Nie Li had no idea how long it would take to advance to the Golden-level Demon Spirit Master.
Was it really worth spending over a million demon spirit coins just to display a set of Golden-level gear? The thought of this drove Nie Hai to frustration.
As the head of the Heavenly Mark Family, he felt too proud to ask Nie Li for help.
One million demon spirit coins was nothing to Nie Li.
His wealth was among the top five in the entire Glory City! With his partnership with the Alchemists' Guild, he earned hundreds of millions of demon spirit coins daily.
Nie Li could casually throw out a million coins without batting an eye.
If he wished, he could easily buy the entire auction house.
Of course, he preferred to remain low-key.
Using the name of the Heavenly Mark Family to purchase some treasures would not raise any suspicions, but buying the whole auction house would be too showy.
Meanwhile, the wealthy merchants below were buzzing with discussions.
"How did the Heavenly Mark Family suddenly become so rich?"
"I heard they are getting special treatment from the Alchemists' Guild. They buy medicinal herbs from them at thirty percent above market price!"
"Is that true? No wonder the Heavenly Mark Family is so affluent!"
Nie Hai, listening keenly, felt extremely frustrated.
If the Heavenly Mark Family were truly that wealthy, it wouldn’t matter, but the money spent at the auction was all Nie Li's, with no relation to them whatsoever.
Although he was the head of the Heavenly Mark Family, the vast majority of the family's wealth belonged to individual members who only contributed a small amount each month.
He couldn't force Nie Li to give any money to the family.
Now that Nie Li's status had changed, he didn’t even dare to speak harshly to him!
Lei Zhuo and Jiang Ming were having a terrible time, watching as the Heavenly Mark Family kept bidding for item after item without their involvement.
They didn’t dare to raise their bids either; what if they ended up stuck with something?
On the other hand, Chi Feng and Li Yuan looked enviously at Nie Hai, marveling at the apparent wealth of the Heavenly Mark Family! They could never have guessed that all those items were for Nie Li, not for the family.
"Look at how much face I've earned for our Heavenly Mark Family!" Nie Li transmitted to Nie Hai, smiling.
Hearing this, Nie Hai rolled his eyes in exasperation.
He would rather not have this false reputation!
"How many more things are you planning to bid on?" Nie Hai asked him, noting that Nie Li had already bid on over a dozen items, spending nearly two million demon spirit coins.
"Of course, I'll bid on anything I’m interested in!" Nie Li replied with a faint smile.
Nie Hai gaped in disbelief.
Bidding on anything he liked? That was just too extravagant! Had Yang Xin given him that much pocket money? The Alchemists’ Guild was indeed generous; giving away money like this was unimaginable for regular folks.
After a lengthy pause with no one increasing the bids, the auctioneer girl called out several times, and finally, the Golden-level armor set was secured by Nie Li.
“Next up, we have the Soul Nourishing Pill and the Soul Condensation Pill, entrusted for auction by the Alchemists' Guild!” the girl said with a smile. “This time, we have a total of one thousand Soul Nourishing Pills and one hundred Soul Condensation Pills. Please cherish this opportunity!”
Upon hearing the clear, melodious voice of the girl, not only the wealthy merchants below but also Nie Hai, Chi Feng, Li Yuan, Lei Zhuo, and Jiang Ming felt a surge of excitement.
The Soul Nourishing Pill and Soul Condensation Pill had stirred up quite a craze in Glory City.
Many demon spirit masters rapidly improved their cultivation levels after taking them, with some even breaking through to the Silver or Golden ranks.
Even those who weren’t suited for cultivating soul force saw significant improvements after consuming these pills.
With such demand, these pills were extremely hard to come by!
Families were forcing themselves to scrape together funds, even selling off their possessions to acquire these pills for the sake of cultivating their descendants!
However, the supply of these pills was just too limited.
The Alchemists’ Guild could not produce enough to meet the enormous demand in Glory City.
Generally, only the top families and wealthy clans could bulk-buy them.
The Red Moon Auction House, which ranked among the top three in the northern part of Glory City, received only one thousand Soul Nourishing Pills and a hundred Soul Condensation Pills, which was far from enough.
Nie Hai’s eyes lit up; he was here precisely for these two pills.
“Nie Li, bid on as many of these pills as you can!” exclaimed Nie Hai, excited.
Both of these pills were excellent for improving cultivation, especially the Soul Condensation Pill, which would be very beneficial for Nie Hai and Nie En.
The enhancement of their cultivation levels would elevate the family's standing.
“Why do we need to bid on these?” Nie Li asked in surprise. “Didn’t the Alchemists' Guild provide you with these pills?” As the one who provided the formulas for these pills, he was certainly not lacking in supply.
“Why would the Alchemists’ Guild give us those pills?” Nie Hai turned to Nie Li with a confused look.
After a moment's hesitation, Nie Li understood.
The transactions for these pills had always been overseen by Yang Xin.
She had provided Nie Li with plenty of pills, including hundreds of thousands of Soul Nourishing Pills, tens of thousands of Soul Condensation Pills, and thousands of other types of pills as well.
Since Yang Xin had given Nie Li so many pills, she didn't send any to the Heavenly Mark Family, as she viewed Nie Li as representing the family.
“Oh, it’s nothing!” Nie Li shook his head.
Since that was the case, he might as well distribute some pills to the family; after all, he was still part of the Heavenly Mark Family.
The atmosphere at the auction hall was buzzing.
The auctioneer girl smiled and announced, “In this auction, all Soul Nourishing Pills will be sold in batches of one hundred, and the Soul Condensation Pills will be in groups of ten. Now, the first batch of Soul Nourishing Pills begins at a starting price of one hundred thousand demon spirit coins! Auction starts now!”
“Fifteen million demon spirit coins!”
“Sixteen million!”
...
The price quickly soared to two hundred thousand demon spirit coins.
Nie Hai was flushed with excitement.
He was prepared to put up six hundred thousand demon spirit coins, aiming to secure one batch of Soul Nourishing Pills and one batch of Soul Condensation Pills.
This was the maximum amount the Heavenly Mark Family could afford at the moment.
Upon hearing the first batch of Soul Condensation Pills had reached two hundred thousand demon spirit coins, Nie Hai hesitated; he didn’t necessarily have to compete fiercely for the first batch of Soul Nourishing Pills, knowing that there were still nine batches left.
Chi Feng and Li Yuan exchanged surprised glances with Nie Hai.
Just earlier, the Heavenly Mark Family had casually thrown out over two million demon spirit coins without a blink, so why were they now hesitating to bid in increments of one thousand for the pills?
Seeing that Nie Hai had lost interest in competing, Chi Feng and Li Yuan dared to join the bidding war.
With the immensely wealthy Heavenly Mark Family beside them, the psychological pressure had been heavy.
They had only been spectators as the Heavenly Mark Family secured item after item; they hadn't had a chance to bid at all.
Now, they could finally join the competition.
They needed to buy something to take back, or it would feel like a wasted trip!
(End of Chapter)