78: Chapter 78 If you're not ruthless, your path won't be stable.

Chen Hao used his only remaining right arm to press firmly against the ground. With every movement, his fractured sternum and empty left shoulder sent waves of tearing, excruciating pain through his body.

Hunched over, he stumbled step by step down the mountain; he needed to find someone with a Yin-attribute constitution as soon as possible.

That night, a bombshell piece of news exploded like a thunderclap, instantly sweeping through all of Hai City! The news spread rapidly, eventually even sweeping across the entire nation of China.

Tianchen Auction House, a subsidiary of Chen Group, suddenly released an urgent announcement on its official website and all major social media platforms. It was pinned and highlighted in red, extremely eye-catching:

"Tianchen Auction House's autumn special event will feature a grand finale lot—the limb regeneration pill!"

"Consume this pill, and regardless of whether it is a congenital defect or an acquired amputation, your bones will be rebuilt, your flesh will regenerate, and you will be restored to your original state! The auction will be held precisely at 8:00 PM three days from now. We cordially invite all walks of life to attend."

Once the news was released, the entire internet was in an uproar!

Eight of the top ten trending topics on Weibo were dominated by the "limb regeneration pill," and the related discussion topics reached over ten billion views in just one hour.

"Holy shit! Is this real? Limb regeneration? Isn't this something out of a sci-fi movie?"

"Is Tianchen Auction House crazy? How dare they boast like that? If this is fake, Chen Group's reputation will be completely ruined!"

"The person above doesn't know what they're talking about, so don't spout nonsense. What is Chen Group's status? How could they joke about something like this! This is definitely real!"

"It's over, it's over. I feel like all the big shots in China are going to rush to Hai City. Who wouldn't want this medicinal pill!"

The internet was buzzing with discussion. While ordinary people marveled at the magic of the miraculous medicine, those hidden ancient martial arts families and martial arts experts were instantly thrown into chaos.

Countless people set off overnight, rushing toward Hai City, all determined to get their hands on this pill capable of repairing limbs.

Meanwhile, in an old, dilapidated relocation residential area in the suburbs of Hai City.

Inside a dim and cramped rental apartment, the yellowish light flickered; a fierce battle had ended not long ago.

Chen Hao was shirtless, leaning against the cold headboard, his face pale, his eyes staring blankly at the ceiling.

Lying beside him was a middle-aged woman weighing at least three hundred pounds, snoring like thunder, her rolls of fat rising and falling with her breathing.

Clothes were scattered messily all over the room, and the air was filled with a heavy smell of sweat and an indescribable scent of photinia flowers.

After leaning against the headboard for a long time to recover, Chen Hao finally managed to snap back to reality.

He turned his head and glanced indifferently at the sleeping woman beside him. His stomach churned violently, and his Adam's apple bobbed. A wave of intense, physiological nausea surged up, and he clamped his hand over his mouth, forcibly suppressing the urge to retch, his knuckles turning slightly white from the effort.

He closed his eyes, the humiliating scenes of the past few hours flooding into his mind uncontrollably.

After coming out of the deep mountains, he was severely injured and could not travel far.

Chen Hao had no choice but to search for a woman with a Yin-attribute constitution near the foot of the mountain. He circulated the "Red Sun Sutra" to sense the surrounding Yin energy, but after searching for half a day, in this desolate suburb, only one solitary, obese woman met the criteria; he couldn't find a second one.

Looking at the woman's fleshy, greasy, and bloated appearance, Chen Hao really couldn't bring himself to do it and wanted to turn and leave.

But just at that moment, the dormant flame poison erupted without warning. Suddenly, his internal organs felt as if they had been thrown into a furnace, burning Chen Hao with such agony that he spat out a mouthful of blood, his legs went weak, and he collapsed to his knees.

His vision went dark, and he was in constant danger of dying.

In order to survive, in order to take revenge on Lord Asura Ye Tianhan, Chen Hao gritted his teeth, forcibly suppressed all his dignity and disgust, stumbled over to the woman, and confessed his feelings to her.

The fat woman had lived for over forty years and had never been confessed to by a young, handsome guy. She was overjoyed on the spot and, without a second word, dragged Chen Hao into her rental apartment.

The three hours of torment felt as long as hell.

Chen Hao kept his eyes closed the entire time, with only the words "stay alive" in his mind, and he was only finally released when the woman was exhausted and fell unconscious.

"Forget it..."

Chen Hao opened his eyes, his gaze cold and complex. He took one last look at the sleeping woman. "You saved my life; I will treat today's events as if they never happened."

After this dual cultivation, the flame poison raging in his body was finally suppressed for the time being, and his scattered internal energy had recovered by about thirty percent. Although he was still weak, at least he was no longer a useless person without the strength to truss a chicken.

