The four entered the auction venue, which was divided into two floors. The first floor was the public area, and the second floor had private boxes. In the center was a pavilion surrounded by artificial pools filled with lotuses and lotus leaves.
As Ye Bufan passed by, he used his enhanced perception and discovered that the pools were actually filled with hidden mechanisms and booby traps.
To Ye Bufan's surprise, he had expected someone of Zhu Zizhen's status to be in the public area at best.
However, Zhu Zizhen actually had his own private box. Ye Bufan exchanged a glance with Wang Xinyan and followed Zhu Zizhen into his box.
After entering the box, Chu Mengyao also left.
The front of the box had a glass window overlooking the pavilion in the pool. Beside it was a screen. The box had four seats, and the main seat had an iPad for bidding.
"Grandpa, I didn't expect you to have a private box," Wang Xinyan said, looking around the box with admiration.
Zhu Zizhen chuckled upon hearing this. "Little girl, I've been a doctor for many years and saved countless lives. Is it possible that one of the people I saved is a high-ranking official of Jin Fang?"
Wang Xinyan understood immediately and gave Zhu Zizhen a thumbs-up.
"Little girl, your Wang family is one of the eight major families in Jin He. Why haven't I seen your family members here?" Zhu Zizhen asked Wang Xinyan after taking his seat.
Of the Jin He prominent families, the Yang, Jin, and Chu families were present, as well as the Xu family who had already left. Zhu Zizhen noted that at least four other families were absent.
"Grandpa, have you forgotten? Jin Fang's auctions are held both offline and online simultaneously. The bids will be synchronized between the live auction and the online participants later," Wang Xinyan replied.
Zhu Zizhen realized this, nodding in understanding. Society was developing rapidly, and many traditional industries were being affected. This was his first time experiencing such an innovative event. Moreover, he had been focused on studying traditional Chinese medicine and had rarely attended auctions, so he wasn't very familiar with Jin Fang's auctions.
Meanwhile, Ye Bufan sat down, idly playing with the gold-inlaid folder that Tong Su had given him earlier.
The folder contained information about Jin Fang. The auctions held in Jin He were considered mid-tier; high-level auctions were only held in the capital.
This made Ye Bufan curious about how the auctions in the capital would differ from those in cities like Jin He.
Furthermore, the auction would also sell items like cultivation techniques and elixirs. If one had such items, they could be put up for auction, and Jin Fang would provide an appraisal and advance payment. After the auction, Jin Fang would take a ten percent commission on the final price.
Reading the information, Ye Bufan suddenly had an idea. He wondered how much the basic cultivation techniques that Lin Xiaoyao had taught him would fetch at an auction.
Ye Bufan made a slight movement with his hand, and the folder split down the middle, revealing a hidden compartment. Ye Bufan discovered that there was an inner layer. Within the hidden compartment was a small black card with gold trim, inscribed with a website address, followed by an incomprehensible string of English letters and an ID number.
"What is this?" Wang Xinyan leaned over to take a look.
Ye Bufan pondered for a moment and said, "This should be the address for Jin Fang's underground dark web, along with the login account and password."
Zhu Zizhen looked over and said, "That's correct, it is indeed the address for Jin Fang's dark web."
"Esteemed patriarchs, distinguished guests, and attendees, welcome to this Jin Fang auction," Tong Su's voice announced. "This auction will commence in ten minutes. Please be patient."
As soon as she finished speaking, there was a knock on the door outside the box.
Upon opening the door, they saw a server entering with tea.
"This is aged Pu'er tea specially prepared for everyone at this auction. Please enjoy," the server said.
Tong Su's voice rang out again. After the servers placed the tea, they left the room.
After waiting in the box for ten minutes, Tong Su's voice sounded again. The window offered a view of the pavilion, and the monitor beside the window displayed the same scene.
After explaining the auction rules, Tong Su announced the start of the auction.
"The first item to be auctioned today is an antique jade Ruyi scepter, which was a personal possession of Emperor Qianlong. The starting bid is one hundred million Great Xia currency. The bidding increment is five million."
Ye Bufan chuckled as he listened to Tong Su's introduction, having expected a lengthy speech but receiving only a brief description.
"Bidding now begins."
"Online bidder number 8 offers one hundred million." As soon as the voice finished, a robotic AI voice sounded from the screen in the pavilion, indicating a bid from an online participant.
"One hundred and five million." From the Lin family's box, Lin Daoyuan also placed a bid.
"Online bidder number 3 offers one hundred and ten million." The AI voice announced again.
"One hundred and twenty million." Still from the Lin family's box, a bid of one hundred and ten million was made.
There was a silence of about ten seconds, and no one else bid.
"Lin family's elder patriarch, with a final bid of one hundred and twenty million, are there any further bids? One hundred and twenty million once, one hundred and twenty million twice, one hundred and twenty million thrice. Sold! Congratulations to Elder Lin for acquiring the Qianlong jade Ruyi scepter."
Ye Bufan sat in the box, browsing the list of items for auction, finding nothing that interested him.
The auction items generally started bidding at one hundred million Great Xia currency.
Wang Xinyan grew bored and eventually went to the Chu family's box to find Chu Mengyao.
"Alright, now we come to the highlight of this auction," Tong Su's voice announced again. "This is a special addition to this auction, an item brought by Elder Wu, an elder of the Martial Alliance – the Po E Dan."
At this moment, the screen beside the window began to display videos and photos of the Po E Dan.
"Hmm?" Ye Bufan's interest was piqued.
However, Ye Bufan's interest was not in the Po E Dan itself, but in the wooden box containing the Po E Dan.
Others might not notice, but Ye Bufan could tell that the material used to store the Po E Dan was very special. To ordinary people, it looked like an ordinary wooden box, but to cultivators, the wood of this box was excellent material for crafting a spirit gathering formation. It possessed the ability to gather spiritual energy, and if one were to renovate their home with it as the primary material, they could create a small spirit gathering formation. This would significantly speed up Ye Bufan's cultivation.
Tong Su began to explain the effects of the Po E Dan. The Po E Dan could break through physical limitations, allowing the user to expel impurities from the body, enhance physical fitness, and become a martial artist.
Ye Bufan listened to the explanation of the Po E Dan and couldn't help but smile.