The Journey of Immortal Cultivation

Chapter 1076 - 588: Elder Qi Sets a Trap (Part 2)

Steward Wu nodded and said, "Elder Qi and the other Elder Hu, who also voted against, have some private ties with Elder Xiu. Perhaps he persuaded these two elders, so they didn’t advance the tea fund payment to you."

She knew it; Elder Qi suffered such a big loss, practically shelling out four million seven hundred thousand spirit stones from his own pocket and being forced to kill his most capable subordinate, Juan Niang, to calm the situation. High-level cultivators have their pride, and given his disposition and temper, it would be a surprise if he managed to swallow this grievance!

No wonder he has been quiet these past two days; he was waiting for this, knowing she needed the money, he used his authority to stall it so enchantingly. In fact, in business between chambers of commerce, settling payments a few days earlier or later is quite normal, but the agreement was written in black and white, and the opposite party insisted on adhering to the rules eye-for-eye. She truly had no choice.

Seeing the auction prices rising steeply, trying to buy the Divine Sword with these twenty-four million spirit stones is nothing but a fool’s dream. A wave of irritation surged in her heart; she almost wanted to smash the glazed glass wall and snatch the Divine Sword directly.

Unfortunately, she knew that wasn’t realistic. This wasn’t the wilderness but rather a world with no escape. She only had three people on her side; facing the experts scattered throughout Bai Yujing, how could she possibly stand a chance?

She stood up and paced back and forth several times before taking out a golden item from her bosom and handed it to Steward Wu, saying, "I’ve heard those who possess this Golden Order can request something from Heavenly Residence?" This was the token she got from that unscrupulous handsome man.

Steward Wu raised an eyebrow in surprise and said, "You actually have this." He took it and checked, "It’s indeed genuine. The holder of the Golden Order can make a request, but within reasonable limits."

She knew the meaning of "reasonable" was broad, synonymous with those ’final interpretation rights reserved by the store’ terms. Heavenly Residence indeed lived up to being a commercial giant; even issuing the Golden Order left enough leeway for themselves.

"Go try it." She touched her forehead.

Just now, after the auction reached a price of nineteen million spirit stones, the venue fell silent. Only after dozens of breaths did someone start bidding again. From now on, the pace of price increases had become much smaller, with at least an increment of fifty thousand each time. After all, no one’s money is picked up for free, spending too much will hurt.

Ning Xiaoxian sat on the couch, squinting at the various situations reflected in the Water Moon Mirror. The price had now stacked up to twenty-four million spirit stones. In other words, if Steward Wu didn’t get her tea fund back, she wouldn’t even have the chance to bid—out!

Taking a step back, even if the six hundred thousand tea fund was really retrieved, could she really outbid these Bai Yujing tycoons and win the Nanming Lihuo Sword?

If this Divine Sword were auctioned off and lost, it would be like duckweed joining the hundreds of rivers; she would never find it among the vast sea of people.

How could she allow this to happen? Yet even a cent can corner a hero, and her funding gap was in the millions or even tens of millions of spirit stones. Where could she possibly get such a huge sum?

If her current mood were to be described with four words, it would undoubtedly be "Five Inner Burning!" If not for the True One Technique continually running slowly, she would almost be showing the anxiety and impatience on her face.

When the price of the Nanming Lihuo Sword was raised to twenty-seven million spirit stones, Steward Wu returned.

Ning Xiaoxian noticed him from the corner of her eye, and her mood sank; his face didn’t look good either. Indeed, Steward Wu handed over the Golden Order and then shook his head, "Elder Qi voted against again, stating that this Golden Order can only advance up to one million spirit stones. Your payment reached over six hundred thousand, far exceeding the Golden Order’s limit, so..."

Ning Xiaoxian sighed but didn’t feel too disappointed.

Even if she had this six hundred thousand in hand, she was far from being as wealthy as these tycoons below! But saying that, such huge sums, who would carry it around all the time? How could these people just let it go?

She tilted her head slightly and asked Steward Wu, "Do all the bidders have large amounts of spirit stones on hand?"

Steward Wu chuckled, "No way! Those still able to bid now likely have mortgaged their sect property or City Contract to Heavenly Residence, or even significant goods. I just went over and saw someone using a City Contract for a city in Fuming State as collateral! That must be a sect-owned property."

Only now did she feel moved. Every city has a City Contract, stating which Immortal Sect governs it. For an Immortal Sect, cities where mortals live are like gold hens that continually lay eggs. City Contracts are protected in sect strongholds, secured by seventeen or eighteen layers of barriers and arrays. Unless absolutely necessary, they would never pawn it!

Someone actually mortgaged an entire city; that’s a bold move! Seeing her expression, Steward Wu quickly explained, "Don’t be surprised. There are dozens to even a hundred cities within a state. Selling one isn’t a big deal. Fuming State’s soil is quite abundant, so that city might sell for nearing a million spirit stones."

She drew in a hushed breath. She knew the sect governing Fuming State was of medium scale. Unexpectedly, casually selling a city could fetch such substantial income; how much real estate did this sect own then? How much wealth did those like the Chaoyun Sect and Guangcheng Palace, with large family assets, hold?

In contrast, the countryside folks of the Hidden Stream really lived too poorly, too pitifully!

Stop, she pulled her thoughts back. (To be continued. If you like this work, welcome to Qidian (qidian.com) to vote for recommendation tickets and monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users please read at m.qidian.com.)