Chapter 321: Symbiotic Pattern

Han Li listened to Shu Tiansheng's words without speaking, but his mind was racing with thoughts.

As the auction progressed, except for a few individual items, the value of the auctioned goods had been gradually increasing.

Although the Blood Crystal Lotus Root was also a precious item, it was clearly inferior to the current auction items. Judging by this trend, it seemed unlikely to appear.

Shu Tiansheng seemed to have realized this as well, growing increasingly restless. After all, if the Blood Crystal Lotus Root did not appear, he would not be able to obtain what he wanted from Han Li, and Han Li might even lose the little trust he had left in him.

At this moment, on the auction stage, the bidding for the previous item had ended, and a new item was brought out—a fire-attribute demon core from a True Immortal beast, the size of a fist, emitting a fiery red glow with faint rings of tiny crimson runes swirling within.

One Golden-Scaled Crimson Flood Dragon Demon Core. This beast was at the late-stage True Immortal peak in life, only one step away from breaking through to the Golden Immortal realm. Its demon core contains extremely powerful fire-attribute laws, with no loss whatsoever. For fellow cultivators practicing fire-attribute techniques, this item's value is immeasurable. Starting bid: sixty immortal spirit stones,” the short figure announced.

Han Li withdrew his gaze and nodded to himself.

The beast that had produced this demon core was likely of considerable cultivation and gifted with extraordinary talent, having mastered some fire-attribute laws. Thus, the law power emanating from its core far surpassed that of the black crane's demon core from Chongluan. Such a spiritual material even stirred some interest in him.

However, such a fine item would certainly not be cheap. Although he had saved up a considerable amount of immortal spirit stones, after over two hundred years of alchemy and cultivation, he now had only a little over a thousand on him. He could not waste them carelessly.

Sixty immortal spirit stones!” a voice sounded from beside him—it was Shu Tiansheng who made the first bid.

Eighty immortal spirit stones!” a female voice rang out, this time from Han Li's other side.

Han Li turned to look and saw a slightly petite figure sitting in a seat near the edge of the venue to his left. From the voice, it seemed to be a young female cultivator.

He had some impression of this person. She was the last cultivator to arrive at this auction, and her entire being exuded an indescribable air of aloofness.

Ninety immortal spirit stones!” another tall cultivator on the right side of the venue bid.

I bid one hundred immortal spirit stones!” Shu Tiansheng said in a deep voice.

One hundred and twenty!” The female cultivator this time added twenty immortal spirit stones without hesitation.

Shu Tiansheng hesitated for a moment and then sat back down. This price was already very high; continuing to bid would not be worthwhile.

One hundred and thirty immortal spirit stones!” The tall cultivator snorted and raised the bid again.

One hundred and forty!” The female cultivator's voice was calm, showing no sign of backing down.

Seeing this, Han Li shook his head slightly.

A demon core from a late-stage True Immortal beast—this price was already too high. Over a hundred immortal spirit stones was no small sum even for a mid-stage True Immortal cultivator.

One hundred and forty-five!” After a brief silence, the tall cultivator bid again.

One hundred and fifty immortal spirit stones!” The female cultivator seemed somewhat impatient, her voice turning slightly cold as she continued bidding.

This time, the tall cultivator finally fell silent and did not bid again.

Seeing this, many in the crowd turned to look at the female cultivator, shaking their heads.

The female cultivator sat quietly, showing no reaction to the gazes around her.

The short figure on the auction stage was overjoyed and quickly announced the ownership of the demon core.

While the demon core of a True Immortal beast is precious, the next item is even more valuable. None of you should miss it,” the short auctioneer said, waving his hand.

A large blood-red jade box appeared on the stage, emitting a layer of crystalline blood light, mixed with a faint sweet scent that spread in all directions.

The short auctioneer waved his hand and made a hand seal. The lid of the jade box flashed with light and opened automatically.

Inside the jade box lay a section of blood-colored lotus root, as thick as an arm, in three segments, preserved extremely intact, with even the root hairs on the joints undamaged.

The blood lotus root was crystal clear, as if carved from blood jade.

A soft blood light radiated from all parts of the blood lotus root, forming a small, exquisite blood-colored rainbow a few inches above it.

An extremely rich sweet scent spread out, refreshing even the powerful mid-stage True Immortals present.

Shu Tiansheng's body trembled, his face filled with joy, and he let out a long sigh of relief.

Han Li's eyes also showed a hint of surprise, and his expression relaxed.

It seemed his earlier prediction had been off. Although the Blood Crystal Lotus Root was hard to find, as long as its age did not exceed fifty thousand years, its price would naturally be lower than the previous few items. But this one was definitely no less than a hundred thousand years old.

However, the next moment, his expression suddenly froze. Staring at the blood lotus root on the stage, a look of doubt appeared in his eyes.

Though not obvious, there was a spot about the size of a fingernail on the blood lotus root that was somewhat dull in color, as if stained with some dirt.

One Blood Crystal Lotus Root. Although the Blood Crystal Lotus Root is not the ultimate spiritual item, this particular one is extraordinary, with an age of over one hundred and fifty thousand years—a rare heavenly and earthly treasure. Moreover, I believe some of you have already noticed this gray spot on the blood lotus root. It is not due to damage to the spiritual lotus root but a rare symbiotic pattern,” the short auctioneer announced loudly.

Upon hearing this, many familiar faces in the audience began to discuss among themselves.

Some fellow cultivators here may not be clear about this. The so-called symbiotic pattern occurs when two spiritual herbs grow too close together, causing their spiritual power to influence each other. Under extremely rare circumstances, this symbiotic pattern forms,” the short auctioneer paused and continued.

