Bidding

Chapter 158 Bidding

Outside the Misty Forest, Nong Zhu wandered aimlessly. According to a rumor, Yue Qianchou was hiding there, so Nong Zhu tried everything to find him, but to no avail.

After lingering for a few days, Nong Zhu felt something was amiss. Knowing Yue Qianchou as he did, that guy was a restless person; would he really stay inside like that?

Just then, news arrived that a fellow named Niu Youde was ripping off Zhou Guo by overcharging in the Ghost Manor, swindling him out of a considerable amount of Spirit Stone. Nong Zhu's first thought was that this Niu Youde might actually be Yue Qianchou.

However, upon hearing the rumor that Niu Youde was a Spirit Transformation stage expert, Nong Zhu dismissed her previous guess. Yue Qianchou could alter his appearance, cultivation level was something that couldn't be faked.

However, Nong Zhu was very curious about who this Niu Youde was. Despite his extensive knowledge of the Cultivation World, he had never heard of him. Driven by curiosity, he decided to visit Ghost Manor. While others were wary of the one-armed old man of the Ghost Manor, he was indifferent.

Before they could even set off, another shocking piece of news arrived... In the sacred land of the Biyuan Kingdom, Wen Lanfeng had defeated six late Spirit Transformation stage experts, and Pei Fang was severely injured. One of Pei Fang's hands had been severed by Wen Lanfeng's sword. Five other experts had also admitted defeat to Wen Lanfeng.

What's most baffling is that Wen Lanfeng announced that he had heard Yue Qianchou was exceptionally talented and greatly admired him. He also warned the Spirit Transformation stage experts from various countries who were preparing to personally deal with Yue Qianchou that he would not stand idly by.

Southeast of the Misty Forest, in a large pile of rocks, several cultivators were preparing various foods and flattering Nong Zhu. A few others were relaying newly acquired information to Nong Zhu.

Holding a roasted sambar leg, Nong Zhu squatted on a large rock, staring in astonishment at the Human Path looking down at him, and said, "Is this news true? You're not mistaken?"

"Senior Nong Zhu, we wouldn't dare lie to you!" One of them patted his chest and assured, "This news is absolutely true. It's already spread like wildfire, there's no way it's fake."

"You all eat and drink well, I'm going to find Wen Lanfeng and ask him." Nong Zhu tossed the roasted stag leg into the man's arms and vanished into thin air. The man, clutching the greasy roasted stag leg, exchanged bewildered glances with the others...

In the Plum Garden of the Ghost Manor, Yue Qianchou, who had extorted money from all the kingdoms, took advantage of his free time to practice "Bird Play" diligently. This was something he practiced whenever he had free time. He always had great confidence in what Bi Changchun had created, so he practiced it as much as he could whenever he had a spare moment.

Fu Chun and Qin Jiaxing couldn't understand what their boss was doing, but it didn't matter whether they understood or not. Yue Qianchou's task for them was to inquire about news from the Cultivation World every day. The two were happy to be among the elite among the wandering Rogue Cultivator.

When Yue Qianchou heard the news that Wen Lanfeng had defeated six late Spirit Transformation stage, he was truly amazed; it would be a lie to say he wasn't envious. However, he was quite disdainful of Wen Lanfeng's decision to severely injure Pei Fang without killing him; it was clear that he had already offended him. Leaving a seed of trouble behind—would people speak well of him?

When Yue Qianchou heard Wen Lanfeng speak up for him again, he was completely speechless. He paced back and forth in the plum garden with his hands behind his back, looking at the sky and then at the ground, his mind filled with questions. What was going on?

The plum garden has old branches, but no plum blossoms come to compete for beauty. Yue Qianchou wandered around the bare plum grove for a long time, unable to understand why. Although he had long admired Wen Lanfeng's reputation as a love-struck fool, he had never actually met him and didn't even know his height or build.

After much thought, he could only come up with one possibility. He knew that Wen Lanfeng had gone to the Demon Ghost Domain to challenge his master. If someone as powerful as Wen Lanfeng could stand up for him, it was probably related to the Demon Ghost Domain.

Old Man Bi doesn't seem like the type to ask for favors! Could he be involved with Nong Zhu again? Yue Qianchou, somewhat absent-minded, snapped a plum branch in half with a "snap," guessing that might be the case, but he couldn't be sure.

"Whatever, I'm too lazy to think about it. It's not like it's a bad thing anyway." Yue Qianchou muttered twice, tossing away the plum branch in his hand. He beckoned over his two subordinates who had reported the news and asked, "Are the preparations for tomorrow complete?"

The two replied, "Everything's ready." Yue Qianchou nodded in satisfaction. Fu Chun asked hesitantly, "Boss, whoever offers the most money, we'll really go with them?"

"Of course!" Yue Qianchou sauntered away with his hands behind his back. The two remaining, somewhat puzzled, looked at each other.

Ghost Manor has returned to the bustling atmosphere it was ten days ago.

The group of inexperienced Rogue Cultivator crowded around, seemingly even more than last time, for no other reason than to witness the arrival of another large group of experts. However, this time, the expressions on the faces of these experts didn't seem very pleasant.

Like a mute eating bitter melon, they had no way to express their suffering. What really happened was known only to those involved; they wouldn't let the onlookers, the independent Rogue Cultivator, know. But the Rogue Cultivator weren't fools; they could guess what had happened without being told. These people had been swindled out of so much money; they were likely going to be punished by their sect elders when they got back.

