You win this time

The young man came up to them.

The provocation in his eyes was undisguised.

Ning Yuxin frowned, having assumed he was an enemy of Lu Changsheng deliberately targeting him.

But as Lu Changsheng looked at the young man, he was momentarily lost in thought.

He had never seen this person before. Aside from Shi Feng, he had practically no enemies, and since coming here, he had never even left the Cangyun Sect's territory.

As he looked him over, the mockery at the corners of the young man's mouth deepened.

"Friend, first come, first served. Don't you know the rules?" Lu Changsheng said.

The young man chuckled. "The highest bidder wins. Can't afford it?"

"You're pretty arrogant!"

Lu Changsheng did not quite understand.

The young man glanced around, and Lu Changsheng also probed their surroundings. In the distance, an elderly woman and a young man of twenty-seven or twenty-eight were accompanying him.

Several disciples followed at their sides.

The elderly woman actually had a cultivation of the eighth layer of Core Formation, while the young man was at the ninth layer of Essence Condensation. This group was truly extraordinary.

The young man made no attempt to hide it. "Lu Changsheng, I know you're the local snake. With the Cangyun Sect and Zhou Qingyu behind you, no one here dares to provoke you!"

"So you want to provoke me?"

"Exactly!"

The two spoke without mincing words.

"What are you after?" Lu Changsheng continued.

The young man said, "Nothing much. I just want to slap your Cangyun Sect in the face. Aren't you Zhou Qingyu's junior brother? I'll take some of the edge off his spirit while I'm at it!"

Acting this brazenly on the Cangyun Sect's territory?

Even Ning Yuxin could not understand it.

The young man continued, "I forgot to tell you. I'm from the Divine Firmament Sect!"

As his words fell, he looked at Lu Changsheng with overbearing arrogance.

Lu Changsheng swept his gaze over him, somewhat surprised.

The Divine Firmament Sect stood outside the Yue Kingdom. It was an extremely ancient sect whose legacy stretched back countless tens of thousands of years-a truly great sect.

It ruled over thirty-six kingdoms, including the Yue Kingdom, as well as the one hundred and eight sects scattered in every direction. Its territory was vast, spanning untold tens of thousands of miles.

The eventual victors of the previously mentioned war of dynasties could join the Divine Firmament Sect.

Nascent Soul experts, considered ancestor-level figures in the Yue Kingdom, were merely commonplace in the Divine Firmament Sect.

Even so, Lu Changsheng remained unruffled and merely said calmly, "So what if you're from the Divine Firmament Sect? Would you dare kill me on a whim?"

This was an ironclad rule of the Divine Firmament Sect: the strong could not bully the weak. Unless provoked first, anyone who did so would face severe punishment.

"You certainly know your stuff!" the young man said with a smile. "Since you know, swallow it for now, lest you send your entire sect to its grave. This spirit medicine is mine!"

Lu Changsheng was speechless. The other party was trying to anger him, but ultimately, what good would that do?

Who would have nothing better to do than trouble a minor disciple like him?

His ultimate target was probably still Zhou Qingyu. After all, Lu Changsheng was his junior brother.

He just did not know what these people wanted to do.

Lu Changsheng glanced at him. "It isn't necessarily yours. I bid three thousand!"

Huh?

The young man frowned, taken aback.

"You want to compete with me in wealth?"

Anywhere he went within the thirty-six kingdoms, even royalty had to treat him courteously, yet this man actually dared compete with him!

Lu Changsheng could not be bothered to say more. He had already made his decision. He was only refraining from acting now to save himself trouble. Once they left the Cangyun Sect's territory, he would kill them outright.

Although he kept a low profile, feared death, and holed up in the sect, he was no soft persimmon for others to squeeze as they pleased.

Besides, competing with him in wealth? Had he even looked at who stood behind him?

However arrogant he was, he was merely a disciple of the Divine Firmament Sect. Could he possibly be richer than the daughter of the wealthiest man in Cang Province?

