A Lifebound Giant Deer, Cultivating the Legacy!
Hearing this,
Qin Zhuang hung his head and slumped his face, looking as though he understood yet did not.
Perhaps because he was the youngest, his family had coddled him in every possible way since childhood, which forged his weak disposition...
Or perhaps-
The men of the Qin family had always been iron-blooded, resembling tigers and wolves, and under the principle that things at the extreme reverse themselves, a purely kind-hearted young deer had been born...
Of course...
He was also merely five years old and still tender in years, not knowing what he wanted, nor where his Dao Path lay...
"Let us go, Zhuang'er..."
"Your Dao is one you must walk yourself, and what your uncle can do for you is pave the road ahead..."
In front of the clansmen, Chu Shan was always solemn.
At this moment, before his own nephew, he revealed a trace of tenderness.
He reached out, smoothed down the hem of Qin Zhuang's dark robe, pulled him to his feet, and patted the dust from his clothes...
Following that, two figures, one small and one large, slowly stepped into the deep mountain mist...
They threaded through the mountain forests and trod across the mountain seas.
Not knowing how much time had passed, nor how far they had walked, the two halted only upon reaching a small mountain valley.
Upon the valley's rock walls-
A stone deer was carved, its gigantic antlers resembling thousand-year-old tree roots...
"This place is named Deer Valley."
"It was accidentally discovered by your father two years ago while exploring the mountains and forests. Because this place is lush with water and grass and serves as a natural tamed spirit-gathering ground,"
"he designated it as the Spirit Beast Garden."
"And he handed its complete management over to my Chu household, primarily raising all manner of deer species..."
"At the same time, it is also an Armory Cave."
As he spoke-
The two stepped into the gorge entrance.
Before long, several Black-Armored Army soldiers were seen keeping watch within the passageway.
Once Chu Shan presented his token, the several soldiers stepped forward to search them thoroughly. Seeing no sharp weapons of any kind, they then signaled permission to pass...
Only thus were the two able to enter.
Upon penetrating deep into the channel, it was initially narrow, but further on, the peaks turned and the path opened into a sudden expanse!
A tranquil mountain valley appeared in front of their eyes.
In the distance, a waterfall could be seen cascading down from the mountain streams, looking like a white ribbon of the Milky Way or three thousand strands of worry, bringing a cool breeze to the face...
The calls of deer "you-you" could even be heard echoing repeatedly within the valley, making one feel utterly ethereal, as though in a mortal wonderland with misty immortal Qi.
Chu Shan heighed a long sigh-
A breath of turbid Qi was expelled, carrying a sliver of expectation.
"Very few people know of this place."
"When it comes down to it, aside from the Family Head, myself, Wang Jian, and the Young Family Head, who know the location of this place, if we count you, Zhuang'er, there are a total of five people."
"Following these two years of targeted cultivation, coupled with the accumulation of three generations of our Chu household..."
"Among the deer herd we raise, just as the Family Head stated, an atavistic giant deer has been born, a Deer King that has birthed spiritual intelligence!"
"Named: the Forest Peak Giant Deer, a First-Tier Low-Grade Spirit Beast."
"Zhuang'er, what you must do is tame it into your Natal Spirit Beast. When the giant deer advances to the second tier in days to come, you can borrow this to feedback upon yourself!"
"And hope to catch a glimpse of the Qi Condensation Realm!"
Hearing this-
Qin Zhuang seemed to realize that what awaited him at this moment was a heaven-sent fortuitous opportunity.
Even more so, a massive exchange of interests!
Over so many years, there had only ever appeared one spirit beast expected to be tamable, and this beast possessed atavistic bloodlines and extraordinary aptitude...
Logically speaking, no matter how one looked at it, it would never fall to the youngest Qin Zhuang.
As the eldest son and Young Family Head, Qin Xiao ought rightfully to tame it.
Failing that, there was the second son, Qin Hui, or the third son, Qin Wu, who likewise possessed nine-tenths spiritual illumination, to seize this Qi Condensation fortuitous opportunity...
Yet it was precisely him!
One could well imagine-
The price Chu Shan, this ruler of the Chu household, had paid behind the scenes!
To pave the Dao Path for this little nephew of his!
