Chapter 184: Hesitation
With Jiang Li's introduction, the breathing of the various forces became increasingly rapid.
Especially for the top forces on the continent, if what the Star Auction Pavilion said is true, once the Ancient Life Tree matures, it would significantly assist in the development of an entire force.
How could this not make them eager?
The representatives of Shrek Academy began to communicate nervously once again. They had just given up on the Curse Puppet, but now, facing this seed, hope rekindled in their hearts.
The representatives from the Star Luo Empire had fiery eyes, calculating how to use their resources and power to gain the upper hand in this bidding war.
Meanwhile, Zhong Liwu from Spirit Hall wore a sinister smile. He had already prepared in the shadows to acquire this seed.
"However, let me first explain the drawbacks of this Ancient Life Tree seed. As you can see, while the benefits of reaching full maturity are great, it could protect a force for tens of thousands of years."
"But you should all understand that a treasure capable of releasing such extreme life attributes requires immense resources during its cultivation."
"As far as I know, to cultivate this Ancient Life Tree to maturity, thousands of years, along with the foundation of a powerful force, are required. It cannot be done easily, so I urge you to be cautious."
"Of course, you could also cooperate with other forces to cultivate it together, which would save a significant amount of resources."
Jiang Li revealed the only flaw of the Ancient Life Tree.
While the Ancient Life Tree's maturity would provide great strength, the process of cultivating it consumed a lot of time and energy.
When he had previously used a lottery, he drew an entire bag of Ancient Life Tree seeds, and when he counted them, there were more than a hundred seeds.
That was why he decided to auction one of the seeds.
He had also planted one of the Ancient Life Tree seeds in the Eye of Ice and Fire.
The Eye of Ice and Fire contained powerful ice and fire forces, and even so, it took a full ten days for the seed to sprout.
Even though the seed of the Ancient Life Tree had been growing in the Eye of Ice and Fire, Jiang Li couldn't be sure how long it would take to reach maturity.
It was destined to be a long wait.
Indeed, Jiang Li's words acted like a bucket of cold water, dousing the excitement of most of the people.
Upon further consideration, it seemed to make sense.
After all, if such a treasure could be easily cultivated, Star Auction Pavilion probably wouldn't be auctioning it off.
Compared to the forces with weaker foundations, Shrek Academy, Haotian Sect, and the Body Sect understood the power of extreme life better.
However, they also realized that cultivating the Ancient Life Tree would require too many resources.
Still, they had already made up their minds. Even if they couldn't cultivate it in this generation, they would acquire it and leave it for future generations.
Perhaps it could help their forces reach the very peak of Douluo Continent.
And they also didn't want the Ancient Life Tree to fall into the hands of others.
Apart from the top forces of Douluo Continent, the rest of the factions had already silently decided not to participate in the bidding for the Ancient Life Tree seed.
It wasn't that they didn't have money, but with the resources of their respective forces, they simply couldn't cultivate the Ancient Life Tree.
They would have to give up and wait for the remaining auction items.
...
"Indeed!"
At this point, Di Tian and Bi Ji of the Soul Beast Clan, upon hearing Jiang Li's explanation, all wore expressions of understanding.
Although cultivating the Ancient Life Tree required a lot of resources, they didn't mind this flaw.
After all, the Soul Beast Clan had long lifespans, and they could wait for the seed to mature.
Additionally, the Star Dou Forest could be said to be the most suitable place on Douluo Continent for the Ancient Life Tree to grow.
They were also confident that if this seed were planted in the Star Dou Forest, it would mature much faster.
And the Star Dou Forest had plenty of resources to cultivate this Ancient Life Tree.
"Alright, these are the specific effects and drawbacks of the Ancient Life Tree seed. I won't elaborate further, but I hope you all consider your forces' resources and foundations carefully."
"I now declare that the starting price for the seed of the Ancient Life Tree is 50 million Gold Soul Coins, with each subsequent bid increasing by no less than 10 million Gold Soul Coins."
Jiang Li spoke slowly, and as the auction hammer fell, he officially declared the auction for the seed to begin.
"50 million Gold Soul Coins!"
At that moment, Zhong Liwu of Spirit Hall raised his bidding paddle first.
Although with Spirit Hall's current foundation, it would take centuries to cultivate the Ancient Life Tree to maturity, he had a plan. Spirit Hall could seize resources from other forces.
By collecting resources from other forces, they could speed up the cultivation process of the Ancient Life Tree, greatly reducing the time it took for the seed to mature.
...
At Shrek Academy.
Led by Mu En and Elder Xuan, the elders of Sea God Pavilion began to discuss with their spiritual powers whether they should bid for the Ancient Life Tree seed.
Logically speaking, Shrek Academy now possessed the Golden Tree, and in terms of certain abilities, the Golden Tree and the Ancient Life Tree shared some similarities.
Faced with the possibility of the Ancient Life Tree, which could ultimately release extreme life attributes, they were somewhat tempted.
They also began to consider if the Golden Tree's power could accelerate the maturation of the Ancient Life Tree.
If the Ancient Life Tree were to mature, it might even complement the Golden Tree. That would undoubtedly enhance the academy's strength.
In the future, more and more geniuses would be born within Shrek Academy.
After all, Shrek Academy had done extensive research on life force, which could increase a soul master's lifespan and improve their cultivation speed.
It would also subtly improve a soul master's physical constitution.
This would ultimately lead to more children born with powerful martial souls.
Such a top-tier treasure could protect a force for at least thousands, if not tens of thousands, of years.
But the only flaw, as the Star Auction Pavilion mentioned, was that cultivating the seed would consume a large number of resources.
For weaker forces, it would be impossible to sustain.
Even Shrek Academy, if they moved forward with the Golden Tree's power to cultivate it, would need hundreds of years to reach maturity. During that time, their available resources would be drastically reduced.
"60 million Gold Soul Coins!"
After hearing Spirit Hall raise the bid, Elder Xuan's interest was piqued, and he immediately followed up with a bid, competing against Spirit Hall.
He didn't want Spirit Hall to take the Ancient Life Tree seed. Everyone knew Spirit Hall was full of tricks.
If they got their hands on the seed, it might cause trouble, and that was something Shrek Academy didn't want to see.
(END CHAPTER)
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