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

On the exquisite display stand in the center of the stage, a cluster of lights focused on three celadon jade vases. Behind the auction stage, a massive screen, three stories high, simultaneously displayed the jade vases, highlighting their preciousness.

"Distinguished guests! This is the final item of this auction—Concentrated Spirit Liquid!" The auctioneer announced the item's name in a trembling voice. "Distinguished guests on the first floor, have you noticed that your bidding devices have stopped working? We regret to inform you that due to the rarity and powerful nature of this final item, the consignor has restricted the auction to only Platinum and Supreme members of our bank!"

Upon hearing this, the ghosts on the first floor immediately became enraged. Some cursed, some threw things, and some even tried to rush onto the stage to snatch the items!

"Oh dear, these hotheads! Luckily, the functions haven't been explained yet, or the scene would be even more unsightly." Shaking her head, An Xin stood in front of the glass and looked down, noticing that the scene seemed somewhat chaotic, but the auctioneer was leisurely and didn't seem to care about the situation at all. "Your auction house's guards are quite skilled!"

Zhao Ying floated to An Xin's side, bowing and saying, "Honored guest, please excuse our rudeness. Our auction house is considered the largest in the Netherworld. Our owner also owns many other businesses, such as the Shanwu Hall. You should know how many experts Shanwu Hall has, so we won't take this little disturbance seriously. Most importantly, the auctioneer might even be happy to see this happen, as it's a good way to demonstrate the prestige of our high-level members."

"That's definitely a good method!"

—Luckily, I listened to Xiao Jiu and didn't act impulsively... The Netherworld Auction House is a major power in this world, right? Maybe we can find out from there what kind of ghosts are trying to break the boundary and how to get back.

The auctioneer on the stage waved his hand elegantly, and a group of black-clad guards emerged from the shadows, arresting the overly aggressive ghosts. The other ghosts, who were still acting arrogantly, immediately sat back down in their seats upon seeing this.

Once the ghosts below the stage were brought under control, the auctioneer's soul flickered again, his face returning to its ever-smiling expression. He then introduced, "None of you have ever heard of this before, have you? Yes, even I am hearing about and trying it for the first time today! You want to know about my experience? No, no, no, no matter how much I say, it's better to see it for yourself!"

The familiar glass water bottle was respectfully presented by the alluring female ghost in the red dress. The auctioneer picked up the bottle and poured the elixir into a small, exquisite glass.

"There was a commotion on the first floor just now. Several guests were injured by the black-clad guards because of their agitation. Their souls have become semi-transparent now. Bring up the most seriously injured guests."

Two black-clad guards moved swiftly, instantly bringing a wandering soul to the auction stage. "Sir, this is really too good a deal for you!" With that, the auctioneer raised a glass of water and poured it into the soul's mouth.

One second the soul was dazed and ethereal, the next it was radiating a faint glow. In just a moment, the soul, now much more solidified, opened its eyes wide and looked at its hands, its expression growing increasingly excited: "Ah! This energy, it feels so good..."

"Well, so you got off easy! Now hurry up and get off the stage!" The auctioneer rolled his eyes in disgust and waved his hand again. A shapely woman in red, dressed as a ghost, stepped onto the stage carrying a black, potted plant.

"This is just an ordinary, lifeless withered branch from the Dark Forest." The auctioneer carefully poured the spiritual liquid into the plant from the glass bottle. "Everyone, please don't blink!"

Just as he poured the elixir into the potted plant almost dripping water, a miracle occurred: the black branches slowly turned dark red, and tender green buds began to sprout from them. Seeing the buds appear, the auctioneer immediately stopped what he was doing and exclaimed again, "This is the first time in hundreds of years I've seen a plant grow!"

The lobby on the first floor was completely silent, then after a few breaths, gasps of surprise rose and fell.

Wiping away non-existent tears from the corners of his eyes, the auctioneer picked up the potted plant and displayed it once again to the guests in the lobby on the first floor.

