With the initial high bid not working, Sage held off. If he started bidding too furiously, it might draw attention. From the previous rounds of bidding he knew he didn’t have many funds in comparison. The worst thing he could do right now was to get some rich guy interested. They’d probably buy it just on the off chance it was something good.

Thankfully, nobody else seemed interested and the auctioneer started asking for any other bidders. Just before she called for a third time, Sage put in a bid for twenty one thousand. The minimum increase. The other VIP booth raised their price to thirty thousand. Sage let the auctioneer call another two more times. Then he did it again, raising to a thousand over the other booth. He had no idea if it was a good tactic or not, but he was taking his time between bids to make it seem like he wasn’t sure.

Jin Shih popped a green colored berry, with small dimples on its surface like a strawberry, into his mouth. Then he looked at the stage again, “It’s just a seed. Does it have some special use we don’t know about?”

The other bidder raised the price to thirty two. Sage took this as a sign they didn’t want to waste their money. Sage raised the price to fifty thousand and looked over to Jin Shih, “Not really. I just want to try and grow the tree so I can research it.”

The other VIP booth didn’t bid again. Sage wasn’t sure what happened, but a few moments later he won the auction. He was feeling quite excited, even letting a smile show on his face. Cui Shufen frowned over at Jin Shih, “You’re so mean.”

Then she apologized to Sage, “I’m so sorry. Jin Shih’s rival is over in that booth. He just wants to bid up all the prices for anything Jin Shih tries to buy. Stonesap Tree seeds usually only sell for 20-30,000.”

Sage thought about assaulting Jin Shih for a second, but then he remembered that both of these Personal Disciples had already formed their cores. Not only were they stronger, they had powerful masters which meant they probably knew amazing techniques, and who knew how much gear they had. There was no telling how many secret weapons and tricks they’d got from the Peak Masters. He’d learned, after the fact, how lucky he was that the team from the Cult of the Woodlord wasn’t carrying any secret weapons. His theory was that they weren’t planning on that treasure hunt. They probably just came back from somewhere dangerous where they expended their resources and that tamer had just told them of such a great opportunity they didn’t want to pass it up.

Instead of showing any anger, Sage merely bowed his head to Jin Shih and Cui Shufen, “I can only thank you both for inviting me here. I would not even know about this auction without your assistance. It’s unfortunate that we will have to pay more, but this is an opportunity to get rare materials so I have to take it.”

Jin Shih hid a sneer behind his wineglass, badly that is, the hollowed berry not large enough to conceal his face. Sage let him gloat and went back to watching the auction. More unusual materials continued to go up for sale. Sage treated it as a learning experience. Many of these things he’d only seen mentioned in books. The books would only have illustrations for some of the materials, most of them just had written descriptions. Now he had a chance to not only see them, but he could also feel their auras.

When a cultivator or beast was showing off their aura it created a sort of pressure in the air. Somewhat like the feeling before a storm, but that was only the most basic aura technique. The more powerful and intimidating versions added colors, sounds, or physical effects. They might even create illusions or inflict damage on those nearby. The aura of natural objects was far more difficult to notice. In fact, it wasn’t even really apparent except from up close without having Spiritual Sense. On the other hand, those who did have Spiritual Sense could use it to try and look for natural treasures. In the perspective of Spiritual Sense, feeling an aura was like testing the wind. Spiritual Sense was similar to a form of touch that spread out in every direction. To feel the aura of a special object it was like trying to pick out the temperature, direction, and strength of the wind with an upraised finger. Not impossible, but it required a lot of practice to do accurately.

Many things caught his eye, but he held off. Without an idea of what was coming next, he could only restrain himself and keep waiting. Another tray was rolled out and when the shielding platter was drawn off, Sage felt a vibration within his body. Confused, he sent his consciousness inward to the Life Nebula formed around the heavenly treasures. The treasures in the center were vibrating slightly. Returning to the outside world, he looked at the stage again, this time looking carefully at what had been revealed. It looked like a huge lump of clay that had been fired in a kiln. As he stared, the vibration grew more powerful.

What is that failed pottery doing for sale, and why do the heavenly treasures want it?

“The most rare and amazing of materials are about to be brought up, but not yet. Before that, tell me? Are there any gamblers among the crowd?”

The auctioneer worked to rile up the crowd, getting some cheers and jeering.

“Perfect! It’s time for you to step up. Our next sets of items are mysterious. None of our experts have been able to identify them. Each of them defies the natural order is some way, which is why we have taken them to be treasures of some sort. We have no idea what they are, so now’s the time to gamble! Are they treasures or trash, time to find out.”

Then she walked over to the revealed lump of clay, “This is our first mystery item. It looks like failed pottery, but is remarkably immune to any special senses we’ve turned upon it. All we know is that there’s something inside, but the outer shell is hard to crack. If we try to break the clay by force we’ll destroy whatever is trapped inside. So, who thinks they can crack it open? The bidding starts at 50,000.”

The crowd had been getting excited at the idea of treasure trapped in a sort of magic safe. That is until the auctioneer mentioned the starting bid amount. Immediately, many who had risen to their feet in excitement sat back down. Nobody wanted to gamble such a large amount on a longshot. The auction house wasn’t one to take a loss. They wouldn’t be selling mystery items without first trying all they could to determine the true value of an object. This wasn’t a treasure hunting hall that auctioned off ancient piles of trash because it was too expensive to sort through it.

Sage was hoping nobody would bid. Then he could wait and see if the auctioneer would lower the price before he bid. Unfortunately, he was out of luck. After the second call someone in the leaf seats lifted a hand and bid the minimum. At that point it was like they’d been given permission and more people started to join in the bidding. Sage had wanted to just yell out 100,000 as soon as he heard the starting price, but he was terrified it would show how valuable the item was. Now, as the bidders pushed the price up to 90,000… he was wishing he had.

He touched the large yellow seed and the colored leaves under the booth displayed a number: 120,000.