A beauty's smile

"Please rest assured, everyone. Master Gu Ni of our auction house has personally appraised this spirit liquid and confirmed that it is an exceedingly rare second-grade medicinal preparation."

Facing the crowd's doubts, Ya Fei replied without a change in expression, "If a guest wins this item and discovers that it has no effect after taking it home, they may come directly to the auction house and find me. We will compensate them twice the purchase price."

Since Ya Fei had gone that far, the crowd naturally had no further objections.

"The starting bid for this bottle of Foundation Establishment Spirit Liquid is eight thousand gold coins. Each increase must be at least one hundred gold coins. You may begin bidding."

A smile played on Ya Fei's lips as her gaze swept across the crowd, finally settling on the heads of the Three Major Clans.

Ya Fei knew perfectly well that Xiao Zhan and the other clan heads would be the main contenders this time.

Xiao Zhan, in particular, doted on his good-for-nothing son far too much to let the Foundation Establishment Spirit Liquid slip away.

"Eight thousand five hundred!"

"Nine thousand!"

"Ten thousand..."

The result did not disappoint Ya Fei. As the crowd competed to outbid one another, the price of the Foundation Establishment Spirit Liquid soon exceeded thirty thousand gold coins.

"Forty thousand!"

Seeing that the bidding had reached the right pitch, Xiao Zhan suddenly spoke up, intending to settle the matter with one decisive bid.

"Clan Head Xiao truly dotes on his son. To think you would spend nearly half a year's income of the Xiao Clan on this bottle of Foundation Establishment Spirit Liquid. I am most impressed."

Sitting not far from Xiao Zhan, Jia Lie Bi could not help sneering. "But now that Clan Head Xiao has spent so many gold coins, it seems you have no intention of competing with us for that item."

"Hmph!"

Xiao Zhan said nothing more, merely letting out a cold snort with an ugly expression.

In truth, the heads of the Three Major Clans had gathered here to fight over the auction's hidden treasure-the Wind Scroll Technique!

The Wind Scroll Technique was a Profound Tier high-grade cultivation method, a full grade above the Xiao Clan's finest cultivation method, Furious Lion Vajra.

If the Xiao Clan could obtain the Wind Scroll Technique, the strength of the entire clan would improve considerably.

But in Xiao Zhan's eyes, his son's interests mattered more than those of the entire clan. He would rather give up the Wind Scroll Technique than fail to secure the Foundation Establishment Spirit Liquid.

Perhaps it was precisely this blatant favoritism that made the members of the Xiao Clan dislike Xiao Yan so much.

After all, others had no idea that Xiao Yan's cultivation talent could recover. To the members of the Xiao Clan, Xiao Zhan's behavior was no different from using his authority for personal gain.

"Clan Head Xiao Zhan has bid forty thousand gold coins. Are there any higher bids?"

Looking over the now-silent auction hall, Ya Fei raised her auction hammer with a smile. "Since there are no higher bids, this bottle of Foundation Establishment Spirit Liquid goes to Clan Head Xiao-"

"Forty-one thousand!"

Before Ya Fei could finish, a rather unexpected voice suddenly rang out, drawing everyone's attention.

When they saw that the bidder was Nalan Sheng, dressed in purple-and-gold robes, all sorts of expressions appeared on their faces. Some were surprised, some angry, while others were simply eager to watch the commotion grow.

Xiao Zhan unconsciously clenched his fists and suppressed his anger. "Young Master Nalan, you are already a One-Star Dou Zhe. Surely there is no need to compete with me for this bottle of Foundation Establishment Spirit Liquid?"

"Not quite~"

Nalan Sheng shook his head with a teasing expression and casually slipped an arm around Xiao Yi Xian's willow-slender waist. "Although I broke through to Dou Zhe long ago, my newly acquired maid is only at the eighth stage of Dou Qi. This Foundation Establishment Spirit Liquid is just right for her cultivation.

