Chapter 1624: 异兽

Han Li sneered inwardly. With his face obscured by an illusion, he knew that if he were to revert to his true self, no one would recognize him. Even if some of them possessed special cultivation techniques, they would at most discern that he wasn't displaying his true appearance. After all, even a top-tier Body Integration Stage being like Duan Tianren could only achieve this when facing him directly. These few top-tier existences in the great hall would naturally not be interested in such a flawed Heavenly Fire Liquid.

However, once Han Li returned to his seat, he subtly closed his eyes, appearing as if he no longer cared about the ongoing auction.

Under Xiao Buyi's direction, the auction continued exceptionally smoothly. Two other items even appeared whose final bids were not lower than that of the Glazed Heavenly Fire Liquid. Yet, these were not the grand finale items either. One of these was an ancient exotic treasure known as the "Ten Thousand Beast Conch." Although its power had not yet reached the level of a Heaven-Piercing Spirit Treasure, once blown, it possessed the miraculous ability to command low-level spirit beasts within a certain range. The other was precisely the bottle of "Soaring Dragon Pills" that Han Li had contributed.

When this medicinal pill appeared on the stage, and Xiao Buyi explained its astonishing effects, it immediately sparked a wave of joyful surprise among the attendees in the hall. No one ever complained about having too many of these pills, which could boost magic power and were immensely helpful for breaking through bottlenecks. Furthermore, Void Refinement Stage medicinal pills were exceptionally rare at auctions. Their mere appearance sparked an unusually fierce bidding war, with even cultivators below the Void Refinement Stage in the great hall desperately raising their bids to acquire them. For them, it was preferable to secure such elixirs now and reserve them for future use, rather than miss such a valuable opportunity. As for the Void Refinement Stage foreign cultivators who were struggling with bottlenecks due to a lack of medicinal pills, they fixated on the pill bottle on the stage, unwilling to concede even an inch. Who knew if Void Refinement Stage pills of this caliber would appear in future auctions?

After a final, frantic surge in bidding, Han Li's bottle of "Soaring Dragon Pills" surprisingly fetched an exorbitant price of 63 million, even exceeding the amount Han Li had paid for the Glazed Heavenly Fire Liquid. Unexpectedly, these pills ended up in the hands of the Saintess who had previously vied with Han Li for the Heavenly Fire Liquid. While she herself naturally had no use for them, they were likely intended for her disciples or younger generation. This turn of events naturally caused those on the first and second floors of the hall to sigh with regret. Upon hearing the final auction price, Han Li, too, couldn't help but smile bitterly.

He wasn't dissatisfied with the auction price; rather, he was inwardly calculating the number of Soaring Dragon Pills he had consumed over the past two years. Converting that amount to the current price revealed an utterly staggering sum of spirit stones. Furthermore, this expenditure would likely continue for several centuries, truly an extravagant waste! But then again, had he not continuously taken various medicinal pills to forcefully advance his cultivation, how could he, with his unremarkable innate talent, have progressed from the early Soul Transformation Stage to the Void Refinement Stage in just a few centuries? This was also why, in Han Li's estimation, the mysterious small bottle's value even surpassed that of a Xuantian Treasure. While the treasure sword, transformed from that Xuantian Treasure, might enable him to traverse the Spirit Realm unhindered in the future, without that mysterious small bottle, he lacked the confidence to even reach that stage.

As Han Li's gaze lowered and his thoughts inwardly churned, the auction had already sold over a dozen sets of treasures, finally reaching its climax.

Watching a deep blue puppet on the stage being claimed by its new owner, Xiao Buyi's gaze swept across the hall, and his expression turned solemn. "I imagine many fellow Daoists have grown impatient," he began. "Next, we will auction off several grand finale items, meticulously chosen by the auction house. Two of these are precious items provided by our four races, while the other two are rare treasures contributed by other fellow Daoists."

As Xiao Buyi spoke, the teleportation array on the stage shimmered with an unusual light, and four more figures flickered into existence. They were: a short, long-bearded old man; a tall armored warrior wearing a golden mask; a graceful woman whose face was covered in jade-green scales; and finally, a dark-skinned, grotesque individual with two identical heads. Though their appearances varied, these four individuals appeared utterly at ease, seemingly unconcerned by the numerous gazes directed at them from the audience.

Upon seeing these four, the various cultivators seated in the hall below couldn't help but gasp, then began whispering among their nearby companions. "It's those four seniors!" "Indeed! These four are the four Grand Guest Elders of our Cloud City! To think they've been invited to this auction!" As these four figures appeared on stage, Han Li's eyes snapped open, and he, too, felt a chill run down his spine. These four newly appeared foreign cultivators were, remarkably, all mid-Body Integration Stage beings. It was no wonder they caused such a commotion among the crowd.

As soon as Xiao Buyi saw the four figures, a smile appeared on his face, and he cupped his fist towards them in greeting: "I'm grateful for your assistance this time, four fellow Daoists!"

