From the fake emperor to the concubine

He closed his eyes, and the image of his son's pale, weak face flashed through his mind. His son was twenty years old, yet he struggled to even walk, spending all his time in bed, sustained by medication. He had promised his son that he would find a way to cure him.

If he gives up today, how will he face his son again?

"Thirteen million five hundred thousand!" Master Zhou opened his eyes and shouted the number with almost all his strength.

The hall fell silent immediately.

Thirteen and a half million spirit stones—this price has set a new record at the Qingyun City auction. Everyone looked at Master Zhou, their eyes filled with surprise and curiosity.

The young man in the golden robe also changed his expression.

He had initially thought Master Zhou was just an ordinary wealthy merchant, but he hadn't expected him to be so shrewd. Thirteen and a half million spirit stones—even the Zhennan Prince's Mansion would have to think twice about that.

“Fourteen million,” he said in a deep voice.

Mr. Zhou's body trembled slightly, but his eyes remained unusually firm.

“Fourteen and a half million!” he shouted.

The young man in the golden robe frowned. His gaze toward Master Zhou held a newfound scrutiny.

"Sir, are you sure you have that much money?" he asked coldly.

"Of course I have money," Master Zhou straightened his back. "Young master, there's no need to worry."

The young man in the golden robe sneered.

“Fifteen million,” he said.

Master Zhou's face grew even paler. He truly couldn't come up with fifteen million spirit stones, unless...
“Mr. Zhou,” Zheng Yi suddenly whispered, “if you really can’t raise the money, I can lend you some.”

Master Zhou was taken aback, then turned to look at Zheng Yi, his eyes filled with surprise.

"Young Master Zhang"

“You don’t need to be so polite,” Zheng Yi said. “I have some spirit stones on hand, but I don’t need them right now. You can take them and pay me back later.”

Master Zhou was so grateful he almost cried. He had been in Qingyun City for so many years and met countless people, but he had never encountered anyone like Zheng Yi. A chance encounter, yet Zheng Yi was willing to lend him a huge sum of money; he would never forget this kindness for the rest of his life.

"Thank you so much, Young Master Zhang!" Master Zhou bowed deeply, then turned and shouted, "Fifteen million five hundred thousand!"

The young man in the golden robe's face turned completely gloomy.

He never expected this unassuming merchant to be so persistent, nor did he expect that his bodyguard would be willing to lend him money.

"Sixteen million," he said through gritted teeth.

"Sixteen million five hundred thousand!" Master Zhou practically roared.

The atmosphere in the hall was extremely tense. Everyone held their breath, watching the competition between the two.

The young man in the golden robe fell silent.

Sixteen million five hundred thousand spirit stones—this price had exceeded his budget. Although the Zhennan Prince's Mansion was wealthy and powerful, the money he brought was limited. He had already spent forty million spirit stones yesterday on the incomplete Heavenly Origin Divine Skill scroll; if he spent that much again today, he would probably be scolded when he returned.

Moreover, although this Blood Spirit Mushroom was precious, it wasn't a necessity for him. He only became competitive because he saw others competing with it.

"Fine," he scoffed. "This Blood Spirit Mushroom is yours. But you'd better pray it doesn't end up in my hands."

After he finished speaking, he sat back down in his chair and stopped bidding.

"Sixteen million five hundred thousand spirit stones, for the first time," Sun He's voice rang out.

Mr. Zhou was so nervous that he was trembling all over, fearing that someone would raise the price again.

"The second time"

No one spoke in the hall.

"Third sale!" Sun He slammed his gavel. "Congratulations, sir, the Thousand-Year Blood Spirit Mushroom is yours!"

Mr. Zhou let out a long breath, and as if he had collapsed from exhaustion, he slumped into his chair.

“It’s done. It’s finally done,” he murmured, tears glistening in his eyes.

Seeing Master Zhou's expression, Zheng Yi breathed a sigh of relief.

But he did not let his guard down.

He noticed that although the young man in the golden robe had given up bidding, his eyes were filled with resentment as he looked at Master Zhou. The old man from Medicine King Valley, as well as several other bidders, also had very unpleasant expressions on their faces.

The thousand-year-old Blood Spirit Mushroom is too precious. Master Zhou spent such a high price to buy it, which will inevitably make him the target of everyone's criticism.

“Master Zhou, we need to be careful,” Zheng Yi whispered. “You’ve already offended quite a few people; they won’t let this go.”

Mr. Zhou nodded, the joy on his face gradually fading, replaced by a trace of worry.

“Young Master Zhang is right,” he said. “We’ll leave Qingyun City immediately after the auction.”

“Okay,” Zheng Yi said.

The auction continued, but Zheng Yi had lost all interest in watching. He secretly extended his divine sense, monitoring the surroundings to prevent anyone from sabotaging him.

