Clan Cultivation: Starting from Beast Taming

"As fellow Daoists can see, these are five Spirit Ascension Fruits. Although they do not have the effect of a Foundation Establishment Pill, which can protect cultivators from injury if Foundation Establishment fails, the help they provide for impacting the Foundation Establishment Stage is half as effective as that of a Foundation Establishment Pill,"

Before Zhou Chun could figure out what Spirit Fruit it was, the auctioneer had already revealed the answer.

Then the auctioneer extended his hand, spread his five fingers, and announced, "These five Spirit Ascension Fruits will be sold together, with a starting bid of five thousand Spirit Coins and each increment must be no less than two hundred Spirit Coins."

No sooner had he spoken than an intense clamor of competitive bids erupted from the floor.

Just as the auctioneer said, even though the effect of the Spirit Ascension Fruit for assisting in Foundation Establishment is only half that of a Foundation Establishment Pill, and it lacks the protective effect against injury if Foundation Establishment fails,

there are a lot of them!

With a total of five Spirit Ascension Fruits, five cultivators at the twelfth level of Qi Refinement Realm would dare to challenge the Foundation Establishment bottleneck.

This was definitely a worthwhile investment for the various cultivation families.
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So at this moment, even more people were bidding than those who had vied for the Foundation Establishment Pills earlier.

"Zhengchun, how many Spirit Coins do you have on you?"

By Zhou Chun's side, Zhou Jiarui suddenly inquired about his savings through a transmitted message.

Hearing this, he immediately knew that the elder had set his mind on obtaining the fruits at all costs.

After briefly pondering, he replied with a transmitted message, "Junior can take out approximately two thousand four hundred Spirit Coins."

"That much!"

Zhou Jiarui looked at Zhou Chun with a face full of surprise, not expecting his wealth to be so substantial.

You should know that even he, who had already succeeded in Foundation Establishment, if not counting the second-tier Magic Artifact bestowed by the family, did not possess half the wealth of Zhou Chun!

Then nodding repeatedly, he said, "That's enough. With your support of Spirit Coins, we should be fully able to secure these five Spirit Ascension Fruits!"

Having said this, he was not in a hurry to bid out loud but only waited until no one else was bidding anymore.

"Ten thousand and eight hundred Spirit Coins for the first time."

"Ten thousand and eight hundred Spirit Coins for the second time."

On the auction stage, seeing that no one had made an offer for dozens of breaths, the auctioneer had started the final call procedure according to the rules.

Only then did Zhou Jiarui call out solemnly, "Eleven thousand Spirit Coins."

He didn't raise the bid by much, only declaring the price at the minimum bid increment.

But this offer made the previous bidder hesitate for nearly thirty breaths before they called out again, "Eleven thousand two hundred Spirit Coins."

"Eleven thousand four hundred Spirit Coins."

Zhou Jiarui followed closely with his bid, speaking at an even pace, but applying substantial pressure on his opponent.

After watching him in silence for nearly sixty breaths, his opponent finally said in a deep voice, "Eleven thousand six hundred Spirit Coins."

"Eleven thousand eight hundred Spirit Coins."

Zhou Jiarui, just as his opponent finished speaking, bid without hesitation, showing no sign of indecision.

Now the opponent fell silent even longer, so much so that the auctioneer, seeing that time had passed by two to three hundred breaths, had no choice but to begin the final price call according to the procedure.

"Eleven thousand eight hundred Spirit Coins for the first time."

"Eleven thousand eight hundred Spirit Coins for the second time."

"Eleven thousand eight hundred Spirit Coins for the third time, sold."

Until the auctioneer shouted "sold," no one else offered a higher price.

After borrowing a thousand Spirit Coins from Zhou Chun, Zhou Jiarui successfully went up on stage and completed the money and goods transaction with the auctioneer, securing the five Spirit Ascension Fruits into his possession.

By this point, the underground auction no longer involved the two of them, and they were destined to become mere spectators for the remaining events.

The remaining six treasures were indeed each more expensive than the last.

By the time they reached the twenty-ninth item, such treasures as Nurturing Soul Jade appeared.

"One piece of Nurturing Soul Jade, with a starting bid of ten thousand Spirit Coins, and each increment must be no less than five hundred Spirit Coins,"

The auctioneer on the stage, holding up a pale purple jade the size of a thumb, showed it to the audience below, then placed it back into the jade box and announced the price in a deep voice.

