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

翌日清晨，天光微亮.

Chen Qing got up early, changed into a clean disciple's robe, and after a quick wash, led Dan Yu and Qing Tian along the mountain path to the summit.

Along the way, the mountain breeze caressed our faces, and the pines rustled in the wind.

As Chen Qing walked, he thought about Zhou Ruoqing's words from yesterday. Shen Tu Yu had specially rushed back from Lan Kingdom and specifically asked to see him, most likely because of the matter of contracting the spirit beast that day.

Fortunately, he had already prepared his explanation, so he wasn't too nervous.

After about the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, the Beast Taming Hall on the summit came into view.

The halls and pavilions remain ancient and simple, with bluestone foundations, paulownia wood beams, and the runes between the eaves and brackets appearing and disappearing in the morning light. The ancient plaque above the door bears the three powerful characters "Hall of Imperial Beasts".

Chen Qing took a deep breath and went to knock on the door.

"Uncle-Master Shentu, your disciple Chen Qing requests an audience."

"Come in."

That familiar, lazy voice came from inside the hall.

Chen Qing pushed open the door and entered.

The hall remained spacious and bright, with simple furnishings. Behind the sandalwood table, Shen Tu Yu was slowly sipping a cup of spiritual tea. Upon seeing him enter, she nodded slightly, gesturing for him to sit down.

Chen Qing's gaze swept across the hall.

The Silver Moon Wolf, the Shadow Leopard, the Golden Feather Thunder Eagle, and the Iron-Backed Azure Bear—the four spirit beasts—still occupied their respective areas, and their auras were similar to those of the last time.

Only that iron-eating beast—

The Iron-Eating Beast, which was originally adorable and only had an aura at the early stage of the second tier, was now lying on the side of the table, still chewing on a spirit bamboo with a crunching sound, but its aura was now noticeably stronger.

Chen Qing secretly compared the aura of this Iron-Eating Beast and realized that it had probably broken through to the mid-stage of the second tier, which is the mid-stage of the Foundation Establishment level.

Less than two months have passed.

It seems that Shen Tu Yu fed this little guy a lot of good things during this trip to the Lan Kingdom's secret realm.

"Sit down." Shen Tu Yu put down his teacup and pointed to the futon in front of him.

Chen Qing sat down as instructed, and respectfully cupped his hands in greeting: "May I ask why my martial uncle has summoned me here?"

Shen Tu Yu didn't rush to answer. Instead, he picked up his teacup and took another sip before slowly speaking, "When I came out of the Lan Kingdom's secret realm, I received a message from Ruo Qing. I heard that you contracted two spirit beasts in one day?"

Chen Qing nodded: "Yes."

"And—" Shen Tu Yu changed the subject, a slight smile playing on his lips, "you're currently raising two thousand blue carp down the mountain?"

Chen Qing was slightly taken aback, not expecting that this matter had also reached Shen Tu Yu's ears.

He answered truthfully, "I have raised some blue carp. After all, I need to support two spirit beasts, and relying solely on the annual salary from the peak is probably not enough."

Shen Tu Yu laughed and waved his hand: "Two thousand tails, for someone with your Qi Refining Level 4 cultivation, that's no small amount. You probably bought it on credit, right? When that kid Song Yang told me, I thought he was bragging."

Chen Qing chuckled awkwardly and didn't reply.

Shen Tu Yu's smile faded, and he said seriously, "Let's get down to business. When you contracted your first spirit beast, was your soul damaged?"

Chen Qing's heart skipped a beat; he knew the main topic was about to be discussed.

He carefully chose his words before slowly speaking: "Reporting to my master, after I formed a contract with Dan Yu, I feel that my soul is as stable as ever, without any obvious sense of separation. I think... I should be able to form a contract with another one."

"When I took the entrance test, I noticed Qingtian in the Valley of a Hundred Beasts. Although it was thin, I thought it had good talent. Later, when I entered the Beast Taming Peak, I saw it being rejected by the monkeys and all alone. I felt sorry for it and thought of forming a contract with it."

Upon hearing this, Shen Tu Yu's eyes flickered slightly, but he did not speak immediately. Instead, he turned his gaze to the two spirit beasts behind Chen Qing.

He looked at Dan Yu first.

Dan Yu stood quietly beside Chen Qing, her slender figure graceful and elegant, her pure white feathers spotless, her black bean-like eyes gazing at him calmly, neither humble nor arrogant.

Shen Tu Yu looked at Dan Yu, then his eyes narrowed slightly. His lips moved as if he wanted to ask something, but he didn't speak in the end. He just nodded thoughtfully and then looked away, his gaze falling on Qing Tian.

At this moment, Qingtian was squatting on Chen Qing's lap. Its fur was grayish and its body was thin. The three golden hairs on its head were particularly eye-catching. Its pair of golden-brown eyes looked timidly at Shen Tu Yu.

