Zi Linling finished speaking and plunged into the pile of raw stones herself, touching this one, looking at that one, sometimes lost in thought, sometimes excited.
Seeing her like this, I couldn't persuade her further.
Since the person involved wasn't in a hurry, if they insisted, it would be like a princess not worried while a eunuch fretted.
In less than the time it takes for a cup of tea, Zi Linling had picked out over a dozen raw stones, large and small.
But when it came to payment, she was suddenly in a predicament.
These dozen-plus raw stones added up to approximately five million high-grade spirit stones.
And the previous three hundred thousand high-grade spirit stones were already all the spirit stones she had.
Zi Linling smiled and asked, "Elder Fu, can I use other items to pay instead of spirit stones?"
She had many top-grade heavenly pills on her person, each one worth a fortune.
Elder Fu was stunned and frowned, "Other items? What do you mean?"
Zi Linling took out a porcelain bottle and said, "There are three top-grade heavenly Emperor's Barrier-Breaking Pills in here. They should be enough to purchase these raw stones."
Top-grade heavenly Emperor's Barrier-Breaking Pills!
If it were just three Emperor's Barrier-Breaking Pills, they wouldn't be worth five million high-grade spirit stones. But with the modifier "top-grade heavenly," their value far exceeded five million high-grade spirit stones.
Elder Fu thought he had misheard and repeated in disbelief, "Young lady, are you sure they are top-grade heavenly Emperor's Barrier-Breaking Pills?"
He emphasized the words "top-grade heavenly."
Zi Linling nodded and smiled, "Elder Fu, you heard correctly. They are indeed top-grade heavenly Emperor's Barrier-Breaking Pills!"
This time, not only Elder Fu heard clearly, but the surrounding onlookers also erupted.
Just Emperor's Barrier-Breaking Pills alone required an Imperial-level alchemist to refine them.
And to refine top-grade heavenly Emperor's Barrier-Breaking Pills, even an Imperial-level alchemist could only succeed by chance.
Yet, Zi Linling produced three at once!
Three!
Those were top-grade heavenly Emperor's Barrier-Breaking Pills!
Not cabbage!
"Young lady, I'll take these three top-grade heavenly Emperor's Barrier-Breaking Pills. I can pay you five million high-grade spirit stones!" someone in the crowd couldn't help but shout.
"Are you dreaming? Five million high-grade spirit stones for three top-grade heavenly Emperor's Barrier-Breaking Pills? Young lady, I'm willing to offer six million high-grade spirit stones!" another person retorted.
"I bid six and a half million!"
"I bid seven million!"
"I bid eight million!"
"..."
More and more people joined the bidding, and the price of the three top-grade heavenly Emperor's Barrier-Breaking Pills instantly surpassed the ten million mark and continued to climb.
It was no wonder everyone was going crazy.
Emperor's Barrier-Breaking Pills already increased the chance of breaking through to the Minor God realm to sixty percent. Top-grade heavenly Emperor's Barrier-Breaking Pills further boosted this chance to ninety-nine percent.
In other words, for an Emperor realm cultivator who consumed a top-grade heavenly Emperor's Barrier-Breaking Pill, as long as they weren't incredibly unlucky, breaking through to the Minor God realm was a certainty.
Therefore, three top-grade heavenly Emperor's Barrier-Breaking Pills meant three guaranteed Minor God realm powerhouses!
Three Minor God realm powerhouses could elevate a negligible force directly to the ranks of a third-rate force!
Most of the people attending the gambling stone convention represented some kind of power, so they naturally considered their respective forces.
Furthermore, gambling on stones required luck, otherwise, it was ten bets and nine losses. In contrast, top-grade heavenly Emperor's Barrier-Breaking Pills were very reliable.
Thus, compared to buying a pile of stones of unknown quality, they would rather buy top-grade heavenly Emperor's Barrier-Breaking Pills.
The competition among the onlookers intensified, with some even sending messages to their sects to quickly dispatch spirit stones.
News of this quickly spread, and almost everyone at the gambling stone convention surged towards this area.
Consequently, the gambling stone area managed by Elder Fu had effectively turned into an auction for top-grade heavenly Emperor's Barrier-Breaking Pills.
He regretted it immensely now, lamenting that he hadn't accepted Zi Linling's proposal at the first opportunity, which had led to the current situation.
However, it was too late for regrets. Everything here was spiraling out of his control.
"Fifteen million!"
"Eighteen million!"
"Twenty million!"
"..."
This sudden "auction" of top-grade heavenly Emperor's Barrier-Breaking Pills caught Zi Linling off guard.
She looked at Elder Fu with a wry smile, indicating that this was not her intention.
Xuan Yuanche tugged at Zi Linling's sleeve and said with a hint of grievance, "Miss Zi, why didn't you mention earlier that you were selling top-grade heavenly Emperor's Barrier-Breaking Pills?"
Zi Linling was speechless.
If she had known these pills were so popular, she wouldn't have offered them for trade.
However, it was too late for regrets.
Looking at the heated competition, her head ached.
"Thirty million!"
A robust voice instantly drowned out everyone else.
And with this voice came a middle-aged man dressed in luxurious attire.
"Ninth Uncle!"
The moment the middle-aged man appeared, Xuan Yuanche exclaimed.
Zi Linling's pupils contracted.
Because she sensed the same aura from this Ninth Uncle as she had from Ye Lingyuan.
This meant that Ninth Uncle was a half-step Divine King realm expert.
Ninth Uncle's "thirty million" immediately quelled the intense competition.
He walked up to Zi Linling and said politely, "Young lady, I am Xuan Yuan Xun, the Ninth Prince of the Xuan Yuan Dynasty. Though I am called Ninth Uncle by everyone, I am unworthy. I hope you, Miss Zi, will not blame me for my intrusion!"
Despite his noble status, Xuan Yuan Xun showed no arrogance.
He was like a gentleman, giving off a feeling of being in a spring breeze.
Zi Linling smiled and returned the courtesy, "Your Highness Ninth Prince is too kind!"
Xuan Yuan Xun nodded and turned to the crowd with a smile, "Our Xuan Yuan Dynasty offers thirty million high-grade spirit stones for Miss Zi's three top-grade heavenly Emperor's Barrier-Breaking Pills!"
"Of course, although this is our Xuan Yuan Dynasty's territory, we will compete solely on wealth. Everyone is welcome to continue bidding without any reservations!"
Although he was polite and had a gentle demeanor, thirty million was not a small sum. It was equivalent to the expenses of a third-rate force for half a year.
Therefore, thirty million was already a price that made many individuals and forces hesitate.
The once fierce competition suddenly quieted down.
After half the time it takes for a cup of tea, no one had bid.
Xuan Yuan Xun smiled and said, "Since no one else is bidding, I, on behalf of the Xuan Yuan Dynasty, thank everyone for yielding!"
He then produced a storage bag, handed it to Zi Linling, and said, "Miss Zi, thirty million high-grade spirit stones are here. Please count them!"