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

Seeing that Chen Qing seemed to be deep in thought, Shen Tu Yu nodded in satisfaction and continued:

"Ruoqing's three spirit beasts are Fire Spirit Fox for offense, Gale Sparrow for speed, and Pangolin King for defense. With a combination of offense, speed, and defense, they can work together to maximize their combat power. Although Pangolin King is not the most visually appealing, its defensive capabilities are among the best of spirit beasts of the same rank, which perfectly makes up for Ruoqing's weakness."

"If it weren't for the Mountain King, Ruoqing would have died in the secret realm long ago."

Shen Tu Yu's lips curled slightly upward: "Otherwise, why do you think I would choose such an ugly thing for her?"

Chen Qing's lips twitched slightly, thinking to himself, "What if Zhou Ruoqing heard this..."

Shen Tu Yu's gaze fell on Chen Qing, and he continued, "Originally, I planned to find you a third spirit beast after you reached the late stage of Qi Refining, but you have already contracted two. It seems that your spiritual talent is far better than I expected. You may even be able to contract four or even five spirit beasts in the Qi Refining stage, two more than other disciples."

A hint of doubt appeared in Chen Qing's eyes.

Seeing the confusion in his eyes, Shen Tu Yu laughed heartily and, without beating around the bush, said directly, "The reason I asked you to come here is to tell you that I hope you will form contracts with five spirit beasts during your Qi Refining stage."

Chen Qing's pupils contracted slightly.

Five spirit beasts?

Qi Refining Period?

Shen Tu Yu stood up, hands behind his back, his expression unusually solemn.

"Did you know that when the ancestor Wang Bu Huo was in the Qi Refining stage, he contracted five spirit beasts? Later, when he cultivated to the Nascent Soul stage, he had nine spirit beasts under his command—nine of them! All of them were fourth-tier, Nascent Soul stage!"

His eyes gleamed: "Nine fourth-tier spirit beasts, plus the ancestor himself, are as one, invincible throughout the Canglan Domain. That is the pinnacle of Beast Taming Peak, that is the true way of beast taming!"

The hall fell silent for a moment.

Even Shen Tu Yu's five spirit beasts seemed to be affected by his emotions, and they all raised their heads and looked in this direction.

Chen Qing was deeply shaken.

A nine-headed Nascent Soul spirit beast... what kind of concept is that?

Although there are Nascent Soul Ancestors and even late-stage Nascent Soul cultivators in Lingyun Twelve Peaks where Chen Qing is located, this is the core mountain gate of one of the seven righteous sects in Canglan Domain. Looking at the entire Canglan Domain, Nascent Soul cultivators are extremely rare!

Wang Bu Huo, on the other hand, was accompanied by nine spirit beasts of the same rank, which were formed as one and arranged in a beast formation...

No wonder Beast Taming Peak was once considered the leader of the Ten Peaks of Lingyun.

Shen Tu Yu calmed himself down, sat back down, and stared intently at Chen Qing:

"The cost of your spirit beast training will be covered by the Beast Taming Peak. I will also help you find and match the next three spirit beasts to ensure the best combination for you. As for the blue carp down the mountain, you don't need to raise them anymore. I will send someone to feed them for you. From now on, you can focus on your cultivation."

Chen Qing remained silent for a moment.

He understood Shen Tu Yu's meaning: this was to dedicate all the power of the peak to nurturing him and to regard him as the future of the Beast Taming Peak.

If it were anyone else, they would probably be moved to tears and agree immediately.

But Chen Qing had his own considerations.

His cheat system is the Beast Taming Longevity System, and the core resource of the system—essence—mainly comes from raising spirit beasts.

Therefore, he could not give up on the blue carp.

As for the five contracted spirit beasts...

Chen Qing smiled bitterly to himself.

He knew better than anyone that his ability to contract with two entities in a single day was not due to his powerful soul, but rather to the system's "non-invasive surgery." His true soul strength was only slightly stronger than that of other cultivators of the same level, far from being as heaven-defying as Shen Tu Yu had imagined.

He had already reached his limit by forming contracts with Danyu and Qingtian, and he had no idea when he could form a contract with the next spirit beast.

After all, his system only showed 1, 2, and 3 in the contract quota column, without specifying 2.1, 2.2, etc. Although he practiced the Soul Nourishing Technique every day, the growth of his soul was extremely slow. At this rate, it would be difficult to contract a third soul in less than three to five years.

