Liu Changxu put on a troubled expression and said with a wry smile, "Fellow Daoist, isn't that price a little too high? After all, an Azure Cloud Eagle might never become a second-tier demonic beast. And this is only an egg!"
The shopkeeper smiled. "This Azure Cloud Eagle egg wasn't easy to obtain! Besides, once an Azure Cloud Eagle reaches the second tier, it can serve as a guardian spirit beast for your lineage. You certainly won't lose out by buying it."
Seeing Liu Changxu's troubled expression, the shopkeeper added, "How about this? I'll throw in a demonic beast cub for you!" As he spoke, he pointed to a scrawny Yellow Mountain Lion cub in a cage nearby.
Liu Changxu followed the shopkeeper's gesture and saw that the little lion was about a foot long. It had suffered fairly serious injuries and was extremely weak.
When the little lion noticed Liu Changxu looking at it, it opened its large, bright eyes and gazed back at him! There seemed to be a plea for help in its eyes! He couldn't help thinking, This little lion is quite intelligent!
The shopkeeper told Liu Changxu, "This little lion was injured by Roar Mountain Hounds. According to the rogue cultivator who sold it, he saw its mother fighting a pack of Roar Mountain Hounds. Both sides ended up badly wounded, letting the rogue cultivators who arrived afterward reap the spoils! When they divided their haul, that rogue cultivator received two lion cubs and a Roar Mountain Hound carcass. He sold both cubs to us, but this one's injuries are more serious. So, as long as you buy the Azure Cloud Eagle egg, I'll throw this little lion in for free! With a few good spiritual pills, its injuries should heal quickly!"
Liu Changxu considered it for quite a while before nodding in agreement. In truth, his heart was blooming with delight. Yellow Mountain Lions ranked among the strongest demonic beasts of their tier in combat. Although an ordinary Yellow Mountain Lion had little hope of reaching the second tier, it would be an ideal battle companion for as long as Liu Changxu remained in Qi Refinement. Besides, he really liked this little lion!
Liu Changxu said, "I don't have enough spirit stones on me! Could I make up the difference with spiritual goods?"
The shopkeeper said, "Of course!"
Liu Changxu took 2,200 spirit stones out of his Storage Bag and made up the difference with spirit rice and spirit medicinal herbs. The shopkeeper then placed the Azure Cloud Eagle egg and the little lion in separate Spirit Beast Bags and handed them to Liu Changxu.
Liu Changxu and his fifth brother, Liu Changshun, bought nothing else and went straight back to the lineage's courtyard residence!
Once back in the courtyard, Liu Changxu first fed the little lion a Lesser Restoration Pill to heal its wounds. Then he set up a simple Master-Recognition Formation, dripped a few drops of his blood essence onto the little lion's forehead, and formed hand seals to complete a master-recognition contract with it. Since the little lion's fur was golden, Liu Changxu named it Xiao Jin.
He placed the Azure Cloud Eagle egg in a corner of his room, surrounded it with 500 Low-Grade Spirit Stones, and set up a simple Spirit-Gathering Formation to speed its hatching. After dripping two drops of his own blood essence onto the egg, he performed the master-recognition hand seals and successfully completed a master-recognition contract with the still-unhatched Azure Cloud Eagle.
With that, Liu Changxu now had three spirit beast companions. Although nurturing them cost him dearly, throughout the long years of cultivation that followed, these three spirit beasts remained faithfully by his side and fought for him all his life.
Liu Changxu, in turn, treated these three spirit beast companions like his own brothers, never leaving or abandoning them, and nurtured these three beasts of lowly bloodlines into beings akin to demon immortals.
After finishing all this, Liu Changxu released Xiao Qing from the Spirit Beast Bag as well. Xiao Qing particularly disliked staying in the Spirit Beast Bag for long and was thrilled to be let out. Upon seeing the little lion and the Azure Cloud Eagle egg, it kept studying them curiously.
When Liu Changxu told Xiao Qing that the little lion and the Azure Cloud Eagle would both be its companions, it was delighted! At last, it would no longer be lonely; it had companions to play with.
By then, evening had arrived. Liu Changxu went into the courtyard and took a large piece of Golden-Horned Deer Meat, a short blade that was a Middle-Grade First-Tier Magical Artifact, and the utensils needed for grilling out of his Storage Bag, then arranged them neatly.
Then he deftly cut the glistening red venison into even slices, placed them on a grilling tray, and sprinkled them with seasoning. He set up the grill, took out and lit some peachwood charcoal, and began grilling the meat.
The aroma of grilled meat soon filled the entire courtyard. His fifth brother, Liu Changshun, was the first to emerge from his room, and Liu Changxu asked him to call all the lineage members out to eat.
After his father, Liu Shihao, and the other lineage members had looked at the Azure Cloud Eagle egg and Xiao Jin that Liu Changxu had bought, everyone from the Liu Household happily enjoyed a lavish feast of grilled meat together.
Not only did they eat every last bit of the Golden-Horned Deer Meat Liu Changxu had purchased, they also finished all the beef his fifth brother, Liu Changshun, had bought. The two of them felt their hearts ache!
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