Above the mage!

Chapter 497 Five-Ring Upgrade Potion
"A complete set of claws for an adult Shadowsteel Leopard, consisting of four claws. The claws are exceptionally light and tough, and have been perfectly crafted without any damage. They can be used to forge weapons with 'shadow' or 'light-absorbing' properties, such as short swords, daggers, and claw blades."

"Or it can be used as a component to make magical items related to 'stealth' or 'darksight,' and it is also a high-quality material."

On the central auction stage, the white-haired old man from yesterday spoke eloquently, introducing to the crowd the four jet-black claws with gleaming edges displayed atop the crystal pillar.

However, while he was full of enthusiasm, the guests below were not very interested.

Since today's auction is still a "200 gold coin session", the specifications of the auction items presented are almost the same as yesterday.

Moreover, compared to yesterday, without the novelty of the first day, the number of people attending today's auction was almost 10% lower.

Under such circumstances, the initial rounds of auctions for raw materials became even more dull.

Several items were sold after only one bid increase, and there was even the first item that failed to sell.

Gao De didn't encounter any more bargains today, and the raw material auction items didn't interest him either, leaving him feeling somewhat bored.

Finally, after an hour, the auction of fifty raw materials ended, and the auction of finished products began.

Gao De's interest was immediately piqued.

Because among today's list of finished products is his initial target for this trip to Black Sails City: the Arzus Feather Whistle sapling.

"The monitor lizard leather tube is made of tanned red monitor lizard leather. Items such as maps, documents, and scrolls placed inside the tube will gain resistance to various types of damage, including fire, acid, cold, and lightning."

It is resistant to general moisture, insect infestation, and ordinary tearing, slowing down the erosion of the contents over time. It can be used to protect important documents and props. Starting bid: 200 Golden Bird Coins.

"250!"

"300!"

Sure enough, once the finished items were auctioned, the atmosphere in the room, which had been sluggish, immediately improved, and everyone became much more active in bidding.

This first finished auction item, which Gaode considered somewhat lackluster, surprisingly saw its price rise to 300 Golden Bird Flower coins in a very short time.

After five or six items were auctioned off, as the crystal pillar rose and fell, Gao De's eyes lit up.

On the tray atop the crystal pillar, a sapling was prominently displayed.

The silvery-gray trunk was only as thick as an index finger, yet it stood as straight as a meticulously forged spearhead.

Two or three branches jut out diagonally from the top of the trunk, their translucent ivory white color trembling gently like bowstrings.

At the end of the branch are a few new feather-like leaves the size of a fingernail, with a pale blue halo around the edges of the leaves. Upon closer inspection, countless tiny vortices can be seen flowing between the leaf tissues.

The seedling's roots were covered with a clump of grayish-white wind-eroded soil, and one could vaguely see fine roots wrapped around it like silver threads.

This was preserved using the seedlings' original soil.

On the other side of the tray, in a crystal jar, thirty-six fruits, resembling upside-down fairy horns, were neatly arranged, each only the length of a thumb.

"One second-tier Azus Feather Whistle Tree sapling and thirty-six feather fruits from the Azus Feather Whistle Tree. Long-term consumption of the feather fruits can enhance the wearer's physical endurance." The white-haired auctioneer's voice carried just the right amount of excitement as his gaze swept across the audience.

"The starting bid remains at 200 Goldfinch coins!"

Yes, it is the Azus Feather Whistle sapling that Gaode has been waiting for.

However, for him, the Azus Feather Whistle sapling was a treasure worth the trouble of traveling between the North and the Broom, and risking all sorts of dangers to reach Black Sails City.

But to others, it was just an ordinary second-tier magic tree sapling.

Perhaps some potion makers or plant makers will be interested in it, but that's all; it doesn't change the fact that it's just a second-tier magic tree sapling.

Moreover, if it hadn't already been cultivated into a seedling, it wouldn't even be qualified to be auctioned off.

After all, the minimum spend for the first three days of the Funeral Auction was 200 gold coin.

Normally, the market price of a second-tier magic tree seed is between 10 and 30 gold coin, which is far lower than other extraordinary items of the same tier.

The reason is simple: it's just a seed, not even a magic tree seedling.

To cultivate a seed into a mature plant requires a significant investment of time and money, as well as the acquisition of relevant knowledge.

Moreover, the seeds of the Azus Feather Whistle tree are its fruit pits, which means that as long as there is a mature Azus Feather Whistle tree, dozens of Azus Feather Whistle seeds can be obtained every year.

Scarcity drives up value, making the Azus feather whistle tree species even cheaper in this situation.

Furthermore, as the magical tree that produces fruit, the fruit itself is the main source of the economic value of the Azus Feather Whistle Tree, while the fruit kernel is merely an extra bonus.

