At five in the afternoon.
The bidding for the sub-grade Origin Stone Kings officially began.
By this time, the ordinary origin stones and precious origin stones in the gambling stone hall had been mostly dealt with.
"The origin stone I had my eye on was saved for last, truly." Yang Feilong felt quite regretful.
If it had been earlier, he might have left after bidding on this sub-grade Origin Stone King, but at that point, only ten Origin Stone Kings remained, and the auction was nearing its end. How much earlier could he have left?
One by one, the origin stones began to be auctioned.
To avoid suspicion, Yang Feilong also bid several times. Of course, he didn't bid on every single one. By the time it was the turn of the sub-grade Origin Stone Kings, Yang Feilong had already acquired three origin stones, spending fifty million, with an average price of over sixteen million.
The profit was not much, only a little over twenty million, and he even lost money on one of them, but he did it intentionally to avoid raising suspicion!
Time flew by, and it was finally the last sub-grade Origin Stone King.
"This sub-grade Origin Stone King, according to many people's evaluations, could actually be classified as an Origin Stone King. However, to round out the number, it was placed in the sub-grade Origin Stone King section!" the auctioneer explained with a smile from the podium.
Why were the prices for sub-grade Origin Stone Kings and Origin Stone Kings so high? The reason was that they all had a "sky window" opened, revealing valuable jade inside.
Only the size was unknown.
Therefore, even if these origin stones were bought and lost money, they would not lose much. Of course, there was also the possibility of a significant loss, as the small opening at the "sky window" might be all there was, with nothing substantial behind it.
Such cases were not uncommon.
"This finale sub-grade Origin Stone King has a starting bid of fifty million, with each increment no less than one million!" the auctioneer announced with a smile.
"Fifty-one million!"
"Fifty-two million!"
"Fifty-five million!"
"......"
"Sixty million!"
The bidding prices soared rapidly. Yang Feilong sighed inwardly, lamenting that if there hadn't been a "sky window," the competition wouldn't be so fierce. Of course, he would still bid, because this sub-grade Origin Stone King contained not only a top-grade spirit stone the size of a lychee but also a piece of jade worth a fortune.
Based on Yang Feilong's assessment, that piece of jade alone was worth no less than one hundred and fifty million!
However, compared to the top-grade spirit stone worth billions, this one hundred and twenty million jade was insignificant.
"Seventy million!" Yang Feilong bid, increasing the price by a full ten million.
"That young man from Long Country is bidding again!"
"This guy has money!"
"Isn't he afraid of losing money!"
"Even if he loses, he doesn't care, after all, he already made over two hundred and seventy million before!"
Yes, Yang Feilong had previously made over two hundred and seventy million, which had been publicly announced by the gambling stone hall. The hall naturally knew how much Yang Feilong had spent on origin stones and how much he had sold them for. After deducting commissions, the profit was clear. In fact, many people believed Yang Feilong had made even more, as his bag seemed heavier than before, possibly containing some low-grade spirit stones.
Of course, compared to the two hundred and seventy million, the low-grade spirit stones in his bag were probably not that many, at most a dozen or so, adding only another ten million or so.
"Seventy-five million!" Someone from a top conglomerate bid.
"Eighty million!" Another person from a top conglomerate bid.
"Ninety million!" This time, the bid came from someone from the Hei River Group.
It could be said that most of these hundred sub-grade Origin Stone Kings were bought by these wealthy conglomerates. Yang Feilong was somewhat of an exception, as although he didn't appear to be affiliated with any major company, his bidding was substantial. His three previous bids, costing over fifty million, were not a small sum!
"One hundred million!" A middle-aged man from the Ye Ren Group, determined to win.
"One hundred and ten million!" Yang Feilong spoke up.
"One hundred and fifteen million!" This time, the bid came from the Xing Yang Group of Long Country.
"One hundred and twenty million!" This bid also came from the Ye Ren Group.
At this point, the Hei River Group seemed to have withdrawn, and the Xing Yang Group also withdrew!
"One hundred and thirty million!" Yang Feilong spoke again.
"This kid!" The Ye Ren Group members' gazes turned cold.
But Yang Feilong ignored him. Let alone one hundred and thirty million, he would have bought it even if he had to sell everything he owned.
At this moment, Yang Feilong felt a sense of relief. If he hadn't sold those jade pieces earlier, he truly wouldn't have had enough money. Unless he didn't bid on the previous three origin stones, but doing so would have made his specific interest in this one too obvious!
"One hundred and forty million!" At this moment, the Ye Ren Group member bid again, showing a determined resolve to win.
"One hundred and fifty million!" Yang Feilong followed without hesitation.
"Damn it, this kid!" The leader of the Ye Ren Group's delegation glared at Yang Feilong, his eyes flashing with icy killing intent. He recalled a statement made by one of his divination masters: he had used his essence blood to perform a divination, and the result indicated that this sub-grade Origin Stone King was the most valuable one in the entire auction house.
"I can't compete further. If I do, I might attract the attention of those major powers. However, once this matter is settled, I will find a way to kill him! And take the treasure within this origin stone!" Xiao Quanfei's heart seethed with killing intent.
