Contracting a Spirit Beast

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Chapter 41: Contracting a Spirit Beast

The Darkwater Spirit Turtle widened its eyes and gave Chen Beiwu a strange look.

Not only did this mortal Qi Refining cultivator possess an excellent fate, his eye was positively venomous-he had actually spotted what made the Golden Scale extraordinary.

This Golden Scale might have been a little foolish and greedy, but it was a rare variant spirit beast within the miniature water realm, carrying a faint trace of Golden-Horned Flood Dragon blood.

In terms of collectible value alone, the variant Golden Scale could even rival some third-tier, low-grade treasure beasts.

That was because it was exceedingly difficult for a variant Golden Scale to break through its bloodline shackles, awaken the Golden-Horned Flood Dragon blood within it, and transform into a flood dragon. Three major conditions had to be met.

That was because breaking through its bloodline shackles, awakening the Golden-Horned Flood Dragon blood within it, and transforming into a flood dragon was exceedingly difficult. Three major conditions had to be met.

First, it needed five hundred years of cultivation and had to advance into a Third Realm Demon General.

Third, it had to leap through the Dragon Gate: find a lake where Dragon Veins converged, raise a flood, and undertake its flood dragon passage.

Third, it had to leap through the Dragon Gate: find a lake where dragon veins converged, raise a flood, and undertake its flood dragon passage.

The first two conditions could stump the scions of Golden Core Aristocratic Clans, but not those of Nascent Soul True Clans, much less prodigies from the Cavern Mystery Immortal Sect.

What truly made those cultivation scions abandon the variant Golden Scale was the third condition, which was practically impossible to fulfill.

Under those circumstances, a Golden Scale raising a flood in a lake where Dragon Veins converged to undertake its flood dragon passage would effectively destroy that spiritual energy nexus, drying up the Spirit Veins on which cultivation clans depended for survival.

Under those circumstances, a Golden Scale raising a flood in such a lake to undertake its flood dragon passage would effectively destroy that spiritual energy nexus, drying up the spirit veins on which cultivation clans depended for survival.

Thus, even if a Golden-Horned Flood Dragon possessed heaven-shaking combat prowess and could survive an encounter with a Nascent Soul True Lord, no cultivation clan would be willing to destroy its spirit veins to produce one-unless it used someone else's.

Yet in the age of the Immortal Alliance, every Spirit Vein Blessed Land on Heavenly Abyss Star belonged to the alliance. Local cultivation clans only held usage rights to the spirit veins, and privately destroying earth veins had become a grave crime that even the Thirteen Immortal Sects could not commit.

As a result, not only had the Golden-Horned Flood Dragons renowned throughout the Primordial Era neared extinction, even variant Golden Scales retained only their collectible value. Virtually no cultivation scion would choose to contract one.

Could this boy be planning to contract the Golden Scale?

Seeing the hesitation in the Darkwater Spirit Turtle's eyes, Chen Beiwu asked tentatively, "This one isn't available either?"

After giving Chen Beiwu a long look, the Darkwater Spirit Turtle extended two claws and rubbed them together, making a demand-for-payment gesture he knew all too well.

Delight surged through Chen Beiwu, but he put on a troubled expression to keep the turtle from opening its lion's maw and demanding an exorbitant price.

"What do you want? Spirit stones or spiritual materials?"

The Darkwater Spirit Turtle let out a roar and pointed a claw at Chen Beiwu's waist.

Chen Beiwu followed its gaze downward and immediately spotted the jade box secured at his waist.

"No problem."

Afraid the Darkwater Spirit Turtle would change its mind, Chen Beiwu immediately removed the jade box and offered it with both hands.

The Darkwater Spirit Turtle took the jade box, opened it a crack, and inhaled deeply before everyone's astonished eyes, its expression turning blissful, as though it were floating away into immortality.

Not bad. Very pure!

A satisfied smile appeared on the Darkwater Spirit Turtle's face, leaving Chen Beiwu utterly bewildered.

What was going on? Was Stone-in-the-Grass really that irresistible to the Darkwater Spirit Turtle?

Looking at its smug expression, why did he feel as though he was the one losing out on this deal?

"Where are the goods?"

Chen Beiwu closed the jade box and looked toward the miniature water realm.

At his words, the Darkwater Spirit Turtle swept its tail through the water realm, scooped out the Golden Scale, and tossed it carelessly to Chen Beiwu, who hurriedly stretched out both hands to catch it.

