"No matter what, I must have this Basalt Stone Tablet!" A cold glint flashed through Teng Qingshan's eyes. Even if a certain family managed to buy it, Teng Qingshan could certainly 'borrow' it for a year or half a year along the way, finding an opportunity to 'return' it to them then!
On the surrounding corridors, representatives from numerous major families cast their gazes upon the Basalt Stone Tablet.
"Everyone rest assured, our Situ Merchant Guild has confirmed that this set of Basalt Stone Tablets is precisely one of the nine sets inscribed with the profound techniques of the Thirty-Six Forms of Mountain Splitting from back in the day at God Axe Mountain. If there is any error, the Situ Merchant Guild will offer a double refund!" Situ Fan laughed loudly, scanning the crowd. "Gentlemen, any objections? If not, we shall begin the bidding."
"Let's start directly!"
"Old Situ, I trust you wouldn't dare deceive so many families, haha..."
A burst of laughter echoed among the major families in the corridor.
"Very well, since that is the case!" Situ Fan's eyes sparkled, and his voice boomed even louder, "There are thirty-six plaques in total. The starting price is thirty thousand taels of gold, and each subsequent bid must increase by no less than five thousand taels of gold. Let the bidding commence!"
As Situ Fan shouted the word 'commence,' the surroundings instantly quieted down.
All the major families looked at the others; for a moment, not a single family placed a bid.
Because everyone understood clearly—
Thirty thousand taels of gold was merely the starting price; to truly acquire it, the cost would likely be ten times that amount!
"Everyone is showing deference, I see." Situ Fan chuckled.
"Then, as a junior, allow me to make the opening bid." A clear and pleasant voice drifted over. Teng Qingshan looked over; the speaker was the young lady dressed in a pink sable fur coat. She raised the plaque in her hand slightly and smiled, "My Tantai family bids fifty thousand taels of gold! Everyone, as a junior, I've made the opening. Please, proceed!"
In the pavilion at the center of the pond, Situ Fan's smile broadened even further: "Plaque number three, the Tantai family bids—fifty thousand taels of gold! Are there any higher bids?"
"Sixty thousand taels of gold!" A voice sounded from the distant corridor as well.
Teng Qingshan watched, not feeling rushed.
Fu Dao, seated at the table next to Teng Qingshan, leaned over and whispered, "Mister Teng, this little princess of the Tantai family is quite something, isn't she?"
"What is her name?" Li Jun asked out of curiosity.
"Tantai Qing," Fu Dao replied.
After answering, Fu Dao surprisingly grabbed the plaque from beside the table and raised it, shouting, "One hundred thousand taels of gold!"
"Plaque number twelve, Mister Fu, bidding one hundred thousand taels of gold!" Situ Fan immediately raised the pitch of his voice.
"Fu Dao, you want to buy it too?" Teng Qingshan looked at him in astonishment.
"If I didn't want to buy it, why would a solitary man like me come here?" Fu Dao said with a smile. Li Jun, meanwhile, inquired from the side, "Aren't you known as the 'Thunder Blade Martial Saint'? Don't you prefer sword techniques? Why would you need this set of Basalt Stone Tablets? I imagine the legendary 'Thunder Blade Heavenly God' techniques would be more useful to you."
Fu Dao smiled: "If I want to buy it, I naturally have a reason. However, I must keep that reason confidential."
Teng Qingshan nodded.
Amidst the conversations, the various families within the garden had already placed bid after bid! Each increase was at least ten thousand taels of gold. Such extravagance... If an ordinary wealthy man had come to listen, he would likely have been stunned speechless.
"One hundred and fifty thousand taels of gold!" The Great Elder also raised his plaque.
"Plaque number sixteen, Rising Sun Merchant Guild, bidding one hundred and fifty thousand taels of gold." Situ Fan's voice immediately echoed throughout the garden.
"Brother Teng, if the price doesn't go too high, my Rising Sun Merchant Guild will take it," the Great Elder smiled and glanced over. "Six thousand years ago, there were only nine sets at God Axe Mountain. Over so many years, perhaps only two or three sets are genuinely well-preserved in the world. This item is worth buying."
Hearing this, Teng Qingshan exchanged a look with Li Jun beside him.
"Quite a bit of trouble," Teng Qingshan muttered inwardly.
Bid after bid followed.
"Two hundred thousand taels of gold!" It was Tantai Qing again! That little princess was bidding for the second time.
Fu Dao's expression turned somewhat grim.
"Hmm? It seems this Fu Dao also deeply desires it." Teng Qingshan glanced at him. As the bids continued to climb—now reaching two hundred and thirty thousand taels of gold—the faces of the families, save for those who had given up, were not looking good.
Fu Dao said coldly, "Two hundred and eighty thousand taels of gold!"
An increase of fifty thousand taels of gold in one go!
The garden fell slightly silent, and many people turned their attention to Fu Dao. Listening to Fu Dao's tone... many present felt that this Fu Dao was somewhat irritated.
"Three hundred thousand taels of gold!" Helian Haoxing of the Tianfeng Family said with a faint smile.
"Hmm?" Fu Dao couldn't help but look over.
"Plaque number thirty-six, Tianfeng Family, bidding three hundred thousand taels of gold!" Situ Fan sounded quite excited, and a ripple of surprise ran through many families nearby—not because the price was high, but because... the Tianfeng Family, which had remained silent until now, had actually entered the bidding!
Teng Qingshan, who had been remarkably calm, couldn't help but furrow his brow.
"This is getting troublesome!"
