Yuan Shu arrived at the Wanbao Pavilion auction right on time.
What Su Lingxi didn't know was that this Wanbao Pavilion was actually the property of the Yuan Estate.
It handled various spirit stone transactions involving spirit treasures, spirit plants, spirit medicines, spirit artifacts, and more.
This auction was just one of its businesses!
The book stated that the process by which Su Lingxi obtained the Purple Mansion Spirit Ginseng was through the Wanbao Auction, and the date was precisely today.
Therefore, she came, and she had someone take out this Purple Mansion Spirit Ginseng a step ahead of time.
"Eldest Miss, this Purple Mansion Spirit Ginseng was dug out from the mountains by a hired herb farmer of our Yuan Estate."
"It was originally intended to appear as the finale item of tonight's auction. If you like it, I will withdraw it from this auction."
The person bowing and scraping behind Yuan Shu was the manager of the Wanbao Auction House.
He was a shrewd and worldly middle-aged man, dressed in dark gold luxurious clothes, smiling flatteringly at Yuan Shu.
As the only Eldest Miss of the Yuan Estate in the Central State, Yuan Shu's casual word could determine whether they could continue working at this auction house.
Naturally, they had to entertain her well!
Yuan Shu's lips curled up, and she nodded casually. "I have indeed taken a liking to this Purple Mansion Spirit Ginseng. Have it withdrawn from the auction tonight... Wait!"
Yuan Shu suddenly remembered something. She raised an eyebrow and smiled with narrowed eyes.
"Do not spread the word about the immortal-grade spirit plant being withdrawn from the auction. Later, we will replace it with another immortal-grade spirit plant for the auction."
"I think the Soul-Bewitching Peony in the storehouse is pretty good. Let's use that one."
The manager did not suspect anything and quickly nodded in agreement, "Yes, your subordinate understands."
The Soul-Bewitching Peony was also an immortal-grade spirit plant, and it indeed had a certain effect on the divine soul.
If a normal person used it, it would naturally be harmless.
But if it was used on a divine soul with mental trauma, not only would it have no healing effect, but it would also cause severe consequences!
Yuan Shu suddenly felt a bit of anticipation—
What kind of expression would Su Lingxi have when she took this Soul-Bewitching Peony to treat someone's illness, failed to cure them, and almost killed them!
...
The auction was held as scheduled.
Yuan Shu sat lazily in her private room, watching Su Lingxi walk into another private room downstairs, her lips curling up.
That graceful figure, at the ninth level of Qi Condensation. Others could not see through her disguise, but she could see it clearly.
It was none other than her!
Sure enough, she had no interest in any of the auction items until the second-to-last finale item.
A square red sandalwood box was brought up, with many spirit runes flowing on it.
Just this packaging alone made many people so excited that their eyes turned red.
The presence of spirit runes locking the box to prevent the loss of the treasure's spiritual essence indicated that the item inside was of very high quality!
And many people present knew that this auction item was an immortal-grade spirit plant.
The bidding immediately became fierce, going all the way from the starting price of ten thousand low-grade spirit stones to ten thousand mid-grade spirit stones!
Ten thousand mid-grade spirit stones were equivalent to one million low-grade spirit stones!
This was no longer a small amount!
There was a long period of silence at the scene.
In the private room, Su Lingxi looked tense and felt uneasy.
She was the one who called out these ten thousand mid-grade spirit stones, and it was also her absolute bottom line.
It was money she had painstakingly borrowed!
If the price went any higher, she would have no money to add.
She truly didn't expect that there would be so many bidders for this Purple Mansion Spirit Ginseng, and that they would all be so wealthy.
They called out tens of thousands of low-grade spirit stones as if they were free, fighting until their faces were red.
In the end, they actually started using mid-grade spirit stones as the unit!
Forcing her into a corner, she had no choice but to follow suit and increase the price.
With every increase, her heart bled.
She was one step closer to being penniless and falling further into debt!
Yet, even at this high price of ten thousand mid-grade spirit stones, someone actually stood up...
Su Lingxi's eyes widened, and her heart thumped wildly.
The person who stood up looked blankly to his left and right, seemingly having just woken up and still a bit dazed.
Someone next to him tugged at his sleeve, and he sat back down again.
Su Lingxi felt teased but had no time to be angry; seeing that the other party didn't bid, she finally breathed a sigh of relief.
The host called out three times on stage, and still, no one answered with a bid.
Finally, with a strike of the small hammer, "Sold!"
Only then did Su Lingxi completely relax, a smile appearing on her face.
This Purple Mansion Spirit Ginseng was finally hers!
At the same time, in the other private room, Yuan Shu also smiled with satisfaction.
This Soul-Bewitching Peony had finally found its true master!
Very good, quite nice indeed!
Along the way, Yuan Shu also distributed rewards to the shills who had just helped drive up the price of the Soul-Bewitching Peony.
These people were all played by the auction house's subordinates; it was unnoticeable, and they acted quite convincingly.
At the very least, Su Lingxi was thoroughly convinced!
Yuan Shu's lips curled up. "Next, send someone to follow Su Lingxi. Report back to me immediately at the slightest sign of trouble."
"I will be staying at the auction house for the next few days!"
"Yes." The manager and his men responded and quickly went down to make the arrangements.
...
Three days later, at the Mu Residence in Lingxi City.
Long Yunhui looked solemn as he bowed to Su Lingxi, his tone earnest.
"Junior Sister, if you can save Brother Mu, then your Third Senior Brother will owe you a massive favor."
"From now on, whatever you command, I will go through fire and water without hesitation!"
Long Yunhui was truly out of options.
Ever since he learned that Mu Fengyun had contracted hysteria after saving him and bringing him back, he had been running around the area, looking for a cure.
Even his master, Lu Guichen, had been invited down the mountain by him twice. After a careful examination, they learned that this was no ordinary hysteria.
Rather, it was caused by damage to the divine soul and a lack of mental energy.
If not treated properly, not only would Mu Fengyun's cultivation base be completely wiped out, but he would also become an idiot due to the soul damage.
During this time, he had begged everyone he could.
Finally, upon learning that the immortal-grade spirit plant, the Purple Mansion Spirit Ginseng, could save him, he searched everywhere for the medicine, almost going mad in the process.
Just when he was overwhelmed with anxiety, Su Lingxi came to him, saying that she had the Purple Mansion Spirit Ginseng in her hands.
Besides being surprised, Long Yunhui was ecstatic.
Su Lingxi had this Purple Mansion Spirit Ginseng. If she was willing to take it out, didn't that mean Mu Fengyun could be saved?
Long Yunhui dared not delay and quickly brought Su Lingxi to the Mu Residence.
The people of the Mu Residence entertained her with enthusiastic excitement, treating her as their savior.
Long Yunhui was also very excited, filled with gratitude towards Su Lingxi, and immediately bowed to express his stance.
Su Lingxi's eyes curved in a smile. Seeing that her goal had been achieved, she felt thrilled, but she still had to maintain her persona, smiling shyly.
"Third Senior Brother is too polite. I just did what was within my power."
"Without further ado, Third Senior Brother, please quickly take me to see your friend."
How could Long Yunhui dare to delay?
He quickly led Su Lingxi to Mu Fengyun's courtyard.
The entire Mu family gathered around, staring unblinkingly at the exquisite red sandalwood box that Su Lingxi took out.
The box opened. The expected ginseng-shaped spirit plant was not there; instead, there was only a purplish-brown peony flower with somewhat wrinkled petals.
"This... this is not the Purple Mansion Spirit Ginseng!"
This single sentence caused everyone present to change their expressions, and they immediately became tense.
