Refining

Lin Jing looked over the selection, puzzled. The cloth bag, stone ring, jade bracelet, pearl, gourd, and scroll all looked normal enough, so why was there a bizarre-looking monk's staff among them?

Wasn't that a Buddhist implement?

What was it doing in the Beast Taming Sect?

"You're wondering why the sect made a Spatial Treasure in the shape of a monk's staff?"

"Yes." Lin Jing nodded.

"It actually goes back to an old story. There's no clear written record of it; it has always been passed down by word of mouth." Elder Mo laughed and summoned the monk's staff into his hand.

"During the Second Sect Master's tenure, a demon appeared in the Great Wilderness Region and wreaked havoc."

"This demon was a special treasure beast. Because of its divine ability, it was extremely difficult to kill-even for someone one or two major cultivation realms above it!"

"At the time, none of the cultivators in the Great Wilderness could do anything about it."

"Then a guest elder from the Demon-Slaying Bureau arrived. He was a Buddhist cultivator with profound mastery of Buddhist arts. Working with four cultivators from the Great Wilderness, he eventually used a special method to seal the demon away."

"Seal it, not kill it."

"Our Second Sect Master was one of those four cultivators."

"The place where the demon is sealed now lies beneath the Great Wilderness. It is suppressed by four Buddhist pagodas connected through the dragon veins. These four Demon-Suppressing Pagodas are jointly guarded by the Great Wilderness's four First-Rate Sects, one pagoda to each sect."

"After that battle, the Second Sect Master became friends with that Buddhist cultivator. For a time, most of the Beast Taming Sect's Spatial Treasures took the form of Buddhist implements. This monk's staff has been here for quite a few years."

"It has been so long that, because of its unusual style, almost no True Disciple chooses it, even after learning its history."

"So that's how it is." Understanding dawned on Lin Jing. "I never imagined our Beast Taming Sect was also responsible for guarding a Demon-Suppressing Pagoda."

After all... compared to an ordinary sect, we're more like a demon sect.

"You aren't planning to choose this monk's staff, are you?" Elder Mo asked.

"No." Lin Jing said, "This monk's staff doesn't suit my graceful bearing and carefree, immortal air."

Elder Mo was speechless. He had not expected Lin Jing to be so full of himself. Still, after taking a closer look, he realized that Lin Jing did possess a few traces of the good looks he, Mo Wuyou, had enjoyed in his youth. No wonder the boy was confident.

"Elder, I'll choose this one." Lin Jing pointed at the red gourd.

The Pineleaf Squirrel was aghast. It thought the cloth bag would be easier to carry.

Lin Jing ignored it.

This Spatial Treasure was meant to hold the Pineleaf Squirrel. Whether the Pineleaf Squirrel found it convenient to carry was not his concern.

Besides, treasures of this caliber could all change size, making any of them easy to carry.

"The other Spatial Treasures show clear signs of being artificially crafted, but this one... looks more like something naturally formed. If I remember correctly, it should be a Hanging Gourd, right? A wondrous plant with its own innate space."

"It seems you've been reading plenty." Elder Mo said, "The other six Spatial Treasures were crafted from various spatial materials, whereas this gourd underwent only a few simple modifications. It's the most natural of the lot."

"But that isn't what you're after, is it?"

"Right. It's a plant, and the Pineleaf Squirrel has a wood affinity, so they should be more compatible." Lin Jing looked at Elder Mo. "Do you think, if I obtain more Hanging Gourds in the future, I could have the Pineleaf Squirrel combine them with its Glazed Immortal Eyes?"

Compared to the other six Spatial Treasures, it was the Hanging Gourd's attributes that appealed to Lin Jing.

"Indeed." Elder Mo nodded, agreeing with Lin Jing's reasoning. "But Hanging Gourds are exceedingly rare. An ancestor only obtained this one by chance. Before you've made something of your cultivation, even if you come across another, you'll be hard-pressed to afford it."

"At least there's something to look forward to." Lin Jing said, "Elder, I'll take this gourd, then."

"Actually, I'm quite fond of that monk's staff too. Once I reach Foundation Establishment and contract my second pet beast, could I apply for another Spatial Treasure...? Surely we can't make several pet beasts cram into one place?"

"Get lost!" Elder Mo snapped at someone for the first time. These were part of the sect's reserves! Did the boy really think they were cabbages he could pick at will?

"I don't have the clout to apply for another one for you. If you can find a way to become the young sect master, you can take your pick of anything here. No one would stop you from giving a single pet beast two treasures to live in!"

After choosing the Hanging Gourd as his Life-Bound Beast-Taming Spatial Treasure, Lin Jing condensed a drop of blood essence under Elder Mo's guidance and refined the gourd.

Once he had refined the Hanging Gourd, Lin Jing discovered that it truly deserved to be a magical treasure only Golden Core Stage cultivators were qualified to use. The space inside was considerably larger than the courtyard he had lived in as an outer disciple.

Now, at last, nothing would get in the way of the Pineleaf Squirrel's hoarding...

With the original two Storage Bags, the Pineleaf Squirrel could only store a few precious items for synthesis. Sack after sack of ordinary spirit rice and spirit beans had to be piled up in the courtyard, since putting them in the Storage Bags would waste too much space. Now that problem was gone.

Although the Hanging Gourd was Lin Jing's life-bound treasure, it was the Pineleaf Squirrel's home, and that did nothing to hamper its nature as a little hoarder.

"Squeak!!!" Beside him, the Pineleaf Squirrel saw Lin Jing playing with the Hanging Gourd by himself and immediately wanted to touch it.

"If I call your name, do you dare answer?"

Lin Jing aimed the gourd at the bewildered Pineleaf Squirrel. Before it could respond, he forcibly recalled it into the Spatial Treasure with a whoosh.

Though confused, the Pineleaf Squirrel immediately took a deep breath upon entering the brand-new space, its eyes shining.

So big!

It looked all around. The Hanging Gourd's interior was spacious, with green spiritual-energy mist marking its farthest reaches in every direction, making it highly conducive to cultivation. Standing amid the green mist, the Pineleaf Squirrel felt it needed to renovate this place and turn it into its new cave abode.

"Squeak..." It counted on its fingers, planning to build a place to sleep, a warehouse, a place to cultivate, a warehouse, a place to eat, a warehouse...

"Well?" Outside, Elder Mo smiled at Lin Jing, who could not bear to put the Hanging Gourd down. "Now that you have a Life-Bound Beast-Taming Spatial Treasure, do you feel a little different? Like a true Beast-Taming Cultivator?"

"In fact... only once you've attained the position of a True Disciple of the sect can you really be considered a qualified cultivator of the Beast-Taming Path."

"Indeed." Lin Jing shook the Hanging Gourd, and it immediately shrank a little. He hung it at his waist. The red gourd accenting his white robes made the handsome, dashing Lin Jing look even more extraordinary.

"It suits you quite well. In the future, when you travel outside, a demonic cultivator with ill intentions might mistake you for an ordinary cultivator traveling alone. Just as he's about to murder and plunder, you summon your pet beast with a turn of your hand. What a delight." From Elder Mo's nostalgic expression, it was clear he had experienced plenty of such encounters in his youth. For disciples of the Beast Taming Sect, nothing felt better than ganging up on an enemy.