Chapter 36: It Has to Be Me Who Gives It to Master

Just when Chu Huaizhou lamented missing the thrill of snagging a bargain, something good appeared.
Do I have some kind of speak-it-into-existence power?
He couldn’t help but tease himself, excitement bubbling.
The Nine Luminaries Abyss Ring, incomplete as it was, had never shown a repair item in the game’s first playthrough.
Feeling the ring’s dull spirit quiver with eagerness to devour, he was almost certain this jade slip could restore part of it.
In Black Abyss’s game forums, players speculated about later playthroughs involving the Upper Realm.
The consensus? Only Emperor Xiaoyao, this ring, and Upper Ancient secrets tied to ascension.
The path to immortality might lie within!
Sadly, no one had cleared all playthroughs—he’d barely finished the first before transmigrating.
To think, coming for Emperor Xiaoyao’s soul fragment and stumbling on this jackpot!
What a steal!
With a few more jade slips, the ring’s spirit might awaken, no longer a “dumb AI” locking the storage space.

“Master… are you interested in this thing?”
Leng Qingqiu noticed him straighten, eyes gleaming with intrigue. Tilting her head, her face frosty, she asked curiously, subtly slipping her hand to interlock with his, hidden from Xia Baiqian.
As top cultivators, they’d seen countless jade slips, none revealing why the path to immortality broke in ancient times.
They’d nearly given up, believing those secrets were erased by some unstoppable force.
Master, amnesiac and new to this, must be curious.
No matter. If Master wants it, I’ll buy it.
But… it has to be my gift to him.
His first gift post-amnesia must come from her!

Without waiting for his reply, she pressed the chair’s amplification array, her icy voice echoing through the hall.
“Five hundred top-grade spirit stones.”

Chu Huaizhou, about to explain why he wanted the jade slip, gaped.
What are you doing, sister?! Throwing spirit stones like they’re nothing?!
He’d never even seen a top-grade spirit stone, and she just tossed out five hundred? Prodigal!
The hall, mocking the initial bidder as a fool, fell silent.
Spending 10,100 mid-grade spirit stones might mark you as a sucker, but such lavish spending screamed deep pockets and powerful backing.
The qipao-clad auctioneer, stunned by the bid, whispered to a servant via transmission to verify if it was genuine or a challenge to the Yong’an Auction House.

In another box, Ji Yifei, hearing the initial bid, had planned to inflate the price anonymously to bleed the hated Heavenly Origin Sword Sect cultivator.
At five hundred top-grade spirit stones, his face paled, abandoning any thought of competing.
The General’s Mansion’s annual net income was barely a few thousand top-grade spirit stones.
To spend so much on this? Was the bidder… a hall master’s or deputy sect leader’s secret heir?!

Back in Chu Huaizhou’s box, Xia Baiqian, the cunning “green tea,” grasped the stakes seconds after Leng Qingqiu’s bid.
Tch, Sister Qingqiu’s quick to seize chances.
Why hadn’t she thought to gift Master something to win his favor?
She spoke up, “Sister Qingqiu, why’d you suddenly bid so high? I thought Master’s price would’ve been enough.”
Clinging to Chu Huaizhou’s arm, she pressed her body against him, slightly uncomfortable for him.
Ostensibly to talk to Leng Qingqiu, her real aim was to snuggle closer.
“Sister, running a huge dynasty must be costly, right?”
Her finger traced circles in his palm, voice innocently concerned.
“Unlike my Fuyao Gu Pavilion, raising little bugs that cost nothing~”
“Six hundred top-grade spirit stones.”

Leng Qingqiu’s grip on Chu Huaizhou’s hand tightened, her smile stiff.
“No need, little sister. My dynasty has plenty of spirit stone mines. This is nothing.”
Was it Chu Huaizhou’s imagination, or did frostflakes form in the air?
“And your gu—heard they’re facing a famine?”
“Seven hundred top-grade spirit stones.”

The hall, recovering from shock, sensed something off.
No one else dared bid, yet the price kept climbing—two women’s voices alternating.
Recalling the striking man and two women at the entrance, a wild thought hit the crowd.
Are those two fighting over a man, competing out of jealousy?
“Damn, so pretty and so rich—why do they both like that guy?”
Someone clutched their chest, enviously eyeing the noisy box.

As the two bickered, Chu Huaizhou, sandwiched between their tightening grips, felt no thrill—only annoyance.
He tried to intervene, but both snapped, “Master, shut up!”
A servant knocked, but before speaking, Leng Qingqiu snorted, tossing out an ice-carved token.
The servant’s face paled—it was the Hanyuan Empress’s token, as good as her presence. He kowtowed thrice and fled.

The price soared toward two thousand top-grade spirit stones. Chu Huaizhou finally exploded.
“Enough! I know you want to gift me, but this is ridiculous!”
“Haven’t I taught you to value spirit stones? They’re hard-earned! Are you wasting them on petty nonsense?”
He was genuinely angry. Early after transmigrating, he’d slaved for a single low-grade spirit stone.
He’d drilled into his disciples to cherish them—how did it come to this?

Leng Qingqiu and Xia Baiqian, seeing his real anger, stopped clinging, heads bowed, meekly listening.
In the end, Chu Huaizhou ordered each to pay one thousand top-grade spirit stones, to be handed over later.
Thankfully, the auction settled payments and delivered items after it ended.
He planned to leverage the Heavenly Origin Sword Sect’s name to haggle down the price later.
To his demands, the once-haughty duo nodded obediently, not daring to argue.
“This disciple was wrong. Please punish me, Master.”
“Sorry, Master. Don’t be mad—let me massage your back.”

If outsiders saw this, their jaws would drop.
Who’d believe the awe-inspiring Hanyuan Empress and the quirky Gu Saint would be so docile before a late Golden Core cultivator?