Magic Beast Mountain Range
Heaven Ascending Pavilion
After delivering all the invitations, Niu Meng returned to report everything that had happened to the Pavilion Master.
Listening to the report, Li Xiao couldn't help but marvel the prestige of a Dou Ancestor. When he became a Dou Ancestor himself, he thought he might be even more high-handed.
Everything had been settled. Now, it was just a matter of waiting for the opening auction in seven days.
Li Xiao was eager to see the rewards brought by the system. In the Dou Qi Continent, strength commanded reverie, while weakness brought disdain. The immutable fact was that one must grow stronger to earn respect from others.
Currently, he was just a small, insignificant Dou Practitioner, not even at the threshold of a Dou Master. Furthermore, there were still many realms lay beyond—Dou Grandmaster, Dou Spirit, Dou King, and Dou Emperor, and so on. Each step paved by countless bones, genius or not.
The purity of one's bloodline dictated one's future. In fact, the great families of Central Plains could produce countless talents primarily due to their ancestors' Dou God bloodlines. Once one broke through to Dou God realm, the bloodline of their descendant would be upgraded, resulting in stronger future offspring.
Over the past thousand years, however, the Dou God bloodlines in Dou Qi continent had gradually weakened, making it difficult for even the heaven's prides to even surpass the Dou Saint realm.
As a popular saying went, "There is Yao Lao in Endless Fire Territory, while no sign of Yu Xiaogang in Divine Realm."
(T/N: The sentence above is an internet meme in China comparing the characters between two protagonists of the popular series BTTH, Xiao Yan, and Soul Land, Tang San. You can search for it on the internet for details.)
Personal character indeed mattered a lot.
Li Xiao shrugged and instructed softly, "Prepare the auction items. From today, no one is allowed to leave the Magic Beast Mountain Range, including the Amethyst Winged Lion King."
"Yes, Pavilion Master."
At that moment, the expressionless Linglong entered the room, carrying a tray with several porcelain bottles and a purple crystal.
"Pavilion Master, the Amethyst Birth Essence and the Purple Spirit Crystal have been obtained. Here they are for your handling."
The Amethyst Winged Lion was a Magic Beast with innate talents. Otherwise, it would be difficult for him to become a rank six Magic Beast. When the Amethyst Lion gave birth, there was an extremely small chance that they would also give birth to this kind of Amethyst Birth Essence along with the cub.
As this Amethyst Birth Essence stayed within the womb of the Lion King for a long time, it contains an incredible amount of pure energy. As long as the young Lion King swallows this Amethyst Birth Essence after it has grown to a rank four Magic Beast, it will be able to immediately become a rank five Magic Beast. Moreover, the purple flame in its body would be stronger than those Amethyst Winged Lions that did not swallow this Amethyst Lion Birth Essence.
The Amethyst Birth Essence was the same as the small Amethyst Winged Lion in the sense that both were kept inside the mother beast's body for many years and after such a long time, it would naturally absorb some purple flames.
Not only did it benefit the Lion King, it also greatly benefited those cultivating fire-based techniques.
Yao Lao once raided eight Amethyst Winged Lion King's lairs yet failed to find any Amethyst Birth essence, highlighting its preciousness.
The Purple Spirit Crystal, on the other hand, didn't bring as many benefits. Yun Yun had gone to the eastern part of the Magical Beast Mountain Range to seek Purple Spirit Crystal for her disciple, Nalan Yanran. However, she fell into the Amethyst Winged Lion King's trap in the end.
Li Xiao picked up a bottle containing an Amethyst Birth Essence, observing it closely. Upon opening it, a wave of scorching heat surged out. Just a simple whiff made him feel an irresistible urge.
It was indeed a rare treasure!
Li Xiao clicked his tongue in disappointment. He didn't practice fire-attribute technique, so it was of no use for him. If he forcefully consumed it, the violent energy of the Amethyst Birth Essence would destroy his meridians instead.
By then, even a Dou God powerhouse might find it difficult to save him.
After storing everything, Li Xiao reminded, "In seven days, the Heaven Ascending Pavilion auction will begin. From now on, we must raise our vigilance. No one is to enter the pavilion without my permission. Violators will be executed at sight!"
"Yes, Pavilion Master!"
The two Dou Ancestor experts bowed deeply in obedience.
The Pavilion Master's orders were not to be disobeyed. After arranging the auction items, the two experts and four beasts stationed themselves outside Heaven Ascending Pavilion, ready for the big day.
The Amethyst Winged Lion King curled up in a corner, feeling wronged. The Amethyst Birth Source was meant for its cubs, and now this bastard had taken it.
So unlucky.
Fortunately, Li Xiao had given him promise that when his cub advanced to rank four he would personally bestow them with Transformation Pill, allowing them to cultivate like humans.
The Amethyst Winged Lion King eagerly agreed, as the Transformation Pill was far better than the Amethyst Birth Essence.
It was not easy to come upon a Tier-7 pill. Even the ingredients to refine it were as precious as the final product.
For magical beast, even a tier-9 pill wasn't as enticing as Transformation Pill. Despite having a longer lifespan than human, their talents in cultivation was ultimately lesser than the latter. After consuming the pill, they could transform into human form, practically fixing their defect. With both lifespan and talent, even a pig could become a mighty figure after practicing for a thousand years.
This was why magical beast valued Transformation Pill more than a treasure like Amethyst Birth Essence.
…
Seven days later, among the top ten experts of the Jia Ma empire, except for Yun Shan who was in seclusion and the long-lost Ice Emperor Hai Bodong, all had arrived in the vicinity of Heaven Ascending Pavilion.
All of them had received the invitation from the mysterious expert and inevitably grew curious about the force behind him.
What kind of force could send a Dou Ancestor expert as a messenger?
Yun Yun, wearing thin veil, was as beautiful as a celestial fairy. A faint enticing fragrance of rose lingered around his body while her flawless legs were bare to see, causing the nearby Gu He to drool upon the sight.
It was no secret that the Pill King Gu He had always harbor special affection for Misty Cloud's Sect Master, Yun Yun, but facing his courting, she remained unmoved. In the original story, if not for Xiao Yan, she might never have found any partner in her life.
"Sect Master Yun, long time no see. Your strength has grown stronger yet again after our last meeting."
Yun Yun slowly turned around. "Pill King Gu is too flattering. Didn't we just meet a month ago?"
Gu He chuckled, "A day apart feels like three autumns. A month apart is like countless years."
Yun Yun spoke no words anymore. Even though Gu He held a high position in the Jia Ma Empire, he was still below her status as the Misty Cloud's Sect Master.
"This...this is...a rank six magical beast...the Amethyst Winged Lion King!"
Suddenly, a loud shout drew everyone's attention. Even the Dou Emperor experts like Yun Yun and Jia Xingtian showed an expression of disbelief as they looked over.
The Amethyst Winged Lion King lay lazily at the foot of the Heaven Ascending Pavilion, seemingly unbothered by the hot gazes of many powerful experts gathered around.