Ye Tian and Wang Yundu traveled in the same car, and it took nearly an hour to reach the river valley. The river valley was already guarded, and no one was allowed to enter without Wang Yundu's permission.
Inside the river valley, there was a giant piece of jade over three meters high, emerald green all over, clearly a top-grade item at first glance. Dozens of people were gathered around the jade, using various instruments for measurement.
Seeing so many people, Ye Tian frowned and asked, "What are these people doing?"
Wang Yundu replied, "News spread, and a group of people became interested in what's inside the stone. I've promised them that after the item is extracted, it will be auctioned at an opportune moment."
Ye Tian frowned, "If it's a treasure, it can't be auctioned. How about this, let's go separately. You pretend not to know me and open the stone first. You conduct an auction, and I'll bid a high price to buy the stone. This way, others will think the item isn't with you, which will save a lot of trouble."
Wang Yundu said, "Understood."
Returning to the scene, Wang Yundu ordered the machines to start and cut a fan-shaped opening in the jade. Using instruments, they cut away six pieces of jade, leaving a rectangular block one meter long and half a meter wide.
The onlookers all looked over. Someone said, "Boss Wang, open it up and let us see? As long as it's a good thing, the price is negotiable!"
Wang Yundu smiled and said, "Everyone, it's no fun once it's opened. Now, I will auction this item along with the outer layer of jade. The highest bidder wins, what do you all think?"
The crowd exchanged glances. If it was auctioned, the price would be unpredictable!
Following Ye Tian's hint, Wang Yundu announced, "The starting bid for this item is three billion US dollars, with each increment no less than five hundred million. Those who are interested can bid loudly!"
"I bid three billion." A lean old man spoke up. He was dressed ordinarily, but his bid of three billion dollars showed he was no ordinary person.
"Thirty-five billion." A person dressed as a Taoist immediately added.
"Forty billion." Then came a beautiful young woman in her twenties, with fiery red lips and a fiery red dress, but a cold demeanor.
A price of three billion dollars was equivalent to twenty billion Dragon Country currency, which was not something everyone could participate in. Out of dozens of people, only five eventually bid.
When the price reached five billion, only the young beauty and the lean old man remained.
"Fifty-five billion." Ye Tian bid at this moment. No matter how much he bid, it was fake, so he felt no pressure.
The old man and the beauty both looked at him. He was a middle-aged man with a square face, which was Ye Tian in disguise.
"Sixty billion." The beauty hesitated for a few seconds before continuing to bid.
"Sixty-five billion." The lean old man said calmly.
Ye Tian felt curious. Did these two know what was inside, or why else would they dare to bid such high prices?
He said, "Seventy billion."
The beauty was silent for a few seconds, then shook her head, seemingly giving up.
The lean old man glanced at Ye Tian and said, "Seventy-five billion."
"Eighty billion." Ye Tian said calmly.
After several rounds, the price soared to ten billion. Ten billion US dollars was already an extremely high price, and the surrounding people looked astonished.
"It's ten billion! What if the thing inside isn't worth anything, won't that be a loss?" someone said.
"Your perspective is too narrow! If the item inside is worth three hundred billion, wouldn't that be a profit?"
"But how can we be sure that the item inside is definitely valuable?"
"This is gambling, betting on one's luck. Besides, how cheap could the item wrapped inside this ten-billion-dollar jade be?"
"That makes sense."
Seeing the lean old man's relentless bidding, Ye Tian said, "One hundred and twenty billion."
The twenty billion increase in one bid made the old man's expression change slightly. He said to Ye Tian, "Friend, is your money blown in by the wind? With this kind of bidding, it will break five hundred billion soon."
Ye Tian said calmly, "I want to make you retreat."
The old man laughed heartily, "What this old man fancies, he will not give up. Just keep bidding, let's see who can last the longest."
Ye Tian's heart stirred. His divine sense wrapped around the jade and he discovered that there was indeed an egg-shaped object inside. Within it was a living creature shaped like a fish. When his divine sense tried to communicate with it, a surge of evil mental energy retaliated.
His expression changed, and he quickly severed the connection. Even so, his head throbbed, and his Nascent Soul felt greatly weakened, as if it had suffered a severe blow.