Chen Hao didn't dwell on it anymore; he got out of bed silently and put on his clothes with nimble movements.

When he walked to the balcony, he looked back once without the slightest bit of attachment, then leaped down nimbly from the third-floor balcony, disappearing into the dark night with a few agile movements.

Chen Hao found an empty alley, leaned against the cold wall, and let out a long sigh of relief.

He took out his phone, wanting to check the news for the day. As soon as his fingertip swiped open the screen, the overwhelming trending topics about the "limb regeneration pill" popped up.

At first, he just glanced at it casually, but when he saw the eight words "limb regeneration, restored to original state," Chen Hao froze completely!

His breathing stopped briefly, and his heart began to beat wildly, almost bursting through his chest.

With trembling hands, he clicked on Tianchen Auction House's official announcement, reading it over and over again, word for word, a dozen times for fear that he had misread it.

"limb regeneration pill... there is actually a pill that can make an arm grow back..."

Chen Hao muttered to himself. He looked at his empty left shoulder, where a sharp, stinging pain seemed to radiate—it was his heart reminding him of the pain and humiliation of losing his left arm.

He gripped his phone tightly, his knuckles making a "creak" sound from the excessive force. The previously dull eyes once again erupted with unprecedented brilliance; it was extreme desire and madness!

"I must get this pill! I must!"

He was shaking all over with excitement; the despair of his severed arm was swept away, replaced by a monstrous obsession.

As long as he could get this pill, he could repair his severed arm, restore all his strength, kill Lord Asura Ye Tianhan with his own hands to take revenge, get Han Yan, and cure the flame poison.

As for the money needed for the auction? Chen Hao didn't care about that at all.

After he destroyed the Zhao family, County Magistrate Wu had given him fifty percent of the Zhao family's assets, so he wasn't short of money now.

But he knew that the competition for a pill of this level would certainly be intense, and the wealth required would surely be an astronomical figure.

If his money wasn't enough after the bidding war, a flash of sinister malice crossed Chen Hao's eyes at the thought.

If it really wasn't enough, at the auction three days later, even if he had to steal it, he would get his hands on this limb regeneration pill!

Whoever dared to block his path would die!

After his experiences during this period, Chen Hao knew that without ruthlessness, the path is unstable.

On the other side, inside a private hospital ward of Asura Hall.

Lord Asura Ye Tianhan was half-leaning against the headboard, the bandages on his chest not yet removed. His complexion had improved significantly, and he was currently scrolling through his phone; what appeared on the screen was exactly the trending topic about the limb regeneration pill.

He looked at this news and muttered to himself: "Yesterday, I broke that brat Chen Hao's left arm. Even if he forcibly reattached his left arm at the time, the cost of using that kind of forbidden technique must be immense. The meridians and bones in his left arm will definitely necrose due to the backlash; he absolutely won't be able to keep it."

"Now this limb regeneration pill has suddenly appeared. If it's real, that brat Chen Hao definitely won't miss it."

He paused, his gaze becoming profound, and said with a serious tone: "It just so happens that my injuries will be mostly recovered in three days, so I'll go join in the fun. I want to see if this limb regeneration pill is real or fake. If it's real, I must not let that brat get his hands on it."

After speaking, he picked up his phone and quickly sent a message to Rakshasa: "Prepare enough liquid funds; accompany me to Tianchen Auction House in three days."

Rakshasa's reply came quickly, a crisp and clear "OK," accompanied by a "received" emoji.

Time flew by, and in the blink of an eye, it was the evening of the third day.

Inside the bedroom of Qin Shiyu's office at Haishi University, there was a large, soft bed three meters wide.

Qin Yi was shirtless, with a light sheen of sweat on his well-defined muscles. He slowly got up, picked up a black shirt from the side, and put it on.

He looked down at the bed, where Lin Wanqing and Qin Shiyu were snuggled up in each other's arms. Tiny beads of sweat still hung on their long eyelashes, and their cheeks were flushed with an alluring rosy hue. The fierce battle just now had exhausted them, and now they couldn't even open their eyes.

"You two get some good rest. I have things to do tonight, so I'm heading out."

Qin Yi lowered his voice to a whisper, gently tucked the quilt around them, and after confirming they were sleeping soundly, he vanished from the office with a teleport.

The next second, Qin Yi's figure appeared at the main entrance of Tianchen Auction House.

This auction house was located in the most prosperous financial center of Hai City, its entire structure built from dark blue glass curtain walls. Two massive white marble pillars at the entrance reached straight into the clouds, with intricate cloud patterns carved into their bodies. The five gilded characters "Tianchen Auction House" were written with vigorous force, shining brilliantly in the night lights.

