Chapter 11: Eleven Cuts
When Luo Mingshu finished speaking, Shui Qingsi's expression turned very ugly.
At this moment, Lu Yaoyao, who had been guarding behind Luo Mingshu, suddenly had a flash of inspiration. She sensed Shui Qingsi's strong aversion to Luo Mingshu.
She probably wouldn't catch Shui Qingsi's eye now.
But... she can still do this...
“Yes! This is my senior sister, she’s right!” Lu Yaoyao stood behind Luo Mingshu and repeated what she had just said, “Money can buy you anything.”
Shui Qingsi's gaze immediately fell on her. Before she could say anything, Xie Changming had already walked between them, and the powerful pressure emanating from him rendered her speechless.
At this moment, the system's voice reluctantly sounded in Lu Yaoyao's mind: "Congratulations, host, you have obtained 99 points of aversion to the mission target Shui Qingsi, which has been converted into points for you."
The system's original intention was to let Lu Yaoyao confront Shui Qingsi personally, but with Luo Mingshu drawing hatred so firmly, it seems that Lu Yaoyao has encountered a bug. As long as she continues to support Luo Mingshu, she can also gain a lot of points.
How can a task be done like this?! Is this reasonable?! The system is going crazy; it suspects that Lu Yaoyao has been infected by Luo Mingshu.
At this moment, Luo Mingshu saw someone step forward, and her eyes flickered slightly. She sensed the aura of this man in black, which was unfathomable and at least much stronger than hers.
Indeed, anyone who dares to come up now must not only be stronger than Zhou Ziyun, but also be unafraid of the power of this little princess of the demon realm.
Luo Mingshu took half a step back and pushed the spirit stone gold cloud in front of her towards the man wearing a black hood.
Although Xie Changming wasn't a saint, he had principles. Since he wanted to earn five million spirit stones from Luo Mingshu, he would make sure to handle the matter perfectly before accepting the money. (Small. Piano. Organizing.)
He raised his hand and pushed the spirit stone gold cloud back a little. Luo Mingshu saw his fingertips, which were pale in color, with neatly trimmed nails and distinct knuckles. They were an extremely beautiful pair of hands.
Xie Changming remained silent, but Zhou Ziyun's gaze towards him became serious. This usually lazy young man now had a mixture of surprise and fear in his eyes.
Even Lu Yaoyao, who had been standing behind Luo Mingshu, couldn't help but ask the system in her mind: "System, who is this person?"
The system she was connected to only emitted a hissing sound, similar to a disconnection.
"Sorry, host, this person's identity cannot be identified; they are outside my search range," the system's cold voice announced.
Lu Yaoyao gasped, just as Luo Mingshu's clear and pleasant voice rang out: "Good brother, what are you waiting for? Get him!"
Xie Changming took half a step forward, and Zhou Ziyun bowed slightly, reluctantly accepting the challenge.
However, the moment Xie Changming raised his hand, he suddenly had a flash of inspiration and realized what was going on.
An attack that disappeared into the surrounding air flew rapidly toward him. Zhou Ziyun threw something from his sleeve and blocked the attack.
At this moment, the tortoise, now a demon, suddenly increased his speed. He called out "Princess" and pulled Shui Qingsi, who was standing there in a daze, into his arms.
Then, Xie Changming's attack was temporarily blocked by the magic weapon he threw out, deviating from its direction. It crashed straight into the ground beneath his feet, breaking open a narrow crack in the ground.
A deafening roar rang out, and dust billowed everywhere. Zhou Ziyun, carrying Shui Qingsi, used the dust as cover to retreat. He didn't dare linger there for even a moment longer, because if he didn't retreat, Xie Changming might really kill him.
When the dust settled, the deep depression that stretched for at least several hundred meters across the ground, where the horrified gazes of the onlookers were focused, proved that Zhou Ziyun's choice was correct.
He must have used some one-time-use life-saving magic weapon to block the black-clad cultivator's casual attack.
Although Xie Changming did not intend to take anyone's life when he made his move, his own cultivation technique was extremely destructive. Moreover, he did not care about Zhou Ziyun's life; whether he killed him or defeated him, he would be considered the victor.
After considering himself to have completed the matter "perfectly," Xie Changming turned around, preparing to take the spirit stone golden cloud that Luo Mingshu had placed in front of him into his palm.
