Rise of the Alchemy God

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Ethan's participation took many by surprise, especially those currently in the VIP hall with him.

They had seen this masked young alchemist continuously bring out impressive items but had never seen him actively participate in the auction.

Seeing the value of his items, many thought that someone with such treasures probably had no need to bid on anything and that he was there merely for entertainment.

So, when he suddenly made an offer, it caught everyone off guard, including Xiang Hua and Hu Xingyan.

Their confusion stemmed from the fact that none of them found anything particularly special about the seed.

Even after hearing its story, they weren't interested in it. The same was true for most of the other attendees.

Apart from a few who seemed to be bidding out of sheer competitiveness, no one was willing to waste their money on it.

The wealthy merchant, who had decided to bid for the seed, smiled when he noticed someone else joining the competition.

He began to raise the stakes confidently.

"Let's see if you can keep up with me."

This merchant owned one of the wealthiest trade organizations in the kingdom and, as such, had no shortage of funds.

He had come to the auction for the Eternal Youth Pill.

Despite his great wealth, his cultivation base remained at the second stage, and due to his low talent, he knew he wouldn't progress much further.

He relied on rare medicinal herbs to extend his life.

Hearing about the appearance of such a miraculous pill, he didn't hesitate and rushed to the auction.

Fortunately for him, the auction was being held in a city near the imperial capital, so he managed to arrive within a day.

Now, he was simply waiting for the pill to be presented.

In the meantime, he decided to make a few casual purchases, as was his habit.

By now, he had developed a routine of flaunting his wealth whenever he could.

With that in mind, he didn't hesitate as he engaged in a bidding war with Ethan.

"10,000 high-grade spirit stones," he declared, as if such a sum was trivial to him.

"20,000," Ethan responded immediately.

"40,000."

"80,000," Ethan countered without hesitation.

Seeing the persistence of his rival, the merchant decided to show him who he was dealing with.

"500,000 high-grade spirit stones," he declared, causing many to widen their eyes in disbelief.

"He's insane, spending so much on an item like that."

"Some people just have too much money to waste."

"Well, I'm not surprised. After all, he's the owner of..."

As the crowd continued to chatter about the absurd bidding war, Ethan glanced at the wealthy merchant.

Jūn Yíng considered stepping in to assist Ethan.

Although she didn't understand why Ethan was so insistent on obtaining such an item at such a high cost, the gift Ethan had given her earlier far surpassed the value of anything presented at the auction today.

She figured spending a few spirit stones wasn't a big deal.

For an expert of her level, even spending millions of spirit stones was nothing.

Just as Jūn Yíng was about to intervene, Ethan spoke again.

"5 million high-grade spirit stones."

The crowd: "..."

The merchant: "..."

The auctioneer: "..."

Everyone fell silent at the astronomical sum Ethan had just offered for the seed.

Even the merchant nearly dropped his jaw at the figure.

The amount itself wasn't an issue for him, but spending it on an item like that was an enormous waste of money, even for someone of his wealth.

He couldn't understand why the person he was bidding against had offered such an exorbitant number of spirit stones, but wisely, he decided to retreat.

Although he had wanted to outbid Ethan, even for him, spending money so casually wasn't an option.

In the end, seeing the wealthy merchant withdraw, the auctioneer finalized Ethan's bid with an excited expression.

After all, she would earn a small percentage of each sale, and seeing the sum that had just been spent, she knew her earnings today would be considerable.

Finally, the seed Ethan had just purchased was brought to him, and he immediately began examining it.

'Just as I thought, within it lies a dense amount of spiritual Qi of the wood element,' he mused.

Ethan had purchased the item because of the peculiar wood aura it emitted.

Now, seeing that it indeed contained a substantial amount of wood-element Qi, he couldn't help but wonder what kind of plant it might grow into.

Thanks to the system, which provided him with increasing knowledge of plants and herbs as he advanced in alchemical skill, Ethan had a comprehensive understanding of flora.

Yet even with that knowledge, he couldn't identify the seed just by looking at it.

'This item would definitely be beneficial for a cultivator of the wood element,' he thought as he put it away.

Though unsure of the seed's origins, he planned to plant it in his herb garden.

Who knew? Something good might grow from it.

With that settled, while he was lost in his thoughts, the object that everyone was waiting for, the one that had even drawn powerful figures to the auction, was finally unveiled.

Needless to say, the commotion it caused was immense, and Ethan watched as a fierce bidding war began.

To his surprise, the three Grandmaster-level alchemists in their group weren't the only ones bidding.

Even the two women participated.

He could imagine that Hu Xingyan was bidding on behalf of her grandfather, who couldn't attend today.

However, Ethan was puzzled by Xiang Hua's participation.

Although the pill was beneficial for everyone, it had significant effects on people like Bai Huo Shan, who had already spent most of their lives and could use it to regain a significant amount of vitality.

Their bodies would also be enhanced, allowing them to cultivate further and reach new heights.

At first, Ethan thought Xiang Hua was bidding for Feng Huang, but then he shook his head.

Although she had undoubtedly surpassed 100 years, she was far from the midpoint of her life.

As a cultivator at the fifth stage, she could comfortably live for more than 1,000 years, possibly even 2,000, if she continued cultivating.

So, that pill couldn't be for her, could it?

Ultimately, Ethan stopped paying attention and merely observed the bidding war for the pill, which quickly reached astronomical ammount.