Ancient Beast Seal

"No, no, while your body is indeed agile, that alone could never achieve such results. You must be practicing some kind of body-refining technique, and a rather extraordinary one at that. You cannot hide this from me!" Miao Tian continued to shake his head.

Sanbao did not expect that despite the man's small eyes, his gaze was incredibly sharp, instantly seeing through the clues.

"If Elder Miao insists on saying so, I have no choice, but I am truly gifted with agility and have never practiced any body-refining techniques," Sanbao naturally would not admit to anything, lest he bring trouble upon himself.

"Hehe, little brother, you may be young, but your mind is quite deep. Don't worry, I am not coveting anything; I simply wish to exchange a few pointers with you. Look..."

As Miao Tian spoke, he stood up and tapped his foot lightly. Instantly, a footprint several inches deep appeared on the bluestone floor, leaving Sanbao dumbfounded.

The man clearly had not used his full strength; a mere casual stomp had produced such an effect. It was obvious that he was also a cultivator who practiced body-refining Spirit Skills. Unlike the agility-based path Sanbao followed, the man clearly walked the path of strength.

Once a body-refining Spirit Skill similar to the Iron Shirt is mastered, the entire body becomes comparable to a diamond, making it impossible to overcome with brute force. Only then did Sanbao understand why the man had seen through his Nine-Turn Golden Body at a glance; he was also a practitioner of body refinement.

"Elder Tian is truly remarkable; this junior would not dare to show off!" Seeing the man's profound mastery and knowing his strength far exceeded his own, Sanbao dared not act foolishly.

"Little brother, do not be so humble. Your body-refining technique is no less than mine. As long as you are willing to exchange a few pointers, I will certainly reward you handsomely..."

Sanbao did not want to expose the secret of the Nine-Turn Golden Body and was just about to decline when Miao Tian suddenly asked mysteriously, "I wonder if little brother is interested in a Life-Bound Beast? I possess a supreme secret technique here."

A Life-Bound Beast, also known as a Contract Beast, is said to be accessible through certain secret techniques that allow humans to communicate with the souls of certain spirit beasts, thereby signing a soul contract and becoming the master of the beast. Once the contract is formed, an extremely intimate soul bond is established between human and beast, and the spirit beast will follow its master for life, becoming their right-hand man.

The restrictions of a soul contract are cruel: if the master dies, the Contract Beast must perish; if the Contract Beast dies, the master will also suffer severe damage to their vitality.

Possessing a high-level Contract Beast to fight alongside one is the dream of almost every Spirit Cultivator, but while dreams are beautiful, reality is cruel.

To begin with, achieving soul communication with a spirit beast is an incredibly difficult task, and wanting to sign a contract with one is even harder.

After all, no spirit beast is willing to bind its life to a human for no reason, especially those with high intelligence. Beasts with low intelligence are easier to subdue, but communicating with them is extremely difficult, not to mention signing a soul contract, and if their grade is too low, they are of little help to the master.

When Miao Tian spoke of the secret technique for communicating with a Life-Bound Beast, Sanbao was secretly shocked. Truly, the world is vast and full of strange people; one must know that even the Luo Clan of Deer Mountain, who inherited the Purple-Eyed Sky Roc, did not possess such a technique. He never expected to encounter one himself.

Being able to possess such a technique was naturally a good thing. If one day his luck exploded and he could sign a soul contract with a holy beast like the Seven-Colored Deer, then he could go anywhere in this vast world.

What were the Cloud Saint Sect or the Hundred Leaf Sect? They would be nothing but passing clouds.

Thinking of the scene that night where the Seven-Colored Deer easily slapped a Spirit Emperor powerhouse to death, Sanbao felt his blood boil.

Thinking of this, Sanbao felt a surge of joy, but his face remained unmoved as he said indifferently, "So what if you have a secret technique? Contract Beasts are so rare; they are not something that ordinary people like us can possess."

"Alas, little brother, you are mistaken. The secret technique in my hands was passed down from ancient times. As long as you encounter a suitable spirit beast, the success rate of signing a soul contract can reach over forty percent."

Seeing that Sanbao remained unmoved, Miao Tian felt slightly disappointed, but he continued to promote it diligently.

"Forty percent? That's impossible. This is a life contract; even the most heaven-defying technique would be lucky to have a ten percent success rate. I don't believe it!" Sanbao said with a skeptical smile.

"It is absolutely over forty percent. If I'm lying, I'm a puppy," Miao Tian said, becoming anxious when he saw Sanbao didn't believe him, even resorting to calling himself a puppy.

From this, one could see his obsession with the Nine-Turn Golden Body.

"Alright, since the success rate is so high, I assume Elder Miao must already possess a powerful Contract Beast? I wonder if you could let this junior broaden his horizons?" Sanbao was even more delighted inside, but his face showed nothing.

