Chapter 39: The Transaction

“To thank all fellow Daoists for your support of this auction, my Yuanming Sect will present a serving of Green Ox Stew. Furthermore, the auction grounds will not close tonight, allowing all fellow Daoists to conduct their own private trades.” Zi Yan bowed gracefully and turned to walk backstage.

Simultaneously, the long-prepared servants emerged carrying jade plates, each holding six bowls of Green Ox Stew, presenting one to every cultivator present.

“What a grand gesture from the Yuanming Sect!” Li Zhirui remarked with emotion. As a beast-taming clan, he naturally knew of the Green Ox, and it was precisely because of that knowledge that he was so surprised.

Although the Green Ox was merely a First-Tier spiritual beast, its flesh and blood nourished a trace of life-sustaining wood qi, making it exceptionally skilled at nourishing the physical body and restoring vitality. There were even rumors that consuming a Third-Tier Green Ox could extend one's lifespan by sixty years!

With over a thousand cultivators present, providing one bowl of Green Ox Stew to each would require slaughtering at least a dozen Green Oxes, a value likely exceeding ten thousand spirit stones.

“Had I known there were such benefits, I should have brought more of our clansmen to participate and let them taste the flavor of this Green Ox meat,” Li Shiren said with a smile.

Soon, the door to the private compartment was pushed open. It was the same dignified female cultivator, and in her hands, besides three bowls of Green Ox Stew, was the scroll that Li Zhirui had been yearning for!

Li Zhirui took the scroll, but the spirit stones flew from Li Shilian's sleeve instead, preventing anyone from realizing that Li Zhirui was the true owner of the painting.

As the door closed, Li Zhirui suppressed the agitation in his heart. He walked up to Li Shilian and silently mouthed a few words, causing the elder's eyes to flash with intense brilliance; it took quite a while for him to calm down.

The reason Li Zhirui had insisted on bidding for this scroll of unknown origin was that he had discovered a visualization method hidden within the divine turtle in the painting; the scroll itself was the visualization diagram.

The method was titled *The Divine Turtle Suppressing the Sea Diagram*. The cultivation technique involved visualizing the divine turtle, sketching its form within one's sea of consciousness to suppress the consciousness and resist inner demons.

However, Li Zhirui had only caught a hurried glimpse and, being in a public setting, did not dare to study it deeply. He was not yet clear on the specific cultivation details.

Li Shilian's excitement was also quite simple: a visualization method could be used to strengthen the divine soul!

The stronger the divine soul, the greater the benefits to a cultivator—such as better self-control, faster cultivation of techniques, immunity to external distractions, and a more steadfast Dao heart.

While the cultivation world did not lack methods to strengthen the divine soul, visualization methods were considered the most balanced and peaceful.

*If the Yuanming Sect knew this scroll was a visualization method, I wonder if they would regret it,* Li Shilian thought to himself.

Among so many cultivators present, why was it that only Li Zhirui had discovered it? First, it was his luck. Second, it was because Li Zhirui's contracted spiritual beast, Da Qing, had given him a mysterious, faint resonance with the *Divine Turtle Diagram*, allowing him to glimpse a true treasure.

Li Zhirui finished his Green Ox Stew in a few bites. A surge of vitality arose from within him, but it quickly dissipated.

It wasn't that the stew was useless, but rather that Li Zhirui was not yet twenty years old; at an age of abundant blood and vigorous vitality, the effect was naturally subtle. Alternatively, it could be that the portion was too small, making the life force too weak.

As for Li Shilian and Li Shiren, the stew merely satisfied their culinary cravings.

“Let’s go. We should head down and take a look; perhaps we can obtain a Third-Tier water-attribute demon beast egg.” Despite saying this, all three knew the chances were slim.

By the time the three arrived on the first floor, many cultivators had already completed their trades. Many cultivators stood upon the auction platform, holding their spiritual items to exchange them for cultivation resources beneficial to themselves.

“A Second-Tier Lightning-Struck Stone, containing vigorous lightning power. It can assist in lightning cultivation and accelerate the progress of those with lightning spiritual roots. Exchanging for one Second-Tier Lotus Heart Pill.”

