Chapter 226

Chapter 226: Third Level Spirit Beast

The Deep Sea Illusion Turtle, born in the Endless Sea, is a Spirit Beast with an exceptionally long lifespan and astonishing defensive capabilities.

As its name suggests, it excels at utilizing illusions to attack, much like the Snow Mountain Spirit Cat.

Yet, despite it being a Third Level Spirit Beast, none present showed much excitement.

For it is widely known that the greatest strength of turtle-type Spirit Beasts lies in their longevity.

Hence, such Spirit Beasts have a much longer growth cycle compared to others.

Take Little White, for instance. Though also a Third Level Spirit Beast, it only needed a century to reach adulthood, while this Deep Sea Illusion Turtle required at least three hundred years.

Now, what does three hundred years mean?

A Foundation Establishment cultivator’s lifespan barely exceeds three hundred years. Spending that time nurturing another being might as well be spent practicing yourself.

Not to mention the resources you’d have to pour into it over those three centuries.

So even though raising the Deep Sea Illusion Turtle could make it formidable, few were willing to invest that time.

This was precisely why the Qinyuan Sect offered it for auction.

Moreover, the elderly auctioneer added: "As this egg has suffered damage, we cannot guarantee whether its foundation will remain unaffected after hatching."

These words further extinguished any lingering interest among the crowd.

Thus, the opening bid was set at a mere three hundred spiritual stones.

A Third Level Spirit Beast egg, selling for only three hundred spiritual stones—such a price was unbelievably low.

Still, no one stepped forward to place a bid.

A long growth cycle alone might not have seriously deterred certain long-life families.

But an impaired foundation changed everything.

Repairing a damaged foundation in a Spirit Beast is incredibly difficult; one must locate artifacts aligned with its original elemental source.

Besides, as this was a Third Level Spirit Beast, restoring it would require the skills of a top-tier beast tamer.

Across the entire Qinyuan Domain, only the Zhang Family of Beast Taming might possess such ability aside from the Qinyuan Sect.

Yet judging by their demeanor, the Zhang Family showed no interest in bidding.

From the Lin Family’s private booth, Zhou Luo observed the crowd’s reactions.

He, however, felt rather intrigued by this Third Level Spirit Beast.

With his own vast lifespan, the long growth cycle meant little. After all, a Third Level Spirit Beast could rival a Golden Core master.

If raised into the mature stage, it could stand guard over the Zhou family like Little White.

As for the impaired foundation—

Zhou Luo, a top-tier First Level beast tamer, understood the implications very well.

A Spirit Beast born with deficiencies faced severe long-term challenges and might not even survive into adulthood.

Still, if one could find life forces resonant with its origin, repairing the damage remained possible.

And it just so happened that Zhou Luo possessed the very cosmic energies matching this Deep Sea Illusion Turtle.

It was precisely the Illusionary Power brought back from that Illusionary Forest.

Even if the Illusionary Power might be useless, he could still repurpose it for other plans.

Having thought this through, Zhou Luo decisively named his price without hesitation: "Three hundred and ten stones."

His voice instantly shattered the silence that had fallen over the hall.

The elderly man on the high platform looked up, squinting as he scrutinized Zhou Luo. Everyone else erupted into a buzz.

"Is this kid crazy? Paying over three hundred stones for a half-dead egg to take home?"

"Is the Lin Family rich but foolish?"

"One turtle outlasts three generations; a man dies but his turtle remains. Looks like the Lin Family plans to outlive their rivals by raising it. Hahaha."

…

For a moment, discussions rippled through the crowd. Some dismissed it as unimportant, others sneered coldly, while many wore expressions full of mockery.

Clearly, no one held a favorable view of this Spirit Beast.

Even within the Lin Family’s group, Lin Ze’s facial muscles twitched as he transmitted a message: "Zhou Luo, think carefully."

"Father-in-law, rest assured. I have my own plans." Zhou Luo replied, seeking to ease his worry. He had already decided that even spending three hundred spiritual stones wouldn’t be a significant loss.

Lin Ze sighed and said no more.

After all, it wasn’t the Lin Family’s money being used. Let him be.

