There was no red cloth for needless suspense this time.

An exquisite platform trolley, standing about 1.3 meters high, was slowly pushed out by a man. On the trolley rested a case constructed from several pieces of high-definition, reinforced glass. Inside the glass case, an ancient painting was mounted serenely.

In a flash, every spotlight in the venue swiveled to converge on the glass case, transforming the prior dimness into a brilliant glare. However, when the dignitaries attending the auction saw the painting, they were left utterly dumbfounded. A moment later, an uproar erupted. Even Ye Jizu couldn’t help but stare, his eyes wide.

“I believe most of you are familiar with this painting,” the auctioneer began. “Yes, it is *The Admonitions of the Court Lady*! The earliest surviving silk painting from Huaxia, a personal favorite of Emperor Qianlong, and the crown jewel of the Engli Land Museum’s collection! As for how it appeared here, there is no need to speculate. The auction will begin. Starting bid, two hundred million!”

With that, the gavel fell. The bidding began.

But a full minute passed, and the auction floor, which had quieted down after the initial uproar, remained dead silent. They weren’t frightened by the starting price of two hundred million; they were stunned by the sheer appearance of *The Admonitions of the Court Lady*.

“Two hundred and ten million!” Ye Jizu, sitting beside Qin Fan, shouted as he raised his bidding paddle, his heart racing.

Ye Jizu’s bid stirred the previously silent attendees into action.

“Two hundred and thirty million!”

“Two hundred and sixty million!”

“Three hundred million!”

“Three hundred and twenty million!”

“Four hundred million!” Ye Jizu called out a price that made Qin Fan frown.

“Is this necessary?” Qin Fan asked, his eyes lowered slightly in puzzlement.

“Absolutely!” Ye Jizu explained, his voice urgent. “In a way, this is political capital! It’s not particularly useful for someone like me in the Underworld, but my second brother is a provincial governor. In his hands, this painting could unleash immense power!”

But his four-hundred-million bid wasn’t enough to clinch *The Admonitions of the Court Lady*. What Ye Jizu could see, the other dignitaries could see as well. Spending hundreds of millions on a painting might seem incredible, but beneath that incredulity lay an absolutely extraordinary significance that almost everyone present understood. When an item’s importance extended beyond the scope of a private collection, it became a priceless treasure.

“Four hundred and ten million!”

“Four hundred and twenty million!”

“Four hundred and thirty million!”

As the bidding reached four hundred million, it was clear that many of the dignitaries were approaching their limit. The bidding increments, which had been tens of millions at a time, slowed to a mere ten million.

“Five hundred million!” Ye Jizu raised his paddle again without a hint of hesitation.

If not for the incredible profits from Spirit Water No. 1 and Spirit Fruit No.1, he would never have dared to call out such a heavenly price. But with a fifteen-percent stake in the No.1 Group, a few hundred million was nothing to Grandpa Ye anymore.

At Ye Jizu’s five-hundred-million bid, many in the audience lowered their bidding paddles and shook their heads.

“Five hundred million going once!”

“Five hundred million going twice!”

“Five hundred million, third and final call! Sold to bidder number 130 for five hundred million, *The Admonitions of the Court Lady*!”

The middle-aged auctioneer maintained his poker face, seemingly unfazed by the price soaring to five hundred million. After concluding the sale in a few words, he seamlessly continued, “And now for the final grand finale item! Bring it out!”

The final item? Something even more significant than *The Admonitions of the Court Lady*? What could it be?

At that moment, everyone in the auction hall held their breath, their gazes fixed anxiously on the other presentation aisle.

It was the same type of trolley, but this one was a good fifty centimeters shorter. On the half-height trolley, a yellow cloth completely enveloped the item. Judging by its shape, at least seventy centimeters high and fifty wide, the object inside had to be massive.

