All of the protagonist's Daoist partners are mine!

Her icy eyelashes, ethereal eyes, and the lingering, cool fragrance she left behind... Wow, this distinguished guest was the most beautiful, untouchable beauty he had ever seen in his life. In a word, absolutely stunning.

Just being able to exchange a few words with such a beauty is a blessing from one's past life.

If I could catch a glimpse of that beauty while serving tea and water, I would never wash that hand again.

Just as the young man was daydreaming, a sealed piece of paper was pushed out from under the door.

The young man was taken aback: "Eh? Your Excellency, what's going on...?"

A broken voice came from behind the door: "Hmm~ This, this is, um... mine, the price. Take it. Go, go. Gone!"

The sound suddenly grew louder from behind, startling the waiter: "Sir, is something wrong? That was so loud!"

If a VIP guest has an accident in the VIP room he is in charge of, not only will his salary be deducted, but his life will be over.

He quickly pressed himself against the door.

Normally, the door and walls are soundproofed. But Xia Lingxue temporarily lifted the soundproofing so she could communicate with him through the door.

The waiter was puzzled when he heard faint, loud applause coming from behind the door.

"N-nothing." Xia Lingxue's voice sounded a little tired, as if she had just finished a full-on anaerobic exercise session: "I just tripped and fell."

"Oh no! That's terrible! I'll bring you medicine right away."

"No, no need. I'm not hurt. Take the secret document with you... quick!" Xia Lingxue's voice sounded like she was about to burst out.

The waiter didn't dare to think too much: "Okay, I'll get right away—"

Just as he bent down to retrieve the secret document, a voice that sounded almost pleading came from behind the door.

"I didn't tell you to hurry. No, slow down, slow down!"

"Huh?" The waiter paused in picking up the paper. "Sir, would you like to reconsider?"

He thought Xia Lingxue wanted to revise the price quote, which is why she asked him to take the paper away slowly.

Xia Lingxue wanted nothing more than to punch him through the door and kill him: "No way, this is the price, take it! Ah!"

Boom!

Just as the young man was completely confused, the door panel made a loud noise as if something had hit it hard.

I have no idea what's going on inside, it looks like a fight is taking place. The time to tally the quotes is almost up, so the delivery guy quickly pulled the secret sheet away.

The moment he pulled it out, he noticed that half of the paper was wet. The water stains hadn't completely seeped into the paper yet, as if they had just been sprayed on.

He thought it was a distinguished guest who had spilled the tea, and was about to check when he saw that the wet part of the paper had formed a layer of ice flowers.

"Holy crap, is this the work of an immortal? That's amazing! I'd better hurry and deliver it to the boss."

……

A moment later, the white-haired old man came to the stage with the results: "Thank you all for your enthusiastic bidding. According to the statistical comparison of prices, this Gengjin Azure Dragon Cauldron, handcrafted by a master craftsman, was ultimately won by the distinguished guest in room number one of the yellow booths."

The announcement of the result caused another uproar in the audience. Everyone was curious about the exact exorbitant price that would ultimately be paid.

Upstairs, Xiao Fan raised an eyebrow, his expression slightly embarrassed: "Didn't you take a picture? Lingyun..."

He offered a complete high-grade cultivation technique as his bid, which would have been more than enough to exchange for an ancient herb garden jade talisman from someone who knew its value, yet he still didn't win the bid.

Yan Lingyun comforted him, "It's alright, Young Master Xiao. Opportunities cannot be forced."

Although the opportunity at the ancient medicine garden was very important to her, it wasn't necessary for her to acquire the jade talisman at the auction.

Some elders of the Great Sun Immortal Sect must have some jade talismans left over, but asking them for them might incur some troublesome favors. Let's think of another way later.

Ge Zhan, from the ordinary section, looked up at room number one in the yellow section, a fierce glint in his eyes. He muttered to himself, "Dare to lay a finger on my things? Good, very good. Although I don't know who you are, you have successfully angered me. I will show you how terrifying my wrath can be."

Elder Hun: "Young Zhanzi, you tried to bid on two incomplete high-grade cultivation techniques but failed. The other party likely offered a complete high-grade cultivation technique as payment. Such a person either has a terrifying background or is extremely powerful. It's best not to provoke them for now."

"Master, don't boost the enemy's morale and diminish our own. I've been holding back for too long, and from now on, there will be no more compromises. When I, Ge Zhan, am enraged, I will make my enemies bleed. To covet my opportunity is to play with fire. If I get the chance, I will kill them. Even a true immortal from the upper realm couldn't save them. I mean it!"

