Spirit Beast Evolution, Assisting Cultivation

I withdrew my hand and turned to look at the crack in the rock. The speck of light was still flashing, like breathing, dimming and brightening. The spirit beast's ears remained perked, its body leaning forward slightly, its tail swaying gently. It didn't seem like it was on guard, but rather responding to something.

I sat up straighter, stopping the breathing exercises I had been doing. The spiritual power within my body had just stabilized its rhythm; I couldn't disrupt it. But the light grew brighter and brighter, and the surrounding air began to ripple. I could feel the spiritual energy vibrating faintly.

"System," I asked in my Sea of Consciousness, "scan the situation over there."

An interface immediately popped up, data scrolling:

[Detected high-concentration life energy fluctuation]

[Source: Within symbiotic spirit beast]

[Status Anomaly: Ancient bloodline activating]

[Notification: This individual meets the evolutionary conditions for 'Heaven and Earth Resonance', process is irreversible]

I froze for a moment. Evolution? It could still evolve?

I remembered when I caught it, it was just an ordinary little beast, grayish-white all over, with pale green horns. It didn't even have a trace of light about it. Later, it accompanied me through trials and tribulations, through cultivation, and it always stayed quietly by my side. At most, it would react when it sensed changes in my spiritual power.

But now, the aura emanating from it had clearly changed. It wasn't just stronger, but… deeper. Like a well that suddenly found a source and began gushing water.

Just as I was about to get closer to take a look, the spirit beast suddenly let out a low growl, and its entire body trembled violently. Immediately after, a wave of energy exploded from it, making my chest feel tight and almost causing me to lose my balance.

Loose stones at the edge of the stone platform were kicked up, hitting the rock wall with a clatter. I quickly raised my hand and set up a simple defensive formation in front of me. The spiritual power had just taken shape when another wave of impact crashed against it. The formation flickered twice, a fine crack appearing.

"Don't panic," I said softly, unsure if I was speaking to it or myself.

I sat down cross-legged, sinking my mind. I couldn't panic; panic would affect it. The System hadn't said to intervene, which meant the safest course of action now was to guard it.

I closed my eyes and used my mind to sense its condition. Its outline appeared in my Sea of Consciousness, glowing golden-red all over. The energy was most concentrated in its forehead and limb joints. The light was flowing, as if rearranging some kind of structure.

It trembled again, a suppressed sound coming from its throat, as if in pain, or as if it were holding back its strength.

I reached out and gently pressed the back of its neck. It was extremely hot there, and the muscles beneath its fur were as taut as stone. I sent a wisp of spiritual power over, not to help, but simply to convey a signal—I was here.

Its ears twitched, and its breathing eased slightly.

Time passed slowly. The sky had completely darkened, and the only light in the valley was this cluster of radiance. I sat at the center of the formation, maintaining the defense while monitoring the System's data changes.

[Energy level continuously rising]

[Bone density increased by 180%]

[Meridian reconstruction completed: 73%]

[Estimated remaining time: Two quarters of an hour]

I didn't dare to relax. A transformation of this magnitude could go out of control at any moment. If it went berserk, I might not be able to suppress it.

Sure enough, when it was nearly halfway through, it suddenly arched its back, its limbs digging into the ground, and a low cry tore through the night sky. The sound wasn't sharp, but it had a penetrating power that made my eardrums go numb.

The defensive formation exploded with a "bang," spiritual power scattering like fragments. I gritted my teeth and held on, immediately reinforcing it with a second layer. This time, I added a stasis rune to slow down the outward flow of energy.

It rolled on the ground once, then was flung back by the force of its own expulsion. I rushed forward, grabbed its neck, and held it down. Its body was terrifyingly hot, its muscles twitching constantly as if something was battering from within.

"Hold on!" I said. "Just a little longer!"

It opened its eyes, its pupils golden, unfocused, filled only with light. I couldn't understand what it was thinking, but I could feel it struggling, fighting against something.

I continued to channel spiritual power, not much, just enough to let it know I wasn't an enemy. Slowly, its movements lessened, and its breathing stabilized.

The final wave of energy burst forth without warning. The entire valley was illuminated, long shadows cast by the vines on the rock walls, writhing as if alive. I raised my hand to shield my eyes, a deafening "boom" sounding in my ears, like thunder exploding in my mind.

When the light receded, everything was quiet.

I lowered my hand and saw it lying on the ground, motionless.

My heart skipped a beat.

"Hey?" I nudged it.

It twitched its ears, slowly raised its head, and then stood up.

I took half a step back.

