Chapter 114: Like a Flower and Like a Flower

Yu Mu had never witnessed such a grand spectacle before. The massive circular hall bathed in the glow of the light array resembled broad daylight.

This round chamber was at least the size of an opera house. The seats below the stage were densely packed with people, each wearing expressions of shock as they gazed at him.

Suddenly confronted with so many strangers, no matter how stunned Yu Mu was, he couldn’t help but feel utterly dazed.

As the black cloth was pulled away on stage, revealing an adorably naive black-and-white bear, the entire audience was momentarily speechless.

What on earth was that creature?

The immense hall fell into an eerie silence, so still that even the faintest sound could be heard clearly.

But only moments later, a roar of thunderous cheers and screams erupted from the crowd. Especially among the women below, each seemed bewitched, unleashing frantic shrieks.

“So cute! I have to have this bear.”

“Wow, how could such an adorable creature exist in the world? I’m in love...”

“Look at those black circles around its eyes! Are those ears glued on? It’s so cute, could it be someone in disguise?”

Flying kisses and fluttering hearts filled the air.

In the eyes of the girls, little stars sparkled endlessly, casting waves of affection.

As the center of attention, Yu Mu felt completely overwhelmed.

So this is how exhausting it must be to be a star!

A person on stage cleared their throat lightly, quieting the cheers. “Ladies and gentlemen, the last three items in today’s auction are slaves and pets provided by the Sangxin family.

This bear is the only pet among them. Since this is the first time such a magical beast has been seen, its exact nature remains unknown, but it is undoubtedly a treasure worth possessing.

Having been an auctioneer all my life, I’ve never encountered such a charming magical pet. The starting price for this bear is one thousand mid-grade spirit crystals; each subsequent bid must increase by no less than one hundred. Let the bidding begin!”

As soon as the auctioneer’s words fell, chaos erupted below.

“Fifteen hundred.”

“Two thousand!”

“Three thousand!”

“Four thousand!”

...

Seeing the frenzied bidding beneath him, Yu Mu thought to himself, ‘That crow with the long fang was right—I really am about to become someone’s pet.’

At first, a few men had placed bids, but after witnessing the women’s frenzy, one by one they fell silent.

When it came to shopping desires, even gods might shy away from women!

When the price hit eight thousand, only two people remained battling for Yu Mu’s final ownership.

Though Yu Mu’s bear form was irresistibly cute, eight thousand spirit crystals equated to about 800,000 in his past life! Whether that price was worth it for a pet was debatable.

The two women still bidding were a striking contrast: one stunningly beautiful, the other plain but with her own charm.

Looking at such a stark difference, Yu Mu didn’t know which to hope for. Deep down, he wished to be taken by the beauty. But...

“Eight thousand five hundred,” the beauty whispered softly, her voice enchanting.

“Nine thousand!” the plain one shouted, her rough voice as fierce as her appearance.

At this price, even these two only raised bids by five hundred each time.

“Nine thousand five hundred,” the beauty bit her silver tooth, uttering the number reluctantly.

“Ten thousand!” the plain woman blurted without hesitation.

Everyone watching already guessed how it would end.

Sure enough, the beauty hesitated for a moment, cast a reluctant glance at Yu Mu on stage, stomped her golden slipper, and turned to leave.

Clearly, she was less wealthy than the plain woman, but it was evident she truly loved the adorable bear.

In the end, the plain woman won Yu Mu’s ownership, her heart blooming with joy. She paid no attention to the rest of the auction, hurried backstage, and pulled out a pouch of spirit crystals, tossing one hundred high-grade spirit crystals to the asset handlers.

Amid their expressions of surprise, she led Yu Mu out of the hall.

At that moment, the auctioneer’s voice slowly rose behind them: “The next slave up for auction is a stunning mid-stage Golden Core beauty, still a virgin...”

Yu Mu turned back, catching sight of a lonely, helpless figure before being dragged away. He followed behind the short, dumpy woman, wishing he could kick her to death.

Outside the hall, all was quiet. Unbeknownst to him, it was already nearing midnight.

