won’t talk too much. Many numbers are up for auction today. We have more than ten numbers in the top 50 and many more from the 80s and the 800s.
“Of course, the number that everyone wants the most is definitely 888. This will be the first number up for auction. Everyone, please get ready.”
As soon as he finished speaking, there was a commotion in the square.
Everyone’s eyes lit up.
They rubbed their hands and prepared to fight for that number.
“Haha! The Qi family will lay claim to that number!” Old Master Qi laughed.
“Tch! The number must belong to my Hong family! You see, I have plenty of goods. We’ve traveled all over Huaxia and even sent people overseas to gather rare medicinal herbs.” Old Master Hong sneered.
“All of you, go to hell! The number belongs to Dragon Tiger Mountain!” The elderly heavenly master spoke determinedly.
He was envious!
Mao Mountain claimed 88 and 8888. How could Dragon Tiger Mountain fall behind? They had to claim 888 no matter what the cost!
Otherwise, they would not be able to raise their heads in front of Mao Mountain!
Taoist Master Zhen Yang cleared his throat and knocked on the gavel, saying, “Now, let’s begin! The first number to be auctioned is 888. The starting bid is ten stalks of rare medicinal herbs. Each increment must not be less than five!”
The rare medicinal herbs he mentioned referred to those that were almost extinct in modern times.
As soon as he finished speaking, the bidding began.
“I bid fifteen!”
“I bid twenty!”
Everyone was going all out. No one was willing to admit defeat. The price shot up like a rocket.
Soon, it soared to sixty stalks!
The bidding continued. Everyone’s eyes were bloodshot. In a moment, it shot past one hundred stalks!
“One hundred and fifty stalks!”
Suddenly, the elderly heavenly master stood up and shouted loudly.
Everyone immediately fell silent.
The other people’s expressions changed. They thought about it for a while, and many of them gave up.
Dragon Tiger Mountain had a long history and deep pockets. They had accumulated a lot of medicinal herbs in the past. No one would be able to outbid them.
However, the Qi family and the Hong family, who were the most well-prepared, continued to drive the price beyond two hundred stalks.
Even if they did not win, they wanted to exhaust Dragon Tiger Mountain’s resources. That way, it would be much easier for them to compete for other numbers later.
The final bid was two hundred and fifty stalks.
“Two hundred and fifty going once, two hundred and fifty going twice, two hundred and fifty going thrice. Deal! Congratulations to Dragon Tiger Mountain. The number 888 goes to you!”
Taoist Master Zhen Yang banged his gavel and proclaimed.
“Now, please go to Spiritual Master Tang place to pay the medicinal herbs. Then, fill up a form and take the pendant!”
The elderly heavenly master stood up and brought a sack of medicinal ingredients to Tang Hao.
Tang Hao examined the herbs and could not help but feel happy.
Dragon Tiger Mountain was a major sect in the Huaxia cultivation world. The herbs they brought were of very high quality. He had searched for many of those medicinal herbs for a long time. He estimated that he could complete several pill recipes, many of which would increase one’s cultivation base.
Of course, those pills were for Qin Xiangyi.
If there were more, he could also keep them for Han Yutong and the others.
Recently, he had the idea of teaching cultivation to Han Yutong and Ma Fangfang. However, he had not decided on it yet; it was not urgent anyway. If he could gather enough resources, he could bring them up to speed very quickly.
“Thank you!”
Tang Hao cupped his fists and gave him a registration form. Then, he took out a jade pendant and handed it over.
The elderly heavenly master dripped a drop of blood on the pendant. Then, he took out a red string, tied the pendant to his waist, and swaggered away.
The crowd was envious.
“Next, the number up for auction is 11! Spiritual Master Tang said that the top ten numbers will not be available. Number 11 is as low as you can get! It’s as precious as the number 888.”
“The starting bid is ten stalks, and the minimum increment is five! Now, let’s begin!”
“Twenty stalks!”
“Thirty!”
After another round of intense competition, the Qi family won the number with the price of two hundred and thirty stalks.
The next few numbers were all from the top 50, and they each caused an intense competition.
Tang Hao grinned ear to ear as he collected the medicinal herbs from the winning bidders.
What a spectacular haul!
It would take a long time for him to gather all the medicinal herbs by himself. Now, he had practically mobilized the entire cultivation world to aid him in his search, and that was much more efficient than doing it alone.
The auction lasted until late in the evening.
Some families that already had pendants won a lot of numbers. Tang Hao gave them a form to fill up so that the Agency would be notified about the change in their numbers.
One person could only own one number. There should be no mistakes.
“This is the end of the auction!” Taoist Master Zhen Yang knocked his gavel and proclaimed.
Many families stayed and had dinner together. It was a very lively scene.
