Chapter 205 Rock Armored Bear
Ji An practiced his magic in the early morning and at night, made talismans in the morning, and strolled around the immortal city in the afternoon to broaden his knowledge or ride his flying shuttle around the area.
Within a radius of several dozen miles, cultivators from the enforcement team could often be seen patrolling, and traces of demonic beasts were almost nowhere to be seen.
During this period, Wei Songnian and Liu Yu each took him to a Foundation Establishment cultivator's trade fair, where he bought a late-stage Foundation Establishment beast hide, but he didn't get anything else.
The days passed peacefully, and before they knew it, the month-long deadline was almost up.
With only three days left before returning to the sect, there was still no news about the Earth-grade bloodline demon beast cub. Ji An had already made plans to buy it from the sect's shops.
In the evening, Ji An and Wei Shouqing returned to the talisman shop on Zhuque Street in the afterglow of the setting sun.
As the two arrived at the entrance, a Qi Refining stage cultivator rushed into the shop, panting, and said:
"I am a shop assistant at Li's Beast Taming Shop. I have urgent business with Senior Wei Songnian. There is news about the goods he ordered."
Upon hearing his words, Ji An raised his eyebrows and smiled knowingly.
The keywords "beast taming shop" and "ordering" all indicate that there is news about a low-grade bloodline demon beast cub.
He had a sense of sudden enlightenment, like finding a hidden village amidst seemingly endless mountains and winding rivers.
Ji An didn't linger and stepped into the backyard. He would know the specific details at dinner.
When he returned to his room, he happened to feel a stream of energy being drawn from the strange object and swallowed by the stone turtle.
He took off the pendant and held the strange object in his hand, rubbing it. The stone tortoise absorbed more than 240 points of Gen spirit.
At first, I could absorb ten points in a single breath, but now I can't absorb even one point in several days. I must have reached my limit.
The stall owner selling the strange items vanished without a trace, completely extinguishing Ji An's last hope.
As he was pondering, light footsteps came from the courtyard.
"Senior brother, there's been progress on the matter of the demon beast cubs."
Before Wei Songnian even stepped into the room, his excited voice reached his ears.
Ji An went up to him and said with a smile:
"Actually, I had given up hope, but I never expected that my luck would turn around."
His master praised him for his good fortune, and he now feels that way too.
"Haha, Senior Brother is so lucky. In the Immortal City, a low-grade bloodline demon beast cub might appear only once every few months."
Wei Songnian paused for a moment, then said:
"This is a cub of the Earth-type demon beast Rock Armor Bear, probably only three or four days old. It will be auctioned tomorrow night at 7 PM at Li's Beast Taming Shop on Xuanwu Street. The auction will only accept mid-grade spirit stones and second-tier resources."
If properly nurtured, a low-grade demon beast may be able to break through to the Chaoyuan stage.
However, monsters need rare and precious materials or the refinement of relevant elixirs to break through, and many monsters will not have this luck.
Are there any restrictions on second-tier resources?
"There are no restrictions."
Ji An felt relieved; without restrictions, his preparations should be sufficient.
Ji An and his companion arrived at their destination a quarter of an hour early. As soon as they entered Li's Beast Taming Shop, they were immediately hit by a mixed stench, as if they had entered a pet market from their previous life.
Monsters are more intelligent than wild beasts, but they still follow their natural instincts in eating, drinking, and defecating.
Guided by the shop assistant, Ji An and his companion entered a spacious room.
The space was temporarily converted into an auction venue, with a three-foot-high platform erected against the wall, upon which sat a huanghuali wood table.
Several chairs were placed around the platform, making the whole scene look somewhat rudimentary.
There were already more than twenty Foundation Establishment cultivators sitting in the room, some of whom were wearing veils, clearly not wanting their true identities to be recognized.
Such people are usually independent practitioners.
A bald, burly man was particularly eye-catching. He was wearing a short jacket and shirtless, with bulging muscles and a fierce aura emanating from him, like a humanoid beast. He must be a cultivator from Yuanhe Mountain.
Wei Songnian greeted most of the people, sat back down next to Ji An, and transmitted his voice:
"Senior brother, not counting those few who are hiding their true colors, there are only three or four cultivators who have the strength to compete with you."
However, these individuals are all elders from Foundation Establishment families. If they are determined to purchase demonic beasts as their clan's guardian spirit beasts, things will become somewhat complicated.
Monsters generally live longer than cultivators; a Rock Armor Bear in the Foundation Establishment stage can live for three or four hundred years.
Although these types of demonic beasts are not as cost-effective as turtle-type demonic beasts as clan guardians, earth-grade bloodline demonic beasts are rare after all, and they can still be used as powerful fighters after being bred.
Ji An nodded slightly and said calmly:
"It's alright."
Family cultivators believe that many hands make light work, but because they have families to support, they have even more to consider.
Many families may have more assets than him, but their expenses are greater, and the resources they can mobilize are likely to be less than his.
After two more groups of people entered, a bearded monk walked up to the platform, cupped his hands, and said:
"Thank you all for coming. You all already know the basic information about the cub. Without further ado, let's get straight to the main course."
As he finished speaking, another cultivator leaped onto the stage and presented a square object covered with a black cloth.
The bearded man pulled back the black cloth, revealing a black animal cage inside, where a bear cub the size of a soccer ball let out a childish roar.
Its brown fur spread out fluffily, like a round ball.
"Earth-grade bloodline rock-armored bear cub, starting bid fifty mid-grade spirit stones, accepting second-tier spirit items, mid-to-late stage Foundation Establishment pills, and top-grade magic artifacts."
