Three Gold-Gobbling Beasts
Shen Jingchuan touched the lump on his Big Black forehead, turned to look at Xiao Mingshu, and asked:
"Sister Mingshu, didn't the person who sold the Ancestral Reversion Pill say that eating it would turn you into Heavenly Horse? How come you look like this now? You look like a strange creature, and you haven't even grown wings."
Xiao Mingshu stepped forward and gently tapped the fleshy lump on Big Black's shoulder and neck with her fingertip:
"There's no such thing as getting fat in one bite. This is just the first step, merely awakening the dormant bloodline. With careful nurturing and sufficient Spiritual Qi, wings will grow sooner or later. Look at these two protrusions; they are the rudiments of wing bones."
She then pointed to the tumor on her Big Black forehead and added:
"I've seen these kinds of spirit beasts with unicorn bloodlines before. Once their horns grow in full, they can mostly control lightning. If they can really evolve into Unicorns, they're much more powerful than ordinary Heavenly Horse."
"Really? It can even control lightning?"
Shen Jingchuan's eyes lit up, and he reached out and ruffled the Big Black head twice, feeling extremely pleased.
Don't be too happy yet.
Xiao Mingshu glanced at him:
"You can't even imagine how many Spirit Stones, spirit medicine, and heavenly materials and earthly treasures you'd have to invest to evolve to that stage. I'm only saying that you have the potential; whether you can actually achieve it is another matter."
"What's there to be afraid of?"
Shen Jingchuan patted Big Black's neck with a smile, full of confidence:
"We'll see how far we go, we'll just do our best."
He thought to himself that with the power of the Heaven and Earth Ring, what was there to fear? His confidence was even greater than he said.
Big Black seemed to understand, and it came over and licked the back of his hand, making a low hiss.
Seeing his expression, Xiao Mingshu spoke again:
"Seriously, they've already crossed the threshold into the realm of Demon Beasts. You'd better sign a contract with them as soon as possible and make them your contracted beasts. Otherwise, once they develop intelligence and become wilder, you might not be able to control them."
Shen Jingchuan was taken aback:
"Sign a contract? What are the specific terms?"
Xiao Mingshu crossed her arms, her gaze sweeping over the three horses, and said clearly and logically:
"The benefits are very real. Once you sign the contract, you will be able to communicate with each other telepathically, and you can sense each other's location and life or death no matter how far apart you are. If you really encounter a fight, you can coordinate perfectly without having to shout."
They've just awakened their spiritual energy and don't even have proper breathing techniques yet. The Spiritual Qi in their surroundings is very thin. Since they're connected by a contract, you can put them into your Spirit Beast Pouch beast pouch. You can put Spirit Stones into the Spirit Beast Pouch, which is much more reliable than letting them absorb the spiritual energy blindly on their own.
Furthermore, when they truly reach the critical juncture of advancement, you can channel Spiritual Qi to help them suppress the backlash from their bloodline, making it less likely for them to go astray.
She paused, then continued:
"As for the impact on them, it all depends on which contract you choose."
Ordinary beast tamers use Master-Servant Contracts, forcibly imprinting soul seals on the beasts. Once signed, their life and death are entirely in your control, and they will never betray you.
However, this kind of contract comes with its own constraints, which will severely suppress their bloodline potential, slow down the development of their intelligence, and limit their future cultivation potential.
Your cultivation level is limited to what it can reach; no amount of rare and heavenly materials and earthly treasures can elevate it. To put it bluntly, you're just using them as tools.
For Equal Contract to be signed, both parties must be willing.
Without any forced control or suppression of their bloodline and intelligence, how far they can grow depends entirely on their own inherent Root Bone, with a much higher upper limit.
Besides being able to sense each other and understand each other's intentions, they can also rely on each other during advancement and share some of the risks of challenges.
The downside is that without the soul imprint's restraint, if someone develops rebellious intentions in the future, you can't forcibly suppress them through the contract.