Gazing at the mysterious sight, the elites in their auction seats all furrowed their brows. An item that’s a bigger headliner than *The Admonitions of the Court Lady*? Don’t tell me it’s an authentic golden mask from Ancient Egypt? At this thought, everyone subconsciously stopped breathing. If the Heavenly Auction could procure *The Admonitions of the Court Lady*, then a golden mask from Ancient Egypt didn’t seem entirely impossible.

Yet, sitting next to Ye Jizu, Qin Fan’s face lit up with excitement. Through his Eyes of Golden Flame, he had already seen right through to the Dan Furnace.

Those runes pulsating with Spiritual Power, those furnace patterns that could nourish Spiritual Power… this is completely beyond my imagination! This… this is the most quintessential, most standard Pill Furnace from the Cangqiong Continent! But how could something like this exist in the Qin Dynasty thousands of years ago? It’s a known fact that Earth and the Cangqiong Continent are two entirely different worlds. The appearance of such a Pill Furnace implies the presence of a truly orthodox Alchemist. But if there was such an Alchemist, how could Emperor Qin Shi Huang’s dream of immortality have failed so quickly?

This single thought sent Qin Fan’s mind into a whirlwind of complex theories. But he quickly cast them aside. The True Qi in his Dantian began to surge as his Divine Sense reached out toward the Dan Furnace still veiled by the yellow cloth.

SIZZLE—!

SIZZLE—!

In a stir that was completely imperceptible to the naked ear, as Qin Fan’s Divine Sense enveloped the Dan Furnace, it began to emit a series of sizzling sounds that only he could perceive.

Spirituality! It’s a Furnace Spirit! To think it actually gave birth to a Furnace Spirit!

At that moment, his face twitching with uncontrollable joy, Qin Fan wanted to roar with laughter. He had originally thought he would be more than satisfied if this two-thousand-year-old Dan Furnace had simply retained its spirituality. He never expected the heavens to grant him such an incredible surprise—a Furnace Spirit!

A Pill Furnace that gives birth to a Furnace Spirit often needs to acknowledge a master. This particular Dan Furnace must have developed its spirit only after being buried in the tomb. The sizzling sound it made upon contact with his Divine Sense was a clear sign of its desperate desire to form a contract.

Don’t be impatient. Just wait. I will form a contract with you, Qin Fan chuckled silently, speaking with his Divine Sense.

He then retracted his Divine Sense and looked toward the middle-aged man on the auction stage. His face was filled with the arrogant certainty of someone who would get what he wanted.

“Unveil it!”

At the auctioneer’s command, a young man in white gloves grabbed a corner of the yellow cloth and yanked it upwards with a powerful tug.

With a WHOOSH, the dust-covered Dan Furnace was revealed.

Huh? A Pill Furnace?

In the auction seats, upon seeing the grand finale item beneath the yellow cloth, everyone was stunned.

Are you kidding me? This is supposed to be a bigger headliner than *The Admonitions of the Court Lady*?

While they were still stunned, the auctioneer began his introduction.

“This Dan Furnace was unearthed from the tomb of the Grand Imperial Alchemist from the era of Emperor Qin Shi Huang. It has been confirmed that this was the very furnace the Grand Imperial Alchemist intended to use to refine the Elixir of Immortality for the emperor! There is no reserve price. Please, bid as you see fit!”

Making an inviting gesture with his hand, the middle-aged man’s expression grew stern.

Emperor Qin Shi Huang had only lived to the age of forty-nine. The Elixir of Immortality was already one of history’s greatest jokes. Now they were auctioning off the very Dan Furnace used in that failed attempt? Wasn’t this just a slap in the face? Beyond its value as a collectible, what other influence could this thing possibly have? And it was supposed to outshine *The Admonitions of the Court Lady*? What kind of mistake was this?

Just as nearly everyone in the audience was left completely baffled, a bidding paddle shot up in the dimly lit auction hall.

A clear and pleasant female voice rang out, “One hundred million!”

PS: So sleepy and tired. I’ll do my best to get the fifth chapter out. Sorry to keep you all waiting.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep