"It can increase a Martial Artist’s cultivation speed?! Does such a thing really exist?"

The guests below began to discuss it frantically. It was no wonder, after all. Good things rarely appeared in a Low-class Empire like the Xuanling Empire, and a chance-based item like a Demon Beast Essence Pill was utterly unheard of.

An idea flashed through Mu Chen’s mind. He finally remembered everything his Master had told him about the Demon Beast Essence Pill. Just as Linglong said, the chances of one appearing were incredibly slim. Moreover, the ones that could mutate were all Low-level Magical Beasts. Even if they could increase one’s cultivation speed, the effect would be negligible.

During his training in the Demon Beast Forest, Mu Chen had slain countless Magical Beasts. Yet, despite that staggering number, he had only ever seen a Demon Beast Essence Pill once. The beast that had mutated to produce it was just a Level 1 Demon Rat.

Back then, the Profound Old Ghost had told him that the Demon Beast Essence Pill was a unique existence on the Extreme Martial Continent. The lower the level of the Magical Beast, the easier it was for this mutation to occur and create a Demon Beast Essence Pill. The higher the level, the lower the probability. At the Emperor Level, basically no Magical Beast could mutate to form one. This was because Emperor Level Magical Beasts possessed intelligence rivaling that of humans. Failure to mutate meant death, so they would avoid it if they could. A Magical Beast’s cultivation was different from a human’s; reaching the Emperor Level was the result of thousands of years of cultivation. Thus, they were even less willing to gamble their lives on such a slim chance.

Mu Chen asked in confusion, "Master, what are the benefits for a Magical Beast after it mutates?"

The Profound Old Ghost replied, "In the early stages, there are no benefits at all. In fact, it will slow down its cultivation speed because it has to divert half of the Heaven and Earth Primordial Qi it absorbs to this Primordial Pill."

"And in the later stages?"

"The later stages..." A look of deep reminiscence filled the Profound Old Ghost’s eyes. "If the mutated Magical Beast can endure until it reaches the Saint Beast Peak, it can directly achieve the state of Breaking the Pill and Becoming Emperor, with no bottlenecks whatsoever..."

That was the answer the Profound Old Ghost gave Mu Chen. But upon hearing it, Mu Chen wasn’t surprised. Instead, he was filled with emotion. ’To give up half of one’s cultivation speed for a lifetime just to pursue the illusory Emperor Beast Realm... Along the way, the slightest misstep could lead to being eaten by other Magical Beasts. Its own Primordial Pill would then only serve to help another, paving the way for someone else’s success. That price... is just too high.’

Mu Chen had never used that Level 1 Demon Beast Essence Pill. The Profound Old Ghost had told him that a person could only ever refine one Demon Beast Essence Pill in their lifetime. If the pill’s level was too low and the increase in cultivation speed was negligible, it was better to give up on it. Besides, a Level 1 Demon Beast Essence Pill was completely useless for a monster like Mu Chen with his Nine Attributes Dantian.

So, that Level 1 Primordial Pill had been stored in the Extreme Spirit Pearl by the Profound Old Ghost. Over time, Mu Chen had forgotten about it, to the point where he didn’t even remember ever obtaining a Demon Beast Essence Pill.

The Jade Box was opened, and a brilliant, ice-blue Pill Body appeared before everyone’s eyes. Linglong said, "We cannot appraise the grade of this Demon Beast Essence Pill because the seller simply obtained it from a friend. Our appraisers have determined that this Demon Beast Essence Pill came from an Ice Soul Beast, which should be a Second-level Magical Beast. Therefore, we speculate this is merely a Level 2 Ice Soul Essence Pill." Linglong’s words pulled Mu Chen’s thoughts back to the present.

"A Level 2 Demon Beast Essence Pill?"

Mu Chen was momentarily stunned. He secretly activated his Purple Sky Demon Pupils, and the brilliant Ice Soul Essence Pill appeared clearly before his eyes. Mu Chen remembered very clearly what his Master had once said: the level of a Demon Beast Essence Pill was very easy to determine. You just had to look at how many protrusions were on its surface. The distribution of these protrusions followed no rules. For two different Level 3 Demon Beast Essence Pills, one might have three protrusions on the same side, while another might have three protrusions on three different sides. For this reason, most people would easily overlook them. Compounding this, Demon Beast Essence Pills appeared so rarely that there was no supply for comparative study.

Through his Purple Sky Demon Pupils, Mu Chen was astonished to discover four tiny protrusions distributed across three sides of the Ice Soul Essence Pill. These protrusions were incredibly subtle and would be impossible to see without looking closely. But Mu Chen was certain—this Ice Soul Essence Pill was at least a Level 4 Demon Beast Essence Pill! A Level 4 Demon Beast Essence Pill!! In an instant, even Mu Chen’s blood began to boil with excitement.

"The starting price is 10,000 Purple Elemental Crystals. Each bid must be an increment of no less than 5,000 Purple Elemental Crystals. Let the bidding begin." 𝘧𝓇ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝘣𝓃ℴ𝓋𝑒𝑙.𝑐𝘰𝑚

"One hundred thousand Purple Elemental Crystals!"

"Two hundred thousand!"

"Two hundred and thirty thousand!"

"Two hundred and fifty thousand!"

Following Linglong’s announcement, guests who didn’t know the full situation started calling out prices. However, once the price soared past two hundred thousand, the pace slowed considerably, with most increments being only twenty thousand at a time.

