A Phoenix's cultivation level was easy to identify, as it could be discerned from their appearance—the more tail feathers they had, the purer their bloodline; the more beautiful their feathers, the higher their cultivation. If one were to seek the leader among a flock of Phoenixes, it would definitely be the most beautiful one. So there was logic behind a Phoenix's vanity; occasionally displaying their feathers wasn't necessarily just for showing off.
Nine was the ultimate number, and originally only Phoenixes with the purest bloodlines had nine tails, but Yun Qingyue's atavistic bloodline was clearly extraordinary. Before the lightning tribulation, Jiang Mo had vaguely seen nine tail feathers, which was why even Golden Peng hadn't doubted her bloodline purity at that ti.
But now, facts proved that Yun Qingyue's bloodline wasn't entirely pure; she had intentionally retained traces of monstrous beast and human bloodlines. While this had helped her find a sliver of hope during the lightning tribulation, after rebirth through nirvana, whether the small swan goose now gradually growing could develop nine tail feathers again remained uncertain.
Nevertheless, six tail feathers were already quite impressive.
After discovering that the swan goose had grown another tail feather, Jiang Mo was visibly excited and pulled Yun Qingyue close to ask: "Ah Yue, you've already grown your sixth tail feather. Why don't you try to see if you can transform into human form?"
Hearing this, Yun Qingyue was also tempted. Since becoming a swan goose, she had received partial inherited mories and naturally knew how to transform. She imdiately closed her eyes and began to try. Soon, waves of white light emanated from her body, enveloping her completely... Just as Jiang Mo thought she would succeed, the white light suddenly paused, then dispersed, revealing the swan goose's beautiful bird form once more.
"It's still not possible, there's a barrier," Yun Qingyue opened her eyes and shook her head, her beautiful Phoenix eyes showing so disappointnt.
Jiang Mo was also disappointed. It had been a long ti since she had seen her Senior Sister's human form, and she didn't feel comfortable being affectionate or clingy with such a small swan goose, which had changed the entire dynamic of their relationship.
But despite her disappointnt, she didn't dislike the swan goose. She imdiately comforted her: "It's alright. After absorbing more spiritual energy, Ah Yue, you'll definitely recover quickly." While speaking, when Yun Qingyue wasn't paying attention, she secretly reached out to stroke her beautiful tail feathers: "They're so beautiful. When your cultivation advances further, Ah Yue, you'll definitely be even more beautiful."
Yun Qingyue wasn't originally soone who cared about appearances, but after becoming a swan goose and influenced by her bloodline, she had beco more aesthetically conscious. Hearing Jiang Mo's praise, she was quite pleased, but still imdiately pulled her tail feathers away from Jiang Mo's hand.
Jiang Mo felt a tickle in her palm as the smooth, silky feathers slipped away from her grasp, leaving her with a sense of regret.
The little tiger gazed mournfully at the Little Swan Goose, her entire face conveying: I wasn't trying to pluck your feathers, don't you trust ? I let you stroke my fur, but you won't let
touch your tail feathers...
Yun Qingyue accurately received this ssage but turned her face away rcilessly, while taking out several spirit stones and tossing them into her mouth, starting her hardcore spending spree—joking aside, she would never tell Jiang Mo what tail feathers truly ant to Phoenixes. They weren't rely symbols of beauty and power; unless they had already given their heart to soone, they would never allow others to touch their tail feathers.
Jiang Mo, who had joined the cultivation path late and hadn't received complete inherited mories—even her most crucial cultivation thods had been obtained from the White Tiger in the inheritance space—naturally didn't know about this Phoenix custom. Otherwise, seeing her Senior Sister's behavior, she would have been even more dejected.
Fortunately, she didn't know, so when she saw her Senior Sister consuming spirit stones, she simply offered her storage pouch: "Ah Yue, have you finished your spirit stones? If so, I have more here. You can take them all."
Yun Qingyue looked at her deeply, seemingly sighing, her emotions complex.
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It would take so ti to consu over twenty million spirit stones, so Jiang Mo and Yun Qingyue had been staying in Cloud Stream City for quite a while.
Cloud Stream City was sizable, with nurous cultivators coming and going daily, so various news traveled quickly. Jiang Mo and Yun Qingyue didn't even need to leave; they could hear the latest news from outside while sitting in the inn's main hall every day.
On this day, the two were listening to news in the hall as usual, but shortly after they sat down, soone suddenly appeared at their table. Jiang Mo was about to say she didn't share tables with others when she looked up and saw the newcor wearing familiar attire, which she recalled seeing at the auction house in the city. She frowned and asked: "What is it?"
The person was very respectful and didn't seem to be there to cause trouble over the ores she had sold. He took out a gold-stamped invitation card and presented it sincerely: "Our establishnt will soon hold an auction. Hearing that Senior hasn't yet left Cloud Stream City, I've co specially to deliver this invitation."
Jiang Mo had already declined this before, but hearing this, she was sowhat surprised: "The auction hasn't been held yet?"
Calculating the ti, Jiang Mo had been in Cloud Stream City for almost half a month. The auction that was supposedly going to be held "in a few days" had been delayed for so long, which was quite unexpected—normally, auction houses were very credible. If they announced an auction would be held in a few days, it wouldn't be postponed without good reason.
