A useless person with five spiritual roots? I sacrificed the proud daughter of heaven.

"Look how beautiful she is! She's the most beautiful item I've ever seen at auction."

A series of gasps rang out from the crowd. Sheng He looked at the girl who had curled up in a ball inside the large iron cage and couldn't help but marvel at her beauty.

She had a pair of clear, bright blue eyes like crystal, and long, curly hair that flowed smoothly down her front. Her huge fish tail covered the entire cage, refracting a rainbow of colors in the dim light.

She clutched a white bead tightly in her hand, and even though her face was covered in blood and dust, it couldn't hide her breathtakingly beautiful features.

As the surroundings gradually brightened, the mermaid's beauty was fully revealed to everyone. The scene seemed to fall silent for a moment, followed by a chorus of exclamations.

Jiang Xuanli left the room at some point and went down to the stage himself, standing by the iron cage and feeling the crowd's fervor for the mermaid.

He bent down and gently lifted a strand of the mermaid's blue hair. Amidst the eager gazes of the crowd, he cut off that strand, threw it forcefully into the crowd, and shouted:

"Mermaids from the Eastern Seas, starting bid: 10,000 mid-grade spirit stones."

The crowd's enthusiasm was completely ignited, with countless people scrambling for that lock of hair, and the cries of bidding rising incessantly.

The mermaid huddled to one side, trembling, completely unaware of her impending fate.

"One hundred thousand!"

"I'll offer 100,000 spirit stones. I'm taking this mermaid furnace. Nobody can take it from me!"

The man in the next room leaned out halfway and shouted loudly. His fat was bulging out of the window, making him look like he might fall off at any moment. Yet, his squinty eyes were fixed on the mermaid in the iron cage, as if he wanted to stick to her right away.

The crowd on the first floor gradually calmed down from their frenzy. One hundred thousand mid-grade spirit stones were enough to support a small sect. Although mermaids were indeed precious, they were short of money, and no one raised the price any further for the time being.

"Hehe, furnace, my furnace."

The fat man in the next room struggled to move his body inside, almost wanting to go downstairs immediately and take the mermaid away.

Then, a voice slowly drifted from another room, saying, "110,000."

"Who, who dares to take it from me! Don't they know my father is the city lord!"

The fat man stared fiercely at the room until a long, thin face appeared inside. The man waved at the fat man with a mocking smile.

"That's quite something, Young Master Chen. I'll take this mermaid."

"You! Wang Zheng, you just wait!"

Once someone spoke up, the competition in the second-floor rooms became fierce, with people frequently raising their bids.

"One hundred and thirty thousand."

"135,000".

……

"165,000."

Sheng He narrowed his eyes, still deciding whether to make an offer, when a clear female voice came from a corner on the first floor: "166,000."

"Young lady, you can't just bid carelessly. If you can't pay in the end, the consequences will be dire!"

The woman sitting in the corner nodded slightly, but raised the price again when someone else shouted "170,000".

"171,000."

Sheng He stood by the window, subtly observing the woman.

She was wearing an ordinary dark gray coarse cloth dress, her hair was tied up with a piece of cloth, her face was gray and her features were not clear, and there was no spiritual energy fluctuation on her body.

Judging from her appearance alone, she looks no different from an ordinary peasant woman.

Sheng He's gaze fell on the woman's neck. She was unremarkable in any way, but strangely enough, she wore a pearl around her neck that was exactly the same as the one the mermaid held.

"Two hundred thousand."

Sheng He called out.

Jiang Xuanli glanced at Sheng He in surprise, then smiled and nodded at her.

"Two hundred thousand, anyone else bidding? If not, this beautiful mermaid will belong to that young lady?"

The fat man in the next room turned around and glared at Sheng He fiercely: "Hey! What do you, a woman, want with a mermaid? Do you know who my father is?"

“I know.” Sheng He stared at the mermaid and chuckled softly, “The city lord, huh?”

"you!"

Just as Chen Zichuan was about to have someone teach this arrogant and ignorant woman a lesson, he noticed the clothes Sheng He was wearing. They were... the attire of a direct disciple of the Sword Peak of the Qingyun Sect.

Chen Zichuan fell silent, looking unwillingly at the mermaid inside the iron cage.

“I say, immortal, you cultivate swordsmanship, so what use are mermaids to you? Why not give them to me? My father is the city lord of Sheng'an City, and the entire city of Sheng'an will give you and Qingyun Sect face in the future.”

Sheng He chuckled lightly: "How do you know I have no use for the mermaid?"

"Sure, you can have it."

Chen Zichuan's eyes lit up instantly.

"Why don't you just raise the price further?"

Chen Zichuan nodded and breathed a sigh of relief: "Thank you, fairy."

"Twenty-one thousand."

Sheng He then shouted, "Two hundred and twenty thousand."

"Fairy, didn't you say you'd give it to me?"

"I only asked you to raise the price, I didn't say I wouldn't."

"If you want more, just add more."

Sheng He looked at the fat man with a half-smile, but her eyes were fixed on the woman sitting in the corner.

Chen Zichuan glared at Sheng He through gritted teeth, but ultimately moved his body back into the room with resentment.

Looking at the two plain-looking maids in the room, and then at the stunningly beautiful mermaid, he angrily overturned all the teacups on the table.

"Useless trash! A bunch of vulgar women! Get out of here!"

The two maids hurriedly retreated. Chen Zichuan sat down on the stool, panting. He was too fat and got tired easily with the slightest movement, but his eyes were still fixed on the mermaids below the stage.

The more I looked, the stronger my resentment became.

No! That mermaid can only be his!

So what if she's a direct disciple of the Qingyun Sect? Sheng'an City is still his territory. If that little girl is willing to hand over the mermaid obediently, then so be it.

Otherwise...

A fierce glint flashed in Chen Zichuan's eyes.

With Chen Zichuan's departure, the remaining few began to hesitate. After a while, Wang Zheng poked his head out of the side room and greeted Sheng He.

"I'll offer 230,000, sorry, immortal."

Sheng He nodded slightly: "Two hundred and sixty thousand."

"Two hundred and sixty-one thousand."

Sheng He looked down at the woman in the corner and gently curled her lips. Sure enough, she made another bid.

"Two hundred and seventy thousand."

"Three hundred thousand."

The scene fell silent again. The woman looked up at Sheng He, her face ashen. She pinched the beads around her neck, and finally lowered her head in despair.

Only Jiang Xuanli, holding onto the cage, vaguely sensed that something was wrong.

Shenghe offered 300,000, but he gave a 30% discount, so it's only 210,000.

No wonder she kept adding 30,000 at a time. After all that, wouldn't he have ended up losing money?

Jiang Xuanli's lips twitched. Ninety thousand mid-grade spirit stones—he was losing a lot!