Chapter 4521: Chron.o.blood Amber
“The final auction of the night and the best of them all. This one belongs to our auction house.” The auctioneer announced.
He paused for a moment before continuing: “It was found by a clan elder in a perilous location. After an appraisal, we have determined that the outer layers are made from rare chron.o.blood amber. We can’t tell with absolute certainty whether this is its natural form or was created by men. The latter has a higher probability while the former would make it one-and-only in history, as far as we know.”
“Chron.o.blood amber…” One big shot said: “Just the amber block alone is priceless since it can be reused.”
Cultivators with a bit of background, especially existences from previous generations, understood the significance of this amber. Its value couldn’t be overstated in the mind of ancestors.
In history, the reason why ancestors could live for so long wasn’t due to their lifespan. It was because they used temporal blood stones to bury themselves, entering a prolonged state of hibernation.
These stones were awfully expensive. The stronger the cultivator, the more stones required. A regular sect had no chance of keeping up. Only the great powers would do so for their ancestors.
Alas, even the behemoths didn’t have unlimited resources. There was no lack of ancestors dying from old age since they couldn’t keep up with the expense.
This particular amber took it to the next level. Normally, regular blood stones could be replaced by the ancestor’s descendants. The amber would only need to be used once and could last forever. Of course, “forever” wasn’t accurate here. It was just long enough to seem like an eternity.
There were two sources, man-made and natural. The first was refining the purest temporal blood stones and taking their essences to create the amber. This refinement process was extremely difficult. The refiner needed to be powerful enough. Moreover, the number of stones required was unreasonable as well. Therefore, refining enough amber for complete encapsulation meant expending immeasurable resources.
On the other hand, chron.o.blood amber could be found in nature, created by heaven and earth. Only one or two cultivators have come across it in history.
Now, this large block of amber could be reused by the powerful existences.
The auctioneer continued his introduction: “I don’t need to elaborate on the amber’s value. The key focus should be the little lady in the amber. She is not from our era or even epoch, judging by her clothes. It’s hard to give an exact date but she might be older than any current lineage.”
“Do you know anything more about her background?” Sky-judge Ancestor asked.
“Our ancestors have perused numerous ancient scrolls with a focus on old characters. Unfortunately, we know nothing about her background, at least for now.” The auctioneer shook his head.
“Is she still alive?” The “eastern fence” cultivator inquired.
“Uncertain.” The auctioneer answered: “We would need to open the amber in order to see. But since this is chron.o.blood amber, she is most likely alive.”
The big shots exchanged glances and agreed with this logic. Someone being encased in chron.o.blood amber should be from an ultimate lineage far exceeding dao lord lineages.
The girl’s status should be n.o.ble and prestigious beyond words, being sealed at such a young age.
Nonetheless, there was another possibility - that coincidental circ.u.mstance had her encased in this amber. This probability was virtually impossible because natural-found chron.o.blood amber was too rare.
Moreover, this amber would be found in places blessed by the heaven. They were usually dangerous and unavailable to cultivators. How could a little girl traverse through the perils and enter the amber at the right time?
“What is the starting price?” A big shot became impatient with the long itnroduction.
“Our auction house paid a sky-high price to the clan that found it.” The auctioneer replied.
No one thought that he was embellis.h.i.+ng because just the amber alone was priceless, let alone the young girl.
“We will not be asking for refined jades.” The auctioneer revealed.
This was understandable because after so many eras of business, they most likely had plenty.
“The normal restrictions are lifted for this one.” The auctioneer said: “We only ask for items that might interest us, any quant.i.ty is fine. Let us appraise the items first and you can wait to make an official bid.”
“No restrictions at all?” A big shot asked.
“Yes, so feel free to rest and discuss it with your sect before making a proposal.” The auctioneer nodded.
Many big shots got up right away. Of course, they weren’t leaving the auction but rather, going to talk with their sect about potential items to offer to the auction house.
It didn’t take long for them to return, clearly having gained more authority. Prior to this, they came with enough refined jades but for this last auction, the seller only wanted items. This caught them off guard.
“The auction shall commence.” The auctioneer said after all the partic.i.p.ants have returned to their seats.
“Can we bid several times?” Someone asked.
“Yes, as long as each bid is in good faith.” The auctioneer replied.
“Let’s go already.” Another urged.
“I offer Puresun Dao Lord’s Puresun Mantra.” A grand cultivator began.