"I never expected them to come up with such ingenious ideas." An Xin raised an eyebrow and said with a satisfied expression, "The concentration of spiritual energy in liquids is much higher than in gases, and they also have a certain degree of adhesion. Look at this potted plant; it hasn't withered even after all this time."

Only then did Gu Shuohan realize how good An Xin had been to them. She provided them with regular energy water almost every day, and when body tempering was too painful or when they were about to advance to a higher level, her movements when taking out spiritual liquid were very smooth.

Compared to the grateful look in Young Master Gu's eyes, Ao Jue's gaze was even more ardent. He had felt that this substance was extraordinary when he drank it earlier, but he did not expect that this spiritual liquid had such great function!

If Di Ting were to overhear their thoughts, he would probably scoff and say, "What an ignorant fellow." There's no way around it; there are just too many top-tier treasures in the scroll, which has unknowingly broadened the earth dog's horizons.

While An Xin and the other two were lost in thought, a bloody, mangled object was carried onto the stage. It was called an object because it was completely unrecognizable from its appearance.

The rotting flesh was swollen and decaying, covered with pus, and white bones could be seen inside. If it weren't for the creature's faint trembling, no one could tell whether it was dead or alive.

"Everyone, this is a zombie that was doused with corpse-dissolving liquid. On the Ghost Festival, it unfortunately encountered a Taoist priest from Maoshan and used its last bit of strength to return to the underworld before the gates of hell closed. Today, it happened to meet our master and was brought here. Let's wait and see if this spiritual liquid can save it."

Looking at the spiritual liquid in his hand, and then at the pile of rotten flesh, the auctioneer's face was grim, and his lips were slightly pursed. It was clear that he was reluctant to use the spiritual liquid on this pile of meat, but since his client had brought it specifically, he had no choice. He could only pinch his nose with one hand and slowly pour the spiritual liquid onto the rotten flesh with the other.

The enormous screen clearly displayed a magical scene: wherever the spiritual liquid touched, rotting flesh melted away, and new flesh grew. The flesh of the zombies that hadn't been corroded before gradually became plump and moist after being nourished by the spiritual liquid, like a dried-out sponge soaking up water.

On the stage lay a pile of rotting flesh and foul-smelling bodily fluids, yet amidst it all stood a woman with graceful curves and skin as smooth as jade. Though still as pale as paper, it was clear at a glance that this zombie, if properly groomed, would undoubtedly be a beauty. The auctioneer fed the beautiful zombie a sip of spiritual liquid, then, covering his nose, summoned a ghost to clean up the auction stage and take the zombie away, dressing her up before bringing her back up.

"Ladies and gentlemen, what you just witnessed has truly astonished me! It seems this elixir is not only effective on hungry ghosts, spirits, and plants, but it's even more effective on zombies! After all, this is the first time I've ever seen a zombie with a full figure and smooth skin." The auctioneer chuckled, then became serious again. "This elixir also has an auxiliary effect on ghost cultivators. The specific situation needs to be analyzed on a case-by-case basis, but as far as we know, this elixir is extremely pure, almost without any impurities, and it doesn't need to be separated into the five elements. Almost all ghosts or ghost cultivators of different attributes can use it."

Upon hearing this, there was another gasp in the lobby, along with various whispers, before a burst of enthusiastic applause erupted.

Seeing that the atmosphere had reached its peak, the auctioneer cleared his throat, and his clear, melodious voice rang out again: "What you just saw was only the effect of ordinary spiritual liquid. This auction item will be 3 to 4 times more concentrated than ordinary spiritual liquid!" The audience erupted in various expressions of surprise and astonishment. The VIPs who had experienced the ordinary spiritual liquid in the private rooms gripped their bidding paddles, eager and ready to bid.

