"Is that... a Vein Demon?"

When Mei Qian on the auction stage pulled away the red cloth, a sudden roar of a beast burst forth. However, it seemed somewhat lacking in vigor, as if it were sealed by some kind of power.

This creature, which looked like a Vein Demon, had four limbs, a soft tail, but a face that resembled a human's, appearing extremely eerie and terrifying.

"Ladies and gentlemen, this is an Eighth Rank Low Level 'Soul Devouring Beast.' In fact, it is not a Vein Demon at all, but a... Strange Spirit!"

As she noticed that all eyes were fixed on the creature in the cage, Mei Qian didn't hold back the suspense. When her last two words fell, many people gasped, a trace of horror unconsciously spreading across their faces.

An Eighth Rank Low Level Strange Spirit, that is equivalent to a human cultivator at the Origin Seeking Realm Early Stage or even Middle Stage. How did the Thunder City Douling Commerce manage to capture this Soul Devouring Beast Strange Spirit?

However, since the Eighth Rank Low Level Strange Spirit had already been sealed by Douling Commerce using some method, after a brief moment of shock, the crowd was no longer afraid, but instead curious about the abilities possessed by the Strange Spirit.

"The Soul Devouring Beast, as the name suggests, possesses Devouring Power, but the devouring power of this Soul Devouring Beast is different from the devouring power we commonly see!"

Mei Qian eloquently continued from the stage, and even a flash of fiery excitement appeared in her own beautiful eyes. She went on, "Because this Soul Devouring Beast can not only devour various powers for its own use but can also feed the devoured power back to the owner who refines it as a Meridian Spirit, allowing both to enhance their strength simultaneously!"

After finishing her speech, Mei Qian did not say more, wanting to give the audience time to digest the information. But upon seeing the crowd's excited and fiery gazes afterwards, she couldn't help but feel satisfied.

"Could it... really have such an effect?!"

Even the deep-minded genius of the Xiao Family, Xiao Qiming, had a flicker of something called greed in his eyes. A Meridian Spirit like this is truly rare and hard to come by.

When everyone realized it was a Strange Spirit, they knew this second auction item was Douling Commerce's forte, Meridian Spirit sales. A Meridian Spirit that could make it to an auction was certainly not something the common goods on the trading streets could compare with.

But no one expected that the so-called Soul Devouring Beast could also feed the devoured energy back to its owner. A typical Meridian Spirit would be considered good if it didn't consume massively the owner's Meridian Qi.

It's imaginable, if one could acquire the Soul Devouring Beast and refine it as a Meridian Spirit, wouldn't one be able to sit at home and continuously gain unlimited power just by releasing the Soul Devouring Beast Meridian Spirit?

Even though the devoured power of the Soul Devouring Beast might be mixed and impure, accumulating over time, the result could be immeasurable. Mei Qian's words indeed sparked a great interest in the Soul Devouring Beast among the crowd.

Especially geniuses like Xiao Qiming and the brothers from the Kong Family were determined to obtain the Soul Devouring Beast. After all, if they could refine such a beast, they might surpass those truly top-tier geniuses in a very short time.

"The Eighth Rank Low Level Soul Devouring Beast starts at a bidding price of one million gold coins, with each increment no less than one hundred thousand. Let the bidding begin now!"

Seeing the audience had digested the peculiar features of the Soul Devouring Beast, Mei Qian raised her jade-like hand and gently lowered it, officially starting the second auction item.

Even though it is merely an Eighth Rank Low Level Strange Spirit, with a grade far less valuable than the previous Earth Rank Advanced cultivation technique, the starting price was set the same. Mei Qian believed something like this was absolutely impossible to go unsold!

"One million two hundred thousand!"

"One million five hundred thousand!"

"Two million!"

"..."

In almost the blink of an eye, the bidding price for the Soul Devouring Beast doubled, reaching the high price of two million gold coins. The enthusiasm for this Soul Devouring Beast seemed even more intense compared to the earlier Earth Rank Advanced Judgement Thunder Introduction.

After all, while Judgement Thunder Introduction itself had a high rank, its attributes limited some people's interest. The Soul Devouring Beast was different; if one could refine it, it would enhance cultivation speed significantly, a true treasure.

"These people who haven't even reached the Seeking Origin Realm want to refine the Soul Devouring Beast, are they courting death?"

Listening to the continuous bidding sounds in his ears, Kong Sihai cursed venomously, thinking those low rank guys shouldn't even qualify to bid.

The truth was indeed as Kong Sihai said, the Soul Devouring Beast Meridian Spirit, although its power had been sealed by the Douling Commerce division, still posed a certain risk when it came to erasing or refining its spiritual wisdom.

