I'm caught in the cycle of endless competition, you're waiting for me in the apocalypse.

"This is my boss. He's a bit low-key, so you can just call him General Manager Gu. My surname is An, and my given name is Qian. There's also a colleague who's not here today; his name is Ma Hou."

Gu Shuohan suppressed a laugh, thinking: It's really hard not to laugh when you get a dry joke from An Xin's serious nonsense literature.

"Distinguished guest, are you dissatisfied?" Qian Lai glanced at the unlit incense and candles on the table. "If there is anything lacking, please let me know, and I will have the ghost replace it."

"No, no! We just no longer need to draw energy from incense and candles, so we'll use this." With that, An Xin took out a glass bottle from her cloak, then took out three small paper cups, poured some 'spiritual liquid' into each cup, and then gestured for them to enter.

Gu Shuohan remained calm. Seeing that Qian Lai still had doubts, he picked up a paper cup and drank it all in one gulp. After that, An Xin also picked up a cup and simply finished it.

It's not really about money that makes you doubt them, but rather that ghosts typically feed on gaseous energy. Most of them belong to the category of hungry ghosts, whose true forms are characterized by large bellies and narrow throats, making it difficult for them to swallow food. If they consume solid food, whatever enters their mouths will feel like flames, scorching their entire bodies. They also rarely come into contact with liquids, as many spirits find it difficult to tolerate them.

Seeing that the two ghosts had finished drinking without any problems, Qian Lai shakily picked up the paper cup and took a small sip. Unexpectedly, the liquid flowed smoothly down his throat and into his soul, the abundant energy causing Qian Lai's body to tremble involuntarily. His eyes lit up, and he drank the rest of the liquid in one gulp. The pure energy of the spiritual liquid made Qian Lai's soul body much more solid, and he looked radiant!

"My two distinguished guests! What is the name of this item, and what is its price?" Qian Lai's hands trembled with excitement, but his thousands of years of professional experience and broad vision allowed him to control himself and calmly ask the question on his mind.

An Xin was very satisfied that Qian Lai didn't press her about the origin of the spirit liquid, and genuinely felt that the Netherworld Auction House was very professional. If she couldn't return to that world for the time being, she could consider long-term transactions with them in this ghostly world.

"This substance is called Spirit Liquid. The one that Manager Qian just drank is the one we use every day, but the three bottles that are being auctioned off are these!" An Xin said, taking out three small jade bottles from her cloak.

An Xin bought this jade bottle online when she was still at the An family's residence. She felt that the small porcelain bottle that came with the spiritual liquid looked cheap (spiritual liquid wasn't considered a treasure in the Fortune Scroll). So she bought this inexpensive but elegant-looking chalcedony bottle and diluted the spiritual liquid with water in a 1:3 ratio. This also served as a convenient dispensing mechanism: the glass bottle contained spiritual liquid at a ratio of about 1:10, the light blue jade bottle contained spiritual liquid at a ratio of 1:3, and the white jade porcelain bottle contained the 'raw liquid'.

"These three jade bottles contain concentrated spiritual liquid. Of course, you can imagine how much spiritual power it contains, and how powerful its effects are. If there were cultivators, it would be a sacred item. Needless to say, you should know its value. Moreover, this spiritual liquid is the latest cutting-edge project developed by our General Manager Gu's company, and it has not yet been made public. We want to test its potential with your esteemed location. Furthermore, this spiritual liquid is extremely precious and should be limited in quantity. To be honest, it takes us 12 hours to obtain just one jade bottle. Therefore, our General Manager Gu's intention is to sell it only to the upper echelons."

Upon hearing this, Qian Lai thought that this little devil named An Qian was really a skilled salesman. Without going into details, he managed to make the ghost feel that the spiritual liquid was mysterious and unattainable, and that it was something special.

Why did An Xin speak so ambiguously? The reason was that she genuinely didn't know what effect the spiritual liquid had on ghosts. Besides providing energy, she really couldn't say more, otherwise she might say something wrong.

“Okay, okay!” Qian Lai rubbed his hands together, thought for a moment, and said, “According to An Qian, this spiritual liquid is truly a treasure. It’s the first time it’s appeared at auction. Could I discuss it with the owner? Also, could you give me some samples so that the appraisers and auctioneers here can experience them? If a final price is set, we can also let the VIPs experience it to increase their auction price.”

"Manager Qian, you have a clever approach!" An Xin first affirmed Qian Lai's actions, because she had the same thought. Then, to show her respect, she bowed slightly to Gu Shuohan and asked, "Mr. Gu, what do you mean?"

Gu Shuohan paused for a moment before pointing to the glass bottle that was mostly empty. An Xin immediately understood and said to Qian Lai, "Our CEO Gu means to give this bottle to you."

Upon hearing this, Qian Lai bowed repeatedly, picked up the glass bottle as if it were a priceless treasure, and grinned with a ghostly expression that revealed his teeth but not his eyes. He then immediately prepared to go out to make contacts and arrangements.

An Xin stopped him at the door and whispered, "Manager Qian, our CEO Gu didn't choose an auction house in Beijing to auction it. He did it to test the waters and conduct some research on the effects and formulation of the elixir. If it goes well this time, we will entrust the Netherworld Auction House with the full responsibility of selling the elixir."

An Xin paused, then lowered her voice as if afraid of being overheard, and said, "The concentration in this jade bottle is three to four times that in the glass bottle. If it sells well in the future, you know what will happen!" She then pointed to the glass bottle.

