The saintess is pregnant, what does that have to do with me, a spoiled brat?

"Fourth rank..." Chen Wanjin's eyes almost popped out, and he made a strange gurgling sound in his throat.

The useless heir of the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion is not only not useless, but also a fourth-rank martial artist!

He finally realized what kind of monster he had messed with.

"Where is the land deed?" Xu Nuo's dark gold qi transformed into a blade as thin as a cicada's wing, which he pressed against Chen Wanjin's neck.

There were no empty words, only chilling killing intent.

Chen Wanjin was limp all over, and a puddle of yellow fluid seeped from his crotch.

"In...in the hidden compartment under the bed..."

Lin Hu immediately stepped forward, kicked open the bed board, and pulled out a sandalwood box. Inside, he found a thick stack of land deeds and house deeds.

Xu Nuo glanced at it and nodded in satisfaction.

"Young Master, we've got the goods. What should we do with this old dog?" Lin Hu asked.

Chen Wanjin kowtowed desperately, pleading, "Your Highness, spare my life! I've given you all my family fortune, please just let me go!"

Xu Nuo withdrew his protective aura and took out a handkerchief to wipe his hands.

"I'm a man of my word. If I said I wouldn't kill you, I won't."

Chen Wanjin was overjoyed.

"However," Xu Nuo changed the subject, "that debt of hiring someone to kill me is settled. But the debt of sending people to vandalize my Drunken Immortal Pavilion is not settled yet."

Xu Nuo raised his foot and stepped on Chen Wanjin's right arm.

Click.

The sound of bones cracking echoed in the room.

Chen Wanjin screamed in agony and fainted from the pain.

"Cripple his limbs and throw him into the mass grave outside the city. Whether he lives or dies is up to fate." Xu Nuo threw the handkerchief at Chen Wanjin's face and turned to leave.

He wanted to eliminate the threat completely. He had no interest in having an enemy who hated him to the core during the New Year.

Half an hour later.

The elegant seating area on the second floor of Zuixianlou.

Xu Nuo threw the sandalwood box on the table.

Li Wanning was fiddling with the abacus when he heard the noise and looked up.

"What is it?"

"All of the Chen family's properties in the capital," Xu Nuo poured a cup of tea, "five restaurants, three pawnshops, and two estates. They're all ours now."

Li Wanning's hand trembled, and the abacus beads scattered all over the ground.

She lunged forward, opened the wooden box, and stared wide-eyed at the land deed inside, which bore the official seal.

"You...you ransacked the Chen family's property?!"

"He owes me." Xu Nuo took a sip of tea. "Within three days, convert all five restaurants into branches of Zuixianlou. I need to revitalize the pawnshop's funds and see cash in the shortest possible time."

Li Wanning swallowed.

She looked at Xu Nuo as if he were a bandit.

"What do you need so much money for? The Empress Dowager's reward of ten thousand taels of gold, plus the Chen family's two hundred thousand taels, isn't that enough?"

"Not enough." Xu Nuo put down his teacup.

The Primordial Dragon Soul is a bottomless pit. After the sixth dragon pattern was lit, he could sense that lighting up the seventh would require ten times the resources of the previous ones.

It's already difficult to buy elixirs of sufficient age with ordinary gold and silver.

He needs more advanced resources.

"By the way," Xu Nuo looked at Li Wanning, "which is the largest auction house in the capital?"

Li Wanning was taken aback for a moment: "Wanbao Pavilion. It's a joint venture between the Great Li royal family and several top-tier families. It sells all sorts of rare treasures, including martial arts techniques and top-grade pills. However, they only accept spirit stones, not gold or silver."

"Spirit stones?"

"Yes, spirit stones used for martial arts training. It takes ten thousand taels of silver to exchange for a single low-grade spirit stone," Li Wanning explained.

Xu Nuo touched his chin.

Looks like I'll have to make a trip to Wanbaoge.

The Shen family mansion.

Shen Qingyi sat in front of the dressing table, looking at herself in the bronze mirror.

My mind was filled with the words I had promised to say in the palace alley.

"If one comes, I'll kill it; if two come, I'll bury them both."

arrogant.

But he actually did it.

Zhang Tingyu is dead, and the Chen family is wiped out. Xing Jue, the head of the Enforcement Hall of the Primordial Holy Land, is deposed.

All of this happened to the man known as the number one playboy in the capital.

"Holy Maiden." A deep voice came from outside the door.

Shen Qingyi snapped out of her thoughts: "Go in."

An elderly woman dressed in black pushed open the door and respectfully handed over a secret letter.

"News from the Holy Land. The Holy Lord is furious about Xing Jue's dismissal and has sent two elders down the mountain to hold Xu Nuo accountable."

Shen Qingyi frowned slightly.

"Two elders? What are their cultivation levels?"

"They are all at the peak of the fourth rank," the old woman replied.