Hearing the words "Lotus Heart Pill," Li Zhirui glanced curiously at the cultivator, as the Lotus Heart Pill served only one purpose: clearing demonic qi, usually for those injured by demonic cultivators.

However, Li Zhirui quickly withdrew his gaze. He had no interest in the lightning-struck stone, possessed no Lotus Heart Pills, and had no desire to learn the man's story.

“Ten First-Tier Ice-Silk Silkworms, in exchange for an equivalent value of cultivation spirit pills.”

The ice silk spun by these silkworms was excellent material for making First-Tier dharma robes, far more precious than the white silkworms raised by the Li family. However, Ice-Silk Silkworms had very high requirements for their environment, needing lands covered in perennial snow to produce silk.

“Two bottles of Water-Refining Jade Spirit Pills for your ten Ice-Silk Silkworms,” Li Shilian said, walking up to the cultivator.

In the tall mountain range east of Big Banyan Island, there was a peak reaching fifteen hundred zhang. The summit was a place of perennial snow and ice. The only trouble was that the spiritual qi there was thin, requiring spirit stones to maintain formations and periodic trips to replenish them.

“Deal!” the man agreed without hesitation, then hesitantly sent a voice transmission: “I still have quite a few Ice-Silk Silkworms and Ice-Heart Grass seeds. Does Senior want them as well?”

Li Shilian's expression remained unchanged as he replied via voice transmission, “The price for the silkworms remains the same. As for the Ice-Heart Grass seeds, one bottle of Jade Spirit Pills for fifty seeds.”

Ice-Heart Grass was a First-Tier spiritual herb that lived in symbiosis with the Ice-Silk Silkworms; the worms fed on the grass, and the grass propagated through the silkworm sand.

Beyond feeding the silkworms, Ice-Heart Grass had another use: weaving Ice-Heart meditation mats, which could resist inner demons, albeit weakly.

“Deal!” The man was a rogue cultivator who had stumbled upon the Great Snowy Mountain by chance and discovered these two spiritual items. The silk and mature grass had long since been sold.

However, the silkworm eggs and grass seeds had remained ignored. He had originally intended to test the waters, but he hadn't expected someone to actually want them—especially the recently famous Li family.

Once the transaction was complete, the cultivator quietly vanished into the crowd. As a Foundation Establishment cultivator, Li Shilian buying some First-Tier spiritual items was not enough to cause any trouble.

The Li family gained nothing from the subsequent trading session, but thinking of the *Divine Turtle Diagram* Li Zhirui had purchased, Li Shilian felt no regret.

“My Li family wishes to acquire a Third-Tier water-attribute demon beast to serve as a clan protector. The better the aptitude, the higher the price.” As the sky turned grey with dusk, Li Shilian stepped onto the auction platform. Instead of offering items for trade, he was soliciting Third-Tier demon beasts from the cultivators present.

By "Third-Tier demon beast," he meant eggs or cubs; otherwise, with the Li family's current strength, they could not subdue a full-grown Third-Tier beast, nor could any cultivator present likely capture one.

Li Shilian had not intended to make such a grand announcement. After all, a group of disciples from the Beast-Taming Sect were still at large, and no one knew if they were nearby. If news of the Li family's acquisition reached them, they might discover the Li family's origins.

However, Third-Tier demon beast eggs were hard to find. Relying solely on the Li family, they might not achieve their goal within three years. After much thought, Li Shilian decided to leverage the efforts of other cultivators.

Furthermore, Yunping Province was close to the Boundless Sea, and water-attribute demon beasts were the most abundant. Perhaps a lucky cultivator had obtained a Third-Tier water-attribute egg.

It would be ideal if the Li family could acquire two, or even more, Third-Tier beasts.

While it was more suitable for clansmen with high contract aptitude to tame Third-Tier beasts, it was not impossible to contract them with those of slightly lower aptitude. Doing so would also accelerate those clansmen's cultivation and enhance the overall strength of the Li family.