Soul Elder: "..."

……

In no time, the waiter pushed the Gengjin Azure Dragon Cauldron into room number one in the yellow section.

This time he successfully knocked on the door: "Distinguished guest, your Azure Dragon Cauldron has arrived... Eh?"

As soon as the young man entered, he noticed a man sitting on the sofa with his back to the door.

He couldn't help but feel puzzled. Shouldn't the only guest in this house be that icy beauty? When did a man arrive?

"Alright, just put it there." Xia Lingxue pointed to the spot against the wall.

Although Xia Lingxue's clothes were as neat as before, the waiter noticed that her face was flushed, there were a few mosquito bites on her neck, and her breathing was faster than before.

More importantly, some kind of liquid was seeping out from the edge of Xia Lingxue's shoes.

The waiter's heart skipped a beat, and a guess formed in his mind. Could it be that this goddess-like, pure and innocent young lady had just been... done *that* with this man in the room?

Xing Moxie noticed the kid's little scheme, so he gave him a smug side profile and let him figure it out himself.

No way—the idol's image has been ruined, and the young man almost fainted on the spot.

"Get out of here!" Xia Lingxue kicked him out the door.

Looking at the closed door, the young man still couldn't believe that his goddess would be so casually styled by a man.

When Xia Lingxue kicked him, two drops of white liquid splashed out of her shoe and landed on the back of his hand.

"It can't be, it can't be..." The young man licked his lips, clinging to his last glimmer of hope.

After confirming the taste of the liquid, he burst into tears: "Waaah... my goddess has been taken advantage of."

……

inside the room.

"Well then, the troublemaker is gone, let's continue with the second half."

"What? There's a second half? I never agreed to that." Xia Lingxue's eyes returned to their coldness after she put away the jade talisman.

Now that she had the goods, she had no reason to continue serving this wicked man.

Xing Moxie shook his head: "As I just said, you've gotten yourself into two big troubles, haven't you? Xiao Fan and the others are one, but the other trouble could very well prevent you from bringing the jade talisman back to the Dragon King's Palace."

"What? No, impossible. The jade talisman is already in my possession. Stop spreading alarmist rumors."

"Believe it or not." Xing Moxie pointed to the open space in front of him.

Xia Lingxue dared not gamble now, so she gritted her teeth and continued to kneel in front of him.

Chapter 123: 40 This villain, is he actually quite nice to me?

As the auction proceeded smoothly, precious items were brought out one by one and were successively bid on by the elders of various clans who rushed to the scene after receiving messages from their family disciples.

The Azure Dragon Cauldron became a minor episode for casual conversation and was eventually forgotten.

Occasionally, a few interesting items would appear, but they would all be bought by the top-tier room at prices that no one dared to raise.

As for room number one in the yellow section, no more bids were heard. Some suspected that the people inside had been drained of their wallets by the Gengjin Azure Dragon Cauldron and had already left.

"You mean, someone will try to kill me for the jade talisman?"

After Xia Lingxue finished her "service," she heard Xing Moxie's hint. Although she was puzzled, she wasn't too shocked.

In the world of cultivators, it's all too common for someone to be murdered and robbed right after buying something.

The reason she became more vigilant was simply because Xing Moxie referred to the person who was going to ambush her as a "big problem." Anyone whom this villain called a "problem" couldn't be ordinary.

"What is that person's cultivation level?"

"Of course I'm not as tall as you."

"So you have a powerful backer?"

"I'm not too sure about that. Judging from the impression he gives, he doesn't seem to have any power or influence."

"Then why should he be a problem for me?" Xia Lingxue's tone was rather dismissive.

As the head of the Dragon King's Palace, she naturally had countless backup plans when she went out to handle matters.

According to the pre-arranged plan, after the auction ended, she would leave with the crowd, carrying the jade talisman. Then, she would use special means to conceal her presence and take a safe route back to the Dragon King's Palace's nearby stronghold to reunite with her companions.

Having made thorough preparations, she was confident that she could shake off not only those with lower cultivation levels than her, but also cultivators of the same level without losing a single soldier.

However, Xing Moxie asserted that she would suffer a setback: "You may not believe me, but don't come crying to me to complain when the jade talisman is stolen."

Xing Moxie was certain that Ge Zhan would make a move.

Previously, Ge Zhan deliberately inflated the price to cheat another young master from a prominent family, which showed that he was a petty and ruthless chosen one who would never let a grudge linger.

