Beast-Taming Cultivator from Two Realms

Chapter 41: Contracting a Spirit Beast

The Abyssal Water Spirit Turtle widened her eyes and looked at Chen Beiwu with a strange expression.

This mundane Qi Refining cultivator not only had an excellent fate pattern, but even his judgment was razor-sharp, able to discern the extraordinary nature of the Golden Scale.

Though this Golden Scale appeared somewhat dull and gluttonous, it was in fact a rare exotic spirit beast within the miniature water realm, possessing a trace of the Gold-Horned Flood Dragon’s diluted bloodline within its body.

In terms of collectible value alone, the exotic Golden Scale could even rival some lower third-tier Treasure Beasts.

As for contracting it as a Companion Beast, no water-element cultivator would be willing.

This was because for the exotic Golden Scale to break through the shackles of its bloodline and awaken the Gold-Horned Flood Dragon bloodline to transform into a flood dragon, it required meeting three great conditions.

First, it had to possess five hundred years of cultivation and ascend to the third stage as a Beast General.

Second, it had to refine the essence blood of a third-stage flood dragon.

Third, it had to leap through the Dragon Gate, stirring up a flood in a lake where dragon veins converged, in order to begin its transformation.

The first two requirements for transformation might trouble the cultivator descendants of Golden Core Families, but would pose little difficulty for the descendants of Nascent Soul Clans, not to mention the prodigies from the Dongxuan Immortal Sect.

The true reason cultivator descendants gave up on the exotic Golden Scale was the third, virtually impossible condition for transformation.

One had to understand that spirit lakes where dragon veins converged were aligned with the stars above and connected to the earth’s ley lines below, essentially acting as vital hubs maintaining the spiritual energy circulation of a region.

Under such conditions, for the Golden Scale to stir up a flood in a lake of converging dragon veins would be tantamount to destroying a spiritual energy hub, which would cause the ley lines that sustains cultivation clans to dry up.

As such, even if the Gold-Horned Flood Dragon possessed overwhelming power and could survive under the hands of a Nascent Soul True Lord, no cultivation clan would be willing to sacrifice their ley lines for such a transformation—unless, of course, they were using someone else’s ley lines.

However, in the Immortal Alliance era, all ley lines and blessed lands on Sky Abyss Star belonged to the Immortal Alliance. Local cultivation clans only had usage rights. Privately destroying ley lines had thus become a grave offense that even the Thirteen Immortal Sects could not excuse.

Thus, the once renowned Gold-Horned Flood Dragon of ancient times not only faced extinction, but even the exotic Golden Scale was now reduced to mere collectible value, with virtually no cultivator descendants choosing to contract it.

‘Could this brat actually want to contract the Golden Scale?’

Seeing hesitation in the eyes of the Abyssal Water Spirit Turtle, Chen Beiwu probed, “Not even this one?”

The Abyssal Water Spirit Turtle gave Chen Beiwu a deep look, then extended two claws and rubbed them together, performing a very familiar money-demanding gesture.

Delighted inwardly, Chen Beiwu maintained a troubled expression on his face to prevent the other party from asking for too much.

“What do you want, spirit stones or spiritual materials?”

The Abyssal Water Spirit Turtle let out a roar and pointed her claw toward Chen Beiwu’s waist.

Following her gaze downward, Chen Beiwu immediately saw the well-preserved jade box at his waist.

“No problem.”

Afraid she would change her mind, Chen Beiwu promptly removed the jade box and offered it with both hands.

The Abyssal Water Spirit Turtle received the jade box, opened it slightly, and then, under the astonished gazes of the onlookers, took a deep breath and revealed a blissful, intoxicated expression.

‘Not bad, very pure!’

A satisfied smile appeared on the Abyssal Water Spirit Turtle’s face, leaving Chen Beiwu momentarily stunned.

What was going on? Was the allure of the Grass Within the Stone really that strong for the Abyssal Water Spirit Turtle?

Looking at her pleased expression, he began to feel like the one who had been swindled.

“The goods?”

Chen Beiwu closed the jade box and turned his gaze toward the miniature water realm.

In response, the Abyssal Water Spirit Turtle flicked her tail and fished out the Golden Scale from within the water realm, tossing it to Chen Beiwu without the slightest care. The latter hurriedly extended both hands to catch it.

