Chapter 162: The Auction’s First Confrontation

“Don’t be afraid.”

A warm hand gently pressed down on Murong Xue’s slightly trembling shoulder.

Murong Xue was startled. When she turned around, she met Chu Feng’s deep gaze.

In those eyes, there was no sympathy, no consolation—only an absolute calm, and a trace of… barely perceptible excitement.

“A good ‘risk control officer’ shouldn’t be frightened by the ‘risk’ itself.”

Chu Feng’s voice sounded beside her ear,

“What you should do is assess it, analyze it, and then… make use of it.”

He looked at the cold Murong Tian opposite them, the smile at the corner of his mouth growing even deeper.

“An emotionally unstable ‘competitor’ getting tangled up with a ‘competitor’ who’s flush with cash—this isn’t as simple as one plus one equaling two.”

“This is called ‘risk resonance’. It often creates unexpected ‘market opportunities’.”

Murong Xue listened in a daze, but Chu Feng’s powerful confidence was like a shot of cardiotonic medicine, miraculously calming her chaotic emotions.

That was right. She was now the Chief Risk Officer of the Ascension Group, not the junior sister who needed her senior brother’s protection anymore.

She took a deep breath, straightened her posture again, and looked toward Murong Tian. Her gaze was still complicated, but now it carried an added layer of scrutiny and composure.

At that moment, on the high platform at the center of the venue, spiritual light flashed, and an old man with crane-white hair, a youthful face, and an immortal bearing appeared out of thin air.

He was a gold-medal auctioneer of the Thousand Illusions Pavilion. It was said his cultivation had already reached the Nascent Soul Great Perfection realm. Even rarer was his eloquence—he could talk even a brick into sounding like a fragment of an ancient divine artifact.

“Fellow Daoists, honored guests! Welcome to the once-in-ten-years Heaven-Piercing Auction!”

The old man’s voice was sonorous and full of infectious energy.

“This humble one hereby wishes everyone a full harvest, and that you all acquire what your hearts desire!”

After a round of polite opening remarks, the auction officially began.

“The first item up for auction comes from the ‘Endless Demon Mountains’: a thousand-year ‘Blood Dragon Ginseng’!”

“It nourishes qi and blood, strengthens the physical body. Golden Core cultivators who consume it can gain sixty years of cultivation out of thin air!”

“Starting bid: ten thousand top-grade spirit stones!”

“I bid twenty thousand!”

“Thirty thousand! This old man wants it!”

The atmosphere in the hall was instantly ignited.

One after another, rare heavenly materials and earthly treasures, powerful magical artifacts, and long-lost cultivation techniques were presented in an unending stream.

Inside Chu Feng’s private room, however, it was utterly quiet.

He did not make a move, merely watching calmly—like a chess player observing the entire board from the sidelines.

“The Feng Family has made a move, they bought a forging blueprint for an earth-grade magical artifact.”

“That’s… Hua Nongying from the Hundred Flowers Sect. She seems very interested in that ‘Illusory Sound Bell’ that can bewitch the heart.”

Feng Zhiruo stood to the side, continuously introducing the movements of the major factions within the venue to Chu Feng, acting as the most professional “live commentator”.

Very soon, several auxiliary medicinal ingredients from Leng Yanran’s list were brought up.

“Next, this plant is the ‘Ice Soul Mystic Grass’, which grows in extremely cold regions. It is an excellent main ingredient for refining pills that calm the mind and stabilize the spirit! Starting bid: five thousand top-grade spirit stones!”

Leng Yanran’s breathing quickened slightly.

Feng Zhiruo understood immediately and raised the bidding plaque at once. “Ten thousand!”

They were playing the role of “local tycoons” from the Eastern Wasteland—their style was meant to be simple and brutal.

“Eleven thousand!”

“Fifteen thousand!”

“Twenty thousand!”

Feng Zhiruo followed without hesitation, looking wealthy and determined to get it.

After several rounds of bidding, this ‘Ice Soul Mystic Grass’ was secured by them without much danger.

The subsequent medicinal ingredients were mostly the same.

Their “persona” quickly took shape in the venue—rich, but with questionable taste, specifically targeting ingredients that were rare but not top-tier.

From several private rooms came faint, indistinct chuckles. Clearly, many had already taken them for clueless suckers who had never seen the world.

Chu Feng did not care in the slightest. This was exactly the effect he wanted.

Finally, when the auction reached its midpoint, the auctioneer’s smile became even more radiant.

“The next item is truly something extraordinary!”

He announced loudly, as a maid presented a jade box wrapped in layer upon layer of restrictions.

