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Chapter 44: Earth-grade Beast Egg
In the VIP platform.
Facing the hostility and anger of the crowd of elderly cultivators, Mu Renlong and Mu Maode felt immense pressure.
Even Mu Renlong, in the Foundation Establishment Realm, was a bit uneasy. Those aged cultivators had considerable seniority and connections, some even barely qualified as his elders, with outstanding descendants.
The Mu Family's high-ranking members felt unjustly accused, bearing the brunt of Lan Chang'an's actions and attracting enmity.
Those elderly cultivators didn't believe a young man like Lan Chang'an would purchase the Life Extension Pill regardless of any cost.
With such financial resources, wouldn't buying breakthrough pills be more appealing? It must have been the directive of the Mu Family's high-ranking members!
"Four hundred and sixty." a white-haired old man gritted his teeth.
"Five hundred!" Lan Chang'an remained calm, as if the bid had nothing to do with him.
Mu Xiuyun's eyes turned as she recalled how readily Lan Chang'an agreed to join the auction that evening, and she couldn't help but smile.
Lan Chang'an had evidently anticipated the pressure from competing for a Life Extension Pill against a group of old folks.
Fortunately, Lan Chang'an had the backing of a cultivation force.
If it were a background-less loose cultivator, then they would have to weigh their options.
"Mu Renlong, you're ruthless!"
Faced with Lan Chang'an's strong bid, the elderly cultivators finally gave up competing.
After all, there were two more Life Extension Pills.
There was no need to fight a reckless youth supported by a Foundation Establishment family.
They even suspected that Lan Chang'an might be a plant by the Life Extension Pill seller.
"Five hundred spirit stones, is there a higher bid? This life-extending holy medicine is rare and precious..." The elderly auctioneer in a feather robe scanned the room, his tone passionate.
"Five hundred spirit stones going once, five hundred spirit stones going twice...Sold!"
"The first Life Extension Pill is sold to the guest at VIP platform number seven." The elderly auctioneer glanced at the Mu Family’s VIP stand, his gaze lingering on Lan Chang'an for a moment.
The first Life Extension Pill was surprisingly won by a youngster, which astonished the various forces in the hall.
"That kid seems to be the Talisman Master in the market town, the Turtle Talisman Master?"
"Turtle Talisman Master? I heard he's quite cautious, no wonder he's competing with the elderly for a Life Extension Pill."
"Such behavior is truly disgraceful!"
At the auction, some cultivators recognized Lan Chang'an and either despised or envied him.
After all, Lan Chang'an's ability to shell out such a large amount of spirit stones for a Life Extension Pill indicated financial prowess surpassing most in the Qi-Refining stage.
"The second Life Extension Pill, starting at two hundred low-grade spirit stones, don't miss this opportunity..." On the auction stage, the second Life Extension Pill began its bidding.
Lan Chang'an felt slightly tempted; one Life Extension Pill might not be enough to test his hypothesis about the Evergreen Technique. However, it wasn't appropriate to compete for a second one.
"Lan Chang'an, the effects of Life Extension Pills don't stack. Leave a way out for those elderly cultivators." Mu Renlong's eyelid twitched slightly as he spoke.
If Lan Chang'an continued to bid, the high-ranking members of the Mu Family would struggle to withstand the pressure.
Although Lan Chang'an's actions had attracted enmity towards the Mu Family, it was only natural for a family to cover its younger generation from the storm. Thus, they didn't blame Lan Chang'an.
The family's cohesion and unity was why they had such solidarity. Lan Chang'an wasn't the only junior from the Mu Family attending the auction.
...
After Lan Chang'an, the second and third Life Extension Pills were each sold for over five hundred and fifty spirit stones.
It seemed Lan Chang'an's aggressive bid for the first pill had gotten him a bargain. In fact, some elderly cultivators present, if they pooled their life savings, could afford higher bids.
But was it worth it?
It was like on Earth in his previous life, many elderly people in critical condition could barely manage a few more years by exhausting their savings and selling their homes and cars.
In the cultivation world, those at the limit of their lifespan, with declining physical and magical abilities, couldn't break through to higher realms even if they extended their life by ten years.
Given such a high cost, it was better to cultivate a few more Qi-Refining disciples.
"Senior, here is the Life Extension Pill you won."
An enforcement cultivator escorted a graceful female attendant to deliver the first-rank Life Extension Pill to the Mu Family's VIP stand.
Lan Chang'an accepted the Life Extension Pill, verified it, and paid five hundred spirit stones. The auction house charged a commission, but it was borne by the seller.
Lan Chang'an put the Life Extension Pill away, not consuming it immediately as the occasion wasn't suitable for testing the Evergreen Technique.
The auction proceeded smoothly.
Subsequently, there were items like secret techniques, cultivation manuals, premium talismans, top-grade magical weapons, and more. It was dazzling and kept the excitement high.
During this time, the Mu Family's high-ranking members successfully bid on a superior-grade magical artifact.
Mu Xiuyun personally also bid on a beauty pill, blushing slightly under her father's watchful gaze.
The Beauty Pill could significantly delay the aging of one's appearance, although it was less effective than a second-rank Youth Retaining Pill.
Lan Chang'an could understand.
