Desolate Devouring Art - Chapter 1504 - Spirit Clan
Chapter 1504 – Spirit Clan
Liu Wuxie’s abrupt movement jolted everyone, and they rose to their feet with him in alarm.
“Wuxie, what’s the problem?” Xu Lingxue said, her face tightening with worry. She had never seen that expression on Liu Wuxie before, because he always held his composure no matter what happened, even in a life-and-death crisis.
“It’s nothing,” Liu Wuxie replied, waving a hand to dismiss their concern.
“What is that race? It looks weird and has a pair of wings on its back.” Everyone turned again to stare at the auction platform.
The seventh item was a living being—a winged man over three meters tall. Pearly white feathers spread from his back, and a special rope bound him tightly, leaving him immobilised. His face looked nearly human, with only the wings marking the difference.
“It’s the Spirit Clan,” Liu Wuxie said. He had waited far too long to encounter the Spirit Clan and had never expected to see its members being sold at auction.
“The Spirit Clan?” Everyone echoed in confusion. They had never heard of such a race, not even Miao Jianying.
Miao Jianying had recorded all the races in the Indigo Bamboo Astral Domain, yet he had found nothing at all about the Spirit Clan.
Liu Wuxie still didn’t elaborate. The Earth-Binding Chains belonged to the Spirit Clan, and he had promised the Feather Emperor to return them to them. After all, the Earth-Binding Chains were the Spirit Clan’s hope—their sacred relic.
Once the restriction loosened, the Spirit Clan member lifted his head and looked around. Confusion clouded his eyes as he stared at the unfamiliar surroundings; he had no idea how they had brought him there or put him up for sale. He must have remained under restriction for too long, leaving his mind slow to catch up.
“Now, let us begin bidding on the first item,” Elder Wu Hen said as the auction rolled on.
Liu Wuxie’s attention no longer rested on the other goods, because he had already decided he would obtain the Spirit Clan member no matter what. If he bought this Spirit Clan member, he could return the Earth-Binding Chains and finally settle the burden that had lingered in his heart.
He had nurtured the Earth-Binding Chains in his soul sea for a long time, and it had already become an artifact comparable to the pinnacle of the Earth Immortal Realm. Yet he hadn’t used it in a very long time.
One item after another was sold under the hammer, with prices quickly soaring to three hundred thousand astral crystals. Competition among the second-tier sects grew especially fierce whenever a rare treasure appeared.
Six hours slipped by before the auction reached the seventh item. Excitement instantly boiled through the entire hall as everyone tried to learn what race the bird man belonged to, while only ancient beings truly recognized the Spirit Clan.
“This is the Spirit Clan that originates from the Spirit Martial Astral Domain with a long legacy. They’re the most intact surviving race now, and they’re proficient in soul energy. Once you buy him, you can research soul arts and even sign a slave contract to gain a powerful combat asset,” Elder Wu Hen said, revealing the Spirit Clan’s origin.
This bird man was massive; someone could even ride him as a mount, and he could also fight. Most importantly, the Spirit Clan’s soul arts offered an enormous boon to humans.
Most cultivators in the Spirit Martial Astral Domain specialized in cultivating soul energy, and the Spirit Clan ranked first in that field.
Elder Wu Hen continued explaining, and the moment people heard that humans could also practice the Spirit Clan’s soul arts, countless cultivators surged to their feet, desire burning in their eyes. Even the first-tier sects began to stir restlessly, eager to buy this item.
“Sect Master, we have to buy him no matter what! With him, we’ll also be able to cultivate soul energy, and we can also refine Soul Pills,” Bai Ran said. They needed this member of the Spirit Clan, no matter how many astral crystals it cost.
The Heavenly Dao Society had effectively driven the Divine Alchemy Sect into decline. The Spirit Clan’s appearance gave them a faint glimmer of hope.