Yang Feilong was naturally unaware that the Ye Ren Group had used a divination technique to determine the immense value of the treasure contained within this origin stone.
If he had known—he still would have gone all out to acquire it.
Because it was something his master needed for her breakthrough, he would not give up, no matter what. Even if it meant paying any price and potentially making more enemies, he would not hesitate!
"One hundred and fifty million for the first time! One hundred and fifty million for the second time! One hundred and fifty million for the third time! Congratulations to Mr. Yang at Table 18, who has successfully bid for this sub-grade Origin Stone King, comparable in value to an Origin Stone King!" The auctioneer's hammer fell with a smile.
Honestly, he was also surprised that this sub-grade Origin Stone King could fetch such a high price. It truly lived up to its reputation as a near Origin Stone King!
After all, this was the first origin stone to be auctioned for over a hundred million!
"Whew!" Seeing that he had secured this origin stone for one hundred and fifty million, Yang Feilong let out a big sigh of relief.
However, he did not rush to leave!
Since it had come to this point, lingering for a while wouldn't hurt. Previously, he had assets of over seven hundred and seventy million. Now, after spending two hundred million on the sub-grade Origin Stone Kings, he still had five hundred and seventy million.
He wanted to see if he could acquire Origin Stone King number three. Based on Yang Feilong's assessment, that Origin Stone King was worth five to six hundred million!
And its starting bid was one hundred million!
If he could acquire it for two to three hundred million, he would bid. If not, he would let it go!
First, Origin Stone King number ten was eventually sold for an astonishing one hundred and twenty million. Although the final transaction price exceeded one hundred million, it was still not as much as that sub-grade Origin Stone King.
Perhaps, if it hadn't been for its status as an Origin Stone King, it wouldn't have fetched such a high price!
One hundred and twenty million!
One hundred and eighteen million!
One hundred and sixty million!
One hundred and ninety million!
One hundred and fifty million!
Subsequently, all the Origin Stone Kings were auctioned for prices exceeding one hundred million. The highest one reached nearly one hundred and ninety million. To be honest, Yang Feilong had inspected that nearly one hundred and ninety million Origin Stone and found that it wasn't a loss, as the value of the jade inside should not be less than two hundred million!
However, the origin stone that sold for over one hundred and eighteen million was, according to Yang Feilong's inspection, the biggest loss. The jade inside was only worth a few million. Speaking of which, one had to admire that many people had good judgment, as this was the lowest transaction price, clearly indicating that many people were suspicious!
And all of this was astonishing!
"Next is auction item number three, with a starting bid of one hundred million! Each increment no less than one million!" the auctioneer announced with a smile.
"One hundred million!"
"One hundred and ten million!"
This Origin Stone King was highly anticipated by many, and its price rose quickly, soon approaching the second-highest price of one hundred and sixty million!
"Two hundred million!" Yang Feilong spoke again.
As soon as he said this, the atmosphere of competition suddenly froze.
"This guy isn't playing by the rules, jumping the price by over forty million directly?"
"It looks like he's determined to win again!"
"Are we still competing?"
"Competing for what? Two hundred million! If it's not what we imagined, we'll lose a lot! Even if it's close to what we imagined, we'll only profit twenty to thirty million! Maybe not even that much."
"Forget it!"
Yang Feilong's aggressive bid, sweeping away all competition with its dominance, caused many to retreat. Yang Feilong himself also breathed a sigh of relief. Although he was prepared to acquire it even for three hundred million, saving one hundred million was like earning an extra hundred million!
After acquiring Origin Stone King number three, Yang Feilong stopped bidding!
Yang Feilong estimated that, excluding the top-grade spirit stone, he had profited over thirty billion from this trip!
If the top-grade spirit stone was included, the profit would be even greater, over one hundred and thirty billion!
Even buying low-grade spirit stones for cultivation would be enough for many years of practice!
Why did people from ordinary families cultivate slowly, while those from wealthy families cultivated faster? Because they had money!
With money, one could buy spirit stones. Whether for esper users, ancient martial artists, ninjas, or diviners, using spirit stones to cultivate was countless times faster than normal cultivation. The reason? The environment. The Earth's environment had extremely thin spiritual energy. One low-grade spirit stone, used for ten to eight days of cultivation, was equivalent to one year of normal cultivation. That was a difference of dozens of times!
"Next is Origin Stone King number two, with an initial bid of one hundred million, and each increment no less than one million." The auctioneer's voice boomed again.
"One hundred and ten million!"
"One hundred and twenty million!"
"......"
Finally, Origin Stone King number two was sold for two hundred and thirty million.
Origin Stone number one had the highest bid, reaching a full three hundred million!
Yang Feilong observed that among the ten Origin Stone Kings, only three were profitable, while the others resulted in losses. The last one was also a loss. Although the value of the jade inside was not low, reaching two hundred and eighty million, it had been acquired for a staggering three hundred million!
Overall, the auction house was profitable, making at least one hundred and eighty million, if not two hundred million.