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

Chen Qing used his lightness technique, his feet barely touching the ground, and in less than the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, he arrived at the entrance of Hundred Beast Valley again.

The valley remained quiet, with the spirit beasts scattered in twos and threes. When they saw him enter, a few spirit rabbits raised their heads to look at him, then continued to graze.

Chen Qing knew the way well and headed straight for the area where he had encountered the Spirit Monkey last time.

The bluish-gray boulder is still there, but it is now empty.

Chen Qing frowned slightly, his gaze sweeping around, when he suddenly caught sight of a grayish shadow crouching on a branch of a large tree not far away.

It was that clever monkey.

It perched alone on a tree branch, its golden-brown eyes gazing into the distance, lost in thought.

Chen Qing followed its gaze and saw that in the distance, in a mountain hollow, twenty or thirty monkeys were climbing and playing, chattering noisily. Only this one was squatting alone, dozens of feet away from the monkeys.

Chen Qing's eyes flickered slightly.

He had noticed it last time: although the intelligent monkey squatted near the troop, it was always alone, with no companions to play with and no mother monkey to groom it.

Looking at it now, it's even clearer.

The monkeys frolicked in the distance, while it sat alone in the tree, like an abandoned child forgotten in a corner.

Chen Qing sighed.

Monkeys also value lineage.

Although this intelligent monkey contains a trace of the true spirit "Xuanhuang Ancient Ape" bloodline, in the eyes of those ordinary spirit monkeys, its grayish fur and thin body are probably out of place with them.

Moreover—

Chen Qing looked at the three golden hairs on its head, which were particularly eye-catching in the sunlight.

Sometimes, being too special is a sin.

He stopped thinking about it, took a green pear from his pocket, and waved it at the tree.

The little monkey looked down, its golden-brown eyes meeting his for a moment before leaping down from the tree and landing lightly in front of him, looking up at the pear in his hand.

Chen Qing smiled, squatted down, and handed the pear over.

The little monkey took it, but didn't rush to eat it. Instead, it glanced at him first before taking a bite.

Chen Qing watched it eat the pear, then took out the other contract talisman that Song Yang had given him earlier, and said softly:

"I want to sign a spiritual pact with you; from now on, we'll be family. Are you willing?"

The little monkey raised its head, its golden-brown eyes looking at Chen Qing, then at the talisman in his palm, and suddenly let out a soft cry.

"Squeak!"

Chen Qing smiled slightly, placed the talisman between its brows, and a light screen appeared before his eyes—

[Contract activated...]

[Target: Spiritual Monkey (Tier 1, Low Grade)]

[Potential: Mid-grade Tier 2]

[Do you confirm the contract?]

"confirm."

Chen Qing's mind stirred.

The next moment, a heat emanated from between his brows, and an invisible wave entered the little monkey's forehead.

The little monkey trembled, almost dropping the pear flesh from its mouth. It stared wide-eyed at Chen Qing, its gaze first filled with confusion, then doubt, and finally with deep affection. It quickly finished the pear, then climbed onto Chen Qing's shoulder, squatted there, and rubbed its furry head against Chen Qing's ear.

Chen Qing reached out and touched the three golden hairs on its head. They were warm to the touch, and he could faintly feel a faint fluctuation of spiritual energy.

A strange feeling suddenly welled up in his heart—

Unlike the calm and leisurely demeanor of the red-crowned crane, the little monkey conveyed curiosity, dependence, and a hint of grievance and loneliness.

Chen Qing sighed inwardly.

Being ostracized by the monkey troop must have been a very unpleasant experience.

"I'll take care of things from now on," he said softly.

The little monkey seemed to understand and rubbed against his ear again.

……

When we returned to the small courtyard halfway up the mountain, it was already dark.

Beneath the old pine tree in the courtyard, a red-crowned crane was leisurely preening its feathers. When it saw him enter, it raised its head and called out, its gaze lingering slightly on the clever monkey perched on his shoulder.

"belch?"

"Squeak?"

The clever monkey also gazed at the red-crowned crane.

Two spirit beasts, one white and one gray, one large and one small, one standing under a pine tree and the other perched on a shoulder, were sizing each other up.

The red-crowned crane tilted its head, its black bean-like eyes filled with curiosity.

The intelligent monkey blinked its golden-brown eyes, then suddenly jumped off Chen Qing's shoulder, tiptoed to the red-crowned crane, looked up at it, and gently touched the crane's long legs with its furry little hand.

The red-crowned crane looked down at it, stretched out its long beak, avoided the three golden feathers, and gently pecked at the top of its head.

