Frost Ice Sea Serpent

Even with Mu Chen's perspective as an Eight-Star Saint Craftsman, when he saw that the Donghai Chamber of Commerce had truly brought out a Ten Thousand Year Soul Bone for auction, his expression turned somewhat stunned.

As Soul Beasts on the continent neared extinction, Soul Bones had become even rarer and more precious than before. The vast majority of Soul Bones were controlled by the major powers and Soul Master Families; ordinary soul masters had no way to even come into contact with them.

From the looks of it, the Donghai Chamber of Commerce must have successfully hunted a Sea Serpent with Ten Thousand Year Cultivation out at sea, and had only then been lucky enough to obtain such a Soul Bone.

At that thought, Mu Chen subconsciously looked at his daughter, Mu Xi, beside him.

If he encountered a Soul Bone suitable for his daughter, he would naturally spare no amount of Financial Resources to take it. After all, with such a Soul Bone as a foundation, Mu Xi's future cultivation path would become much smoother. A Ten Thousand Year Level Soul Bone could, in the truest sense, improve a soul master's natural talent.

Unfortunately, the attributes of this Soul Bone completely clashed with their martial souls.

Legend had it that Sea Dragons had originally been a branch of the Water Dragon King's lineage. Later, as the Dragon Clan declined, they had been forced to move into the seas, where they themselves controlled powerful water-attribute Innate Abilities. And after countless years of reproduction, many other races possessing Sea Dragon bloodlines gradually appeared in the ocean, then began evolving into other separate branches.

Judging from the chilling cold seeping out of this deep-blue Right Arm Soul Bone, the Sea Serpent that had produced this Soul Bone was clearly a mutated kind among the Sea Serpent race: a Frost Ice Sea Serpent. On the foundation of water attribute, it had mutated an Ice Attribute ability.

Mu Xi and Ouyang Zixin were likewise deeply shaken. This was also their first time seeing a legendary Soul Bone from such close range. However, this Soul Bone's attribute did not match their martial souls, so compared to Xu Xiaoyu, they were better able to keep a normal state of mind.

After a brief pause, the host standing on the auction stage spoke again.

"Honored VIPs, our Donghai Chamber of Commerce specifically found someone to conduct an Appraisal. This Soul Bone should come from the Frost Ice Sea Serpent clan among Sea Serpents. Although this Soul Bone has not solidified the Frost Ice Sea Serpent clan's strongest Innate Soul Skill, Frost Ice Breath, it should still be able to bring its fuser a rather powerful Ice Attribute soul skill. Its starting price is three hundred million Federal currency, and each bid increase must be no less than ten million Federal currency."

The moment those words came out, the entire venue instantly fell into silence. A price of three hundred million Federal currency was undoubtedly an astronomical figure, definitely not something ordinary people could afford.

One had to know that many Ten Thousand Year Soul Spirits sold inside the Spirit Pagoda were generally priced between fifty million and one hundred million Federal currency. Only those Ten Thousand Year Soul Spirits with especially noble bloodlines and tremendous potential could possibly be sold for such a high price.

In truth, for ordinary soul masters, the value of a Ten Thousand Year Soul Spirit was far above that of a Ten Thousand Year Soul Bone. A Ten Thousand Year Soul Bone could indeed greatly enhance a soul master's abilities, but it could not help them break through bottlenecks. A Ten Thousand Year Soul Spirit, however, could attach a full four black Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Rings to a soul master.

Only Soul Master Families with deep foundations would choose the former between a Ten Thousand Year Soul Bone and a Ten Thousand Year Soul Spirit. Because with enough foundation to support them, they would not be like ordinary soul masters, who might only have a single chance to choose in their entire lives. Some ordinary soul masters might not even have that one chance.

Among the Soul Master Families here in Eastsea City, the only one with such a foundation and a martial soul attribute compatible with this Soul Bone was the Xu Family.

The Xu Family was an extremely ancient Soul Master Family. Xu Xiaoyan's family was actually only the main line of the Xu Family's current generation.

After the silence, everyone present turned their gazes toward Xu Xingwei and Yu Zhen.

Yu Zhen's brows furrowed slightly as he keenly sensed something. Tonight's auction held by the Donghai Chamber of Commerce might have been arranged for the Xu Family. More precisely, it was because of the convenience Xu Xingwei could provide through his position as Eastsea City's Chief Financial Officer.