The Great Elder of the Rising Sun Merchant Guild beside him whispered with a smile, "I estimated that this set of Basalt Stone Tablets would be worth around three hundred thousand taels of gold. But judging by today's atmosphere... many families are determined to get them. If they truly start competing, the final price is hard to say. Situ Merchant Guild certainly invited quite a few families this time!"
"Three hundred thousand taels of gold, is there anything higher?" Situ Fan called out repeatedly from the central pavilion.
Since the Tianfeng Family's bid, no one had made a counteroffer for quite some time.
Helian Haoxing of the Tianfeng Family was smiling as he observed the surroundings.
"Three hundred and ten thousand taels of gold!" A frigid voice came from beside Teng Qingshan.
Teng Qingshan turned to look; Fu Dao's face was icy cold, as if he would devour anyone who dared to bid next. Helian Haoxing of the Tianfeng Family glanced over, merely smiling.
"Three hundred and fifteen thousand taels of gold!" The crisp voice sounded again.
"It's that little princess again," Fu Dao said irritably.
"Fu Dao, are you not bidding anymore?" Teng Qingshan asked him. Fu Dao shook his head, his face grim: "I am not part of some ancient clan. The maximum gold I can gather is three hundred and ten thousand taels at most!" It might be easy for a Xiantian Golden Core expert to acquire money, but... accumulating vast sums of massive wealth was difficult!
For an ancient family, the locations of their treasures were usually guarded with extreme caution, and few within the family knew where the wealth was hidden.
Even if Fu Dao tried to seize it by force... would he have to slaughter the entire family? Commit an act of massacre? A Xiantian Golden Core expert's Xiantian True Essence wasn't inexhaustible. He wasn't Teng Qingshan, after all.
And finding the location of the treasure hoard would be extremely difficult!
Teng Qingshan's previous success was due to luck: the Liu Family of Black Iron River had relocated their entire clan to an island, and the Chunshen Family had attacked and wiped them out. Since the island was small, the Liu Family had only just arrived... so the Chunshen Family easily located the golden treasury! Teng Qingshan simply took advantage of the situation.
"The Tantai family bids three hundred and fifteen thousand taels of gold. Are there any higher?" Situ Fan shouted once more.
"Thirty-two thousand taels of gold!" A voice came again from beside Teng Qingshan; this time, it was the Great Elder bidding.
Seeing Teng Qingshan look over, the Great Elder smiled: "This Basalt Stone Tablet set is rare and precious after all. Securing it for three hundred and twenty thousand taels of gold is still acceptable! Any higher, and I won't proceed."
"Thirty-three thousand taels of gold!" The voice came from the Tianfeng Family side.
It was Helian Haoxing again.
"The Tianfeng Family seems determined to acquire it."
"I originally wanted to buy it for under three hundred thousand taels, but that's impossible now."
Discussions erupted from the surrounding crowd.
"Brother Teng..." Li Jun looked towards Teng Qingshan at his side. Teng Qingshan glanced at the Tianfeng Family in the distance, and finally raised his plaque for the first time, saying calmly, "Forty-two thousand taels of gold!" Although Teng Qingshan's voice was not loud, it resonated in the ears of everyone in the garden.
Silence!
The entire garden instantly fell quiet, and everyone turned to look in this direction. Even the young princess of the Tantai Family stared at Teng Qingshan in astonishment.
No one had expected that Teng Qingshan, who hadn't bid until now, would suddenly name such a terrifyingly high price!
Furthermore... he had leaped from the previous 'three hundred and thirty thousand taels' directly to 'forty-two thousand taels.' Forty-two thousand taels of gold! Every one of these super-major families possessed the ability to produce such a sum, but was it worth it? Every treasure has its appropriate value.
The Basalt Stone Tablet, by itself, was not worth driving people to frenzy.
If the thirty-six carvings left personally by Emperor Yu back then were displayed here, forget three hundred thousand taels of gold, even three million, or tens of millions of taels of gold, or even higher! That would be worth it. Unfortunately, this was merely one set of Basalt Stone Tablets, and even obtaining them made cultivating the peerless axe technique extremely arduous.
"Forty-two thousand taels of gold, are there any higher?" Situ Fan shouted repeatedly in the central pavilion.
On the garden corridors, the major families quieted down, only whispering amongst themselves about Teng Qingshan's suddenly ferocious bidding.
"My Tianfeng Family recently eliminated the Yanhe Huang Family, who dared to provoke us, and obtained five hundred thousand taels of gold. Let this gold be spent here... Fifty thousand taels of gold!" Helian Haoxing of the Tianfeng Family said casually. "If anyone bids higher, my Tianfeng Family will withdraw."
Upon hearing this, many families gasped in discussion.
Teng Qingshan's expression turned somewhat grim.
Fifty thousand taels of gold?
He only possessed thirty-two thousand taels of gold in total. The Rising Sun Merchant Guild had previously promised to lend him twelve thousand taels. But even combined, that only amounted to forty-four thousand taels of gold! Yet the opponent had casually bid the terrifying sum of fifty thousand taels of gold in one go.
"As expected of the number one family under heaven," Fu Dao shook his head and sighed secretly. "To eliminate a small family and obtain fifty thousand taels of gold—this amount of wealth means nothing to them. But to us..."
There were many whispers and gasps of amazement.
But no one placed another bid! After all, such a massive amount of gold was also crucial to these great families. The Tianfeng Family was the overlord of the North Cold Domain and the foremost family under heaven, possessing immense financial resources naturally. But other families like the Fang, Wang, Tantai, and others could not casually spend hundreds of thousands of gold in one go!
"The Tianfeng Family eliminated a family and got this much gold?" Teng Qingshan also felt the Tianfeng Family's overwhelming financial power, and a cold glint flashed in his eyes, "It seems I have no other choice!"