[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-investing-in-the-reborn-empress-she-actually-cal":3,"chapter-investing-in-the-reborn-empress-she-actually-cal-investing-in-the-reborn-empress-she-actually-cal-chapter-694":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"english","Investing in the Reborn Empress, She Actually Calls Me ‘Husband’",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":20,"prevChapterSlug":21,"totalChapters":22,"novelImage":23},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":16,"volume":17,"translator":18,"content_hash":19},597054,846,"Chapter 694: Does that count as the Buddhas or mine","investing-in-the-reborn-empress-she-actually-cal-chapter-694",694,"\u003Cp>\"Li Mo bids six... Young Master Qiao bids seven...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The auction hall of Dongzhu Tower was eerily quiet. Everyone stared blankly at the two figures nearby, their minds buzzing in disbelief.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Qiao Ziyu occasionally shot a resentful glare at Li Mo before raising his bidding paddle again, clearly too deep into the competition to back down.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Mo remained silent, merely lifting his paddle as if oblivious to the staggering price—now reaching five hundred mystic crystals.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sea silk, no matter how aged, was ultimately just material for garments—at best, capable of changing colors.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Three hundred mystic crystals?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Had they lost their minds, or had the world itself gone mad?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even Qian Bufan's face twitched. \"Li Mo, calm down. Maybe let it go? At this rate, I’ll start digging for sea silk myself.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"What on earth do you even need this for?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"To make clothes.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Other materials could also—\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Others can’t change colors. And they’re not as easy to tear.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"???\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Qian Bufan’s brain overheated trying to make sense of such a bizarre reason.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But then it struck him—the money spent hardly mattered.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After all, Dongzhu Tower now belonged to Li Mo. No matter how high he bid, the funds would ultimately return to his own pockets...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If Li Mo was burning money for fun, why was Qiao Ziyu gambling with his life?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Li Mo raises again—three hundred fifty mystic crystals!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As the announcement echoed—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I... ugh—!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Qiao Ziyu instinctively moved to raise his paddle, but before he could speak, a pig’s trotter was shoved into his mouth.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>An elder attendant hastily intervened, \"Young Master, enough. We’ve already made him pay dearly. If he backs out now, what then?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Remember, we still have the crucial item to secure.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Qiao Ziyu glanced at the displayed price, his expression easing slightly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>True, he’d already forced Li Mo to overspend by three hundred forty-seven mystic crystals.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This loss stung worse than the two hundred crystals he’d wasted on roasted pig trotters.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A flicker of dread crept in—what if Li Mo had refused to bid further?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Fine. I won’t raise!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Qiao Ziyu openly admitted defeat.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With that, Lan Tian’s gavel fell, declaring the three-thousand-year sea silk sold to Li Mo for three hundred fifty mystic crystals.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The auction resumed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>From then on, Qiao Ziyu treated the sea silk as merely the opening move. He shadowed Li Mo’s every bid—whether for the Nine-Petal Ocean Lotus Chariot or the Cloud Bed of Heavy Water—relentlessly driving prices skyward.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Mo’s losses surpassed a thousand mystic crystals.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yet he wore an air of undisturbed calm, leaving onlookers feeling like they’d punched cotton.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"This rivals the entire treasury of a provincial sect!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Even Hengyun Sword City might struggle to match such wealth.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Rumors say Li Mo splurged thousands in the imperial capital, but even that paled next to this. Can he truly cover such sums?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Whispers rippled through the crowd.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"If he fails to pay, let’s see how he wriggles free!\" Qiao Ziyu sneered.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The elder attendant cautioned, \"Focus on our true objective.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As the auction neared its end, anticipation swelled.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The final lot was always the crown jewel.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Our finale is a fragment of the Ruins’ Atlas.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Legends speak of it as the realm where celestial traces emerged and vanished—a place holding secrets of immortality itself...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Authenticated by Sect Leader Tantai of Penglai, its value is beyond doubt!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The crimson drape slid away, revealing a bronze slab etched with divine runes, its surface shimmering with starlight, exuding an aura of ancient mystery.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>To gaze upon it was to witness eternity.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The hall held its breath.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For most, the Ruins had existed only in myth.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Immortality—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A word so elusive, yet so intoxicating.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Of course, Penglai’s Star Sect had likely studied this artifact for centuries, if not millennia, before relinquishing it to Dongzhu Tower.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But... immortality demanded fate’s favor.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>What if destiny’s chosen was among them?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Many harbored such thoughts, though few dared more than a glance.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Opening bid—five hundred mystic crystals!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A sum to deter all but the mightiest sects.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Six hundred!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The first bid rang out, edged with urgency.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Before it settled, another voice eclipsed it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Six fifty! Plus a segment of Leviathan bone. I am the Xingsha Sect Leader—kindly grant me this courtesy.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Xingsha Sect Leader? A mere fishmonger! Seven hundred! And two harbors from East Luo Bay.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Personal attacks? Where’s the decorum? Is there no moderation here?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Chaos briefly reigned.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>No one blamed the bidders for their fervor—most were staking their entire fortunes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Young Master, we’ve only brought eight hundred mystic crystals. Beyond that, we’d need to pledge treasures at a loss,\" the elder attendant fretted.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Qiao Ziyu clenched his jaw. Originally, they’d allocated a thousand.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But two hundred had vanished into that cursed pig trotter—now worthless in trade.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He’d never expected the competition to escalate so fiercely.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Losing the Ruins’ Atlas over a mere two hundred crystals? The consequences back at his sect didn’t bear imagining.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Eight hundred mystic crystals.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With no alternative, he threw another venomous look at Li Mo.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The hall hushed momentarily.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This sum exceeded ninety percent of contenders’ means. The remaining sects, though still in play, eyed each other warily, probing for weaknesses.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then, a familiar voice shattered the silence:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"One thousand mystic crystals. Plus five golden mountains.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Qiao Ziyu checked his divination insect—its hue had shifted to violet.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So Li Mo desired this artifact too?\u003C\u002Fp>",897,"2026-05-30T17:19:17.778Z","2026-06-01T04:31:46.889Z",1,"novelbin.me","8df8bcaade2b5a43ead83dc854abfd187735cc64c910b340db6fbe3ae3af8a47","investing-in-the-reborn-empress-she-actually-cal-chapter-695","investing-in-the-reborn-empress-she-actually-cal-chapter-693",737,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Finvesting-in-the-reborn-empress-she-actually-cal-cover.jpg"]