After I stopped trying, a rich woman trained me into a demon emperor.

In the center of the banquet hall.

Beside the huge round table, Zhou Ran sat with his legs crossed, leaning against the head of the table.

Chen Ya and Xiao Hongli stood on either side of her, their red dresses like fire and their blue dresses like ice. Just sitting there, they exuded an aura that kept strangers at bay.

The other small business owners at the table hunched over, barely touching the edge of their chairs, and didn't dare move their chopsticks at all.

Fearing that this gentleman might be displeased, they overturned the table on the spot.

Taking advantage of the act of adding wine, Lin Qingxue leaned closer to Zhou Ran.

The fragrance of orchids was tinged with a hint of severity.

"Boss, something's wrong."

"Ma Tianhao has a foreign object in his chest."

"It wasn't a heartbeat, it was a black, fleshy mass wriggling, a living thing."

Zhou Ran picked up the wine glass and rubbed the inside of the glass with his fingertips.

His eyelids lifted slightly.

Under the Demon Eye, nothing can hide.

It was a black beetle, about the size of a thumb, lying on Ma Tianhao's heart, greedily sucking his heart's blood.

Heart-Eating Gu.

The underhanded tactics used in southern Xinjiang.

Trading his lifespan for wealth, Ma Tianhao is quite a ruthless character, trading his own life for money.

"It's alright."

Zhou Ran tilted his head back and drank the wine in one gulp, his tone flat.

At this moment, the lights in the hall suddenly dimmed.

A spotlight shone on the platform.

The auctioneer straightened his bow tie and raised his voice.

"Distinguished guests, the grand finale of tonight's show is here!"

"President Ma's private collection, a unique heirloom—a Blood Jade Guanyin!"

The hostess carried a tray onto the stage and unveiled the red silk.

The eerie red light stung everyone's eyes.

It was a jade Guanyin statue the size of a palm.

It is entirely scarlet.

When the light shines on it, it seems as if fresh blood is flowing inside the jade, and the vein-like patterns are clearly visible.

It's breathtakingly beautiful, and it's also chillingly beautiful.

"Starting bid: ten million!"

The audience was initially quiet, but then erupted in chaos.

"This quality... is amazing!"

"Seeing red means wealth! It's an extremely auspicious sign!"

"I'll offer twenty million!"

"Thirty million!"

Several nouveau riche eager to curry favor with the Jiangnan Chamber of Commerce were blinded by greed, their hands trembling as they held up their placards.

In their eyes, this is not jade at all.

This is the ticket to Chairman Ma's circle.

Zhou Ran looked at the object on the stage and chuckled.

"idiot."

The tone was low, but the chill was biting.

Where did this auspicious omen come from?

That was clearly a piece of "jade with a mouth" that had just been unearthed.

These are funerary objects placed in the mouths of the dead to seal away their last breath of resentment.

The yin energy was so heavy it was almost dripping with water.

Ma Tianhao is treating everyone here like pigs to be slaughtered, and then he'll skin them alive afterward.

Prices have skyrocketed.

It quickly surpassed 60 million.

The owner of a Mediterranean-style hair salon shouted until his face turned red, determined to win.

On the VIP seats on the high platform.

Ma Tianhao held two walnuts in his hand, his cloudy old eyes filled with mockery.

He bought this jade from a tomb raider for two million.

It can not only make money, but also test the loyalty of these people, and incidentally pass on the bad luck to others.

Three birds with one stone.

The auctioneer raised his gavel, his face beaming.

"Sixty million for the second time! Is there any more...?"

"One hundred million."

His tone was clear and sharp, like a thunderclap.

The enthusiastic atmosphere inside the arena was shattered by this explosion.

There was no more noise in the hall.

Everyone's necks twisted stiffly, their gazes fixed on the young man in black.

Zhou Ran did not raise a sign.

He didn't even look up, just fiddled with the empty wine glass in his hand.

The boss who offered 60 million opened his mouth, but in the end, he sheepishly stuffed the sign under the table.

Trying to outspend a madman with money?

They're tired of living.

Ma Tianhao paused for half a second, then grinned.

His smile was sinister.

Is this guy trying to show off in front of women?

Row.

Then cut another piece of flesh from the Xiao family's corpse.

"Mr. Zhou is so magnanimous!"

The auctioneer's voice cracked as he shouted.

"One hundred million once! One hundred million twice..."

The mallet is raised high, about to fall.

"Wait a minute."

Zhou Ran stood up.

At this moment, he was like a sharp blade drawn from its sheath, its edge fully revealed.