The starting bid of ten thousand Spirit Coins was also the highest starting price of the auction so far.

But this did not deter the other cultivators from their fervent pursuit of the Nurturing Soul Jade.

Quickly, high bids were called out one after another by the various Foundation Establishment Stage cultivators present.

Indeed, the cultivators bidding for the Nurturing Soul Jade were all in the later stages of Foundation Establishment and had come prepared.

For those at the later stages of Foundation Establishment, the most important thing was to open the Purple Mansion and break through to the Purple Mansion Phase.

Although the Nurturing Soul Jade could not increase their success rate of breaking through, it could quickly replenish and restore their Divine Soul in case of a failure, giving them another chance to attack the Purple Mansion Phase.

Therefore, the importance of this item was in no way inferior to that of other Spiritual Objects that could increase the success rate of breaking through.

For families without a Purple Mansion Phase cultivator at the helm, nothing was more important than having a cultivator reach the Purple Mansion Phase to elevate the entire family's status.

So, it was inevitable that the bidding for this piece of Nurturing Soul Jade would be fierce.

The price climbed steadily, and soon it had doubled to over twenty thousand Spirit Coins.

"Twenty-two thousand five hundred Spirit Coins!"

A cultivator wearing a ghost-face mask bid resolutely.

By this time, only three or four people remained in the bidding, none willing to give up easily.

Thus, after this bid, the room was silent for less than twenty breaths before someone bid again, "Twenty-three thousand Spirit Coins."

"Twenty-five thousand Spirit Coins!"

The ghost-face masked cultivator quickly raised the bid by a large margin, showing a determination to win at all costs.

But this still did not discourage the others.

Soon, another cultivator declared firmly, "Twenty-six thousand Spirit Coins."

Zhou Chun watched as these wealthy individuals bid up the price, eventually reaching thirty thousand Spirit Coins!

By this time, no one else called out a higher bid.

Even for a cultivation family with several Foundation Establishment cultivators, thirty thousand Spirit Coins in cash was nearly enough to empty their coffers.

Back when the Zhou Family had first settled in Jiufeng Ridge, they didn't even have this much liquid cash!

After the Nurturing Soul Jade had been sold, the auctioneer introduced the last treasure of the underground auction.

"The final auction item is quite special; we can't be certain of its value, so it's up to you to decide whether or not to bid!"

The auctioneer spoke as he opened the brocade box in front of him and took out a silver-white token.

The token was palm-sized, pentagonal, with one side bearing the golden words "Heavenly Spirit" and the other side carved with mountains, palaces, and other sceneries.

Before Zhou Chun had a chance to look closely at the token's mysteries, the auctioneer had already introduced it: "A Heavenly Spirit Trial token, a third-grade token that, when the Heavenly Spirit Trial commences, can bring one Qi Refinement cultivator into the Trial Grounds."

"According to our information, the next Heavenly Spirit Trial should open within three years."

Having said that, he did not explain what the "Heavenly Spirit Trial" was but directly announced, "One Heavenly Spirit Order, starting at a thousand Spirit Coins, with each bid increment not less than a hundred Spirit Coins."

An unexpectedly low starting price was called out by the auctioneer, causing Zhou Chun to pause in surprise.

Normally, the last item in an auction should be the most valuable treasure of all.

Why had this underground auction placed the Heavenly Spirit Order, starting at a mere thousand Spirit Coins, last?

If the starting price was so low, even if it went up by ten times, it would only amount to a bit over ten thousand Spirit Coins, at most.

"Uncle Eleven, do you know what the Heavenly Spirit Trial is?"

Zhou Chun, watching people begin to place bids on the "Heavenly Spirit Order," couldn't help but ask Zhou Jiarui about the Heavenly Spirit Trial mentioned by the auctioneer.

He had just scoured his memory and was certain he had never heard of this "Heavenly Spirit Trial."

But from the auctioneer's words, it seemed that this "Heavenly Spirit Trial" must be of great significance.

To his surprise, Zhou Jiarui shook his head slightly and replied, "I don't know, my time since Foundation Establishment has been short, and I know little of the secrets of the Cultivation World, especially since that Heavenly Spirit Trial is likely a secret of Jingguo Country."

He then added, "If you're truly interested, you might as well ask the Clan Leader once we return."