Although it's still uncertain what kind of cheat code that kid has, Xing Moxie, based on his five hundred years of experience studying the Chosen One, guesses that he is probably the type who suffered a lot of grievances and fell to the bottom, and then encountered an opportunity to make a strong comeback.

Only with such a bitter and resentful background could a dog-donkey with both strength and stinginess be born.

Such people often have the belief that what they want is theirs, and they will not allow anyone to take it away.

Therefore, the probability of Ge Zhan intercepting and killing Xia Lingxue is 1000%.

As for the methods Xia Lingxue had prepared... Xing Moxie didn't even need to ask; he knew they wouldn't work, because his opponent was the Chosen One.

Although Xia Lingxue is a woman by the Dragon King's side, she's at best a third or fourth female lead in the Dragon King's return storyline, or even a supporting character without a romantic subplot. What makes her think she can compete with the chosen one of destiny?

"Who would come crying to you?" Xia Lingxue felt a little less confident about her prepared route when she saw his confident statement. "Then what ideas do you have? Feel free to tell me."

Xia Lingxue hated this man to the core. But her female instinct to submit to a powerful male made her subconsciously develop a sliver of trust in the strength of this villain who had conquered her twice.

Xia Lingxue herself was, of course, unaware of this.

She kept telling herself that he had taken advantage of her so much today, and it would be a huge loss if she didn't get his advice.

Xing Moxie rested his arms on the back of the sofa: "It's easy to dodge a spear in the open, but hard to guard against an arrow in the dark. Since it's not advisable for the enemy to be in the dark while we are in the light, let's bring them out into the open as well. Did you bring any helpers with you on this trip?"

“A squad from the Silent Hall is waiting outside the city to meet me. Also…” Xia Lingxue hesitated for a moment, then continued, “In addition, the strongest fighter in our hall, the Mad Protector, has also come to join me. So I’m not worried about being targeted.”

Xing Moxie chuckled inwardly—this cold-blooded girl, who had just vowed never to reveal any information about the Dragon King's Palace, had managed to extract the whereabouts of one of the Four Heavenly Kings in just a couple of shots. Indeed, conquering a woman is like beating an egg; the more you stir, the smoother it becomes.

Xing Moxie now understands what it must have been like when Xiao Fan slowly poached one of his subordinates.

But another guardian of the Dragon King's Palace... I feel like he could be included in the scheme as well.

Xing Moxie thought for a while, then slightly modified the original plan and threw out a map: "After you leave, suppress your cultivation to the Golden Core Realm and take this route. Contact your companions to set up an ambush at the location on the map; that will definitely lure out the enemy."

Xia Lingxue opened it and glanced at it: "Why should I believe you?"

"You woman are utterly absurd. What do you think is there about you that I would want to take advantage of?"

"I……"

Xia Lingxue still couldn't refute it.

It's not so much that this villain had any designs on her, but rather that she had twice gained tremendous benefits from him... even though the price was somewhat heavy from a personal perspective.

Xia Lingxue was a little confused. Although this villain had filmed her and had been threatening and violently taking advantage of her, he had never forced her to do anything that would affect the interests of the Dragon King's Palace, nor had he taken any benefits from her other than her body. He had even offered her huge discounts on the Soul Bell and Jade Talisman. This time, knowing that someone was targeting her, he even came to warn her.

Let's look at it from another angle. Putting aside the villain's domineering and unreasonable behavior, isn't she the one who has been receiving kindness all along?

Xia Lingxue felt increasingly uneasy—wait, could it be that this wicked person is actually quite nice to me?

Xing Moxie walked to the door, turned back and pointed to the corner of her mouth: "You have cream on here."

"Huh?" Xia Lingxue, who was thinking about something, didn't react and instinctively stuck out her tongue and licked it.

The next second, she widened her eyes: "Ptooey! You bastard, what did you make me eat again! Ptooey!"

"Hehehe, get used to it soon, you'll have plenty to eat later."

Without giving her a chance to rant, Xing Moxie, having had his fun, closed the door and left. That's how carefree this man was.

Looking at the door with its icy water stains, Xia Lingxue stomped her feet in anger.

He silently vowed in his heart—what happened today will never happen again!

But then I thought, I shouldn't be too absolute in my vows; it's better to leave myself some leeway.

—Well, what happened today will at most happen again.

……

Xing Moxie hummed a little tune and returned to the No. 1 room with a contented expression.

"Brother Lu, you've been gone for so long? You must have missed a lot of good stuff."

"Haha, I've been holding it in for a while, so I ejaculated a big bubble."