Chapter 15: Cloud Beast Secret Realm

Xu Yang's fingers tapped rhythmically on the oval object. The moment he saw it, he immediately recognized it.

It was a divine egg, a method used by powerful bloodline demonic beasts to seal their young in times of crisis. He recognized it because seventy thousand years ago, Xu Yang had a demonic beast mount that hatched from a divine egg. That mount had accompanied Xu Yang for several millennia before it died of old age in front of him. The moment he saw this divine egg appear on the auction block, Xu Yang thought of his former mount, which prompted him to have Ling Qingshu bid for it.

As Xu Yang infused his spiritual energy into the divine egg, the aura shimmering on its surface pulsed in rhythm with his tapping fingers. Gradually, movement began within the divine egg. A sound resembling a heartbeat emerged from the egg, resonating with Xu Yang's tapping. Hearing this sound, Xu Yang smiled faintly, knowing he had awakened the divine egg.

Sure enough, moments later, a small claw poked directly out of the divine egg, followed by a furry little head. After the small beast pierced the egg's surface with its claw, the divine egg in Xu Yang's hand dissolved into a liquid and was completely absorbed into the beast's body. Xu Yang was not surprised by this; the divine egg's shell was not only protection for the demonic beast inside but also a form of inheritance.

Once the liquid from the eggshell had fully entered the small beast, Xu Yang held it up in front of him. "So, it's a Cloud Beast," he murmured. "I wonder how many years it spent inside the divine egg; its life essence was almost extinguished."

Hearing Xu Yang's words, Ling Qingshu grasped a crucial piece of information. A Cloud Beast. Ling Qingshu recalled that the Heavenly Azure Sect's ancient texts seemed to contain records of this type of demonic beast. "Cloud Beasts can ride the clouds and mists, feeding on them..." This was one of the few descriptions Ling Qingshu remembered. What stuck in her mind most was that the book described the Cloud Beast with only two words: "terrifying."

Upon reaching adulthood, this type of demonic beast possessed at least the combat power of a Nascent Soul realm cultivator. Nascent Soul realm, even though Ling Qingshu had now broken through to the Golden Core realm, was still too distant for her. She currently saw no signs of reaching the Nascent Soul realm; her path ahead was, frankly, a blank slate. Yet, the Cloud Beast in Xu Yang's hands would naturally possess Nascent Soul realm combat power once it matured. This made Ling Qingshu feel it was unfair. At the same time, she was amazed by Ancestor Xu's knowledge, managing to acquire a Cloud Beast at such an auction.

After playing with the Cloud Beast for a moment, Xu Yang took out a spirit stone and placed it into its mouth. This type of demonic beast didn't just survive by consuming clouds and mist; spiritual energy was also an indispensable part of its diet.

Downstairs, the auction for the final item was drawing to a close. The last item was a magical artifact, a great saber. Several factions had successively bid for this magical saber, each vying for it with flushed faces. Xu Yang and Ling Qingshu watched the squabbling but did not participate. This was because Xu Yang's own Lifesaving Sword was one of the top spiritual treasures in the world today. As for Ling Qingshu, she used a sword, and the quality of her own treasured sword was quite good, so it was naturally impossible for her to abandon it to buy a great saber.

Ultimately, the long saber was purchased by the Fang family from Qizhou City. Hearing the voice of the bidder, Xu Yang found it somewhat amusing. He recognized the voice as belonging to the young man who had tried to snatch his spirit herbs on the second floor earlier.

Conventionally, the auction should have concluded after the final item was sold, but this was not the case. The Foundation Establishment realm cultivator re-ascended the auction stage and began to speak. "Today's auction has concluded," he announced, "but our Spiritual Treasure Auction House has one more matter to discuss with everyone. We kindly ask for your understanding."

Upon hearing this, some grumbled about the Spiritual Treasure Auction House wasting time, while others directly asked the Foundation Establishment cultivator what the matter was. In truth, everyone wondered what scheme the Spiritual Treasure Auction House was planning and why they were doing this.

When a representative from the Spiritual Treasure Auction House appeared on stage again, it was no longer the Foundation Establishment cultivator. A middle-aged cultivator, clearly in the Mid-Golden Core realm based on his aura, had taken the stage. A Mid-Golden Core cultivator addressing the crowd naturally quelled the previous clamor. The Mid-Golden Core cultivator surveyed the hall, then met the gaze of those within the private boxes, peering through the curtains.

"Ladies and gentlemen," he began, "the fact that you are able to attend this auction today demonstrates that you are all individuals of considerable strength within Qizhou." These words immediately elevated the status of those present.

"This time, our Spiritual Treasure Auction House indeed held this auction with an ulterior motive, a purpose that is closely related to all of you. A few days ago, we discovered a secret realm at the border of Qizhou."

The words "secret realm" immediately caused a sensation. A new secret realm represented so much. Legacies, cultivation techniques, pills, magical artifacts, spirit stones—all could be found within a secret realm. Throughout the history of the cultivation world, there was no shortage of examples of individuals who soared to prominence after obtaining great opportunities within secret realms. Therefore, from ancient times to the present, the appearance of every new secret realm attracted numerous cultivators who flocked to it, their aim being to compete for the opportunities within the secret realm to elevate themselves further.

"The new secret realm our Spiritual Treasure Auction House discovered appears to be the ruins of an ancient sect. However, because our branch's strength is limited and insufficient to explore this secret realm on our own, we have decided to share it with everyone."

"Where is this secret realm? Surely the Spiritual Treasure Auction House isn't being so benevolent!" Among the cultivators, there were naturally some whose minds weren't completely overwhelmed by the mention of a "secret realm," and they immediately got to the point with their questions.

"We only require one item from within the secret realm," the Golden Core cultivator stated. "Once we obtain that item, our Spiritual Treasure Auction House will withdraw from the exploration and will absolutely not interfere with any of you." The Golden Core cultivator had clearly anticipated such questions and laid bare the Spiritual Treasure Auction House's intentions. "We will be responsible for leading you into the secret realm and will also inform you of the general situation within it. Furthermore, after you emerge, if you wish to exchange any treasures you acquire from the secret realm, you can bring them to our Spiritual Treasure Auction House."

With everything laid bare, the situation became very clear. The Spiritual Treasure Auction House intended to leverage the power of other cultivators to achieve its goal of retrieving a specific item from the secret realm. Everyone understood this logic, but under the allure of the secret realm, all seemed to choose to be utilized by the Spiritual Treasure Auction House. After all, a secret realm was indeed extremely rare.