Chapter 44: Phantom Dream Butterfly
The effects of the intense training were evident. Although Ning Bei's soul power level didn't increase much, only reaching level 56, his soul power had fully solidified, with no sign of it being unstable. The time ahead would be used to fully focus on increasing his soul power level.
Ah Bao had stayed on the fifth floor of the Dan Tower for almost a whole year and had finally successfully transformed into a 10,000-year soul beast. Its sharp claws could strike fear into anyone even without attacking, and its body had grown considerably. Now, when it stood up, it was about nine meters tall.
As for the Demon Eye Tree and the Emerald Swan, since they had been residing on the fourth floor, they shared the effects of the Dan fragrance. Their cultivation had reached 3,000 years and 4,500 years, respectively.
The Human-faced Demon Spider and the two other beasts that stayed on the third floor were treated similarly. Their cultivation had just surpassed 5,000 years.
Next, Ning Bei planned to switch the positions of Ah Bao and the Human-faced Demon Spider. The other two beasts would remain where they were. Once the Human-faced Demon Spider reached the 10,000-year level, it would gain the ability to hide itself. Its power could not be detected by even the strongest of mental powers. Additionally, the ability to burn one year of its cultivation per second to greatly increase its strength and speed was incredibly useful. The consumed cultivation could be quickly replenished by resting in the Dan Tower for a few days.
The benefits for the entire team would be significant at that point.
As Ning Bei's cultivation increased, the number of medicinal pills he could produce also gradually increased. Each month, he could earn hundreds of thousands of gold soul coins from these pills.
Currently, if he fully focused on producing first- and second-grade Recovery Pills, Rejuvenation Pills, and Accumulation Pills, he could make over a thousand of them every day.
The efficiency of making Base Building Elixirs had also greatly improved. He could now supply hundreds of sect children with the elixir, and once these children reached six years old, they would bring a new batch of promising soul masters with innate soul power above level 5. The talent development in the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect was more frightening than that of the Spirit Hall.
At the Grand Prince's residence, Qian Renxue, disguised as Xue Qinghe, was staring at the jade bottle in her hand, lost in thought.
She opened the bottle and sniffed the air. A faint, refreshing medicinal scent emanated from it.
"Is it true that the liquid in this bottle can enhance the innate soul power of children?"
The Snake Spear beside her nodded, confirming the liquid's effect.
"This is what our spy secretly retrieved. It's said that children in the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect soak in this liquid daily."
"Can we obtain the formula for this liquid?"
"I'm afraid not. The formula for this liquid is a top-level secret within the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect. Not even our spies or senior elders have access to it."
Qian Renxue's fingers tapped on the table, her brow furrowed in deep thought.
"So, even if we obtain the liquid, it won't be effective? This liquid likely requires long-term immersion to work, right?"
The Snake Spear's face turned a little awkward.
"Young Master, as of now, that seems to be the case."
"Hmph, the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect is truly impressive. They can even make this liquid? We must find a way to get our hands on it. Over the course of several decades, this thing could easily double the power of the backbone of the Spirit Hall. If it's left in the hands of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, it would be a waste. They have no ambition to dominate the continent."
"I understand, Young Master. I'll find a way."
"Mm."
After a year of intense training, Ning Bei planned to relax a bit.
With nothing urgent to do today, he decided to take a leisurely stroll around Seven Treasure City.
Coincidentally, there was an auction being held, and Ning Bei planned to browse for interesting items. His little treasure chest was already overflowing, and it was time for some spending to circulate the currency.
After all, it all eventually ends up in his pocket.
This time, he didn't bring Xiao Tao, as he feared she might drag him into a clothing store.
Arriving at the merchant hall's entrance, he showed the guard his token, and the steward led him respectfully to the same private room as last time.
Everything was as clean and luxurious as before. Hmm, and the legs were still very white.
Under the excellent service of the maid, the auction began.
Ya Fei, the familiar figure, appeared on the stage.
After a brief introduction, the auction items were revealed one by one.
As expected, Ning Bei's first- and second-grade pills were once again snatched up by a group of mercenaries. After all, they were consumables, and once used, if they were found effective, they would need to be bought again.
However, this time, Ning Bei felt somewhat disappointed by the auction items. Most were either jewelry, clothing, maids, or medicinal products, all of which he had no use for.
It wasn't until the auction was nearing its end that a cart was pushed onto the stage. Ning Bei became a bit interested when he heard Ya Fei's introduction.
"The next item for auction is a hundred-year-old Phantom Dream Butterfly. This type of soul beast has the ability to induce hypnosis and hallucinations, and a hundred-year-old Phantom Dream Butterfly is quite rare! They usually become food for various insect-type soul beasts after about ten years."
After the introduction, the red cloth covering the cart was removed, revealing a butterfly with colorful wings inside a crystal display box.
The butterfly was about half a meter long, curled up in a corner of the box.
What was unusual was that the body of the butterfly appeared human-like.
It was smaller than a normal human, only the size of a palm.
In Ning Bei's memory, except for those shape-shifting soul beasts, only the Snow Empress in the far north, whose body naturally took on human form, had such a rare feature.
This Phantom Dream Butterfly, however, was only a hundred years old, far from reaching the shape-shifting stage.
Ning Bei had researched this type of soul beast before. Its ability was to create illusions, but a ten-year-old Phantom Dream Butterfly could only add some flavor to the atmosphere, making it quite popular among noble families.
A hundred years of cultivation probably wouldn't be too powerful, otherwise, it wouldn't have been brought here.
But Ning Bei, with the Dan Tower at his disposal, knew that if he cultivated this butterfly to a thousand or ten thousand years, its hallucination ability would become far more formidable.
As a humanoid soul beast, Ning Bei didn't believe it didn't have the potential to reach higher levels. The low cultivation of the Phantom Dream Butterfly just meant its battle power was lacking, and with the scent of mantis and spider-type soul beasts in the area, it was likely preyed upon, causing its rarity.
Even taking a thousand-year Phantom Dream Butterfly as an example, even if it didn't have much power, it was still almost a zero-cost investment for him.
While Ning Bei was deep in thought, Ya Fei began the auction for the Phantom Dream Butterfly.
"This Phantom Dream Butterfly starts at 5,000 gold soul coins. The price must be raised in increments of no less than 1,000. Gentlemen, feel free to start bidding."
"6,000 gold soul coins."
"7,000."
"…"
"16,000 gold soul coins."
As expected, the nobles were getting worked up, and soon the price for the hundred-year-old Phantom Dream Butterfly rose to 16,000 gold soul coins and showed no sign of stopping.
It wasn't long before the price soared to 23,000 gold soul coins before it finally slowed down.
"Alright, VIP number 92 bids 23,000 gold soul coins. Is there anyone willing to bid higher?"
"23,000 gold soul coins once."
"23,000 gold soul coins twice."
Seeing no further bids, Ning Bei waved to the maid by his side.
"Oh! The VIP from box number 1 bids 30,000 gold soul coins! Truly wealthy!"
"30,000 gold soul coins once."
"30,000 gold soul coins twice."
"30,000 gold soul coins three times."
"Congratulations to the VIP from box number 1 for winning the hundred-year-old Phantom Dream Butterfly."
Amid the grumbling voices of the nobles below, Ning Bei obtained the butterfly.
He smirked and muttered to himself:
"A bunch of old perverts, only good at wasting things."
However, while Ning Bei was making his sarcastic comment, he didn't notice the maid beside him, who was giving him a disdainful look.
(END CHAPTER)
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