He walked slowly toward the platform, the sound of his heels striking the ground echoing the heartbeats of the crowd.

"I won't buy jade with this 100 million."

Zhou Ran stopped three meters away from Ma Tianhao, his eyes filled with amusement.

"As the president of the horse racing association, I wouldn't dare wear this around my neck for ten minutes."

Wow!

The entire audience erupted in uproar.

This is disrupting the event!

They're blatantly riding roughshod over the Jiangnan Chamber of Commerce!

Ma Tianhao's face darkened, and the walnuts in his hand crackled.

"Zhou Ran, what do you mean?"

"Isn't the meaning obvious enough?"

Zhou Ran put one hand in his pocket, his tone languid.

"The color seeps into the bones, and the blood vessels circulate within."

This is not an auspicious omen; it is a "Blood Corpse Jade."

"In ancient times, when kings and nobles were buried, jade was stuffed into their nine orifices. This piece was placed in their mouth."

"It contains the corpse energy and resentment of thousands of years. If a living person wears it, it will cause serious illness at best, and sudden death at worst."

Every word clearly penetrated into the ears of everyone present.

Everyone turned pale and instinctively shrank back.

Ma Tianhao's eye twitched violently.

How did this kid know?!

"Nonsense!"

Ma Tianhao slammed his hand on the table and stood up, shouting angrily.

"I think you're deliberately causing trouble! Security guard!"

"What's the rush?"

Zhou Ran smiled.

That smile had a hint of wickedness.

He raised his hand and grabbed the blood jade from a distance, taking it into his palm.

A surge of demonic energy rippled through his palm.

The blood jade, which had not shown any unusual signs at the moment, began to emit hissing white smoke, and a nauseating stench of rotting flesh spread out.

"Since Chairman Ma says it's a good thing..."

"Then please enjoy it yourself!"

Zhou Ran flicked his wrist.

The blood jade transformed into a crimson light, shooting straight at Ma Tianhao's face.

It moves as fast as lightning.

Ma Tianhao was also a trained fighter, and instinctively reached out to catch it.

Snapped.

Get the blood jade.

next second.

Ma Tianhao's expression twisted.

It's not because of pain.

It was because of fear.

What he held in his hand was not jade, but a red-hot branding iron, which radiated an extreme chill that penetrated to the bone.

Even more terrifying.

The dormant "Heart-Eating Gu" in his heart has gone mad.

Gu worms, being extremely yin and poisonous, are most afraid of this thousand-year-old death energy.

It was as if they had encountered their natural enemy.

The Heart-Eating Gu was rampaging inside his heart, trying to escape his body.

"Well--!"

Ma Tianhao clutched his chest, letting out a muffled groan.

His entire face turned a deep liver color, and the veins on his forehead bulged out, writhing like earthworms.

"Throw it away...throw it away quickly!"

The pain inside his body made him lose his mind.

pat.

He tossed the priceless blood jade onto the ground like trash.

It shattered into several pieces.

At that moment, Ma Tianhao gasped for breath, his whole body slumped in the chair as if he had just been pulled out of the water.

The audience was silent.

Even a fool could see it.

This jade is deadly.

"It seems that Chairman Ma's actions speak louder than words."

Lin Qingxue adjusted her glasses and added insult to injury at the opportune moment.

"A dark spot between the eyebrows indicates that the Qi and blood are flowing in the wrong direction."

Chairman Ma, if you don't seek medical attention soon, you might not make it through the night.

The business owners who were bidding just moments ago were now trembling with fear, touching their necks as they shuddered with lingering dread.

If it weren't for Zhou Ran's intervention...

They're the ones who spent a fortune tonight to buy a death warrant to take home!

Zhou Ran looked at the disheveled Ma Tianhao.

"You lost the first round."

"Use whatever other tricks you have up your sleeve."

"I am Zhou Ran, here I go."

Ma Tianhao stared intently at the shattered jade on the ground, the resentment in his eyes almost solidifying.

To embarrass oneself in public.

His prestige has been completely destroyed.

This debt must be paid in blood!

With trembling hands, he picked up the teacup and took a large gulp, forcibly suppressing the restless Gu worms within his body.

"Good...very good!"

Ma Tianhao gritted his teeth, his voice sounding as if it had been sanded.

"Since Mr. Zhou has such a discerning eye, let's see if you dare to accept this next item!"

He suddenly waved his hand.

The large screen behind me lit up.

A huge map was displayed in front of everyone.

The location marked in red is the infamous "mass grave" site in Jiangcheng New District.

"Jiangcheng New District, plot number A-03".

"Starting bid: 500 million!"