The price of the longsword quickly soared to 900 million, and was finally sold for 960 million Alliance Credits.
The third auction item was a pill refined from Celestia's medicinal herbs. According to Diana Hurst, this pill contained the finest health-preserving ingredients from Celestia and could delay aging. It was ultimately sold for 197 million.
The fourth item was a quota for traveling to Celestia, auctioned off for 1.2 billion Alliance Credits. From what Joe Di knew, the price for going to Celestia had dropped significantly. Originally, passage to Celestia was said to cost nearly 3 to 5 billion, but now it fetched only 1.2 billion at auction. It seemed that what Hu Qianli said about not being able to freely search for treasure at Celestia Grand Plaza was true.
After that, there were only odd maps of Celestia, unknown herbs from the planet, or fragments of unidentifiable treasures.
Joe Di had no interest in these things at all.
The auction had gone on for half a day, and Joe Di hadn’t made a single bid. This made him realize that if he hadn’t won a bit of money at the Celestial Casino, the hundred billion he brought from registration alone wouldn’t have bought him anything worthwhile here.
The auction was just beginning, yet the highest price had already approached 3 billion. Clearly, as the auction continued, not only would the quality of items increase, but the prices would also keep rising.
"Next up for auction are three jade slips. These three slips were found in a very ancient cave dwelling on Celestia. According to Professor Senford, the world’s most renowned scholar, they likely record the rise and fall of a certain dynasty. However, there are very few words on them—only sixteen characters in total across all three slips. So far, no one has been able to decipher the meaning of these sixteen characters."
Senior Daoist cultivator from China and headmaster of the Celestia Martial Academy, Master Thomas Zeng, has also studied these three jade slips. He believes they contain an indescribable hidden element. He even suspects that someone may have stored words or images in the slips without using visible inscriptions. Master Zeng said, unfortunately, his abilities were limited and he could not unlock their true purpose..."
As Diana Hurst finished her introduction, Joe Di felt a surge of excitement.
If this were a few days ago, he might have felt the same as most people—no particular thoughts, perhaps just thinking the auction was hyping up these jade slips from Celestia to fetch a better price.
Now that he possessed spiritual power, he suspected the contents of the three jade slips were imprinted with spiritual energy. After all, his own spiritual power was derived from the Da Xing Gate Record. Since his Daoist cultivation could produce spiritual power, surely others could as well.
He was determined to win these three jade slips and try it himself.
"...The starting price for these three jade slips is 1.1 billion, with each bid increment no less than ten million. The bidding begins now." Diana Hurst announced, once again displaying the jade slips on the auction platform.
Paying 1.1 billion for three jade slips that only recorded sixteen characters unknown to even world-class experts caused the auction hall to fall silent for the first time.
Even world-class experts couldn’t decipher them, and Master Thomas Zeng, a congenital powerhouse from China, couldn’t unlock their secrets either. Most attendees figured that even if they bought them, they wouldn’t be more capable than those experts or powerhouses.
Since the start of the auction, this was the first item to meet with a cold reception.
Joe Di had planned to observe everyone’s attitude toward the three jade slips, but after waiting a while, no one bid. Since that was the case, he didn’t hold back. He wrote 1.11 billion on the bidding tablet in front of him and pressed the bid button.
"1.11 billion! Someone has bid 1.11 billion for these mysterious jade slips..."
Diana Hurst did her best to promote them on stage, but aside from Joe Di, no one paid her any mind. At the same time, no one found it odd—paying 1.11 billion for three jade slips from Celestia was perfectly normal at this kind of auction.
Just as Diana Hurst thought the three jade slips would only sell for 1.11 billion and was about to announce it, a new bid of 1.2 billion appeared on the large display screen.
"Someone has bid 1.2 billion for these mysterious jade slips. Clearly, there are those who recognize their value. Is there a higher offer? If not, these jade slips of unknown worth will soon find their owner..."
Joe Di hadn’t expected anyone to compete with him, but without hesitation, he wrote 1.21 billion.
