When Ya Fei emerged from the secret room, Ye Feng turned toward her with a calm expression.
"How much did you end up spending?" he asked casually.
Upon hearing the result, Ye Feng's eyes lit up with amusement. His impression of Ya Fei changed once more. He had always known she was an exceptional auctioneer, but he hadn't expected her to also be an expert negotiator.
From that moment on, Ye Feng made a decision—Ya Fei would manage all his finances. And thus, she became his personal Minister of Finance.
"Sister Ya Fei…" the Little Medical Fairy suddenly called, her tone unusually respectful.
Though Ya Fei was Ye Feng's personal maid on the surface, Xiao Yixian knew better. She was clearly Ye Feng's woman. And even if she weren't, Xiao Yixian would never look down on her.
"Did you really expect them to accept such a bargain?" Xiao Yixian asked in disbelief.
"They didn't really have a choice," Ya Fei replied, smiling proudly. "The Black Emperor Sect can't afford to offend Master Ye."
With Ye Feng behind her, Ya Fei was indeed "bargaining" in name only. In truth, it was a polite form of extortion. Considering how the Black Emperor Sect often exploited others, Ya Fei didn't feel guilty in the slightest.
"Ya Fei," Ye Feng suddenly said, taking out a storage ring and handing it to her. "This is for you."
"What's this?" she asked.
"All my assets."
"…Why are you giving these to me all of a sudden?"
"Because from now on, you're in charge of my money."
"Huh?"
"What, you don't want to?"
"No, I do! It's just… there's so much in here. I don't even recognize some of these things. For example, this... what is it?"
"Spirit bone."
"…And this?"
"The Godhead. It contains the source energy required for a Dou Sheng to break through to the Dou Emperor realm. As for the rest… we can talk about it tonight when we go to bed."
"Alright."
Ya Fei nodded obediently and carefully stored away the yellow and white treasures—as well as various rare items from the Douluo Plane.
"Source energy…?"
Ye Xinlan's eyes widened in disbelief.
As a noble born into one of Danta's five major families, she had extensive knowledge about cultivation. She knew that even among the eight great families of Zhongzhou, only two boasted Nine-Star Dou Sheng experts. And Dou Emperors? Not a single one existed in all of Zhongzhou.
For generations, no one had broken through. The path was unclear. No one knew what was truly required.
"Mr. Ye… Are you saying that to advance from Dou Sheng to Dou Emperor, one needs something called Source Energy?" she asked.
Ye Feng nodded slightly. "Mm."
At that moment, the weight of his words crashed down on her heart. Only a true tenth-grade alchemist—one who had touched the secrets of the Emperor Realm—could know something like this.
Meanwhile, in the Black Emperor Sect's private quarters, several elders gathered to discuss the final bid.
The Life-Restoring Pill from Elder Yingshan, the Soul Fusion Method from Demon Flame Valley, the Sect-Breaking Pill from Xiao Yan—each was a rare treasure that sparked their greed.
And then there was Ya Fei's offer: one Douling Pill and one Emperor Pill.
A joke by comparison.
But then she mentioned Ye Feng's name—the Chaos Saint.
"Damn it," one elder said bitterly. "Among all these treasures, hers is the lowest in both grade and value, but we still have to give it to her!"
"Then why don't we reject it?" another elder asked, unwilling to let go.
"You want to refuse? And what happens when we incur the wrath of the Chaos Saint?" another snapped. "Have you already forgotten how he casually killed Law Enforcement Commander Wu Tianlang at Jia Nan Academy ? And how he left unharmed, even with two Half-Saints present?"
Everyone fell silent.
"And don't forget, he commands heavenly flames, and even the Sky Poison Girl from the Izumo Empire treats him with reverence."
"…Hah."
"In my opinion," Mo Tianxing finally said, "we should just give it to her. We auctioned off the corpse of a Sky Demon Phoenix. Who knows when the clan might retaliate? Perhaps if disaster comes, we can ask the Chaos Saint for help."
"You think he'll help us?"
"I'm more worried he won't accept the gift…"
But as expected, Ye Feng didn't take the Bodhi Saliva as a gift. Instead, he accepted it in exchange for one Douling Pill and one Emperor Pill, just as Ya Fei had offered.
Ding!
Congratulations. You obtained the Bodhi Body Transformation Saliva and had Ya Fei absorb it, altering the original storyline. Reward: 696 allocatable attribute points.
…
"Mr. Ye, are we leaving now?" Ye Xinlan asked, trailing behind as Ye Feng exited the auction hall.
"There's still one last thing I need to collect," Ye Feng said.
He casually raised a finger, and a ripple of spatial power shot across the crowd.
From someone's storage ring, a shimmering scroll shot out—one quarter of the Pure Lotus Demon Fire Map.
"You—!"
The leader of the Blood Clan spun around, stunned. But when he saw Ye Feng's face, his expression twisted into an awkward smile.
"A-any objections?" Ye Feng asked indifferently.
"…N-no, I wouldn't dare."
Ye Xinlan was stunned.
"An Emperor-tier spirit!" she gasped.
Only legendary Dou Emperors possessed such terrifying spirit power—the ability to forcibly extract items from a cultivator's storage ring in the blink of an eye.
At that moment, she no longer doubted that Ye Feng could refine a tenth-grade pill.
The auction was over—but the real storm had just begun.
Not far away, Xiao Yan stood still, concealed in his black robe, just as he prepared to leave—
"Hold it," a voice said.
"Hm?"
Xiao Yan turned.
A smiling old man walked up to him and bowed politely. "My name is Fang Yan, Grand Elder of Demon Flame Valley. May I ask for your esteemed name?"
"My surname is Yan."
"Oh?" Fang Yan's eyes gleamed. "I believe your surname is Xiao."
Another voice cut in—one that made Zi Yan jolt in recognition.
"Godfather!" Zi Yan gasped.
The speaker was Su Qian, the Head Elder of Jia Nan Academy's Inner Court. He wasn't alone—following behind him was none other than Han Feng, the Alchemy King.
"Xiao Yan, we meet again," Han Feng said with a faint smirk. He had rushed here the moment Ye Feng informed him. His goal was simple: kill Xiao Yan and seize Yao Chen's spirit ring.
"Xiao Yan, hand over the Fallen Heart Flame," Su Qian demanded sternly.
"I've already refined it," Xiao Yan said, alarmed. "It's impossible to give it up now... Teacher!"
Buzz—
Within Xiao Yan's body, Yao Chen's spirit surged and enveloped him.
Knowing the danger, Yao Chen immediately activated his remaining spirit power and pulled Xiao Yan into a spatial escape technique.
"I'll chase—"
Just as Zi Yan was about to move, Ye Feng reached out and gently held her hand.
"Master…"
"Let him go," Ye Feng said with a calm smile. "I want to see whether Xiao Yan, without the Azure Lotus Core Flame, without the Fallen Heart Flame, and without the Bodhi Body Transformation Saliva, can still reach the Dou Emperor realm this time."
<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>
Check my Pâtreon for (40) advanced chapters
Pâtreon .com/Fanficlord03
Change (â) to (a)
<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>
https://discord.gg/MntqcdpRZ9