The Soul-Devouring Vine is quite special; it can devour the spiritual power of humans, beasts, and plants to strengthen itself.
Because it was so defiant of the natural order, it was once classified as one of the Forbidden Beasts.
Later, people discovered that the Soul-Devouring Vine wasn’t as harmful as imagined, because this plant Spirit Beast wouldn’t actively kill for spiritual power; it just needed to get its fix once a month by drawing some spiritual power.
It even became very tame after contracting with a human Beastmaster. Most crucially, it cultivates spiritual power at a rapid speed through meditation.
So, people later developed a beast taming method for it, where Beastmasters with strong spiritual power allow it to absorb some once a month.
However, it’s difficult for ordinary Beastmasters to handle, and since the Spirit-Devouring Vine’s attack methods are somewhat limited and primarily focused on spiritual power cultivation, most spiritual type Beastmasters aren’t particularly fond of it.
"It seems to be slightly compatible with the Celestial Spirit Body," Lin Chen remarked. "But I don’t know if Qin Shaoshao would like it."
Spirit Beasts and Beastmasters must find mutual agreement for a bond to form, as they will be lifelong battle partners.
Lin Chen then looked at the starting bid and changed his comment: "Maybe it’s better to consider the price first..."
Lee Zhen also noticed.
The starting bid was fifteen million.
This price isn’t high for a Saint Beast Level, it’s just that the Spirit-Devouring Vine is unique and not in demand. If it were another combat type Spirit Beast, the price would definitely be double.
Lin Chen had initially thought he could contribute too, but realized that even if he emptied his savings, he wouldn’t afford it.
But that’s impossible, as Lin Chen still needed to save to prepare for Xiaobai’s evolution support materials.
"It’s probably been unsold for several auctions; I don’t think the price will rise much," Lee Zhen eagerly suggested.
Lin Chen was surprised and said, "President, are you really that wealthy? Don’t say you’re thinking of misappropriating funds, but I can pretend I didn’t see."
Lee Zhen rolled his eyes again, but this time he didn’t scold Lin Chen. Instead, he seriously stated:
"It could be said to be public funds, or not. Every Monster Hunter Guild has a sum from the estates of deceased monster hunters or unclaimed benefits."
"Usually we use this money for charity, like helping the poor or medical aid."
"This idea was proposed by the founders of the Monster Hunter Guild."
"Qin Shaoshao qualifies as a martyr hero, fitting this criterion."
Lee Zhen then called his assistant in and asked, "How much is left in the charity funds?"
The assistant, a bit peeved this time, said, "There should be about twenty million left."
Then he left, stating he wouldn’t delay their conversation further.
Lee Zhen shook his head without a word, while Lin Chen worriedly asked, "Aren’t you concerned that such a large expenditure will be criticized?"
"A clear conscience fears no shadow," Lee Zhen replied. "What do I have to fear when my record is clean?"
Lin Chen looked at Lee Zhen with some admiration.
"But now, the guild really won’t have much reserve left. The auxiliary materials I promised you earlier might not be affordable," Lee Zhen pretended to be troubled as he looked at Lin Chen.
"I knew it..." Lin Chen smiled bitterly but didn’t mean to trouble Lee Zhen.
Lee Zhen had already helped him a lot; one can’t always fleece the same sheep...
"However, I am a man of my word; I’ll personally give you two hundred thousand." Lee Zhen took out two hundred thousand.
This money was what Xu Youzhen had earned from playing to the wrong audience before.
"That works; two hundred thousand is near enough for one type of auxiliary material," Lin Chen was genuinely happy and didn’t overthink it.
Lee Zhen showed a joyful expression...
"President, why are you smiling?"
"I feel like you prefer me not to be too wealthy."
"Absolutely not," Lee Zhen added righteously, "Would I, a president, covet these three million of yours?"
Lin Chen initially still believed it, but this time he genuinely didn’t.
How did Lee Zhen know he had three million?
Clearly, he had calculated it behind the scenes, and his façade slipped.
About fifty kilometers to the west, Huang Xiaotian crouched on the ground, examining for a long while, with his brow furrowed all the time.
Beside him, Xia Yu warned, "There’s no further information ahead, we can’t keep pursuing."
Huang Xiaotian nodded too; after the Wu Lei incident, he had become more cautious in his actions.
A new team member asked next to them, "Captain, did you find anything?"
The Beast Tide that occurred in Jiuxing City earlier appeared suddenly and left just as swiftly.
Even though the tide level wasn’t high this time, it was an unusual non-homogeneous beast tide rarely seen.
The so-called non-homogeneous beast tide means the tide was caused by different species of Demon Beasts.
Such tides generally have a large scale and a danger level far exceeding that of homogeneous tides. Upon discovering this, Jiuxing City urgently issued a lockdown notice.
Since non-homogeneous beast tide levels are generally Level 4 and above.
Therefore, Huang Xiaotian suspected something fishy with this wave of beast tide, possibly even an advanced pathfinder.
"The opponent retreated quickly, with organization and discipline, and even had Death Warriors," Huang Xiaotian worriedly stated, "We need to send a warning back to the city."
Beast tides are no joke; if it truly is a large scale Level 5 or above beast tide attack, a small city like Jiuxing City may manage to repel it, but the casualties would be considerable.
After surveying the vicinity some more, Huang Xiaotian decided not to delve further and led the thirteenth squad toward a safer direction.
Lin Chen returned home and relayed the situation to Qin Shaoshao.
"If it’s too much trouble, just forget it," Qin Shaoshao said. "You can also just give me a Secret Realm location, and I’ll find it myself."