After securing the single horn, Lu Qingshan's assets shrank once again, leaving him with only thirty-five Hunyuan units.
The auction items that followed grew progressively more precious. The meager funds remaining in Lu Qingshan's hands were not even enough to meet their reserve prices.
An E-grade Machine Race spaceship fetched 1,960 Hunyuan units.
A piece of natural F-grade ore sold for 3,000 Hunyuan units.
...
If one were to name the most fiercely contested lot, it had to be the World Master quota for the Primal Universe.
The price climbed relentlessly.
In the blink of an eye, the bids shifted thousands of times.
In the end, it hammered down at an astonishing 37,500 Hunyuan units.
A single quota had pushed an Undying Deity nearly to outright bankruptcy on the spot.
"Insane! Absolutely insane!" Kuntu marveled from beside Lu Qingshan. "What kind of miraculous charm does that Primal Universe possess to warrant spending such a colossal fortune just for a single look?"
Kuntu possessed a fair understanding of his empire's wealth. Unless ancestral estates and territories were liquidated, not even the entire Dragon Empire could scrounge up so much Cosmic Currency.
Lu Qingshan knew what kind of place it was, but there was no need to explain it to Kuntu.
The auction drew to a close.
Lu Qingshan left the auction hall alongside Kuntu. As for the goods he had won, they would be delivered right on time to the address he had provided.
"Brother Kuntu, what's the going rate for the Sangsong fruits from your Sangsong Secret Realm?" Lu Qingshan had not forgotten about the matter. Having failed to acquire a treasure suited to his needs at the auction, he naturally had to pursue alternative options.
"Brother Han, you're interested? Given our friendship, I certainly won't rip you off. If settled in Cosmic Currency, ten thousand Cosmic Currency apiece will do."
Ten thousand Cosmic Currency each amounted to 33 million Qianwu Coins. Converted into Dragon Coins, that was 33 billion Dragon Coins... For resources aimed at the Star Level, this was by no means cheap.
However, Sangsong fruits were merely ordinary materials. Lu Qingshan had already had Nesethes look up the market price; each generally went for roughly 40 million Qianwu Coins. The price Kuntu offered was indeed quite fair.
"I want ten thousand of them. Can you deliver them straight to my door?" Lu Qingshan asked with a smile.
"Damn! What do you need so many for? Ten thousand! That's a hundred million Cosmic Currency! So long as you aren't located outside the Qianwu Universe Kingdom, door-to-door delivery is entirely doable."
The items themselves were not particularly expensive, but the logistics were somewhat troublesome. Fortunately, the Dragon Empire operated its own merchant guilds and logistics firms, so Kuntu could bend public resources to his private benefit and waive the transportation costs.
"It's right within Qianwu City on the Qianwu Continent..."
"Then there's no issue at all. I'll get everything ready the moment I return, and they should arrive at your door in about a month. Leave your Virtual Universe number; I'll contact you once the goods are delivered."
"Haha, sounds good. Do you need a deposit upfront?" Lu Qingshan asked with a chuckle.
Kuntu waved his hand dismissively. "Are you kidding me? You spent thirty Hunyuan on a mere plaything, and you think I'd worry about this pocket change of Cosmic Currency? Never mind that I dropped a hundred and fifty Hunyuan at the auction—that was paid out of the imperial treasury. Personally, I don't even have ten Hunyuan units to my name."
"That's already quite impressive." Lu Qingshan patted him on the shoulder. "I'll take my leave first. Let's catch up later in the Virtual Universe."
"All right, Brother Han Li! When you have free time, come visit my Dragon Empire! I guarantee there'll be thrilling attractions that'll make you never want to leave!"
"Heh heh..."
Lu Qingshan offered a light smile. Stepping into the teleportation channel, his figure vanished from sight.
Not far from the teleportation channel stood a squad of well-equipped soldiers, watching a stream of powerhouses enter the passage with deferent expressions.
"Crocodile, why are you daydreaming? Everyone here today is a prominent figure. Stay sharp! If you bump into one of these lords, there'll be hell to pay."
"Uh, sorry about that. I just thought I saw someone familiar."
"Someone familiar? Cut the brag, Crocodile. Everyone who comes here is at least a three-star user of the two major banks. With your status, who could you possibly know?"
