Family Cultivation: I can see the prompts

84: Who is the mantis?Chapter 84: Who is the Mantis?

In a room on the second floor of the Auction Hall, Lin Houyuan was still organizing the Magical Artifacts and treasures to be auctioned.

Outside the door, a knock sounded. Lin Houyuan’s plump body turned, then he looked towards the door and said,

“Come in!”

“Thirtieth Uncle!” A young man in a green shirt pushed the door open, respectfully called out, and then sat beside Lin Houyuan.

The person who arrived was Lin Shiming.

“You’re so late. Shijie and the others just came and already looked through a batch!” Lin Houyuan teased.

Lin Shiming understood that his elder brother and Fifth Uncle must have come here directly after leaving the Lin Family Restaurant. However, his purpose for coming this time was not for the Auction items.

“Thirtieth Uncle, have you heard of the Lingnan Seven Fiends?”

“What? You encountered the Lingnan Seven Fiends?” Lin Houyuan’s eyes became somewhat serious.

“Right in the street stall area!” Lin Shiming replied with certainty.

“This is a bit tricky. The Lingnan Seven Fiends are a Cultivation village in Yunzhou, essentially a Family. The seven fiends are all quite strong; the weakest are at the Qi Refining Stage Eighth Level, and the Great Chieftain even has Foundation Establishment Stage strength.” Lin Houyuan felt his head ache even more.

“Shiming, be careful this time. There might be trouble, especially since Seventh Grand Uncle is in secluded Cultivation on Fangmu Mountain. As for the Lingnan Seven Fiends, I’ll send people to monitor them.” Lin Houyuan then reminded Lin Shiming, and at the same time, handed him a Jade Slip recording the Auction items.

Lin Shiming took the Jade Slip with both hands, scanned it twice, then shook his head and returned the Jade Slip to Lin Houyuan.

Although most of the treasures this time were High Grade Spiritual Materials and Spiritual Objects of the second tier,

for Lin Shiming, there were no urgently needed items.

Lin Shiming bid farewell to Lin Houyuan and then went to visit Fifth Uncle Lin Houyong. The latter was also exceptionally happy to see Lin Shiming, as Lin Shiming had contributed significantly to his Breakthrough to Foundation Establishment.

Lin Shiming was also at the Qi Refining Stage Ninth Level, and his next step was to refine his Spiritual Qi and Breakthrough to Foundation Establishment, so he had many questions for Lin Houyong.

The two chatted over tea for more than an hour. Finally, Lin Shiming excused himself and returned to his room.

In his room, he also mentioned the Lingnan Seven Fiends to Fifth Uncle, but the latter merely smiled faintly, full of confidence, and said little.

At this, Lin Shiming understood.

Who is the mantis, and who is the cicada? He just had to wait for the outcome.

In the room, Lin Shiming took out a simple Formation Plate from his Storage Pouch and set it up.

Then, he relaxed and took out the xingshen flower seeds, preparing to infuse them with wood-attribute Spiritual Qi for an experiment.

Although the System had given a hint, the female Cultivator had called the xingshen flower seeds ’waste seeds,’ so he was still a bit worried that they might not sprout, or that they would require too much time or Spiritual Qi.

The xingshen flower seeds were not small, each about the size of a thumb. Most of the spiritual patterns on the seeds had been worn away, and they carried the moist scent of soil, as if they had been planted several times and then dug up.

Lin Shiming took out the spirit soil he had obtained earlier in the Qingyun Mountain Range, and also some spirit-nurturing liquid for transplanting Spiritual Plants.

Finally, he carefully planted the seeds.

Once everything was ready, he began to circulate the Purple Wood Heart Sutra, infusing wood-attribute Spiritual Qi.

These Spiritual Plants were not fast-growing, so the spiritual seeds also grew extremely slowly. He could only judge whether they could germinate by sensing the vitality of the seeds.

Under these three factors, Lin Shiming infused Spiritual Qi for a full half-hour before he felt the seeds’ activity suddenly increase, simultaneously forming a tiny Spiritual Qi vortex.

