I am in Yellow Maple Valley, and I have a demonic beast clone!

The maid Yunzhi led Zhou Ding up the quiet corridor, which was covered with soft animal fur carpets.

On the walls on both sides of the corridor, every few feet there is a fist-sized luminous pearl that emits a soft white light, illuminating the passage as bright as day, yet without being dazzling.

The faint, calming scent of "concentration incense" lingers in the air, completely isolating you from the noise of the outside world.

Upon reaching the third floor, Yunzhi stopped in front of a seemingly ordinary jade door engraved with intricate cloud patterns.

She took out a small array plate and cast a spell towards the portal.

The jade door slid open silently, revealing an elegant and private space behind it.

"Senior, this is your private room, number seventeen. The room is equipped with soundproofing and divine sense detection arrays, so you can rest assured. There are spiritual teas and fruits on the table. If you need anything, please just shake the silver bell on the corner of the table, and I will be waiting outside the door at any time. This is a jade slip containing the complete list of items for this auction, which is more detailed than the preview version. Please take a look." Yunzhi bowed gracefully again, presented another pale gold jade slip with both hands, and then respectfully withdrew from the room, the door closing silently.

Zhou Ding entered the private room.

The private room was small, about ten feet square, and simply yet luxuriously decorated.

The floor was covered with a thick snow carpet, and facing the entrance was a huge, one-way transparent floor-to-ceiling crystal window. From inside the box, one could clearly see the entire auction hall below, but from the outside, one could not see into the box at all.

A large rosewood chair sits by the window, next to which is a small table with a pot of steaming, spiritually potent tea and several plates of exquisite spiritual fruit.

There was also an incense burner in the corner, burning the same calming incense as in the corridor.

He sat down on the rosewood chair without touching the tea and fruit.

His powerful divine sense, like an invisible tide, quietly spread out, easily penetrating the array that came with the private room, which could block the divine sense of ordinary Core Formation cultivators. It was useless to him, and enveloped the entire auction hall and part of the upper private room area.

The scene of the auction hall below came into view.

This is an extremely spacious, funnel-shaped, downward-sloping circular hall, roughly estimated to be able to accommodate nearly 10,000 people!

At this moment, the countless seats in the hall, arranged like a honeycomb, were already about 70-80% full, with people moving about and a faint murmur of noise.

Most of these were Foundation Establishment stage cultivators, along with a small number of wealthy Qi Refining stage cultivators.

They either chatted in small groups or rested alone with their eyes closed, but most of them looked at the circular auction platform at the bottom of the hall with excitement and anticipation.

Above the lobby, along the walls, are tiered VIP rooms, separated like theater boxes.

The "甲" area where Zhou Ding is located is on the third floor, which has the best view and is the quietest.

His divine sense swept across the room and he could clearly sense that in almost every private room there was at least one dignified aura belonging to a Core Formation stage cultivator!

A rough count reveals that there are as many as "fifty or sixty" paths!

Among them were several cultivators whose auras were obscure and profound, and whose spiritual power was far more refined than that of others of the same level. They were clearly great cultivators in the mid-stage or even late-stage of Core Formation!

As for the aura of Foundation Establishment cultivators, there are countless in the private rooms, most of them are followers of elders or powerful factions.

"Fifty or sixty Core Formation cultivators... Such a scale is indeed far beyond what Yunmeng Pavilion on Kuixing Island can compare to."

Zhou Ding sighed inwardly.

This is Tianxing City, the center of the Chaotic Star Sea!

Such a large number of Core Formation experts, who are rarely seen on ordinary days, have gathered here at a major auction!

This is just the annual auction of Fengle Alliance. If it were a super auction hosted by Xinggong, which takes place once every few decades or even once every hundred years, even Nascent Soul stage monsters would probably show up in droves.

The prosperity of this place and the density of high-level cultivators are indeed beyond imagination.

Withdrawing his probing divine sense, Zhou Ding picked up the pale gold jade slip and immersed his divine sense into it.

The list of items recorded in the jade slip was far more detailed than the preview version, categorizing nearly three hundred items to be auctioned, ranging from elixirs, magic weapons, materials, and cultivation techniques to demonic beasts, puppets, array diagrams, and even some strange and mysterious ancient artifacts of unknown purpose.

Each item has a fairly detailed description, grade, estimated efficacy, and starting bid.

Zhou Ding quickly browsed through the list, mentally assessing which parts would be useful to him.

