The Lay Flat Life: My Wife's Cultivation Makes Me Stronger - Chapter 12

As soon as these words were spoken, the audience was shocked.

A Three-Needle Flower with a medicinal age of 350 years?

While Three-Needle Flowers were extremely common, a herb with over 300 years of medicinal age was not exactly rare. However, no one would waste time cultivating a cheap herb like the Three-Needle Flower for 350 years—it would just take up valuable land in the spirit fields.

This made a Three-Needle Flower with such a long medicinal age exceedingly rare.

At this moment, a young cultivator stood up and said,

“Are you sure you haven’t made a mistake, auctioneer? A Three-Needle Flower with a 350-year medicinal age? How is that possible? Who in their right mind would waste so many years cultivating such a common herb? Which old monster had nothing better to do?”

The auctioneer chuckled and replied,

“Perhaps it’s a wild-grown flower, you never know. But rest assured, we’ve personally appraised it. If anyone doubts its authenticity, they’re welcome to come forward and inspect it themselves.”

The elder smiled warmly as he spoke.

“Then allow me to check it,” the young cultivator said seriously, cupping his hands.

“I am Zhao Huaiyun, a high-grade alchemist from Danxia Peak. Let me state upfront, I don’t doubt Master Chi Huaijun’s appraisal, but I’m simply curious. I’ve never seen a Three-Needle Flower of such age before, and I’d like to broaden my knowledge.”

“With Master Chi Huaijun and Alchemist Zhao vouching for it, we trust it’s legitimate. Please, Alchemist Zhao, go ahead.”

“Yes, we’re all waiting to see the results.”

The crowd responded eagerly.

Zhao Huaiyun walked forward, and the auctioneer brought out the Three-Needle Flower, placing it on the table.

Seeing the massive size of the flower, the audience gasped in surprise.

Zhao Huaiyun first examined the flower visually, then sniffed it, touched it, and finally channeled spiritual energy into it to feel the medicinal power within.

After a few moments, he nodded and said,

“It is indeed over 350 years old. This is incredibly rare. Auctioneer, what is the starting price? I, Zhao Huaiyun, am declaring my intent to buy it. I will personally refine it into Rejuvenation Pills, aiming to craft the perfect pills.”

“I will use this opportunity to ascend to the master alchemist level!”

At these words, the crowd was filled with astonishment.

Everyone knew that alchemists were ranked as low-grade, mid-grade, high-grade, master, and grandmaster. The pills they produced were ranked similarly.

There were no grandmaster alchemists in the entire Yin-Yang Sect, and only three master-level alchemists. Zhao Huaiyun was regarded as one of the most promising young talents in alchemy, with the highest chance of breaking through to the master level.

With this Three-Needle Flower, he might truly be able to refine pills that could fully harness the herb’s medicinal power, allowing him to ascend to the master level.

Most people in the hall were optimistic about his chances, while Han Feng quietly wondered if he was about to swindle an innocent victim…

The auctioneer chuckled and said,

“Alchemist Zhao, please be patient. You still need to participate in the bidding. In an auction, the highest bid wins.”

“Of course, my apologies for being presumptuous.”

Zhao Huaiyun returned to his seat, though his eyes still burned with desire for the flower.

The auctioneer smiled and said,

“I now announce that the starting bid for the Three-Needle Flower is 2,000 spirit stones. Increments must be no less than 100 spirit stones. Let the bidding begin.”

“I’ll bid 2,500!”

Zhao Huaiyun was the first to raise the stakes, clearly determined to win the flower.

But he wasn’t the only one interested in the treasure, as several other bidders immediately followed suit. Even if they weren’t alchemists, they could always have a trusted alchemist refine the flower for them.

“I bid 2,600.”

“2,700!”

“The Jiang family bids 2,800.”

“The Fu family bids 2,900!”

“3,000! The Ye family bids 3,000! Who dares to compete with us?”

Hearing a voice from the Ye family, Han Feng immediately perked up, turning his gaze toward the Ye family bidder.

It was likely one of the Ye family elders. After all, the head of the family wouldn’t personally attend every auction.

“I, Zhao Huaiyun, bid 3,100!”

Zhao Huaiyun was clearly getting anxious and even called out his own name, emphasizing his determination.

By now, the price of the flower had exceeded its actual value, and most of the other bidders had backed off. However, Zhao Huaiyun was still eager to obtain it.

“The Ye family bids 3,200.”

“The Jiang family bids 3,300.”

Now only the three parties—the Ye family, the Jiang family, and Zhao Huaiyun—remained in the bidding war.

“Jiang Er, are you really going to oppose me?” the Ye family elder shouted angrily, pointing at the Jiang family elder.

The Jiang family elder sneered and replied,

“What do you mean, oppose you? My niece, Jiang Surou, has recently made significant progress in her alchemy skills. She’s about to advance from mid-grade to high-grade alchemy. Once she breaks through, I plan to gift this Three-Needle Flower to her as a congratulatory present. Is that a problem?”

Han Feng’s head filled with black lines. So this flower was going to end up back in Jiang Surou’s hands?

Would she be furious when she found out that her family had spent thousands of spirit stones on a useless flower?

“The Ye family bids 3,500!”

“The Jiang family bids 3,600.”

“I, Zhao Huaiyun, bid 3,800! Esteemed elders, I kindly request your indulgence. This opportunity means a great deal to me.”

Zhao Huaiyun cupped his hands toward the two elders.

The Jiang family elder smiled and said, “Since Alchemist Zhao has spoken, the Jiang family will yield this time. We only ask that Alchemist Zhao guide my niece in alchemy in the future.”

“I will certainly do so!” Zhao Huaiyun said gratefully.

Han Feng inwardly cheered for more bids. Keep going higher!

“The Ye family bids 4,000!”

Sure enough, the Ye family didn’t disappoint Han Feng’s hopes, immediately raising the bid.

“Hmph! Your niece, Jiang Surou, chose a lowly servant disciple as her Dao partner just to avoid picking someone suitable. What a joke! That little servant probably sits around uselessly all day. Your Jiang family’s reputation has been ruined by her!”

The Ye family elder mocked.

The Jiang family elder shot back with a cold smile,

“Our Jiang family’s daughters can choose whoever they want. As long as they’re happy, that’s what matters. We don’t adhere to the arranged marriage schemes your family does. True strength comes from within, not from sacrificing children’s happiness for political gain. That’s what’s truly disgraceful.

If my niece chooses a ‘waste’ as her Dao partner, we will support her decision. We will even turn that waste into an elite if we must!”

Han Feng felt touched by these words. Too bad they wouldn’t help—no matter how much effort they put into him, he still couldn’t cultivate.

At this point, Zhao Huaiyun sighed and was about to place another bid when the Ye family elder smiled and said,

“Alchemist Zhao, why don’t you let our Ye family have this herb? I promise that if we win the bid, we’ll give the herb to you for refining. You can keep the best pill for your breakthrough, and the rest will go to the Ye family.

This way, we both benefit. What do you say?”

Zhao Huaiyun’s eyes lit up.

This was perfect. He wouldn’t have to spend any money and could still make his breakthrough. Meanwhile, the Ye family would get the pills they needed. It was a win-win situation.

“Very well, it’s a deal. I thank the Ye family for their generosity.”

Seeing this, Han Feng lamented inwardly—he could’ve made even more money, but the Ye family had ruined his chance.

Wait a minute…

The pills produced from this flower would be used by the Ye family?

At that thought, Han Feng’s feeling of guilt about scamming them lessened significantly.

Little did Han Feng know, the small trap he had unwittingly laid would come back to haunt Ye Longyuan on the first day of the next month.