It had grown. It used to only reach my knees, but now it was almost as tall as I was sitting. Its body was slender and strong, its limbs powerful. Its feet stirred up a faint halo of earthy light as they landed. The horns on its forehead had turned a deep green, etched with a circle of natural patterns, like runes, or perhaps some kind of script.

It turned its head to look at me, its eyes clear, with a hint of familiar affection.

Then, it lowered its head and nuzzled my hand.

I breathed a sigh of relief and laughed.

"You rascal… you finally made it through."

It made a rumbling sound in its throat, as if in response.

I asked the System to scan it again.

[Evolution complete]

[New Form: Earth Spirit Beast · Initial Stage]

[Abilities Unlocked: Spiritual Energy Purification, Node Dredging, Resonance Amplification]

I didn't quite understand the last term, but when I saw "Node Dredging," my heart stirred. That spot on my shoulder and neck that always felt stiff—I had tried for a long time to loosen it myself, but if it could really help me…

I tried sitting cross-legged again, resuming my breathing exercises. It quietly lay down behind me, its nose pointed at my back.

The moment I drew my first breath, I knew something was off.

The spiritual energy in the air was denser than usual, and... cleaner. Before, every breath carried a faint impurity, like grit mixed in. Now, it felt filtered, flowing smoothly into my meridians.

The System immediately popped up a notification:

[External Assistance Detected]
[Spiritual Energy Purity Increased to 92%]
[Absorption Efficiency +67%]

I continued circulating my spiritual power, starting with the minor Heavenly Cycle. When the flow reached my shoulder, I encountered that familiar bottleneck. Before I could even exert force, a faint vibration came from behind me.

The spirit beast's horn lit up.

A gentle energy coursed up my spine, landing precisely on the blockage. Just like that, the obstruction cleared. My spiritual power flowed unimpeded, even slightly faster than usual.

I opened my eyes and looked back at it.

It lay still, eyes half-closed, as if in sync with my rhythm.

I closed my eyes again, increasing the circulation speed. Every time I reached a difficult point, its horn would glow, always hitting the exact spot needed. Not too early, not too late, as if it could see through my meridians.

After one major Heavenly Cycle, the spiritual power in my Dantian was noticeably denser. It used to be like a mist, but now it had substance, heavy like mercury.

I tried the compression training again. I split my spiritual power into nine streams, compressing each one individually. Previously, it took at least a dozen rounds to form a single stream. Now, with its assistance, the third stream was successful.

System notification:

[Spiritual Power Compression Reached Standard Value]
[Meridian Patency Rate: 98%]
[Control Precision Rating: Good -> Excellent]

I stopped, exhaling a breath of stale air.

This time, the breath was deep and steady, landing silently on the ground.

I turned and touched its horn. It was cooler than before, feeling like jade.

"When did you pick up this trick?" I asked with a smile.

It looked up at me and suddenly opened its mouth, letting out a short cry. It wasn't loud, but it echoed through the valley, like some kind of response.

Just as I was about to ask more, it suddenly stood up and sniffed the air, nose pointed skyward.

I sensed it too.

The air had changed.

Not the concentration of spiritual energy, but its... direction. The scattered, free-floating spiritual energy was now flowing in a pattern, as if being guided by something.

I looked up at the sky.

The stars were still there, and the moon had risen. But directly above us, an invisible field was forming. I could feel a pressure, slight, but definitely present.

The spirit beast walked to the edge of the stone platform, lifted a forepaw, and gently tapped the ground.

A wave of earthy-colored ripples spread out, sinking into the ground.

Three seconds later, in a pile of rocks in the distance, several pebbles lifted off the ground, hovering in mid-air, motionless.

I stood up and walked over to it.

It glanced at me, then tilted its head back and let out a long cry.

This time, the sound wasn't restrained. It was released directly. As the sound waves spread, the spiritual energy field overhead suddenly tightened, descending like a net.

The spiritual power within me responded automatically, surging upwards along my meridians.

I knew this was my chance.

If I tried to ascend now, it might be different.

I took a deep breath, lifted off the ground, and channeled spiritual power into my feet.

My body felt lighter.

Not the previous sensation of barely floating, but truly light, like a feather caught in the wind.

I rose to two meters and stabilized.

Three meters, still ascending.

Five meters, the same height as my previous failed attempt, but this time I didn't fall.

I stopped in mid-air, looking down at it.

It stood on the stone platform, gazing up at me, the faint glow on its horn still visible.

I smiled.

But just as I prepared to ascend further, my chest suddenly tightened.

It wasn't a lack of spiritual power, nor a blocked meridian.

It was a different sensation.

Like someone was watching me from afar.

I whipped my head around, looking beyond the valley.

In the depths of the darkness, a shadow flashed past.