"A Spiritual Monkey." Shen Tu Yu didn't pay attention to the three conspicuous golden hairs and said in a flat tone, "This kind of monkey is relatively rare in monkey groups. This is the first time I've encountered one on Beast Taming Peak. They usually have the potential to reach the second tier, so it's a pretty good choice. Your judgment is not bad."

Chen Qing nodded slightly: "Uncle-Master, you flatter me."

Shen Tu Yu withdrew his gaze, picked up his teacup, took a sip, and his expression gradually became serious.

"Chen Qing, you've been with my Beast Taming Peak for almost two months now. I imagine you've learned quite a bit about the situation and cultivation methods of Beast Taming Peak. What are your thoughts on the spirit beasts that the disciples of Beast Taming Peak each contract with?"

Chen Qing was slightly taken aback.

This question is... a bit too broad.

He pondered for a moment and began to recall what he had seen and heard at Beast Taming Peak over the past two months.

There were eleven disciples remaining on the peak, including him. He had seen most of them in the past few days. Except for Su Wanwan, who only had a Snow Spirit Fox, the other disciples had all contracted two spirit beasts.

Song Yang's Silver Moon Wolf and Rock Armor Bear, Fang Yuan's Crimson Fire Python and Pangolin King, Shi Xiuyuan's Iron Back Turtle and Green-Eyed Toad, Senior Brother Zhao, Senior Brother Sun, Senior Sister Li... each of them has two heads, each with its own unique combination, but no particular pattern can be seen.

Zhou Ruoqing was the only exception.

She is in the late stage of Qi Refining and has contracted three spirit beasts—Fire Spirit Fox, Gale Sparrow, and Mountain King.

The first two were alright; the Fire Spirit Fox was agile and graceful, and the Gale Sparrow was swift and fierce, which matched Zhou Ruoqing's cool temperament.

But that Pangolin King...

Chen Qing pictured the pangolin with its scales, pointed head, and thick limbs, and then thought of Zhou Ruoqing's delicate and aloof face.

It doesn't match at all, no matter how you look at it.

Moreover, the Pangolin King, as a spirit beast, is inferior to the Crimson Fire Python in combat power, to the Silver Moon Wolf in speed, and its appearance is, to put it mildly, unappealing.

Why did Zhou Ruoqing choose it?

Chen Qing thought for a moment, then shook his head: "This disciple does not know."

Shen Tu Yu suddenly burst into laughter.

The hearty laughter echoed through the empty hall, startling the golden-feathered thunder eagle on the crossbeam, which flapped its wings twice, causing lightning to flash.

"That's good, you don't know!" He stopped laughing, a hint of smugness flashing in his eyes. "If you could tell, what would be the point of having me as your senior uncle?"

Chen Qing: "...What my martial uncle says is true."

Shen Tu Yu picked up his teacup and took a big gulp before slowly speaking: "Normally, I don't interfere with the first two spirit beasts that disciples have. You can contract whatever you want, as long as the spirit beast's bloodline potential is high enough. After all, Beast Taming Peak has declined to this state; it's good enough to have a few more disciples. How can we have the right to be picky?"

He spoke in a relaxed tone, even with a hint of self-deprecation, but Chen Qing could taste a trace of bitterness deep in his words.

"But—" Shen Tu Yu changed the subject, his expression becoming serious again, "When it comes to the third spirit beast, I will help them choose. Ruo Qing's Pangolin King was the one I helped her pick."

Chen Qing's heart stirred, and he vaguely guessed what was going on, but he didn't speak, and just waited quietly for what was to come.

Shen Tu Yu glanced at him, then suddenly asked, "Do you know why I did this?"

Chen Qing shook his head: "This disciple does not know."

Shen Tu Yu stood up, walked to the window with his hands behind his back, looked at the sea of ​​clouds outside the hall, and said slowly: "This is our Beast Taming Peak, the way of beast taming passed down for thousands of years. The strongest way to tame beasts is not to fight each other, you fight your way, I fight my way. No matter how many spirit beasts there are, they are just a pile of loose sand."

He turned to look at Chen Qing, extended his finger, and pointed it in the air:

"True beast taming requires the beast to be a unified whole, with man and beast as one, beasts complementing each other, offense and defense as one, and advance and retreat in sync."

"The highest level of beast taming is formation taming."

"Build your own core spirit beasts, using them as the core of the formation to create a combination where one plus one is greater than two. One spirit beast has a combat power of one; two spirit beasts have a combat power of not two, but three, four, or even more."

Chen Qing was deeply moved upon hearing this.

Defense formation...

This concept is similar to the "array formation" he knows, but using spirit beasts as the array's core and setting up the array with living creatures makes it far more sophisticated and difficult than using inanimate objects.