Chapter 268 - Chapter 268: Chapter 268: Buddha Head in the Mid-Heavens (1/2)

Chapter 268: Chapter 268: Buddha Head in the Mid-Heavens

“Ladies and gentlemen, this banquet is a cultural gathering of the whole world, and the organizer has taken out all the collections from their own home to auction here. I ask for your kind guidance!”

The host, whether in tone or otherwise, was very polite, and because of the nature of the auction items, deliberately spoke in Chinese.

But such phraseology felt awkward no matter how one listened to it.

Chen Yu even frowned, his expression seemed somewhat peculiar.

The host did not care about these reactions and continued to introduce the origins of the Buddha heads.

Everyone present was looking forward with anticipation, just waiting for the host to announce the price.

Chen Yu let out a breath of turbid air, his eyes fixed intently on the Buddha head on the stand.

Most of these items had been plundered by the Western world from the East during the late Qing dynasty, and it was shameful to see them being auctioned off so brazenly now.

However, this also indicated that the sponsors behind the event were indeed in need of money. This banquet’s main purpose was not only to exploit the last value of the ‘Queen Elsa’ but also to bring together the world’s super families.

This way, they could not only expand business cooperation but also liquidate all the antique treasures they had in hand.

Chen Yu’s feelings were extremely complex, not knowing how to deal with the Buddha head before him.

First of all, these items were too precious; each could fetch a price of over a billion at auction, and even if Chen Yu put up all his current assets, he still might not be able to purchase these Buddha heads.

Secondly, at an auction of this scale, it was impossible to let someone take away all the Buddha heads in one go.

The profit from selling them one by one would be much higher than selling them as a lot.

Thinking of this, Chen Yu’s heartbeat accelerated. It was painful to only be able to watch these marvelous items slip away!

As he struggled internally, he suddenly noticed a crack on the head of one of the Buddha statues.

“Ladies and gentlemen, the first item up for auction is the White Horse Temple Buddha head. It is said that this Buddha head was carved in the image of Wu Zetian and has a history of over a thousand years! The starting bid is 500 million!”

As soon as the price was announced, the room immediately erupted, and almost instantly, the price soared to 1.3 billion!

It’s hard not to cause a sensation with such a priceless treasure.

But Chen Yu’s gaze stayed fixed on the Buddha head with the crack, which despite its unremarkable appearance, and seeming like a later imitation, captivated him with the strange glow emanating from the crack.

Most Buddha heads from the Tang dynasty were carved from jade, with very few stone carvings, unless they were part of a group in a cavern.

Especially Buddha heads modeled after Wu Zetian, which were made from extremely valuable materials.

It was said that the Tang dynasty’s national treasury once contained a pair of Buddha heads carved from purple jade, but they were lost inadvertently during the An Lushan Rebellion.

Zhu Yuanzhang later recovered them from the Mongols and enshrined them in a temple.

Unfortunately, they were lost again in the late Qing period.

Thinking of this, Chen Yu became inexplicably excited.

He suddenly stood up and yelled out abruptly.

“Wait, there is a problem with these Buddha heads!”

As soon as he spoke, the room fell silent, with everyone’s gaze converging on Chen Yu.

The host was extremely embarrassed and unsure of what to do.

After all, Chen Yu had just pushed the banquet to a climax; he had brought great benefit to the event.

Additionally, many in the audience had already become fans of Chen Yu, and now whatever he said, there were people ready to follow suit.

As expected, the crowd of tycoons that was just frenzied a moment ago suddenly calmed down, looking at Chen Yu with strange anticipation, as if waiting for something.

“Mr. Chen, these Buddha heads are all from legitimate sources, there is no way they could be fake!”