Chapter 1442: Jadeite Spirit Wood

"These beast pills all appear to be beginner‑level spiritual‑beast pills; for many Heaven‑Responding realm cultivators, they are already quite fine treasures."

His gaze kept sweeping over these fist‑sized, extremely smooth crystals, and Lin Feng also showed genuine interest.

After all, he rarely sees such high‑level beast pills.

On the Baiyuan Continent, prime beasts before they take shape are classified as low‑grade, mid‑grade, high‑grade, and peak prime beasts.

Their strengths correspond respectively to the human realms of Yuan Absorption, Meridian Opening, Pill Consolidation, and the Lower Three Tribulations.

When a peak‑level prime beast completes its cultivation, it will undergo a thunder tribulation.

If it passes safely, it can then take human form!

At the same time, at this moment they will no longer retain their previous beastly shape; their spiritual intelligence and learning ability will be greatly enhanced.

Therefore, prime beasts that have passed the thunder tribulation are called spiritual beasts by the people of Baiyuan Continent!

Moreover, once a prime beast becomes a spiritual beast, its rank is no longer expressed in grades but in qualities.

They are divided into lower‑quality, middle‑quality, upper‑quality, and peak spiritual beasts.

These categories correspond respectively to the human cultivators' Heaven‑Responding, Heaven‑Joining, and Upper Three Tribulations realms.

Since the gaps between the Upper Three Tribulations realms on Baiyuan Continent are huge, they encompass both the middle‑quality and peak spiritual‑beast tiers.

Later, spiritual beasts will face another thunder tribulation.

If they pass it safely, they become source beasts.

At that point, they will receive the approval of Heaven and Earth and can likewise comprehend the power of the source.

If they can fully grasp a particular source, they too can ascend to the Upper Realm!

"It seems the cultivators who can attend this trade fair are quite capable; these Heaven‑Responding realm cultivators can produce so many spiritual‑beast pills. It looks like these people either have obtained certain opportunities or have powerful backing behind them. Otherwise, they wouldn't be able to slay these spiritual beasts."

As he continued moving forward, Lin Feng looked at the myriad items on the stalls on either side, and a flash of delight crossed his eyes.

Everything on the periphery is of this grade; it seems his decision to attend the trade fair this time was correct.

As for spiritual‑beast pills, the only time he let Xiao Ling raid the City Lord's mansion in Lingku City, he only managed to get a few of them.

After all, the prime beasts of Baiyuan Continent have habits similar to the demonic beasts of Douqi Continent, and likewise belong to racial factions.

A prime beast that reaches the spiritual‑beast level likely has a massive clan supporting it.

Moreover, this group's strength may be such that even Heaven‑Joining realm strongmen dare not provoke them lightly.

For this very reason, spiritual‑beast pills remain scarce and command high prices on the market.

Even within the Lingku City Lord's mansion, there are few.

"Forget it, let's finish the business inside first; we'll look at these things later."

With that thought, Lin Feng stopped looking around, his figure instantly turning into a black shadow that sped forward at breakneck speed.

In the blink of an eye, he swept across the entire hall and arrived beside the innermost platform.

"Is this the place?"

Arriving here, he glanced at the room beside the platform and the sign bearing the words "Reception Room," Lin Feng let out a soft sigh in his heart and then strode over.

However, because of the crowd at this moment.

Thus, Lin Feng had to queue for a while.

"Squeak"

After waiting for a while, the person ahead of him finished his business and emerged; as the door opened, Lin Feng slipped in.

Upon entering, Lin Feng's eyes scanned the area and found it to be a nicely decorated small room.

It simply contained a counter inside the room.

It reminded those who entered that this was merely a place for handling business.

Soon after stepping in, a maid behind the counter immediately bowed and said softly, "Senior, have you come to store items at the exchange?"

"Hmm."

Hearing that, Lin Feng stepped forward, nodding as he spoke.

"Then please hand over the ticket for me to verify."

Confirming his purpose, the maid spoke again.

