Chapter 88: Competing for Prizes on Behalf of Their Subordinates

“Ah—” The young woman beside her instantly let out a startled scream. “Could it be that you truly… towards him…” She seemed unable to finish her sentence, but the girl in purple answered her with unwavering certainty, “Yes!”

“But…” The companion was left speechless.

In that moment, the girl in purple raised her bid again, “Sixty thousand!”

The old overseas Chinese continued to raise his bid as well.

He truly valued this art piece engraved with memories of his homeland and wished to take it abroad with him, as though carrying a piece of his native soil. Naturally, he was unwilling to yield.

Meanwhile, the girl in purple, catching the indescribable look in her friend’s eyes, gave a smile that was equally inexpressible. She suddenly drew out a slip of paper and hastily scribbled a few words upon it.

Once she finished, she said to her companion, “Take this note to that old overseas gentleman over there.”

Her friend was taken aback, but did as she was told.

At that exact moment, Zhang Pu, whose gaze happened to sweep in their direction, observed the exchange.

Of course, Zhang Pu had no idea what the girl in purple and her companion were doing at that moment. But when he saw her companion carry the note to the old overseas Chinese’s seat, he began to guess what was happening.

Sure enough, the old man’s bidding fell silent.

On the stage, the female auctioneer, unaware of the developments, was caught a little off-guard. When the bidding reached “one hundred thousand” from the girl in purple, not a soul dared to challenge her further.

In the end, the auctioneer could only resign herself, bringing the hammer down to close the sale.

Zhang Pu’s abilities were not yet sufficient to discern what message the girl in purple had sent to persuade the old man to give up. Nonetheless, he felt that this farcical contest had come to a natural end.

The auction in Wulong Town was on a much grander scale than the one previously held at Moonlit Manor, with a far greater variety of treasures on offer. However, Zhang Pu’s purpose here was strictly to seek out items useful to his current cultivation stage, so many of the objects being auctioned were of no use to him.

For instance, the very first item—the art piece—held no value for Zhang Pu.

The second, third, and fourth items after that likewise failed to pique his interest.

All Zhang Pu could do was wait patiently.

The fifth lot was a string of witch beads.

Zhang Pu had nothing but disdain for the witchcraft techniques of Liu Yingde and his fellow disciples in the Sect of Ghostly Sorcery. Although he did not know exactly how valuable these beads were to them, the eager glint in Liu Yingde’s eyes made it clear how much he desired them.

As expected, Liu Yingde asked Zhang Pu’s permission to bid for the string of beads. Zhang Pu readily agreed.

Yet, inwardly, Zhang Pu felt a touch of contempt. He wanted to tell Liu Yingde: “What’s so special about these beads? When the time comes to reward my followers, the treasures I’ll bestow will be dazzling and irresistible at first sight.”

He was accustomed, in the world of cultivation, to distributing unwanted treasures among his subordinates, earning their tearful gratitude—a delightful experience indeed!

But now, Zhang Pu was far from such glory. Having just been reborn on Earth and started anew from nothing, he lacked any surplus treasures to bestow so casually.

Instead, he allowed Liu Yingde to bid for the witch beads, even lending his own support.

There were no dramatic twists in the bidding for the beads. Practitioners of ghostly arts like Liu Yingde were few, and those seeking to use the beads for some unorthodox purpose were even fewer—especially with Zhang Pu’s strong backing for Liu Yingde, their rivals were easily defeated.

Soon, other lots appeared—herbs and even pills—these finally fell into the realm of Zhang Pu’s interests for cultivation.

Yet, most were not what he truly sought.

Those pills, after all, were crafted by practitioners of this world, and Zhang Pu was confident he could produce far superior concoctions himself. He would not deign to use such inferior elixirs, even if he obtained them.

As for the herbs, those suitable only for the Qi Refining stage or below were now useless to him. He had not yet reached the point of personally instructing disciples on the path of cultivation, and even if he wished to, not everyone was suited for such a path. Some people lacked even the faintest spiritual root, and no amount of precious resources would help them gather spiritual energy.

Ultimately, Zhang Pu concluded that bidding for these pills and herbs was utterly pointless.

His aim was solely to seek out herbs relevant to his current cultivation and materials such as spirit stones for the great formation protecting Flower Sea Inn.

As for helping his subordinates like Liu Yingde win items they desired, that was merely incidental.

Still, Zhang Pu saw value in winning their loyalty through such gestures—a matter of strategy, unrelated to the auction itself.

The auction continued, several more items coming under the hammer—by now, perhaps a dozen or more. Zhang Pu had yet to see anything that truly captured his fancy, and he found himself growing faintly disappointed with the event.

No spirit stones for formation, not even suitable substitutes; the herbs, though beginning to appear, were hardly ones he truly coveted. To compete for such things here would simply be a waste of money.

He did, however, help Liu Yingde and his two other followers win one or two items useful to them, but had not really bid for anything for himself.

As time dragged on, not only did the two former members of the Ghostly Sorcery Sect find this odd, but even Liu Yingde himself began to feel that Zhang Pu wasn’t here to bid for anything at all—more like a curious student tagging along for entertainment.

Fortunately, they all knew that the auction in Wulong Town would last much longer than the one at Moonlit Manor, with breaks for meals and rest. Everyone understood the saying, “The best is yet to come.”

Zhang Pu’s heart’s desire, the rare treasure that could truly arouse his interest, was yet to appear—and by now, he had lost track of how many lots had gone by.

This next item was neither a formation spirit stone nor a coveted herb—it was a material, a special material for crafting weapons and magical tools!

Thanks to a millennium of experience and knowledge from the world of immortals, Zhang Pu identified it at a single glance the moment it was brought out.