"Three hundred and ten thousand!" A lazy voice drifted out from VIP Room 11.

Mu Chen paid the voice no mind. He knew there was surely no one in this venue who could recognize its true value. Otherwise, this Ice Soul Essence Pill would be worth not just tens of millions, but would be unobtainable even for hundreds of millions of Purple Elemental Crystals. ’Looks like I’m going to get a huge bargain today,’ he thought.

"Three hundred and ten thousand! Are there any higher bids? This is a Level 2 Ice Soul Essence Pill, a precious aid that can increase cultivation speed." Seeing that no one was raising the bid after it reached three hundred and ten thousand, Linglong frowned slightly.

In her mind, this Ice Soul Essence Pill should have fetched at least six hundred thousand, but the current price was less than half of her target.

"Miss Linglong, by how much can this Level 2 Ice Soul Essence Pill increase one’s cultivation speed?" a guest suddenly asked.

This question piqued the interest of everyone present. This was what they were most concerned about now. Being able to improve one’s cultivation realm was great, but if it only provided a one percent boost, it wouldn’t be very useful. They would be better off bidding on an Upper Grade pill.

Linglong was taken aback by the question and gave a helpless smile. "As I said earlier, the probability of a Demon Beast Essence Pill appearing is so small it’s negligible. We have no other supply for comparison, so I cannot know how much it can increase cultivation speed."

"So it’s an unknown. In that case, I’d rather not buy it. What if there are side effects?" a guest said worriedly.

His concern instantly resonated with everyone. Indeed, an unknown item was unacceptable. How could there be such a good thing in the world that directly increased cultivation speed? Something like this was unheard of. If it had any side effects, it would be too late for regrets.

Sure enough, after this round of discussion, no one else raised their bid. Linglong gave a bitter smile and said, "Please, quiet down, everyone. The auction is still in progress. The esteemed guest in VIP Room 11 has bid three hundred and ten thousand. If no one offers a higher price, then this Ice Soul Essence Pill will go to..."

"Wait. I bid three hundred and fifteen thousand Purple Elemental Crystals." Just then, Mu Chen, who had been waiting for a long time, finally placed his bid.

Kong Ye Ming looked at Mu Chen with some confusion and asked, "Mu Chen, what do you want that thing for?"

Of course, Mu Chen couldn’t tell him its true purpose. He just smiled and said, "I actually have a bit of a collecting habit. When I see something rare, I can’t help but want to add it to my collection."

"I see. I didn’t expect you to have a hobby like that." Kong Ye Ming came to a sudden realization. In the Xuanling Empire, there were many people with a collecting habit; he himself was one of them.

The person in VIP Room 11 fell silent for a moment, then said directly, "Since this little brother wants it, I will yield it to you."

The lazy voice sounded surprisingly benevolent. Mu Chen guessed it must be an old man. "In that case, thank you, senior."

"Hehe, the little fellow is quite polite. Go ahead and announce it, Miss Linglong," the old man said gently.

Linglong had thought the two were about to get into a bidding war, but who knew things would resolve so harmoniously? Biting her lip, Linglong had no choice but to say helplessly, "Since there are no further bids, this Ice Soul Essence Pill belongs to VIP Room 2."

Only when she said this did Mu Chen’s anxious heart finally settle, followed by endless joy. That’s right, only he knew how much a Level 4 Demon Beast Essence Pill could increase one’s cultivation speed. Even for an attribute martial artist, refining a Level 4 Demon Beast Essence Pill could increase their cultivation speed by twenty percent—and this was a permanent boost.

’Excellent!’ Mu Chen thought to himself.

In VIP Room 7, Yan’Er complained with teary eyes, "Young Master Tang, why didn’t you keep bidding? Don’t you like Yan’Er anymore? Yan’Er wanted that blue crystal, too~"

A flash of disgust flickered in Tang Yu’s eyes before vanishing. He then caressed Yan’Er’s small face and said, "Don’t cry, Yan’Er. I came here today to buy something important. Besides, they won’t be able to escape my grasp after the auction ends. When the time comes, I’ll make them cough it up, and then I’ll give it to you, how about that?"

The auction continued. Mu Chen was still thinking about the Ice Soul Essence Pill, completely unaware that Tang Yu had already set an ambush for him outside. But even if Mu Chen had known, he probably wouldn’t have cared.

Linglong quickly adjusted her mood. Although the Ice Soul Essence Pill hadn’t sold for her desired price, the nine and a half million for the Black Obsidian Armor was still enough to shock the entire merchant association!

"Next up is the third item of today’s auction. This is an item that appears in every auction. Although the selling price is never high, there are still many enthusiasts of ancient literature who eagerly bid on it. That’s right—a map fragment drawn from Ancient Literature." With that said, Linglong flipped her wrist, and an irregularly shaped, palm-sized piece of parchment appeared in her hand.

The map was drawn on beast skin. Judging from the ancient characters and somewhat faded ink, it was indeed a map fragment handed down from Ancient Times. Mu Chen had no interest in it whatsoever. The Extreme Martial Continent was so vast; to say that collecting all the map fragments was ’harder than ascending to the heavens’ was an understatement—it was simply impossible. Not to mention, you wouldn’t even know what it depicted. What if, by some great stroke of luck, you managed to collect all the pieces only to find it was just an ordinary painting? You’d be frustrated to death.