This time, however, Niu Youde didn't go so far as to make them pay more to queue. After Fu Chun and Qin Jiaxing collected the jade tablets from everyone, they said "Please wait a moment" and entered the plum garden together. Most of the people waited silently for the final result, and then prepared to rush back to report.

Yu Landu, amidst the crowd, looked around frantically, searching for Guan Zhongkai. Having learned his lesson, he finally understood: Guan Zhongkai had been trying to warn him, but he hadn't appreciated it and had willingly fallen for the deception. Now, thinking about it, he felt he had let himself and his old friend down.

To his disappointment, he did not see Guan Zhongkai, but instead saw Guan Zhongkai's junior apprentice Nie Sheng.

Yu Landu squeezed through the crowd, somewhat puzzled, and came to Nie Sheng's side, asking, "Brother Nie, why didn't your senior brother Guan Zhongkai come?"

Nie Sheng glanced at him. Knowing he was his senior brother's old friend, he replied expressionlessly, "My master has other matters to arrange for my senior brother to handle; I'll take care of things here."

Seeing his indifferent attitude, Yu Landu simply said "Oh" and didn't say anything more.

Family scandals should not be aired in public, and in fact, there were some things that Nie Sheng was not comfortable telling him. Ten days ago, Guan Zhongkai returned and nervously told Sikong Jue about how he had been tricked, which resulted in Sikong Jue becoming furious.

A hundred million Spirit Stone isn't a huge deal for the World Commerce Association or for Sikong Jue. But his eldest disciple has repeatedly embarrassed him, and it's no longer fair to cover for him. He can't explain it to his superiors or subordinates, and he can't go too far in protecting his own!

So, on the spot, Guan Zhongkai's Dantian was sealed, he was stripped of all his rights in the World Commerce Association, and imprisoned. The rights that originally belonged to Guan Zhongkai were then given to his second disciple Nie Sheng, by Sikong Jue.

At this moment, Guan Zhongkai was locked in a cold, dark cell at the World Commerce Association branch, sighing and lamenting. He couldn't understand it himself; he didn't know what bad luck he had recently had, why he was so unlucky!

In the plum garden of the Ghost Manor, Yue Qianchou and two of his men were examining a large pile of jade tablets on a table.

"Boss, besides the price quote, there are some sentimental and touching words attached to this," Qin Jiaxing said cheerfully.

Yue Qianchou sneered, "A bunch of callous fools. They're just indulging in cheap tricks. They only care about the price... Damn it! They have the nerve to ask for a hundred million." He casually threw the jade tablet in his hand to the ground, where it shattered into several pieces with a "crack".

Qin Jiaxing chuckled and let go, making another crisp "snap" sound. On the other side, Fu Chun frowned as he held a jade tablet and said, "Boss, there are some words added to this, but they're not sentimental or touching; they sound more like threats and intimidation."

"Wait... don't smash it!" Yue Qianchou pointed at the jade tablet in his hand and said to the two men, "Leave everything that contains threats or intimidation. This is evidence of their crimes. I'll settle accounts with them when I have the chance. How dare they threaten or intimidate me!"

The three of them spent half a day carefully selecting. Finally, they chose the ten jade tablets with the highest asking prices. Without exception, these ten jade tablets were all from top-ranking kingdoms in the Cultivation World. The lowest price was 300 million high-grade Spirit Stones. The person who offered the highest price did not surprise Yue Qianchou. As expected, it was the World Commerce Association, whose wealth and power were unparalleled in the world.

"Tsk tsk! Look at their aura, now that's what you call asking for the moon! No more nonsense, a one-time price of 1 billion, it's dazzling, so satisfying, haha!" Yue Qianchou laughed, his eyes narrowing.

Qin Jiaxing exclaimed in amazement, "The financial strength of the World Commerce Association is indeed frightening. It is 400 million more than the second highest bid of 600 million."

Fu Chun shook his head and said, "They're determined to win."

Yue Qianchou handed the jade tablet to Fu Chun and said, "Go and publish the highest price offered by the World Commerce Association, so that people won't say I'm being unfair. Also, invite the people from the World Commerce Association in to discuss when to pay."

The group outside, already in a bad mood, waited for almost half a day, and none of them wore pleasant expressions. Most importantly, many had no hope for this bidding process; they wouldn't offer high prices. It would be a miracle if the emotional appeals and threats in the official document worked. The decision-makers above had never met Niu Youde in person and had no idea what kind of person he was!

As soon as Fu Chun appeared at the gate, he attracted everyone's attention. Without further ado, he raised the jade tablet and announced, "The highest bidder, the World Commerce Association, offers ten billion high-grade Spirit Stones!"

"One billion?" A commotion erupted outside. This price was ridiculously high, and discussions immediately broke out.

"The only ones who would dare to offer this price are probably the World Commerce Association."

"The World Commerce Association is indeed the World Commerce Association; it's incredibly wealthy!"

All eyes turned to Nie Sheng, who remained silent. His face was tense, showing no joy or pride after winning the bid.

Ignoring the murmurs of the crowd, Fu Chun glanced around but didn't spot Guan Zhongkai from the World Commerce Association. He then raised the jade tablet in his hand and announced loudly, "Senior Niu invites the distinguished guest of the World Commerce Association to the Plum Garden for a face-to-face meeting. May I ask who it is?"

"It's me." Nie Sheng stepped forward. Fu Chun was slightly taken aback. Then he raised his hand and said, "Please come in."

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