Time passed slowly as they waited. About half an hour later, the hall below was packed with people, and the upper-level private rooms were almost all lit up with a faint light indicating that they were occupied.

"Thump!"

A clear, melodious sound, as if it could cleanse the soul, rang out from the auction platform, instantly drowning out all the noise in the room.

The entire auction hall fell silent, and everyone's eyes turned to the high platform.

The entire auction hall fell silent, and everyone's eyes turned to the high platform.

Suddenly, a flash of light appeared on the high platform, and an old man with a dark gold brocade robe, a lean face, a vigorous spirit, and three long strands of flowing beard stood quietly on the platform.

The old man did not have any imposing spiritual pressure, but his eyes flashed with a sharp light as they opened and closed, indicating that his cultivation had reached the mid-stage of Core Formation!

With a warm smile, he slowly scanned the entire room, pausing briefly in the private room area before bowing and looking around.

"Welcome, fellow Daoists, to the annual auction of Fengle Alliance in Tianxing City! I, Jin Buhuan, am honored to be the chief auctioneer for this event."

The old man's voice was loud and clear, reaching everyone's ears: "Thank you all for your patronage. Today's auction has gathered many rare treasures from all over the Chaotic Star Sea, and even from the Outer Star Sea and other seas. It will certainly not disappoint you. As usual, the highest bidder wins. Transactions can be conducted with spirit stones, or you can negotiate to offset the price with equivalent rare materials. I hope you all seize this opportunity and get what you need!"

After a brief opening, Jin Buhuan didn't waste any time on pleasantries and went straight to the point. With a flick of his sleeve, a burst of spiritual light appeared on the jade platform beside him, revealing a cold jade box covered with several spirit-sealing talismans.

"Now, please present the first item for today's auction!" Jin Buhuan announced loudly, personally removing the spirit-sealing talisman from the jade box.

The moment the lid was opened, a pure, powerful, deep blue light, carrying the aura of cold water vapor and violent thunder, accompanied by a deep hum that seemed to come from the deep sea and clouds, shot up from the box!

A round pill, about the size of an egg, deep blue in color, with countless silver lightning patterns on its surface that seemed to move and dance like living things, and seemingly containing a small stormy ocean inside, lay quietly on the soft cushion in the center of the jade box.

"A level six demon core! Moreover, it's the demon core of an extremely rare mutated demon beast possessing both water and lightning attributes—the 'Infant Carp Beast'!"

Jin Buhuan's voice carried a perfectly measured hint of excitement: "This pill contains incomparably pure water and lightning spiritual energy. Whether used to refine top-tier water and lightning attribute magic weapons and pills, or to assist in cultivating corresponding techniques and supernatural abilities, it is an invaluable treasure! Appraised by the chief appraiser of our Fengle Alliance, this pill is of superior quality and possesses exceptional spiritual energy..." "Well preserved! Starting bid: 60,000 low-grade spirit stones! Each bid must be at least 1,000 spirit stones higher!"

"A level six Infant Carp Beast Demon Core?!"

"The first item is a treasure of this caliber?"

"Wow, Fenglemeng is really going all out this time!"

A murmur of surprise and discussion erupted from the audience.

The first item up for auction was a level six demon core, and it was also a rare dual-attribute mutated demon beast, instantly igniting the atmosphere in the entire venue!

Many cultivators' eyes gleamed with fervor.

"Sixty-one thousand!" In the front row of the hall, a black-robed cultivator in the early stage of Core Formation was the first to make a bid.

"Sixty-five thousand!" An old voice rang out from the private room area.

"Seventy thousand!"

"Seventy-three thousand!"

"Eighty thousand!"

Bidding erupted incessantly, with people joining from the main hall to the private rooms. The price soared like a rocket, quickly breaking through the 90,000 spirit stones mark!

The bidding was far more intense than usual. After all, level six demon cores are already precious, and this kind of dual-attribute mutated demon core is even more rare and hard to come by.

Finally, after dozens of rounds of fierce bidding, the Infant Carp Beast Demon Core was won by a mid-stage Core Formation cultivator with a hoarse voice and sharp aura in a private room on the third floor for a high price of "110,000 spirit stones"!

This drew gasps and sighs of envy from the audience.

"Congratulations to the fellow Daoist in Box 9, Class A, for winning this treasure!" Jin Buhuan said with a beaming smile as he brought down the gavel. The high price achieved for the first item was undoubtedly a good omen.

