Rebuilding the Immortal Cultivator Clan

If the first half of the auction was dedicated to first-tier Spiritual Objects, meant to satisfy those in the Qi Cultivation realm, the second half had nothing to do with such cultivators.

What the Yuanming Sect brought out were all second-tier Spiritual Objects, and among them, many were precious. So far, the most valuable among the twenty or thirty items auctioned off was undoubtedly the Clear Dew Treasure Pearl.

It was also because of this treasure that everyone became aware that there were indeed Golden Core cultivators present at the auction!

"The next item for auction is a Devil Beast Egg!" As soon as Ziyan announced this, the attention of Li Zhirui and his two companions was immediately piqued.

Since the auction was drawing to a close and the Devil Beast Egg was brought out so late, it definitely was no ordinary beast egg.

"A third-tier Devil Beast, the Thunderclap Hawk, when fully grown, has a massive body, high Spiritual Intelligence, a gentle disposition, and incredibly fast speed. Its wings generate thunderous roars as they flap. Skilled in Thunder Methods, it is an extremely rare thunder-attribute Devil Beast and an excellent candidate for Mountain Guardian Spirit Beasts."

"The starting bid is five thousand Spirit Stones, with each increase no less than two hundred Spirit Stones."

In Ziyan's mouth, there was nothing negative about the Thunderclap Hawk, but she wasn't deceiving anyone because what she said was true.

However, she intentionally or unintentionally ignored a vital point: the nurturing of a Spirit Beast not only consumes vast resources but also occurs at an incredibly slow pace.

To allow the Thunderclap Hawk to grow into a third-tier Spirit Beast, it would take at least one to two hundred years, even with a substantial resource investment. If left to grow by itself, without seeing a glimmer of hope for three to four hundred years, nothing would come of it!

"What a pity," Li Shilian's eyes were filled with regret. Although there was no one with a Thunder Spirit Root in his family, that did not preclude them from forming a contract with the Thunderclap Hawk.

Moreover, being a third-tier Devil Beast, the Thunderclap Hawk was in itself highly valuable. If the Li family could obtain it, they could crossbreed it with their Jade Beak Eagles, producing offspring with the bloodline of the Thunderclap Hawk. With some luck, they might even breed a Thunderclap Hawk with an impure bloodline.

Regardless of the type, this would enhance the family's foundation.

When high-tier Spirit Beasts mate with lower-tier ones, the offspring are generally lower-tier Spirit Beasts, but they definitely carry a certain degree of the higher-tier bloodline.

Furthermore, these hybrid Spirit Beasts are more likely to break free of bloodline shackles and attain higher realms compared to ordinary Spirit Beasts.

Unfortunately, the Li family didn't have many Spirit Stones at hand. If they won the Thunderclap Hawk egg now and a third-tier water attribute Spirit Beast appeared later, they would be in a difficult situation.

"However, it looks like the powers in Yunping State don't seem to value the Devil Beast Egg very much," Li Zhirui mused as he noticed the auction was not as lively as before.

Despite Ziyan's alluring description of the third-tier beast egg, not many cultivators were bidding, resulting in a current price of just over 7,300 Spirit Stones.

But it made sense; after all, Yunping State was not the territory of the Beast Taming Sect. While the local cultivators also contracted with Devil Beasts, most were servitude contracts, treating Devil Beasts as tools to be commanded, not willing to spend so much on an expensive beast egg.

Unlike the Li family, they formed equal contracts with Devil Beasts, treating them as close companions.

And while high-tier Spirit Beasts have strong combat abilities, the idea of nurturing one from an egg for decades didn't appeal to many.

"Considering the current situation, the price for this beast egg won't be too high. Should we take it?" Li Zhirui started to feel tempted, as a third-tier Spirit Beast egg was not something they came across easily.

In fact, without Li Zhirui having to persuade him, Li Shilian was already somewhat tempted!

Back when they were under the rule of the Beast Taming Sect, to buy a third-tier Spirit Beast egg would have required an enormous price, like in the case of Li Zhirui's Da Qing. Besides offering a large number of Spirit Stones, the Li Family had to agree to many conditions from the Beast Taming Sect.

However, with the destruction of the Beast Taming Sect, the promised conditions naturally dissipated with the wind.

Because of this experience, and their lack of knowledge about the outside world, Li Zhirui and his two companions misjudged the price of the third-grade beast egg, assuming it was worth at least ten thousand spirit stones, and thus didn't dare to participate in the bidding.

But now, knowing that the third-grade beast egg wasn't as sought after as they had thought, and that the price wouldn't be that high, they naturally became interested.

Just as Li Shilian was about to speak up, a voice suddenly sounded from the third floor, "I am in need of a mount, I will take this Thunderclap Hawk for seven thousand five hundred spirit stones."

The already unpopular beast egg ceased to receive any more bids with the interjection of the Golden Core cultivator.

"Alas!" Faced with this situation, all Li Shilian could do was sigh quietly, feeling the family's missed connection with the Thunderclap Hawk.

Li Zhirui and Li Shiren also sighed, but since a Golden Core cultivator was involved, they didn't dare to speak their minds.

"The next auction item... I'm not sure how to introduce it because even we at the Yuanming Sect do not know what it is. We only know that this treasure is impervious to water and fire, and even a full-force hit from a Foundation Establishment cultivator could not destroy it."

With Ziyan's words, a scroll was unfurled on stage, one foot wide and three feet long, with lots of white space and a lifelike Divine Turtle painted at the very center.

"The starting bid for this item is four thousand spirit stones, with each increment not less than one hundred spirit stones." As the auctioneer, Ziyan herself didn't believe the scroll would sell.

Although it sounded impressive, in reality, it wasn't very useful. Perhaps one could wrap it around their chest to protect a vital area? Ziyan thought to herself quietly.

The reaction from the audience was rather cold, with only a few cultivators who deemed themselves sons of destiny, believing they could unravel the secret of the treasure, participating in the bidding. However, the highest bid reached only four thousand five hundred spirit stones.

"Elder Shilian, I wish to buy this scroll!" Li Zhirui said eagerly.

Li Shilian looked puzzled but did not ask why Li Zhirui wanted the scroll. Calculating briefly in his mind, he said, "I have brought twenty thousand spirit stones from the family. I must keep at least twelve thousand for myself, but the rest you can borrow."

"Thank you, Elder Shilian!" Overjoyed, Li Zhirui immediately shouted, "Six thousand spirit stones."

As soon as Li Zhirui spoke, he increased the bid by one thousand five hundred spirit stones, which scared away many cultivators, leaving only one person still persisting, "I'll add one hundred spirit stones."

"I'll add one hundred as well," Li Zhirui pressed on, showing his determination to win the scroll.

Seeing this, the other contestant could only give up, muttering under their breath, "I wonder which family's young master this is, so extravagantly wasteful with spirit stones."

Li Zhirui did not disguise his voice, which carried an exuberance not common in older cultivators.

"Congratulations to this fellow Daoist on getting your wish!" As time ran out and no one competed with Li Zhirui, Ziyan eagerly settled the ownership of the scroll and then presented the next auction item.

This was an extremely rare sword box magic artifact, containing eighteen spirit swords, with the main sword being a lower-tier second-grade and the seventeen subsidiary swords being upper-tier first-grade.

The price was incredibly high, yet it was highly coveted by cultivators, instantly dispelling the prior chill brought by the two spiritual objects to the auction hall.

Meanwhile, Li Zhirui had achieved his goal of acquiring the scroll, and if not for wanting to avoid attracting attention, he would have wished to take the scroll into his hands immediately, lest delays lead to unexpected complications.