Shen Qingyi gave a cold laugh.

Peak of the fourth rank?

Xing Jue was also at the peak of the fourth rank, yet Xu Nuo crippled him like a dog. Now, Xu Nuo is even more unfathomable; sending two peak fourth-rank soldiers here is just suicide.

"Send a message back." Shen Qingyi stood up. "Tell the Holy Lord that Xu Nuo is extremely dangerous and has concealed his strength. No one without a cultivation level of at least the third rank should come to the capital to die."

The old woman was startled: "Holy Maiden, this... the Holy Lord might think you are boosting the morale of others."

"Do as I say," Shen Qingyi said coldly. "Also, prepare a car for me. I'm going to Wanbaoge."

She knew that she needed resources.

Wanbaoge is holding an underground auction tonight, with a 3,000-year-old fire lingzhi mushroom as the grand finale.

She doesn't believe in promises and isn't tempted.

She has leverage as long as she makes a promise to get something.

Night falls.

Wanbaoge is located on Zhuque Street, the most bustling street in Beijing.

The entire building is adorned with carved beams and painted rafters, and is brightly lit.

Xu Nuo, dressed in a low-key black robe, led Lin Hu through the gate.

As soon as you enter, a rich spiritual energy washes over you.

"Gentlemen, are you here to attend tonight's underground auction?" A scantily clad and alluring maid greeted them.

"Hmm." Xu Nuo tossed over a piece of broken gold.

The maid's eyes lit up, and she immediately burst into laughter: "Young master, this way please."

After walking through the long corridor, we arrived at the second basement level.

This is a huge circular auction hall. In the center is a high platform, and around it are densely packed private boxes.

Xu Nuo was led to a regular private room to sit down.

"Young Master, do we have enough money?" Lin Hu asked somewhat guiltily.

They exchanged all the cash from the Chen family and the Empress Dowager's rewards for spirit stones, raising nearly five hundred low-grade spirit stones.

In this place, five hundred spirit stones are really not much.

"Let's see how it goes first," Xu Nuo said, leaning back in her chair.

The auction began soon.

The first few items up for auction were all ordinary weapons and elixirs, and Xu Nuo didn't even lift his eyelids.

Until the auctioneer brought out a jade box.

"Ladies and gentlemen, the next item for auction is a three-thousand-year-old Fire Spirit Mushroom. Starting bid: three hundred low-grade spirit stones!"

As soon as the jade box was opened, a scorching heat instantly filled the entire area.

Xu Nuo suddenly sat up straight.

The jade pendant on her chest began to heat up.

The Primordial Dragon Soul conveyed an extremely strong desire.

We must take this.

"Four hundred!"

"five hundred!"

Prices have skyrocketed.

Just as Xu Nuo was about to speak, a cold voice suddenly came from the top-tier private room across the way.

"One thousand spirit stones."

The entire room fell silent.

Buying a Fire Spirit Mushroom for a thousand spirit stones is far too overpriced.

Xu Nuo squinted his eyes.

He knew that voice all too well.

Shen Qingyi.

Was this woman deliberately trying to steal the prize?

Xu Nuo's lips curled into a cold smile.

"One thousand one hundred," Xu Nuo said calmly.

Inside the opposite compartment.

Shen Qingyi's lips curled up slightly when she heard Xu Nuo's voice.

They arrived as expected.

"Five hundred." Shen Qingyi raised the price without hesitation.

She wanted to force Xu Nuo to back down. As long as Xu Nuo couldn't come up with the money, she could legitimately give him the Fire Spirit Mushroom as a bargaining chip to win him over.

Xu Nuo leaned back in her chair, tapping her fingers on the table.

"Young Master, we don't have that many spirit stones left." Lin Hu was sweating profusely with anxiety.

Xu Nuo ignored him, stood up, and pushed open the door to the private room.

He didn't continue bidding, but went straight to the top-tier private room across the street.

boom.

The door to the private room was kicked open.

Shen Qingyi sat on the soft couch, not surprised to see Xu Nuo barge in.

"Young Master Xu, are you out of money?" Shen Qingyi picked up her teacup, her tone carrying an air of superior composure. "As long as you agree to work for me, I'll give you this Fire Spirit Mushroom."

Xu Nuo turned and closed the door behind him.

He walked up to Shen Qingyi and looked down at her.

"Saintess Shen, do you have a bad memory?"

Xu Nuo suddenly reached out and grabbed Shen Qingyi by the neck, lifting her off the soft couch.

The teacup fell to the ground and shattered.

Shen Qingyi's feet were dangling in the air, and her usually cold face finally showed fear.

"I told you, don't judge me by your standards." Xu Nuo's eyes were icy, dark golden energy flickering between his fingertips. "Do you believe I can crush you right now and then use your money to buy that Fire Spirit Mushroom?"