Generally, a cultivator refines a Meridian Spirit slightly lower than their own cultivation level to minimize risk. After all, Meridian Spirits could be replaced, and after surpassing a Great Rank, one could refine another Meridian Spirit. Why take those lethal risks?

An Eighth Rank Low Level Meridian Spirit is most suitable for cultivators at the Seeking Origin Realm level, especially for those at the Origin Seeking Realm Middle Late Stage, where the risk wouldn't be greater.

In Kong Sihai's view, the Soul Devouring Beast should belong to him and his brother. Whether it would be refined for his elder brother or himself after winning the bid, that would be an internal affair to decide.

"Three million!"

As Kong Sihai was mumbling curses, Kong Qianshan beside him called out a bid, raising the price to three million gold coins, which brought a brief silence to the auction hall.

As a Thunder Son of the Sky Thunder Valley, Kong Qianshan had no intention of competing step-by-step with those who hadn't even reached the Seeking Origin Realm. The bid of three million indicated his determination to win.

Unfortunately, the auction didn't only have cultivators from small families and lesser backgrounds. The price of three million couldn't deter their enthusiasm for the Soul Devouring Beast, like Xiao Qiming from the Xiao Family.

"Three million five hundred thousand!"

This time, Xiao Qiming's bid was straightforward, without much strategy. Like the Kong brothers, he was determined to obtain the Soul Devouring Beast, and he had no intention of backing down.

The Xiao siblings had long been known as the twin prodigies of the Xiao Family. However, the reputation of being a prodigy mostly referred to Xiao Qiming alone. Without his elder brother's mid-stage Seeking Origin Realm strength as a deterrent, many things would not go as smoothly.

Therefore, after gaining fame, the gap in strength between them was Xiao Qiming's greatest regret. Although he would eventually break through to higher levels by cultivating steadily, wouldn't it be better if that day came sooner?

The appearance of the Soul Devouring Beast undoubtedly gave Xiao Qiming hope of enhancing his strength faster. Even if he didn't want to offend the Kong brothers and Chu Nian from the Chu family, he wasn't going to give up easily this time.

"Four million!"

Just as Xiao Qiming's voice finished, Chu Nian from the Chu family immediately shouted out a higher bid. At this point, many cultivators from medium-sized families decided to give up.

After all, when it came to financial power, they simply couldn't compete with these three major forces. So even though this was an auction hosted by Spirit Fighting Commerce where competition followed the rules, without enough financial backing, resisting those three parties was out of the question.

"Those two guys again!"

Kong Sihai cursed quietly, evidently having forgotten about the previous lot after Xiao Qiming raised his bid again, seeing him as an obstacle like Chu Nian.

"Four million five hundred thousand!"

Kong Qianshan knew that no matter how angry they got, it wouldn't help. Not to mention this was inside Spirit Fighting Commerce, but even outside, their combined efforts might not be able to deal with talents like Chu Nian or Xiao Qiming.

"Five million!"

Xiao Qiming's bid once again pushed the price of this second lot to a climax. After all, the previous lot had sold for five million, and there were certain accidental reasons for that.

Even Mei Qian didn't expect the Soul Devouring Beast to have a bidding price of five million, and this might not even be the final price. Her commission for hosting this auction would be a considerable amount.

"Five million five hundred thousand!"

"Six million!"

Two more bids came forward, launched by Chu Nian and Kong Qianshan. With each bid, they had long departed from the basic increments of ten thousand gold coins, raising fifty thousand at a time, showing their substantial financial power.

"Brother Chu Nian, such competition isn't the best approach!"

This time, when everyone's gaze turned towards Xiao Qiming, they saw that he had turned his head towards the Chu family's genius, Chu Nian, and his words made Chu Nian turn around and meet his gaze.

"What scheme are you planning now?"

As youth talents of the three major families, Chu Nian naturally understood Xiao Qiming's cunning mind. They focused on physical strength, disliking those who used cunning tactics.

"How about letting the Kong brothers have the Soul Devouring Beast this time?"

Xiao Qiming didn't care about Chu Nian's tone, yet he spoke these words, bringing joy to the Kong brothers but casting a shadow over Chu Nian's face.

"Why should I?"

For some reason, Chu Nian harbored a trace of hostility towards the Kong brothers. Upon hearing Xiao Qiming's words, he was naturally unwilling to comply. The Chu family wasn't necessarily inferior to the Sky Thunder Valley in the fair competition of an auction—why should they concede?

"Brother Chu Nian, don't be impatient. Listen to all I have to say before deciding, how about that?"

Xiao Qiming knew of Chu Nian's temper. Without some benefits, this guy likely wouldn't give up easily. Otherwise, the auction would simply benefit Spirit Fighting Commerce. To avoid becoming this fool, Xiao Qiming had to speak up.