"Xiao Zhao, go and deliver this to your boss. Tell him it's from our CEO Gu." An Xin took out the jade bottle and turned to Zhao Ying to instruct him.

Zhao Ying carefully held the jade bottle in his hand, nodded steadily, and floated out of the private room.

"Is Xinxin preparing to cooperate with the Netherworld Auction House?" Gu Shuohan asked with a smile.

"Yes, the Netherworld Auction House has a powerful backer and high combat strength. Now is the best time to show our sincerity. Cooperating with them can at least deter other covetous parties. But this is a double-edged sword. Bringing a zombie to test the waters... clearly shows his emphasis on and desire to explore the spiritual liquid. Perhaps this owner has great ambitions and wants to join us to get a share of the pie! Everyone must be careful."

"How should we deal with this?" Ao Jue was annoyed by things that required brainpower, and his tone was full of impatience.

"Just talk less." This was the only solution An Xin could think of for the time being, and she suddenly started missing her second senior brother and Qi Mingxuan.

"Sorry to keep you all waiting. Please bring up the zombies we just sent down."

A graceful woman, her head veiled in red, was helped onto the stage by two waiters. Her movements were stiff, yet her exposed skin was remarkably elastic, unlike the withered, bluish-black skin of a zombie. Once she stood beside the auctioneer, the veil was lifted, revealing a pale face, black-rimmed fox-like eyes, and bloodless lips—all indicating her race. Perhaps from this day forward, she would be the most dazzling of all zombies.

The female guests present were now at the height of their desire for the elixir, and one can imagine the effect of the auction that followed.

"Distinguished guests who have witnessed this miracle, please take your bidding devices and prepare for the next crazy moment!" With the auctioneer's impassioned voice, the screen displayed a starting bid of 5000 colored spirit stones for a bottle of concentrate, with each bid increment being 500 colored spirit stones or more!

"The auction countdown has begun! 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, start!" The auctioneer finally announced the start of the auction, and in an instant, the screen was flooded with ever-increasing numbers! He could only choose to announce round numbers! The bidding speed only began to slow down when the price reached colored spirit stones.

"Alright, the VIP in room 29 has bid colored spirit stones. Are there any higher bids?"

"Colored spirit stones!"

"We've arrived at the colored spirit stones! Thank you so much to the esteemed guests in room number 6 for their appreciation of the spirit liquid!"

"Alright! Then, one colored spirit stone, two colored spirit stones, three colored spirit stones! Deal! Congratulations to our distinguished guest in room number 6."

"Perhaps you are still hesitant? But I can responsibly share with you the production cycle of the elixir. It takes 12 hours to produce one bottle, and this depends on the availability of raw materials! As you can see, this elixir is so effective that the raw materials are extremely rare. In fact, every bottle sold is one less available. Let me reiterate, our firm has assured clients that this concentrated elixir is only sold to Platinum and Supreme members, and the production cycle is uncertain! Even our boss might not be able to buy it!"

"Next up is the auction for the second bottle of concentrated spirit liquid. After that, I will not repeat the above introduction again, so please bid carefully!"

"Alright! The auction countdown begins..."

……

"Okay, the guest in room 12 has bid colored spirit stones. Do you have any more? Any further bids?"

“！2号包间的贵客出价有色灵石！再次感谢2号包间的贵客！是否还有加价？……有色灵石3次！成交！恭喜2号包间的贵客！今日的拍卖太过刺激啊，成交价格已经超出起拍价10倍了！但是贵客相信我，您一定会感激现在的自己！”

"Enough with the nonsense! The countdown to the auction for the third bottle of concentrated elixir begins..."

After the second bottle of elixir was sold, the atmosphere in the room became even more intense and tense. When the bidding for the third bottle began, the competition reached a fever pitch. Guests in various private rooms kept raising the price, causing it to soar.

An Xin watched the bidding war with great interest, and had a general idea of ​​what the profits would be! Life here from today onwards is sure to be quite interesting!