So heavy!

Without time to dwell on the astonishing weight in his hands, Chen Beiwu immediately looked into the Golden Scale's vacant, idiotic eyes, unwilling to let a long night breed more trouble.

;psme&;psme&

"Are you willing to become my companion beast?"

"Glub, glub."

The Golden Scale's rounded mouth opened and closed as though it were struggling to breathe. It paid no attention whatsoever to Chen Beiwu's question.

Of course, the more likely explanation was that it could not understand human speech.

"If you don't say anything, I'll take that as agreement."

The instant he finished speaking, Chen Beiwu circulated his magic power and formed the hand gesture for the Myriad Beast Mark.

Wait, you're actually doing it! The sudden turn of events left Guan Ange briefly stunned.

He had thought Chen Beiwu was after the variant spirit turtle. Instead, he had been aiming for the Golden Scale.

But why?

In theory, every Golden Scale could awaken its bloodline with its companion cultivator's help and advance into a third-tier, low-grade treasure beast-a Golden Dragon Carp. In practice, however, reality ran completely counter to theory.

It was no exaggeration to say that, out of ten thousand cultivators who contracted Golden Scales, scarcely one could raise theirs into a Golden Dragon Carp. The vast majority raised them into Red-Gold Scales or Black-Gold Scales instead.

That was because Golden Scales were water-attribute spirit beasts. Following the principle of the five elements generating one another, they needed to consume metal essence qi to activate the infinitesimal trace of dragon blood within them.

;psme&;psme&Metal essence qi was not ordinary metal-attribute spiritual energy, but third-tier metal essence baleful intent formed when metal-element spirit

veins intersected with earthly baleful intent. The resulting third-tier Metal Essence Baleful Intent was exceedingly rare.

On the Immortal Alliance Official Website, a single strand of metal essence qi cost about as much as a Calamity-Breaking Golden Elixir.

A Golden Scale needed to consume three full strands of metal essence qi, repeatedly tempering its body with metal essence baleful intent, before it could successfully advance into a Golden Dragon Carp.

For that reason, water-attribute cultivators also called Golden Dragon Carps True Lord Carps.

As the name suggested, they were third-tier treasure carps that only Nascent Soul True Lords could afford to raise.

Guan Ange came from a Golden Core Aristocratic Clan, yet even he could not afford to raise a Golden Dragon Carp, much less Chen Beiwu, whose background seemed unremarkable to him.

"What exactly is this fellow thinking?" Guan Ange narrowed his eyes. The more he thought about it, the more something seemed wrong.

Meanwhile, as Chen Beiwu changed the hand gesture of his Myriad Beast Mark, the tremendous magic power and divine sense within him poured out like a flood, forcing their way into the Golden Scale's mind. A blood-colored spiritual seal gradually formed within its sea of consciousness, its base crimson as blood, with what looked like countless runes swimming across it.

Had a knowledgeable Immortal Alliance cultivator been present, they would have recognized it at a glance as the Three Treasures Companion Seal, capable of binding a spirit beast's essence, qi, and spirit.

"Glub!"

Sensing the invasion of its sea of consciousness, the Golden Scale widened its fish eyes and instinctively unleashed its demonic power in resistance. Dazzling golden light burst from its round belly, so piercing that the cultivators at the lake bottom could not keep their eyes open.

At the same time, within the Golden Scale's sea of consciousness, an enormous dragon fish a hundred feet long soared skyward. Its tail stirred up thousand-foot waves as it tried to smash the Three Treasures Companion Seal looming overhead.

"What terrifying divine sense!" Chen Beiwu's face went pale.

To possess vast divine sense comparable to that of a Second-Realm Lesser Demon while still a juvenile-this variant Golden Scale truly deserved the golden legendary rating Nine-Breath Chaos had personally bestowed upon it. Fortunately, he had come prepared.

"Submit to me!" With a shift of his divine will, Chen Beiwu drew upon the power of Nine-Breath Chaos to suppress it.

In the outside world, he might have been unable to subdue this variant Golden Scale, but in a battle within the sea of consciousness, he was invincible, able to borrow a sliver of Nine-Breath Chaos's might.

;psme&;psme&"Boom!"

The mere leakage of a trace of Nine-Breath Chaos's aura made the enormous dragon fish struggling furiously within the sea of consciousness go rigid. It allowed the Three Treasures Companion Seal to settle between its brows, binding its essence, qi, and spirit.

(End of chapter)