"It's no trouble at all," the long-bearded old man replied with a low chuckle. "Since we four have already received our payment, what's a small task like this?" The other three, however, appeared rather distant towards Xiao Buyi, offering only a slight bow in return without speaking further. Xiao Buyi was clearly accustomed to this. After a slight nod, he turned and continued in a clear voice, "There are only four grand finale items this time, but they encompass various categories, including spirit beasts, materials, and spirit treasures. They will certainly not disappoint anyone. Brother Lan, please present your item first." After saying this, Xiao Buyi turned back to the old man.

The long-bearded old man nodded. With a shake of his sleeve, and accompanied by a series of strange wails, an object flew out. It was a dark, unassuming leather pouch, no larger than a palm. Yet, the old man seemed to treat this pouch with utmost reverence. While muttering incantations, he repeatedly pointed his finger into the air towards the leather pouch. After a dark light swirled across the surface of the black leather pouch, streams of black mist suddenly billowed forth. The mist then churned and expanded, rapidly condensing and transforming until, in a blink, it materialized into a black cage about ten feet tall.

Within the cage, a small, entirely purple beast was curled into a tight ball, its body securely bound by thick, interwoven gold and silver ropes. Because its limbs and head were all coiled together, from a distance, it resembled a large ball of fur, completely obscuring its original form. At this moment, all the foreign cultivators below the stage, including Han Li, fixed their gaze upon the beast. They were all well aware that any spirit beast chosen as a grand finale item for auction had to be truly extraordinary. After all, the previous Level Four Spiritual Puppet from the Upper Race hadn't even qualified as a grand finale item. Could this spirit beast, then, also possess Saint-level power? This thought flashed through everyone's minds, and their gazes, now fixed on the small beast before them, became exceptionally fervent.

However, the black cage clearly possessed a unique quality. Although the divine senses of so many individuals swept over it, allowing them to clearly perceive the small beast within, the faint black light emanating from the cage effortlessly repelled these probes, preventing any true penetration.

"Heh heh, it seems most fellow Daoists are quite eager," Xiao Buyi remarked with a light chuckle. "Brother Lan, please personally introduce the origins of this beast."

"It's no trouble at all," the old man said, stroking his long beard and shaking his head. "The precise origins of this beast are indeed known to very few. However, I believe many of you are familiar with the Eight Great Exotic Beasts of our Spirit Realm, beings that rank just below the True Spirits."

"What? The Eight Great Exotic Beasts? Could this beast be one of them?!" With a sudden roar, the entire hall erupted into a cacophony. Even from the stone rooms on the third floor, numerous astonishing auras uncontrollably burst forth.

"Fellow Daoists, you've misunderstood," the old man chuckled lowly. "What kind of exotic beasts are the Eight Great Exotic Beasts of the Spirit Realm? While their individual strength might not rival True Spirits, they are certainly not creatures that even Saint-level beings can capture. The spirit beast in this cage is actually a hybrid descendant that inherited a significant portion of the 'Human-Faced Flood Dragon' bloodline, one of the Eight Great Spirit Beasts. Although it's a hybrid, because it inherited so much of the Human-Faced Fox bloodline, if properly nurtured, it just might mature into a true Human-Faced Fox, reaching that terrifying level of power in the future. We've examined this beast; it should be less than a century old, but the spiritual energy fluctuations emanating from its body are already comparable to those of an early Upper Race cultivator. Most importantly, this young beast has already begun to exhibit several powerful innate divine abilities of the Human-Faced Fox. Even for us Saint Race members, it would be impossible to capture this beast alive without several of us working together. Oh, I forgot to mention, this beast was indeed captured by the four of us working together."

After his explanation, the old man made a grabbing motion at the black cage in the air. With a soft 'thump,' the interwoven gold and silver ropes that had tightly bound the small beast suddenly unraveled, transforming into a streak of shimmering light that shot out and, with a mere flash, landed directly in the old man's hand. The great hall instantly fell into a hush. Everyone eagerly awaited to see the true form of this exotic beast, which had inherited a significant portion of the Human-Faced Flood Dragon's bloodline.

With its restraints removed, the small beast's body trembled slightly but failed to immediately rise, remaining motionless in a corner of the cage. Upon seeing this, many people couldn't help but exchange bewildered glances.

But in the very next moment, a sudden anomaly occurred within the cage! With a soft 'whoosh,' a burst of concentrated purple light erupted from the beast's body, its brilliance blindingly dazzling. Everyone intently watching the cage instinctively closed their eyes. Han Li, however, merely narrowed his own eyes, a fleeting blue glow visible in his pupils, and did not completely lose sight of the situation.

"Ah!""Impossible!""Where's that spirit beast?!"

A wave of chaotic exclamations erupted from the foreign cultivators in the audience who had reopened their eyes, many of them wearing expressions of utter horror. The black iron cage on the high platform now stood empty, with no trace whatsoever of the small beast that had been there.

However, the expressions of the individuals on the stage remained unfazed. The old man even let out a snort, then calmly stated, "Even at this juncture, you dare to pull such petty tricks. It seems you haven't endured enough hardship on your journey here." Before his words had fully faded, the old man raised a hand, extended a gnarled finger, and pointed into the air at the black cage…