Seeing this, Lin Feng quickly produced the ticket the appraiser had given him earlier and handed it over.

"Your items stored at our exchange are a First Pill and a Bodhi Pill, both lower‑quality spiritual pills."

The maid took the ticket, glanced it over, then looked through a booklet a few times.

She then looked up and asked, "Senior, if your stored items are to be auctioned later, do you wish to exchange for a certain type of item?"

"I want heavenly materials and earthly treasures that boost strength, fire attribute is best; if not, then spiritual liquid."

Hearing that, Lin Feng wasted no words and directly stated the items he wanted.

"Very well, I have recorded the items you wish to exchange; when the auction begins, we will inform the others of your request."

Having learned his request, the maid promptly recorded the type of heavenly material he desired and respectfully returned the ticket.

"Hmm."

Seeing this, Lin Feng lightly nodded, took the ticket, then paused slightly and asked, "When does the auction start?"

"Sir, the auction will begin in about two hours. Before it starts, we will ring a bell to remind everyone inside, so you need not worry about missing it."

Hearing that, the maid replied promptly.

"Alright, I understand."

Having obtained the information he wanted, Lin Feng instantly turned and walked outward.

"Now that the matter is settled, I'll stroll around here and see if I can find anything of interest."

Leaving the reception room, Lin Feng stood before the platform, gazing at the bustling venue ahead, and a surge of anticipation rose in his heart.

With that in mind, he stepped forward into the venue.

Because Lin Feng moves from the innermost to the outer, as soon as he enters the venue he is in the innermost part, the area with the highest‑level stalls.

And the items displayed for trade here truly cannot be compared with those outside.

"It seems there are many strong people here; the first‑class stall area is full of cultivators like me in the Heaven‑Joining Realm. Even the goods are far better than outside, but unfortunately, these Heaven‑Joining Realm talismans and weapons are of little use to me."

Walking down the corridor, Lin Feng looked at the various strange items on the stalls on both sides and couldn't help to click his tongue.

However, he was not very interested in these things.

Therefore, he did not take anything to trade.

"Huh, what's this?"

Not far after walking, Lin Feng saw a stall ahead of him surrounded by people.

The people looked rather excited, clearly having encountered something that surprised them.

Seeing this, his curiosity surged, and he walked toward the stall.

Looking at the stall surrounded by more than a dozen people inside and out, Lin Feng scratched his head.

Then he grabbed a man in front of him and asked, "Friend, may I ask what treasure has appeared here that has drawn you all to circle without leaving?"

"Alas, someone here is selling the leftover roots of a jade‑spirit wood. The goods are fine, but the seller's price is too high, and even keeping it alive and nurturing it to maturity is uncertain—whether the root can survive at all. Even if it sprouts, we don't know how many generations of effort are needed to obtain the jade‑spirit fruit. The uncertainty is too great. So we have all failed to negotiate and can only watch the show here."

Upon hearing this, the cultivator who had been grabbed let out a helpless sigh, his tone full of disappointment.

Lin Feng, hearing this, curiously said, "Friend, forgive my limited insight; I do not know what the jade‑spirit wood actually does that makes you all so agitated in your scramble?"

After all, under the sensing of his Emperor Realm soul, he could perceive that the man before him should be a first‑tier Heaven‑Joining Realm cultivator.

He thought that such a person should know a lot about the jade‑spirit wood.

Therefore seeking this person's help might be a good choice.

As soon as he said that, the man gave Lin Feng a look as if he were watching a monkey.

But immediately afterward, he sensed that the aura on the man in front of him was far from weak.

He even vaguely felt a hint of danger emanating from the other side.

Thinking of this, he promptly said, "Forget it, anyway the thing I'm holding isn't of interest to that seller. I have nothing to do now, so I'll talk with you."

At this point he let out a bitter sigh, then his tone grew a bit excited as he said, "The jade‑spirit wood is a famous spirit tree; by nature it possesses a strange ability to purify and refine the surrounding Qi. Once mature, it can accelerate the cultivation speed of all beings below the Heaven‑Joining Realm around it."