The plain woman led Yu Mu onto a large carriage topped with an enormous phoenix pavilion, resembling a small room. Inside, silken cushions and brocade lined the walls, with a fragrant aroma filling the space—utterly luxurious.

As Yu Mu sat down, he spoke up. “Miss, could you spare my life? I’m willing to pay double your purchase price, and I will be forever grateful for your mercy.”

The plain woman pinched Yu Mu’s chubby face and smiled. “Little bear, from now on you should call me ‘Mommy.’ Don’t you know? Pets these days are treated like sons. My neighbors have a lousy dog they call ‘son’ all day long. Ha ha ha, it’s ridiculous! Now that I’ve taken you home, I’ll make sure to annoy them to death. Ha ha ha...”

Yu Mu was furious at her shamelessness—how dare she insult motherhood?

But given his circumstances, he could only plead gently. “Miss, I truly am willing to pay double to redeem myself. Besides, my friend is in trouble, and I must go save her. I beg you...”

Before Yu Mu finished, the plain woman burst into laughter. “The esteemed Redemption Treasure Hall doesn’t lack two hundred spirit crystals, little bear. Behave yourself and focus on being Mommy’s pet. The outside world and its messes will have nothing to do with you anymore. Understand? Ha ha ha—uh—”

As she laughed heartily, Yu Mu suddenly expelled a puff of pink mist into her mouth. A shadowy spirit invaded her consciousness, ravenously draining her spiritual energy.

Her eyes turned blood-red, she coughed violently, tearing at her clothes desperately, trying to embrace Yu Mu.

At that moment, the carriage driver outside heard the commotion, pulled back the curtains, and asked, “Miss, what’s wrong—”

Before he could finish, he was met with the same pink mist. Seeing the plain woman’s plump, pale flesh, he gasped for air, leapt inside, and grabbed her tightly.

The plain woman, agitated and frantic, struggled wildly. The two sank deeper into the chaos. Yu Mu frantically commanded the shadow spirit to absorb her spiritual power.

How could Yu Mu still activate his skills? It was because his inner elixir was not inside his body but on his forehead. Though the slave collar blocked his spiritual energy from reaching his body, it could not prevent the abilities of his spirit sea and inner elixir.

Thus, he was able to use the pink mist from his inner elixir and the dark spirit from his spirit sea to launch the attack. This was his only means of survival, usable only at this critical moment.

The plain woman descended into madness, but gradually weakened. Her body still writhed, but her consciousness blurred and eventually faded away.

With a soft thud, she died atop the carriage driver. The driver was a newly ascended cultivator, no match for her fierce onslaught; he was battered to death.

This was Yu Mu’s first time using the shadow spirit to kill. Fortunately, the plain woman’s cultivation was on par with his, and she had already lost all will to resist, allowing the shadow spirit to barely drain her spiritual power.

Upon her death, her spiritual energy transformed into true necromantic power, which the shadow spirit absorbed freely.

In an instant, having drained all the necromantic energy, the shadow spirit evolved from an illusory form to a tangible one, advancing to the phantom soul state.

A phantom soul possesses cultivation equivalent to the Core Condensation stage and has certain physical attack capabilities.

The phantom soul flew to Yu Mu’s neck, condensing into a fist-sized ball of black energy. When compressed to its limit, it suddenly exploded with a sharp crack, breaking the slave collar.

This slave collar was only mid-grade Daoist artifact quality, with a unique function but low rank. Any external force equivalent to a Core Condensation cultivator could destroy it.

Freed from the collar, Yu Mu felt as light as a dragon returning to the sea.

He immediately summoned all his equipment, fully outfitted. Ever since the Seven Star Slope was raided by strategists, he had adopted the habit of storing all treasures in his inner space whenever facing a dead end.

Fully equipped, he retrieved a pouch from the plain woman’s corpse and opened it—inside was a full bag of high-grade spirit crystals. No wonder the beauty couldn’t compete; the money to buy Yu Mu was only a fraction of what the plain woman carried.

After leading the carriage to a concealed spot, Yu Mu hurried back to the auction house.