Shocking measures

As Yao Niqian clapped her jade hand, a crisp sound rang out. The red curtain behind her slowly pulled open, revealing a circular platform carved from jade before everyone.

The jade was lustrous and smooth, emitting a faint halo of light. The entire table was actually carved from the extremely rare Lantian Jade.

Lantian Jade was extremely rare in Fengming. Generally, only those with noble status would wear jade pendants carved from Lantian Jade to display their high status.

Yet the table before them was carved from a single piece of Lantian Jade. To say nothing else, this table alone was worth over a million gold coins.

On the flawless white jade table sat a brocade box crafted from gold, instantly attracting everyone's gaze.

Seeing this, Long Chen couldn't help but admire them in his heart. What a brilliant tactic, using a table worth millions to set off a single item. If he hadn't known beforehand, he would have been dying of curiosity.

No wonder Fugui was so confident when he tried to recruit him back then, demanding a fifty percent cut right off the bat. It seemed they really had the confidence to back it up.

They had firmly captured everyone's hearts right from the start; everyone's eyes were glued to that golden brocade box.

Yao Niqian smiled slightly, reached out her jade hand to take the brocade box, gently opened the lid, and took something out from inside.

However, when they saw clearly what that thing was, the entire audience almost vomited blood. Because inside the brocade box was still another brocade box, only palm-sized. They shouldn't be playing with people like this.

After carefully taking out that small box, a maid beside her hurriedly presented a pair of snow-white gloves.

Yao Niqian gently put on the gloves and opened the small box with extreme caution. That cautious movement made many people hold their breath, and the entire venue became so quiet that a pin drop could be heard.

"Snap." The lid opened with a soft sound.

Then, the entire hall lit up. On the walls in every direction, a projection immediately appeared, and the image displayed was exactly Yao Niqian's jade hand.

People could clearly see through the projection that the box contained a round Medicinal Pill, though the Medicinal Pill carried a trace of an ancient aura.

When Long Chen first saw it, he thought he had misjudged it, but a sweep of his Divine Sense made him immediately understand, and he was instantly filled with admiration for the Huayun Pavilion.

"This Medicinal Pill was obtained by an adventurer squad during an adventure in an ancient cave. However, the cave was filled with traps. For the sake of this Medicinal Pill, their ten-person squad was nearly wiped out, and only two escaped."

"Moreover, one of the two who escaped died shortly after. Such a tragic event is truly heart-wrenching."

"Every adventurer is worthy of respect. They use their own lives to take risks, to gamble on that extremely slim chance. They are all true warriors." Yao Niqian's voice was somewhat low, and her eyes were slightly red, faintly shimmering with tears.

Long Chen was drinking tea and almost spat it out. She was way too good at acting; that Medicinal Pill was exactly the one he had given them to auction.

However, Long Chen had previously given strict instructions that they must not reveal that this Medicinal Pill was his, or else he would rather not sell it.

Now, the Huayun Pavilion was indeed keeping their word, having fabricated such a tactful story. Furthermore, they had tampered with the outer shell of the Medicinal Pill, artificially aging it. However, the method was extremely clever; even if Long Chen hadn't known the truth, he would have almost failed to recognize it. It seemed there were truly too many experts in the Huayun Pavilion.

"May I ask, Young Miss Yao, what exactly is this Medicinal Pill?" Those present were all big shots, so naturally, they wouldn't care about the life and death of those low-level adventurers; they cared about the value and efficacy of this item.

Yao Niqian gently wiped the corners of her eyes, drying tears that might not have even existed, and after a while, returned to normal. "This Medicinal Pill is an ancient pill."

"An ancient pill?"

Everyone present was greatly shocked. The so-called ancient pill was not a Medicinal Pill from ancient times, but a Pill Formula passed down from ancient times that had been popular in the past.

Nowadays, most of them had gone extinct, and such a Medicinal Pill often held immense attraction for Alchemists.

If an Alchemist could research and derive a Pill Formula from the Medicinal Pill, it would be equivalent to continuing a lost Legacy, and they would surely go down in history.

"Although it is an ancient pill, the year it was refined definitely does not exceed a hundred years. Everyone knows that generally, the medicinal properties of a Medicinal Pill will not dissipate within two hundred years, so the medicinal efficacy of this Medicinal Pill is one hundred percent intact," Yao Niqian continued.

"Young Miss Yao, please don't keep us in suspense. Just tell us the name and effects of this Medicinal Pill in one go." Seeing that Yao Niqian refused to get to the point, some people began to grow impatient.

Seeing that she had whetted everyone's appetite enough, Yao Niqian smiled slightly and said, "This Medicinal Pill, after being appraised by our appraisers, is named the Muscle-Growing and Bone-Forging Pill. I believe that by hearing the name, everyone already knows its efficacy."

As soon as Yao Niqian finished speaking, there was a chorus of boos from below.

"No way, just that little bit of efficacy?"

"Just growing muscle and forging bone; the effect is too ordinary."

"I feel like I've been played."

Seeing the commotion below, Yao Niqian was not the least bit flustered. She smiled and said, "Ladies and gentlemen, you must all know the reputation of our Huayun Pavilion. We would absolutely never joke with our own reputation. If this Muscle-Growing and Bone-Forging Pill didn't have anything extraordinary about it, we wouldn't have made it our finale auction item."

Hearing Yao Niqian's words, the entire venue immediately calmed down. Yao Niqian was right; with the Huayun Pavilion's reputation, they would never do the stupid thing of smashing their own signboard. Could there be something special about this Medicinal Pill?