Seeing her surprise, the ssenger remained calm and answered: "Originally, the auction was to be held ten days ago. However, with the recent unrest in the cultivation world and the possibility of war, our establishnt has prepared more precious materials to be sold together."
Jiang Mo imdiately understood—the auction house was anticipating war and preparing to profit from it.
However, there was sothing she didn't understand. These days, she had indeed heard a lot of news in the inn, but so far, the conflict was still limited to the Crimson Blood Sect and Nine Abyss Sect. Internal disputes among demonic sects occurred frequently, so what made the auction house believe the situation would escalate to the point of affecting auction attendees?
Jiang Mo hadn't planned to buy anything and thus hadn't intended to attend any auction, but now, after quick deliberation, she had developed so interest. She casually accepted the invitation card, opened it for a look, and told the ssenger: "I'll attend if I have ti."
The ssenger acknowledged this and didn't say more, respectfully taking leave after Jiang Mo accepted the invitation.
After he left, Jiang Mo unfolded the invitation for the lark that had jumped onto her shoulder: "Ah Yue, take a look. How are the items listed here? Is there anything you want?"
The auction house's invitation was thoughtfully designed. Besides the invitation text at the beginning, it also included a list of items to be auctioned. At a glance, there were quite a few items, but ordinary auctions typically offered items for common use—"common" being defined by cultivation level. Most cultivators were at the Golden Core or Nascent Soul stages, with Void Crossing and Spirit Division cultivators being less common, while those at Fusion realm and above had separate auctions.
Jiang Mo had just advanced to Fusion realm before sneaking out, and then had been entirely focused on following her Senior Sister, so she hadn't participated in many auctions and didn't know how to join higher-level ones. Among the items on this invitation, she didn't find many that caught her eye.
Yun Qingyue's cultivation had originally been quite high, and after her bloodline awakening, it had advanced even further. If not for being struck by the lightning tribulation and having to be reborn through nirvana, she would have been close to the Fusion realm. One's cultivation level naturally determined their perspective and choices; items that didn't interest Jiang Mo generally didn't appeal to Yun Qingyue either. However, with her richer experience, she could tell at a glance that the items for this auction were indeed carefully selected.
With the auction being so ticulously prepared, one had to wonder about the attitude of the participants.
With this thought, Yun Qingyue developed so interest and said: "The items are average, but joining the excitent might be worthwhile. Let's go and see."
Jiang Mo thought the sa, and the two were in imdiate agreent.
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Ti passed quickly. Three days after receiving the invitation, the day of the auction arrived.
Having decided to attend, Jiang Mo tidied up and left with Yun Qingyue, who had transford into a lark. When they arrived at the auction house again, they found it bustling with people coming and going.
"Quite a crowd," Jiang Mo murmured, looking at the crowded entrance without rushing forward.
Just then, Jiang Mo suddenly sensed soone approaching from behind. She vigilantly turned around and saw a vaguely familiar face. The person greeted her, smiling broadly: "Fellow Daoist, are you also here for the auction?"
Who is this? Why so familiar?
A flash of confusion passed through Jiang Mo's eyes, but she quickly noticed the lark perched on the person's shoulder and rembered—this was the person she had t a few days ago on the street, who had instructed her on how to feed larks. She recalled that the person's lark had been quite lively, wanting to try the spirit stone she was using to temporarily feed the swan goose, only to be frightened by the swan goose's pressure into playing dead.
She rembered, and clearly, the gentleman opposite her, including the lark on his shoulder, also rembered her and her Senior Sister.
Larks were naturally timid, but this one had probably been well-raised, making it unusually lively and bold. Yet no matter how bold a bird might be, being intimidated by a Phoenix's pressure would likely leave a lifelong shadow...
This ti, the lark didn't dare to approach, instead cautiously hiding behind its owner's collar. When Jiang Mo looked over, she could still see the little one peeping out to observe secretly, but when Yun Qingyue shifted her gaze, the little creature was imdiately overco with fear, its legs extended, and it slid straight down from its owner's neck.
The lark's owner quickly caught it and, once again alard, began frantically checking his bird that was playing dead, no longer concerned with greeting Jiang Mo, whom he had only t once.
As for Jiang Mo, she sheepishly touched her nose and hurriedly slipped away with her Senior Sister.
Only after entering the auction house with the invitation did Jiang Mo turn her head and give an exasperated look at the lark on her shoulder. The latter held her head high with a confident posture, showing not the slightest guilt, as she truly hadn't intimidated the other bird this ti.
As Jiang Mo looked at her, she couldn't help but laugh, which annoyed the lark who quickly pecked her earlobe.
The swan goose's strength was considerable, and transforming into a delicate lark didn't diminish her combat power. Though she had restrained her force, the peck wasn't light; it didn't draw blood but left Jiang Mo's earlobe bright red.
Jiang Mo imdiately winced in pain and hurriedly raised her hand to protect her ear, begging for rcy: "I was wrong, I was wrong. I won't laugh at you next ti."
But the lark wasn't easily appeased and turned away, ignoring her.
So petty, and holding a grudge!
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