With several spirit plants still remaining, Lu Xuan and Ye Renxin were already running through possibilities in their minds, weighing all sorts of pill formulas and ingredient combinations.
On the raised platform, the auctioneer Yaya felt a flicker of embarrassment at the audience's lukewarm response, but the auction could not simply stop.
She quickly composed herself, her voice as engaging as ever as it rang clearly throughout the hall. "Honored guests, take a look! This lot consists of thirty-six rare flowers and exotic plants!"
Yaya raised a hand toward the spirit plants on display, doing her best to stir up enthusiasm as she continued her introduction.
"Don't let their young age fool you. All thirty-six are plant-type soul beasts that have already developed intelligence! With careful cultivation, their future potential is immeasurable. Whether you use them to build a Mimicry Training Ground or keep them as ingredients for pill refining, they're an excellent choice. Assembling such a varied collection of plant soul beasts is no easy feat!"
Her voice carried clearly through the hall, yet the audience remained silent. Quite a few soul masters exchanged glances, none intending to bid.
To everyone present, spending a fortune on a group of ten- to hundred-year-old plant soul beasts and slowly raising them would take too much time and effort, with any returns far out of reach. It simply was not worthwhile. After a few scattered murmurs, there were still no bids. The chilly reception made even Yaya's smile difficult to maintain.
Yaya drew a deep breath and could only announce the opening price. "The bidding for this set of thirty-six rare flowers and exotic plants starts at four thousand gold soul coins. You may begin bidding now!"
The silence lasted for a moment. No one responded.
Inside the private box, Ye Renxin spoke calmly, his voice carried outward by soul power. "Four thousand gold soul coins."
That single bid abruptly broke the dead silence.
The audience froze and looked around, but no one raised the bid. To most of them, sinking four thousand gold soul coins into a batch of young plant soul beasts was too risky to be worth competing over.
After a short wait, no further bids came.
Yaya steadied herself and brought her auction hammer down hard. "Five thousand gold soul coins going once! Five thousand gold soul coins going twice! Five thousand gold soul coins going three times! Sold!"
She announced the result loudly, inwardly surprised that this collection everyone had dismissed had been snapped up by an honored guest in a private box.
Lu Xuan turned toward Ye Renxin. Master and disciple exchanged a glance, both hiding a measure of satisfaction in their eyes.
Only two lots remained: a thousand-year soul bone and the fox-tailed girl listed in the catalog.
None of those in the private box had any interest in either.
While everyone below stared eagerly at the thousand-year soul bone, the attendants had already delivered the two sets of treasures they had just purchased to their private box and completed the handover.
With the treasures in hand, Ye Renxin immediately rose and led everyone out.
They had found two priceless bargains in succession today and had already reaped a rich harvest. There was no need to remain.
The departure of Ye Renxin's group did nothing to dampen the other bidders' enthusiasm.
For one thing, the pressure of the soul power Ye Renxin had revealed while bidding had already put those paying attention on guard. For another, the two items he had purchased looked flashy but impractical to everyone else, their worth uncertain. They were hardly worth the risk of an ambush and robbery by anyone harboring ill intentions.
Before long, everyone returned safely to the inn where they were staying.
The three elders went to their respective rooms to rest, while Dugu Yan and Ye Lingling immediately gathered around Lu Xuan, their eyes sparkling as they eagerly asked about the two treasures from the auction.
"Big Brother Lu Xuan." Ye Lingling leaned closer, her clear eyes wide as she asked softly, "Anything that caught both your eye and Grandpa's must be pretty amazing, right?"
Lu Xuan took the Azure Jade Bird figurine out of his Storage Soul Tool. Its lustrous jade gave off a faint, gentle glow beneath the lamplight.
He pointed at the Azure Jade Bird and explained slowly, "My first soul ring came from an Azure Jade Bird. I had a vague feeling this might have some useful properties, so I bought it too. Even if it turns out to have no special effects, it would still make a nice ornament for my room."
He did not elaborate on the immense value that might lie hidden within this treasure.
If he made too many bold claims and it ultimately proved to be nothing more than an ordinary jade-transformed ornament, he would only embarrass himself.
It was better to make it sound unremarkable first. If he truly uncovered some wondrous effect later, it would be a pleasant surprise. If it proved utterly useless, he could simply treat it as a pretty decoration.
"Then there are these thirty-six plant soul beasts." As Lu Xuan spoke, he took out the other lot. "Most are just ordinary plant-type soul beasts, but a few have considerable potential. We can take them back and tend to them like flowers. Even without considering anything else, their medicinal value alone is worth the price."
He had already settled on a plan. Once they returned to the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well, he would transplant all these spirit plants there.
If they could adapt to that uniquely blessed place, these plant soul beasts' cultivation would grow rapidly.
If they could not withstand the extreme conditions of the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well and withered, he could only say that they lacked sufficient fortune and were fated to suffer that calamity.
"They're so pretty." Ye Lingling herself had a plant-type martial soul and had grown up surrounded by all kinds of flowers and spirit plants. Looking at these thirty-six plant soul beasts now, she found several whose appearance suited her tastes perfectly.
"Aren't they? We'll take good care of them when we get back." Gazing at the spirit plants before him, Lu Xuan could only hope that a few more would survive in the end.
"Now that we're done with the auction, we'll wait here for Grandpa Dugu and Uncle Zhao to return." Lu Xuan turned toward Dugu Yan and Ye Lingling and continued slowly, "Until then, I'll be supervising your cultivation."
"Fine, I'll cultivate," Dugu Yan muttered under her breath. She immediately summoned her Seven-Colored Rainbow Phosphorus Serpent and fetched a small amount of poisonous substances to feed it.
She cultivated by having the Seven-Colored Rainbow Phosphorus Serpent devour toxins and then nourish her in return, but that did not mean her body was immune to every poison.
The dosage had to be strictly controlled and could not exceed what the antibodies in her body could withstand. Too much would harm her.
Even with that restriction, this trait of the Seven-Colored Rainbow Phosphorus Serpent still allowed Dugu Yan to cultivate more than three times as fast as an ordinary soul master.
Ye Lingling, by contrast, could only work hard and progress steadily, one step at a time.
She possessed neither Lu Xuan's astonishing talent nor Dugu Yan's uniquely advantageous shortcut to cultivation.
Still, she was a soul master with innate full soul power and twin martial souls, and the residual medicinal energy of the ten-thousand-year snow ginseng remained in her body. Her cultivation speed was not actually much slower.
As Lu Xuan watched Ye Lingling cultivate quietly, a somewhat absurd thought suddenly surfaced in his mind.
Immortal herbs could grow ten times faster when planted in the [Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well]. Could I "plant" Ye Lingling there too, since she had the [Seven-Heart Begonia] martial soul?
Once that thought occurred to him, Lu Xuan could not stop considering whether it made sense.
Ye Lingling noticed Big Brother Lu Xuan staring at her, and a shy blush rose to her cheeks.
"Big Brother Lu Xuan, do you want to kiss me?"
"I agree."
Before you continue