Malicious bidding is prohibited in auctions; if this occurs, the deposit will not be refunded.
Please come forward to verify your bloodline, and then we will begin the auction.
The auctioneer was very decisive, and all the cultivators stepped forward one by one.
Ji An grasped the bear cub by the neck and extended his divine sense, his brows furrowing slightly.
This monster cub has indeed reached the Earth-grade bloodline level, but it is a hybrid of Earth and Fire elements.
If the bloodlines are compatible, there will be a higher potential, but there is a greater probability that the two bloodlines cannot be perfectly integrated, and it can only be considered a top-grade bloodline monster.
In short, buying this monster is risky, and quite risky, as the starting bid of one hundred mid-grade spirit stones is not low.
Wei Songnian also stepped forward to check, and somewhat embarrassedly transmitted his voice:
"Senior brother, the shopkeeper is dishonest. It's hard to say whether we can truly appreciate the bloodline."
The price of a cub with the best bloodline is over two thousand spirit stones, and even the most outstanding ones are only five or six thousand spirit stones.
Ji An responded:
"It's not easy to find one like this. I'll see how it goes. If the competition isn't too fierce, I'll make a move."
He's always been lucky; I wonder if his good fortune will continue this time.
After everyone had checked, the bearded man said passionately:
"Fellow Daoists, the Rock Armor Bear, which combines earth and fire elements, will definitely bring you a unique experience."
When bloodlines are fully fused, a demonic beast can be nurtured, yielding double the rewards.
This is an opportunity not to be missed! The auction begins now!
A brief silence fell over the makeshift auction as everyone, recognizing the value of the goods, weighed whether paying such a premium was worthwhile.
The bald monk said in a deep voice:
"Fifty mid-grade spirit stones."
With some people making offers, many people's concerns lessened, and they all started to make offers.
"Fifty-five mid-grade spirit stones."
"Sixty mid-grade spirit stones."
"Sixty mid-grade spirit stones plus one ounce of Xuanhuang soil."
Buying this monster cub involves an element of gambling, but if you win the gamble, you'll have struck gold.
The transaction price for a low-grade bloodline monster cub is at least one hundred mid-grade spirit stones.
The price soared, quickly reaching ninety mid-grade spirit stones, which was the bald cultivator's asking price.
It seemed to be the limit; no one made any more bids.
"Ninety mid-grade spirit stones, is there a better offer?"
Hesitation will cause you to miss out, and you might very well miss out on a Nascent Soul stage beast.
The bearded man tried his best to sell the product, but the price was still below his expectations.
Ji An began to speak:
"One hundred mid-grade spirit stones."
"This fellow Daoist is willing to offer one hundred mid-grade spirit stones. Is there a higher offer?"
The bearded man shouted excitedly, "Hesitation will lead to missing out!"
The bald cultivator took out a purple gourd and said in a muffled voice:
"Eighty mid-grade spirit stones, plus this top-grade purple fire gourd."
With the increasing number of demonic insects in the wild, these top-grade magical artifacts that nurture flames are extremely useful for demon-hunting cultivators.
The bearded man nodded and said to Ji An:
"Top-grade Purple Flame Gourds are very rare. Only the weapon refiners of the Golden Spirit Sect can make them. They are priced at twenty mid-grade spirit stones."
Ji An grinned. Could the gourd that the other party had taken out be something that Senior Brother Zhao Lei had practiced? He felt like he had shot himself in the foot.
He took out a purple fire gourd with twenty-six magical restrictions and said:
"Eighty-five mid-grade spirit stones, and I'll also add a top-grade purple fire gourd, along with the earth fire that has been nurtured for three years inside."
He will soon obtain the Purple Flame Gourd, a spiritual artifact, so it's understandable that he's missing one.
Now, the pressure is on the bald monk.
With the bearded man enthusiastically stirring up the atmosphere, the bald monk gave up on raising the price.
The auction ended, and the other cultivators left one after another.
The bearded monk cupped his hands and said:
"Congratulations to the fellow Daoist of Jinling Sect on acquiring a Grade Earth-level demon beast. You will surely be able to cultivate a Chaoyuan-level beast in the future."
Ji An chuckled. The other party's words were more eloquent than their actions, but if he couldn't break through to the Chaoyuan stage, he wouldn't live to see that day. Moreover, this cub's bloodline still had some hidden dangers.
He handed over the Purple Fire Gourd and eighty-five mid-grade spirit stones.
The bearded cultivator examined the magical artifact, counted the spirit stones, and handed the beast cage to him.
Ji An opened the cage, pulled the bear cub out, and painstakingly cut his finger to force out a drop of blood.
He made a hand seal, and blood formed a blood pact pattern in the air, swirling and landing on the bear cub's forehead.
The cubs dangled in the air, baring their teeth and claws as they struggled fiercely, emitting low, fierce growls, clearly resisting with all their might.
The blood pact slowly seeped into its skin. After a while, the cub calmed down and looked at Ji An with its big, dark eyes.
'Strange, I just found this creature annoying, but now I feel quite close to it.'
Ji An sensed the bear cub's emotions through his spiritual perception, chuckled, and hugged it as they left.
He was in a good mood; if the auction required Tier 2 resources, he might have given up.
The result only required spirit stones and one magical artifact, which is acceptable.
The cub's bloodline is not pure enough. If it were a pure earth-elemental demon beast, the bidding on site would definitely be fierce.
(End of this chapter)
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