Chapter 339: End of the Auction

Along the way, Sage only made one purchase. There was a large hunk of Chrono Copper, and Sage got into a bidding war with someone before winning it for a quarter million Spirit Stones. It was certainly not a cheap item, but Chrono Copper is a rank 4 material like Cloudmetal, and the ‘large hunk’ was weighed in the tons. Cloudmetal was far cheaper to purchase, but it required Cloudmetal Charcoal to work with, so that drove the price up. Chrono Copper was another cheap rank 4 material as it was very difficult to work with. It also wasn’t particularly difficult to purchase. The reason it was up for auction was the large quantity up for sale. Normally, it sold for about 50 Spirit Stones per pound which put it at around 100 thousand per ton. This hunk weighed nearly 4 tons, so Sage got it for a real steal. Not many wanted such a large quantity for a material that was usually only used in small portions.

Contrary to the order that Sage revealed to the auction house, the first item they put up for sale was the Treasure Map. He’d hoped to build enough hype to arouse a huge bidding war, but he was disappointed. Despite spending 4000 Spirit Stones and a hundred gold coins to spread stories and rumors, only a few people bid on the Treasure Map. It was certainly an impressive looking map, but not many people took it seriously. Sage felt he was being too clever for his own good.

It probably would have done much better if I just made a big spectacle and told the stories of how I found it.

He gave up that thought immediately, as people wouldn’t believe it as soon as he wanted to sell the map. What sort of hero would give up his own fortuitous chances? On the other hand, Sage was pleasantly surprised by who ended up winning the bidding on the Treasure Map. It was a group of people who all had distinctly larger ears than normal. Specifically, their ears were ‘longer’, they looked slightly stretched vertically and not just larger overall. If it was just one of them, it wouldn’t be too unusual, but a half dozen of them were all sitting together and it made the difference far more noticeable.

The reason this was surprising was because that particular trait belonged to the Shou Clan. Sage knew of them because they were one of the leading groups that made up the Artful Life Alliance. As one of the main powers in Lionheart Town and the holder of most of Wu Chang’s debt, Sage would of course know of them. The other creditor, the Hatchet Gang, was also involved with the Slave Trade…

It can’t just be a coincidence that Hei Bai’s map has been purchased by the Artful Life Alliance, can it?

Sage smiled to himself and watched the auction as it continued. After a few other expensive items, the fingerbone necklace came up next. The auctioneer looked a bit frightened as she spoke, hyping up the item.

“This next item is too terrifying for even our Appraisers to touch it. It has a dreadfully powerful trap upon it, one that can near instantly turn the whole body of a low level cultivator into mud. Of course, nobody would put such a terrible trap upon a worthless item, would they? Is there anyone brave enough to tackle this treasure?”

Predictably, some tough guys in the audience started bidding over it. Sage didn’t really care. He was sure it was valuable, but his own life was worth far more in his eyes. As they say, birds die for food and people die for wealth. As he couldn’t solve the necklace’s secrets he decided it wasn’t meant for him. He didn’t want to die trying to take a treasure he couldn’t handle. Those Shou Clan members didn’t bid on the necklace, which made Sage doubt their connection to Hei Bai.

Is it possible they were just interested in the map?

Sage decided to check the Artful Life Alliance out anyways. Even if they weren’t related to Hei Bai, they were still Wu Chang’s creditors and he could benefit by discovering their secrets. More surprisingly, the necklace ended up being sold for a huge sum. Someone in a private booth actually bid a half million on it. Spending that much they probably knew what it was for and how to use it.

A few items later, the auction was coming to a close and Sage was surprised to see that the Storage Ring wasn’t actually the last item. It came up second to last and sold for 1.2 million Spirit Stones. It was actually sold for twenty percent more than its usual value, but that was because such expensive items were rare. While it may have a normal price, such a large Storage Ring wasn’t commonly available so rich folk would pay more to get one immediately.

With the 100 thousand for the Treasure Map, Sage’s goods sold for over 2.2 million Spirit Stones. After fees, and the 250 thousand for the Chrono Copper he was still going to take home 1.75 million. All that was left was the final item in the auction. Sage was pleased to hear the auctioneer make that announcement as a trio of carts were rolled up onto the stage.

So is the last item a set of three, or are they selling three of the same thing?

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The three assistants pulled away the covers from the three carts like they were revealing the main course at a banquet. The auctioneer simultaneously called out, “The Blue Hex Fruit! We have three of them, all exactly alike. As it takes 3000 years to mature, it’s certainly not a common item. Our appraisers have verified their potency for at least 1000 years of natural growth and aging, and their condition is perfect.”

