Chapter 30: The Gift
Chapter 30: The Gift
The Demon Beast Inner Core could be used in pill refining or normally absorbed to quickly restore Magic Power. It was a solidified object containing a large amount of Spiritual Energy formed inside a Monster Beast. Only some Monster Beasts nearing a breakthrough state could produce such spiritual objects, making them extremely rare!
Using a Fifth-Grade Monster Beast Inner Core to refine Foundational Reinforcement Pill could yield a batch of one hundred high-quality pills. Just from this, one could tell the value of the gift Sister Jun had casually given.
Although Lu Hangzhi didn’t know the details, he understood the gift was unusually precious. He hesitated for a moment, then accepted it with both hands and thanked her, saying, “Hangzhi thanks Sister Jun.”
“What about you two?”
With Nangong Jun setting such a high standard, Xiong Qi and Lü Liang felt too embarrassed to give something ordinary. Especially after the two exchanged glances, Xiong Qi strode over to Lu Hangzhi.
He was so tall.
Lu Hangzhi swallowed.
“Senior Brother doesn’t have much, just some small Spiritual Artifacts worth giving. Since Hangzhi is at Early Third Grade cultivation, I have a set of equipment I used before. Take it.”
Lu Hangzhi glanced inside the Qiankun Pouch and saw three pieces of equipment emitting a faint spiritual glow.
A soft armor, a pair of boots, and a pair of gloves.
Xiong Qi cast a smug look at Lü Liang and explained, “The gloves have a miniature Magic Formation engraved on them, which speeds up Spiritual Energy gathering and increases casting speed. You can use them up to Fifth Grade. The boots have an advanced Swift Movement Art Magic Formation. Just inject Magic Power to increase your speed. It’s an upgraded version of the Swift Movement Art you learned at Second Grade… Lastly, the soft armor has good life-saving ability. It can withstand… five Third Rank Peak spell impacts.”
“Hangzhi thanks Senior Brother Xiong Qi.”
“Heh heh.”
Xiong Qi waved his hand smugly and stepped aside, his face saying, “Let’s see what you can give,” as he looked at Lü Liang.
The latter remained calm and said, “I just caught a few Spirit Beasts that haven’t been tamed yet. Hangzhi, come to Gold Jade Courtyard No. 5 later. If you see one you like, take it.”
Hearing this, even Chen Ji couldn’t help but laugh, “Not bad!”
“Although that guy Buming isn’t great at Artifact Refining, he’s quite skilled at making Talismans. The Talismans he draws using various Spirit Beast blood combinations are much better than those on the market. A big reason is that the Spirit Beasts he catches are unusual. Hangzhi… you should really thank your three Senior Sisters and Brothers.”
“In the future, if there’s anything Senior Sisters and Brothers need Hangzhi for, I will go through fire and water without hesitation!” Lu Hangzhi said resolutely and firmly.
Chen Ji nodded with satisfaction, “Alright, you’ve met your junior brother. You may disperse now.”
“If you have any questions about cultivation in the future, you can ask your Senior Sisters and Brothers. Only come to bother me if you really don’t understand.”
“…” Lu Hangzhi nearly choked, swallowing the “Yes” that was on the tip of his tongue.
This Master really was unreliable.
But it was okay.
Today’s gains were quite substantial.
Sister Jun was still in seclusion, so he decisively retreated.
But Xiong Qi came over, saying he wanted to supervise to prevent the junior brother from being tricked by some shameless senior brother with ordinary Spirit Beasts.
Lu Hangzhi looked very embarrassed.
Lü Liang was speechless.
…
Gold Jade Courtyard No. 5 was Senior Brother Lü Liang’s residence. Apart from the simple living quarters, the area and Spiritual Energy were quite good. There were four Spirit Fruit Trees over five hundred years old in the front, and the backyard had a medicinal garden filled with various strange herbs.
However, the most eye-catching were the Spirit Beasts tending to the herbs…
A walking Spirit Ape, a water buffalo performing Rainfall Art, and a big black bear snoring thunderously. Their cultivation levels were unclear, but judging by the scared, trembling group of Spirit Beasts standing nearby, their cultivation shouldn’t be lower than Fifth Grade.
“Bear Big!”
“Bastard!”
Lü Liang called out to the big black bear, and then Lu Hangzhi noticed Senior Brother Xiong Qi gritting his teeth and cursing under his breath.
“…”
Bear Big? Xiong Qi?
Was it intentional?
Lu Hangzhi didn’t dare to show any reaction, pretending not to notice as he followed Senior Brother Lü Liang to the big black bear.
The big black bear opened its eyes, glanced over Xiong Qi and Lu Hangzhi’s faces, lazily turned over, and spoke in human language, “I’m exhausted, let me sleep a bit more.”
“…”
Lu Hangzhi was completely stunned.
Lü Liang also coughed repeatedly to cover his embarrassment.
“Forget it, Bear Big is usually quite lazy. Hangzhi, you choose for yourself. If you like any, just tell me.” As he spoke, he pointed to the group of trembling Spirit Beasts over there, which included cats, dogs, wolves, as well as foxes, parrots, and others, looking quite strange gathered together.
“Yes, Senior Brother.”
This was Lu Hangzhi’s first time seeing so many different Spirit Beasts, so he couldn’t help feeling a little excited.
At a glance, he noticed these Spirit Beasts were mostly Second or Third Grade cultivation, with a few fierce Fourth Grade Monster Beasts mixed in.
“Senior Brother.”
Lu Hangzhi asked with some excitement and anticipation, “How do I tame these Monster Beasts?”
“Beat them into submission.”
