By now, Li Guanqi realized the other party was dead set on keeping him from buying anything.
This also made him wonder why this fellow had so much money.
Cao Yan shrugged and said, "From what I can tell, that guy is an alchemist, and alchemists are loaded anyway."
Yet just as Li Guanqi nodded silently, a heavily made-up woman appeared upstairs in Wang Heyang's room.
The woman looked to be in her forties, but she was exceptionally well-preserved. Her skin was still smooth and delicate, and her lustrous hair hung loosely over her shoulders.
Holding a jade pipe in her hand, she blew a puff of smoke, glanced at Wang Heyang, and said softly, "Grand Alchemist Wang, you may be an honored guest of our Yunding Auction House, but driving up prices like this... isn't it a bit unethical?"
Wang Heyang snapped his head around to look at the woman behind him, a flash of greedy lust surfacing in his eyes.
Yet he did not dare act presumptuously right now. Chuckling softly, he said, "If I remember correctly, as an honored guest of Yunding, I only have to pay a ten percent default penalty, don't I? Even if I drove up the price on all ten bottles, it would only amount to a mere six or seven thousand spirit stones in the end."
As Wang Heyang spoke, he leaned back in his chair, reaching out to pluck a spirit fruit and pop it into his mouth.
Hearing this, the woman smiled faintly. Exhaling a wisp of blue smoke, she rose and smiled. "Then you had better cherish that privilege of yours."
With that, she took a single step forward and vanished from the room.
Wang Heyang turned toward where she had disappeared and muttered under his breath, "One day, I will pin you beneath me!"
"Seven thousand!"
On the second floor, Ye Feng sprang to his feet, only to be held back by Li Guanqi.
Ye Feng looked down and cursed furiously, "Boss, that bastard clearly just doesn't want us to win anything! Does the auction house not even care? Isn't this malicious price driving?"
Li Guanqi pulled him back down and sent a voice transmission: "He's not with the auction house. When someone drives up the prices like that, the auction house wants nothing more. Forget it. Doesn't this guy love driving up bids? I'll let him bid to his heart's content!"
For the rest of the pill auctions, Li Guanqi never placed another bid.
To the crowd below, it naturally looked as though Li Guanqi had backed down.
Yet no one considered it shameful; after all, Wang Heyang was an alchemist himself.
If it truly came down to a battle of wealth, very few could actually compete with him.
Most of the people below were Foundation Establishment realm cultivators, with only a dozen or so in the Core Formation realm.
Among them, having ten to twenty thousand spirit stones in their pockets was already considered quite impressive.
This auction was not top-tier to begin with.
"Everyone, the next auction item is a twin spirit herb, a rank-three Green Demon Vine. If consumed by a Core Formation realm cultivator, this spirit herb can greatly bolster vitality and temper the physical body. Starting bid: six thousand low-grade spirit stones."
Han Qiu carried the Green Demon Vine around the stage to display it to everyone, and the bidding soon reached 7,800.
Li Guanqi suddenly raised his paddle and said softly, "Nine thousand."
Cao Yan and Ye Feng were startled, but Li Guanqi's voice transmission sounded in their ears: "This spirit herb is useful to both of you. Even if he doesn't raise the bid, we won't lose out."
Having said that, he looked up toward the floor above.
Sure enough, the corners of Wang Heyang's mouth curled up. Relying on his privilege, he casually raised the bid, calling out, "Twelve thousand!"
The moment these words left his mouth, the entire hall was stunned.
The cultivators attending the auction all understood by now that Wang Heyang was openly locking horns with the group on the second floor.
As long as the other party bid, he would definitely drive the price higher.
The people below simply stopped bidding altogether; this price was already far beyond the original value of the Green Demon Vine.
Han Qiu's eyes lit up. She earned a commission on every item she auctioned, so of course she hoped the price would climb even higher.
Resting both hands on the auction block, Han Qiu put her virtually flawless figure on full display.
Completely indifferent to the greedy stares from the crowd below, she offered a flirtatious, enchanting laugh. "It seems our Young Master Wang is quite fond of many items today. Twelve thousand spirit stones. Does anyone care to bid higher? Twin Green Demon Vines are inherently rare, and through our auction house's appraisal, this Green Demon Vine's effects are twenty percent stronger than ordinary ones."
Li Guanqi remained silent, making no move to raise his paddle.
Three full breaths passed in silence. A flicker of disappointment crossed the woman's eyes, and just as she raised her wooden gavel to strike, Li Guanqi suddenly spoke up: "Twelve thousand one hundred."
The woman's eyes brightened, and she said with a smile, "Honored Guest Number 188 bids twelve thousand one hundred! It seems he is determined to have this spirit herb as well. Does anyone else wish to compete?"
Her voice seemed to carry an enchanting allure, stirring the soul.
Li Guanqi looked coldly at the woman on the stage. She clearly knew there was friction between the two sides, yet deliberately claimed he was determined to win the herb, stirring up trouble between them and pouring oil on the fire.
*Tsk, looks like this woman is no simple character either.*
Down below, the crowd was buzzing with discussion, and many who had come together murmured quietly.
"Has that guy still not figured it out? Wang Heyang clearly has him pinned, yet he's still foolishly bumping up the bid."
The man beside him glanced up at the second floor and remarked, "It seems he's very interested in this spirit herb, but his financial strength only goes so far."
Sure enough!
Upstairs, Wang Heyang had been losing interest, thinking the three below had given up on the herb.
He had not expected them to be so impatient.
Wang Heyang rested his hands on the windowsill and sneered at the three in the distance. "If you don't have money, get lost, you useless trash. Fifteen thousand!"
Li Guanqi smiled faintly without the slightest anger, simply waiting for the woman to drop her gavel.
However, the auctions that followed stirred irritation in everyone's hearts.
Whatever came up, that fellow on the second floor would place a bid, and no matter what he bid, Wang Heyang would raise it even higher!
Not only did they feel the guy on the second floor was being suppressed, but even the people below grew thoroughly exasperated.
Just as complaints began rising from the crowd, Wang Heyang suddenly leaned half his body out over the sill and barked down at them: "What are you howling for?! If you have money, bid! I'm not stopping you! If you don't have money, shut your damn mouths! Did I stop you from bidding? Fucking bunch of paupers, barking down there. You're giving me a headache!"
For a time, intimidated by his status as an alchemist and the sect backing him, the crowd below dared to be angry but did not dare speak out.
Through this lengthy probing over dozens of auction lots, Li Guanqi vaguely sensed something, and a contemptuous smirk tugged at the corner of his lips.
Soon, as more items crossed the stage, Li Guanqi repeatedly stepped in to bid up the prices.
However, the items he bid on were all things the three of them could actually use. In short, he kept Wang Heyang strung along on high.
If Wang Heyang didn't raise the bid, the item went to Li Guanqi.
If he did raise it, Li Guanqi would bump the price a few times to make him think he genuinely wanted it.
As time passed, the auction drew toward its end.
With a smile on her face, the woman on the stage announced, "Our next auction item is an alchemy cauldron discovered by chance within a secret realm! Its grade even reaches that of a top-grade spirit tool: the Blue Crystal Glazed Cauldron!"
Cao Yan's eyes lit up instantly, and Li Guanqi sat up slightly straighter.
Up on the third floor, Wang Heyang stared fixedly at the stage, muttering under his breath, "Has it finally arrived?"
Chapter 230