I tamed beasts and achieved immortality in the world of cultivation.

As Chen Qing walked out of the Beast Taming Hall, he saw Zhou Ruoqing standing on the stone steps outside the door, her expression calm, but there was a very faint blush on the back of her ears.

Chen Qing felt slightly embarrassed.

Shen Tu Yu's words could be heard even through the palace gates, so how could Zhou Ruoqing, who was standing right outside the door, not hear them?

Any woman would be embarrassed if her age was pointed out to her face.

Chen Qing pretended not to notice anything, concealed her embarrassment, and naturally cupped her hands in greeting: "Senior Sister Zhou, thank you for keeping me waiting."

Seeing that his expression was normal, Zhou Ruoqing breathed a slight sigh of relief and nodded: "Let's go, I'll take you to collect your disciple token and annual salary first."

The two walked down the bluestone steps in silence.

A mountain breeze rustles through the pines, and occasionally a few birds flit out from the woods, circle a few times in mid-air, and then land back on the branches.

As Chen Qing walked, he pondered what had just happened inside the hall.

According to Shen Tu Yu, Zhou Ruoqing has dual spiritual roots and was brought into the sect from a mortal city by Shen Tu Yu. Her talent is not low.

Why haven't I reached the Foundation Establishment stage yet, even though I'm almost fifty?

There is an unwritten rule in the cultivation world: cultivators in the Qi Refining stage have a lifespan of 120 years. If they can establish their foundation before the age of 60, it is not too late. However, if they are over 60, their Qi and blood will decline, and the success rate of establishing their foundation will drop sharply.

Zhou Ruoqing is now forty-eight or forty-nine years old. If this drags on any longer...

Chen Qing was puzzled, but he didn't show it on his face and just silently followed behind Zhou Ruoqing.

After walking for a while, he remembered the book "The Essentials of Beast Taming" that Shen Tu Yu had given him earlier, so he took it out of his pocket and started reading it as he walked.

Chen Qing turned to the first page and read it carefully.

After a long while, he slowly closed the booklet, sighing inwardly.

As expected of the Beast Taming Peak lineage, and as expected of the secret technique that was once the head of the Ten Lineages of Lingyun.

The methods of taming beasts recorded in this "Essential Techniques of Beast Taming" do indeed share similarities with his system, but upon closer examination, they are quite different.

The similarities are—

Disciples of the Beast Taming Peak can sign contracts with spirit beasts through a method called "Symbiotic Spirit Contract". After the contract is signed, the human and the beast are of one mind and their strength complements each other. The master can obtain a portion of the spirit beast's combat power bonus. The more spirit beasts that are contracted and the stronger they are, the more considerable the bonus will be.

But correspondingly—

The cost is also high!

The booklet clearly states that the method of symbiotic spirit contract emphasizes the joint cultivation and simultaneous progress of humans and beasts. When the master breaks through a major realm, the cultivation level of the contracted spirit beast must match it.

For example, to break through from the late stage of Qi Refining to the Foundation Establishment stage, not only must the master himself have sufficient foundation, but all the contracted spirit beasts must also reach the late stage of Qi Refining; none of them can be missing.

If one thing is lagging behind, you can only wait until it's fixed.

Chen Qing understood.

No wonder out of the twenty-seven disciples of Beast Taming Peak, only Shen Tu Yu has reached the Foundation Establishment stage.

He recalled the five spirit beasts that had been in the hall earlier—

Silver Moon Wolf, Shadow Leopard, Golden Feather Thunder Eagle, Iron-Backed Bear, Iron-Eating Beast.

Five spirit beasts, all of them at the second tier.

Chen Qing naturally couldn't know their exact strength, but with Shen Tu Yu as a reference, upon careful reflection, he realized that the auras of the Golden Feather Thunder Eagle and the Iron-Backed Azure Bear were particularly powerful, most likely second-tier high-grade, which is the late stage of Foundation Establishment.

The Silver Moon Wolf and the Shadow Leopard are slightly weaker, around the peak of the mid-grade second tier.

And that adorable iron-eating beast...

Chen Qing's eyes flickered.

The iron-eating beast was adorable, munching on the spirit bamboo with a crunching sound, but its aura was noticeably weaker, at most at the early stage of the second tier, which is the early stage of Foundation Establishment.

It must be the spirit beast from the final contract.

Uncle Shentu clearly has the cultivation of the late Foundation Establishment stage, but he has been unable to break through to the Golden Core stage for a long time, most likely because he is being held back by this Iron-Eating Beast.

Spirit beasts are different from humans.

Humans cultivate quickly, but their lifespan is short; spirit beasts generally live longer, but their cultivation relies more on time or consuming large amounts of resources, making it much slower than human cultivation.

Chen Qing sighed inwardly.

This is the price of the "Beast Taming Peak" technique: you gain the bonus of spirit beasts, making you stronger in battle, but you are bound by the spirit beasts.

One glory and one glory.

"No wonder there is only one Foundation Establishment cultivator on Beast Taming Peak, and not a single Golden Core cultivator. It's not that they lack talent, but that this path is just too difficult."

"But the Foundation Establishment ratio is wrong. Weren't any of Uncle Shentu's peers at Foundation Establishment?"

Chen Qing muttered to himself, somewhat puzzled.

Zhou Ruoqing walked ahead and, seeing Chen Qing close the booklet and remain silent for a long time, suddenly spoke softly:

"Do you understand?"

Chen Qing looked up and met her clear, bright eyes.

He nodded: "I understand."

