The Trade Masters words hit John like a soul attack, almost stunning him senseless. Even with his composure, he felt it hard to maintain calm upon hearing such a staggering number.
"Fi-fi-five hundred billion!" Caz stuttered in a dazed shock, almost unable to believe his ears as well. Even for someone like the Trade Master, this was an absolutely staggering sum of spirit crystals.
Spending this many spirit crystals on a singular purchase would no doubt hamper the Mystic Trade Halls ability to purchase other heavenly items in the near future, which was why Caz was so shocked by the number.
It was a sum of spirit crystals only the richest in the world were able to muster, and even then it would make them feel pain upon spending that much. As the Trade Master of the Mystic Trade Hall, he was no doubt one of the richest cultivators on the continent, and yet even he most likely found this number to be painful to part with.
However, the reward of the tea leaves was worth the short term impact to purchasing power, and so the Trade Master was willing to make such a deal.
"So?" The Trade Master asked John again, who snapped out of his shock.
"Deal!" John exclaimed with great excitement, almost unable to control himself. With this one deal, money would no longer be an issue for him.
"Excellent," the Trade Master replied with a small smile on his face, and stood up from his chair.
"Such a sum of spirit crystals can only be obtained by myself from the Mystic Vault. Wait here. I shall return before the bidding resumes," he explained before walking out of the room, leaving John and Caz alone.
The two of them remained silent for some time, trying to gather their thoughts, before Caz eventually spoke once more.
"Congratulations! With this one deal, you are no doubt amongst the richest cultivators on the entire planet!"
"Haha, thanks. Even now I still find it hard to believe my tea leaves could be worth so much," John replied while rubbing his cheek. "And you'll be right up there with me. While you won't get as much from this deal as me, I'm sure you'll get a good portion of the profits from selling the leaves."
"Hahaha, I suppose you're right!" Caz exclaimed cheerily while patting John on the back several times. "Becoming friends with you was no doubt the best decision I've ever made!"
….
The hour quickly passed by, and just several minutes before bidding resumed, the Trade Master strolled back into his luxurious private booth.
"Trade Master!" Caz hastily rose from his seat and respectfully greeted his trade hall leader.
The Trade Master walked up to John, at which point John handed him a ring, fully prepared for the trade already.
"Ten thousand tea leaves, as requested," John said.
While the growing room in his palace realm was vast and held many tea plants, he had plucked nearly all the leaves available to get to this sum. However, thanks to the special nature of the room, the leaves grew back within a year or two, so his stock would be replenished before long.
The Trade Master took the ring and inspected it for a moment, and nodded his head in obvious satisfaction.
"All in pristine quality. You continue to surprise me!" He said as he handed John a spatial ring. "Five hundred billion low grade spirit crystals, as agreed upon!"
John eagerly accepted the ring, and cast his divine sense into it. Mountains of spirit crystals, of both varying size and crystal quality came into view, nearly shocking him senseless at the amount.</anda>
However, he raised his eyebrows in a questioning manner as he noticed something. Some of the spirit crystals were much higher quality, with far greater Qi density than the crystals he was used to.
In the middle of the mountains of spirit crystals was a pile of eye-catching crystals. Compared to the Qi density of the low grade spirit crystals, the crystals in that pile were like mini-suns, brimming with incredible energy.
"A sum of five hundred billion spirit crystals would be a pain to deal with, so I substituted medium grade and high grade spirit crystals into the mix as well," the Trade Master explained, as those wuality spirit crystals were quite rare and only the wealthiest dealt with them.
"Medium grade spirit crystals are worth one thousand low grade spirit crystals, while high grade spirit crystals are worth one million low grade spirit crystals. When you factor that in, the total sum is five hundred billion spirit crystals," the Trade Master finished explaining, to which John nodded his head in satisfaction.
His hand trembled in excitement at holding that many spirit crystals, but he quickly calmed his nerves as he moved them to his palace realm.
"The bidding is about to resume," the Trade Master spoke up, to which Caz hastily bowed to his master.
"We will take our leave then. Trade Master," Caz said.
"Nonsense. After a deal like this one, celebration is necessary. You two stay here for the remainder of the auction," the Trade Master replied as he gazed at John. "I have quite a few questions I'd like to ask you. I hope you'll entertain this old mans request?"
"I would be a fool to refuse," John replied as he sat back down on his chair, his thoughts swirling with many emotions.
"Excellent!" The Trade Master replied, and an attendant walked into the room as if summoned. The Trade Master relayed some orders to the attendant, who left shortly afterwards.
"Look like it's starting again," the Trade Master said as he sat down once more, while John nodded his head in eager expectation.
"The one hour break is now over," the auctioneer came back on stage and spoke out, reigniting the crowds excitement once more.
"We will now begin bidding on the Seal of Daoist Eternal Weapon," the auctioneer boomed, sparking a frenzied bidding war immediately.
