Battle Through the Heavens: The Soul Emperor's Only Daughter, I Am the Young Master of the Soul

Chapter 35 Ten Thousand Years Soul-Inducing Wood

"The next item up for auction is a strange piece of wood."

A seductive voice rang out, and a plate covered with a red cloth was brought out.

The auctioneer pulled back the red cloth, revealing a piece of dark, somewhat decayed ancient wood to the crowd.

Before the auctioneer could even begin to introduce it, Hun Qinghao's pupils dilated sharply when he saw the piece of jet-black ancient wood on the plate. He gripped the armrests of his chair tightly and exclaimed in shock, "This is... Soul-Guiding Wood, and it's ten thousand years old!"

Her shocked expression immediately drew the attention of everyone else in the room. Chairman Frank turned to look at her, asking with surprise, "Miss Qing, do you recognize this?"

Hun Qinghao nodded, calming his excited emotions, and rested his chin on his hand, his eyes fixed on the ancient piece of wood.

To avoid being the one to admit her mistake, she even used a secret technique to investigate.

Once the black light in his eyes faded, a surprised smile appeared on Hun Qinghao's face.

It really is a ten thousand year soul attracting tree!

Soul-Guiding Wood is extremely rare. It is decaying wood from the coldest and most yin places, which is forged over hundreds of years by continuously absorbing the essence of the sun and moon. The older it is, the more precious it becomes.

However, not all rotten wood can be transformed into Soul-Guiding Wood. Among tens of millions of pieces of rotten wood, only a few pieces with exceptional talent can be transformed into Soul-Guiding Wood.

There is indeed an extremely yin and cold place in the Soul Realm, which is used to cultivate Soul-Guiding Wood. However, since the Soul Realm is only a space created after birth, the essence of the sun and moon is insufficient, and the Soul-Guiding Wood cultivated over the past thousand years is not only of low age but also extremely rare.

However, there are very few Soul Clan members who can cultivate the Soul-Capturing Technique to the seventh level, so Soul-Guiding Wood is not in short supply in the Soul Realm.

"It's just a piece of black, rotten wood, how strange could it be..."

"Exactly, it's just a piece of rotten wood, and your auction house has the nerve to put it up for auction..."

"Who would pay a high price to buy back a useless piece of wood? Wouldn't that be a huge rip-off? Aren't there any other treasures to auction off...?"

"..."

Most people are ordinary folks who don't know what's good for them.

When they saw that the item being auctioned was just a piece of rotten wood, the guests on the first floor began to voice their dissatisfaction, and even some of the guests in the private rooms upstairs frowned.

The experienced auctioneer didn't take the situation seriously, simply smiling it off before dutifully explaining to everyone:

"Although this item is strange and appears to be rotten, according to the appraisal of our auction house's masters, this strange piece of ancient wood is impervious to swords and spears, and water and fire. Even a Douling expert cannot leave a mark on it. It should be an extraordinary treasure."

"Unfortunately, our auction house has limited expertise and cannot identify what kind of treasure this is, nor can we do anything about it, which is why we put it up for auction."

At this point, the auctioneer shook his head regretfully. If their auction house hadn't been unable to acquire this ancient wood, they wouldn't have put it up for auction. Wouldn't it have been better for them to keep such a treasure for themselves?

"Ladies and gentlemen, although our auction house is unfamiliar with this ancient wood, I believe that there are discerning individuals among you. If this ancient wood is indeed some priceless treasure, wouldn't that be a fortunate encounter?"

"The auction is now open. Mysterious ancient wood, starting price 300,000 gold coins." The auctioneer announced the starting price with a smile. Since he did not know the origin and use of the ancient wood, he did not bid too high.

Once the starting price was announced, the entire venue fell silent.

Three hundred thousand gold coins might be insignificant to a major power, but for those who come to Blackrock City to participate in the auction, it is a considerable sum.

No power is willing to take the risk of spending a fortune to acquire a piece of rotten wood that might be a treasure.

On the fourth floor, Sheng Linglong recognized the Soul-Guiding Wood, but he knew that Hun Qinghao would definitely bid for it, so he wouldn't compete with her for it.

"Four hundred thousand."

Just when the auctioneer thought the item was going to go unsold, a girl's clear voice rang out in the quiet space.

The auctioneer was slightly taken aback and looked toward the box from which the sound came from. He saw the girl who had been sitting silently next to Frank, the president of the Alchemist Guild.

"Miss, are you sure you want to bid 400,000 gold coins for this piece of ancient wood? Even if it's just a piece of rotten wood, do you mind?" The auctioneer came to his senses and asked symbolically.

Upon hearing this, all eyes turned to Hun Qinghao. Some people thought the young girl was being taken advantage of, but many others began to waver.

After all, a girl who can sit on equal footing with Chairman Frank must be extraordinary; perhaps that piece of ancient wood really is a treasure.

Those with such thoughts turned their attention to the ancient wood on the auction stage, eager to try their luck.

Her eyes darted around, and Hun Qinghao stood up, hands on her hips, striking a pose of a spoiled young lady. With her head held high, she declared domineeringly, "Whether it's a treasure or not, I just love collecting strange and unusual things. I want this piece of wood. No matter who bids, I'll add another 100,000."

Soul Lord: Hmph! Trying to take advantage of my attitude? Dream on!

She never gives up what she sets her sights on!

In room number one on the fourth floor, Sheng Linglong chuckled upon hearing Hun Qinghao's domineering words, "Five years have passed, and she's still the same person, unchanged!"

Upon hearing Hun Qinghao's words, everyone felt disappointed.

It turns out she was just a spoiled and willful young lady; she didn't realize that the ancient wood was a treasure.

"Anyone else bidding?" the auctioneer asked with a standard smile.

A silence fell over the room. After a long wait, no one offered a higher price. The auctioneer shook his head, sighed softly, rang the bell, and smiled as he announced, "Four hundred thousand gold coins. Congratulations to the lady in room number one on the third floor for winning the bid for the ancient wood."

After the auctioneer finished speaking, staff members quickly came on stage to take away the plate containing the ancient wood and then delivered it to the room where Hun Qinghao was.

Hun Qinghao held the ancient piece of wood, which was about fifty centimeters long, and examined it repeatedly.

Beneath its decaying exterior, she could sense the immense power contained within the ancient wood.

Her trip to the auction was definitely worthwhile!

After carefully putting away the Soul-Guiding Wood, Hun Qinghao was in an excellent mood. No matter what treasures were to come, none of them were as valuable to her as this ten-thousand-year-old Soul-Guiding Wood.

This is a ten-thousand-year-old soul-guiding wood, something even Father doesn't have!

Following the mysterious ancient wood, several more items were sold, and soon the exciting moment of every auction arrived: the grand finale.

"The last item in this auction is the Ice Spirit Cold Spring."

"As you all should know, the Ice Spirit Cold Spring has miraculous effects on cultivators who practice ice-attribute techniques, and it can also help alchemists refine strange fires. However, because the Ice Spirit Cold Spring is born in extremely cold places and is extremely difficult to preserve, the starting bid is 500,000 gold coins."

"Five hundred thousand."

"560,000."

"Six hundred thousand."

"..."

(End of this chapter)