Chapter 2000: Are You Crazy!

Youming Laoren's voice echoed through the auction hall: "Two hundred million yuan shi. Any higher bids?"

"Two hundred and ten million," Taotie Zhundi said lazily.

"Three hundred million," Taowu Zhundi declared boldly, raising the bid by ninety million in one go. After speaking, he turned and glanced at Taotie Zhundi, his sinister eyes full of provocation.

Taotie Zhundi's face instantly darkened. He had expected a back-and-forth, but he never imagined Taowu Zhundi would be so aggressive, escalating the price so fiercely.

Taowu Zhundi lounged in his chair, legs crossed, smirking at Taotie Zhundi as if to say, "I have plenty of money—try to keep up if you dare!"

"If you want it that badly, it's yours," Taotie Zhundi snorted coldly and withdrew from the bidding. It wasn't that he lacked funds; he simply didn't want to waste too many yuan shi on a single pill. He still had a few life-extending medicines of his own and didn't need this one. His real goal was the headline item: Bu Mie Xian Jin.

Taowu Zhundi curled his lips into a playful, mocking smile.

"You may not want it, but I do—three hundred and ten million," Gui Ji Zhundi said with a sly laugh, his voice laced with a demonic charm, stepping in to block the way even after Taotie Zhundi had backed down.

"Four hundred million," Taowu Zhundi replied without even glancing at Gui Ji Zhundi, as if he didn't consider him worth the effort.

"The Honghuang forces are incredibly wealthy," the cultivators from Zhutian murmured in awe, one by one falling silent and watching the two Honghuang Zhundi show off their riches.

"We can't compete with bidding like this."

"Do you think they'll start fighting if things get heated?"

Amid the discussions, many eyes turned to Gui Ji Zhundi. Being ignored by Taowu Zhundi like that would make anyone furious.

But Gui Ji Zhundi remained relaxed, casually sipping his wine. He wasn't angry at all about being dismissed; instead, he smiled cunningly.

Seeing this, Taowu Zhundi realized he had been tricked. Gui Ji Zhundi had never intended to bid on the eight-patterned life-extending golden pill from the start. His goal was simply to make Taowu Zhundi spend more.

In an instant, Taowu Zhundi's face turned extremely cold.

Gui Ji Zhundi wasn't one to back down either, his cultivation on par with Taowu Zhundi's. He stood his ground firmly.

The two Zhundi clashed with their auras, making the atmosphere in Youming Ge feel as if it were about to freeze solid.

"Fight! Let's see a fight!" the skinny old man next to Ye Chen whispered excitedly, clearly someone who thrived on chaos.

Ye Chen said nothing. He rested his chin on one hand propped on the table and tapped the surface idly with the other, his eyes darting around as he secretly observed the Honghuang Zhundi with his Zhou Tian vision.

He noticed that one Honghuang Zhundi desired the eight-patterned life-extending golden pill the most intensely.

That Zhundi wasn't Taowu or Taotie—it was Jin Ni Zhundi.

Through his observation, Ye Chen astonishingly discovered that Jin Ni Zhundi's limit for the pill was a billion yuan shi. In other words, the bidding for this eight-patterned pill wouldn't stop without at least a billion yuan shi. Taowu Zhundi might act tough, but his own limit was only five hundred million.

"No wonder his lifespan is running out—that's why his limit is a billion," Ye Chen thought to himself. He could see that Jin Ni Zhundi's life was nearing its end, and this life-extending pill was like a lifeline for him.

Sure enough, as soon as Ye Chen's thought crossed his mind, Jin Ni Zhundi's voice rang out: "Four hundred and ten million."

This statement made Taowu Zhundi turn his head, abandoning his stare at Gui Ji Zhundi and fixing his gaze dead on Jin Ni Zhundi.

"I want this eight-patterned life-extending golden pill too," Jin Ni Zhundi said with an eerie smile.

