Chapter 251: The Mysterious Red Satin

"Hmm, this looks familiar," Immortal Fairy murmured after the host displayed a piece of red silk.

"Fairy, do you know what this is?" Lu Yang asked.

Immortal Fairy scratched her head, trying hard to recall the origin of the red silk. But she was still a bit muddled from sleep and couldn't quite remember what it was at the moment.

"What was it? The Sky-Veiling Immortal Gauze, crafted by Immortal Yingtian, capable of covering the sky and sun, and enveloping an entire planet? The Myriad Veil Cloth, created by Immortal Jiuchong, which could turn anything into nothingness with a single thought? Or was it the bridal veil used by Immortal Qilin at his wedding?"

"I can't remember! But this cloth has the aura of all five of us immortals. It must belong to one of us!" Immortal Fairy stated with certainty.

Lu Yang's eyes lit up. A piece of unknown fabric, imbued with the aura of five immortals, must have an extraordinary origin. It could even be a legendary immortal artifact. Even the pots and pans of the Immortal Sect were immortal treasures, useful even for cultivators in the Integration stage. This fabric, with the aura of five immortals, surely held a status far above those!

Immortal Fairy was useful at crucial moments after all!

Someone from the audience raised a question: "How dare you auction a piece of cloth whose age and material are unclear? Are there not enough good items in this auction, so you're just filling up the slots?"

The host smiled faintly, not surprised by the skepticism. "This fabric was obtained by a cultivator after slaying a demonic beast in a dense forest. Even the most experienced appraisers could not determine its material or age after careful examination. This fabric is suspected to be from ancient times, perhaps belonging to an ancient prodigy who perished during the Great Era Strife, making the fabric ownerless. The fabric is incredibly durable; even a Nascent Soul stage cultivator pulling with all their might could not tear it in the slightest."

"What about a Soul Transformation stage cultivator?"

The host honestly replied, "We haven't tried that. The greatest feature of this silk ribbon is its perfect preservation. If a Soul Transformation stage cultivator were to damage it, the price would be significantly reduced."

"Red silk ribbon, starting bid one thousand spirit stones."The trade association was unsure about the price of the red silk. Although it was said to be an ancient artifact, the ribbon was so perfectly preserved, as if newly woven, that it was hard to believe it was from 300,000 years ago. Therefore, the starting bid was set very low.

"One thousand spirit stones," An Ke of Qingyue Sect called out. She found the fabric's color very beautiful and thought it could be used to craft clothes or, with slight modification, serve as a shoulder scarf.

"Twelve hundred spirit stones," Tao Yaoye called out.

An Ke frowned, not expecting someone to bid against her for the fabric. She looked back and saw that the bidder was a female cultivator far more beautiful than herself. It seemed their intentions were the same. In that case, she couldn't give in!

"Fifteen hundred spirit stones!"

"Two thousand," Tao Yaoye said with a lazy voice, seemingly indifferent to who was bidding. No matter the bid, she would raise it.

"Twenty-two hundred spirit stones!" An Ke raised the bid again.

"Three thousand." Tao Yaoye bid without the slightest hesitation.

An Ke was beautiful and had many admirers. Originally, these people would have helped An Ke with the bidding, but when they discovered the other bidder was also a stunning beauty, they tacitly chose not to assist An Ke.

"Three thousand one hundred..."

"Four thousand."

An Ke fell silent. Although she could still raise the price, the Twin-Blossom Lotus was yet to come, and she couldn't spend all her spirit stones on a piece of fabric.

"Four thousand spirit stones once, four thousand spirit stones twice, four thousand spirit stones three times! Sold!" The host's gavel fell, signifying that the red silk ribbon belonged to Tao Yaoye.

"Thank you, Junior Sister, for your bid. I'll return your spirit stones after the auction!" Lu Yang secretly transmitted. He had asked Tao Yaoye to bid. If he, a man, were to bid for silk, people might suspect the fabric hid some secret, driving the price very high. It was different when Tao Yaoye bid; it would only make people think a beautiful woman liked fabric and was willing to spend money for pleasure.

