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Chapter 1169: Chapter 1053: Familiar_2
When the price reached ten billion Spirit Stones, the number of bidders finally started to decrease significantly.
In fact, the factions that stopped bidding didn’t do so because they couldn’t afford more Spirit Stones, but because they were unable to produce additional top-grade Spirit Stones.
Top-grade Spirit Stones could only be steadily produced from large or extra-large Spirit Vein mines; medium and small-scale mines could only yield them by sheer luck.
Furthermore, top-grade Spirit Stones were essential for upgrading high-order Spirit Veins, whose importance hardly needed any elaboration.
Thus, when many factions obtained top-grade Spirit Stones, aside from keeping a small portion for themselves, they would infuse the rest into their Spirit Veins.
As a result, unless they were extraordinarily wealthy, top-tier factions with deep foundations, other organizations were destined to retain only limited amounts of top-grade Spirit Stones.
Ultimately, this Great Dream Enlightenment Treasure Pill was won by a powerful cultivator from a private room on the fifth floor for a staggering price of eighteen billion nine hundred million Spirit Stones.
Throughout the bidding process, Ruyan, the auctioneer, completely failed to utilize her role, such as stirring up the emotions of the bidders.
Like most cultivators present, she turned into nothing more than an observer. 𝖓𝔬𝔳𝔭𝖚𝖇.𝔠𝔬𝖒
Only when the dust settled did she strike the Jade Hammer and announce aloud: "Congratulations to the esteemed guest of Room Three on the fifth floor for achieving their heart’s desire and winning the Great Dream Enlightenment Treasure Pill!"
Having spoken, she nodded, and a cautious Integration Realm cultivator stepped onto the stage, carrying the Jade Bottle with utmost care as they made their way toward the private room on the fifth floor.
When that cultivator vanished from everyone’s view, Ruyan’s voice echoed again.
"Now, for the second spiritual object: the Soul Dispelling Creation Treasure Pill!"
"Consuming this pill allows you to erase one type of Spiritual Root within yourself, while simultaneously granting you a Spiritual Body tailored to your essence!"
"The starting bid price is one billion Spirit Stones, with half of the payment required in top-grade Spirit Stones."
Boom—
As the words left her lips, the auction hall erupted in deafening uproar.
Just the fact that the pill could erase Spiritual Roots was enough to drive countless cultivators into madness, let alone its astonishing ability to generate a tailored Spiritual Body!
Given this, it was no surprise that the cultivators present were utterly shocked.
After all, while people often said that the most important things in cultivation were not aptitude but one’s Dao Heart, comprehension, and inner resolve...
From a certain perspective, this statement wasn’t completely correct.
Because aptitude was extraordinarily vital during a cultivator’s early stages!
Take, for example, a Heavenly Spiritual Root cultivator: before reaching the Nascent Soul Realm, they experienced no bottlenecks at all. As long as they avoided perishing along the way, breaking through to Nascent Soul was almost inevitable.
However, cultivators with mixed Spiritual Roots faced challenges every step of the way—from one hurdle to the next—and without fortuitous encounters or sufficient resources, not to mention achieving Nascent Soul, even crossing the Golden Core threshold could be impossible.
Of course, one’s Dao Heart and comprehension were also undoubtedly critical, as they determined whether a cultivator could avoid losing their way amid the treacherous and lengthy cultivation journey or being ensnared by their Heart Demons.
Still, those who claimed aptitude wasn’t paramount were, at the very least, of Void Refinement Realm cultivation—certainly not low-level cultivators.
Even with advanced cultivation levels, aptitude still mattered greatly, as it directly influenced how quickly Spiritual Energy could be absorbed!
Hence, when the Soul Dispelling Creation Treasure Pill appeared, the cultivators became so animated.
’Is there truly such a treasure capable of defying the heavens, altering a cultivator’s very foundation?’
Perhaps due to satisfaction with his own aptitude or the realization that the treasure was beyond his reach, Li Zhirui was among the few cultivators who remained clear-headed and calm, yet couldn’t help harboring a trace of doubt.
"Isn’t this pill what the legends refer to as an Immortal Pill? Didn’t it already disappear within the long-river history? How can you be sure it truly is the Soul Dispelling Creation Treasure Pill?"
Suddenly, a calm voice resounded from one of the private rooms on the fifth floor.
"We of the Four Continents Business Alliance have always conducted ourselves with integrity. This Treasure Pill, naturally, has undergone specialized verification. Should it not live up to its name, the Alliance would compensate at ten times the auction price."
