What had happened, was that Rong Yuan had lifted Qin Xinran with his hands before throwing her into a pond full of koi fish. She almost drowned and her life was hanging on a thin thread for two full days, until she gave in crying that she would no longer challenge other talents with a higher cultivation than hers.
From then on, there was a shadow left behind in Qin Xinran's heart. Every time she saw Rong Yuan, she would skirt around him instead. If she could not hide from his view, then she would try her best to avoid getting his attention. It could be seen how deep a scar Rong Yuan's lesson had left on her.
"What do you mean I have a lover? I have yet to marry!" Gu Lingzhi was amused by Qin Xinran's words.
"You are already engaged; marriage isn't that far off." Qin Xinran retorted. Regarding the firm and determined mindset that Rong Yuan had under his easy-going façade, Qin Xinran had experienced it before. She did not believe that Gu Lingzhi would be able to escape from the clutches of the Third Prince. The most convincing evidence was that when Rong Yuan was mentioned nowadays, Gu Lingzhi's response was no longer as though she was just listening to a joke about an unknown person. Instead, she would deny them with various att.i.tudes or responses. Perhaps she was trying to convince them, or she was trying to convince herself that she held no feelings for the Third Prince at all.
"n.o.body can predict for sure what will happen in the future." Gu Lingzhi replied. Even if they were married, the treatment of one's wives was constantly changing. Furthermore, they were only engaged. Who knew if Rong Yuan's interest in her would wane, then, she would end up abandoned, just like Tianfeng Wei. In this case, she should not harbour any hopes.
"Winter Chalcedony! This is a good item! If none of you want it then I'm going to start bidding for it." Gu Lingzhi changed the topic to prevent Qin Xinran from continuing her line of questioning.
Winter Chalcedony was the essence of an ice-attribute jade. It was a good material used to refine Earth-Level Spiritual Weapons and Medicines.
With Gu Lingzhi's cultivation level, she was unable to use items of such high grades. However, the Palm Lotus in her Inheritance s.p.a.ce required ice-attributed treasures for nourishment to grow quickly. It was just as well that Ye Rong had given her two hundred thousand spirit stones in advance to express his goodwill in receiving the two Spirit Cleansing Pills for auction. After including the spirit stones that she had earned from selling her other Spiritual Medicines and Weapons, she had roughly four hundred thousand. As long as nothing untoward happened, she should be able to win the bid for at least one piece of Winter Chalcedony.
"Heavens, Lingzhi, what do you want the Winter Chalcedony for? The price has already reached a hundred and ninety thousand. Do you want your lover to refine an Earth-Level treasure for you?" Ye Fei exclaimed in surprise when Gu Lingzhi joined in on the bid.
"No, I have a use for this Winter Chalcedony. You guys will know in the future."
"Tsk, in the future, again. Why do you and the Black Thorn both like to act mysteriously?" Ye Fei pouted, but she did not probe further. Instead, she worriedly asked, "Lingzhi, looking at how the auction is progressing, the closing price of the Winter Chalcedony will probably be around three-hundred thousand. Do you have enough spirit stones? Do you need to borrow some from me?"
"No," Gu Lingzhi shook her head, "It'll be good if I can bid for it successfully, if not, then just forget about it. I can also use other items in replacement of spirit stones."
Since Gu Lingzhi said so, Ye Fei no longer said anything else. Instead, she turned around and once again started discussing with Qin Xinran about the final closing price of the Spirit Cleansing Pill, causing Gu Lingzhi to be speechless.
"In my opinion, no matter what price the Spirit Cleansing Pill is sold for, the buyer will definitely have earned." Ye Fei concluded, "Spirit stones can always be earned back, but one's Spiritual Roots are for life. If they miss this chance, there won't be a second."
Tianfeng Jin nodded her head in agreement, "The person who buys the Spirit Cleansing Pill will be the one who wins in the long run."
Gu Lingzhi looked at the three people who all felt that the Spirit Cleansing Pill would be worth more than whatever the final price would be. She wondered to herself whether one million spirit stones was too low of a price.
Embarra.s.sed, Gu Lingzhi successfully won the bid for the Winter Chalcedony at a price of three-hundred and twenty thousand spirit stones. Satisfied, she kept it in her bag.
With this piece of Winter Chalcedony, Gu Lingzhi was confident that the Palm Lotus would be able to mature soon.
With her remaining spirit stones, Gu Lingzhi continued to bid for several more medicinal ingredients to use for her alchemy. It was only until the end of the auction when there were just several items left, did they finally see the Spirit Cleansing Pill.
A young girl with a curvy figure walked slowly and gracefully onto the auction stage and pa.s.sed a small jade bottle from the tray into Ye Rong's hand.
Ye Rong accepted the jade bottle and smiled as he looked towards the private box with Gu Lingzhi and the others inside. "What we are going to put up for auction is a never-before-seen treasure. I believe that many of you sitting here are already aware of it. In this jade bottle, there's a pill with better effects than a Yuli Snow Lotus, the Spirit Cleansing Pill."
At this point, Ye Rong paused tactfully as the audience let out unbelieving and suspicious cries.
Although they had heard early on about the news released by Jubao Pavilion that they were going to put up a Spiritual Medicine that had better effects than the Yuli Snow Lotus for auction, hearing it being auctioned for real was a different matter. In the hearts of Martial Artists, the Yuli Snow Lotus was a miracle herb that gave those who consumed it, the potential to ascend to heaven. However, Ye Rong was saying otherwise. This Spiritual Medicine that they had never even heard of before had better effects than the Yuli Snow Lotus. Wasn't he afraid that his words would ruin the Gu Clan's credibility?
Eventually, amidst the suspicions, one person could not bear it any longer and shouted out, "Supervisor Ye, just because you said that the effects of the Spirit Cleansing Pill are better than the Yuli Snow Lotus, I have my doubts. For countless years, we have never heard of any proclaiming that a Spiritual Medicine is better than the Yuli Snow Lotus."
"You do not have to worry about this," Ye Rong laughed heartily, "If I did not have the confidence, I would not dare to speak such words either. I have seen the Spirit Cleansing Pill and its efficacy with my own eyes. The person who consumed the Spirit Cleansing Pills, had Spiritual Roots that were purer that if she had consumed the Yuli Snow Lotus. The absorption and recovery rate of spiritual power also increased much more. It can definitely hold its weight against its own name. If you don't believe and end up not bidding for it, don't regret it when others get the benefits for themselves."
"Tsk, isn't it a waste of spirit stones if the effect isn't as good as advertised after buying it?"
Ye Rong had spoken to him patiently for such a long time because he had been waiting for this exact sentence. His face became serious and he looked at the audience gravely, "Ever since the Ye Firm was established, we have always practiced fair trading regardless of age and resolved never to cheat anyone. Today, I swear on the honour and reputation of the Ye Firm, that the efficacy of the Spirit Cleansing Pill is as good as I have said and that there are no lies involved at all. If the Spirit Cleansing Pill does not produce an effect comparable to or better than the Yuli Snow Lotus, then the Ye Firm is willing to offer a complete refund!"
The audience went into an uproar.
Ye Rong's words caused a pandemonium. Just where did the Spirit Cleansing Pill come from? It could actually let Ye Rong have such confidence in it and use the name of the Ye Firm as a guarantee. Was this Spirit Cleansing Pill really as miraculous as he said it was?