Chapter 2309 — Chapter 2309 Auction for the Soul Cultivation Technique(2)

"Heavens! Who is that woman bidding against Senior Ru Bing, who is known as the Gold Emperor—the wealthiest individual in the world?!" "I don't recognize her, but she's definitely disguising her true appearance right now."

Ren Xia's wealth and relentless bidding against the Gold Emperor left every guest there in awe, especially those who were in the business scene and understood how astonishing it was to fight the Gold Emperor with money.

However, some people there doubted whether Ren Xia really had so much wealth.

"What if she's just bidding out of her ass just to increase the price of the soul cultivation technique?"

"In the presence of the Three Pillars of Heaven and so many people? There's no way anyone would be that foolish!"

Eventually, the bid reached an astonishing five billion spirit stones.

"Five billion, two hundred million, and one thousand spirit stones!" The Gold Emperor shouted with clenched fists.

"Five billion, two hundred million, and two thousand spirit stones." Ren Xia countered in a calm voice, sounding as if she were just ordering a simple dish at a restaurant.

'Fuck! I do not believe that bitch truly has so much money!' The Gold Emperor cursed inwardly.

"Going once…"

"Going twice…"

"And—"

"SEVEN BILLION!" The Gold Emperor countered at the very last second, increasing the price by two whole billion in one go.

"Seven billion spirit stones?!"

Everyone was stunned by the Gold Emperor's bid. Even as the richest individual in the world, such an amount would strain his finances for a very long time. And for what? A soul cultivation technique that even the geniuses of the Three Pillars of Heaven had failed to cultivate. It seemed nothing short of a reckless waste.

The Gold Emperor, of course, understood this better than anyone. But at this point, he was no longer bidding for the technique itself. This had become a matter of pride—and he refused to lose to some nobody.

After making his bid, the Gold Emperor stood up and glared at Ren Xia.

"I do not believe you can outbid me! Even if you do, I doubt you actually have that much money!" he shouted at her.

Before she could respond, he continued, "If you can beat me, I'll eat all of the jewelry on me before everyone today!"

As the richest individual in the world, the Gold Emperor naturally enjoyed flaunting his wealth, his entire body adorned with expensive jewelry.

"Going once…"

Ren Xia calmly met the Gold Emperor's gaze and sneered, "I hope you didn't eat breakfast today, then."

"Going twice…"

"Ten billion spirit stones!" Ren Xia loudly declared.

"?!?!"

The Gold Emperor's eyes widened with shock and disbelief at her counter.

"T-There's no way you can actually pay such an amount! Even if you do, you'll definitely become homeless afterward!" The Gold Emperor exclaimed.

"Going once!"

"Goince twice!"

"And… sold! To the young lady at seat 194,224 for ten billion spirit stones!" Unsurprisingly, the Gold Emperor did not try to compete with Ren Xia's ten billion, allowing her to win.

However, just because he lost the auction didn't mean he'd have to immediately eat his own jewelry, as Ren Xia still had to prove that she had won legitimately by paying the ten billion.

After winning the auction, Ren Xia stood up and said to the Gold Emperor, "You should prepare to follow through in your own words."

Then, she went to pay for the soul cultivation technique.

It took several minutes, but the auctioneer eventually finished counting Ren Xia's payment.

"I have confirmed the payment of ten billion spirit stones! Thank you! Here is your soul cultivation technique!"

The auctioneer immediately handed the technique to her.

"Heavens! She actually paid ten billion without batting an eye!"

Once it was confirmed that Ren Xia had paid the amount, everyone at the auction turned to look at the Gold Emperor.

"...This is…"

The Gold Emperor swallowed nervously as millions of gazes suddenly converged on him, cold sweat pouring down his body.

After a brief moment of silence, he cursed aloud, "Fuck!"

Then, without hesitation, he began stripping the jewelry from his body and swallowing it one piece at a time—starting with the rings on his fingers, followed by the crystal-adorned bracelets on his arms, his earrings, and finally his necklaces. As for the larger pieces that couldn't be swallowed whole, he forcibly shattered them into smaller fragments before downing them as well.

The Gold Emperor wore so much jewelry that it took several minutes for him to finish swallowing it all, while everyone watched wide-eyed, not daring to blink.

Once he was done, he shouted, "I AM A MAN OF MY WORDS! DO YOU HEAR ME, YOU—?!"

The Gold Emperor looked around, but he couldn't find Ren Xia.

"What? Where did she go?!"

He questioned the auctioneer, who quickly replied with a stiff expression, "Um… she left the moment you finished swallowing your first jewelry…"

The Gold Emperor coughed up a mouthful of blood in anger when he learned that Ren Xia hadn't even bothered to stay until the end.

He wasn't the only one left stunned. The others were equally dumbfounded. No one had even noticed her departure, as their attention had been entirely fixed on the Gold Emperor.

What transpired at the auction spread like wildfire that very day, with people everywhere scrambling to uncover Ren Xia's identity. A few days after the auction, Ren Xia returned to the palace and reunited with Tian Yang.

"Tada!" Ren Xia proudly revealed the soul cultivation technique to Tian Yang upon her return.

"How did you come back so fast?" Tian Yang was more puzzled by her transportation speed than anything, as the Holy Continent was on the opposite side of the world.

"By using the teleport formations that they've recently started to build around the world. They're incredibly convenient, albeit a little expensive. It required several trips through many cities and a few million spirit stones, but it only took five days to reach the Holy Continent," she explained.