The price of successfully cultivated Azus Feather Whistle seedlings will be significantly higher than that of seeds, likely reaching 30-40 Goldfinch coins.

However, it is clear that even though it has grown into a seedling, its value is still relatively low. It still needs to be paired with a complete set of corresponding fruits to barely qualify for the Annecy auction.

More importantly, the consignor did not include a guide on how to cultivate the Argus Feather Whistle Tree, which will significantly reduce the enthusiasm of the bidders.

If there were cultivation guides, even mages who are not knowledgeable in plant science might be tempted to buy one and give it a try if they had the money. Maybe it would actually grow successfully, right?

"300!"

Gao De couldn't stand other people's complaints. He had a clear goal and pressed the bid button next to his seat without hesitation the moment the bidding started.

"Guest in seat 91 has bid 300 Goldfinch Coins!"

Out of caution, Gaode did not choose to sit in seat number 66 from yesterday, but instead changed to seat number 91.

350!

The number representing the current bid on the screen flickered.

Gao De's eyes flickered slightly.

The Azus Featherwhistle saplings are strategically important to the North, hence his high budget; this bid is well within his budget.

To show his determination, Gao De pressed the bid-increasing button again the instant the numbers on the screen started flashing, before the auctioneer even had a chance to speak.

450!

"Guest in seat 35091 has bid 450 Goldfinch Coins!"

Sure enough, Gaode's move, coupled with the price of 450 Golden Bird Coins, already exceeded many people's expectations, and he did not encounter any so-called malicious price gouging.

After the auctioneer called out three times, Gao De successfully acquired the Azus Feather Whistle sapling and the thirty-six feather fruits.

Just like yesterday, the pace was incredibly fast. The next item was already up for auction, and the auction house's attendants quickly approached Gao De with the packaged Azus Feather Whistle saplings and thirty-six feather fruits.

After quickly verifying the items, the money and goods were settled.

Although he felt confident before he arrived, Gao De only truly breathed a sigh of relief when he actually got the Azus Feather Whistle sapling into his hands.

The initial objective has been achieved.

However, he still sat in the auction hall and watched the entire auction. One reason was to lay the groundwork for his later sale of the Blackwing Gang's relics, creating the persona of someone who was very interested in the auction items. The other reason was to see if there were any treasures that he could use or was interested in.

He is actually quite well-off now. The 7500 Golden Bird Coins he obtained from the double-cross made Gaode very wealthy. Even after deducting the expenses of the past two days, he still has nearly 9000 Golden Bird Coins in his savings.

This is even enough for him to pay in full for one or two Tier 4 extraordinary items.

Unfortunately, the items in the 200 gold coin auction were still too low-grade for him.

So they sat there for six or seven hours straight, but still couldn't find a single item worth bidding on.

Gao De was not disappointed. He was already satisfied with successfully obtaining the Azus Feather Whistle sapling. Everything else was just a bonus. He would be happy if he had it, but it was normal if he didn't.

As the last item in today's auction was sold, the white-haired auctioneer left the room, and Gao De also got up and leisurely left, returning to the hotel in the lower city with Lan Wen.

Upon returning to his room, the first thing Gao De did was take out the Bone-Eating Vine Magic Crystal.

[Your body is continuously subjected to the attack and tempering of toxic energy, and its immune and metabolic capacity against various toxins is gradually improved. Your immunity to toxins has increased by 107%, and your body's organs' ability to metabolize and excrete various toxins has increased by 110.1%.]

After a full night's rest, the toxins in his body had been almost completely metabolized.

Metabolism continued throughout the seven or eight-hour auction.

By this time, the remaining toxins and energy had been completely metabolized, and the body had returned to a flawless state.

Seizing the opportunity, Gao De immediately gripped the magic crystal in his hand, closed his eyes, and began the second round of energy absorption and refining.

Gaode participated in the entire auction on the third day.

I came here just to join in the fun, but I unexpectedly got a purchase: a Tier 3 "Thorn Ironwood" magic tree seed that a customer had just consigned to me for auction yesterday.

Thorny Ironwood is a very special magical plant. Its wood is as hard as iron and naturally covered with sharp thorns. It is a top-grade natural hardwood and an ideal material for building defensive fortifications.

However, apart from that, it has no other economic value.

Therefore, only certain factions or even city-states would have a demand for Thorn Ironwood. However, there are exceptions—some mages would also consider using Thorn Ironwood when building mage towers.

Unlike the Azus Feather Whistle Tree, which can produce dozens or even hundreds of seeds a year, the Thorn Ironwood is a magical tree with more demanding propagation requirements. It needs to be at least two hundred years old before it will produce a few seeds sporadically each year.