Zhou Ruoqing smiled slightly, a smile that carried a hint of relief and a touch of bitterness: "It's good that you understand now. Our Beast Taming Peak's techniques, to put it nicely, are complementary; to put it bluntly, they are mutually destructive."

She paused, then continued, "Were you just wondering why, despite having dual spiritual roots, I haven't yet reached the Foundation Establishment stage?"

Chen Qing remained silent.

Zhou Ruoqing didn't wait for Chen Qing's reply and continued, "I entered the Beast Taming Peak at the age of ten, contracted my first spirit beast at the age of seventeen, which was the Fire Spirit Fox, contracted my second Gale Sparrow at the age of twenty, and contracted my third Mountain King at the age of twenty-five."

"The three spirit beasts all have the potential of the second tier. I originally planned to break through to the Foundation Establishment stage at the same time once they all reached the first tier of superior quality."

She gave a wry smile: "But they cultivate too slowly. The Fire Spirit Fox has the best aptitude, reaching the first-grade upper level at the age of thirty-five. The Gale Sparrow dragged on until forty, and the Mountain King... only barely stepped into the first-grade upper level last year."

"I reached the pinnacle of Qi cultivation at the age of thirty, and I've been waiting for them for nearly twenty years."

Zhou Ruoqing spoke in a flat tone, as if she were talking about something that had nothing to do with her.

But Chen Qing could taste the waiting and torment that had lasted for twenty years.

Twenty years.

She entered the peak at the age of ten, contracted her first spirit beast at the age of seventeen, waited for her first spirit beast to meet the standard at the age of thirty-five, waited for her second at the age of forty, and waited for her third at the age of forty-eight or forty-nine.

Now that she is nearly fifty, she can finally try to establish her foundation.

If she had chosen sword cultivation, alchemy cultivation, or array cultivation back then, with her dual spiritual roots, she would probably have already successfully established her foundation.

This is the price paid by Beast Taming Peak.

Chen Qing was silent for a moment, then suddenly spoke:

"Senior Sister Zhou, how many disciples are left on the peak?"

Zhou Ruoqing glanced at him and said softly, "There are only eleven people residing on the peak, including you. The other sixteen junior brothers and sisters at the late stage of Qi Refining are all outside."

"Outside?"

"Secret Realms." Zhou Ruoqing nodded. "Most of our Beast Taming Peak disciples, once they reach the late Qi Refining stage, will take their spirit beasts down the mountain to various first-tier secret realms for training."

"Firstly, there are many monsters in the secret realm, and if you're lucky, you might encounter a high-potential cub that you can form a contract with."

"Secondly, the secret realm is rich in spirit stones and spirit plants, which can be exchanged for resources to support our own and our spirit beasts' cultivation."

"Thirdly—" she paused, "fighting with demonic beasts of the same level is the fastest way to hone a spirit beast. If kept on a mountain peak, it won't advance a level in ten years; but if thrown into a secret realm, it can break through in three to five years."

Chen Qing suddenly realized.

No wonder that yesterday in the Valley of a Hundred Beasts, although there were many spirit beasts, most of them were only of the lower or middle grade of the first rank, with mediocre potential. The truly promising talents had probably already been taken away by the disciples who went out to train.

Those disciples, along with their spirit beasts, fought in the secret realm, which allowed them to earn resources and hone their spirit beasts—a win-win situation.

But the secret realm is not so easy to explore.

Among Shen Tu Yu's generation, there must have been other Foundation Establishment cultivators, but now, apart from him, there are none left.

Clearly, most of them died inside.

Chen Qing thought for a moment and then asked, "Are there any unclaimed spirit beasts on that peak? I mean, those with high potential."

Zhou Ruoqing paused slightly, glanced back at Chen Qing, a hint of a smile flashing in her eyes: "What, want to pick one out?"

Chen Qing chuckled awkwardly, "That's exactly what I was thinking."

Zhou Ruoqing pondered for a moment and nodded: "Alright, now that you've entered the Beast Taming Peak, you'll have to form a contract with a spirit beast sooner or later. The sooner you form the contract, the sooner you'll cultivate a bond with it."

She glanced at the sky and suddenly raised her voice:

"Song Yang!"

On the mountain path in the distance, a head peeked out from the bamboo forest.

Song Yang chuckled and ran over: "Senior Sister, were you calling me?"

Zhou Ruoqing pointed at Chen Qing: "Take Junior Brother Chen to the Spirit Beast Cave and let him choose one."

Song Yang's eyes lit up, and he patted his chest, saying, "Leave it to me!"

Zhou Ruoqing then looked at Chen Qing: "I won't accompany you. The Spirit Beast Cave is the real treasure of our Beast Taming Peak. You'll know when you get there. Be careful when you choose, don't rush to make a decision, take a few more glances."

Chen Qing solemnly cupped his hands in thanks: "Thank you, Senior Sister Zhou."

Zhou Ruoqing nodded, turned around and walked along the mountain path toward the "Beast Taming Pavilion".

Chen Qing watched her retreating figure, then suddenly remembered something and looked at Song Yang: "Senior Brother Song, where is the Spirit Beast Cave?"

Song Yang grinned, revealing two rows of white teeth: "Come with me!"

He turned and left, muttering as he went, "Junior Brother Chen, you don't know, that Spirit Beast Cave is a great place. Although our Beast Taming Peak has declined, it was once the head of the Ten Peaks, so it still has some foundation. The spirit beasts in that cave are all at least Tier 2..."

Chen Qing followed behind Song Yang, listening to his rambling, but in his heart he was thinking about the two-foot-tall Lingming Monkey that had been squatting on the bluestone yesterday.