Chapter 648: Closing the Deal


    The Xiao Ming trio followed a maid to a luxuriously decorated lounge. Soon after, Master Mo Qing entered at a leisurely pace, apanied by several maids carrying the four items Xiao Ming had sessfully bid on.


    "Sir, these are the four items you previously won. Please inspect them."


    Master Mo Qing''s face lit up with a smile as soon as he entered. He gestured to the maids behind him to bring the items to Xiao Ming. Thetter was a major client and needed to be treated well.


    The maids bowed slightly and carefully ced the four jade tes on the table next to Xiao Ming.


    Sitting in the chair, Xiao Ming casually nced over the items and, seeing no issues, nodded slightly. He then took out two jade bottles filled with Sovereign Spiritual Liquids; one was the bottle Qing Yanjing had given him earlier, and the other was obtained from the bandits they had encountered on their journey.


    "These are the Sovereign Spiritual Liquids for the auction, please count them."


    At Master Mo Qing''s indication, a maid stepped forward to take the bottles, then brought out a strange device and ced the bottles on it. Shortly after, a number appeared on the device.


    Upon seeing the number disyed on the device, Master Mo Qing raised his eyebrows in puzzlement and looked toward Xiao Ming.


    "Sir, the auction required one hundred and thirty-one million Sovereign Spiritual Liquids, but you provided one hundred and sixty million. Why is that?""I would like to make a business deal with your auction house," Xiao Ming said directly, not beating around the bush. "I also need a heavenly treasure known as the Ster Origin Fruit. In the Merchant Continent, as long as one has money, anything can be bought. I believe that as thergest auction house on this continent, you should have no problem finding this Ster Origin Fruit, right?"


    "The Ster Origin Fruit itself is not a problem, but..." Master Mo Qing was known for his extraordinary abilities and had heard about the reputation of the Ster Origin Fruit. Although such a medicinal ingredient was difficult to find, he was confident in his auction house''s ability to obtain it, yet he still hesitated in his tone.


    "What do you mean, ''but''? Isn''t the Sovereign Spiritual Liquid enough?" Qing Tan interjected with a tone of incredulity as she stood next to Xiao Ming. Previously, her Master had spent a total of fifty million on the two main ingredients at the auction. Now, with an additional twenty-nine million Sovereign Spiritual Liquids to purchase another herb, shouldn''t that be more than enough?


    It was well-known that medicinal ingredients at auctions were generally sold at a premium.


    "The youngdy misunderstood. The amount of Sovereign Spiritual Liquid you''ve provided is more than enough to purchase the Ster Origin Fruit. In fact, our auction house has branches on other continents, and it seems that we have the fruit at our branch in the Morning Star Continent. We just need to confirm its avability, and delivering it will take some time." Master Mo Qing quickly exined, waving his hand to clear up the misunderstanding.


    "How long will it take?" Xiao Ming asked.


    "About twenty... no, ten days," Master Mo Qing was about to say twenty days, but when he saw Xiao Ming''s slightly furrowed brow, he immediately adjusted his estimate.


    "Alright, I''lle to collect it in ten days." Ten days was short enough, and finding the Ster Origin Fruit by then would meet his expectations.


    Having said this, Xiao Ming stood up and with a sweep of his sleeve, all the auctioned items on the table, except for the Greenstone Azure me, were collected into his storage ring.


    Seeing that Xiao Ming had not stored the Greenstone Azure me, Mo Qingplimented him, "Sir, you truly understand these matters. This Divine me is so powerful that even if it is sealed, it cannot be ced in a storage space. However, carrying it openly like this will attract too much attention. Perhaps you would prefer to use the special exit passage in our auction house?"


    "No need for that," Xiao Ming replied with a calm smile. Then, under Mo Qing''s astonished gaze, he picked up the crystal containing the Greenstone Azure me and crushed it with his bare hands.


    Instantly, fierce mes erupted from his hands, and the intense heat made those nearby feel as if they were in a furnace. The space around them seemed to warp, but in the next moment, to the shock of everyone present, Xiao Ming stuffed the zing fire into his mouth, and the terrifying heat vanished with it.


    ''Did he really just swallow that cluster of me?! That was the same Divine me that killed three high-ranking Master Alchemists!'' Master Mo Qing was left agape as he watched.


    Even Qing Yanjing couldn''t help but purse her lips. Despite her own strength, without having reached the Heavenly Sovereign realm, she wouldn''t dare to swallow a Divine me without preparation.


    She had guessed that Xiao Ming''s previous strength was formidable, but he seemed to have not fully recovered his strength yet, right? His Spiritual Energy hadn''t even fully transformed yet.


    "Hoo~"


    After swallowing the Divine me, Xiao Ming actually felt no ill effects; instead, he noticed a significant eleration in the conversion of his spiritual energy, which was an unexpected gain for him.


    Seeing how Xiao Ming swallowed the Divine me with just one long exhtion and otherwise seemed unaffected, Mo Qing quickly regained hisposure. He realized that despite Xiao Ming''s good looks, he was not just a pretty face or someone lucky. Instead, he was a terrifyingly powerful figure. His smile became both warmer and more respectful.


    "Ha ha ha, with Senior''s strength, such precautions are indeed unnecessary. I was too presumptuous before."


    "No harm done. We have other matters to attend to, so we won''t stay any longer." Seeing that everything was settled, Xiao Ming stood up, gestured with his hand, and started walking toward the exit, with Qing Yanjing and Qing Tan quickly following him.


    "Oh, right." Stopping at the door, Xiao Ming suddenly remembered something and paused. Mo Qing hurried forward and bowed respectfully to listen.


    "In the next few days, I would also like you to gather information on three individuals," Xiao Ming briefly described the appearance of Xiao Xuan and the others, focusing on the characteristics of Xiao Xuan and Zhu Kun.


    After listening, Mo Qing patted his chest and assured him that they would do their best to gather the information, adding that such a small task would not incur any charge and would be treated as a courtesy.


    Satisfied, Xiao Ming then departed.


    Mo Qing watched the passage through which Xiao Ming had left for a while before retracting his gaze. He then turned to the maids standing nearby and instructed, "Ensure that none of what happened here is spoken of. If I find out otherwise, you will bear the consequences."


    Watching the nodding maids, Mo Qing thought to himself, ''Anyone who can so easily subdue the Greenstone Azure me, a Divine me that killed three high-ranking Master Alchemists, must be immensely powerful… It seems someone is bound to be unlucky soon.''


    ...


    As soon as they stepped out of the auction house, Xiao Ming felt several greedy and icy stares cast upon them from the shadows.


    "Xiao Ming, where are we heading next?" Qing Yanjing also noticed the hidden nces. Her eyes flicked across the bustling street that seemed calm on the surface but was turbulent underneath. To her keen senses, those lurking, predatory stares were ringly obvious.


    Qing Tan was also aware of it, as some onlookers did not even try to hide their tant stares. Of course, these were mostly minor characters, and Xiao Ming didn''t even consider them worthy of his attention.


    Xiao Ming looked around with a calm expression and chuckled lightly.


    "Let''s find a ce to settle down while we wait for the Ster Origin Fruit. That should give me enough time to prepare the medicinal pills to heal your injuries. As for those little rats, if they dare toe forward during this time, we''ll just take care of them on the spot. If they don''t daree forward, then we''ll deal with everyone together when we leave. After all, it''s merely a matter of a few moves."