‘So heavy!’

There was no time to marvel at the astonishing weight in his hands. To avoid complications, Chen Beiwu immediately looked into the Golden Scale’s dull, foolish gaze.

“Are you willing to become my Companion Beast?”

“Glug glug.”

The Golden Scale opened and closed its round mouth, seemingly struggling to breathe, clearly not paying attention to Chen Beiwu’s question.

Of course, more likely, it simply didn’t understand human speech.

“Silence means agreement.”

As soon as he finished speaking, Chen Beiwu immediately circulated his mana and formed the Beast Seal gesture.

‘No way, he’s really doing it!’ This sudden twist left Guan Ange momentarily stunned.

He had assumed that Chen Beiwu was aiming for the exotic spirit turtle, but it turned out he was after the Golden Scale.

But why?

In theory, every Golden Scale could awaken its bloodline and ascend to become a lower third-tier Treasure Beast, the Golden Dragon Carp, with the help of a Companion Cultivator. Yet in real life, the outcome was often the opposite of the theory.

It was no exaggeration to say that among ten thousand cultivators who contracted a Golden Scale, barely one would succeed in raising it into a Golden Dragon Carp. The vast majority would only raise it into a Redgold Scale or a Blackgold Scale.

This was because the Golden Scale, being a water-element spirit beast, needed to follow the Five Phases’ mutual generation theory and consume Metal Essence Qi to activate the faint trace of dragon blood within it.

Metal Essence Qi was not ordinary metal-element spiritual energy, but rather third-tier Metal Essence Fiend formed from the convergence of metal-element ley lines and earth fiend, extremely rare.

On the Immortal Alliance official website, the price of one unit of Metal Essence Qi was comparable to a Tribulation-Breaking Golden Core.

And the Golden Scale needed to consume exactly three units of Metal Essence Qi and repeatedly temper its body with Metal Essence Fiend in order to successfully ascend into a Golden Dragon Carp.

Thus, in the eyes of water-element cultivators, the Golden Dragon Carp was also known as the True Lord Carp.

As the name implied, only Nascent Soul True Lords could afford to cultivate a third-tier Treasure Carp.

Guan Ange was born into a Golden Core Family, but even he couldn’t afford a Golden Dragon Carp, let alone Chen Beiwu, whom he deemed to be of humble origin.

“What is this guy thinking?” Guan Ange narrowed his eyes, growing increasingly suspicious.

On the other side, as Chen Beiwu changed the seal of the Beast Seal, the immense mana and divine sense within his body gushed out like a flood, forcibly pouring into the Golden Scale’s mind. Within the latter’s sea of consciousness, a blood-colored spirit seal began to take shape. The base of the seal was crimson like blood, as if countless runes were writhing upon it.

If a knowledgeable Immortal Alliance cultivator had been present, they would have immediately recognized this as the Three-Treasures Companion Seal capable of locking a spirit beast’s essence, energy, and spirit.

“Glug!”

Sensing the invasion of its sea of consciousness, the Golden Scale widened its fishy eyes and instinctively erupted with demonic power in resistance. Its round belly burst forth with dazzling golden light, so bright that cultivators at the lakebed could not open their eyes.

At the same time, within the Golden Scale’s sea of consciousness, a giant dragon-fish over ten zhang long soared into the sky. Its tail whipped up a massive hundred-zhang wave, attempting to destroy the Three-Treasures Companion Seal entrenched above its sea of consciousness.

“What terrifying divine sense!” Chen Beiwu’s face turned pale.

To possess a divine sense rivaling that of a second-stage Lesser Beast even at its juvenile stage, this exotic Golden Scale was worthy of being the golden legend personally certified by Nine-Breath Chaos. Fortunately, he had prepared in advance.

“Still not submitting to me!” Chen Beiwu’s divine will stirred, mobilizing the power of Nine-Breath Chaos to suppress it.

In the outside world, he might not be able to subdue this exotic Golden Scale, but in a battle within the sea of consciousness—where he could borrow even a sliver of Nine-Breath Chaos’s might—he was an invincible force.

“Boom!”

Just the slightest leak of Nine-Breath Chaos’s aura caused the massive dragon-fish struggling wildly in the sea of consciousness to freeze in place, allowing the Three-Treasures Companion Seal to land upon its forehead, locking its essence, energy, and spirit.