Chapter 642: The Shortest Spiritual Fortune Auction in History

From the moment cultivators embark on their path of cultivation, they inevitably find themselves dealing with the Heavenly Secret Business Alliance—a reality no one can escape.

Take Lu Ye, for instance. Not long after entering the Spirit Creek Battlefield, he began buying and selling items through the Heavenly Secret Business Alliance. Although he could also trade with other cultivators, doing so with the Alliance was ultimately more convenient and practical.

Without the ability to transact with the Heavenly Secret Business Alliance, many matters become significantly more complex.

The lower a cultivator's cultivation level, the greater their dependence on the Heavenly Secret Business Alliance. This decision by the Alliance caused no small amount of trouble for those two Myriad Devil Ridge sects.

For many years, no one had dared to cause trouble within the Heavenly Secret Business Alliance. To the current generation of cultivators, it seemed to be merely a marketplace. Yet, at this moment, cultivators were astonished to discover that, to a certain extent, it was a colossal entity, no less formidable than either the Haotian Alliance or any faction within the Myriad Devil Ridge.

Ordinarily, this behemoth maintained a neutral stance, neither participating in nor interfering with the struggles between the two major factions. However, if its rules were broken on its territory, it would not hesitate to bare its fangs.

Moreover, compared to both the Haotian Alliance and the Myriad Devil Ridge, this colossal entity held unique advantages in certain aspects…

Various rumors surfaced in the cultivators' minds, making everyone realize that the intriguing tales they had heard in the past were not merely rumors, but actual events that had transpired at some point.

Just like what transpired this time…

Perhaps in a decade or two, the next generation of cultivators will dismiss today's events as mere hearsay. However, those who witnessed them firsthand know they were far from just rumors.

Lu Ye was surprised by the Heavenly Secret Business Alliance's decisive and ruthless handling of the situation. He had only intended to stall for time, confident that his safety would be assured once the Alliance's powerful figures emerged.

However, upon reflection, he considered that perhaps the Heavenly Secret Business Alliance viewed this as an excellent opportunity to assert its authority. If the goal was to establish dominance, then acting more ruthlessly would yield more significant results.

He was confident that after today, no one would dare to cause trouble within the Heavenly Secret Business Alliance for a very long time.

As for seeking revenge… he believed that unless the cultivators from those two Myriad Devil Ridge forces had lost their minds, they would never contemplate revenge against the Heavenly Secret Business Alliance.

The brief commotion quickly subsided. Attendants from the Heavenly Secret Business Alliance arrived, dragged away the three bodies, and swiftly cleaned the bloodstains from the floor. Within moments, the Heavenly Secret Hall was spotless, as if nothing had ever occurred.

Only the lingering scent of blood in the air reminded everyone that the recent events were not an illusion.

The middle-aged cultivator then remarked, "Just a minor incident; I hope it didn't disturb any of you, young friends."

As a peak True Lake Realm expert, both his cultivation and age warranted addressing a group of Cloud River Realm cultivators as "young friends."

He then strode away, casting a subtle glance toward Lu Ye as he departed.

After a brief moment of silence, the Heavenly Secret Hall regained its lively atmosphere.

Lu Ye suddenly recalled the time he was pursued by Dong Shuye in the Spirit Creek Battlefield. Due to a significant cultivation gap, he had been forced to seek refuge at the Heavenly Secret Business Alliance. The individual who intervened on behalf of the Alliance then was an elderly patriarch.

The cultivation level he displayed was only at the ninth stage of the Spirit Creek Realm, which, in the outer regions of the Spirit Creek Battlefield, was undoubtedly a very powerful presence.

But now, looking back, was that elder truly only at the ninth stage? Who knew if he was actually a disguised Cloud River Realm or even a True Lake Realm expert…

He silently cautioned himself to be more careful when dealing with members of the Heavenly Secret Business Alliance in the future. These individuals, under the protection of the Heavenly Secret, might only be displaying a superficial level of strength in certain specific situations.

Dispelling these distracting thoughts, Lu Ye raised his hand and pressed it against the Heavenly Secret Pillar, immersing his consciousness to connect with the Heavenly Secret Treasury.

He was in luck; the Earth Core Fire, previously sold out, now had over a dozen portions available.

Each portion of Earth Core Fire cost two hundred merit points. While this price was not cheap for Lu Ye in his earlier days, as merit points were hard-earned, it was now incredibly affordable. If the Heavenly Secret Treasury had more in stock, he would likely buy every last piece.

The talent tree had an enormous demand for rare fires like Earth Core Fire. Lu Ye sometimes wondered what it would be like if every leaf on the talent tree were ignited.

Yet, this remained a mere thought. To date, although he had ignited many leaves, they still constituted less than half a percent of the total.

Nevertheless, he believed that one day, he would be able to make the entire talent tree ignite.

After purchasing the Earth Core Fire, Lu Ye also searched for other relatively inexpensive items suitable for consumption by the talent tree, such as pill flames.

In total, he spent over ten thousand merit points.

The Spirit Sigil auction was also about to commence.

As before, Lu Ye acquired an item from the Heavenly Secret Business Alliance to participate in the Spirit Sigil auction. Shaped like a jade finger, it allowed his consciousness to enter a special space and bid on the sigils, provided he remained within the Alliance.