"We're Senior and Junior Brother/Sister, there's no need for thanks. Senior Brother Lu, have you recognized the origin of this red silk?" Tao Yaoye asked with a smile, revealing two shallow dimples.

Lu Yang paused for a moment, then truthfully replied, "It should be an ancient artifact of extraordinary origin. As for what exactly it is, I can't say for sure." Immortal Fairy, at only sixteen, already had early-stage Alzheimer's. How sad, how lamentable.

The subsequent auction items did not attract the attention of the four. Only when the host presented the Twin-Blossom Lotus did all four sit up straight, eager to see how many spirit stones it would fetch.

As soon as the Twin-Blossom Lotus was displayed, the audience instantly fell silent, their eyes burning with fervent desire. For any cultivator in the late Foundation Establishment stage, the Twin-Blossom Lotus was a treasure that could open up their future.

The host smiled faintly and introduced, "The Twin-Blossom Lotus. Perhaps many of you here have seen it just a few days ago. This is the very same plant that appeared in the dense forest a few days ago, so its effects need no further introduction from me. Starting bid: thirty thousand spirit stones."

The audience's gazes were as if they wanted to snatch the Twin-Blossom Lotus, making the host's introduction almost unnecessary.

"Thirty-one thousand spirit stones!"

"I must have the Twin-Blossom Lotus! Thirty-two thousand spirit stones!"

"You dare to bid for the Twin-Blossom Lotus with such a paltry sum? Thirty-five thousand spirit stones!" The White Tiger Saint Son of the Four Symbols Sect scoffed at the gradual increases in bids from the others.

"Thirty-eight thousand spirit stones!" An Ke refused to be outdone.

"Forty thousand spirit stones!" Duan Hongchen, the Heavenly Inquiry Blade, called out. He was just one Twin-Blossom Lotus away from reaching the Core Formation stage.

"Forty-one thousand spirit stones!"

"Forty-four thousand!"

"Forty-five thousand!"

The price of the Twin-Blossom Lotus continued to climb, making Man Gu grin from an ear-to-ear.

Ultimately, the price of the Twin-Blossom Lotus stopped at forty-nine thousand spirit stones.

"Forty-nine thousand spirit stones once, forty-nine thousand spirit stones twice..."

Meng Jingzhou mused, and while the host was calling out the price, he murmured to himself, loud enough for those nearby to hear, "Those two Buddhist disciples who used Arhat Fist are truly detestable. I wonder if there are any clues about them on this Twin-Blossom Lotus?"

"Fifty thousand spirit stones!" The White Tiger Saint Son immediately raised the bid. He wasn't in a hurry to use the Twin-Blossom Lotus, but he swore he would find those two Buddhist disciples! Fifty thousand spirit stones was a sum that even a Foundation Establishment cultivator would be hard-pressed to save in a lifetime, affordable only to core disciples from major sects like the White Tiger Saint Son.

"Fifty-three thousand spirit stones!" An Ke raised the bid again.

The White Tiger Saint Son calmed down. While he could still raise the bid, doing so would not only offend An Ke but also mean the Twin-Blossom Lotus wouldn't be worth that many spirit stones. An Ke purchased the Twin-Blossom Lotus for fifty-three thousand spirit stones.

After the auction, Tao Yaoye handed the red silk ribbon to Lu Yang.

"Fairy, can you tell what this is now?" Lu Yang quietly asked, hoping the Immortal Fairy would reveal the origin of the red silk ribbon.

Immortal Fairy pondered for a moment, diligently searching her memory. She then slapped her hand, revealing a look of sudden realization. Finally, from an obscure corner of her memory, she recalled the origin of the red silk ribbon.

"Isn't this just my family's tablecloth?!"

"...Fairy, you're truly not holding back."

"What do you mean?"

"You're specifically scamming your own people."