Chapter 224: Ye Chen’s Visit?

“Aunt, what should we do?” An Yuyi’s voice trembled with urgency.

The path of cultivation was mercilessly brutal. Only a rare few could claw their way to the top, step by grueling step. If she couldn’t resolve the issue with her spiritual root, her journey as an immortal cultivator would come to a dead end, its limits painfully clear.

Worse still, Li Feihuang had obtained the Phoenix Blood. If An Yuyi couldn’t form a ninth-grade Golden Core, how could she ever hope to rival her? And then there was Ye Chen—his talent was astonishing, his combat prowess absurdly formidable. His future was boundless, a soaring path to greatness. If she failed to achieve a ninth-grade Golden Core, she’d never keep pace with him.

An Yuyi’s heart raced. She was desperate—truly desperate.

An Miaoli’s expression grew solemn, a flicker of hesitation in her eyes. After a moment, she bit her lip and carefully retrieved a jade box from her storage pouch. She opened it, revealing a small, crystalline herb shimmering with vibrant spiritual energy.

Spirit Infant Grass. This rare treasure could increase the odds of breaking through to the Nascent Soul stage and enhance the spirituality of the Nascent Soul, potentially elevating its grade. In the vast cultivation world, Nascent Soul cultivators were considered true powerhouses. Any treasure capable of aiding a breakthrough to that realm was priceless.

This Spirit Infant Grass had cost An Miaoli dearly—ten years ago, she’d risked life and limb to obtain it. Its value was at least 150,000 high-grade spirit stones, and even then, it was a treasure you couldn’t buy even if you had the money. She had planned to use it for her own Nascent Soul breakthrough. But after glancing at her niece, An Miaoli let out a soft sigh.

Cultivation was a race—a relentless struggle for supremacy. Fall one step behind, and you’d be left in the dust forever. Who knew when they’d next encounter a spiritual treasure capable of improving one’s aptitude? They had to seize this chance, no matter the cost. As for her own Nascent Soul aspirations… those could wait.

Her mind made up, An Miaoli spoke calmly, “Eighty thousand high-grade spirit stones!”

Heavenly Evolution Pavilion allowed cultivators to trade treasures in lieu of spirit stones, though such items were valued at a twenty percent discount from their market price. It was a fair practice, if not overly generous.

The crowd erupted in murmurs of disbelief. Eighty thousand high-grade spirit stones for a single Thunderbane Bamboo Core? Were they insane? That was nearly double its actual value!

But the shock didn’t end there. From another private booth, a voice rang out without hesitation, “Ninety thousand high-grade spirit stones!”

The bids were climbing by ten thousand at a time?

An Miaoli’s expression remained steady as she called out, “One hundred ten thousand!”

From the opposing booth, a voice shot back, “One hundred twenty thousand!”

“One hundred thirty thousand!”

“One hundred forty thousand!”

“One hundred fifty thousand…”

The entire auction hall fell silent.

A Thunderbane Bamboo Core was certainly valuable, but when had its price ever soared to such heights? The powerhouses from various clans and sects exchanged curious glances. Could there be some hidden use for the Thunderbane Bamboo Core they didn’t know about?

On the stage, the Golden Core-stage auctioneer, listening to the relentless back-and-forth bidding, couldn’t help but steal a few extra glances at the Thunderbane Bamboo Core. What was going on? Had they all lost their minds? This wasn’t some miraculous treasure capable of upgrading one’s spiritual root to Earth-grade. Was it really worth this frenzy?

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Inside the private booth, An Miaoli’s delicate hand clenched tightly after calling out a bid of one hundred eighty thousand. The Spirit Infant Grass was worth 150,000 high-grade spirit stones, but with the auction house’s twenty percent discount, it equated to 120,000. Adding the 60,000 spirit stones she already had, 180,000 was her absolute limit.