Qian Lai's smile became even more genuine this time, indicating that he would definitely discuss the matter thoroughly with his employer.

An Xin then told him, "You need to do experiments, discuss and communicate, and set prices. Just tell us when you're going to auction today, and we'll come a little earlier when it's almost time. Waiting here is really a waste of time."

Qian Lai indicated that he understood, took out a black gold card, and handed it to An Xin, saying that as long as they had this card, they could move freely in all the Netherworld Auction Houses. They just needed to hand the card to the front desk when they left so that they could process it.

An Xin nodded, indicating her satisfaction. Thus, a friendly agreement was temporarily reached between the two parties, awaiting only the start of the auction at 7 PM.

Stepping out of the Netherworld Auction House, Gu Shuohan let out a deep breath. Seeing him like this, An Xin couldn't help but tease, "You seem really nervous. It's just acting, isn't it? That's your forte!"

"Didn't you notice I didn't say a word? Do you think I can understand ghost language? You even asked me what I meant, which made me so nervous. I just thought about it briefly and pointed to that bottle of water. I was really afraid of being found out." Gu Shuohan raised an eyebrow at her: Goodness, she doesn't know I can't understand ghost language!

"Oh dear, oh dear! I forgot you can't understand. Because I have a special ability, a passive skill that allows me to understand any language, and whatever I say will automatically be translated into their language. It's so natural that I completely forgot about you. Sorry, I'll see if I have any tools for you right away!"

Entering the alleyway, An Xin scratched her head as she searched for Di Ting in the Qiankun World. Once she found it, she pulled it out, startling Ao Jue, who was listening to Di Ting tell a story inside.

"Little Jiu, Little Jiu, can you find any magic weapon that can make Young Master Gu understand ghost language?"

"Alright, then let me go first. I'll go into your sea of ​​consciousness to open the scroll and look for it. The scroll might cause a commotion here." After saying that, Di Ting quickly returned to his sea of ​​consciousness. After a moment, Di Ting's voice sounded again, "Xin Xin, I found a wireless earphone-style translator. It can translate multiple languages ​​in real time and can also translate the language in your mind into the selected language and play it out. It's just a little pricey, 69 Fortune Points."

"Alright, there's no other way. We have to be prepared to stay here for a long time. We can't keep him deaf and mute forever! By the way, can Ao Jue understand ghost language?"

"Hmm, that should be possible. He is a Heavenly Dragon, so he should know the Heavenly Eye and Heavenly Ear used within the Six Paths. However, since his magic is currently sealed, he can probably only use the passive skills of his supernatural powers."

"That's good! Let him come out in a bit. By the way, he should have figured out the situation by now, right? It's time for him to repay us! Xiao Jiu, make him come out in human form, and buy him a cloak while you're at it."

After waiting a while longer, Di Ting dragged Ao Jue, who was wearing a cloak, out of the Qiankun World. At this moment, apart from his height, nothing else could be discerned, including his race, appearance, and cultivation level.

"Huh? You're barely 1.8 meters tall!"

"My original human form was 1.9 meters tall, but now that all my major acupoints are sealed, my human form can only maintain the height of 1.78 meters that I had in my adolescence!"

An Xin sensed the disappointment in the proud little dragon's voice, gently patted his shoulder, and spoke like a caring older sister: "It's okay, it's okay. Now that you're with me, you're just like Xiao Jiu, my partner. I'll take care of you!"

"However..." she suddenly changed the subject halfway through her sentence, "Of course, the premise is that you behave well and don't cause me any trouble. You can't be careless when it's time to do your work, so that I'll think of you when something good happens. Do you understand?"

Just moments ago, Ao Jue was moved, but in an instant, he was so angry that his teeth were grinding together. This woman is truly shameless!

"Ah! Right, you'll be staying outside from now on, because you can't enter my sea of ​​consciousness to nurture yourself like Di Ting, and Di Ting can't accompany you in the Qiankun World either, so you'll have to obediently follow me. The current situation is that the two of us will be acting as 'President Gu's' subordinates. My name is An Qian, and yours is Ma Hou. You don't need to say anything else; just follow my lead!" An Xin finished speaking and handed the wireless earpiece to Gu Shuohan, telling him to study it carefully. Then she led the two of them around the city.

After most of the day had passed, she checked the time and, fearing they would be late, led the two back to the Netherworld Auction House. All the way there, she kept thinking that the first thing she would do if she had money was to buy a watch or a communicator; things were just too inconvenient here.

Upon entering the auction house and presenting their black gold cards, the receptionist, whom they had met once before, immediately stepped forward and said respectfully, "Distinguished guests, our manager has already instructed me to take you to the VIP room."

The three maintained their composure and remained silent, except for An Xin, who nodded and gestured to "lead the way."

Seeing this, the receptionist became even more enthusiastic, joking that these three were VIPs. He remembered the exaggerated expressions on the faces of the appraisers and auctioneers when the head manager had them sample the elixir. Finally, while clearing away the paper cups, he managed to squeeze a few drops of the elixir from two cups to taste it himself—the flavor, the energy…

God knows how shocked he was at the time. The innkeeper had told him that the elixir to be auctioned that night was three to four times concentrated, and that it would only be available to VIPs in the private rooms. He'd also been told that if it was effective, they could have a long-term partnership. Upon hearing this, he eagerly applied for the opportunity to serve three VIPs, thinking that becoming a familiar face would bring him some benefits.

With mixed feelings, the receptionist respectfully led the three into a luxurious private room in the center of the second floor.