Chapter 511: Female Cultivator Cauldrons

"This doesn't seem any different from an ordinary auction. Fellow Daoist Xu brought us here specifically; can we really see anything peculiar?" The woman surnamed Liu among the burly man in brocade clothes' group asked Xu Yun with some doubt.

"Rest assured! Although auctions here are very frequent, held every few days or half a month, there are a few special auction items that will appear every time. Although they are not the most expensive things in the auction, they are indeed rarely seen in the Inner Star Sea." Xu Yun said with a hint of mystery, but then seeing Han Li come over, he smiled at him with goodwill.

Han Li nodded casually, but suddenly asked a question that surprised the other party.

"Fellow Daoist Xu. How many cultivators are there in this Black Stone City? It seems there aren't many cultivators."

"Brother Qu truly has eyes like torches! Besides a few inns that can temporarily house people, Black Stone City generally doesn't have many foreign cultivators living here permanently. High-level cultivators will have their own caves on other islands. Low-level ones gather into some small villages and towns and live with mortals. The cultivators in Black Stone City are here to buy and sell things, and the lower the level of the cultivator, the more frequently they run here." Xu Yun admitted frankly.

"Isn't it said that only Foundation Establishment stage cultivators and above can survive in the Outer Sea? How can there be so many mortals and Qi Condensation stage cultivators?" The burly man in brocade clothes was silent for a while, then asked the question that Han Li also had some doubts about.

"Brother Yi asked the key point. This is another biggest difference between Qiyuan Island and other monster islands."

"Other monster islands are places where high-level cultivators specifically teleport to hunt monster beasts. Generally, after accumulating enough harvest, they will return to the Inner Star Sea. On Qiyuan Island, some years after the sea abyss was discovered, these forces found several spirit stone mines on nearby islands and opened up some other raw material production areas needed for cultivation, basically becoming self-sufficient. As a result, some cultivators also brought their families and teleported over, and mortals without spiritual roots and low-level cultivators naturally appeared. I also heard that the forces managing Black Stone City are slowly transferring their main manpower from the Inner Star Sea to here. It is estimated that in a few tens of thousands of years, this place might become the second Inner Star Sea. However, besides this Black Stone City, the mortal and cultivator villages on other islands can hardly be called absolutely safe. They are often destroyed by high-level monster beasts that suddenly appear. This place is just walking the old path that our ancestors took when they first arrived in the Inner Star Sea." Xu Yun said calmly.

But these words left the others stunned.

"Do the Star Palace and other forces not interfere with everything here?" The burly man in brocade clothes let out a long breath and asked in a deep voice.

"It's still too early for this place to be as prosperous as the Inner Star Sea. Besides, the Inner Star Sea itself is large enough to keep them busy; who has the time to manage this place? They wish that these forces would put their main manpower and energy into Qiyuan Island. Otherwise, the current Inner Star Sea would be even more chaotic." Xu Yun snorted coldly and said, clearly still full of resentment about the Star Palace suddenly closing the teleportation array.

The burly man in brocade clothes and the others heard these words and felt they made sense, so they looked at each other and stopped mentioning this topic.

These small cultivators of theirs had better ask less about the affairs between these forces, so as not to invite disaster upon themselves.

After selling a few more Magic Tools and raw materials, a middle-aged man in blue robes holding a red brocade box appeared behind the old man hosting the auction, with a white-and-purple fist-sized sphere inside the box.

Seeing this, Xu Yun's spirit lifted.

"Fellow Daoists, pay attention. We are about to reach one of the main auction items of Qiyuan Island: monster beast eggs. There is no lack of rare items among them. These things are sky-high prices in spirit stones in the Inner Star Sea, but they are much cheaper on Qiyuan Island. Because except for some special monster eggs, most eggs cannot pass through the teleportation array. The fate of them being carried through teleportation is only to become dead eggs. Therefore, whenever some rare monster eggs appear in the world, some high-level cultivators who know the truth about Qiyuan Island will also specifically teleport to Black Stone City to bid for spirit beasts. After hatching the spirit beasts, they spend some time cultivating them to a stage where they can be teleported, before returning to the Inner Star Sea."

"Monster beast eggs!" The burly man in brocade clothes' eyes suddenly lit up; cultivating a high-level spirit beast was something he had dreamed of for a long time.

The others also revealed expressions of pleasant surprise.

According to this, wouldn't they also have the opportunity to own their own spirit beasts in the future? Finding a good spirit beast in the Inner Star Sea was extremely difficult!

