Four-Aspect Heavenly Origin Scripture (Thanks to Yan Chenchen for the 400-coin tip)

Ye Jingcheng was the first to take the spirit beast jade slip. Though Ye Haiping did not quite understand, Ye Jingcheng wanted to see whether the spirit beast images would affect his treasured book.

He picked up the jade slip and pressed it against his brow. Before his eyes, a valley filled with birdsong and fragrant blossoms instantly appeared, spirit beasts displaying themselves one after another.

There were One-Horned Barbarian Bulls, Golden-Edged Pythons, and even Crimson-Crowned Snow Eagles...

They soared, ran, and cast all manner of spells as they hunted.

Every one of them had sharp eyes and fierce, imposing auras.

As he examined the jade slip, more than a dozen rather mature spirit beasts appeared before Ye Jingcheng. Without exception, they were all late first-rank in cultivation.

They were roughly equivalent to the eighth and ninth levels of Qi Refinement.

Yet the treasured book showed no reaction whatsoever. Back when he had encountered the Blood Leech eggs, Ye Jingcheng had sensed the treasured book's image from a distance, though it had not fully awakened the treasured book.

Still, that had been enough to show how extraordinary those Blood Leech eggs were.

But these spirit beasts gave Ye Jingcheng no such feeling. Instead, he felt that these spirit beasts had already exhausted their potential.

They would be decent transitional demon beasts or guardian spirit beasts, but Ye Jingcheng already had two spirit beasts, so he naturally had no need for them.

No wonder Ye Haiping had said he did not particularly recommend that Ye Jingcheng choose a spirit beast.

He guessed that Ye Jingyong's Scarlet-Armored Beast was this sort of spirit beast.

Ye Jingcheng set the jade slip aside and began examining the jade slips on the wooden rack.

He took a deep breath. What mattered most to him was still a cultivation technique.

He did not take any yellow-rank techniques, instead going straight for the profound-rank jade slips.

His Beast-Link Mark was seven inches long. In the future, he could link with several spirit beasts without issue, and his cultivation speed would not be slow. Choosing a better cultivation technique and laying a firmer foundation was clearly more important.

When he picked up the first jade slip, he saw that it contained a low-grade profound-rank cultivation technique called the Great Origin Blazing Flame Scripture. It could be cultivated to the peak of Foundation Establishment, and upon reaching great mastery, one could condense a blazing flame dragon of formidable power.

But Ye Jingcheng merely glanced at it and shook his head. This technique was practically an upgraded version of his Parting Fire Art, so it held little appeal for him.

He turned to the second jade slip. It recorded the Three Purities Azure Sea Scripture.

Ye Jingcheng skimmed through it. This technique focused on the water attribute, supplemented by the wood and earth attributes. It allowed one to cultivate three attributes and was most suitable for cultivators with three spirit roots.

Ye Jingcheng shook his head at this technique as well. What he excelled at most was fire-attribute techniques, and among his spirit beasts, the Crimson Flame Fox currently possessed the greatest talent.

He could not abandon the root to pursue the branches.

He picked up the third jade slip, only to frown again. This time, it was an earth-and-wood-attribute cultivation technique.

By the time he had looked through six low-grade profound-rank cultivation techniques, a quarter of an hour had passed. Though some had been suitable, they still did not feel quite right to Ye Jingcheng. Now, only the final technique remained.

He pressed the jade slip to his brow and saw that the technique was none other than the Four-Aspect Heavenly Origin Scripture.

The Four-Aspect Heavenly Origin Scripture was also exceedingly unusual. Unlike the traditional four symbols, this Four-Aspect Heavenly Origin Scripture took four attributes into account, and those attributes were not fixed.

Cultivators with four spirit roots or even five spirit roots could cultivate it. Its chief strength was compatibility.

One did not need to possess any specific four spirit roots.

Moreover, it came paired with quite a few second-rank spells.

Its only flaw was that after breaking through to Foundation Establishment, if the spiritual energy within one's body was unbalanced, it would greatly affect future breakthroughs.

In other words, a cultivator had to cultivate spiritual energy of all four attributes to their critical points before they could break through smoothly. If even one kind of spiritual energy lagged behind, the chances of a successful breakthrough would fall drastically.

