Clap, clap.

Li Lanxin clapped her tender, white hands and four tall men wearing black carried a two-meter-wide table up the stage. It was covered in a cloth that prevented people from seeing what was inside.

However, after placing down the item, the four men didn’t leave again but stood there instead. The attentive spectators might have noticed that when it was placed down, it made a metallic 

thud

. Perhaps what was under the red cloth was not a table.

“Everyone knows that aside from cultivating, the only other methods to improvour strength are by utilizing foreign objects such as treasure or spirit beasts. Generally speaking, the spirit beasts in the 13 provinces have low cultivation levels. All the spirit beasts with high cultivation e ylevels that can transform are in the Southern Barbarin Forest, which is the paradise for spirit beasts. Today's second key item is a spirit beast.”

Li Lanxin introduced the second key item with a smile, her voice filled with anticipation.

The four men in black with Spirit Core Realm cultivation unveiled the red cloth. No one on the first floor could stop themselves from sucking in breaths of cold air. It was not a table, but a cage, and the cage was made of a special metal!

The spirit beast inside the cage was at the early stage of the Soul Formation Realm. It had purple skin and looked like it was wearing armor. The spirit beast had a horn on its head and a long, thin tail. Its body was only two meters long, but almost half of that was the tail. Its eyes were tan and it had short limbs, but the sharpness of its claws would strike fear in anyone who saw it.

This spirit beat was curled up inside the cage and was gently swaying, its eyes filled with despair. Upon closer inspection, there were a few silver needles inside its body, and its aura was weak. It seemed to have sustained great injuries.

“This spirit beast is called the Cloud Armored Beast, and this one is at the early stage of the Soul Formation Realm. It has gained intelligence and will soon be able to transform into a human. Buying it would be much better than some slave. Cultivators at lower cultivation might worry about subduing it but worry not, the Li family will provide a secret method for free. Once the spirit beast has made a heavenly vow then there won’t be any worries.”

Li Lanxin paused and continued, “The Cloud Armored Beast has its own bloodline spell. As for what it is, you will know once you buy it, and it's very powerful. A spirit beast that has gained intelligence like this one is difficult to obtain. Very few are willing to surrender.”

Most of the spirit beasts in the 13 provinces were not very strong, and there weren't many of them in the first place. The powerful ones were all hidden in the mountains and rivers. The Southern Barbarian Forest and the Eastern Sea were the real gathering places of the spirit beasts. There, you would find spirit beasts of varying sizes and cultivation. Powerful spirit beasts possessed higher intelligence, and those that could take human form would rather die than give up their freedom. That was why most spirit beasts were only at the Spirit Core Realm unless raised since they were young.

“The price of the Cloud Armored Beast starts at 1.2 million, and each bid must increase by 50,000.” Li Lanxin glanced at the cultivators on the first floor with a smile, but she knew that most rogue cultivators wouldn’t be able to afford it. A Soul Formation Realm spirit beast would not surrender so easily unless it was to some family who wanted it to become their guardian beast.

Zhao Jiuge saw how the mighty Cloud Armored Beast had fallen and couldn’t help but ask Pei Su Su, “How can the price of a spirit beast be worth more than a top-quality spirit treasure?”

“Even if you buy a top-quality spirit treasure, it doesn’t mean you can display its full power. However, if the heavenly vow is successful, you instantly gain a Soul Formation Realm helper. Isn’t it obvious which one is worth more?”

After she finished speaking, she revealed a playful smile. “However, the Li family is rather cunning. It’s obvious they accidentally found this Cloud Armored Beast and then beat it to control it. If a spirit beast that has gained intelligence like this one refuses the heavenly vow, then the buyer would have lost out big time. They would only be able to kill it for materials. The Li family is clever. If a rogue cultivator without any backing buys it, it's likely they will suffer the backlash and even die.”

However, Pei Su Su’s worry was a bit pointless. The only ones with the capital to buy this Cloud Armored Beast had a certain amount of strength or backing. Shortly after, bids echoed back and forth from the second floor. There was no bid from the first floor, but many people were talking.

“It’s really amazing. I know that there are many exotic treasures out there, but this is the first time I’ve seen a spirit beast. Don’t they generally sell them while they are young? Why is there one with such a high cultivation level here?”

“This auction is rather violent. As long as it can be sold, who cares? As long as there are people willing to buy, then the auction will sell it to you.”