"Besides, this is an auction. Naturally, the items here go to the highest bidder. Surely you cannot expect everyone else to stop bidding simply because something has caught your eye, Clan Head Xiao?"

"Well said!"

Jia Lie Bi smiled and clapped his hands. "Young Master Nalan truly lives up to his reputation as an outstanding young talent from the Imperial City. Spending tens of thousands of gold coins just to win a beauty's smile-this young lady is fortunate indeed~"

Hearing Jia Lie Bi's words, the others looked at Xiao Yi Xian with undisguised envy.

⁄(⁄⁄•⁄w⁄•⁄⁄)⁄

With Nalan Sheng's arm around her slender waist in front of everyone, Xiao Yi Xian's pretty face flushed slightly, but she made no attempt to explain herself.

Although Xiao Yi Xian had known Nalan Sheng for less than two months, spending that time with him had already led her to secretly give him her heart.

How could she resist when Nalan Sheng was not only extraordinarily handsome, young, and wealthy, but also did not shun her for her Woeful Poison Body?

Seeing that Nalan Sheng was determined to compete with him for the Foundation Establishment Spirit Liquid, Xiao Zhan's expression darkened. He snorted coldly. "Forty-five thousand!"

"Fifty thousand!!!"

Nalan Sheng paid no heed to Xiao Zhan's words and simply raised the bid by another five thousand gold coins.

"You little..."

Xiao Zhan nearly burst into curses, but ultimately forced the foul words back down his throat. He glared angrily at Nalan Sheng. "Fine, you win! I no longer want this bottle of Foundation Establishment Spirit Liquid!"

Wonderful! That sucker Nalan Sheng bought the Foundation Establishment Spirit Liquid. Thank goodness Father didn't buy it.

At the sight, Xiao Yan could not help cheering inwardly.

After all, the cost of producing a bottle of Foundation Establishment Spirit Liquid was less than one thousand gold coins. Who could have imagined that Nalan Sheng, that landlord's foolish son, would actually spend fifty thousand gold coins to buy it?

If Xiao Zhan had spent that much on the Foundation Establishment Spirit Liquid instead, Xiao Yan certainly would not have been so happy. He would have been torn between laughter and tears.

Moreover, once the Xiao Clan's Three Great Elders learned about it, they would undoubtedly nag him endlessly.

"Fifty thousand gold coins, going once!"

"Fifty thousand gold coins, going twice!"

"Fifty thousand gold coins, going three times!"

Beaming, Ya Fei raised her auction hammer and brought it down three times at a leisurely pace. "Congratulations to Young Master Nalan on winning this bottle of Foundation Establishment Spirit Liquid."

[Ding! The host has snatched the destined male protagonist's Foundation Establishment Spirit Liquid. Reward: 200 villain points!]

The moment Ya Fei finished speaking, a pleasant system notification sounded in Nalan Sheng's ears.

In truth, Nalan Sheng had competed with Xiao Zhan for the Foundation Establishment Spirit Liquid precisely because he wanted to take the opportunity to earn some villain points.

Otherwise, Xiao Yi Xian could simply consume poison to improve her cultivation. There was no need to purchase Foundation Establishment Spirit Liquid for her.

The result did not disappoint Nalan Sheng. This really did earn him villain points, even though the bottle of Foundation Establishment Spirit Liquid had belonged to Xiao Yan in the first place.

"The next treasure up for auction is the grand finale of this auction!"

Ya Fei raised her delicate hand and waved. Another pretty, slender maid walked onto the auction stage carrying a silver tray.

On the silver tray lay a Black Scroll roughly a foot long.

"This scroll contains a Profound Tier low-grade Dou Technique called Suction Palm."

Pointing at the Black Scroll, Ya Fei explained, "This is an attributeless Dou Technique, with no particular requirements regarding the practitioner's Dou Qi attribute. Essentially anyone can cultivate it.

"Once mastered, this Dou Technique allows the practitioner to draw in a thousand-jin boulder from a distance. In battle, it can even forcibly wrench an enemy's blood out of their body."