Seeing that his move was so earth-shattering that it scared Shui Qingsi and Zhou Ziyun away, Luo Mingshu almost spat out a mouthful of blood. She felt that she had spent her five million in a completely illogical way.
If you say that spending five million was a waste, Zhou Ziyun was scared away; if you say that spending five million was a profit, Zhou Ziyun didn't even lift a finger, it felt like he didn't exert any effort at all.
Luo Mingshu fell silent. She began to ponder the meaning of spending five million. In the end, she even began to suspect that the black-clad cultivator was colluding with Shui Qingsi and the others to swindle her money.
Xie Changming retrieved the five million spirit stones he had just spent not long ago. He sensed the Geng metal energy surging wildly within Luo Mingshu's body. This was the energy she had forcibly absorbed into her body when she broke through Zhou Ziyun's barrier. At this moment, Luo Mingshu seemed to be standing still, with the posture of a victor, but in reality, she might not be able to stand still at any moment.
"I'll send you in, and while I'm at it, I'll transfer the Geng metal energy out of your body, and then give me spirit stones—" Xie Changming was planning to make more money because Luo Mingshu seemed easy to fool.
He hesitated for a moment, just about to state the price of 100,000 spirit stones, but Luo Mingshu spoke first.
"I'll give you a million, no haggling." Luo Mingshu waved her hand, spending money without hesitation, because she was about to lose control of the Geng metal energy surging wildly in her meridians. If she were to spit out a mouthful of blood in public, it would be quite unseemly.
Without saying a word, Xie Changming picked up Luo Mingshu with one hand and carried her forward. Because Luo Mingshu was generous, he worked extra hard.
Luo Mingshu: "???" What are you doing?!
She struggled to jump down, but a sharp pain shot through her throat, and her breath caught in her chest, draining all her strength—she truly couldn't stand on her own anymore. Having withstood two attacks from a Tribulation Transcending cultivator, she was lucky to have survived.
However, Xie Changming's way of holding her was really indecent. Luo Mingshu grabbed the fabric on his back with both hands and whispered, "Change your position. I want a princess carry."
Xie Changming: "..." Making money is quite difficult.
He changed his posture when hugging Luo Mingshu, his movements showing considerable disdain.
Xie Changming carried Luo Mingshu forward, with Lu Yaoyao following behind. Clutching her heart, she said to the system, "It seems a bit romantic."
The system's cold voice ruthlessly shattered her illusions: "You could do the same if you had five million spirit stones."
Lu Yaoyao: "..." Get lost, you stinky system.
The people in the Fengshadu Auction House were already stunned. When Luo Mingshu spent five million spirit stones to recruit such a high-quality fighter, the guild leader Hu Yue beat his chest and stomped his feet, extremely envious: "Tell me, how much better it would have been if that five million had been spent in our guild!"
Nestled in Xie Changming's million-dollar embrace, Luo Mingshu began to contemplate life. She had been suppressing the chaotic Geng metal energy within her body for a long time, and now the mouthful of blood stuck in her throat was about to burst out.
She raised her hand, pressed it against the back of her neck, coughed, her voice hoarse—this was the price of her stubbornness.
"I can cough up blood on me, I'll give you another 100,000." Xie Changming's cold voice rang out above Luo Mingshu's head.
Luo Mingshu coughed it out cleanly and crisply. She even grabbed Xie Changming's sleeve to wipe her mouth. After expelling the stale air smoothly, she felt much better.
After wiping away the bloodstains, her lips were pale. Although she had managed to scare away Shui Qingsi and Zhou Ziyun in the end, this was indeed the most disheveled she had ever been in front of others. Fortunately, she had used a disguise pill, so she was not completely ruined.
Luo Mingshu looked at her pinky finger, where the soul-summoning bell was still ringing softly, indicating that her target was indeed in the auction house. However, for some reason, they didn't seem to be planning to escape.
Of course, the group in the black carriage at the beginning had already cheered after seeing Shui Qingsi being taken away by Zhou Ziyun. They had no idea that they had been targeted by Luo Mingshu.
As a high-level client of the auction house holding a purple jade token, Luo Mingshu was naturally welcomed into the top-floor private room. Near the auction hall, a thin crystal wall enchanted with special magic separated the room, allowing a clear view of the auction hall from the inside, but preventing anyone from peeking inside from the outside.
Hu Yue, the president of the Fengshadu Auction House, personally delivered a batch of healing ointments to Luo Mingshu. He was observant and knew that Luo Mingshu might have suffered a loss at Zhou Ziyun's hands.
After delivering the items, Hu Yue tactfully withdrew. Luo Mingshu was placed on a soft couch by Xie Changming, who hovered his hand over Luo Mingshu's chin—the spot closest to her heart.
Then, a thin, dark gold thread emerged from Luo Mingshu's body and wrapped around Xie Changming's fingers. His fingertips trembled slightly, and the thread melted into a small, dark gold ball, which fell to the ground.
Luo Mingshu breathed a sigh of relief. The Geng metal energy that she had stubbornly kept in her body would take her some time to refine on her own.
She opened her spatial pouch, took out 1.1 million spirit stones, and handed them over to Xie Changming.
While withdrawing money, Luo Mingshu noticed the Soul-Calling Bell on her little finger. Suddenly, she realized that Wei Qing was in the auction house, but she didn't know his situation. If they were to fight later, she wasn't in a good state to intervene.
"Are you short of money?" Luo Mingshu asked Xie Changming, raising her eyes.
Xie Changming had changed into clean clothes in a side room at some point, and he was now looking down, straightening his sleeves.
“We don’t lack,” he said coldly, “but we need more.”
When it came to spending money, Luo Mingshu didn't hesitate: "Here's another three million. Pick up something for me at the auction house."
"What is it?" Xie Changming asked.
"I don't know." Luo Mingshu was still unsure of Wei Qing's whereabouts. "But if I have a target, I will tell you."
“Okay.” Xie Changming was very proactive when it came to making money. He walked to the side, pulled down his hood, leaned against a pillar, and quietly looked into the distance without saying anything more.
Luo Mingshu rested for a while before recovering. She got up, dragged over the fruit platter prepared on the table, and popped a piece of honeydew melon into her mouth.
"Senior Sister Luo..." Lu Yaoyao's soft voice rang out.
"You didn't get lost?" Luo Mingshu was greatly shocked. "I thought I had shaken you off long ago."
"Senior brother..." Lu Yaoyao finally remembered the important matter.
“He’s here.” Luo Mingshu revealed the Soul-Summoning Bell. “When the auction starts and everyone’s attention is on the items, then we’ll sneak off to find him.”
"Mm." Lu Yaoyao nodded emphatically. After the farce at the Chamber of Commerce entrance earlier, she was now completely afraid to leave Luo Mingshu.
There was still some time before the auction started. Luo Mingshu lowered her head and opened her spiritual network interface. In their spare time, many cultivators would use their divine sense to connect to the spiritual network to pass the time.
Lu Yaoyao also lowered her head to study her spiritual network, and even Xie Changming, out of boredom, opened his spiritual network and entered the Four Directions Water Mirror to browse the latest news.
Luo Mingshu saw a somewhat familiar title in the square water mirror.
[Latest news from the cultivation world: A street racer has appeared in the demon realm, and even the Swift Demon Soul is no match for a pink carriage?! The demon realm's little princess has eloped with her attendant—is it a sign of the decline of her demonic nature or a twisted love?]
The comments below this news article were mostly praises for Luo Mingshu—but they were praising the image Luo Mingshu had after using the disguise pill. This made Luo Mingshu so angry that she pounded her chest and stamped her feet, lamenting that she shouldn't have disguised herself in the first place, otherwise she would definitely be the center of attention in the Four Directions Water Mirror now.
She was furious and replied directly to the message.
[A 300-year-old beauty with a water-elemental root is incredibly gullible: She seems slower than... Luo Mingshu.]
I was arguing with myself, and she felt she had reached the pinnacle of being a contrarian.
She had barely posted it when it attracted a new reply.
[Anonymous cultivator: You dare compare your tortoise-like speed to others? Your Spirit Network's message sending speed is so slow, how can you possibly compare to her?]
Luo Mingshu: "?"
She replied quickly.
[A 300-year-old beauty with a water-elemental root is easily fooled: What kind of sense of existence are you looking for on the Spirit Network, you brat? With your strength, you can only talk big on the Spirit Network. Can you even beat that black-clad cultivator in the arena?]
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