Chapter 314: Terrifyingly High Price and the Impending Reign of Terror!

"Why has everything become so obscenely expensive...?" Liu Ningyun stared blankly, entirely at a loss for words. When she had played the game before, how could there possibly be items of such exorbitant value?! As a fledgling mage of merely twenty-odd levels, her Fire Wall and other spells had actually been gifted to her by the young lady, Ruan Ning...

And now...

Thinking of the future, a spell like Ice Storm was simply beyond any hope of cultivation!

Even Magic Shield seemed frustratingly out of reach!

Yet the bidding for the Light of Temptation, at this terrifying price, had only just begun!

"Eighty thousand!" Zhuge Bai of the White Dragon Manor was the first to shout a bid.

A collective gasp rippled through the hall; no one anticipated that the very opening bid would instantly drive the price up by thirty thousand!

Yet the momentum showed no signs of slowing. No sooner had Zhuge Bai's voice fallen than the Dark Fiend called out his own price: "One hundred thousand!"

"One hundred and twenty thousand!" The Yuanheng Pavilion refused to show the slightest weakness, throwing down another twenty thousand!

"One hundred and thirty thousand!" Perfected Master Xichi also attempted to test the waters. Though she carried a substantial amount of wealth upon her person, she was bound by a vital mission. Seeing the Haoran Sect swiftly push the price to one hundred and forty thousand, she could only sigh in helpless resignation.

"One hundred and fifty thousand!" The aged Daoist from the Yimu Dao Palace matched them with equal ferocity!

The price soared relentlessly, quickly breaching the daunting threshold of two hundred thousand!

Had it been merely the regular gamers bidding, the price could never have reached such astronomical heights. After all, in their eyes, no matter how precious an item was, it might very well drop during the next monster siege or the next treasure-hunting expedition.

But these cultivators who did not play the game were entirely different. If they did not scramble for such a divine treasure, what else did they intend to save their money for?!

Swept up in this frenzied atmosphere, many Legend players also decided to throw caution to the wind!

"Two hundred and ten thousand!" When the Dark Fiend offered his bid once more, the look in his eyes had utterly transformed.

"Two hundred and twenty thousand!" The White Dragon Manor refused to be outdone.

"Two hundred and twenty-five thousand!" Xi Chenzhou knitted his brows, the price clearly pushing past his comfort threshold.

"Two hundred and fifty thousand!" The cultivator from the Feng family bared eyes shot through with blood, one hand gripping the edge of the table so tightly his knuckles whitened, glare sweeping the room as though every soul present were a mortal foe, abruptly raising the bid by twenty-five thousand!

"I would like to see who else dares bid higher than me!" The middle-aged Feng family cultivator scanned the surroundings with his narrow, piercing eyes.

It was true that many among them had come prepared to contest the final sequence of climaxing Spiritual Treasures, and the amount of spirit crystals they carried was indeed staggering.

No one wished to forfeit the Spiritual Treasures, yet this Light of Temptation was clearly something many covetously desired as well.

Expending their wealth here would inevitably leave them financially constrained during the subsequent clash for the Spiritual Treasures!

Thus, many weighed the choice heavily in their hearts. The Feng family cultivator, however, had clearly chosen the Light of Temptation.

Otherwise, he would never have dared to leap directly to two hundred and fifty thousand!

"Two hundred and sixty thousand!" Just then, the rogue cultivator clad in dark red robes, Daoist Red Wing, finally spoke!

And the fray was far from over. Almost immediately, Perfected Master Xichi raised the stakes again: "Two hundred and eighty thousand!"

"Master!" Liu Ningyun was struck with alarm. Had they not agreed to come solely to reclaim their sect's lost Spiritual Treasure?

Perfected Master Xichi let out a cold snort. "Even now, these people still retain such vast fortunes of spirit crystals, clearly pointing to the fact that they are all here for that single Spiritual Treasure. Since that is the case, why not force the price up now, so we might eliminate a powerful rival later?"

"Ah..." Mo Xian quickly recovery her composure. "Master's wisdom is profound!"

No one could have predicted that before the grand finale of the auction had even graced the stage, a bloodbath of a contest would already be underway!