"Xingwei," Yu Zhen reminded in a deep voice.

"Uncle Yu, I understand."

Xu Xingwei's tightly locked brows slowly relaxed. Then he rose to his feet and looked at the host, who was following the auction procedure, with a grave expression. His tone was flat as he said,

"Five hundred million Federal currency."

Xu Xingwei's resolve once again stunned everyone present. With the Xu Family's several-thousand-year foundation, taking out these five hundred million Federal currency was probably already their limit. As for the reason why Xu Xingwei had raised the bid this way, quite a few people present understood perfectly well.

Judging from the expression on the host's face, he was clearly somewhat caught off guard. Just as Yu Zhen had guessed, the Donghai Chamber of Commerce had indeed held this auction with a certain purpose.

"Announce the auction result like this." A low voice came through the earpiece. Only then did the host steady himself and announce loudly.

"Five hundred million Federal currency! Are there any VIPs with a higher bid?! Five hundred million Federal currency going once! Five hundred million Federal currency going twice! Third time, sold!"

At this moment, Xu Xiaoyu could not help feeling as if he were in a dream. He knew Xu Xingwei had won this Soul Bone for him and his younger sister. But very soon, the excitement in his heart faded.

Because there was only one Soul Bone.

Just then, a tremendous roar rang out, and the great ship shook violently.

"Rumble—" Immediately afterward came another intense aftershock. Terrified screams instantly filled every corner of the Luxury Cruise Ship.

The Soul Guidance Barrier activated on its own. Massive spiral-shaped columns of water shot out of the sea one after another, smashing fiercely into the Soul Guidance Barrier, which had already been set rippling.

By sheer coincidence, at Yu Nanyuan's urging, Xu Xiaoyan had just mustered her courage and was standing on the Open-air Balcony of the Dessert Shop on the second deck, looking up at the sky full of stars. She was directly flung out by the tilting cruise ship, her face turning deathly pale. Because of the extreme terror in her heart, she could not even make a sound.

Faced with this sudden, unexpected change, Yu Nanyuan was also caught completely off guard. At the very first instant, he instinctively steadied himself, crying out anxiously in his heart.

Xiaoyan!

"Crash—" Void Chains blooming with dazzling silver light were released in an instant. Silver light flashed, and his figure immediately appeared high in the air outside the cruise ship's deck. Because of the violent Energy Fluctuation, the Spiritual Power he released outward could not determine Xu Xiaoyan's exact position at all, so he could only search with his eyes.

Fortunately, with the Soul Guidance Barrier as a buffer, Xu Xiaoyan had not been thrown far. At this moment, she was falling along the cruise ship's tall side toward the sea below. The intense terror made her feel unbearably stifled. Breathing became difficult, and even her consciousness turned somewhat blurry.

In a daze, Xu Xiaoyan saw a Silver Chain descend straight down from the void. Yu Nanyuan held the chain in one hand, running along the ship's hull and approaching her at high speed. Before she could react, she had already fallen into a warm embrace.

The feeling of weightlessness vanished. A strange snake with transparent Silver Light Wings growing from its back pierced through the void, its head emerging from within the void to support Yu Nanyuan and Xu Xiaoyan's bodies, then suddenly soared upward.

It was precisely Yu Nanyuan's First Soul Spirit, the Silver Wing Void Piercing Snake.

After its cultivation had risen to over six hundred years, the Silver Wing Void Piercing Snake's body length had also grown past six meters. The fine scales covering its entire body had become even more angular, like sharp sawteeth. Its deep black eyes gave off a dignified, mysterious feeling. That oppressive aura did not seem at all like that of an ordinary Hundred-Year Soul Spirit.

Through mental communication, Yu Nanyuan held Xu Xiaoyan in his arms and had the Silver Wing Void Piercing Snake sweep toward the Banquet Hall on the top deck. With Mu Chen and his grandfather there, this place should be the safest.

And out of the corner of his eye, he also saw the culprit behind this incident.

It was a being over twenty meters long, shaped like a sea snake. However, a raised ice-blue horn grew from its forehead, crystal clear and translucent. Round blue scales covered its entire body, and a pair of enormous bright-yellow eyes locked coldly onto Yu Nanyuan and Xu Xiaoyan.

Yu Nanyuan's choice was very correct, but by rising into the air, they had also become the Soul Beast's target.