A Cunning Pervert in the Cultivation World Chapter 628: The Bidding Start (3)

The crowd immediately quieted.

Even some of the cultivators who had been casually chatting moments ago turned their attention toward the stage.

The old man smiled faintly.

"Unlike the previous items, this particular treasure has a rather unusual history. We were unable to determine its exact origin, its creator, or even... the method used to forge it."

Hearing all of thats, a wave of murmurs spread through the hall.

"Unable to determine its origin?"

"What kind of weapon is it?"

"Could it be an ancient treasure?"

The auctioneer raised his hand, silencing the discussion.

"All we know is that it is... a sword."

At those words, two attendants slowly carried a long wooden case onto the stage.

The case looked completely ordinary.

There were no elaborate decorations, no spiritual inscriptions, and no obvious signs that it contained anything valuable.

Yet the old auctioneer’s expression had become unusually serious.

"This sword was discovered inside an ancient ruin several decades ago. And several artifact refiners have examined it over the years, but none of them were able to determine what material it was made from."

He paused briefly.

"Furthermore, we were unable to determine its rank."

The entire hall fell silent.

Li Feng’s eyebrows slowly rose.

’Unable to determine its rank?’

The auctioneer placed his hand on the wooden case.

"There is one more thing you should know."

"Every cultivator who has attempted to inspect this sword with their spiritual sense has experienced the same thing... their spiritual sense was cut off."

He slowly opened the case.

The moment the lid was lifted, a completely ordinary-looking sword appeared inside.

There was nothing particularly impressive about it.

The sword was still sheathed, and its dark scabbard showed no signs of powerful spiritual fluctuations.

Several cultivators immediately became curious and tried to examine it with their spiritual sense.

However, the moment their spiritual sense touched the sword...

Their expressions suddenly changed.

"Huh?"

"My spiritual sense..."

"It was cut off!"

Several cultivators stiffened in their seats, while a few even turned slightly pale.

They quickly withdrew their spiritual sense, breathing a little more heavily as they stared at the sword in disbelief.

The old auctioneer watched their reactions with a faint smile.

"And that’s not all."

He looked around the hall before continuing.

"So far, no one has ever been able to draw this sword from its sheath."

The old auctioneer waited for the murmurs to settle before finally speaking.

"Of course, such a mysterious treasure naturally comes with a mysterious price."

He smiled faintly.

"The starting price for this sword is... five hundred thousand spirit stones."

The moment those words fell, the entire auction hall became strangely quiet.

Li Feng blinked.

’Five hundred thousand?’

He looked at the sword again.

Although its appearance was completely ordinary, the fact that no one had been able to identify its material, determine its rank, inspect it with spiritual sense, or even draw it from its sheath made it seem extraordinarily mysterious.

Surely someone would bid.

One second passed.

Then another.

Yet no voice came from the crowd.

The old auctioneer simply stood there patiently.

Menawhile, Li Feng’s eyebrows slowly furrowed.

’...No one?’

He glanced around the hall.

The cultivators were looking at the sword, but none of them seemed willing to make the first move.

His confusion only grew.

’What’s going on?’

The sword was clearly unusual.

Even he could tell that. So why wasn’t anyone interested?

Yao Xin noticed his puzzled expression and couldn’t help but smile.

She leaned back slightly against him and lightly licked her lips before whispering, "Master, don’t look at them as fools."

Li Feng turned toward her as their lips separated.

"Hm?"

Yao Xin glanced toward the auction hall.

"The people who came here are all experienced cultivators. They can naturally tell that the sword isn’t ordinary."

"Then why isn’t anyone bidding?"

Yao Xin smiled.

"Because the fact that the Autumn Pavilion is willing to put it up for auction tells them something."

Li Feng’s expression changed slightly as he began to understand the meaning behind Yao Xin’s words.

Yao Xin continued,

"The Autumn Pavilion has existed for many years. They have access to countless artifact refiners and various methods of identifying treasures. If even they couldn’t determine the sword’s material or rank, then there is probably a reason."

She pointed subtly toward the sword.

"It may be extremely valuable... or it may be completely useless to everyone here."

Li Feng frowned.