The authoritative voice that had previously silenced a middle-aged cultivator now emerged again.
The Four Continents Business Alliance—a conglomerate sprawling across the lands, straddling the Immortal Tao, Demonic Tao, Devil Race, and Ancient Remnant Race—was said to have a presence in every Immortal City.
No one knew the extent of the Alliance’s might, only that any living being who dared offend the Alliance—regardless of their cultivation or strength—would ultimately meet their death!
Rumor had it that even a Heavenly Immortal descended from an elite lineage, after angering the Alliance, faced death despite seeking asylum at the feet of a Heavenly Immortal with Great Ability.
Whether the rumors were true or not, the magnitude of the Alliance’s power was evident.
Thus, once the individual spoke, all doubters instantly fell silent.
Following this was an exhilarating round of bidding.
Prices soared uncontrollably, quickly surpassing even the previous auction item.
Li Zhirui felt somewhat baffled; in his view, the rarity of the Great Dream Enlightenment Treasure Pill greatly exceeded that of the Soul Dispelling Creation Treasure Pill.
But unexpectedly, the outcome was the opposite.
These mighty cultivators seemed far more obsessed with the Creation Treasure Pill.
’Are they hoping to select a descendant to turn into a Heavenly Spiritual Root cultivator?’ Li Zhirui shook his head; he could not fathom their motivations.
Eventually, under fierce bidding between several Immortal Realm cultivators on the fifth floor, the Creation Treasure Pill was acquired for the terrifying price of twenty-three billion seven hundred million Spirit Stones.
Five billion more than the Enlightenment Treasure Pill!
It was similarly delivered by a designated courier, after which Ruyan began introducing the final spiritual object.
"The last spiritual object is rather unusual, but after extensive testing by specialized experts in the Alliance, its effects have been confirmed."
Ruyan’s expression turned noticeably more fervent than during the introduction of the Enlightenment Treasure Pill; Li Zhirui was concerned she might lose control of her greed and lunge for the treasure covered by the red silk.
"Once cultivated, this spiritual object will grant its user a prolonged lifespan, far surpassing that of any Mortal Realm cultivator!"
It was known that a Tribulation-Transcending cultivator could live up to five thousand years.
Because the Mahayana and Tribulation Transcendence Realms were additional cultivation stages created by Immortal Tao predecessors to enhance success in Ascension Thunder Tribulation, their essence was largely indistinguishable from that of Integration cultivators, and thus their lifespans remained unchanged: five thousand years.
Yet, for any cultivator who refined this spiritual object, regardless of their cultivation level, their lifespan would become even longer.
It was unthinkable how frenzied the cultivators present became; some even developed thoughts of outright robbery.
The cultivators on the first floor, closest to the auction platform, were particularly affected, their eyes blazing and their breaths heavy, as though desperately suppressing their urges to grab the treasure.
With reverence written across her face, Ruyan slowly uncovered the red silk, revealing an earthy yellow object: a small seal bearing a miniature mountain peak on its top, adorned with carvings of various landscapes on its four sides, measuring less than five inches.
’This tiny seal—can it really grant a lifespan exceeding five thousand years to cultivators?’
Li Zhirui’s gaze sharpened as though trying to imprint the seal’s appearance deep into his memory.
"What kind of cost does refining this seal entail?"
Before Ruyan could announce the starting bid, a lone Individual Immortal asked another question: "And does refining the seal mean the lifespan extends by five thousand years, or that it resets from the moment of refinement onward?"
If it were the former, an Integration cultivator at the threshold of their lifespan could gain an additional five thousand years!
But if it were the latter, their pre-existing lifespan would be overwritten.
It wasn’t a major concern; at worst, one could wait until their lifespan was nearly over before refining the seal.
"We don’t know. Five thousand years is a long time, and we lack precise experiments to determine the answer. That will have to be left to the buyer to verify."
The statement did little to dampen the cultivators’ desire for the Earth-Mountain Seal.
Thus, when Ruyan declared the starting bid of ten billion Spirit Stones, someone immediately raised it to twenty billion—a direct doubling of the price.
’Why does this seal feel strangely familiar to me?’
As several Individual Immortal powerhouses vied for the item, a thread of doubt crept into Li Zhirui’s mind.
He lowered his head in quiet contemplation, shielding himself from the watchful eyes around him, while combing through countless past memories in his mind.
Though he didn’t fully search through every one of his recollections, Li Zhirui became certain that he’d never seen such a seal before.