Naturally, by the same reasoning, if the balance was extremely good, it would increase the chances of a breakthrough by several portions. Bottlenecks would be few, and it could even provide some assistance when breaking through major realms.

Ye Jingcheng hesitated as well. This technique certainly suited his seven-inch Beast-Link Mark, but the prerequisite was that he needed to find at least three spirit beasts with potential that matched his spirit roots. Otherwise, with his talent, cultivating two techniques would be far too strenuous.

Yet if he chose another technique, he could not let go of the Four-Aspect Heavenly Origin Scripture's aid in breaking through major realms.

After all, only by breaking through major realms could cultivators greatly extend their lifespans.

Qi Refinement granted a lifespan of one hundred and twenty years, Foundation Establishment two hundred and fifty years, Purple Mansion five hundred years, Golden Core one thousand years, and Nascent Soul as much as two thousand years!

Every breakthrough was an irresistible temptation to a cultivator.

"Jingcheng, the Four-Aspect Heavenly Origin Scripture is actually a mid-grade profound-rank cultivation technique. It is only because its demands on spirit beasts are so high—at the Foundation Establishment Realm, you need four Foundation Establishment demon beasts—that even if you had a five-inch Beast-Link Mark, it would still not be enough!"

"That is why it has been classified as a low-grade profound-rank technique. In fact, if this technique were spread outside and cultivated by ordinary four-spirit-root or five-spirit-root cultivators, it would probably be rated as a yellow-rank technique. To achieve anything with it would require a sea of time and resources!" Ye Haiping could not help speaking from the side.

Ye Jingcheng had lingered over the final jade slip for too long, and Ye Haiping was beginning to worry.

Though the Crimson Flame Fox and Golden-Scaled Beast both possessed good talent now, they were still in their juvenile stages. Their bloodlines were decent, which gave them an advantage, but once they reached Foundation Establishment, their progress would become far too slow.

Though the Ye Family had records of several effective formulas that could improve the bloodlines of certain spirit beasts, the requirements were far too harsh.

Unless Ye Jingcheng could find descendants of several Purple Mansion spirit beasts with potential, but that possibility was vanishingly small!

"Eighth Grandfather, I want to give it a try!" In the end, Ye Jingcheng still chose the Four-Aspect Heavenly Origin Scripture.

He had the treasured book, which could improve spirit beast bloodlines. As long as his alchemy kept pace, he found enough spirit herbs, and refined enough spirit pills to elevate his spirit beasts' bloodlines, his cultivation speed would not be slow.

The only drawback was whether he could find four corresponding spirit beasts.

The Jade Ring Rat could barely count as wood-attributed, but its prospects for growth were probably even slower than Ye Jingcheng's own. It was still useful for sensing danger in ordinary times.

There was another reason Ye Jingcheng was willing to try: the Four-Aspect Heavenly Origin Scripture was, after all, considered a mid-grade profound-rank cultivation technique. It had few bottlenecks, and even if it affected cultivation progress and breakthroughs, that would only happen once he broke through to Foundation Establishment and gave birth to true essence.

Before that, the effects of uncoordinated spiritual energy would not be especially great!

By the time he reached Foundation Establishment, it would probably be forty or fifty years from now. With a lifespan of two hundred and fifty years then, he would have more than enough time to seek out more suitable spirit beasts.

"Eighth Grandpa, I have a feeling the Crimson Flame Fox may not stop at the late second rank!" Seeing that Ye Haiping's expression remained unchanged, clearly displeased with his choice, he had no choice but to speak again.

At those words, Ye Haiping was finally moved. His gaze deepened slightly, as though recalling something. In the end, he came to a conclusion: what Ye Jingcheng had said really might be true.

What mattered most for a spirit beast was its bloodline. Normally, the Ye Family judged a spirit beast's quality by its species, but if the bloodline within the beast was extraordinary, it could completely break through its original limits.

"Since this is your choice, then take this cultivation art. Remember to work even harder. Also, memorize the Four-Aspect Heavenly Origin Scripture here. When you leave, remember to look more upset. The Ye Family is only a bottom-ranking Foundation Establishment family!" Ye Haiping continued to remind him.