Footsteps approached from outside the door.
After her meridians were unblocked, allowing her to cultivate, Bai Ran's senses became much sharper.
Her spiritual power surged outwards like a tide, filling the entire courtyard. With the combined spiritual power from two lifetimes, Bai Ran could see every blade of grass, every insect in the courtyard without obstruction. This was achieved only after she deliberately restrained her power, mindful of the experts within her household.
Bai Luohan's steps were hurried, yet concealed a killing intent. Her kind "third sister" was coming to trouble her again. A smile played on Bai Ran's exquisite face.
Bai Ran was the most doted-upon child of the Bai family head. However, the patriarch spent little time at home, having recently gone to attend the birthday celebration of the Emperor of the White Tiger Kingdom.
Bai Zhantian was deeply worried about Bai Ran. The Emperor, coveting the strength of Bai Zhantian and the Bai family, arranged a marriage between the fourth miss of the Bai family and the second prince, hoping the prince would enlist the Bai family's support and, incidentally, look after Bai Ran.
Bai Zhantian reluctantly agreed, only hoping that the second prince would take good care of Ran Ran.
Whenever the patriarch returned home, Bai Luohan would act exceptionally considerate and gentle, assuring everyone that Ran Mei Mei was well. Even the servants in the manor praised the third miss's kindness. Coupled with Bai Ran being a fool who couldn't cultivate, it was like a mute eating bitter herbs—a suffering with no words.
Therefore, Bai Ran lived a life of misery from childhood, enduring scolding and beatings every few days. Even when some observant servants tried to expose Bai Luohan's actions through other means, no one believed them. It wasn't until Bai Luohan impersonated Bai Ran and sent a challenge letter to a young master that Bai Ran finally met her death on the stage.
Thinking of this, her eyes turned cold. Bai Luohan was truly her good sister. At the age of thirteen, Bai Luohan was already at the third stage of Qi Condensation. Combined with her beautiful face, maintained through day and night care, and her gentle and generous disposition, she was hailed as a divine genius by the people of the Vermillion Bird Kingdom.
But no one knew that Bai Ran, now freed from poison, had already surpassed this divine genius. If she had cultivated since childhood, she might have been able to overthrow the Vermillion Bird Kingdom by now.
"Trash! Our third miss has arrived, why aren't you quickly coming out to kowtow in welcome!" a maid named Luoluo, by Bai Luohan's side, shouted from outside the door.
After a long moment, there was no response. Luoluo's anger flared. How dare they make their young lady wait! Ignorant fool! She strode forward, intending to kick the door open.
But as Luoluo extended her foot to kick, the door opened. Luoluo, unable to retract her momentum, unexpectedly fell face first.
The person who appeared still had sallow cheeks dotted with blemishes, seemingly no different from before. However, as she looked up, Bai Ran's eyes were as sharp as a sword, piercing Bai Luohan with pain.
It seemed something had changed, yet nothing had changed.
"You good-for-nothing! You dare... Ahhhhh!" Before Luoluo could finish, Bai Ran stomped on the leg Luoluo had used to kick the door.
A cracking sound of bone breaking echoed.
"A mere servant, trespassing into the master's chamber and disrespecting the master, is punishable by tendons severance and expulsion from the family according to the family rules," each word spoken in a voice as delicate as trickling spring water, yet firm and imbued with killing intent.
"Bai Ran, you're not a fool anymore!" Bai Luohan's eyes were filled with shock, and the surrounding servants stood frozen.
Not only was she no longer foolish, but she could also cultivate, and her appearance had been restored. However, Bai Ran had no intention of kindly informing them.
"Third miss! Third miss! The Second Prince has arrived! He just entered the Bai manor!" a young servant ran over. Bai Luohan's face lit up with joy. She glanced at Bai Ran, a glint flashing in her eyes, and with a surge of immense spiritual energy, she flew towards Bai Ran at full speed.
As long as she got close to Bai Ran with her spiritual energy, the poison in Bai Ran's body would relapse, making her appear insane. By feigning injury, she could garner the prince's concern and make him loathe Bai Ran. Ha, it was killing two birds with one stone.
Facing Bai Luohan's charge, Bai Ran stood by the door, arms crossed, watching with an amused expression, showing no sign of madness.
By the time Bai Luohan landed in front of Bai Ran, Bai Ran showed no abnormalities. Bai Luohan, initially puzzled, saw Bai Ran wave her delicate hand. Bai Luohan was sent flying backward, hitting the doorframe and sliding down, bright red blood instantly seeping through her clothes.
"May I ask, Third Miss, have I done something wrong for you to attack me?" Bai Ran asked, her eyes as calm as still water, looking at Bai Luohan.
As Bai Luohan was about to retort, "Bai Ran! What are you doing!"
An angry shout was heard. It was the Second Prince, Murong Jin! A group of people, led by the Second Prince, stood at the entrance of the small courtyard, their eyes wide as bronze bells. What had they just seen?
The third miss of the Bai family attacked Bai Ran and was sent flying? From their angle, they had perfectly witnessed Bai Luohan charging at Bai Ran with immense spiritual energy, only for Bai Ran to swat her away as if she were swatting a fly.
"Jin Gege, perhaps Luohan did something wrong and angered Ran Mei Mei!" Bai Luohan coughed a few times, appearing very weak. Blood flowed from her back, making her look like a shattered porcelain doll.
"Luohan, stop talking. Bai Ran! You have truly disappointed me!" Murong Jin said, giving Bai Ran a look of disappointment. He helped up the 'weak' Bai Luohan and walked away.