"Purple Cloud Eagle monster beast egg, a Level 4 earth-attribute monster beast when adult, with steel feathers as hard as iron. Although it only knows a simple shield magic technique, its flying speed is extremely fast, comparable to an upper-grade flying Magic Tool. A pair of sharp claws can easily tear through the protective shield of a Foundation Establishment stage cultivator. It can be considered a rare monster beast variety. It is absolutely the best choice for Foundation Establishment stage Fellow Daoists. Base price is two thousand spirit stones, add one hundred each time. Bidding begins!" The old man seemed full of confidence in this beast egg; he only introduced it briefly and began the auction without any hesitation.

And sure enough, many cultivators below took a fancy to this beast egg. As soon as the old man's voice fell, someone began to bid.

Although Level 4 monster beasts were not worth mentioning to Core Formation stage cultivators, they were just right for these Foundation Establishment stage cultivators.

Because spirit beasts that are too high-level are not only expensive but also have a much longer maturation cycle than low-level spirit beasts. Even with some secret techniques to catalyze growth, they couldn't afford to wait.

"Two thousand five hundred spirit stones!"

"Two thousand seven!"

"Three thousand!"

... The price of the Purple Cloud Eagle beast egg quickly broke through three thousand, and finally, it was bought by a female cultivator who was extremely excited for three thousand three hundred spirit stones.

"It is indeed much cheaper than in the Inner Star Sea. If it were in the Star City, such a flying spirit beast egg would cost at least five thousand spirit stones or more!" The middle-aged man with a dark face stared at the beast egg in the female cultivator's hand and muttered.

Except for Han Li, the others, including the burly man in brocade clothes, had eyes that were shining.

Xu Yun saw this scene and just smiled, not finding it strange.

Next, the old man auctioned off a Level 3 and another Level 4 monster beast egg at a considerable price, ending the auction of spirit beast eggs.

"What is this?" Seeing the auction item brought up again, the woman surnamed Liu's expression changed drastically, and the others were also full of astonishment.

Because beside the auction old man, there were now two young and beautiful women standing. Although they were only at the second or third level of the Qi Condensation stage, they were indeed genuine cultivators. But looking at the posture of them being brought up meekly, the auction items this time were actually these two female cultivators.

Xu Yun saw this and didn't reveal any surprise, instead using his eyes to signal the few to listen to what the old man was saying.

"Below are four low-level Qi Condensation stage cauldrons; they have only practiced basic five-element cultivation techniques, and each one is absolutely a virgin. But according to their requirements, the cultivator who buys them must have a cultivation base of Foundation Establishment mid-stage or above. Base price is two thousand spirit stones each; the auction begins now..."

Ever since the old man had people bring these two female cultivators up, many male cultivators below began to look at these two women with fiery gazes, but after the old man's voice fell for a long time, there was no bid for a long time. Even two male cultivators sitting not far in front of Han Li and the others were discussing in low voices.

"What's the use of buying a two or three-level cauldron for two thousand spirit stones? If you really want a maid or concubine, it's better to buy a mortal woman elsewhere. When she gets old and loses her looks, just spend a little money to send her away. But if it were a Foundation Establishment stage cauldron, I would be willing to pay no matter how many spirit stones."

"You're dreaming. You think you're a Core Formation stage cultivator. Don't forget the rules here; Foundation Establishment stage cauldrons are fundamentally not something we can covet. Even if allowed, that sky-high price is not as cost-effective as buying a good spirit beast egg."

Hearing these conversations, although Han Li was still surprised, the shock on his face had gradually faded.

He had heard before that some forces secretly cultivated young female cultivators specifically as cauldrons, and some high-level cultivators even gifted these female cultivators to each other. But in any case, there was no public auction of female cultivator cauldrons in the Inner Star Sea. This kind of behavior here truly gave him a fright.

The expressions of the burly man in brocade clothes and the others also calmed down.

After all, the existence of cauldrons was something everyone in the cultivation world knew well. However, the woman surnamed Liu and another young woman, also being female, still looked somewhat uncomfortable.

"Fellow Daoists, don't be surprised. These women are all willing to be cauldrons for others; no one forces them. They basically belong to the type of female cultivators whose spiritual root aptitude is not good, making it very difficult to cultivate to a high level using ordinary cultivation methods. Their families have no senior experts to rely on, and various forces don't look upon them and are unwilling to spend spirit stones to cultivate them. In this way, in a place like the Outer Star Sea, they disdain to do ordinary mortal work. And going out to hunt monster beasts is just seeking death. Only after cultivating somewhat successfully do they take the initiative to become cauldrons for male cultivators with deeper cultivation. This not only provides a large sum of spirit stones for their families, but they also have a certain reliance themselves. If they can win the favor of the male cultivator and become a concubine, perhaps they will have another opportunity. Of course, there are also high-level female cultivators with good spiritual root aptitude who take the initiative to become cauldrons for others due to other reasons. However, such cauldrons are not allowed to be bid on by low-level male cultivators. This level of auction will not appear." Xu Yun explained slowly, looking as if he was long accustomed to such things.

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 512 =====