Chapter 45: Illusionary Dream Butterfly
The last item of the auction was a thousand-year-old left arm soul bone, and its appearance immediately caused an uproar in the auction hall. Both mercenaries and noble lords emptied their purses and started bidding. Before long, the price for the soul bone had reached 600,000 gold soul coins.
Ning Bei clicked his tongue in secret, feeling a hint of disdain. With the soul bones given to him by the Silver Dragon King, he wouldn't even look at this thousand-year-old soul bone.
Eventually, the soul bone was bought by a noble for 700,000 gold soul coins. As he looked around, Ning Bei noticed some dangerous-looking mercenaries glaring at him. The noble signaled his guards and hurriedly made his way backstage.
It seemed he wanted to complete the transaction early and leave. A few mercenaries exchanged glances and silently exited the auction house.
From his vantage point, Ning Bei saw everything. He couldn't help but admire the reputation of the soul bone, known as the "treasure of the blood river." Once someone discovered the soul bone, it would inevitably spark a bloody storm, even if it was just a thousand-year-old soul bone that he didn't care about.
The auction concluded, and after meeting with the merchant association's head, Ning Bei asked for the Phantom Dream Butterfly to be sent directly to the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect. He didn't want to summon his Dan Tower and retrieve his soul beasts in front of so many people.
After strolling around the city for a while, Ning Bei returned to the sect, where Ning Fengzhi summoned him to the study.
"Bei'er, I heard you bought a Phantom Dream Butterfly? You and Yan are still young, do you really need something like that?"
Ning Bei looked at his father with a black line across his forehead.
"Father, you've misunderstood. I just liked the butterfly's abilities and wanted to enrich the fighting strategies of my soul beast team."
Ning Fengzhi suddenly understood, as though a light bulb had gone off in his mind.
"You want to cultivate it to a thousand years or even ten thousand years, and then see if its illusionary abilities can help you in battle?"
"Exactly. To me, the Phantom Dream Butterfly is not without the potential to reach a higher level. It's just that in its youth, it's too weak and has too many natural enemies, which is why there are so few of them and no samples to find."
Ning Fengzhi smiled at Ning Bei. As long as his son wasn't focusing entirely on that aspect, he was still supportive of his son's plans.
"Then go ahead and try. Even if the results aren't great, there's no harm. But of course, don't let it interfere with your training."
"I understand, Father."
After getting the Phantom Dream Butterfly sent to the sect, Ning Bei placed it in the Dan Tower and made his way back to his room.
Upon returning to his room, Ning Bei released the butterfly again. What appeared was a smaller version of a young girl with a pair of multicolored wings, staring at Ning Bei with innocent eyes.
Then, as if frightened, the butterfly quickly darted under the bed.
"It's still a coward, huh? But I have my ways to tame you."
Ning Bei placed the Dan Tower outside the gap under the bed, and the fragrance from the Dan Tower drifted inside.
Within seconds, the frightened butterfly reappeared, its big eyes fixed on the Dan Tower, unable to look away.
As Ning Bei had expected, the soul beast couldn't resist the temptation of the Dan fragrance. The little creature's saliva was almost dripping from its mouth.
Its tiny wings began to flutter as it moved towards the Dan Tower, rubbing its small face against the tower.
Ning Bei poked at the tiny body, but there was no response.
"Well, it seems you've completely lost your fear."
Seeing the situation, Ning Bei had to recall the Dan Tower. The little butterfly froze in place, its eyes seemingly filled with tears.
After a while, realizing that Ning Bei was still there, it immediately prepared to hide under the bed again.
"Hold on, if you hide again, no more Dan fragrance for you."
Ning Bei didn't expect the little butterfly to understand his words, but he habitually made the threat.
To his surprise, something unexpected happened. The Phantom Dream Butterfly shuddered, stopped in midair, and looked back at him with a pitiful expression.
"Hmm? You understand me?"
The little butterfly nervously nodded, its little hands fidgeting together as it appeared quite anxious.
Seeing this, Ning Bei thought to himself that humanoid soul beasts were indeed not to be underestimated. Just with this intelligence, they were already impressive.
"Relax, little one. I won't hurt you. You already felt the benefits of the Dan Tower. How about you stay in there from now on?"
The butterfly seemed to realize that Ning Bei had no ill intentions, and after calming down a little, it nodded its small head in agreement.
"Good, little one. Now, can you use your ability on me? I want to see just how strong this illusion is."
Upon hearing Ning Bei's words, the butterfly's wings began to glow, and its eyes locked onto him.
The world around Ning Bei darkened. After a few seconds, the world brightened again, and several figures appeared beside him.
"Ahem, ahem."
The figures almost made Ning Bei lose his focus.
He saw Bibi Dong, Qian Renxue (in her female disguise), Dugu Yan, Xiao Wu, and Zhu Zhuqing appear beside him, all dressed in incredibly revealing clothes, as if they couldn't afford enough fabric!
Knowing these were just illusions, Ning Bei calmly assessed the strength of the illusion. He shook his head slightly, and the room's furnishings reappeared in front of him.
"The intensity is really low. My mental strength was enhanced by the Blue Silver Emperor's power, and with proper mental defense, these illusions have little effect on me."
However, Ning Bei wasn't disappointed. When he purchased the butterfly, he had already prepared himself for such results. He was curious to see how its abilities would develop when it reached a thousand or ten thousand years of cultivation.
"Not bad, little one. I roughly understand your abilities. In the future, make sure to train well in the Dan Tower, alright? Otherwise, I'll have Ah Zhu accompany you for fun. By the way, I'll give you a name—Little Butterfly."
Little Butterfly looked at Ning Bei with confusion, understanding that it needed to train, but it had no idea who Ah Zhu was.
As if reading its thoughts, Ning Bei smiled mischievously, and with a flash of the Dan Tower, Ah Zhu appeared in the room.
Seeing the giant Human-faced Demon Spider, Little Butterfly froze in fear, trembling uncontrollably, even forgetting to flee. It collapsed to the ground, shaking violently.
Its grandmother had told it that its grandfather was eaten by a Human-faced Demon Spider.
Ah Zhu seemed confused but quickly noticed the little creature and, without thinking, began to move towards it, tears unconsciously flowing from her eyes.
Seeing this, Little Butterfly became even more terrified, and both snot and tears started pouring out.
Ning Bei chuckled as he watched the scene unfold. It seemed that for spiders, Little Butterfly was indeed a delicious treat. Seeing the little one so frightened, he quickly stopped Ah Zhu 's movements.
"Alright, Ah Zhu , stop scaring it. After all, this little one is our companion now."
"Hiss."
After understanding Ning Bei's thoughts, Ah Zhu seemed a little displeased and protested.
"You want me to team up with a snack?"
Ning Bei, understanding Ah Zhu 's feelings, wasn't bothered by it.
"Right now, it's indeed weak, but who knows what will happen in the future? Alright, go back now. Next time, I'll send you a few more Soft Bone Rabbits to eat, but this little one is off the menu."
After calming the little one down, Ning Bei returned both Little Butterfly and Ah Zhu to the Dan Tower, keeping them separated, of course.
(END CHAPTER)
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