Though the financial might of the Morning Star Sea cultivators far eclipsed that of the Great Jin Dynasty, Fang Qi had never expected it to reach such a staggering degree! To squander hundreds of thousands without so much as blinking an eye!

Of course, in the eyes of many, purchasing such a profound spell was equivalent to acquiring a foundational treasure to secure a sect's legacy; a slightly higher expenditure was hardly surprising.

For the likes of Perfected Master Xichi and her peers, on an individual level, this amount of spirit crystals was genuinely a massive fortune; in truth, very few present could produce such wealth purely from their personal reserves.

Yet when measured against the total treasury of an entire sect, this price was still somewhat modest.

And so, the numbers continued their relentless climb!

Once the price surged to three hundred thousand, the Legend players were entirely squeezed out of the running. Not a single player offered another bid; for them, such a sum was indeed beyond their practical means. Furthermore, the players who possessed the capacity to participate at this level were all leaders of great guilds, and each still harbored the hope of hunting a boss to obtain another copy of the Light of Temptation!

With their established power within the game, securing a few bosses was well within their capabilities. Clinging to this rationale, they gradually withdrew from the bidding.

Those left contending were exclusively the non-Legend players.

These non-Legend players had absolutely no inkling that the Light of Temptation could actually be obtained through monster drops, even if the probability of such an occurrence was low enough to make one shudder.

"Three hundred and ten thousand!" The Feng family had pushed the bid to three hundred and ten thousand!

Many began to hesitate, the daunting price making them step back in contemplation.

Nearly every Legend player felt the price had become somewhat artificially inflated, but the others did not share this view, and the numbers kept rising.

"Three hundred and fifteen thousand!" The grey-robed cultivator from the Haoran Sect called out.

"Three hundred and twenty thousand!" The Feng family cultivator seemed to be growing increasingly frantic, his eyes wild.

"Three hundred and sixty thousand!" Right at that moment, a decisive voice cut through the air.

It was the rogue cultivator dressed in the dark red robes, Daoist Red Wing!

He had evidently concluded that competing for the Spiritual Treasure was a hopeless endeavor, and had chosen to focus the entirety of his resources on this single spell!

The middle-aged Feng family cultivator fixed his narrow eyes upon Daoist Red Wing, the expression on his face shifting between dark shadows and pale fury.

Having reached this staggering sum, no one else stepped forward to challenge it.

Meanwhile, sitting beside Fang Qi, Ruan Ning whispered, "Guild Leader, pinch me quickly, see if this is real!"

Happiness had arrived so abruptly that her mind was a complete blank, her joy so overwhelming she felt on the verge of fainting!

Immediately following her request came a sharp shriek: "Ah—!"

Ruan Ning cried out in pain. Looking down, she saw her fair, tender arm had nearly been pinched black and blue. With tears welling in her eyes, she rubbed her arm. "Could you not have been a little gentler?!"

"Who knew you cultivators possessed such delicate skin and tender flesh?"

"You are just jealous that this lady is about to strike it rich!" Ruan Ning glared at him in indignation. "Originally, I had planned to prepare a massive red envelope for you as the Guild Leader, but now, humph!"

"Oh ho, you actually thought of showing filial piety to this Guild Leader? You've grown quite a bit!" Boss Fang appeared genuinely surprised.

"Humph, humph!"

After a considerable lapse of time, no further bids were made. Following the final countdown, the gavel fell with a resounding strike, settling the matter once and for all. The final, highest bidder was Daoist Red Wing, at three hundred and sixty thousand!

To the Legend players, this was an unimaginably colossal sum!

Beside them, Xi Yue was also gripped by a profound shock. "Suddenly, I feel as though I've become incredibly valuable..."

"Sister Xi Yue, I think you had better be careful..." Ruan Ning swept an appraising gaze over her from head to toe. "Lest you get yourself kidnapped the moment you step outside one day!"

One had to remember that she was currently the sole cultivator who possessed the knowledge of the Light of Temptation!

Nearby, Mo Tianheng let out a soft chuckle. "Do not go thinking that just because an item is won at auction, all worries are laid to rest!"

"Elder Mo, what do you mean by that?" Ruan Ning asked, slightly startled.

Following the direction of his gaze, she observed those few cultivators from the Feng family, their faces now twisted into expressions of chilling malice as they glared intently at the various cultivators who had successfully purchased the treasures!