“This doesn’t seem much different from a regular auction. Did Fellow Daoist Xu specially bring us here just to see something extraordinary?” The Liu-clan woman among the brocade-robed men asked Xu Yun with some doubt.
“Don’t worry! Although auctions here are frequent, held every few days or half a month, there are several special auction items that appear every time. While they aren’t the most expensive things in the auction, they’re truly rare to see in the Inner Star Seas.” Xu Yun said mysteriously, then noticing Han Li approaching, he gave him a friendly smile.
Han Li nodded casually and suddenly asked a question that surprised the other: “Fellow Daoist Xu, how many cultivators are in this Blackstone City? It doesn’t seem like there are too many.”
“Brother Qu truly has sharp eyes! Besides a few inns where people can stay temporarily, Blackstone City generally doesn’t have many external cultivators living here permanently. High-level cultivators would have their own cave dwellings on other islands. Lower-level ones gather in small villages and towns to live together with mortals. The cultivators in Blackstone City are all here to buy and sell things, and the lower their cultivation level, the more frequently they come.” Xu Yun admitted frankly.
“I thought only Foundation Establishment cultivators and above could survive in the Outer Seas? How are there so many mortals and Qi Refinement cultivators?” The brocade-robed man asked after a moment of silence, voicing the same doubt Han Li had.
“Brother Yi’s question hits the key point. This is another major difference between the Devilfall Island and other demon beast islands. Other demon beast islands are mainly visited by high-level cultivators specifically to hunt demon beasts. They usually return to the Inner Star Seas after accumulating enough gains. But on Devilfall Island, some years after the sea abyss was discovered, various forces found several spirit stone mines on nearby islands and developed other resource production sites for cultivation needs, basically achieving self-sufficiency. Thus, some cultivators brought their families through transmission arrays. Mortals without spiritual roots and low-level cultivators naturally appeared. I’ve also heard that the forces managing Blackstone City are gradually shifting their main personnel from the Inner Star Seas to here. Perhaps in tens of thousands of years, this place might become a second Inner Star Seas. However, aside from this Blackstone City, most other islands’ mortal and cultivator villages can’t be considered absolutely safe. Small villages and towns are often wiped out by suddenly appearing high-level demon beasts. This place is simply retracing the path our ancestors took when they first arrived in the Inner Star Seas.” Xu Yun said calmly.
But these words left the others astonished.
“Don’t the Star Palace and other forces intervene in matters here?” The brocade-robed man asked quietly after taking a deep breath.
“It’s still too early for this place to become as prosperous as the Inner Star Seas. Moreover, the Inner Star Seas alone is vast enough to keep them busy – who has time to manage here? They’d be delighted if these forces focused their main personnel and efforts on Devilfall Island. Otherwise, the current Inner Star Seas would probably be even more chaotic.” Xu Yun said with a cold snort, clearly still resentful about the Star Palace suddenly closing the transmission arrays.
Hearing this, the brocade-robed men found it reasonable and after exchanging glances, dropped the topic. As minor cultivators, it was better for them to avoid inquiring about matters between major powers to prevent trouble.
After selling several magical instruments and materials, a blue-robed middle-aged man appeared behind the elderly auction host holding a red brocade box containing a fist-sized purple-tinged white sphere.
Seeing this, Xu Yun perked up: “Fellow Daoists, pay attention. What’s coming next is one of Devilfall Island’s main auction items – demon beast eggs. Among them are many rare treasures. These things would cost astronomical spirit stones in the Inner Star Seas, but are much cheaper here on Devilfall Island. Except for some special beast eggs, most eggs can’t pass through transmission arrays. If someone tries to transmit with them, they’ll only become dead eggs. So whenever rare demon beast eggs appear, some high-level cultivators who know about Devilfall Island’s situation specially transmit to Blackstone City to bid for spirit beasts. After hatching them, they spend time raising them to a stage where they can be transmitted before returning to the Inner Star Seas.”
“Demon beast eggs!” The brocade-robed man’s eyes suddenly lit up. Raising a high-level demon beast had long been his dream, and the others also showed excited expressions.
If this was true, they might have opportunities to own their own spirit beasts in the future. Finding a good spirit beast in the Inner Star Seas was extremely difficult!
