Chapter 319: Chapter 306: Netherworld Cat and Nether Crow
After a grand auction, the "East Splendor United Trading Group" naturally made a substantial profit.
The total transaction amount of this large auction approached thirty million low-grade Spirit Stones, with seventy percent of the Treasures provided by the "East Splendor United Trading Group" itself.
In other words, just this one auction allowed the group to earn Spirit Stones equivalent to two medium-sized Spirit Stone ores from the Liuyun Continent Cultivation Realm!
This is the profit of inter-cultivation realm trade.
The greater the risk, the greater the reward.
The profit generated from inter-cultivation realm trade definitely surpasses local trade by a large margin.
The simplest example is the first Treasure of this grand auction, the "Thousand-Year Clam Pearl."
If it weren’t for being sold in the Liuyun Continent Cultivation Realm, but instead in the Donghua Continent Cultivation Realm, it could fetch thirty thousand low-grade Spirit Stones at most, and forty-two thousand Spirit Stones would be out of the question.
To know that in the Liuyun Continent Cultivation Realm, even a Tier Five Demon Pill would barely sell for forty to fifty thousand low-grade Spirit Stones.
Also, with that Flood Dragon Egg, just like Yun Yiyi herself said, in the sects of the Donghua Continent Cultivation Realm, none would dare raise a Flood Dragon, as that would mean becoming the enemy of the entire Jiao Dragon Race of the sea.
And the strength of that Jiao Dragon Race in the sea far exceeds all the Demon Beasts combined in the Broken Cloud Mountain Range by at least tenfold!
It’s only in inland places like the Liuyun Continent Cultivation Realm, where the sea’s Jiao Dragon Race influence can’t reach, that sects dare to raise Flood Dragons without fear of reprisal from the Jiao Dragon Race.
This is probably why the "East Splendor United Trading Group" chose to sell it in Immortal Sun City rather than waiting for a rich and prosperous place like Liuyun Immortal City to sell it.
After all, selling in Immortal Sun City, although the profit may be slightly less than in "Liuyun Immortal City," the chances of exposure will be much lower.
Conversely, if the Flood Dragon Egg were sold in a well-informed place like "Liuyun Immortal City," who knows if the leak of the news would immediately attract a Tier Six Flood Dragon King from the Jiao Dragon Race to retaliate?
Of course, all of this is just Zhouyang’s speculation and is bound to be without an answer.
After the auction ended, he took out Spirit Stones and settled with Yun Yiyi, then immediately left the Flying Giant Ship.
Upon disembarking from the Flying Giant Ship, Zhouyang initially planned to head directly to the nearest Void Traveling Tower Ship dock to take a ship back to his cave abode.
But shortly after he began walking on the street, a beast vehicle suddenly rushed out from an alley beside him, heading straight towards him.
As a Purple Mansion Stage Cultivator, Zhouyang naturally wouldn’t be hit by a beast vehicle.
However, as he was about to dodge, an eerie meow suddenly echoed in his mind.
Under the influence of this meowing sound, his body paused momentarily, and he couldn’t avoid being directly hit by the beast vehicle.
Yet he was unharmed because, when the beast vehicle was about to hit him, the "Spirit Rhinoceros Jade Pendant" on his body and his body-protecting Divine Techniques "Qianyang Golden Light" were triggered to protect him.
And the Spirit Beast pulling the cart was merely a Tier Two High-Grade Rhinoceros Demon Beast.
However, being maliciously ambushed like this left Zhouyang livid, and once he regained his senses, he swung his sleeve, and a red Sword Light flashed through, splitting the carriage into two halves on the spot.
As he expected, the carriage was empty, just an empty vehicle.
His act of using force in public soon attracted a patrol of city guards.
Once the patrol of city guards disrupted him, it became completely impossible to find the owner of the previous eerie meow.
In the end, after explaining to the city guards, he returned to his cave abode, full of thoughts.
Undoubtedly, being hit by the cart in the street was an enemy’s test.
Through this test, the enemy not only discovered some of his body-protecting methods but possibly noticed his abnormally strong Divine Sense.
Yet he didn’t even know where the enemy was or what they looked like.
This left him feeling somewhat frustrated.
"That meowing sound had the effects of Soul Capturing and Soul Stabilizing, and even my powerful Divine Sense couldn’t completely avoid it. Surely, someone who possesses such a powerful and mysterious Spirit Pet isn’t an unknown figure; perhaps I could ask Senior Xu Zhengyang for help to inquire!"
Zhouyang returned to his cave abode, carefully recalled the scene of the attack, and with a slight flicker in his eyes, he located a clue.
He decided to act immediately and sent a Communication Flying Sword to Xu Zhengyang, explaining the situation to him.
Xu Zhengyang’s reply was quicker than he expected.
Not two hours after he sent out the communication flying sword, Xu Zhengyang’s reply landed in his hand.
"Murong Qianqian, inner sect disciple of the Beast Taming Sect, Seventh-Layer of Purple Mansion Cultivation, studied under Sixth-Layer Golden Core cultivator Han Yu, raises a rare Tier Four Middle-Grade Demon Beast [Netherworld Cat]. Her master Han Yu and Zhong Chuming share the same master, and the two have a close relationship."
After reading Xu Zhengyang’s reply, Zhouyang couldn’t help but reveal a look of realization.
