Chapter 206: Jiang the Human Sovereign’s Belongings Are Worth a Fortune
Although Ruyi Gourd was acting strangely, Jiang Li didn’t suspect anything related to spiritual treasure transformation.
With all the grudges stirred up and ready to erupt after the event, Jiang Li stopped paying attention to the stage.
“I know all fellow Daoists have been looking forward to these last three items.” The auctioneer didn’t stall any longer. He lifted the curtain, revealing a very ordinary-looking writing brush.
Jiang Li felt it looked familiar.
Wang Bian of the Confucian Sect and Dean Meng both unconsciously began breathing heavily, showing great urgency.
The reason they had come to this auction today was for this item.
“I’m sure you’ve all guessed it. Yes—this is the writing brush once used by today’s Human Sovereign, the one and only Mahayana stage cultivator—Jiang Li!”
“!!” Jiang Li’s eyes widened suddenly.
“May I ask the Chamber how you can prove that this was used by the Human Sovereign Jiang?” Wang Bian asked.
“Heh, no need to rush, Fellow Daoist Wang. Let me finish the introduction. Feiyun Chamber is renowned across the Nine Provinces—we’d never tarnish our own name.”
The auctioneer remained calm as he explained, “As everyone knows, after Jiang the Human Sovereign left the Jiang Clan, he joined the Huayun Sect and became close friends with the current Supreme Elder Yunbo.”
“This writing brush was provided by Yunbo himself, who confirmed that Jiang the Human Sovereign once used it to record Huayun Sect’s finances five hundred years ago, helping the sect come back from the brink of collapse.”
The auctioneer presented a certificate handwritten and blood-sealed by Yunbo himself.
“After Jiang the Human Sovereign left Huayun Sect, Yunbo, out of gratitude, preserved this brush carefully, not letting a speck of dust touch it.”
“Now that Huayun Sect has caught the trend of spiritual treasures gaining sentience and wishes to expand its sect, they painfully decided to part with the brush to raise spirit stones.”
“The Chamber has verified this item through historical records and multiple sources—this brush is the one Jiang the Human Sovereign once used!”
“Starting bid: 100 high-grade spirit stones!”
Cough cough! Jiang Li was stunned by the price. “This brush isn’t even a spiritual treasure. It’s worth that much?”
It was indeed a brush he’d used, but wasn’t this a bit too much?
“Brother, you must not know the value of such things,” someone explained to Jiang Li. “What kind of place is Huayun Sect? It’s where Jiang the Human Sovereign got his start. Just the fact that he used this brush makes it priceless. And used it there? That makes it an artifact no amount of money can buy!”
“That Dean Meng—you know who that is, right? He’s the most famous collector of Jiang the Human Sovereign memorabilia. This brush represents status in the Jiang memorabilia world!”
“???”
“And Wang Bian from the Confucian Sect is the most renowned analyst of Jiang the Human Sovereign’s literary works. He deeply reveres Jiang’s writings. This brush accompanied Jiang for months—what literati wouldn’t dream of owning it?”
“???”
“If someone can obtain this brush, they might even absorb some of Jiang the Human Sovereign’s brilliance and become just as talented!”
“Pity I’m just a small businessman and don’t have the spirit stones. Otherwise, I’d buy it and bless my son’s head with it!”
“???”
Jiang Li was full of question marks after hearing this.
Am I just out of the loop? What the heck are the “Jiang memorabilia world” and “Jiang literary world”?
Ruyi Gourd was listening too, and found it couldn’t comprehend the way human minds worked.
While Jiang Li and Ruyi Gourd were still stunned, the bid for the brush had already reached 780 high-grade spirit stones.
That was enough to buy a pretty decent Fusion Stage technique.
“Stuff you’ve used is this valuable?”
Ruyi Gourd gained a whole new understanding of Jiang Li’s wealth. This guy might never run out of spirit stones in his lifetime. Judging by this, even the skewer from his candied hawthorn might sell for a fortune.
“I just found out today, too,” Jiang Li didn’t even know what face to make anymore.
In the end, it was Dean Meng—with his deep pockets—who took the brush home.
“I’ll frame it when I get back and hang it in the most prominent place. I’ll invite all my peers to come view it,” Dean Meng was already planning his next steps.
“The second item—Jiang the Human Sovereign’s ink treasure. Its message has been analyzed by many great figures, but none have reached a unified conclusion. What does this sentence mean? What was Jiang the Human Sovereign trying to convey? To this day, it remains one of the greatest unsolved mysteries in the cultivation world.”
The auctioneer displayed a small piece of paper and enlarged it with a spell. Everyone could clearly see the words:
Odd changes, even don’t; symbols observe quadrants.
Jiang Li facepalmed.
This was something he scribbled down at Huayun Sect when he was bored—a memory trick for solving math problems.
“I heard a Fusion Stage expert say, ‘Odd’ and ‘even’ refer to alternating days. ‘Symbols’ are codes left by Jiang the Human Sovereign. ‘Quadrants’ refer to where to place the codes. If you do it right, it unlocks a treasure left behind by the Human Sovereign.”
“Sounds like complete nonsense,” someone retorted.
Jiang Li subtly nodded.
The man continued, “‘Odd’ is a phonetic stand-in for ‘chicken,’ so ‘odd changes’ means chopping chicken into pieces. ‘Even’ is a homonym for ‘lotus root,’ and ‘even don’t change’ means to keep the lotus root whole.”
“‘Symbols’ are rune inscriptions to control cooking heat. ‘Quadrants’ refer to the four celestial constellations.”
“This sentence is the recipe for Jiang the Human Sovereign’s favorite dish—braised chicken with lotus root.”
Braised chicken with lotus root?!
Wasn’t my favorite food candied hawthorn?!
“May I ask, who said Jiang the Human Sovereign’s favorite food is braised chicken with lotus root?”
“I heard that when he visited Mount You, he suddenly got hungry and went to a nearby village. When the villagers found out he was the Human Sovereign, they happily slaughtered an old hen and served him. Afterward, he raved about the braised chicken with lotus root.”
“Didn’t Jiang the Human Sovereign practice fasting? How could he get hungry?” Jiang Li asked.
“That, I’m not sure. That’s just what everyone says.”
Jiang Li felt this auction was truly eye-opening.
“Even if the meaning of the sentence remains unclear, it’s definitely written in the Human Sovereign’s handwriting. Whoever obtains this piece of paper might be able to comprehend his intent.”
“Starting bid: 1,000 high-grade spirit stones.”
Compared to the brush, this slip of paper was clearly more valuable. Wang Bian and Dean Meng refused to back down as the price soared.
In the end, Wang Bian won the ink treasure for 2,123 high-grade spirit stones.
“Looks like everyone’s in high spirits today,” the auctioneer grinned so widely he could barely speak. With a 15% commission, the Chamber had made a fortune.
“Now presenting the final and grandest item—the Human Sovereign’s Heavenly Book!”
Jiang Li shot to his feet, eyes locked onto the book.
It was a cringe-filled fantasy novel he had written using the language of his previous life, after arriving in the Nine Provinces!
Lines like: “You dare defy the will of the King?” “Why should I fear standing against the world?” “I grant you death—that is your honor.” “Those who fall into darkness forever yearn for the light.”
This absolutely must not be seen by anyone!