Cultivating for a hundred lifetimes to ascension

For a moment, Zhao Jijian couldn't help but let his thoughts wander:

"If this claw were refined into a magic artifact, it would at least be a Mid Grade Spirit Artifact to start.

To exchange a Mid Grade Spirit Artifact for a Foundation Establishment Pill would be more than sufficient.

Furthermore, the Scale Armor could be refined into a Spiritual Artifact Level Armor and Shield.

Also, the flesh and blood of the Cloud Dragon is a great tonic; if used to feed the spiritual carps..."

Zhao Sheng saw that Zhao Jijian had somewhat lost his composure, so he coughed to remind him.

Zhao Jijian suddenly woke from his reverie and hastily asked, "Family Head, although these treasures are precious, they are far from enough to bid for a Hundred-year Token."

Zhao Sheng nodded and said, "I know that, but I never said I would use them to exchange for the Hundred-year Token."

Seeing Zhao Jijian's puzzled face, Zhao Sheng slightly smiled and said, "These treasures are meant for you. It would be a joke among Fellow Daoists if a Foundation Establishment Cultivator like yourself didn't have a couple of handy Spiritual Artifacts.

There's another point; we might encounter some unexpected situations.

To be on the safe side, the key is to improve our own strength as much as possible."

"Meant for me?!" Zhao Jijian was both shocked and delighted after hearing the complete statement.

But he quickly came to his senses and immediately followed up, "Then what treasure will you use to bid for the Hundred-year Token?"

"This!"

As he spoke, Zhao Sheng's hand, as if performing a magic trick, suddenly held an eight to nine-inch long, finger-thick, constantly writhing and struggling Golden Ring Spirit Earthworm.

"What is this?" Zhao Jijian was somewhat taken aback at the sight of the spirit worm.

No wonder he didn't recognize it,

Spirit earthworms were exceedingly rare in the Cultivation World. Apart from occasionally being found in the Spirit Medicine Gardens of major forces such as the Elixir Cauldron Sect, they were almost never seen elsewhere.

Zhao Sheng explained, "This creature is called a spirit worm. Its excrement, known as spirit soil, is the best at fertilizing spirit land."

Upon hearing the term spirit soil, Zhao Jijian suddenly had an epiphany and quickly recalled scattered memories regarding the spirit worm.

"Family Head, although the spirit worm is rare, the Elixir Cauldron Sect should have already had it, right? Using it to trade for the Hundred-year Token seems a bit..."

Before he could say the words 'wishful thinking,' Zhao Sheng smiled mysteriously and said, "This is no ordinary spirit worm.

Rest assured! If the Elixir Cauldron Sect knows the goods, the Hundred-year Token will surely not escape our grasp. Now, the most important thing is to consider which piece of spirit land to select as the future base for our family."

With that, he put away the spirit worm and took out a booklet detailing information on the Spirit Veins, spreading it open on the table.

Zhao Jijian was half-doubtful and half-believing, but seeing the Family Head's confident demeanor,

somehow, his confidence surged in an instant.

The day before the auction, Zhao Sheng stayed in the inn, not going out, while Zhao Jijian took the items to the Artifact Refining Shop in the workshop by himself.

By the time he returned, it was already late in the evening.

Seeing the look of joy on Zhao Jijian's face, Zhao Sheng knew he must have had a fruitful haul.

Indeed,

Without waiting to be asked, Zhao Jijian eagerly displayed several items before him.

A three-inch-long flying sword radiating a layer of Red Light on its surface.

A dark black Scale Armor shield, the size of a Heart Protecting Mirror, occasionally showing the illusion of a giant Black Tortoise on its body.

In addition, there was a bright blue robe, smooth as water, embroidered with countless white cloud patterns, and bone-chillingly cold to the touch.

Without waiting for Zhao Sheng to inquire, Zhao Jijian proudly explained the three treasures.

It turned out that the flying sword, named the Red Rainbow Sword, was a Mid Grade Spirit Artifact. Besides the function of slaying enemies and defending, it naturally contained a unique sword escape technique, capable of transforming into a red rainbow and traversing a thousand miles in a flash.