The auction continued, and the atmosphere grew increasingly heated.

Jin Buhuan then took out several more exquisite magical treasures, including replicas of ancient treasures that combined offense and defense, flying boats with excellent flight speed, and array flags that could unleash wide-area attack spells...

Each item sparked considerable competition, with final transaction prices ranging from tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands of spirit stones.

Subsequently, various rare talismans, elixirs with special effects, ancient spiritual herbs, high-quality refining materials, powerful array tools and array plates, and even several fragments of jade slips recording unorthodox supernatural abilities or ancient cultivation techniques were presented on the auction stage one by one.

The atmosphere at the scene remained high throughout, with the sounds of bidding, the hammer falling, and congratulations ringing out constantly.

Fenglemeng has clearly made ample preparations this time, with every item they've brought out being of high quality, making it virtually impossible for them to go unsold.

Zhou Ding sat quietly in the private room, sipping his spiritual tea, his gaze calmly sweeping over the auction items below. Most of the time, he simply watched quietly, like an observer.

These treasures were good, but for him, they were either already replaced, not urgently needed, or their prices exceeded their intrinsic value.

His main purposes in coming here were twofold: first, to witness the scale and standard of the top-tier auction in Tianxing City; and second, to see if he could find a bargain or encounter something truly beneficial to him.

At this moment, Jin Buhuan took a square jade box, only the size of a palm, from the jade plate held by the maid beside him. The box was made entirely of "Sealed Spirit Blood Jade" and exuded a faint bloody and hot aura.

The jade box itself was already quite valuable.

"The next item is quite special; it may be priceless to some fellow Daoists." Jin Buhuan's expression became slightly more serious as he gently opened the jade box.

There was no dazzling light, nor any astonishing phenomenon. Inside the box lay a crystal, no bigger than a pigeon's egg, its entire surface displaying a deep, pure, and seemingly blood-red hue.

The crystal is not a regular shape. Its surface has naturally formed dark gold patterns that resemble blood vessels, and inside there seems to be a viscous, magma-like red liquid slowly flowing and surging.

A strange aura, so rich and pure yet domineering, a mixture of "blood qi" and "demonic power," slowly awakened like a sleeping beast, quietly spreading out. Some cultivators closer to the auction stage felt their blood qi fluctuate slightly, and the circulation of their internal magic power accelerated a little.

"This item is called the 'Demon Blood Stone'."

Jin Buhuan's voice carried a strange allure: "Moreover, this is no ordinary demon blood stone, but—a top-grade demon blood stone!"

"A top-grade demon blood stone?!" Many experienced cultivators below the stage, especially those who had dealt with demon beasts for many years or raised spirit pets themselves, were moved upon hearing this, and their eyes gleamed.

"As everyone knows, Demon Bloodstones are rare objects formed from the essence of a high-level demon beast's corpse after its fall, which is then constantly moistened and compressed by the spiritual energy of heaven and earth and the power of the earth's veins. They contain a portion of the demon beast's pure blood and demonic power, greatly benefiting its growth, advancement, and even the awakening of its bloodline! Ordinary Demon Bloodstones are already rare, but 'top-grade' Demon Bloodstones…" Jin Buhuan paused, emphasizing his words, "can only be born from eighth-level or even higher-level demon beasts, under specific circumstances of their fall and over long periods of time! The purity and power of the blood and demonic power they contain far surpasses that of ordinary Demon Bloodstones, possessing incredible effects on sixth- and seventh-level demon beasts! Legend has it that they can even give certain spirit beasts with extraordinary bloodlines a slight chance to awaken ancient bloodline talents!"

His words were like cold water being poured into a boiling oil pan, instantly provoking a strong reaction from the audience, especially in some of the private boxes!

Many cultivators stared intently at the crimson crystal.

Those who could afford to participate in this auction were all quite wealthy, and many of them were cultivators who owned powerful spirit pets or were preparing to cultivate them. This top-grade demon blood stone was simply too tempting for them!

Zhou Ding's originally calm eyes suddenly lit up when he heard the words "top-grade demon blood stone"! His body also unconsciously leaned forward slightly.

Demon Blood Stone!

He knows it all too well!

Years ago, he had purchased a high-quality Demon Blood Stone for Xiao Jin, helping him advance smoothly and benefiting him greatly. And this one before him was a "top-grade" stone that could only be formed from the death of an eighth-level demon beast!

