83: Chapter 83 The Chosen One is Like a Dog

Inside the private room, Xu Linger watched this scene, a hint of curiosity flashing in her clear eyes.

She turned her head, looking at Chu Xiao's handsome profile, and asked softly, "Junior Brother Chu, do you really like collecting these... strange fragments?"

From that tattered ancient map earlier to this rust-covered bronze piece now.

It seemed they both drove Junior Brother Chu to spend a fortune without hesitation.

Xu Linger made a mental note, deciding to pay more attention to such peculiar ancient artifacts in the future; if she encountered any, she would buy them for her Junior Brother as a token of her feelings.

Hearing this, Chu Xiao simply gave a faint smile without explaining.

He was just about to have the shopkeeper handle the transaction on his behalf.

An unwilling voice suddenly rang out from a corner, interrupting the imminent transaction.

"Wait!"

Jiang Bai's eyes were bloodshot. "I want that item! I'll bid... I'll bid one hundred and ten thousand!"

The whole place erupted in an uproar.

Everyone looked at Jiang Bai as if he were a madman or an idiot.

"Is he crazy? Where would he get one hundred and ten thousand?"

"Exactly. Just now he couldn't even produce five thousand Spirit Stones, and now he's claiming one hundred and ten thousand? Does he think Spirit Stones grow on trees?"

The One-Eyed Dragon's face turned ashen with rage. He turned around and barked at Jiang Bai, "Who the hell do you think you are! Do you have any right to speak here? Get lost!"

He only wanted to complete the transaction with Chu Xiao quickly and get those one hundred thousand Spirit Stones.

This reckless pauper had jumped out to ruin things.

If Chu Xiao got annoyed and the deal fell through, who would he cry to?

The fat shopkeeper on the high platform also looked grim and was about to scold him.

Inside the second-floor private room, Chu Xiao's voice rang out again.

"Let him speak."

Chu Xiao's gaze fell upon Jiang Bai with interest.

He naturally knew Jiang Bai had no money.

He also knew why Jiang Bai was acting so crazily.

It was because hidden within that bronze piece was an Opportunity to defy heaven and change his fate.

But he wouldn't let Jiang Bai fall into despair just yet.

What he wanted to do was give Jiang Bai a sliver of hope, and then personally crush that hope into dust.

He wanted this Heaven's Fate Leek to bounce back and forth between extreme hope and despair.

Until his Dao Heart completely shattered and his Luck dissipated entirely.

"Since this Fellow Daoist is also interested in the bronze piece, let's compete fairly."

Chu Xiao's voice was calm and indifferent. "I bid one hundred and fifty thousand."

Hearing this, the One-Eyed Dragon's eyes widened. One hundred and fifty thousand!

Another fifty thousand!

His gaze toward Jiang Bai instantly became much friendlier.

As for Jiang Bai, he was momentarily stunned upon hearing Chu Xiao's words.

Then, a morbid ecstasy erupted in his eyes.

He thought Chu Xiao would use his status to suppress him directly, but he hadn't expected the other party to actually give him a chance for "fair competition"!

"Master Dog! Did you hear that? He doesn't know! He definitely doesn't know the secret of this bronze piece! He's just picking a fight with me!"

Jiang Bai roared frantically in his heart.

"That's right! Kid, he definitely doesn't know! How could a mere brat like him know such ancient secrets!"

"He's intentionally humiliating you!"

"Kid, seize the Opportunity! Get that item at all costs!" Master Dog's voice was also filled with excitement.

In their view, Chu Xiao's move was incredibly foolish.

This gave them a chance for a desperate comeback!

"I don't have Spirit Stones!"

Jiang Bai suddenly looked up, his gaze sweeping across the room before finally landing on the maid on the high platform. "But I have items I can use as collateral!"

Saying this, he took out a cold, gleaming dagger from his Storage Pouch.

"This is a Medium Grade Spiritual Artifact, the Ice Soul Dagger! It cuts through iron like mud and can sever a hair with a breath! It's worth at least fifty thousand Spirit Stones!"

Beside the maid, an Appraiser from the Tianbao Pavilion stepped forward to take a look.

He said expressionlessly, "The material of this dagger is ordinary, and the refining technique is crude. It's worth thirty thousand Low-Grade Spirit Stones at most."

"You!"

Jiang Bai's face flushed with anger. "You're taking advantage of my situation!"

The Appraiser gave him a cold look and stopped talking.

"Fine, thirty thousand it is!"

Jiang Bai gritted his teeth, knowing he had no choice. "I'll add... I'll add another one!"

He took out a long, crimson saber from his Storage Pouch, with faint flame patterns flowing over the blade.

"Medium Grade Spiritual Artifact, the Crimson Flame Blade! This has to be valuable!"

The Appraiser stepped forward again and, after a moment, gave an evaluation: "This saber barely qualifies as Medium Grade. It's worth seventy thousand Low-Grade Spirit Stones."

"Fine!"

Jiang Bai's eyes were bloodshot as he stared intently at the One-Eyed Dragon. "Two Spiritual Artifacts, valued at one hundred thousand Spirit Stones! Plus all my savings! I bid... one hundred and sixty thousand!"

After calling out this price, he was panting heavily, as if all his strength had been drained.

However, the only response was a calm voice.

"Three hundred thousand."

Boom!!!

Jiang Bai's mind went completely blank.

The hope that had just been ignited was completely extinguished by those words.

Three hundred thousand...

Another three hundred thousand...

This number seemed to be his fated curse.

For the Crimson Blood Dragon Crystal, he had exhausted everything to scrape together three hundred thousand.

He had watched helplessly as Chu Xiao, just to humiliate him...

...used three hundred thousand to buy a tattered painting he didn't even care for.