The clever monkey didn't dodge; instead, it squinted its eyes and looked quite pleased.

Chen Qing watched this scene with a slight smile on his lips.

He crouched down, gathered the two spirit beasts beside him, pondered for a moment, and then spoke:

"From now on, we're family, so we need to have a way of addressing each other."

He first looked at the red-crowned crane: "How about you name yourself Danhe (Red Crane)?"

"belch--"

The red-crowned crane tilted its head, let out a soft cry, and conveyed a thought.

Chen Qing frowned slightly: "You said you have a name? What's it?"

The red-crowned crane sent another message, this time with a hint of coldness, unlike the previous vague one:

"Niwa."

Chen Qing was slightly taken aback.

He then discovered that the red-crowned crane was far more intelligent than he had imagined; it could not only understand his words but also clearly convey his thoughts.

But what about the name "Danyu"?

And could that sound be from a female bird?

Although somewhat curious, seeing Dan Yu's high level of intelligence, Chen Qing thought for a moment but didn't ask, simply nodding and saying:

"Alright, then, Danyu, please guide me from now on!"

"belch--!"

Chen Qing then looked at the little monkey.

This little thing will grow into a Xuanhuang Ancient Ape someday. He pondered for a moment, then suddenly remembered the Tongbi Ape he had heard about in his previous life—

Grasp the sun and moon, shrink a thousand mountains, discern good and bad fortune, manipulate heaven and earth.

Its divine weapon is called "Blood-Melting Iron Rod" and also known as "Sky-Supporting White Jade Pillar".

"The towering white jade pillar... the pillar of heaven..."

Chen Qing's eyes lit up.

The name is both powerful and auspicious, perfectly matching the image he set for the little monkey and also resonating with the bloodline of the Xuanhuang Ancient Ape.

A pillar supporting the sky, standing tall and upright.

In the future, I will be his strongest protector.

"Your name will be Qingtian," Chen Qing said earnestly, looking at the little monkey.

"Squeak squeak".

The little monkey blinked, seemingly unsure whether it understood, but then took another bite of the pear, savoring its delicious flavor.

Chen Qing smiled.

In his opinion, Dan Yu's intelligence was at least that of a ten-year-old child, while Qing Tian was probably only four or five years old. But there was no rush. His system could spend essence to unlock intelligence, and besides, nurturing from a young age would deepen their bond.

Chen Qing didn't think much of it and was about to get up when his stomach suddenly growled. He paused, looked down at himself, and then looked at the sky.

Then he realized that he hadn't eaten anything since morning.

Beast Taming Peak is not comparable to Sunset Peak.

There are many people on Luoxia Peak, and there is a canteen halfway up the mountain where you can buy food just a few steps away. But there are only a dozen or so people on Yushou Peak, scattered in various parts of the mountain. Where is there a canteen?

Opening a shop here will inevitably lead to bankruptcy!

Chen Qing sighed and looked at the coarse cloth bag at his waist.

He remembered asking about prices at the market last time. The worst storage bag, with only three feet square inside, cost fifty low-grade spirit stones. He didn't even have that much money.

"I need to go down to the market to buy some food," Chen Qing murmured.

He stood up, about to tell Dan Yu and Qing Tian to stay put, when a line of small golden characters suddenly appeared before his eyes—

[Essence +1]

[Essence +1]

[Essence +1]

……

The number jumped up and down, and in a short while, it changed from [3] to [50].

Chen Qing blinked and suddenly understood.

The spirit sheep chickens he had raised for five months were just slaughtered by the kitchen staff; all forty-seven of them were killed, not one missing.

Chen Qing remained silent for a moment, his feelings somewhat complicated. After all, he had personally fed these chickens for five months, cleaning their droppings, adding food, and herding them in and out every day. He had developed some affection for them.

but--

He looked down at the "50" on the screen, and couldn't help but smile slightly.

It smells so good!

Chen Qing calmed himself down and turned to look at Dan Yu and Qing Tian in the courtyard:

"You all stay here, I'll go down the mountain to buy some food."

Dan Yu called out in response, but Qing Tian jumped up from the stone bench, climbed onto his shoulder in a few quick movements, and squatted there, looking like he wanted to go too.

Chen Qing smiled, knowing that Qingtian was being ostracized by the monkey troop and worried that he might abandon it too, so he gently comforted it:

"Don't worry, from now on we are real family. I will never let you be lonely. No matter how much neglect you have suffered or how many people have rejected you in the past, from today onwards, you have me. I will always be with you and protect you. I will never let you be sad alone again, and I will never let you suffer any grievances. We will always be together."

"Squeak?"

"real."