"Maybe I saw wrong."
Crocodile scratched his head and pushed the thought aside. That fellow from the Killing Field was merely a Domain Master; how could he possibly qualify to attend an auction of this caliber? A three-star user required ten Hunyuan—ten trillion Cosmic Currency...
Crocodile had swindled so many people in the Killing Field, yet to this day, he had only amassed five hundred billion Cosmic Currency, not even a single Hunyuan.
*If I had ten Hunyuan, I could purchase dozens of star systems in the core region of the Qianwu Universe Kingdom, establish an Elementary Universe Nation, bring all my brothers and sisters out from my home planet, and let them live a good life...*
Crocodile King gritted his teeth, swearing inwardly that no matter how long it took, he would fulfill the vow he had made upon leaving his homeland!
...
Within the villa halfway up Wind Thunder Island in the Qianwu Secret Realm.
Lu Qingshan reviewed the gains from this trip. Although he had not managed to buy a treasure capable of accelerating soul transformation, he had still secured additional harvests.
Distributing the ten batches of Lanke Fruits between his two disciples should allow both of them to raise their Cloud Contact Vines to Cosmic Level Nine. In return, there was a high probability he would receive Luoke God Water worth a hundred Hunyuan.
That was one of the rewards from this journey.
The most critical prize, however, remained the horn of the One-Horned Ghost King. Lu Qingshan had no idea what kind of surprise that thing might bring him.
Even so, rashly handing it over to Ling Yu was probably ill-advised. It was, after all, an item worth thirty Hunyuan—far too precious. He needed to devise a reasonable approach...
Ling Yu was not his personal disciple, merely a student under his instruction. Bestowing such an exorbitant gift would simply be too excessive...
If Silver Moon Marquis found out, he would surely grow suspicious.
It had to appear entirely reasonable and justifiable—ideally arranged so that she would take the initiative to ask for it!
In the blink of an eye, a month slipped by.
Lu Qingshan requested a few days of leave. Once approved, he returned to the Qianwu Dojo Headquarters via the teleportation channel.
Members of the Universe Star River Bank transport convoy were already waiting outside his villa in the dojo.
"My apologies for keeping you waiting. I am Lu Qingshan..."
Lu Qingshan provided his bank account credentials and his origin force imprint to verify his identity.
"Mr. Lu, please, there is no need to be polite. You are a distinguished three-star user of our bank; serving you is our honor."
The delivery personnel were two green-skinned Domain Masters. One of them produced several large chests from a World Ring.
There were ten white chests in total, all containing the Lanke Fruits Lu Qingshan had purchased, packed one batch per chest.
There was also a black chest containing the horn of the One-Horned Ghost King that Lu Qingshan had spent a fortune to secure.
"The goods are all in order. Thank you for your hard work."
After inspecting the shipment and verifying that nothing was amiss, Lu Qingshan signed his name on the delivery receipt.
"Thank you, Mr. Lu, for your trust in Universe Star River Bank."
The two Domain Masters bowed to him before turning to depart...
*The transport of high-value goods must be fully recorded by specialized equipment and factored into performance evaluations. No wonder they're so courteous.*
Lu Qingshan once again praised Universe Star River Bank's professionalism.
Had he known three-star users received such exceptional treatment, he would have exploited the system's cashback to accumulate more wealth sooner and upgrade his tier earlier. That way, he never would have run into that mess at the Treasure Pavilion.
After collecting the auction items delivered by Universe Star River Bank, Lu Qingshan did not leave immediately. That afternoon, the Sangsong fruits from the Dragon Empire arrived as well. Lu Qingshan settled the payment in full. Rather than staying overnight at the Qianwu Dojo Headquarters or paying a visit to Chi Yan and Jimmy, he returned alone to the Qianwu Secret Realm, leaving no trace behind, as though he had never stepped outside at all...
Early the very next morning after Lu Qingshan's departure.
A mysterious powerhouse with a sinister gaze and an obscured visage appeared outside the courtyard of his villa at the Qianwu Dojo.
"Where is the master of this estate?"
A voice that sounded neither distinctly male nor female rang out. Luo'er and several servants blanched in terror.
"M-My Lord... My master departed yesterday evening," Luo'er replied, trembling from head to toe.
Chapter 56