"So it’s this rare beast [Netherworld Cat], no wonder even I fell for it!" He sighed lightly, his eyes full of solemnity.
In terms of rarity, the [Netherworld Cat] is not inferior to his [Golden-winged Thunder Eagle]. This demon beast’s talent divine techniques are "Soul Capturing" and "Soul Devouring," making it the bane of all Yin Soul Ghosts.
The cat’s cry he heard today was the [Netherworld Cat] using the "Soul Capturing" divine technique within its voice to influence him.
The true power of this "Soul Capturing" technique lies in the [Netherworld Cat]’s eyes.
If the [Netherworld Cat] used its eyes to cast this technique on him, although it wouldn’t capture and devour his divine soul, it would at least immobilize him for one or two breaths.
One or two breaths might not mean much in a fight between Low-Tier Cultivators, but in battles between Purple Mansion Stage cultivators, it’s enough to attack the enemy several times over!
At this point, Zhouyang was somewhat glad he encountered this ambush today.
If it weren’t for this attack, which gave him detailed information about the assailant, he would have been in real danger if ambushed by the [Netherworld Cat] during a fight.
"It seems I must carry a [Soul Suppressing Talisman] whenever I go out in the future!"
The [Soul Suppressing Talisman] is a special kind of spirit talisman used by low-tier cultivators to stabilize themselves against ghostly demon cultivators and shield their divine soul from being influenced by demonic powers.
Given Zhouyang’s cultivation, a [Soul Suppressing Talisman] effective on him has to be a Tier Four spirit talisman, which he’s currently unable to make himself.
Realizing the severity of the situation, he immediately went to the Profound Sun Pavilion and spent forty thousand low-grade spirit stones in the Talisman Hall to purchase two Tier Four [Soul Suppressing Talismans].
With the Tier Four [Soul Suppressing Talisman] for protection, Zhouyang felt slightly at ease and then returned to his cave residence to refine the [Illusory Cloud Ship] he acquired in exchange on the Flying Giant Ship.
Meanwhile, in a cave residence within Immortal Sun City, a beautiful woman holding a black cat was speaking to a stocky middle-aged man about Zhouyang.
"Master, please be discerning; after probing Zhouyang as you instructed, I found that he not only possesses treasures for protection but also has divine sense and soul strength far surpassing others of the same tier. I estimate he might even be comparable to Eighth or Ninth Layer Purple Mansion cultivators!"
The beautiful woman was Murong Qianqian, an inner sect disciple of the Beast Taming Sect, while the portly middle-aged man was her master Han Yu, the same Golden Core cultivator from the Beast Taming Sect who was Zhong Chuming’s senior whom Zhouyang offended.
After Zhong Chuming was expelled from Immortal Sun City by Xu Zhengyang and barred from entering the city for a hundred years, Han Yu was entrusted with monitoring and probing Zhouyang.
Han Yu planned to attend a major auction today and didn’t think a First-Layer Purple Mansion cultivator required his personal attention, so he tasked his disciple Murong Qianqian with handling it.
Now that he had returned from the auction, Murong Qianqian reported her probing results back to him.
"Oh, his divine sense strength is comparable to a Late-Stage Purple Mansion cultivator? That’s a significant discovery. Could this be related to why Xu Zhengyang unsheathed his sword against Junior Brother Zhong for that boy?"
Han Yu’s chubby face twitched slightly, and his eyes revealed a trace of astonishment as he muttered to himself.
He did not doubt his disciple’s words because he was even more familiar with the divine powers of the [Netherworld Cat] she was holding.
However, his intention in asking his disciple to test Zhouyang extended beyond this.
With a gleam in his eyes, he suddenly asked his disciple, "Were you able to collect any of his magical power aura?"
Hearing his question, the beautiful woman couldn’t help but chuckle proudly: "Hehe, although his protective treasures managed to block the beast vehicle, he surely didn’t expect that when he sliced open the beast vehicle’s compartment with a sword, it allowed the [Spirit-Devouring Insect] I placed inside beforehand to collect his magical power aura!"
Laughter still in the air, she raised her jade-like hand and flicked a black, bean-sized insect toward Han Yu.
"Good, very good!"
"With this strand of his magical power aura, no matter where he flees, the [Nether Crow] will lead us to him!"
"Heh, this [Nether Crow] is a special nether beast we’ve developed by referencing ghost dao soul nurturing secret techniques, unbeknownst even to the Profound Sun Immortal Sect. Xu Zhengyang surely intends for that boy to leave Immortal Sun City using the internal teleportation array of the Profound Sun Immortal Sect. Little will he know that the boy’s departure will mark his end!"
Admiring the small black insect resting motionless in his palm, Han Yu’s plump face broke into a smile full of pride.
Although the Beast Taming Sect could not rival the Profound Sun Immortal Sect in overall strength, it didn’t mean they were inferior to them in other areas.
After a little chuckle, he composed himself and looked earnestly at his prized disciple, saying:
"Qianqian, I will soon escort the flood dragon egg back to the Beast Taming Sect with several of your uncles and masters. During the time we’re away, you must watch that boy closely and not let him escape!"
"Just in case, this [Nether Crow] and [Spirit-Devouring Insect] will be temporarily entrusted to you for safekeeping."