The first spirit pet Shen Mo had subdued, the Spirit-Hidden Rat, had already advanced to the fourth tier and taken human form a thousand years ago.
After the Spirit-Hidden Rat transformed, Shen Mo dissolved their contract, named him "Xu Ziyu," and granted him the status of a registered disciple. He then had him registered at Ascension Lake of the Scarlet Flame Sect, making him an official sect disciple.
For nearly a thousand years, the Spirit-Hidden Rat had cultivated at Qian Xiaofeng's side.
The Spirit-Hidden Rat's fortunes were not small either. While still at Shen Mo's side, he received Savage Bull Venerable's inheritance. Later, he awakened the bloodline of the ancient strange beast Void Sun Rat, gaining an innate talent similar to the Spirit Devouring divine ability. By devouring the flesh and blood of high-tier demon beasts and all manner of heavenly treasures, he could continuously improve his cultivation.
Moreover, he already possessed the Hide-Self divine ability, allowing him to traverse perilous lands and Blessed Lands filled with formations and restrictions in search of treasures. Thus, neither Shen Mo nor Qian Xiaofeng had ever treated him poorly.
However, after the Spirit-Hidden Rat cultivated to the peak of the fourth tier, his cultivation realm stopped advancing.
Only later did Shen Mo discover that the spiritual power contained within the spiritual materials the Spirit-Hidden Rat consumed had not been transformed into cultivation. Instead, it had been used to purify his ancient Void Sun Rat bloodline.
More than a hundred years ago, his bloodline had already transformed by roughly half. When he assumed his true demon beast form, his appearance bore some resemblance to the Void Sun Rat phantom conjured by the Constellation Great Hand Seal. Soon after, he easily passed his Dao-achievement tribulation and advanced to the fifth tier, reaching the peak of