"We'll see if you have what it takes," Taowu Zhundi sneered. "Raise it by ninety million."

"Five hundred and ten million," Jin Ni Zhundi shot back without hesitation.

Taowu Zhundi narrowed his eyes slightly, a flash of cold light in them.

"Taowu Zhundi, do you wish to raise the bid?" Youming Laoren asked calmly.

Taowu Zhundi took a deep breath and finally suppressed his urge to bid higher, forcing out through gritted teeth: "The pill is his."

"In that case, I must thank Taowu Huang," Jin Ni Zhundi said with a teasing laugh.

"Is there any higher bid?" Youming Laoren shifted his gaze from Taowu Zhundi and scanned the room below, pausing for an extra second when his eyes passed over Ye Chen.

Don't say it, but that glance from Youming Laoren made Ye Chen actually raise his hand: "Five hundred and ten million plus ninety million—six hundred million."

"Are you crazy!" the skinny old man cursed.

"Seven hundred million."

"Why are you still raising it?"

"Eight hundred million."

"Damn, have you lost your mind!"

"Nine hundred million."

Ye Chen and the skinny old man bantered back and forth without pause, like a comedy routine, completely seamless. The funny part was, every time the skinny old man spoke, Ye Chen raised the bid by another hundred million.

Everyone in the hall stood with their mouths agape, unable to close them for a long time.

In that moment, Youming Ge fell into complete silence.

All eyes, without exception, locked onto the two of them, especially Ye Chen. What was he doing? No one else was bidding, so why was he raising it on his own? And every time someone said something, he added another hundred million. Was he just burning money, or had he lost his senses?

Even Youming Laoren was a bit stunned. In all his years hosting auctions, this one was the strangest. Bidding against yourself and raising it by hundreds of millions each time? It was as if his family owned a money-making factory!

Under everyone's watchful gaze, Ye Chen remained unfazed, acting as if nothing had happened.

As for the skinny old man, he had already crossed his arms and hung his head, silently swearing never to say another word. Every time he spoke, Ye Chen added a hundred million, and he was afraid his heart couldn't take it—he might drop dead on the spot.

Today, he had truly witnessed what it meant to be stubbornly reckless—something he hadn't seen in eight thousand years.

If anyone looked the most furious, it was Jin Ni Zhundi, his golden eyes glaring fiercely at Ye Chen.

"Don't I have the right to bid if I have the money?" Ye Chen said, feigning fear.

"Of course you do," Jin Ni Zhundi replied with a cold laugh, his eyes turning blood-red, savage and bloodthirsty. His face twisted into something grotesque, like a demon, enough to send chills down anyone's spine.

"This guy—always picking fights with the Honghuang forces."

"First it was Qiongqi Zhundi, now Jin Ni Zhundi. Turning two hundred million into nine hundred million—now that's bold."

"No matter who he is, he's doing a great job."

The discussions started up again, and the Zhutian cultivators felt a surge of satisfaction.

"Daoist friend, do you wish to raise the bid?" Youming Laoren asked, turning to Jin Ni Zhundi.

"A billion," Jin Ni Zhundi growled through gritted teeth.

"Still, it's the senior who has more money. I'm impressed," Ye Chen sighed, his face full of regret.

His expression made the Zhutian cultivators' mouths twitch. He had just cost someone hundreds of millions in yuan shi, yet he acted like this—was he just rubbing it in?

The one who wanted to explode with rage the most was Jin Ni Zhundi. Although he had secured the eight-patterned life-extending golden pill, it left him seething with anger, his insides twisting. He had lost several hundred million yuan shi in the process. The Honghuang forces were wealthy, but they couldn't sustain this kind of spending forever. All of it was because of Ye Chen, and his killing intent toward Ye Chen had sunk deep into his soul.

While Jin Ni Zhundi was fuming and on the verge of madness, the other Honghuang Zhundi were gloating. Another major rival had been dealt with—after spending a billion yuan shi, he would be at a disadvantage for the upcoming Bu Mie Xian Jin auction.