"This... I haven't encountered a suitable one yet! You probably don't know, but this soul contract cannot be signed casually. In a person's life, one can sign at most three, and after the third contract, the beast will live and die with the master. In other words, if one doesn't want to risk their life, everyone actually only has two chances. I certainly cannot waste them."

Miao Tian's old face flushed as he stammered.

The two chatted aimlessly, and in the end, they reached an agreement: Sanbao would exchange a small portion of the Nine-Turn Golden Body mantra for the ancient secret technique Miao Tian spoke of—the Ancient Beast Seal.

"Little Luo, you've taken a huge advantage this time. Besides me, you are the only person in this world who knows this secret technique."

"Elder Miao, you've gained even more. My body-refining technique, once cultivated to the extreme, is said to allow one to soar ten thousand miles in an instant."

After the transaction was completed, both parties were overjoyed, secretly thinking they had gotten the better end of the deal.

However, that night, after both had contemplated the mantras they had exchanged, they both cursed themselves for being swindled.

The Nine-Turn Golden Body was a super body-refining technique tailored by the ancestors of the Luo Clan for their own bloodline. For anyone outside the Luo Clan, its efficacy was uncertain, and even practicing it was an extremely difficult task, not to mention that Sanbao had only provided a superficial portion.

As for the supreme secret technique in Miao Tian's mouth—the Ancient Beast Seal—Sanbao was left speechless after reading it.

If one could find a suitable spirit beast, the success rate of the technique could indeed reach over forty percent, but finding a spirit beast that met the criteria was simply too difficult.

Generally, there are no major restrictions on the targets for Contract Beasts, as long as they are spirit beasts capable of enhancing the master's combat power.

But in this so-called supreme secret technique, the Ancient Beast Seal, the requirements for selecting a spirit beast were extremely strict: it had to be an "Ancient" beast or its descendants.

What is an ancient beast?

The technique stated that it referred to the four great divine beasts of antiquity: the Azure Dragon, the White Tiger, the Black Tortoise, and the Vermilion Bird.

Not to mention that such divine beasts were extremely rare, even if one actually encountered them, how many people could subdue them and force them to sign a soul contract?

Even their descendants were equally rare and possessed astonishing talent, far beyond what ordinary Spirit Cultivators could ever hope to see.

"A tasteless chicken rib, a tasteless chicken rib! Swindled, swindled! This Miao Tian looked harmless, but he's actually an old fox..."

After memorizing the Ancient Beast Seal, Sanbao quickly put the matter aside. Contract Beasts were indeed ethereal things; calm cultivation was the true path.

Sanbao naturally did not know that at this moment, in the training room of the adjacent pavilion, Elder Miao was shouting the exact same words:

"This little fox, he looks so young, I didn't expect him to be so slippery. It seems I'll have to put in more effort..."

A few days later, in a side hall of the Fire Hall within the Lei Mansion, Lei Fang was introducing something to Sanbao. After the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, the two finally emerged one after the other.

"Elder Luo, that is the general situation. From now on, this side hall belongs to you. If you have any needs, feel free to come and find me!"

"Thank you, Eldest Miss, but until I reach the Spirit Commander realm, I will likely focus primarily on cultivation. After all, if I want to achieve anything in artifact refining, that is the most basic requirement. Once I advance to Spirit Commander, I will naturally do my utmost to serve the Lei Family."

"No problem, we have high hopes for you."

At this moment, Sanbao did not actually have high expectations for artifact refining; after all, increasing his cultivation was the top priority. However, since the Lei Family valued his talent for artifact refining, Sanbao dared not be too slack. At the very least, he had to keep up appearances, otherwise, he would be suspected of just making up the numbers.

After the two exchanged a few words, Sanbao returned to the Elder Pavilion. Just as he arrived in front of the building, a stunning woman with a fiery figure blocked the entrance. Who else could it be but Lei Yun?

"Oh? Isn't this Second Miss Lei? You really kept your word. It's only been a few days, and you've already brought the Spirit Pill wager?" Sanbao teased intentionally.

Lei Yun's face flushed, but she quickly calmed down. She pulled out a jade bottle, held it in her hand, and said, "That's right, I am indeed here to deliver the wager. However, I want to make another bet today. If you win again, all of this is yours, but if you lose, what then?"

If I lose? Naturally, it would be a draw, what else could it be? Sanbao felt a sense of foreboding. The other party was clearly well-prepared this time, and her aura was even stronger than before; she definitely had something to rely on.

"Hmph, that won't do. If you lose, I want you to shout to the sky three times: 'I lost, I am a puppy.' Are you willing?" As Lei Yun spoke, she began to laugh, as if she had already won.

Sanbao was confident in his own skills; even if he couldn't win, he could still retreat calmly. Plus, the jade bottle in Lei Yun's hand was truly tempting. With a surge of resolve, he nodded and agreed.