Mu Xiuyun's actual age was similar to his, and due to her high cultivation and beauty techniques, she looked like she was in her twenties, with jade-like skin, glowing with radiance.
She was in the most charming and graceful phase of a woman's life.
...
The auction lasted a whole day, with an intermission.
"Dear guests, the next part is the spirit beast auction by the Beast Taming Zhou Family, featuring ten high-bloodline spirit beasts and younglings."
As the auction entered the second half, the elderly auctioneer welcomed a pure and charming girl in a yellow dress to the stage.
"This is Zhou Qingxuan, a genius spirit beast master of the Zhou Family. She will co-host the auction with me." The elderly auctioneer introduced.
The girl in the yellow dress, with her exquisite looks and bright, clear eyes, was none other than Zhou Qingxuan, whom Lan Chang'an had once dealt with.
"Qingxuan is only here to assist with the auction, providing information about the spirit beasts." Zhou Qingxuan gracefully curtsied, dignified and composed, quite different from her usual playful and lively demeanor.
Lan Chang'an sighed inwardly; indeed, she was the Zhou Family's genius granddaughter. In the three or four years since they'd last met, Zhou Qingxuan, who had once been at the same cultivation level as him, had now advanced to the seventh layer of Qi-Refining.
This time, the Zhou Family’s auction had her on stage, indicating her importance.
"The first spirit beast from the Beast Taming Zhou Family is the Black-blood Spirit Horse, with a middle-grade bloodline. This horse has a rare mutated bloodline, its endurance and speed far surpassing ordinary spirit horses, able to leap over three to five zhang cliffs and adapt to various terrains..." As the elderly auctioneer introduced, Zhou Qingxuan opened the spirit beast bag, releasing a particularly strong spirit horse with black and blood-speckled fur.
The black-blood horse neighed violently upon appearing, but calmed immediately under Zhou Qingxuan's pointing finger.
Zhou Qingxuan was not just assisting with the auction but also had the role of calming the spirit beasts.
The difference between spirit beasts and ordinary beasts or monsters lay in their domestication or breeding. They were more intelligent but more fierce at times.
"The Black-blood Spirit Horse has an excellent bloodline, suitable for cultivation family's spirit horse breeding. The starting bid is eighty spirit stones..."
"White Spirit Fox, possessing a top quality bloodline, high spiritual intelligence, good at spiritual charm, with snow-white fur, suitable for female cultivators to keep..." With Zhou Qingxuan's cooperation, one spirit beast after another went up for auction. Besides spirit beasts, there were younglings and even spirit beast eggs.
Some cultivators preferred to raise spirit beast younglings from an early age for loyalty reasons. Of course, this was only for spirit beasts with higher grade bloodlines and fast growth rates.
"The next auction item is a bit special: an unhatched egg of a Profound Water Turtle with an earth-grade bloodline!" The elderly auctioneer narrated, building the atmosphere.
"Everyone should have heard that there is a third-rank Profound Water Turtle in the neighboring cultivation world, whose strength is comparable to that of a Core Formation Immortal, and it has lived for over a thousand years, guarding the sect for all its lifespan." At this point, Zhou Qingxuan brought out a dark grey egg and placed it on a tray held by an attendant.
"Profound Water Turtle, earth-grade bloodline!"
Many cultivators were amazed and exclaimed.
A spirit beast with an earth-grade bloodline was no small matter. It was equivalent to a cultivator with earth spiritual roots. Earth spiritual root aptitude was rare even in cultivation sects. Every earth spiritual root cultivator was nurtured as a Core Formation seed.
"A Profound Water Turtle, huh..."
Some well-informed cultivators smiled disdainfully.
"Indeed, the Profound Water Turtle has an earth-grade bloodline, but it grows extremely slowly, taking over two hundred years to advance to the second rank and five or six hundred years to reach the third rank." Mu Maode laughed.
Five or six hundred years was the lifespan of a typical Core Formation cultivator.
Ordinary Foundation Establishment families often didn't last five or six hundred years.
Even the Beast Taming Zhou Family, with their Fake-Dan Immortal ancestor having a lifespan of over three hundred years, wouldn't see the day the Profound Water Turtle grew to the third rank and that doesn't even account for the resources needed for the Profound Water Turtle's growth. f𝚛𝗲𝐞𝐰e𝗯n𝗼v𝗲𝚕.𝚌o𝐦
"The Profound Water Turtle has one advantage: its longevity is thrice that of cultivators of the same realm. This point suits me well." Lan Chang'an thought to himself.
"Miss Zhou, the life force of this Profound Water Turtle egg seems somewhat weak?" A Foundation Establishment cultivator scanned the grey egg on the tray with his spiritual sense and frowned.
"To be honest, this turtle egg might have been stored too long or affected by external forces, so its life force is weaker than a healthy beast egg." Zhou Qingxuan’s voice was clear and straightforward.
Life force is weak?
Some interested cultivators couldn't help but lose enthusiasm.
If the life force inside the eggshell was weak, the hatched spirit beast might be sickly and frail, its strength inferior to others of the same rank.
If it weren't for this, the Beast Taming Zhou family wouldn't be selling this earth-grade spirit beast egg so readily.
"The Profound Water Turtle egg starts at two hundred and forty spirit stones. This turtle has a long lifespan and is docile and loyal, suitable for cultivating as a family guardian beast..."