Cultivation Starting from Choosing Augments

Chapter 286 - 169: Covered Pearl · Tiger Bone · Yin-Yang Unity Contract

In truth, there were still many rumors about Xiao Chen circulating in the outside world.

The news even traveled back to Li State, giving rise to several even more embellished versions.

However, Xiao Chen himself was no longer concerned with any of it.

The next day, he took his unneeded Spiritual Objects to Qiu Qichen to be auctioned off.

Afterward, he went to find Steward Chen to ask if the Chen Family had any connections within the Cyan Cloud Sect.

Of course, he didn’t ask about the Spirit Vein directly. Instead, he pulled the classic "asking for a friend" routine.

He claimed that a friend of his wanted to do some business in the Cyan Cloud Sect’s territory.

"The Cyan Cloud Sect?"

Steward Chen shook his head. "They’re just a bunch of old die-hards over there. I don’t really know anyone."

"You should advise your friend to come over here instead, or even just stay within the Lingyuan Sect’s territory."

Xiao Chen then asked Chang Shunping as well.

But he gave a similar answer.

This piqued Xiao Chen’s curiosity. "Chang, you know so many people. Do you really not know any fellow cultivators from the Cyan Cloud Sect?"

’Logically, a Sect is a Sect, and a family is a family.’

’Even though the Lingyuan Sect and the Cyan Cloud Sect don’t get along, shouldn’t the various great families beneath them have complex, intertwined relationships?’

’At the very least, shouldn’t they follow the principle of befriending distant powers while attacking nearby ones?’

However, Chang Shunping just gave an embarrassed smile. "Xiao, there’s something you don’t know. The great and noble houses over there look down on minor households like ours."

’Minor households?’

Xiao Chen found this even more peculiar.

’The Chang Family had a Fake Pill Cultivator among their ancestors. Didn’t that leave them with any connections?’

However, as Chang Shunping explained, Xiao Chen began to understand why Steward Chen had called them "a bunch of old die-hards."

Back when the Jiuhua Sect still occupied the southern part of Hezhou, it had produced over a dozen Golden Core True Men over the years.

As a result, the Sect was left with numerous legacies that provided a direct path to the Golden Core realm.

However, for reasons unknown to outsiders, these legacies were not strictly controlled.

Instead, they were gradually acquired by the various great families within the Sect, who then privately taught them to their own disciples.

If that had been the end of it, the problem wouldn’t have been too serious.

It simply meant a small number of people could bypass the Sect and directly obtain one of the legacies.

Such things were not uncommon in other Sects; the only difference was the degree of severity.

But later, the Jiuhua Sect was torn apart by internal strife, splintering into several Minor Sects.

To strengthen their own side, they conditionally shared the legacy Magic they possessed with their respective allies.

In the long years that followed, some families grew powerful, while others inevitably fell into decline.

The weak were naturally targeted by the strong, who snatched away the legacies they held.

Gradually, a special group of families rose to prominence. Their common trait was that they all possessed more than one Tier Three legacy.

They began to consider themselves different from other families, their attitudes growing arrogant, bolstered by their deep-seated heritage.

They believed that every other family lacking a Tier Three legacy was coveting the ones they held, and so they became deeply guarded in their interactions.

Logically, this kind of behavior should have been unsustainable.

But for one, these families frequently intermarried. For another, the results of cultivating with a Tier Three legacy were genuinely superior.

Even without producing any Golden Core Cultivators, by combining their resources, they could raise several Foundation Establishment Cultivators each generation, ensuring the family’s line would never die out.

In short, dealing with these people was no simple matter.

Xiao Chen frowned as he listened.

No wonder he had heard next to nothing about the Cyan Cloud Sect since arriving in Hezhou.

It was because they were essentially a closed-off circle, keeping to themselves and rarely interacting with outside families.

Under these circumstances, it would be no easy task for Xiao Chen to get into the Cyan Cloud Sect’s Main Spirit Vein.

And with no family connections to help, he would have to figure everything out on his own.

’Forget it. What’s the point of thinking so much?’

Xiao Chen returned to his courtyard, casually took out a Wood Element Spirit Fruit, and swallowed it in one gulp. ’I’ll cross that bridge when I come to it.’

Following his principle of "when in doubt, cultivate," he decided to focus all his energy on achieving his breakthrough first.

However, just one day passed.

The unexpected happened. Again.

Qiu Qichen made a special trip over early in the morning and handed him a list. "Xiao, the Marketplace has received a lot of items for auction recently."

"Especially yesterday afternoon. A masked cultivator suddenly showed up and brought in a lot of good things all at once."

"This is the list of all the Spiritual Objects up for auction. Take a look and see if there’s anything you can use."

At first, Xiao Chen didn’t think much of it. While not exceptionally wealthy, he was reasonably well-off.

He had no interest in ordinary items.

In fact, he hadn’t even planned on attending this auction at all.

But since Qiu Qichen had made a special trip to deliver the list, he glanced over it out of politeness.

To his surprise, however, the list actually contained something truly remarkable.

He spotted it at a glance: a pair of Covered Pearls from a juvenile Red-beaked Crane.

Despite its seemingly ordinary name, the Red-beaked Crane was a Tier Three Demon Beast that lived in the Ten Thousand Demons Mountain Range.

Upon reaching maturity, it would possess power equivalent to a Golden Core Cultivator.

As for the so-called "Covered Pearl," that was just a more elegant term for it.

The other name for it was—eyeballs.

Xiao Chen immediately looked up at Qiu Qichen. "Mr. Qiu, have you verified this list?"

’Someone’s actually putting something like this up for auction?’

’Logically, even if they wanted to sell it, they should have gone to the Black Market, right?’

Qiu Qichen glanced at the list and saw that Xiao Chen was only on the second page.

He immediately understood what Xiao was referring to. "Xiao, we’ve already had an Appraiser look at them. They are indeed genuine Red-beaked Crane Covered Pearls."