In the Spirit Martial Astral Domain, buyers snatched the Heavenly Dao Society’s Soul Pills like hotcakes, while the Divine Alchemy Sect’s pills steadily lost their place on the market.
Sheng Yuan stayed silent, but his gaze betrayed everything. After repeated searches, they had reached a single conclusion: they could refine Soul Pills only after cultivating soul arts.
That was why Liu Wuxie didn’t fear cultivators in the Indigo Bamboo Astral Domain replicating the Soul Pills, but he did fear the Spirit Martial Astral Domain.
Cultivators in the Spirit Martial Astral Domain mainly trained their soul energy, and in another month at most, imitations would begin flooding the market. Even if their effects couldn’t match the Heavenly Dao Society’s pills, they would still reach seventy percent of the pill potency without issue.
This was a once-in-a-lifetime chance for the Divine Alchemy Sect, and they couldn’t afford to miss it. The other sects weren’t idle either. They also debated furiously and hastily drafted strategies to purchase the Spirit Clan member.
Every sect that arrived had a strict plan for what to buy and how much to spend. The Spirit Clan member’s sudden appearance forced them to rewrite those plans and abandon certain items.
“Sect Master, we can use this Spirit Clan member to strike back at the Heavenly Dao Society,” someone from the Grand Unity Sect said from the private room beside the Heavenly Dragon Sect.
By the ranking, the Heavenly Dragon Sect stood second only to the Grand Unity Sect, the Nine Dragon Palace ranked third, and the Profound Azure Gate ranked last. The Scarlet Cloud Gate sat to Liu Wuxie’s right, while the Profound Azure Gate occupied the left.
The Grand Unity Sect’s elders also argued intensely among themselves, because they believed the only way to eradicate the Heavenly Dao Society was to crush it until it splintered apart.
After all, Liu Wuxie had powerful protectors around him, so killing him wouldn’t be easy.
“We have to buy this Spirit Clan member no matter what. Come up with a maximum price, but we have to give up if the price goes beyond it,” said Venerable Great Unity.
Each generation’s sect master of the Grand Unity Sect had inherited the title “Venerable Great Unity” from the first generation down to the present.
Everything carried a price, and anything beyond it would become meaningless. After a brief discussion, the Grand Unity Sect set its maximum price at one million astral crystals. If they failed there, they would have no choice but to travel to the Spirit Martial Astral Domain and capture one themselves.
In fact, the Grand Unity Sect and the Divine Alchemy Sect had already done that in the past few months. They had traveled to the Spirit Martial Astral Domain to seek cultivators who could help them research the Soul Pills. Buying one here would be ideal, but even if they failed, it wouldn’t derail their plan.
The Divine Alchemy Sect fixed their maximum price at eight hundred thousand astral crystals. Their income had plunged recently, and they were barely staying afloat, so raising it to eight hundred thousand was already impressive.
Liu Wuxie revealed nothing about his own maximum price because he intended to buy the spirit clan member regardless of the cost.
“The bidding will now begin. The starting price will be two hundred thousand astral crystals, and each increment must be no less than twenty thousand,” Elder Wu Hen said. The starting price leapt far higher than before, and even the increment jumped with it.
“250,000!” The Divine Alchemy Sect called out at once, pushing their determination into the open as they bid with impatience.
“300,000!” The Heavenly Dragon Sect immediately followed, and the sudden jump caught everyone by surprise.
“It looks like the Heavenly Dragon Sect is determined to help the Heavenly Dao Society. There’s no way the Heavenly Dao Society is willing to spend 300,000 astral crystals, but they can enter the competition with the Heavenly Dragon Sect’s support,” people in the common area speculated. Even if they bought a member of the Spirit Clan, it wouldn’t benefit them much, so they could only watch the fight.
The Divine Alchemy Sect hadn’t expected that. They anticipated the Heavenly Dao Society to compete, but the Heavenly Dragon Sect’s early intervention threw them off balance.