Seeing Qin Yi appear, President Chen Yajun, who had been waiting at the entrance, hurried over with a respectful smile on her face and bowed slightly: "Young Master Qin, welcome. Your exclusive box has been prepared for you; please follow me."

She was specially dressed in a well-tailored black suit skirt today, her long hair pulled back into a neat bun, looking capable and dignified. Her eyes were full of awe as she looked at Qin Yi.

Qin Yi nodded slightly upon hearing this, gave a faint "Mn," and followed President Chen Yajun into the auction house.

The two took an exclusive elevator directly to the supreme VIP box on the inner side of the second floor.

The interior of the box was luxuriously decorated, with soft and comfortable light gray sofas. In front, there was a pair of huge panoramic floor-to-ceiling windows with an excellent view, allowing one to take in the entire Auction Hall at a glance.

Qin Yi sat down on the sofa, and President Chen Yajun respectfully poured him a cup of hot tea, then sat quietly to the side, saying no more.

At this time, there was half an hour left until the official start of the auction, and the Auction Hall downstairs was already packed.

The influential wealthy and powerful families of Hai City, business tycoons, and many disciples of ancient martial arts families who had rushed from other places were all gathered here, and the topic of conversation, without exception, revolved around tonight's grand finale lot: the limb regeneration pill.

Half an hour passed in the blink of an eye.

As a melodious bell rang out, the entire venue instantly quieted down.

A female auctioneer wearing a bright red high-slit cheongsam walked gracefully onto the auction stage, holding a golden gavel in her hand. Her crisp and melodious voice began: "Respected guests, good evening! Welcome to the Tianchen Auction House annual special auction. I am tonight's auctioneer. Now, I announce that this auction is officially started!"

As her voice fell, exquisite antique calligraphy and paintings, jewelry, and jade wares were brought onto the auction stage one after another. The people below also began to bid one after another.

Time passed minute by minute. When the second-to-last antique was bought by someone for an astronomical price of 300 million, the atmosphere in the venue finally reached its peak.

Everyone straightened their backs, their eyes looking heatedly toward the auction stage, their breathing even becoming rapid.

The auctioneer wore a brilliant smile. She specifically raised the microphone, raised her voice, and spoke in an incredibly solemn tone: "Thank you all for your enthusiastic bidding! Next, is today's grand finale treasure—the limb regeneration pill! As the name suggests, regardless of the form of your limb disability, as long as you consume this pill, you can regenerate your limbs and be restored to your original state!"

As soon as these words were spoken, thunderous cheers and discussions erupted from the audience.

Immediately after, two staff members dressed in white formal wear walked onto the stage, carefully holding a jade tray that was white all over.

On the jade tray were two small mutton-fat jade bottles, emitting a warm luster under the illumination of the lights.

The auctioneer picked up one of the jade bottles and gently pulled out the stopper.

In an instant, a crisp and mellow medicinal fragrance, like a tidal wave, instantly permeated the entire Auction Hall.

The medicinal fragrance was refreshing; as it was inhaled into the nose, everyone felt their exhaustion swept away, and their whole bodies felt a sense of comfort.

"My God! Just the medicinal fragrance has such a powerful effect!"

"This is a real immortal pill! I feel like my old ailments of many years are about to be cured!"

"It's too incredible! If this pill can really regenerate severed limbs, it's worth any amount of money!"

The crowd below marveled repeatedly, their eyes filled with greed and desire as they looked at the jade bottle.

The auctioneer watched the crowd's reaction and continued with a smile: "To ensure that all our guests are completely at ease and to verify the true efficacy of the medicinal pill, we have specially prepared two limb regeneration pills. One of them will be used for a live test. We are honored to have invited a volunteer who lost his legs in a car accident; he will personally witness the moment of miracles for everyone."

As soon as she finished speaking, a staff member pushed a wheelchair and walked slowly to the center of the Auction Hall.

Sitting in the wheelchair was a young man in his twenties, his complexion sallow, his eyes dull and lifeless, his pant legs empty; his whole person exuded a dead, lifeless despair.

His legs had necrosed due to an accidental car crash, and after failing to be cured at several hospitals, he had to have them amputated to save his life. This time, hearing that Tianchen Auction House had a pill capable of regenerating legs, he agreed to come and test the drug almost without hesitation.

The auctioneer walked up to the young man and handed him the limb regeneration pill, which was bright red all over, round, and plump.

The young man looked at the pill in his hand, his hands trembling slightly, a glimmer of hope flashing in his eyes. He took a deep breath, and without the slightest hesitation, he put the pill into his mouth and swallowed it in one gulp.