He noticed that the young man in the golden robe was talking quietly with his guards, glancing occasionally in the direction of Master Zhou, his eyes flashing with a cold light.

The elder from Medicine King Valley was also discussing something with his disciples, seemingly planning something.

There were also a few inconspicuous people secretly observing Master Zhou, their eyes darting around, their intentions unknown.

"Looks like this is quite a problem," Zheng Yi thought to himself.

He originally thought this escort mission would be easy, but he didn't expect that Master Zhou would spend such a high price to buy the Blood Spirit Mushroom, offending almost all the major powers.

But having accepted this mission, he had to complete it. No matter how many people coveted the Blood Spirit Mushroom, he would protect Master Zhou and ensure his safe departure.

The auction ended in the evening.

Following the rules, Master Zhou went backstage to settle the silver and received the thousand-year-old Blood Spirit Mushroom.

When he came out holding the crystal box, his expression was both excited and nervous.

“Young Master Zhang, let’s go,” he said.

"Wait," Zheng Yi stopped him. "Don't rush off; there might be someone lying in ambush outside."

Master Zhou's expression changed. "An ambush?"

“The thousand-year-old Blood Spirit Mushroom is too precious; many people are eyeing it,” Zheng Yi said. “We can’t go through the main gate; it’s too conspicuous.”

"Then what should we do?" Master Zhou asked anxiously.

Zheng Yi pondered for a moment, then said, "Tianbao Pavilion should have a back door, right? Let's go through the back door and take a longer route back to the inn."

“Good, good.” Master Zhou nodded repeatedly.

Zheng Yi, accompanied by Master Zhou and several guards, quietly arrived at the back door of Tianbao Pavilion.

Outside the back door is a quiet alley, lined with ordinary houses, and there are hardly any people in sight.

"Let's go." Zheng Yi led the way out the back door, cautiously observing the surroundings.

The alley was quiet, with only the rustling of leaves in the wind.

But Zheng Yi's divine sense told him that there were at least a dozen people lying in ambush nearby, all of them experts above the Integration Realm.

"There really was an ambush," he thought to himself.

He didn't make a fuss, but instead pretended to be nonchalant and led the group deeper into the alley.

After walking about a hundred paces, several figures suddenly appeared in front of them, blocking their way.

"Hello, Mr. Zhou," the leader said with a smile.

Zheng Yi looked closely and realized that the person was the head of the guards beside the young man in the golden robe, a middle-aged man dressed in black with a deep aura, who had already reached the peak of the Integration Realm.

"What...what do you want to do?" Old Master Zhou's voice trembled slightly.

"It's nothing, we just want to borrow your Blood Spirit Mushroom for a bit," the middle-aged man in black chuckled. "Don't worry, we won't hurt you. Just hand over the Blood Spirit Mushroom obediently, and we'll let you go." "Dream on!" Master Zhou roared. "I bought this for over sixteen million spirit stones, why should I give it to you?"

"On what grounds?" the middle-aged man in black sneered. "On the grounds that my fists are harder than yours."

As soon as he finished speaking, several guards behind him rushed towards Master Zhou.

"Stop!" Zheng Yi shouted, his figure flashing as he blocked Master Zhou's path.

He struck out with his palm, and a powerful burst of energy swept out, forcing the guards to retreat repeatedly.

"The Great Ascension Realm?" The middle-aged man in black's expression changed drastically. "You're a Great Ascension Realm expert?"

“That’s right,” Zheng Yi said calmly. “I advise you not to act rashly, or you will bear the consequences.”

The middle-aged man in black had an uncertain expression. He hadn't expected that Master Zhou would have a Grand Ascension Realm expert guarding him; this was troublesome.

"Hmph, so what if you're at the Mahayana Realm?" he sneered. "Do you think there are only a few of us?"

As soon as he finished speaking, more than a dozen figures suddenly appeared on the rooftops on both sides of the alley, surrounding them.

Those people were all dressed in black, their faces covered, and their auras were powerful, clearly indicating they were all experts. Two of them had already reached the early stage of the Mahayana realm.

"Two Mahayana Realm cultivators?" Zheng Yi frowned slightly.

It seems that the Prince of Zhennan's Mansion has invested a considerable amount of money to reclaim the Blood Spirit Mushroom.

"What? Still going to put on a brave face?" the middle-aged man in black chuckled smugly. "I advise you to be smart and hand over the Blood Spirit Mushroom obediently. Otherwise..."

“Otherwise what?” Zheng Yi interrupted him.

"Otherwise, you will all die here!" the middle-aged man in black said sternly.

Zheng Yi's lips curled up slightly, revealing a cold smile.

“You guys?” he said. “You’re not qualified.”

As soon as he finished speaking, a powerful aura suddenly erupted from his body, an aura as vast as mountains and as deep as the sea, distorting the surrounding air.