"I understand, Uncle. Your nephew will surely spare no effort."
Qin Zhuang feigned firmness, waving his fist as if to add a measure of confidence to himself.
With these words spoken-
The two continued deeper within, stopping before the deep lake beneath the waterfall. When Chu Shan imitated a deer's call to summon the giant deer...
The cold lake surface instantly churned with bubbles!
First, a pair of gigantic antlers slowly rose from the lake water, followed by the deer's head and body. When it completely revealed its true form-
Its shoulders were nearly a zhang wide, its height one zhang and five chi, and its body length exceeded nearly two zhang!
Its physique rivaled that of an elephant beast, terrifying to an extraordinary degree...
"This is... the Forest Peak Giant Deer?!"
Looking at the behemoth before his eyes, Qin Zhuang was slightly dazed. Its deer head was larger than his entire person by a fraction!
"Zhuang'er, do not be afraid!"
"The giant deer is docile. Having been raised for several decades, you need only use the Qin family's method of binding a natal bond!"
Hearing this-
Qin Zhuang hardened his heart, forcing himself to steady his mind and calm his spirit sea...
Once his Qi was stabilized.
He used the method of the natal contract to communicate with the Forest Peak Giant Deer, subsequently forcing out a drop of heart's blood that hung suspended in mid-air, awaiting the giant deer's response...
The giant deer looked down condescendingly at the ant before it.
Clearly, Qin Zhuang's status did not catch its eye.
Instead, it cast its gaze toward Chu Shan, as if demanding something from him...
Chu Shan twitched the corner of his mouth.
As if cutting flesh from his own body, he produced a Spirit Stone and threw it to the giant deer.
The latter swallowed it in one gulp, revealing a trace of satisfaction. Subsequently, a drop of deer blood flew out from its mouth and fused into one with Qin Zhuang's blood...
When they separated once more and fell between the brows of the two.
The natal contract was accomplished!
From then on, the minds of the two were as one; if the person died, the beast perished, and if the beast perished, the person was extinguished...
As for the beast, its spiritual intelligence would grow higher, enabling it to awaken its intelligence earlier in the future, and its Dao Path would become broader!
As for the person, it could prolong his lifespan, allowing him to coexist with the beast. If the beast advanced, the person advanced, and if the person advanced, the beast progressed, the two indivisible from one another...
Within these mere few breaths-
Qin Zhuang's Qi surged violently, and he smoothly broke through to the True Martial Second Realm!
Clearly, he had already received the feedback from the Forest Peak Giant Deer!
A True Martial Second Realm at not yet six years of age-even if his aptitude lacked an inch of spiritual illumination, he would still have more time in the future to seek methods for breaking through realms...
In the future, his Dao Path was promising!
At the summit of Muxuan Mountain-the Pill Pavilion
"Hoo~"
"That is the second failure..."
Qin Lu muttered under his breath, his boundless true essence continuously overflowing and swirling around him!
Five years-
Every single day for five years, Qin Lu had practiced cultivation and refined pills, practiced cultivation and refined pills. He had maintained this state for a full five years...
During this time, he had used only two and a half years.
He cultivated to the True Martial Nine Realms Completion. Following that, over the next two and a half years, he successively attempted twice to break through to the Qi Condensation Realm, yet failed one after another...
His true essence consistently failed to reverse-refine into spiritual power!
Whenever he reached the critical juncture, he would fall short of success at the last hurdle, leaking his Qi and slackening his mind...
On the contrary, in the Dao of Alchemy-
Over the course of several years, Qin Lu had achieved small success, mastering a total of twenty-four pill formulas!
Among them were eighteen pill formulas recorded within the Azure Wood Scripture, which he had comprehensively modified so that their efficacy differed slightly from before...
First: for fear of being tracked by people with ulterior motives and completely changing his roots, so that in future days they could also be used for transactions.
Second: to verify whether his own cultivation in the Dao of Alchemy had reached a state of pure mastery.
The other six pill formulas were self-created or gathered folk remedies, which he had improved further...
Divided in all into: twelve First-Tier Low-Grade, eight First-Tier Mid-Grade, and four First-Tier Superior-Grade, forming an entire, complete set of First-Tier alchemy heritage!
A unique heritage belonging exclusively to his Qin family!