Shen Jingchuan's gaze swept over the three horses, his tone resolute:
"They've already acknowledged me as their master, so there's no need to forcibly control them, much less suppress their development. I don't want to engage in that Master-Servant Contract. However, your idea of Equal Contract is quite good; it will make communication easier in the future."
He looked down at Big Black and reached out to tap its forehead:
"Big Black, can you understand me? How about we sign Equal Contract? Nod if you understand."
Big Black had just awakened a little intelligence and was already quite perceptive. Upon hearing this, it immediately nodded twice earnestly.
Shen Jingchuan immediately smiled and looked up at Xiao Mingshu: "Sister, how do we sign this Equal Contract?"
"Master-Servant Contracts require purchasing a special contract book from the market, Equal Contracts are simply a minor Law Technique and don't require those external items."
As she spoke, Xiao Mingshu took out a thin booklet from her Storage Ring and handed it over:
"This is the 'Beast Taming Instruction,' take a look. It not only contains the method for signing Equal Contracts, but also methods for feeding and guiding the cultivation of various spirit beasts. I don't raise spirit beasts, so it's useless to me. You can have it."
Shen Jingchuan took it, flipped through a couple of pages, and quickly thanked him.
Thank you, Sister Mingshu.
"Alright, don't thank me."
Xiao Mingshu glanced at the three horses and sighed:
"You're not raising horses, you're raising three money-devouring beasts. To be honest, your own cultivation already consumes a lot of resources, and raising three spirit beasts on top of that will only increase your expenses on Spirit Stones spirit medicine. The pressure will be too much."
"Hi, it's nothing."
Shen Jingchuan smiled nonchalantly and patted each of the three horses on the neck.
"Whether you're poor or rich, you can raise them frugally or lavishly. It doesn't matter how you raise them; you can't just abandon them. Don't you agree?"
The three horses seemed to understand, nodding in unison, which made Shen Jingchuan burst into laughter.
He put the booklet into his Storage Ring, then turned to Xiao Mingshu and gestured for her to proceed.
"Let's go, sis, let's go have breakfast and talk while we eat."
After breakfast, the three moved to the garden pavilion and sat down. Shen Jingchuan reached into his Heaven and Earth Ring and took out two Storage Rings, first pushing one of them in front of Xiao Mingshu:
"Sister, here are two thousand Spirit Stones. Please keep them."
As he spoke, he picked up another one, turned to look at Huan'er who was standing beside him, and handed it to her with a smile:
"Huan'er, take this. You can accept it if you don't mind."
Before Huan'er could speak, Xiao Mingshu waved her hand first:
"No need to give it to her. I've already given the Storage Ring that female cultivator was wearing to Huan'er."
Huan'er smiled, raised her hand to show off the Ring on her hand, and curtsied.
"Thank you for your kindness, young master, but Miss has already given it to me."
Shen Jingchuan scratched his head, awkwardly withdrawing his hand, feeling somewhat embarrassed.
Seeing this, Xiao Mingshu pushed back the Storage Ring containing two thousand Spirit Stones in front of her, and said calmly:
"Keep this for now. I have enough Spirit Stones for now. I'll ask you for more when I need more."
In fact, what Xiao Mingshu was thinking was that last time, Shen Jingchuan took out two High-Grade Qi Gathering Pills without saying a word, helping her to steadily break through to the Qi Refining Seventh Layer, without mentioning a single Spirit Stone.
Even if an ordinary Qi Refinement Realm cultivator had Spirit Stones, they might not be able to buy a high-grade Qi Gathering Pill. She always remembered this favor.
If she were to say now that she doesn't want the two thousand Spirit Stones and consider it payment for the pills, it would seem like she's calculating their relationship clearly, which would actually create distance.
It's just that this is something that can't be said outright; if it were said outright, it would seem like deliberately settling scores. So, it's best to put it off for now and wait for another day.