“It’s working!” Lin Shiming immediately felt relieved. He didn’t continue to catalyze them but put away the seeds and spirit soil, intending to Cultivate them on Fangmu Mountain using its High Grade Spiritual Vein of the third tier once he returned.

Next, Lin Shiming began to meditate and Cultivate.

Sunrises and sunsets, clouds rolling and unrolling, two days passed in the blink of an eye.

When Lin Shiming opened his eyes again, it was already the day the Auction began.

He, Lin Shijie, and Lin Houyong went together to the private room behind the Auction Hall. This location was excellent, offering a view of the entire Auction venue. Should any problems arise, they could all act promptly to resolve them.

Also present was Second Uncle Lin Houshou, who was in charge of the Formation here, ensuring that if the Auction Hall encountered a strong enemy, the Formation could be quickly deployed.

However, unlike the previous Auction, this time the private rooms were almost empty.

Even if Foundation Establishment Families came, it was only a few younger generations searching for Spiritual Objects. The main hall, in contrast, was bustling with people, and many Loose Cultivators were eager to make a big splash.

At noon, Lin Houyuan appeared punctually on the Auction stage.

“Welcome, Fellow Daoists, Loose Cultivators, and Family colleagues, to our Lin Family’s Auction. I am Lin Houyuan. Just like the previous Auction, the highest bidder wins. Additionally, Fellow Daoists who purchased Auction items last time can use their previous conditions as a discount this time. This is an opportunity not to be missed, so please relax and bid!”

“The first Auction item is a High Grade Spiritual Shield Magical Artifact of the second tier!”

“I don’t need to say much about Spiritual Shield Magical Artifacts; their rarity is such that they are seldom found in major businesses. The starting bid is 1500 Spirit Stones! The minimum increment is 100 Spirit Stones.”

“I bid 1800!”

“2000!”

“I, Qi, bid 3000!”

...The High Grade Spiritual Shield was extremely popular, eventually selling for a high price of 3800.

Many Loose Cultivators were willing to pay a bit more to save a hundred Spirit Stones, which drove up the overall expected price.

Otherwise, a rare High Grade Spiritual Shield Magical Artifact, while precious, wouldn’t typically fetch nearly four thousand Spirit Stones.

Lin Shiming himself possessed two High Grade defensive Magical Artifacts of the Spiritual Shield type, and seeing the Auction price, he seriously considered selling one.

The Auction continued. The subsequent Auction items were slightly inferior to the first, until a heavyweight Magical Artifact, the thousand layer mountain, appeared.

This Magical Artifact bore a striking resemblance to the Profound Water Heavy Mountain, greatly tempting him. After paying three thousand five hundred Spirit Stones, he successfully bid for the thousand layer mountain Magical Artifact.

Given the Red-haired Demon Monkey’s strength, the Profound Water Heavy Mountain could no longer satisfy it, and this thousand layer mountain was perfectly suited.

After two more Spiritual Plants were auctioned, it was finally time for the Red Spirit Fish, which the Lin Family had been eagerly anticipating.

The Red Spirit Fish was enormous, over a meter long, covered in red scales, and its belly was slightly distended.

The sight made the Cultivators excited. After learning about the Lin Family Restaurant’s success, the value of the Spirit Fish had soared, especially for Cultivators with Spiritual Pools, who stared at it eagerly.

This included many Cultivators from other Families.

However, they hadn’t received prior notice, and their Spirit Stone preparations were slightly insufficient.

“A Medium Grade Red Spirit Fish of the second tier! Fellow Daoists, please note, this Red Spirit Fish is still in its spawning period. The starting bid is 2000 Spirit Stones! Each increment must not be less than 100 Spirit Stones!”

“2300!”

“2800 Spirit Stones!”

...Just as the Auction prices were rising and falling, Lin Shiming suddenly announced an astounding price:

“5000 Spirit Stones!”

A price more than double the previous bids immediately silenced everyone.

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