When the jade box was opened, inside lay a flower that was crystal-clear throughout, as if formed from illusory light and shadow. As its petals opened and closed, it released waves of strange fragrance capable of drawing one into an illusion.

“The Supreme Void Illusory Dream Flower! A peerless treasure that only grows at the edge of spatial rifts, absorbing the power of the void—taking a hundred years just to grow a single inch!”

“This flower is not only a core material for refining top-grade illusion-type magical artifacts, it is also an essential divine item for refining the legendary ‘Dao-Inquiry Pill’, said to help one comprehend Heaven’s Dao and break through bottlenecks!”

“Starting bid: one hundred thousand top-grade spirit stones! Each increase must be no less than ten thousand!”

As soon as the words fell, Leng Yanran’s heart leapt straight into her throat.

“Two hundred thousand!”

Following the plan, Feng Zhiruo immediately doubled the price, displaying unprecedented determination.

This price made many people in the hall suck in cold air. Quite a few who had been tempted immediately gave up the thought.

“Two hundred and fifty thousand!”

A lazy voice came from another private room—it was Hua Nongying of the Hundred Flowers Sect.

They cultivated illusion arts as well, so this flower was equally important to them.

“Three hundred thousand!”

Feng Zhiruo did not yield in the slightest.

“Three hundred and ten thousand.”

Hua Nongying seemed somewhat hesitant, the increment noticeably smaller.

Just as the flower was about to fall into their hands, a wicked and flamboyant voice suddenly cut in, echoing throughout the hall.

“Five hundred thousand!”

The entire venue erupted in an uproar!

Everyone followed the sound and saw Li Moxin, the Young Lord of the Blood Sea from the Blood God Palace, leaning casually against the railing of his private room, looking playfully in the direction of Feng Zhiruo and Leng Yanran.

“Two fairies, my apologies. This young lord has recently been cultivating and also needs this flower to calm the mind.”

“Five hundred thousand is just an appetizer. Are you still going to follow?”

His gaze was full of provocation. That appearance made it abundantly clear—he was deliberately jacking up the price to cause trouble!

Leng Yanran’s face instantly turned pale.

Feng Zhiruo’s delicate brows also knitted tightly. She could clearly feel that the other party’s malice was directed at their entire Ascension Group.

“Five hundred and ten thousand!”

Feng Zhiruo clenched her teeth and continued bidding.

“Six hundred thousand!”

Li Moxin’s smile grew even wider.

“Six hundred and ten thousand…”

Feng Zhiruo’s voice already carried a tremor, as if she were making her final struggle.

This scene fell into everyone’s eyes.

“Looks like those nouveau riche from the Eastern Wasteland have reached their limit.”

“Heh, offending a madman from the Blood God Palace—serves them right.”

“Trying to buy a Supreme Void Illusory Dream Flower with six hundred and ten thousand? Naive.”

Listening to the surrounding comments, the smugness on Li Moxin’s face grew even stronger.

This was exactly what he wanted—to use absolute financial power to stomp these Eastern Wasteland bumpkins’ faces into the ground!

He wanted Lei Qianjue and Murong Tian to see just how reliable an ally he, Li Moxin, was!

“Seven hundred thousand!”

He quoted again, his tone dripping with disdain.

“If you don’t have spirit stones, don’t come out and embarrass yourselves. Go home and ask your mommy for more, hahaha!”

Inside the private room, Leng Yanran’s body trembled slightly. She looked at the divine object on the stage—so close, yet so far—and her eyes reddened faintly. In the end, she slumped down dejectedly and gently shook her head.

Feng Zhiruo understood. She sighed softly and lowered the bidding plaque in her hand.

“Seven hundred thousand, once!”

“Seven hundred thousand, twice!”

“Seven hundred thousand, three times! Sold! Congratulations to Young Lord Li of the Blood God Palace for acquiring this peerless treasure!”

The auctioneer brought the hammer down.

Li Moxin stood up, spreading his arms, basking in the attention of the entire hall like a victorious king.

He cast a triumphant glance toward the private room where Chu Feng was, as if saying—

See that? This is the price you pay for opposing me!

However, at the very instant when he was most elated, a cold, emotionless voice—like it came straight from the Nine Netherworlds—precisely sounded within his mind.

“Many thanks to Young Lord Li for your generosity in footing the bill for our group’s ‘brand promotion fee’ and ‘competitor research fee’ at this auction.”

“Additionally, a friendly reminder: the market fair value of the flower you bought for seven hundred thousand is roughly around four hundred and fifty thousand.”

“Within our group, we call behavior like yours ‘high-premium bag-holding’.”

“To put it simply… you were a sucker.”

The smile on Li Moxin’s face froze instantly.

Chaotic chapter urging for updates!

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep