"Alright, let's continue with the auction. The second Spirit Guide, starting price is still one thousand taels of gold," Gu Qingfeng said with a smile.
Everyone looked at each other, exchanging glances, and after a moment of silence, someone suddenly spoke up, "You just said you were going to auction off all one hundred Spirit Guides. Don’t you want to advance to the next stage?"
"Hmm, no, I don’t," Gu Qingfeng declared confidently.
"As your senior, it’s only natural that I leave the opportunity for the younger generation. So rest assured, all one hundred Spirit Guides will be auctioned off—not a single one will be kept."
Suspicion flickered in the eyes of the crowd, but no one said anything further. After a few breaths, someone finally raised their hand.
"I bid one thousand taels of gold."
Gu Qingfeng looked at the bidder with a pleased expression, speaking slowly, "Very well, one thousand taels of gold, going once. One thousand taels of gold, going twice. One thousand taels of gold... A friendly reminder—don’t you want to be the first to enter the next stage? The earlier you go in, the more time you’ll have to clear the stage, and the easier it will be to obtain the inheritance."
"One thousand taels of gold, going for the third—"
"I bid one thousand one hundred taels!"
"Excellent!" Gu Qingfeng smiled. "Any other bids? The Ageless Pill, the Divine Refining Technique, the title of Equal King—they are all right before your eyes. Don’t hesitate over wealth now. Once you obtain the inheritance, riches, power, and beauty will be within your grasp!
What are you waiting for? Don’t just think about it—act now and place your bids!"
Gu Qingfeng’s enticing words stirred the hearts of everyone present.
They all had their own calculations. Everyone knew that the earlier they entered the next stage, the more time they would have. Who could say that the difference between victory and defeat might hinge on these few seconds?
With this in mind, people stopped hesitating.
"One thousand two hundred taels!"
"One thousand three hundred taels!"
"One thousand five hundred taels!"
"I bid two thousand taels!"
In the end, it was the prodigy from the Spirit Medicine Mountain who was the most extravagant. After all, they were in the business of selling medicine—they had money to spare.
The bid of two thousand taels silenced all other voices.
Just as he thought the deal was about to be sealed, a voice suddenly interrupted.
It was someone from the Gu family, one of the four great families of the imperial capital.
"May I ask, Elder, can spirit weapons and pills be used as currency?"
"Of course," Gu Qingfeng replied, smiling at his distant relative.
"Good. I bid one mid-grade Profound-tier spirit weapon!"
The crowd gasped at this offer. A mid-grade Profound-tier spirit weapon was worth around five thousand taels of gold on the market. Who would bid so recklessly? The Gu family, usually ranked last among the four great families of the imperial capital, had never been known for such extravagance.
The Gu family prodigy looked at the stunned crowd, feeling secretly pleased. A bunch of paupers, trying to compete with the descendants of a god?
In truth, the Gu family hadn’t always been so extravagant. It was only a few days ago that a god had emerged from their family. Riding on the god’s reputation, the family’s status had soared.
Although the god had left, the incident where the god had spared the Pu Demon to protect the Gu family had already spread far and wide. What did this mean?
It meant that the god still cared for the Gu family.
In recent days, many astute individuals had sought to curry favor with the Gu family, and the family had naturally received many gifts, allowing them to act so boldly.
Moreover, the Gu family prodigy was willing to spend such a large sum to quickly obtain the Spirit Guide, ensuring he could enter the third stage ahead of everyone else and gain an advantage.
Just as he thought victory was assured, a voice suddenly rang out.
"I bid one bottle of Mysterious Essence Pills!"
"Mysterious... Essence Pills!? Mysterious Essence Pills worth eight thousand taels of gold! Who? Who is so wealthy?"
The crowd exclaimed, turning to see that it was the prodigy from the Spirit Medicine Mountain.
"Ah, it’s the Spirit Medicine Mountain. No wonder, no wonder..."
No one found it strange that someone from the Spirit Medicine Mountain could produce Mysterious Essence Pills.
The Gu family prodigy’s face darkened instantly, and he glared fiercely at the Spirit Medicine Mountain prodigy. "Two mid-grade Profound-tier spirit weapons!"
The Spirit Medicine Mountain prodigy’s expression changed slightly, a hint of pain flashing in his eyes. He was about to raise his bid again when the Gu family prodigy suddenly issued a threat.
"My Gu family are descendants of a god! I will have this second Spirit Guide no matter what. I hope everyone will give the Gu family some face."
The moment the words "descendants of a god" were spoken, the Spirit Medicine Mountain prodigy’s hand, which had been about to raise, froze. After a moment of hesitation, he finally gave up.
Everyone knew that a true god had emerged from the Gu family, and their influence was at its peak. It was unwise to make an enemy of them.
Gu Qingfeng, standing nearby, was furious when he saw this. Using his name to interfere with his money-making? Did they have a death wish?
The Gu family prodigy, seeing that no one dared to compete, smiled triumphantly and was about to step forward to claim the Spirit Guide when Gu Qingfeng suddenly stopped him.
"Wait a moment. I just said that this auction adheres to the principles of fairness and justice. You dare to use your influence to intimidate others? This bid is invalid. Spirit Medicine Mountain kid, you can continue bidding. Don’t worry, I’ll ensure justice is served and no one is favored."
The Gu family prodigy was stunned. Was there really someone in this world who dared to disrespect a god? Did they have a death wish?
His face darkened. "Elder, my Gu family are descendants of a god. Although we are currently in a secret realm, can you guarantee that you’ll never leave? Think carefully about the consequences of offending a god..."
Boom!
A sonic explosion rang out.
The Gu family prodigy, who had been speaking, was instantly sent flying like a shadow, crashing through a large patch of flowers and trees.
"Alright, let’s continue," Gu Qingfeng said calmly, as if nothing had happened.
At that moment, the sound of gulping and gasping filled the air.
A descendant of a god... just sent flying like that?!
This person didn’t even care about gods? Was he insane?
"Bid! Why are you all looking at me? Spirit Medicine Mountain kid, I’m talking to you. Hurry up and raise your bid," Gu Qingfeng said impatiently.
"Oh, uh, I bid two bottles of Mysterious Essence Pills," the Spirit Medicine Mountain prodigy said timidly. The man before him was clearly a lunatic, acting without regard for consequences. It was better to spend money and avoid disaster.
"Any higher bids?"
Gu Qingfeng glanced around and, seeing no one else speak up, happily accepted the Mysterious Essence Pills and handed a Spirit Guide to the Spirit Medicine Mountain prodigy.
"Go on in."
"Th-thank you, Elder."
The young man took the Spirit Guide and fled into the light gate as if his life depended on it.
Seeing that Gu Qingfeng had indeed kept his word and handed over the Spirit Guide, the crowd relaxed slightly. This man might be a lunatic, but at least he was a principled one.
"Alright, let’s continue with the third Spirit Guide."
With the precedent set, everyone felt more at ease and began bidding enthusiastically.
Half an hour later, all one hundred Spirit Guides had been auctioned off, and Gu Qingfeng was swimming in wealth. From the first and second stages combined, he had earned at least several million taels of gold, along with countless spirit weapons, pills, and rare treasures. It was the biggest windfall of his life so far!
It couldn’t be helped—today’s gathering included prodigies from the top sects and families of the Great Yan Dynasty. The forces behind these individuals represented the very pinnacle of the dynasty’s elite.
They had money to burn!

d intelligence to keep the plot moving, and sometimes even the protagonists are forced into absurdly dumb decisions. Why does the A-list celebrity heroine in urban romance novels ditch the top-tier movie star and become a lovestruck fool for a pockmarked male lead? Why do the leads in historical tragedy novels keep dancing between love and death, only for the blind healer to end up suffering the most? And Gu Wei never expected that after finally landing a villain role to stir up trouble, she’d pick the wrong gender! No choice now—she’ll just have to crush the protagonists as a girl!

+【Epic Battles!】 "Your Highness, they say Linxi Temple is miraculous. Won’t you make a wish?" "A wish? It should be making wishes to me." "That may be so, but since you’re already here..." "..." "Fine. Then grant this princess a consort to play with." "He must be obedient, devoted, and utterly infatuated with my body—so much so that he’d kneel and kiss my feet." "Your Highness, that’s not a consort. That’s a dog." "Then add clever, witty, heroic, ambitious yet pragmatic..." "Hmm, that’s enough for now. I’ll add more later." After tossing out these words half in jest, Princess Anle departed the temple—only to catch a fleeting glimpse of the Bodhisattva statue smiling at her. Meanwhile, Yang An, fresh out of university, was having a very bad day. Good news: He’d transmigrated into another world with a cheat granting tenfold combat power. Bad news: He’d immediately fallen into the clutches of a certain villainess. Good news: Said villainess possessed peerless beauty and royal status. Bad news: She was absolutely monstrous!!! In the frozen wilderness, Yang An knelt beneath Qin Guo’er’s feet, drenched in sweat despite the cold. Desperately clutching her porcelain-perfect foot—the very one poised to crush his throat—he could only think: How do I survive this?! Need answers NOW!

saw a female celebrity tied up and stuffed in the trunk! Little did he know, countless cameras were aimed at him at this moment - this was a new type of reality show. The first randomly selected passerby was caught in less than an hour. But when Xu Moru was selected, things started to take an unexpected turn. "Damn, this isn't how the script goes. This Xu Moru is too bold, he's not following the rules at all." "Crap, is this guy taking it seriously?" "The female celebrity has been scared to tears!"

th】 【No prior gaming knowledge required】【The First Cultivation + Game Design Novel on the Platform】 In a world where the righteous path dominates and crushes the demonic sects, Lu Ze unlocks the "Son of the Demon Path" system. Killing righteous cultivators now grants him power-ups. Wait—deaths in illusions count too? As a former game designer, Lu Ze decides to give the cultivators of this world a little—no, a massive—shock... Sect Elders: "What is this 'Escape from the Demon Sect' game? Why have all our disciples abandoned cultivation to play it??" Elite Disciples: "You're saying... mastering 'Demon Slayer' can help us counter demonic schemes?" Reclusive Masters: "Why did I leave seclusion? Ask that backstabbing rat who ambushed me in 'Eternal Strife' yesterday!" Rogue Cultivators & Civilians: "'Immortal Abyss Action' is addictive! You can even earn spirit stones by loot-running..." Sect Prodigy: "My Dao heart is unshakable... except for that cursed black hammer." Royal Scions: "Can skins have stat boosts? I’ll pay 10,000 spirit stones for one!!" Sect Leader: "WHO IS CORRUPTING MY DISCIPLES?!!!"