Half a cup of tea later, cultivators participating in the Spirit Sigil auction across the Heavenly Secret Business Alliance opened their eyes, their expressions grim.

Many of them were not first-time participants in the Spirit Sigil auction, so they had a general understanding of the prices for various colored sigils. A price fluctuation of around ten percent was typically considered not worthwhile, as no one's merit points were easily acquired; they were earned through life-and-death struggles against enemies. Every single merit point, one could say, was a product of hard-won effort.

Aside from individuals like Lu Ye, who spent merit points as if they were water, every cultivator meticulously managed their own.

Yet, this particular Spirit Sigil auction began with an unsettling trajectory…

No one knew which rogue had single-handedly driven the prices to a point where participation became prohibitive for everyone else.

Consequently, the shortest Spirit Sigil auction in history was born, lasting less than half a cup of tea from start to finish…

At this moment, Lu Ye had already returned the jade finger-like item and retired to his guest room.

Given Lu Ye's current wealth, bidding for Spirit Sigils against a group of Cloud River Realm cultivators presented no challenge whatsoever. He acquired every single Spirit Sigil, from white to purple.

Unfortunately, the number of Spirit Sigils this time was limited: only one purple, two blue, four green, and nine white.

It was better than nothing.

He had advanced to the fifth stage in Fox Immortal Valley. Since then, he had been preoccupied with battles of wit and strength against cultivators from Myriad Devil Ridge. While he had cultivated during this period, his overall cultivation advancement had not been substantial.

The Spirit Sigils he had acquired were not enough to propel him to the sixth stage, but they would certainly save him some time.

As early as when Lu Ye first entered the Cloud River Battlefield, he had learned that the Cloud River Realm was the stage where cultivators experienced the fastest advancement in their cultivation.

This indeed proved true; as long as a cultivator possessed enough Spirit Sigils, traversing the entire Cloud River Realm did not take much time at all.

He recalled his time in the Spirit Creek Battlefield, where advancing each minor realm took one or two months at best, and two or three months at worst. Notably, the transition from the eighth to the ninth stage alone took a full four months. While various unforeseen incidents caused delays, even without them, cultivation speed would not have been particularly fast, as spirit apertures had to be opened one by one.

Yet, despite having been in the Cloud River Battlefield for only half a year, he had already reached the fifth stage of the Cloud River Realm.

Ghost Shadow's cultivation speed was already quite fast; he had arrived at the Cloud River Battlefield several months before Lu Ye, yet he was only at the third stage.

In comparison, Lu Ye's cultivation advancement speed was truly astonishing.

Of course, he had also endured numerous hardships during this period. It could only be said that the greater the effort, the greater the reward.

Back in his guest room, Amber was sound asleep, and Yi Yi was cultivating. Lu Ye chose not to disturb her.

Walking to a nearby seat, Lu Ye took out the Earth Core Fire and pill flames he had purchased, activated the talent tree's power to absorb them, and closely observed the talent tree's reaction.

Over time, Lu Ye had more or less deduced some patterns.

When devouring rare fires, if only a single leaf on the talent tree lit up, there was generally not much to expect; the leaf likely contained techniques for constructing spirit patterns. Of course, there were exceptions.

Spirit patterns such as "Sharpness" and "Defense" were each carried by a single leaf.

If many leaves lit up simultaneously, it invariably signified an extraordinary spirit pattern.

Spirit patterns like the Fire Phoenix, Flying Wings, Anti-Air, and even the Enchanting Divine Pattern were not carried by just one leaf. Their construction was extremely complex, making it impossible for a single leaf to bear them; they required multiple leaves to combine.

Furthermore, some spirit patterns likely required the consumption of specific types of flames to be activated.

When he previously activated the talent tree to devour Phoenix True Fire, the Fire Phoenix spirit pattern manifested on the talent tree.

After slaying the fox demon and consuming its pill flame, the Enchanting Divine Pattern was activated.

Even though most leaves on the talent tree did not carry complete spirit patterns, the numerous techniques for constructing them provided immense help to Lu Ye.

His current mastery of the spirit pattern path far surpassed that of cultivators at his level, and his ability to be valued and taught by Madam Yun was largely thanks to the techniques he gained from the talent tree.

In fact, he utilized such techniques every time he set up a formation.

The Earth Core Fire and pill flames, purchased for over ten thousand merit points, were quickly consumed. Several leaves on the talent tree burned brightly, but upon checking them one by one, Lu Ye found he had not acquired any new spirit patterns.

He wasn't overly disappointed, as he already possessed a considerable number of spirit patterns, enough to handle most situations.

Only one thing left him somewhat unsatisfied: the Void Spirit Pattern.

It was certain that the Void Spirit Pattern existed on the talent tree, but he didn't know its precise location and couldn't actively activate it.

The more he interacted with the Void Spirit Pattern, the more he realized its many wondrous applications. It was unfortunate that it hadn't activated on his talent tree, preventing him from testing many of his ideas.

Relying solely on his own efficiency and speed in constructing Void Spirit Patterns, he couldn't possibly verify those ingenious ideas.