Chen Qing carefully chose his words before slowly speaking, "I am deeply grateful for your kindness, Uncle-Master, but... I still wish to raise those blue carp myself."

Shen Tu Yu was slightly taken aback: "Oh? Why?"

Chen Qing replied truthfully, "I grew up in the mortal world and have cultivated in the sect for nine years. I am used to being self-reliant and enjoy interacting with spirit beasts. I would feel uneasy if I relied on the peak for everything. Although raising fish is a chore, feeding them, changing the water, and patrolling the area every day is a form of cultivation for me. It can temper my character, and I am unwilling to give it up."

That's half true and half false.

It's true that I enjoy interacting with spirit beasts, and as for tempering my character... well, that's a stretch.

Shen Tu Yu glanced at Chen Qing and nodded thoughtfully: "Alright, if you want to raise it, then raise it."

Chen Qing breathed a sigh of relief, then said, "As for contracting five spirit beasts..."

A hint of difficulty appeared on his face: "This disciple will do his best. I am currently cultivating the Soul Nourishing Technique, but my soul is growing slowly, and this disciple cannot guarantee when I will be able to contract the next spirit beast."

Upon hearing this, Shen Tu Yu frowned slightly.

He suddenly extended his divine sense and swept it over Chen Qing. Chen Qing felt a vast divine sense envelop his entire body. It felt as if an invisible hand had touched him from head to toe, and even his internal organs seemed to be seen through.

Chen Qing felt a slight chill, knowing that this was the divine consciousness that a cultivator's spiritual consciousness transformed into after establishing their foundation.

Chen Qing did not resist, but simply sat quietly with a normal expression. He was not worried at all that the system would be discovered by Shen Tu Yu. After all, Shen Tu Yu was only at the late Foundation Establishment stage. If he could be discovered, then Chen Qing would have nothing to say. It was better than being discovered by other cultivators when he went out.

Moreover, Chen Qing did not think the system would be discovered.

A moment later, Shen Tu Yu withdrew his divine sense, his brows furrowing even deeper.

In his perception, Chen Qing's soul was indeed not very strong, at most a little stronger than an ordinary Qi Refining Level 4 cultivator.

To his surprise, Chen Qing's soul was perfectly integrated and unobstructed, showing no signs of the soul fragmentation seen in other disciples after they contracted spirit beasts. It was as if his soul had never been divided.

Shen Tu Yu was secretly amazed.

He carefully sensed it for a moment longer, confirming that he hadn't misread it, before withdrawing his divine sense, picking up his teacup, taking a sip, and inwardly sighing:

It seems that it's not that Chen Qing's soul is strong, but rather that his physique is special and he is naturally suited to the "symbiotic spirit contract" method of the Beast Taming Peak. When contracting a spirit beast, the damage to his soul is minimal, even negligible.

Pity.

He also thought that Chen Qing had a chance to follow the path of the old master Wang Bu Huo.

Shen Tu Yu suppressed the slight disappointment in his heart, showing no sign on his face, and flicked an ancient scroll from his sleeve, which landed in front of Chen Qing.

"These are the beast-taming insights of Ancestor Wang Bu Huo from back then. Take them down and study them carefully."

Chen Qing took the scroll. It was quite heavy in his hand. The scroll was made of the skin of some kind of spirit beast. It felt warm to the touch and there was a faint spiritual light flowing on it.

Shen Tu Yu added, "Don't rush about your third spirit beast. I will help you find one. Do not make a contract with it casually. The way of beast taming is all about selection and matching. One wrong step will lead to many more."

He stood up and stretched: "Alright, I still have to go protect Ruoqing later. She's in seclusion to establish her foundation, so we can't be careless. You should go back first."

Chen Qing put away the scroll and bowed respectfully:

"This disciple takes his leave."

He turned and walked out, with Qingtian perched on his shoulder and Danyu following beside him. The man and the two beasts slowly walked out of the Beast Taming Hall.

Outside the palace gate, the morning light was just right.

Chen Qing took a deep breath, looked down at the ancient scroll in his hand, and felt a surge of inexplicable emotion.

Wang Bu Huo's insights into beast taming...

This gift is no small matter.

If this were outside of the Lingyun Sect, those independent cultivators would probably fight tooth and nail for it.