The dark black shield was named the Black Tortoise Shield, a Low Grade Spirit Artifact. It had no special features and was quite standard, but its one advantage was its extreme defensive power, comparable to the Red Scale Armor.

As for the third item, a bright blue robe, it was something Zhao Jijian had specifically prepared for Zhao Sheng.

It was named Cloud Dispersion Robe and was a top-grade magic tool.

Top-grade magic tools were also known as Half-Spiritual Artifacts. Apart from not possessing the ability of Spiritual Artifacts to change size at will, they were almost no different from general low-grade Spiritual Artifacts.

The function of this Cloud Dispersion Robe was very simple: it was to accelerate the gathering of Water Element Spirit Qi and to store a portion of the Spiritual Energy.

But when its owner faced danger, it could instantly produce a vast amount of Cloud Mist, not only obscuring the enemy's vision but also allowing the wearer to utilize the innate Cloud Ascending Escape Technique to mount the clouds and flee from the enemy's pursuit.

Zhao Sheng couldn't put down the Cloud Dispersion Robe, silently praising Zhao Jijian's discerning eye. Read new adventures at empire

He had only casually mentioned a few requirements the night before, yet today he had received the Cloud Dispersion Robe.

This top-grade magic tool was incredibly suitable for him.

Not to mention the Cloud Ascending Escape Technique, just the creation of the Cloud Mist alone, when combined with Zhao Sheng's Nine-layered Mist Sword Talisman, could be said to obstruct the enemy and also slay the enemy unseen.

Moreover, the fact that the Cloud Dispersion Robe had some Spirit Gathering Array effects was somewhat beyond Zhao Sheng's expectations.

You must know, in the Cultivation World, Spirit Gathering Arrays are extremely rare and are known for their exorbitant price.

It is a kind of Formation that is absolutely forbidden to be divulged and has always been monopolized by the major Cultivation Forces.

Zhao Sheng was very curious about how Zhao Jijian had acquired this Cloud Dispersion Robe.

After inquiring, he learned it was partly due to luck.

It turned out that in a certain Artifact Refining Shop, a Second-Order Artifact Refiner had taken a fancy to that Cloud Dragon claw and insisted on buying it.

Zhao Jijian, being cunning and astute, purposefully played hard to get, putting on an act that he would never sell it and that it was solely for his own use in Artifact Refining, successfully bluffing the Second-Order Artifact Refiner.

In the end, Zhao Jijian pretended to be worn down and, seizing the opportunity, made the requests Zhao Sheng wanted.

Desperate for the Cloud Dragon claw, that Artifact Refiner searched high and low and had no choice but to contact many fellow Artifact Refiners to find a top-grade magic tool that met the requirements.

That was how the Cloud Dispersion Robe came into Zhao Sheng's hands.

After hearing the story, Zhao Sheng couldn't help but give a thumbs-up and admire, "Brilliant, truly brilliant!"

While Zhao Sheng and Zhao Jijian were appreciating the magic tool, in a certain courtyard within the workshop, people were also talking about them.

...

"How many families are participating in tomorrow's auction?"

"A total of twelve, but there are only seven Hundred-year Tokens. Too many wolves and not enough meat!"n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

"Hmph, two more families have wedged in. The situation that our families have struggled to set up is not meant to be exploited by others.

If there are more wolves, we should start by eliminating the weaker ones. Tomorrow, you arrange for someone to... do this and that. Do you understand?"

"I understand, but if we do this, we'll be violating sectarian rules. If we're discovered by the disciples of the Law Enforcement Hall, it'll be bad."

"Don't worry! Our family has several 'good friends' in the Law Enforcement Hall. Even if we are discovered, we can make a big issue small, a small issue nonexistent.

Besides, tomorrow we are not the only ones making a move. The heads of both the Zhou family and the Wan Family will certainly play dirty too."

"I see, I'll go make the arrangements right away."

"Good, go!"

...

Zhao Sheng and Zhao Jijian were unaware that a covert battle revolving around the auction was gradually unfolding.

Some had already set traps waiting for them to leap into.

At this time, after finalizing the last details of their plan, each with their own aspirations for a bright future, they both returned to their guest rooms to sleep.

Tomorrow, amidst sword lights and shadow, would they achieve their wishes?