Correspondingly, its price is relatively high, and since it is a third-tier tree, it entered the auction "alone".

Whether it's to buy it to build up the North, use it as a reserve of engineering materials, or to encourage the birth of Yugathishra, the wealthy and powerful God has no reason to miss out on this tree species.

As a result, he didn't spend much money; he simply raised the price once and won the tree seed for 250 gold coin.

However, this was the only gain Gaode Maps made on the third day.

He has a good mindset, maintaining a record of making at least one move a day, which can be considered as solidifying his public image.

And after today, the main event of the Wrath of the Liberation auction will begin.

On the fourth day, when Gao De once again appeared at the Blue Flame Auction House on time, he could clearly feel that the atmosphere had changed.

Firstly, compared to the previous three days when five or six hundred seats were empty, today less than 10% of the seats in the entire auction hall were empty.

Another thing is that there are many more mages in the arena who look very imposing.

For many, today is the real start of the Wrath of the Night auction.

As soon as the auction started, Gaode discovered that even the auctioneer who was hosting the auction had been replaced.

The white-haired old man from the previous three days has transformed into a hot and beautiful woman.

The beautiful woman was indeed stunning, but she was no mere pretty face. She exuded a powerful aura and was likely a mage of considerable skill.

After she stepped onto the auction stage, her gaze swept across the entire room before she smiled slightly. "Distinguished guests, thank you for coming from afar. I am Midi, and I will be hosting the auction for the next four days. I have been hosting the Anling Festival auction for over twenty years, and I imagine many of you here recognize me or have even had dealings with me before."

"I won't waste any more words, but before the auction begins, I'd like to share some information with everyone: the last session of this year's Anling Festival auction will feature a Five-Ring Upgrade Potion."

"Furthermore, the value of this year's final auction item will surpass that of last year's final auction item. Those interested should hurry up and raise funds in the next few days," she chuckled, then clapped her hands.

The crystal pillar slowly rose.

The first item is about to be auctioned.

Gao De's mind was actually distracted by Mi Di's words.

Five-Ring Upgrade Potion!

He's only in the second ring road, so he definitely doesn't need this thing yet, but Sunefa can!

After Su Naifa began studying the "Azure Wood Longevity Scripture," his progress in cultivating the "Azure Wood Longevity Scripture" was incredibly fast. This was because the sacred object he had formed a bond with was a sixth-tier ice jade parasol tree, and his "True Ice Secret Transmission" was already at the fourth-ring level. With the wealthy helping the less fortunate, Su Naifa's progress in cultivating the "Azure Wood Longevity Scripture" was incredibly fast.

Before reaching the Fifth Ring, thanks to the foundation of "The Secret of Zhenbing", Sunafa's magical star sea had already been opened up, and her mental strength had long since met the requirements.

Therefore, there were no bottlenecks in her cultivation of the "Green Wood Longevity Scripture," and she naturally succeeded in ascending to the next level when her magical power reached a certain point.

However, when it comes to advancing to the fifth ring, there's no longer the "master" "True Ice Secret Manual" to carry you. You have to honestly follow the three steps to advance to the fifth ring.

In this situation, even if Sunefa is highly talented, for the sake of safety, a potion to raise her rings is still necessary.

After all, with Gao De's foundation, he prepared top-tier ring-up potions to assist in the ring-up process when he was advancing to the second ring.

Now there's no need to pretend. I really want the Ring-Up Potion, and I really don't have enough money. It's pure and genuine emotion. Gao De thought to himself.

"The first item up for auction today is Dragon Whale Essence. After consuming it, ordinary people can extend their lifespan by thirty years, and it is equally effective for mages."

Of course, the higher the mage's level, the weaker the life-extending effect, but even a fifth-ring mage can extend their life by three years! "Midi smiled and held up the transparent bottle on the tray to show everyone, her red lips parted slightly, and she made a seductive sound.

"Starting bid: 2000 Golden Bird Coins!"

In a small, transparent bottle, there is a drop of amber-like liquid.

Longevity treasure!

For Gaode, a lifespan of twenty or thirty years is insignificant.
He is only 16 years old, but his lifespan is capped at 830 years, not even a fraction of that.

However, his case is ultimately a very rare exception and cannot be used as a reference.

The truth is, any item associated with the word "life extension" will see its value increase dramatically.

According to Gaode, the Five Rings Master lived to be 975 years old. Having lived so long, living another 3 years seems to have little significance.

But this was only because he was young and didn't understand that for people who were about to die, they would be willing to pay a huge price for even just one more month, let alone three years.

Therefore, the appearance of the dragon whale essence immediately sparked a bidding frenzy in the auction hall, completely igniting the atmosphere.

(End of this chapter)