“Purple Cloud Hawk demon beast egg. As adults, they become fourth-level earth attribute demon beasts with steel-like feathers. Though they only know a simple shield spell, their flight speed is extremely fast, comparable to high-level flight instruments. Their sharp claws can easily tear through Foundation Establishment cultivators’ shields, making them quite rare. Definitely the best choice for Foundation Establishment Fellow Daoists. Starting price: two thousand spirit stones, minimum increment one hundred. Bidding begins!” The elder seemed quite confident about this egg, giving only a brief introduction before starting the auction without hesitation.
Several cultivators below indeed showed interest, with bids coming immediately after the elder finished speaking.
While fourth-level demon beasts meant nothing to Core Formation cultivators, they were perfect for these Foundation Establishment cultivators.
Higher-level spirit beasts weren’t just expensive but also had much longer maturation periods. Even with secret techniques to accelerate growth, they couldn’t afford to wait.
“Two thousand five hundred spirit stones!”
“Two thousand seven!”
“Three thousand!”
…
The Purple Cloud Hawk egg quickly surpassed three thousand spirit stones, finally selling to an excited female cultivator for three thousand three hundred.
“Indeed much cheaper than the Inner Star Seas. In Heavenly Star City, such a flight spirit beast egg would cost at least five thousand spirit stones!” The dark-faced middle-aged man murmured, staring at the egg in the female cultivator’s hand.
Except for Han Li, everyone including the brocade-robed man had shining eyes.
Xu Yun noticed this but only smiled faintly, unsurprised.
Next, the elder auctioned off a third-level and another fourth-level demon beast egg at considerable prices before concluding the spirit beast egg auction.
“What’s this?” Madame Liu asked, her face suddenly changing when she saw the next auction item brought up. The others also looked astonished.
Because now standing beside the elderly auction host were two young, beautiful women. Though only at Qi Refinement levels two or three, they were genuine cultivators. But judging by their submissive posture as they were brought up, these two female cultivators themselves were the auction items.
Xu Yun showed no surprise at this, instead signaling with his eyes for everyone to listen to what the elder would say.
“Next, we have four low-level Qi Refinement cultivation vessels. They’ve only practiced basic five elements techniques, each absolutely untouched. But according to their requirements, buyers must have at least mid Foundation Establishment cultivation. Starting price: two thousand spirit stones each. Bidding begins…”
Since the elder had these two female cultivators brought up, many male cultivators below had been examining them with intense gazes. However, long after the elder finished speaking, no bids came forth. Even two male cultivators sitting not far from Han Li’s group were whispering discussions.
“What’s the use of spending two thousand spirit stones on a second or third-level vessel? If you really want a maid or concubine, better to buy a mortal woman elsewhere. When she ages, just spend some money to send her away. But if it were a Foundation Establishment vessel, I’d be willing to pay any amount.”
“Dream on! Do you think you’re a Core Formation cultivator? Don’t forget the rules here – Foundation Establishment vessels are beyond our reach. Even if allowed, those sky-high prices would be better spent on a good spirit beast egg.”
Hearing these conversations, though still inwardly shocked, Han Li’s surprised expression gradually faded. He’d heard before that some forces secretly trained young female cultivators as cultivation vessels, with some high-level cultivators even exchanging them as gifts. Regardless, publicly auctioning female cultivation vessels didn’t happen in the Inner Star Seas. This practice here truly startled him.
The brocade-robed men also calmed down. After all, everyone in the cultivation world knew about cultivation vessels’ existence. But Madame Liu and the other young woman, being female themselves, still seemed somewhat uncomfortable.
“Fellow Daoists, don’t be surprised. These women voluntarily become cultivation vessels – no one forced them. They’re basically women with poor spiritual roots who find it hard to reach high levels through normal cultivation methods. They have no senior relatives to rely on, and various forces don’t value them enough to spend spirit stones on their training. Thus, in a place like the Outer Star Seas, they disdain ordinary mortal work while going out to hunt demon beasts would be suicidal. So after achieving some minor cultivation success, they proactively become cultivation vessels for more advanced male cultivators. This not only provides their families with substantial spirit stones but also gives themselves some security. If they can please the male cultivators and become concubines or similar, they might find unexpected opportunities. Of course, there are also high-level female cultivators with good spiritual roots who voluntarily become cultivation vessels for other reasons. But such vessels aren’t allowed to be purchased by low-level male cultivators and wouldn’t appear in this level of auction.” Xu Yun explained slowly, clearly quite accustomed to such matters.
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