With Zhou Luo’s bid announced, no one dared to raise the bid further. Everyone simply watched him as if observing a fool.

"Congratulations, young friend, on acquiring this Third Level Spirit Beast egg." The elderly man beamed with delight.

Immediately, the beautiful waitress brought the Xuan Huang turtle egg before Zhou Luo.

"Honorable sir, here are the feeding methods and precautions for the Deep Sea Illusion Turtle. You may study them carefully in due course." The beautiful waitress also handed over a set of jade slips.

Zhou Luo accepted them and handed over three hundred spiritual stones.

He promptly stored the turtle egg into his pet bag and unrolled the jade slips.

The jade slips recorded detailed husbandry methods and precautions, especially emphasizing that this Deep Sea Illusion Turtle suffered from innate deficiencies and was critically endangered, requiring extremely meticulous care.

It truly was a half-dead Spirit Beast.

Yet Zhou Luo’s expression showed not the slightest change, as if he cared not at all.

The appearance of the Deep Sea Illusion Turtle was merely a small interlude. The following Spirit Beasts were mostly First Level, but their advantage lay in being completely healthy and problem-free, sparking a frantic bidding war.

Finally, the Spirit Beast auction concluded, and the third round of auctions resumed.

This time, the main focus was celestial treasures and rare earthly materials.

Zhou Luo still lacked two more materials needed to complete the repair of his three top-grade magical artifacts. Naturally, he had no intention of letting them slip away.

When competing for those two materials, he once again intimidated everyone with his extravagant manner.

This gradually caused the gazes directed at the Lin Family to turn increasingly strange and complex.

Lin Ze and Lin Yan exchanged bewildered glances. The source of Zhou Luo’s wealth was unknown to them. His explanation was that he had earned some through alchemy and selling items.

Over the years, ever since becoming a top-level Pill Master, he had received many gifts, so these words did not arouse much suspicion in either of them.

It wasn’t until evening that this auction finally concluded, leaving some jubilant and others disappointed.

"Brother Lin Ze, your Lin Family truly spends lavishly," said Wang Li, representing the Wang Family this time and a seasoned acquaintance.

He chuckled as he looked at the Lin Family members, sighing with feeling.

"Oh, it’s nothing, nothing."

Lin Ze didn’t reveal that the spiritual stones all came from Zhou Luo, afraid it might invite covetous gazes from ill-intentioned people.

Better to let everyone believe it was the Lin Family’s doing.

"Nephew Zhou, it’s been a while," Wang Li then greeted Zhou Luo.

"Elder Wang, it has indeed been a long time," Zhou Luo replied with a smile.

"Meeting is rare; let’s share a drink," Wang Li immediately called out.

No one refused, so the group headed straight to Tian Xia Restaurant for a hearty drinking session.

Late at night, Zhou Luo and Lin Xin walked side by side back to their room.

His face flushed from the spirit wine, he could only sit cross-legged, beginning to dispel the wine’s effects.

"Why did you buy that egg?"

In the room, Lin Xin couldn’t hold back her question.

To her, it seemed a complete waste of money.

Zhou Luo cracked his eyes open slightly, teasing, "Isn’t it good to leave the Lin Family with a Third Level Spirit Beast?"

Lin Xin naturally didn’t believe him, but since he wouldn’t explain, she didn’t press further.

Early the next morning, Zhou Luo and the others boarded a flying boat and departed Qinyuan Immortal City.

For Zhou Luo, this trip to the Immortal City proved rewarding, especially the purchase of large quantities of rare materials, including body refinement materials, rune-making materials, alchemy materials, and more.

Beyond that, the most crucial gain was acquiring the materials to repair his top-grade magical artifact.

As for the Deep Sea Illusion Turtle, he considered it a pleasant surprise; even if it ultimately didn’t survive, he wouldn’t feel much loss.

Just a hundred li into their journey on the flying boat, they suddenly heard a furious shout.

"Bold bandits! Daring to commit violence near the Immortal City!"

The voice roared with anger, followed immediately by surges of spell combat energy. The collision of powerful mana made their bodies feel heavy.

A Foundation Establishment strong person was battling fiercely up ahead!