Its value far exceeds that of the original one!

Xiao Jin is now at the peak of level five, and his physical strength has reached the level of a level seven demon beast.

If one can obtain the assistance of this top-grade demon blood stone, their foundation will be even more solid, their blood and demon power will be further tempered and sublimated, and their chances and potential to advance to level six in the future will be greatly increased!

Even, as Jin Buhuan said, there is a slight possibility that it could stimulate the mysterious ancient bloodline within him, awakening an even more powerful innate ability!

"This must be obtained!" Zhou Ding made a decision instantly.

This top-grade demon blood stone is the first truly essential item he has encountered on this journey so far!

"One top-grade demon blood stone, starting price—80,000 low-grade spirit stones! Each bid must be at least 5,000 spirit stones higher!" Jin Buhuan announced the price.

This starting bid is even 20,000 higher than the level 6 infant carp beast demon core from before, which shows how precious it is.

"Eighty-five thousand!" Almost as soon as the words were spoken, a burly man in the early stage of Core Formation with a fierce aura and a hideous scar on his face eagerly made his bid. Beside him crouched a level-five demonic beast that resembled a cheetah with bone spurs on its back, staring intently at the demonic blood stone on the stage and letting out a low growl.

"Ninety thousand!" A soft, feminine voice came from a private room on the second floor.

"One hundred thousand!" From another private room, an old male voice calmly raised the price to one hundred thousand.

"110,000!"

"120,000!"

The bidding became fierce from the very beginning! Almost all the bidders were Core Formation cultivators from the private rooms, and they were all clearly people who genuinely needed the item and were quite wealthy.

The price quickly broke through 120,000 spirit stones and is still climbing!

Zhou Ding did not rush to bid; he calmly observed the situation. The bidding was mainly from the cultivators in the three private rooms, with prices rising alternately.

When the price was raised to "138,000" spirit stones, the bidding frequency slowed down significantly, and both the effeminate female voice and the aged male voice seemed to hesitate.

it's time.

"150,000."

Zhou Ding finally spoke, his voice transmitted through a special sound transmission device in the private room, transforming into a clear, calm, yet undeniably authoritative bid that echoed throughout the auction hall.

He directly raised the price by a full twelve thousand spirit stones!

The moment the bid was announced, the entire room fell silent. Many eyes, including those of Jin Buhuan, the auctioneer, involuntarily glanced towards box number "A17".

Such a large one-time price increase demonstrates a strong determination to win and substantial financial resources.

The elderly male voice that had previously bid 138,000 fell silent for a moment, seemingly engaged in a fierce internal struggle.

The scarred giant who possessed a level-five demonic beast had already withdrawn from the competition, and the effeminate female voice was no longer heard.

"Fellow Daoist in Box 17, A, has bid 150,000 spirit stones! Are there any other Daoists who would bid higher?" Jin Buhuan spoke up at the opportune moment, his gaze sweeping over the several boxes that had previously been bidding.

A brief silence.

"150,000...the first time!"

"150,000... for the second time!"

Just as Jin Buhuan was about to bring down the gavel, the aged male voice seemed to have finally made up its mind. With a hint of reluctance and heartache, it gritted its teeth and said, "150,000...5,000!"

"160,000." Zhou Ding's voice rang out again almost the instant the other party finished speaking, still calm, but with a decisive tone that settled the matter.

Another five thousand more!

This time, the aged male voice fell completely silent. Sixteen thousand spirit stones to buy a demon blood stone that greatly benefits a spirit pet but doesn't directly improve one's own cultivation—this price had exceeded his psychological limit and ability to bear it.

Although I was reluctant, I had no choice but to give up.

Jin Buhuan waited for a few breaths, and when no more bidding was heard, his smile widened, and he brought down the jade gavel heavily!

"Thump!"

"Congratulations to the fellow Daoist in Box 17, who won the bid for this rare and top-grade Demon Blood Stone for 160,000 spirit stones!"

The dust has settled.

Zhou Ding felt a slight sense of relief, and a satisfied smile appeared on his lips.

Sixteen thousand spirit stones, though a huge sum, is well worth it for him now that he is wealthy.

Thinking about the potential improvement that Xiao Jin might gain after refining this stone, he felt that this investment was well worth the money.

The auction continued, and more treasures were presented.