As far as I know, the effects of symbiotic patterns can be good or bad. Some can even cause the medicinal power to become mixed and weakened, making them unusable,” a voice suddenly came from below, belonging to a broad figure.

Although shielded by spiritual light, judging by his build, he seemed to be a stout person.

Hehe, this fellow cultivator is well-informed. Indeed, the effects of symbiotic patterns on spiritual herbs vary. However, we have already consulted some masters of spiritual herb cultivation, who have appraised that this symbiotic pattern has a benign effect. The medicinal power of the Blood Crystal Lotus Root is not at all chaotic; on the contrary, it is exceptionally pure and rich. You can rest assured,” the short auctioneer said, nodding toward the stout figure.

Upon hearing this, the crowd buzzed with discussion again.

"The auction begins now. The starting price is eighty immortal spirit stones. Each bid must increase by no less than five immortal spirit stones." The short auctioneer announced the start.

"Eighty-five immortal spirit stones!"

"Ninety!"

"One hundred immortal spirit stones!"

……

After the previous explanation, everyone grew even more eager for the Blood Crystal Lotus Root. Moreover, this item was truly extraordinary—not only an excellent spiritual object for nourishing blood and qi, but especially for those practicing body-refining techniques, it was a dream treasure. Before Han Li had even made a move, the price had already been driven quite high.

Han Li sat still without moving, his eyes flickering slightly as if deliberating something.

Although he was determined to obtain the Blood Crystal Lotus Root, there was no need to act hastily now; he could simply join the bidding at the very end.

He turned his head to look at Shu Tiansheng and said, "As expected, the Blood Crystal Lotus Root appeared at the auction. According to our agreement, this item is yours."

Having said this, Han Li flipped his hand and produced a fist-sized piece of Crimson Cloud Fire Crystal, handing it over.

Their seats were relatively far back, with few people around, so there was no need to worry too much.

The female cultivator who had won the fire-attribute demon core happened to glance over, her gaze falling on the Crimson Cloud Fire Crystal, and her body jolted abruptly.

"Thank you, fellow Daoist." Shu Tiansheng was overjoyed and quickly accepted it.

Han Li said nothing more, continuing to focus on the auction.

After several rounds of bidding, the price of the Blood Crystal Lotus Root climbed to one hundred fifty immortal spirit stones. The bidder was the large, stout figure from before.

The few who had been following the bidding abruptly stopped and made no further offers.

"One hundred sixty!" Han Li raised his arm and called out a price.

"One hundred seventy!" The large, stout figure turned his head to glance at Han Li, snorted, and called out again.

"One hundred ninety!" Han Li's tone was calm, with an air of determination.

"Two hundred!" The large, stout figure hesitated slightly before bidding again to surpass Han Li.

Han Li frowned slightly, continuing to raise the price bit by bit, unsure how far the other party would follow.

"Two hundred fifty!" He directly increased the bid by fifty immortal spirit stones, announcing a shockingly high price.

Shu Tiansheng looked at Han Li, full of surprise.

Many others in the hall also turned to look at Han Li.

Although the fifteen-thousand-year Blood Crystal Lotus Root was extremely precious, this price was truly too high.

Han Li paid no attention to those around him. Though his eyes were fixed on the Blood Crystal Lotus Root on the stage, his peripheral vision kept watching the large, stout figure.

The large, stout figure hesitated briefly and did not bid again.

Having reached this price, the short auctioneer was very satisfied. After asking twice, he immediately announced the ownership of the Blood Crystal Lotus Root.

Han Li relaxed inwardly, let out a light breath, and a gleam of excitement shone in his eyes.

At last, he had gathered all the materials for the Ten-Thousand-Round Pill. With this piece of Blood Crystal Lotus Root, he could use the green liquid to hasten its growth.

As he was pondering, the next auction item was brought out.

It was a scroll painting, depicting a high mountain, a great river, and a palace.

The scroll was entirely blue, and an intense cold aura emanated from it. It was clearly a magic treasure, and the cold contained fluctuations of law power, unmistakably an immortal artifact, appearing extremely extraordinary.

However, one corner of the scroll was slightly damaged, a minor flaw.

"The immortal artifact Nether Cold Mountains and Rivers Painting, containing extremely powerful profound nether cold energy, capable of unleashing several powerful cold-type attacks. Unfortunately, it is somewhat damaged. Starting price: sixty-five immortal spirit stones." The short figure announced.

Han Li glanced at the blue scroll, his eyes brightening slightly.

This item was indeed extraordinary; the law power it contained was not inferior to the blue immortal sword from before. Moreover, as a scroll immortal artifact, its attack modes would surely be more varied than a sword, and it would be much more difficult to refine.

Unfortunately, the painting was somewhat damaged, greatly reducing its value, but it was still a very fine treasure.

Bidding had already begun, and many desired this painting. The price quickly climbed to ninety immortal spirit stones.

"Ninety-five!" Han Li called out a price.

He was quite interested in this scroll immortal artifact. If the final price was not too high, he might as well acquire it.

"One hundred immortal spirit stones!" A voice sounded not far from Han Li—it was the female cultivator who had won the demon core.

Han Li glanced at the female cultivator and began to calculate whether to continue bidding.

But just then, another slightly sharp voice rang out:

"I bid one hundred fifty immortal spirit stones."

The voice came from the first row of the auction hall.

Han Li shook his head and decisively gave up. This price had already exceeded that of the previous immortal sword.

The others who still had thoughts about this painting now fell silent.