Enraged for beauty, a pair of destined lovers.
Her good third sister wanted to flirt with the Second Prince, so she would help her out.
"You're being so kind?" Shi Tian asked from within the spatial dimension, puzzled.
"Shi Tian, if my good third sister loses the Bai family's protection, will her beloved Second Prince protect her by overcoming all obstacles?" Bai Ran twirled a strand of her dark hair.
"Or will he... abandon her without a second thought? Heh, I can't wait to see."
Watching them from afar, Bai Ran smiled, unrestrained and flamboyant, the light in her eyes captivating.
"Yikes." Shi Tian felt a chill run down his spine looking at Bai Ran's smile. Tsk, what a wicked woman.
The Second Prince Murong Jin, who had walked away, disliked his fiancée Bai Ran. She was useless and foolish. However, she was Bai Zhantian's most beloved granddaughter. If anything happened to his granddaughter, even the Emperor might not be able to protect him. What a nuisance. Compared to her, Bai Luohan was much better, gentle and considerate.
Thinking this, he looked at the 'weak' Bai Luohan. "Luohan, are you alright?"
"Thank you for your concern, Your Highness. Luohan is fine," Bai Luohan said, looking at Murong Jin with affectionate eyes.
"This is a second-grade blood-replenishing pill. Take it, and from now on, don't get involved with Bai Ran any more," Murong Jin said with heartache, producing a pill from his hand.
Bai Luohan looked at Murong Jin, feeling a sense of injustice. She was the one who was hurt! Yet Murong Jin warned her not to approach that useless person! But maintaining her image of being considerate and generous, she had no choice but to agree.
"Yes, Your Highness..." she replied obediently, taking the pill Murong Jin offered.
In the courtyard.
Bai Ran's consciousness stirred. She pulled a veil from her spatial dimension, flashed into an inconspicuous corner, scaled the wall, and left the Bai manor.
On the street, she walked into the Yingtian Auction House. "Miss, are you here to bid or sell?" a welcoming attendant asked, appraising Bai Ran.
"Sell," she said, deliberately lowering her voice.
"Then please follow me, Miss." After a detour, they entered a room where an old man with white hair sat. This was the Yingtian Auction House's appraiser, Elder Ying.
Elder Ying stroked his beard and smiled. "You may hand over the items you wish to sell to this old man. I will help you set a price. If you find the price agreeable, the Yingtian Auction House will auction them on your behalf."
Bai Ran casually tossed out a small bottle and a few herbs.
As soon as Elder Ying opened the bottle, the aroma of high-grade pills filled the room. "This! This!" Elder Ying trembled as he poured out a pill. "This! This is a fourth-grade high-grade pill, a Breakthrough Pill? And there are three of them!"
The top alchemist on the Myriad Beasts Continent was only at the fifth grade. The remaining alchemists were extremely rare, generally at the second or third grade.
"This! This is also a Jade Marrow Ganoderma, which only grows once in ten thousand years!" Jade Marrow Ganoderma older than ten thousand years was already very rare in the Vermillion Bird Kingdom, and here were three of them!
Elder Ying was so shocked his beard almost fell off. He carefully held the treasures.
Bai Ran did not reply. Since her advancement, she found that she could use fourth and fifth-grade pills. The medicinal garden also contained herbs over ten thousand years old, some even hundreds of thousands or millions of years old. These few herbs were mere scraps.
"Ahem," Elder Ying calmed himself and looked at Bai Ran sternly. "Esteemed guest, the starting bid for each of these pills will be two million gold coins, and for each Jade Marrow Ganoderma, one million one hundred fifty thousand gold coins. The auction house will take a twenty percent commission, how about it?" httpδ:/m.kuAisugg.nět
"Agreed," Bai Ran nodded.
On the continent, the lowest currency was copper coins. Ten copper coins equaled one silver coin, ten silver coins equaled one gold coin, and ten gold coins equaled one crystal coin. However, crystal coins were rare on the continent, so most transactions were in gold coins.
One million gold coins was equivalent to the income of a large family for five years.
"Here is the Yingtian Auction House's VIP card. Please keep it safe," he said, presenting a black card with the word 'Yingtian' inscribed with spiritual energy.
Bai Ran put away the card and looked up at Elder Ying. "These treasures were merely incidentally acquired by the Yingtian Auction House."
Elder Ying immediately understood the hidden meaning. The guest did not wish for any information about her to be revealed.
"Rest assured, honored guest. Yingtian has a hundred years of foundation; we would not ruin our reputation."
Bai Ran then followed the attendant to a 'Heaven' room on the third floor. After the attendant arranged many preserved fruits and snacks, they all withdrew.
Bai Ran sat on the sofa in front of her, looking down through the window. The floor-to-ceiling windows on the third and fourth floors were one-way. Therefore, there was no need to worry about her identity being exposed.
"Hey, look, the only room on the fourth floor has someone in it."
"Yes, I wonder what kind of status they have to be able to enter that room."
The room on the fourth floor had never been illuminated since the Yingtian Auction House was built.
In the fourth-floor room.
"Venerable One, according to reliable sources, the one you seek will be auctioned here," a man with a stern gaze and handsome features said, cupping his fist and bowing his head.
"Mm," a deep, magnetic voice replied.
A man sat on the opposite tiger-skin sofa. He wore a black brocade robe with dragon patterns. His fair and smooth face was chiseled, with deep, dark eyes, a high nose, and lips as thin and beautiful as a petal, radiating a fatal allure. His natural imperial aura exuded an oppressive presence, all showcasing his noble and mysterious bearing.