"This humble girl dares to invite a Blood Condensation Realm expert to come on stage and bear witness to this Medicinal Pill with me," Yao Niqian said with a smile, her gaze shifting around.

"I'll do it."

Yao Niqian's charm was truly beyond words. As soon as her voice fell, a man who looked to be around thirty years old had already volunteered and walked up.

Everyone in the audience felt it was strange. It seemed like this was the first time a guest had ever walked onto the auction stage in all the years the Huayun Pavilion had been auctioning.

After that man walked up, being in such close contact with Yao Niqian, especially the deep cleavage visible at her chest, he couldn't help but stare blankly.

Yao Niqian smiled slightly, not minding it. Seeing the man walk onto the stage, a trace of mockery appeared in her eyes.

"May I ask, Young Master, are you afraid of pain?"

"Are you kidding? Who do you think I, Zhao Yang, am? I've traveled the world for so many years; Young Miss asking such a question is truly unpleasant," the man said, somewhat sullenly.

In his private box, Long Chen chuckled. Zhao Yang? Zao Yang? Alright, it seems your name wasn't chosen well; you were destined to be a tragedy.

"In that case, Niqian will offend you."

Suddenly, a cold light flashed. Before anyone knew when, a long sword appeared in Yao Niqian's hand, striking like lightning.

"Swoosh." Blood splattered. Amidst everyone's stunned silence, the man's arm was severed at the elbow, actually sliced off by Yao Niqian's sword.

"You…" Caught off guard, the man had his arm severed. He was both shocked and angry, and just as he was about to speak, the long sword was already pointed at his throat, preventing him from making a sound. His face instantly turned pale.

Everyone was greatly shocked. This Yao Niqian had always appeared weak and delicate, so no one expected her to be so seasoned and ruthless in her strikes; she was definitely an expert.

"Sir, you said you weren't afraid of pain, didn't you? Come, take this." Yao Niqian reached out and fed him that Muscle-Growing and Bone-Forging Pill.

The man was somewhat stunned with fear at this moment. By the time he reacted, he had already swallowed the Medicinal Pill.

"What?"

After the man swallowed the Muscle-Growing and Bone-Forging Pill, the entire venue erupted in gasps. Almost everyone stood up instantly, looking at the man with shock on their faces.

Only then did the man notice something strange. He saw his arm, which had been severed, miraculously growing back slowly.

In less than the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, the arm was completely whole again. He wiggled his fingers back and forth, and there was absolutely no abnormality.

He was absolutely terrified. If he hadn't seen the blood on the stage and his severed arm, he would have thought all of this was a hallucination.

"Scoundrels! Such a precious Medicinal Pill, and you wasted it just like that! It's simply a waste of a heavenly treasure!" An old man stood up furiously, his eyes looking as if they were spitting fire, and pointed at Yao Niqian while scolding her.

The others only then reacted as well. That Medicinal Pill was practically a Divine Pill, and it was gone just like that. Everyone was filled with indignation.

"Young Miss Yao, are you playing with us? You must give us an explanation for this matter." Some people couldn't help but lose their composure.

At this time, the man had already returned to his seat with a vacant look in his eyes. Even now, he still couldn't believe it was real, and from time to time, he kept rubbing that hand.

Watching the scene of public indignation, a smile appeared on Yao Niqian's face. It seemed this effect was even better than expected.

"Ladies and gentlemen, please calm down. As I said before, we, the Huayun Pavilion, would not do the stupid thing of smashing our own signboard."

"Snap." Yao Niqian clapped her hands, and the entire venue immediately quieted down. However, it wasn't because of Yao Niqian's action, but because a maid was walking over from behind Yao Niqian, carrying a brocade box.

"Ladies and gentlemen, there were actually two Muscle-Growing and Bone-Forging Pills. Please forgive this humble girl's rudeness earlier. However, as everyone knows, even if this humble girl were to state such medicinal efficacy, everyone here certainly wouldn't believe it. Therefore, this humble girl had no choice but to resort to this desperate measure. I hope everyone will forgive me."

Hearing Yao Niqian's words, the people present calmed down quite a bit. That was true; if they hadn't seen it with their own eyes, who would believe such a miraculous Medicinal Pill existed in the world?

Even after seeing it with their own eyes, many people were still in a state of shock, barely daring to believe their own eyes.

Some people had already run to the man's side and examined his arm. The newly grown arm was like that of an infant; there was absolutely no way to fake it.

Moreover, with the Huayun Pavilion's reputation, they would absolutely never sell fake medicine. However, the matter was truly too shocking, making people cautious.

Long Chen nodded, secretly praising them in his heart. Treacherous merchants, treacherous merchants; there is no merchant who isn't treacherous. This fishing for customers was simply masterful.

After such a hasty setup, I'm afraid there will be a fierce battle shortly.

"Snap." The brocade box opened, and a Muscle-Growing and Bone-Forging Pill, identical to the previous one, was presented before everyone.

"The Muscle-Growing and Bone-Forging Pill, a Tier 2 Medicinal Pill, can grow muscle and forge bone. I don't need to mention its effects, but I need to remind everyone that this Medicinal Pill is only useful for those in the Blood Condensation Realm and below."

"There were originally two Muscle-Growing and Bone-Forging Pills, but in order to prove its medicinal efficacy to everyone, the one here now is unique."

"One Muscle-Growing and Bone-Forging Pill, starting bid: one hundred million. The auction—now begins."

As Yao Niqian's last word fell, the entire venue erupted.