"So they don’t want to take the risk?"

Yao Xin nodded. "Yes, exactly."

"Five hundred thousand spirit stones isn’t a small amount. If someone buys it and discovers that they still can’t use it, then they’ve simply wasted their money."

She paused before adding with a small smile, "And there is another possibility."

"What?"

"The Autumn Pavilion may have already exhausted every method they had to examine it."

Li Feng looked back toward the sword.

’I see. So they know it’s extraordinary... but they have no idea how extraordinary.’

_

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The old auctioneer glanced across the silent hall.

However, there was no trace of disappointment on his face.

He had expected this reaction.

After all, he understood the mindset of cultivators very well.

Cultivators were cautious by nature.

No one would casually spend five hundred thousand spirit stones on something they could not understand, especially when they had no idea whether they would actually be able to use it.

But cultivators were also people who constantly sought opportunities.

Whenever something extraordinary appeared before them, there would always be those willing to take a gamble, especially if they believed the potential reward was worth the risk.

This sword was exactly that kind of treasure.

It was mysterious, impossible to inspect with spiritual sense, and impossible to draw from its sheath.

No one knew what it could do or what kind of power it possessed.

That uncertainty made most people hesitate.

But for some cultivators, that same uncertainty was precisely what made the sword tempting.

After all, if this sword really was an extraordinary treasure, then whoever managed to obtain it could potentially gain something far beyond five hundred thousand spirit stones.

The old auctioneer understood this perfectly.

That was why he wasn’t worried by the silence.

He simply waited patiently.

He knew that among the cultivators gathered here, there would always be someone willing to gamble on an unknown opportunity.

Li Feng, who had initially been paying little attention to the auction, suddenly found himself interested.

His gaze returned to the stage below as he watched the silent crowd.

’I wonder who will be the first one to take the gamble.’

The sword was certainly strange enough to pique his curiosity.

Even if he had no intention of buying it, he wanted to see who would be willing to spend five hundred thousand spirit stones on an unknown treasure.

For several seconds, no one said anything.

Then, a calm female voice suddenly came from one of the VIP rooms beside Li Feng.

"Five hundred and fifty thousand."

Li Feng’s eyebrows rose slightly.

"Oh?"

He turned his head toward the neighboring VIP room, his interest growing.

Someone had finally made the first move.

And judging by the voice, it seemed to be a woman.

Almost as if a dam had been broken, another voice suddenly came from a different VIP room.

"Six hundred thousand."

The moment the bid was announced, the atmosphere in the auction hall changed.

It was as if that first bid had broken the hesitation holding everyone back.

"Six hundred and fifty thousand."

Another old voice came from a VIP room on the opposite side.

Just moments ago, the entire hall had been silent.

Now, one bid after another was coming from the VIP rooms.

"Seven hundred thousand."

"Seven hundred and fifty thousand."

The price quickly climbed, and the cultivators in the main hall could only stare at the VIP rooms in disbelief.

Even Li Feng blinked as he looked around.

He couldn’t help but wonder just how rich these people were.

"They are throwing out hundreds of thousands of spirit stones like it’s nothing..."

Li Feng sighed and leaned back in his seat.

Seeing his reaction, Yao Xin smiled and gently massaged his thigh.

"Don’t feel bad, Master. These people from the Dynasties are quite well known for their wealth."

She paused for a moment before continuing with a small smile.

"But... because they have so much wealth, it’s also the reason they aren’t actually that strong themselves."

"Oh?"

Seeing the interest in Li Feng’s eyes, Yao Xin continued explaining.

"It’s actually a simple principle Master. When someone has too much wealth, they don’t have to struggle as hard for opportunities. They can buy pills, treasures, techniques, and even rely on their family’s resources to cultivate."

She smiled faintly.

"Over time, they lose that desire to fight for the heavens themselves."

"Why risk your life fighting for an opportunity when your family can simply give you what you need?"

Yao Xin continued, "And when that happens generation after generation, the younger generations naturally become weaker. They inherit the wealth, but they don’t inherit the same drive and determination that built that wealth in the first place.

"Eventually, the entire lineage can become weaker and weaker, even though their wealth continues to grow."