"Mid-stage Mahayana stage?" The middle-aged man in black's expression changed drastically. "You...you're a mid-stage Mahayana expert?"

The others were also pale-faced, clearly intimidated by Zheng Yi's imposing manner.

Although there is only one minor realm difference between the mid-stage and early-stage Mahayana realms, their strength is worlds apart. Even if all of them were combined, they probably wouldn't be a match for a mid-stage Mahayana expert.

“Now, get out,” Zheng Yi said coldly.

The middle-aged man in black gritted his teeth, but ultimately lacked the courage to make a move.

"Let's go!" He waved his hand and led his men away quickly.

In the blink of an eye, only Zheng Yi and the others remained in the alley.

Mr. Zhou let out a long breath, feeling completely exhausted, and almost collapsed to the ground.

"Thank you, Young Master Zhang, thank you, Young Master Zhang," he said incoherently.

"Don't be too happy yet," Zheng Yi said. "The people from the Zhennan Prince's Mansion have left, but the others haven't moved yet."

Master Zhou's expression changed. "There are others?"

"Medicine King Valley, the Purple Cloud Gang, and some unidentified individuals," Zheng Yi said. "They're all watching from nearby, waiting to see us make a fool of ourselves."

"Then what should we do?" Master Zhou asked anxiously.

Zheng Yi pondered for a moment, then said, "Let's go back to the inn first. Don't go out tonight. We'll leave Qingyun City first thing tomorrow morning."

"Alright, alright, I'll listen to Young Master Zhang." Master Zhou nodded repeatedly.

The group carefully made their way through several alleys and finally returned to the Moon Gazing Inn.

Upon entering the inn, Master Zhou immediately ordered his men to seal the gate, forbidding anyone from entering or leaving.

“Young Master Zhang, I’ll have to trouble you tonight,” he said.

"Don't worry, Master Zhou," Zheng Yi said. "As long as I'm here, no one will harm you."

Master Zhou nodded gratefully, then took the Blood Spirit Mushroom back to his room to rest.

Zheng Yi remained in the main hall, closing his eyes to rest.

His divine sense quietly probed out, monitoring the activity around the inn.

Sure enough, there were quite a few people lying in ambush outside the inn. There were people from the Zhennan Prince's Mansion, people from Medicine King Valley, people from the Purple Cloud Gang, and even some unidentified rogue cultivators.

These people were all staring at the inn, clearly waiting for an opportunity.

"It seems tonight won't be peaceful," Zheng Yi thought to himself.

As night fell, Qingyun City gradually quieted down.

The atmosphere around the inn grew increasingly tense.

Zheng Yi sensed that the people lying in ambush were quietly approaching, seemingly preparing to make their move.

“Come on.” He opened his eyes, a slight smile playing on his lips. “Let me see what you’re really capable of.”

Just then, the inn's door was suddenly smashed open by a powerful force.

A dozen dark figures rushed in from outside the door and pounced on Zheng Yi.

"kill!"

A dozen or so dark figures rushed into the inn like ghosts, exuding murderous intent.

Zheng Yi remained motionless, coldly watching the approaching men in black. His divine sense had already locked onto the location of each person, and he could even clearly hear their breathing rate.

"court death."

He uttered two words softly, and his figure suddenly disappeared from the spot.

The next instant, he appeared behind the man in black at the front.

The man in black didn't even have time to react before he felt a chill run down his back, followed by a sharp pain. He looked down and saw that a hand had pierced through his chest, and blood was gushing out.

He wanted to say something, but before he could finish speaking, he died.

Zheng Yi wiped the blood off his hands and glanced at the other men in black.

"Who else?"

The other men in black were terrified by what they saw. They never imagined that this seemingly ordinary guard would be so powerful. He had killed their companion in a single move.

"Retreat! Retreat!" someone shouted in terror.

But how could Zheng Yi let them leave?

He moved with the speed of a ghost, weaving among the men in black. With each strike, one man fell.

Puff puff!
Blood splattered everywhere, and screams of agony rose and fell.

In just over ten breaths, the dozen or so men in black who had rushed in all fell into pools of blood, none of them surviving.

The inn's lobby reeked of blood, and the floor was covered with corpses, resembling a scene from hell.

Zheng Yi stood amidst the corpses, his expression calm as still water, as if he had just killed not people, but a dozen or so ants.

"Wow--"

A commotion arose outside the door, and more dark figures surged in from all directions, surrounding the inn.

Zheng Yi walked to the door, looked at the dense crowd outside, and a slight smile appeared on his lips.

"There are quite a few people."

He roughly estimated that there were at least fifty or sixty people outside, including more than twenty experts at the Integration Realm and three early-stage Mahayana Realm experts scattered in different locations. (End of Chapter)