Way back when he started in the Holy Flame Sect, Sage had learned about the age, potency, and condition of harvested Spirit Plants. Techniques that could rapidly age plants were not uncommon and so potency was also measured. Spirit Plants would get more powerful and effective as they aged, but different techniques have different effects. By gauging the amount of Qi and nutrients the Spirit Plant had absorbed, a potency rating could be established. Lastly, condition referred to the harvesting, packaging, and preservation of a Spirit Plant. A mistake during any of those steps could reduce the efficacy of the Spirit Plant, or cause it to slowly decline over time. When buying Spirit Plants it was necessary to pay attention to all three qualities.

The auctioneer let everyone take a look at the Blue Hex Fruit, remaining silent as a thousand eyes took in their appearance. The Blue Hex Fruit was about the size of a grapefruit, but had the waxy and cloudy skin of a blueberry. They were a deep and rich blue color, almost an indigo, but it actually had little fibers or hairs on it like a raspberry did. The little fibers were actually called ‘styles’ and the leftovers of its pistils, a part of a flower. A large blueberry with tiny fibers on it wasn’t the most odd part, what was most compelling was that the little styles actually formed geometric patterns and designs. The Blue Hex Fruit had naturally occuring array symbols on it.

A few in the crowd actually gasped, recoiling in their seats and actually checking how far away the doors were. Others in the crowd were confused until the auctioneer opened her mouth, “The Blue Hex Fruit has been called the ‘Unluckiest Fruit’. Those who consume them are said to be cursed with the worst luck imaginable. All of their ventures fail, their loved ones leave them or pass away, and bad things happen to them on a regular basis. Rumor has it that even if a King were to eat one, he would soon be nothing more than a worm within a few years.”

Now everyone in the crowd realized why the others had been so uneasy. Nobody wanted to be the one to eat a Blue Hex Fruit. It was like they were looking at their own deaths. Of course, there were a few in the crowd who didn’t seem scared. One of them even held up his paddle, “One million Spirit Stones!”

The auctioneer laughed, a little titter that sounded pleasing to the ear, “So very eager! Don’t worry, you’ll get your chance to bid, Sir. Allow me to finish explaining. As unlucky as the Blue Hex Fruit is, as in the Yin and Yang, the extreme of one thing will lead to its opposite. After someone that has ingested the Blue Hex Fruit their luck will continually get worse and worse, but if they can survive long enough their luck will undergo a miraculous transformation. Those who were lost will be found. Beautiful women will fall into your lap, treasures will throw themselves at you, fortuitous opportunities will rain upon you.”

She let her words sink in, tempting the crowd. Those who were previously interested seemed quite annoyed. The Blue Hex Fruit didn’t just have to be used in such a crude way. It was also a rare ingredient for alchemical pills related to luck, and now the auctioneer was giving the crowd reasons to compete against them. Not many were brave enough to seek the Blue Hex Fruit, but a few of them were already waving their paddles to signal the bidding to start.

Wait… so that fruit makes an integer overflow for luck? It goes so far into the negative that it hits the cap and rolls over to the maximum positive? Ballsy.

Sage was slightly interested, but unfortunately he wasn’t much of an Alchemist. With only one star, there was no way he was going to spend a fortune buying a Blue Hex Fruit so that someday after spending decades raising his Alchemist rank he could make use of it. He knew a few Alchemists back in the Holy Flame Sect, but he had no idea if they had any uses for the Blue Hex Fruit. It would be silly to go all in on something he couldn’t use any time soon.

The bidding started up at that point and Sage just enjoyed the show. Since someone had already yelled out a number, the Auctioneer was happy to start the bidding at a million per fruit. That eager bidder had hoped to buy all three, but he found out there would be three successive auctions. One for each fruit. The rowdy bidders calmed down a bit after that, but there were still more than a half-dozen bidding on the Blue Hex Fruits. Most of them were in private VIP rooms, but two were on the main floor.

The first fruit was sold for 3 million to one of the people on the main floor. It was an old man who seemed quite famous, after he won, Sage overheard whispering about his identity as Doctor Shun Shih. A traveling Doctor and Alchemist, he was quite benevolent and well known. The second sold after a person in a VIP booth made a bold statement, “The Chong Clan bids 2.75 million.”

Finally, the bidding on the third fruit went a bit wild as they fought over the last piece. It finally sold for 3.5 million to the same booth that purchased the fingerbone necklace earlier, and Sage was quite curious who was in there. They must have been extremely knowledgeable, or foolish to buy both items with the most extreme amounts of danger attached to them.

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