For this, they owed Ye Chen a thank you.

"Say, do you really have nine hundred million yuan shi?" the skinny old man nudged Ye Chen.

Ye Chen just smiled and quietly sipped his wine. He didn't have nine hundred million yuan shi, but if you factored in other treasures, it was hard to say. Take the Chaos Ding, for example—it was forged from Daluo Shen Tie, infused with chaos energy, and held the Dunjia Tianzi. Since its creation, it had devoured countless divine weapons and artifacts. It was worth far more than nine hundred million—maybe even nine billion.

If Jin Ni Zhundi's limit hadn't been just a billion, Ye Chen would have kept pushing.

Awesome!

The Zhutian cultivators gave Ye Chen a thumbs-up again. Boldly scamming the Honghuang forces like this was truly something else. They wouldn't dare do it themselves—if the other side suddenly stopped bidding, they'd be the ones at a loss. The eight-patterned life-extending golden pill was precious, but it wasn't worth a billion yuan shi.

Among them, a few looked at Ye Chen with the most admiration.

Those few were plants arranged by Youming Dalu, there to drive up prices.

But awkwardly, their efforts paled in comparison to Ye Chen's direct approach. When it came to being a shill, Ye Chen was the real deal—they didn't even get a chance to act, as he handled everything single-handedly, leaving them with nothing to do.

The auction continued, with one climax after another.

However, this auction had a strange phenomenon: whenever the Honghuang forces bid, someone always jumped in to disrupt, and that someone was extraordinarily wealthy, driving prices to heart-stopping levels. The dozen or so Honghuang Zhundi ended up being scammed one by one.

That mastermind was, of course, Ye Chen.

He was here to bid on the true fire, but also to cause trouble. He couldn't stand seeing the Honghuang forces get what they wanted.

Because of him, every time the Honghuang Zhundi made a move, they had to spend much more. They had attended many auctions before, but none had been this grueling.

"Kill, kill, kill." The dozen Zhundi ground their teeth, their sinister eyes bloodshot.

If looks could kill, Ye Chen would have died ten thousand times over.

If not for their concern about Youming Dalu, they would have attacked already.

"Want to take treasures from our Zhutian auction? You'll pay the price," Ye Chen thought calmly on the surface, but laughed coldly inside.

The Zhutian cultivators clicked their tongues in amazement, giving Ye Chen thumbs-up while feeling sorry for the Honghuang Zhundi. It was rare for them to attend an auction, only to run into such a scamming expert. He didn't target the Zhutian cultivators at all, just the Honghuang forces, scamming them relentlessly.

At this point, if anyone claimed Ye Chen wasn't a shill, no one would believe it.

Even Youming Laoren believed it, sending messages to his people several times to confirm if this guy was one of theirs. If so, he'd give him a bonus after the auction.

This kind of talent was incredibly effective.

"Take it easy, or they might trip you up when you bid on the true fire," the skinny old man warned.

"Then let them have their fun early," Ye Chen said with a mysterious smile.

On stage, Youming Laoren cleared his throat and brought out the next item: a bronze furnace that could serve as a magical tool or an alchemy furnace. It glowed with golden light and was made from special divine iron.

The moment the bronze furnace appeared, a sharp glint flashed in Ye Chen's eyes.

This reaction didn't escape the Honghuang Zhundi's notice. They were just waiting to scam him back, so they kept a close eye on Ye Chen. Seeing that glint in his eyes, they were certain he wanted the bronze furnace.

Little did they know, Ye Chen was doing it on purpose, putting on an act. His performance was always top-notch, like that of a film emperor.

All of this was preparation for bidding on the true fire.

He had to scam the Honghuang Zhundi thoroughly in advance, so they'd be cautious when the true fire came up.

Back in the day, he had done the same to Hua Tiandu, nearly driving him mad.