"Because of this, many great forces go to great lengths to obtain a jade‑spirit wood and plant it at the center of their sect or family to speed up their own and others' cultivation!"

Saying this, the man immediately grinned and said helplessly, "But this jade‑spirit wood takes at least several thousand years from birth to maturity. Therefore, those without a solid foundation won't spend such a huge cost to nurture this thing."

"Oh, as you say, this jade‑spirit wood indeed makes many people drool. After all, speeding up the cultivation of those around you is a huge advantage for cultivators backed by powerful forces!"

Hearing this, Lin Feng hammered his hand, suddenly enlightened.

After all, it refines Qi and accelerates the cultivation speed of those around, namely Dou Saints and below, with a strange effect.

Even he felt very moved after hearing it.

Although this jade‑spirit wood is of little use to him and Xiao Ling, Xiao Jiu, and the others,

he still has hundreds of thousands of women and dozens of children on the Dou Qi Continent!

Though he himself cannot use it, if the jade‑spirit wood can also be successfully cultivated and effective on the Dou Qi Continent,

then it could make his women and children's cultivation speed faster!

After all, his women who have reached the Dou Saint realm are only Xiao Yixian, Cai Lin, Yun Yun, Qing Lin and a group of over forty concubines led by Han Su, plus a few other female slaves.

Therefore the amplification effect of this jade‑spirit wood works for the great majority of his women and children.

Thinking this, Lin Feng decided that if the seller's price isn't too outrageous, he would buy it for reserve.

After returning to the Dou Qi Continent, he would try cultivating it on the Lin Clan Continent, Gu Nanfang Dalu.

Yet at this moment the man continued his explanation: "Of course, this jade‑spirit wood can stir so many Heaven‑Joining Realm cultivators into such excitement; it cannot have only these effects. It can indeed speed up many cultivators' progress, but right now it is only a leftover root, hanging on by a final thread of life. If it only offered the benefit of speeding up those below the Heaven‑Joining Realm, we would have long ago stopped competing with others."

"After all, after spending a huge cost to snatch this thing, we still have to spend endless resources to keep it alive and nurture it to maturity. The material and manpower required are beyond what ordinary forces can bear, and after all that hard work, if it only yields a cultivation‑speed boost, it would be better to give those resources directly to our clan members for cultivation."

"Uh, that's true."

Hearing this, Lin Feng was startled, then nodded thoughtfully.

He had never considered this before; now that the other side mentioned it, he suddenly realized.

The reason he had not weighed the difficulty of cultivation, focusing only on the benefits of the jade‑spirit wood, was because he possessed the Book of Life and Death and the Flame of Living Beings—treasures that can spawn spirit trees.

But others have none of those!

And if you calculate it this way, the jade‑spirit wood, if it only has a single effect of increasing cultivation speed,

then for most forces that are not wealthy, it is far from worth cultivating.

After all, thousands of years, plus the uncertainty of whether it can even take root.

Even if it successfully roots and sprouts, its growth period still demands massive resources to aid its development.

The cost of cultivation is indeed rather large.

Thinking of this, he immediately asked the cultivator, "Since you say so, could it be that this jade‑spirit wood possesses some other extraordinary ability?"

"Exactly."

Hearing this, the latter nodded and explained to Lin Feng: "When this jade‑spirit wood matures, it will gather most of its energy to its tip, forming a jade‑spirit fruit. When that fruit reaches a certain stage, it will fall to the ground, and after an unknown number of years it will grow into a new jade‑spirit wood."

However, at this point the man's tone shifted, and he continued, "But because this jade‑spirit fruit contains most of the spirit tree's energy, and the jade‑spirit wood already has the function of purifying and refining Qi, the fruit's energy is huge and pure; if it is harvested and ingested before it hits the ground, even an early‑stage Heaven‑Joining Realm cultivator like you or me can gain at least one star!" (End of chapter)