“You all lack insight. When I was at the provincial capital, I even saw people being auctioned. A Nascent Soul Realm female cultivator was sold as a top-quality cultivation furnace. I heard that a Spirit Sea Realm cultivator bought her for a large sum. The provincial capital has many powerful cultivators and is the gathering spot of all cultivators in the Huang Province.”

“Then I have just learned something new. If there is a chance, I want to go check it out as well.”

The cultivators below were chatting while the VIPs on the second floor were biding back and forth. Every single one of them came from a rich background and were unwilling to give up. The price was soon raised to three million spirit stones, and now only two people were competing.

“Three million and 200,000.” A faint voice came from the second floor. However, the voice was a bit ethereal, and it was impossible to tell exactly where it came from.

The moment this price appeared, all voices below halted. The other person competing became silent. Just when people thought it was over, that person suddenly spoke up.

“Three million and 600,000.”

The price had just been increased by 400,000 in one go. It was obvious how much this person wanted it. The cultivators below were already numb to it all and quietly watched the competition from the second floor.

The crowd became silent once more, but this time it lasted even longer. Li Lanxin had a big smile on her face as she was more than satisfied with the price. One of the elders of the Li family had found this spirit beast and defeated it. When he was about to kill the beast to extract the materials, he remembered that the Li family was presiding over the auction this month. He suddenly had an idea and captured the Cloud Armor Beast instead. They hadn’t expected someone to actually buy it. The materials from the Cloud Armor Beast would only be worth a few hundred thousand at best, unless one was lucky enough to get the soul fragment. However, extracting the soul fragment was simply too difficult.

“Three million and 600,000, going once!

“Three million and 600,000, going twice!

“Three million and 600,000, going three times. And sold!”

Li Lanxin had a big smile on her face and she spoke in a sweet voice. The Nascent Soul Realm Cloud Armor Beast was successfully sold.

At this point, almost half the items in the auction house had been sold. The sale of the Cloud Armor Beast seemed to be a turning point. Many more items were sold after, but compared to the top-quality spirit treasure and the Cloud Armor Beast, their values were naturally a lot lower.

Zhao Jiuge was getting a little restless. The majority of the auction had passed, but there was still no news of the Chilling Fire Flower. He was naturally anxious and was already pacing around the room. He could only comfort himself by thinking that because the Chilling Fire Flower was precious, it would be in the latter part of the auction.

However, this fantasy was quickly shattered after half an hour. After many items were sold, the charming Li Lanxin appeared on stage once more.

“An hour has passed, and almost every item has been sold, so now we come to the highlight of today’s auction.” After Li Lanxin finished speaking, she intentionally stopped to see everyone’s reactions.

At this moment, everyone’s gazes were burning with passion. Whether it was people who had come here for it or people who were just here for a show, they were all heated up. Even if they can’t get it, just being able to see it was enough.

However, when Zhao Jiuge heard this, he lost all his energy and sat down on the chair in frustration. From the looks of things, the Chilling Fire Flower wouldn’t appear in this auction. There was no way he would always be so lucky.

When Pei Su Su saw Zhao Jiuge’s discouraged expression, she became a bit worried. However, she didn’t say anything and just gently touched Zhao Jiuge’s hand.

“I’m fine. Since we didn’t encounter it today, we’ll continue searching. The world is vast, there’s no way I won't find one. What’s more, I don't particularly need it now.”

Seeing Pei Su Su’s concerned gaze, Zhao Jiuge shook his head. His dejected expression quickly disappeared and he revealed a faint smile.

“Always so mushy every day. Even if you guys aren’t tired of it, I’m tired of watching.”

After eating two plates of cakes, San Wu laid on the chair and squinted at the two of them.

Pei Su Su turned and stared at him, scaring San Wu to the point that he longer dared to make a sound.

Zhao Jiuge sorted his feelings and cheerfully said, “Let’s just enjoy today’s auction as an experience, and let’s see what this final item is.” 

He wondered what item Li Lanxin would bring out as the final item.

Li Lanxin looked at the curious audience, but she just stared at them in silence with a mysterious smile. When she noticed that people were getting impatient, she laughed. “Okay, okay, I won’t tease you guys anymore. The last item today is a very precious material with many uses, but it's most popular for refining treasures.”

Only someone as beautiful and charming as Li Lanxin could say something like this. Had it been an old man presiding over the auction, he would’ve been attacked by the people below.