Now, the other party had once again casually called out this price.

This was no longer just a spat.

This was a total crushing!

"How... how could this be..."

Jiang Bai murmured to himself in a daze, all his pride and unwillingness...

...shattered at this moment.

The surrounding laughter rang out once more.

"One hundred and sixty thousand? I thought he could produce some world-shaking treasure, but this is all he has?"

"It's hilarious. Trying to challenge Immortal Master Chu with two pieces of junk Spiritual Artifacts? Is he even worthy?"

"A clown overestimating himself!"

Each mockery was like a sharp blade, cutting him until he was covered in wounds.

He had lost.

A complete and utter defeat, leaving him with nothing.

"Kid! Give up! We can't beat him! As long as the green hills remain, there's no need to worry about firewood! We'll... let this Opportunity go!"

In his mind, Master Dog's voice carried a deep sense of helplessness.

He was truly exasperated; if he had known Jiang Bai was like this!

It would have been better if he hadn't shown up at all.

"No! I can't lose! I absolutely cannot lose!"

Jiang Bai looked like a madman, his eyes filled with blood vessels as he suddenly looked up.

He prepared to take out his final trump card, the Heavenly Snake Spear that had just been promoted to a Top-grade Spiritual Artifact!

That was the foundation of his revenge, his most precious treasure!

However, just as he was about to take out the Heavenly Snake Spear, Master Dog's terrified scream exploded in his mind!

"Don't move! Kid, don't move! Whatever you do, don't provoke him anymore!"

"Why?!"

Jiang Bai roared in frustration.

"Look around you!" Master Dog reminded him.

Jiang Bai instinctively looked around.

Only then did he realize that in the hall, besides the Cultivators watching the show...

...there were many individuals with hidden auras and unfriendly gazes.

They were staring at him with greedy eyes.

He understood instantly.

In his desperation to bid, he hadn't hesitated to offer two Spiritual Artifacts as collateral.

This frantic behavior of spending a fortune on a piece of scrap metal had attracted the attention of those with ill intentions.

With the god-like Chu Xiao in front and circling wolves behind.

He was already in a desperate situation.

He finally understood. From beginning to end, he was nothing but a joke.

A clown toyed with in the palm of Chu Xiao's hand.

His so-called opportunities and trump cards were not even worth mentioning in front of the other party.

"Pfft—"

A mouthful of stagnant blood could no longer be suppressed and sprayed from Jiang Bai's mouth.

His legs gave way, and he collapsed to the ground!

On the high platform, the maid immediately understood and announced loudly, "Three hundred thousand! The esteemed guest in the Heaven-tier private room bids three hundred thousand! Are there any higher bids?"

The entire room was silent.

"Three hundred thousand once! Three hundred thousand twice! Three hundred thousand thrice!"

"Clang!!!"

The crisp sound of the gavel announced the end of this farce.

The One-Eyed Dragon trembled with excitement. Guided by the maid, he respectfully delivered the bronze piece to the second floor.

And from the Tianbao Pavilion...

...he collected that massive amount of Spirit Stones, enough to ensure a worry-free life for the rest of his days.

Meanwhile, Jiang Bai, who was slumped on the floor, was dragged away by the Tianbao Pavilion guards like a dead dog.

Inside the private room, Chu Xiao slowly set down his spiritual tea.

The System's notification rang in his ear.

[Ding! Successfully intercepted the Son of Heavens Destiny Jiang Bai's Opportunity: an Earth-Grade Top-grade Cultivation Technique.]

[Ding! Detected the host's interception behavior, dealing a devastating blow to the Son of Heavens Destiny's Dao Heart. His Luck has completely plummeted to black (enshrouded in Death Qi)!]

[Ding! Detected that the Son of Heavens Destiny Jiang Bai's hatred toward the host has reached MAX!]

[Ding! Triggered Opportunity Return reward!]

[Congratulations, Host, you have obtained a Heaven Rank Low Grade Divine Ability — God-Suppressing Prison Finger!]

A look of satisfaction flashed in Chu Xiao's eyes.

Heaven Rank Divine Ability, God-Suppressing Prison Finger.

This Divine Ability had already transcended the scope of ordinary Divine Abilities and Cultivation Techniques.

It was an application of the Law of Power.

With a single finger, one could channel the power of heaven and earth, transforming it into a Divine Prison that suppressed all things with infinite power.

Such a Divine Ability was truly rare, enough to serve as the Foundational Treasure of a Holy Land.

Thinking of this, Chu Xiao glanced once more at Jiang Bai.

Who was being dragged out of the hall by the guards like a dead dog.

Ants are, after all, just ants.

Even if chosen by the so-called Heaven's Fate, it could not change their fragile nature.

As Jiang Bai was being dragged out, Chu Xiao noticed several hidden gazes in the hall linger on Jiang Bai for a moment.

Several Cultivators with ill intent also quietly stood up, blending into the crowd and leaving the auction house.

Chu Xiao's Eye of Luck swept over them, seeing the Luck above those Cultivators' heads.

It was already a dense black, representing a Fatal Calamity.

"The mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind..."

Chu Xiao chuckled inwardly.

If this were before, when Jiang Bai's golden Luck was at its peak, these ill-intentioned fellows would probably have died suddenly from various accidents before even making a move.

True, Jiang Bai's Luck had been severed!

But a tiger with its teeth pulled is still a tiger.

Dealing with a few wild dogs should still be more than enough for him.

Jiang Bai's greatest trump card was never that ethereal Luck.

But rather Master Dog inside his ring, and that spear which had already been promoted to a Top-grade Spiritual Artifact.

This drama of counter-killing and treasure-snatching outside the city would likely still play out as scheduled.

However, the protagonist's state of mind would likely be quite different.