Almost immediately after Joe Di entered 1.21 billion, the bidding screen jumped to 2 billion.
Clearly, not only was someone bidding against Joe Di, but their attitude was extremely aggressive.
The auction hall finally grew lively. In just two rounds of bidding, the three seemingly insignificant jade slips had reached 2 billion, and only two people were bidding.
Some who didn’t understand the importance of the jade slips considered joining the bidding, but most remained on the sidelines, suspecting the auction house might be manipulating the competition.
"2.1 billion," Joe Di bid without hesitation.
"3 billion." The other party’s last two bids had each increased by nearly 1 billion. The aggressive pace made it clear that no matter how much Joe Di raised the price, they would follow and outbid him, signaling for Joe Di to quit.
"3 billion..." Diana Hurst, the auctioneer, had barely spoken when Joe Di’s bid interrupted her.
This time, instead of raising the bid by ten million or even a billion, Joe Di directly increased the price to 6 billion.
If nothing else, he had money to spare right now.
Since the start of the auction, Joe Di’s latest bid was the largest yet. But before Diana Hurst could excitedly announce the result, the display screen jumped to 10 billion.
(This chapter is not finished yet~.~ Please click next page to continue reading the exciting content!)
The other party’s single increase was still greater than Joe Di’s, showing a clearly aggressive attitude.
Joe Di frowned slightly. Was his competitor also someone with spiritual power?
"12 billion!" The display jumped again. Joe Di realized this bid wasn’t from him or his first competitor, but from a newly joined third bidder.
The auction hall grew even more animated. Everyone guessed that these three jade slips might truly be treasures. Even if the auction was orchestrated, a third participant rarely stirred things up.
Joe Di didn’t raise his bid. After the 12 billion offer, his original competitor raised the price to 15 billion, and then another troublemaker joined in, pushing it to 17 billion.
The price continued to rise alternately. In just one minute, it reached 20 billion.
The two latecomer bidders withdrew from the competition. Spending 20 billion on three jade slips of unknown use was more than most could bear.
The bidder who called out 20 billion was still the original aggressive competitor. Diana Hurst exclaimed excitedly from the stage, "This guest has bid 20 billion! If possible, I would love to invite this distinguished guest to come up and explain the use of these jade slips, though I know it's just wishful thinking..."
While Diana Hurst continued her enthusiastic pitch, Joe Di decisively interrupted her by placing a new bid.
"30 billion Alliance Credits." Joe Di didn’t want the bidding to drag on and made a firm, aggressive offer.
The announcement of 30 billion sent the whole venue into an uproar. Even though Diana Hurst had previously said that noise was forbidden in the auction hall, she couldn’t stop this kind of excitement.
Spending 30 billion on three jade slips of unknown purpose—unless you were crazy!
Sure enough, after Joe Di’s decisive bid of 30 billion, his competitor fell silent.
"30 billion Alliance Credits! My goodness, do these jade slips contain Celestia’s greatest secret? A distinguished guest has actually bid 30 billion..."
"Shut up!" A furious shout came from one of the private boxes. The voice stunned not only Diana Hurst but everyone in the auction hall.
This was probably the first time someone had ever told an auctioneer to shut up at the Celestia Auction.
Joe Di was a bit surprised. No matter how annoyed he got, he would never tell Diana Hurst to shut up. What surprised him wasn’t the competitor’s bad temper, but their strength. With just a few words, the entire auction hall heard them clearly—it was obvious this person was very powerful.
It was clear that Diana Hurst wouldn’t listen and continued to promote the jade slips enthusiastically. As for the man who told her to shut up, the auction house didn’t take any action against him.
"35 billion." After a full half-minute of silence, the competitor raised the price by another 5 billion. It was obvious that Joe Di’s aggressive bidding had made them falter.
"50 billion." Joe Di was certain his opponent knew the origin or use of the jade slips, so he didn’t hesitate to raise his bid by 15 billion. He wanted to show his determination.
Joe Di suspected that after this bid, one more round would completely defeat his opponent.
(That's all for today's update. Good night, friends!)