The Divine Alchemy Sect naturally didn’t fear the Heavenly Dao Society, yet they felt uneasy facing the Heavenly Dragon Sect. This was another psychological tactic of building pressure on the Divine Alchemy Sect while giving everyone the impression that the Heavenly Dao Society didn’t care about the Spirit Clan member at all.
Once the Divine Alchemy Sect relaxed, Liu Wuxie would suddenly raise the price and catch them where they least expected it.
“350,000!” The Grand Unity Sect entered the bidding as well, and only they could truly contest the Heavenly Dragon Sect head-on.
With that, the clash between the two sects began in earnest.
“400,000!” The Heavenly Dragon Sect raised its bid again, and the other sects that had initially wanted to join backed off immediately. After all, bidding now was no different from offending both the Grand Unity Sect and the Heavenly Dragon Sect.
That was Liu Wuxie’s true goal, and the Heavenly Dragon Sect had bid early to keep others from joining later. If more bidders entered, collective desire would swell and drive the price even higher. The results appeared at once because nearly every other sect had given up, unwilling to step into a feud with two giants.
“450,000!” The Grand Unity Sect countered again, and neither side showed any intention of retreating.
The price kept rising, and the Heavenly Dragon Sect soon drove it to 500,000 astral crystals.
On the platform, the Spirit Clan member glared with fury at being treated like merchandise. He released a powerful wave of soul energy, and Elder Wu Hen seemed to allow it on purpose so everyone could see his value and grow even hungrier to buy.
The bid surged again without pause. “550,000!”
“600,000!” The price climbed onward in an instant.
“650,000!” The hall’s tension tightened as the number jumped.
“700,000!” The bidding didn’t slow for even a breath, and the Heavenly Dragon Sect pushed it to 700,000 astral crystals. No one could say whether spending 700,000 astral crystals on a Spirit Clan member was truly worth it, but everyone knew this had become a matter of reputation, and neither side would willingly step back.
The Divine Alchemy Sect jumped back in with another bid. “750,000!”
The Divine Alchemy Sect and the Grand Unity Sect now formed a pincer around the Heavenly Dragon Sect, forcing the latter into a passive position.
Anyone could see that the Grand Unity Sect and the Divine Alchemy Sect had begun applying open pressure on the Heavenly Dragon Sect.
“800,000!” Liu Wuxie finally spoke, and his bid hit the hall like a stone dropped into still water.
“Now, there’s going to be a good show to watch!” Most people in the common area said it with excitement, because they had come for the spectacle more than anything else.
After all, one million people attended the auction, yet only a hundred items existed. That meant very few would buy anything at all, with most treasures ending up in the hands of the first-tier sects. So if a show erupted, they would gladly enjoy it.
“The Heavenly Dao Society has already spent 260,000 astral crystals for the Heart-Seated Lotus Blossom, and if they spend another 800,000, it should be their entire fortune,” the rogue cultivators in the common area whispered.
They had researched the limits of the various sects, and this time, neither the Heavenly Dragon Sect nor the Grand Unity Sect raised their bids further.
“850,000!” The Divine Alchemy Sect bid again, refusing to let it end there. Their maximum price had been 800,000, but Liu Wuxie’s sudden entry disrupted their rhythm.
However, they didn’t realize Ghost Pupil could see through everything, including private rooms, even with restrictions in place.
Neither the Grand Unity Sect nor the Heavenly Dragon Sect made a move because they had already made their stances clear: one supported the Divine Alchemy Sect, and the other supported the Heavenly Dao Society. Now that it had become a direct contest between the Divine Alchemy Sect and the Heavenly Dao Society, they stepped back.
“Liu Wuxie, how are you going to fight me?” Bai Ran spoke out, his voice echoing across the hall.
“900,000!” Liu Wuxie answered with a brutal counter before Bai Ran could finish, and the bid landed like a resounding slap across Bai Ran’s face.