Lü Liang answered reflexively, then realized his mistake when he saw Lu Hangzhi’s stunned expression. He smiled awkwardly and said, “In your case, you can make a contract with them. There are different contract relationships among Monster Beasts. There’s the forced Master-Servant Contract, the equal Mutual Benefit Contract, and the Redemption Contract.”
Lu Hangzhi was taken aback.
There were quite a few categories.
“Let me explain them to you.”
Lü Liang could tell his junior brother clearly hadn’t been exposed to such things, so he patiently explained, “The Master-Servant Contract usually exists between the strong and the weak, where the power gap is big and suppression is easy. These Monster Beasts you see have all made Master-Servant Contracts with me. But in your case, unless you contract those First Grade Monster Beasts, none of the others would submit to you.”
Uh.
Lu Hangzhi felt a pang of sadness, thinking, Senior Brother, you didn’t have to be so blunt.
“In this situation, there’s the Mutual Benefit Contract. The Monster Beast uses human resources to cultivate, while the human uses the Monster Beast as a secondary attack method. Both sides benefit mutually. But this contract often has one problem…”
When Senior Brother reached this point, Lu Hangzhi instinctively continued, “When the Monster Beast becomes stronger than the human, it turns on its master!”
“Smart!”
Lü Liang snapped his fingers, “The Mutual Benefit Contract emphasizes equality. When the two sides’ strength isn’t equal, it either turns into a forced Master-Servant Contract, or what Cultivators often call ‘Monster Beast betrayal’ occurs! To avoid this, the third type of contract was created – the Redemption Contract.”
“It’s simple. It specifies how many years the Monster Beast must work for you. Once the time is up, the seal on it automatically lifts. During the contract period, if the Monster Beast has any thought of betrayal, it will be forcibly erased. This type of contract Talisman is very hard to obtain, requiring the Monster Beast’s willing consent. But it’s most suitable for inexperienced Cultivators like you who aren’t strong enough.”
Senior Brother, you really could have been more tactful.
Lu Hangzhi silently wept inside, his self-esteem severely wounded.
Just then, Xiong Qi who had been silent spoke up, “Junior Brother, don’t be polite with him. Contract Talismans might be difficult for others, but for him it’s a piece of cake. He sells about a hundred of them every year. Just pick a stronger Monster Beast.”
Lü Liang nodded with a smile, acknowledging Xiong Qi’s praise.
“Alright, I’ll choose one randomly.”
Lu Hangzhi didn’t pick immediately. “Senior Brother Lü Liang, I don’t know much about Spirit Beasts. Since Senior Brother is an expert with Monster Beasts, could you give me some suggestions?”
Lü Liang nodded, a flicker of appreciation in his eyes, “Not knowing is fine. Much better than those who pretend to know. Let me tell you about these Spirit Beasts.”
Lu Hangzhi listened attentively.
But soon, his expression turned serious, then shocked.
Although this Senior Brother Lü Liang seemed a bit unreliable in his speech, and Master had described him as frivolous, his standards for Spirit Beasts were extremely strict.
This group of seemingly bullied Spirit Beasts were actually anything but simple.
Even the lowest cultivation Spirit Rat, besides having amazing sense of smell and agile movement speed, also possessed treasure-seeking and medicinal herb analysis abilities. This meant its treasure-hunting and survival capabilities were greatly enhanced. If sold in the Marketplace, it would definitely cause a frenzy among Cultivators and fetch an astronomical price.
The Second Grade Spirit Fox with a burnt tail tip had mastered Clone, Illusion Arts, and skunk abilities, making its escape capability extremely strong.
The Moon Wolf had extraordinary intuition and vision in the dark. During full moons, its power surged dramatically, allowing it to easily kill enemies above its level. Mixing its blood into Magic Power recovery Talismans could produce several times the violent effect.
Of course!
When Lü Liang introduced the Moon Wolf, he added, “This Moon Wolf is my money tree, so don’t think about it. Anyway, you can’t use it.”
The Mirror Spirit Cat possessed powerful mirror soul-locking technique, which could forcibly control Cultivators whose cultivation didn’t exceed its by more than three grades for an instant.
The Heavenly Dog absorbed moonlight energy every night, causing the surrounding Spiritual Energy density to soar and purity to increase.
The remaining few all had their own unique strengths, all being mutant varieties among Spirit Beasts with the ability to kill enemies above their level…
“Take your time to think.”
“Xiong Qi, come with me.”
Seeing Lu Hangzhi deep in thought, Lü Liang showed appreciation again and called Xiong Qi aside.
“This junior brother isn’t simple.”
“Of course!”
“Oh? You noticed something too?”
“Nonsense!” Xiong Qi said confidently, “When has Master ever been wrong?”
“…”
Rolling his eyes, Lü Liang turned and left.
After careful consideration, Lu Hangzhi finally decided to choose the Mirror Spirit Cat.
“Eh?”
“Why the Mirror Spirit Cat?”
Lü Liang asked with some surprise.
Actually, he had guessed many possibilities – the Heavenly Dog, the Spirit Rat, the Illusion Fox, even several other breeds were quite good. Only the Mirror Spirit Cat…
It wasn’t easy to raise, very difficult to upgrade its grade, and new Inner Sect disciples usually didn’t need to go on adventures outside. In all aspects, it was inferior to the Heavenly Dog.
Lu Hangzhi only said it felt right, then under Lü Liang’s surprised gaze, took out the contract, set a ten-year term, and completed the contract with the Spirit Cat.
From then on, Lu Hangzhi had a fluffy pet on his shoulder that looked like a scarf.