"Heh, since you want to play, I'll play along. Four thousand!"

The young man called out his bid, but before he could even put on a provocative look, Lu Changsheng glanced at the shopkeeper, a trace of a smile appearing as he spoke again.

"Six thousand!"

"Seven thousand!"

"Eight thousand!"

Lu Changsheng bid again, his expression calm.

The young man, however, began to hesitate.

Eight thousand Spirit Stones was no small sum, but things had already reached this point. If he backed down now, it would not just be his own face he lost.

He could not help glancing at the two watching from afar before finally saying, "Nine thousand!"

"Ten thousand!"

Lu Changsheng had not hesitated from beginning to end.

After all, he himself had said the highest bidder won. If he lost, he could only grit his teeth and accept it. In the end, he would still be the one losing face.

But a stalk of scarlet spirit grass was worth, at most, eleven or twelve hundred Spirit Stones. The price was now almost ten times that.

Was he really so determined to get it? Or was he simply fighting with him out of spite?

Just as he hesitated.

Watching this unfold, Ning Yuxin also knew the item was not worth that much. But Lu Changsheng wanted it, and it was only ten thousand Spirit Stones. Buying it was no big deal.

He had helped her quite a bit lately, so she could consider it her thanks.

Yet at that very moment, Lu Changsheng suddenly looked at Ning Yuxin, and a voice reached her ears.

"Junior sister, we must take this herb back. This isn't ordinary scarlet spirit grass, but the legendary scarlet phoenix grass. The ancestor personally sent me to buy it. The shopkeeper doesn't recognize its worth, and that fellow hasn't noticed either. Its value is immeasurable. Get your Spirit Stones ready!"

Lu Changsheng was transmitting his voice.

Ning Yuxin froze. She knew of scarlet phoenix grass but had never seen it.

Besides, when had the ancestor sent him to buy it? Hadn't they stumbled across this on their way?

Though full of questions, she said nothing.

A smile appeared on the young man's face. His gaze fell on the spirit herb again, and after examining it carefully, he discovered an unusual fluctuation and was instantly overjoyed.

Just then, Lu Changsheng said, "Friend, since you aren't bidding, this spirit herb is mine. Shopkeeper..."

"Wait, I bid twelve thousand!"

"What?"

The shopkeeper froze, while Lu Changsheng made a show of knitting his brows tightly.

"Heh, looks like you'll be disappointed after all!"

"Fifteen thousand!"

Lu Changsheng's expression gradually grew serious, no longer as carefree as before.

"Eighteen thousand!"

The young man bid again, and the shopkeeper stood rooted to the spot.

Never in his wildest dreams had he imagined the bidding would reach eighteen thousand!

Under everyone's gaze, Lu Changsheng gritted his teeth. "Twenty thousand!"

"Twenty-two thousand!"

The young man spoke again, the provocation in his eyes growing stronger.

Lu Changsheng's face darkened completely. He said nothing for a long while, his eyes filled with unwillingness as he looked at the spirit medicine in the box.

Just then, Ning Yuxin was about to say something.

The young man said, "What? Not raising the bid anymore? Out of money? Well, that makes sense. Your Cangyun Sect only gets twenty or thirty thousand Spirit Stones a year. Twenty-two thousand is already an astronomical price!"

Hearing his mockery, Lu Changsheng looked at him.

Young people were naturally eager to fight and prove themselves, their ambitions higher than the heavens, and this young man was no exception. He could not help continuing, "Did you think your voice transmission could escape me? A mere fourth-layer Spirit Gathering cultivator-what do you amount to? Hehe!"

Lu Changsheng's expression grew uglier, his face livid, as though he had suffered some tremendous humiliation.

Watching this, the young man grew even more pleased with himself.

"You're despicable. You win this time! I'm leaving!"

In the end, Lu Changsheng could only helplessly give up and leave angrily with Ning Yuxin.

"Heh! Who do you think you are? You're not worthy of competing with me!"

The young man gave a disdainful smile, nothing but contempt remaining in his eyes.