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

Chen Qing touched the gray storage bag at his waist.

He was secretly pleased; from now on, he, Chen, would also be a cultivator with a storage bag.

After secretly rejoicing for a while, Chen Qing glanced at Dan Yu, who was focused on refining pills. He couldn't help but recall two months ago, when he placed the pill furnace in front of Dan Yu. The usually aloof and proud crane had first been startled, tilted its head, and stared at it for a long time, and then—

I was overjoyed.

She circled Chen Qing several times, her long neck constantly nuzzling against him, her bright, black-bean-like eyes sparkling with a joyful intent:

"For me?"

"For you."

"real?"

"real."

That day, for the first time ever, Dan Yu didn't maintain her aloof demeanor and rubbed her head against Chen Qing several times, covering him in fine feathers.

Qingtian, perched on his shoulder, stared in disbelief, a puzzled thought creeping over him: "What's wrong with this bird?"

Chen Qing smiled and shook his head.

Dan Yu is aloof and cold. Even Qing Tian has to be careful when he wants to play with her. There are very few things that can make her lose her composure. It seems that she really likes alchemy.

Since then, Dan Yu has been having Chen Qing go to the market at the foot of the mountain every few days to buy some common herbs. She would practice with the cheapest herbs first, and then use spiritual herbs when she was more skilled.

Although she doesn't have any spiritual fire yet and can only use firewood, her earnestness is truly remarkable.

"It's done."

A cool, clear thought interrupted Chen Qing's memories.

He looked up and saw Dan Yu take a dark pill out of the furnace and place it on the stone platform next to him. The pill was about the size of a lotus seed, with a pitted surface and an uneven color. It didn't look very good.

But Dan Yu tilted his head in satisfaction, emitting a smug thought:

"The fifty-third one, better than last time."

Chen Qing got up and walked over, looked down at the pill, then at Dan Yu's feathers which were covered in ash, and couldn't help but laugh out loud. Then he reached out and brushed the ash off her beak.

"Thanks for your hard work."

"It's alright."

Dan Yu slightly tilted his head to avoid it, but did not actually dodge; he merely sent a faint thought.

Chen Qing smiled, not exposing her arrogance. With a flash of light, he took out a small porcelain bottle from his storage bag at his waist, uncorked it, and poured out two pale red pills.

"Come on, it's time to eat the spirit beast pills."

Qingtian's eyes lit up. He jumped off his shoulder, reached out his little hand to take one, carefully put it in his mouth, chewed it, and squinted his eyes in satisfaction.

Niwa also lowered her head, picked up another one, tilted her head back, and swallowed it, her movements still elegant and composed.

Chen Qing sat down cross-legged and closed his eyes to sense the surroundings.

A moment later, spiritual energy surged from both spirit beasts. Qingtian's thin body swelled up slightly, while Danyu's body was surrounded by a faint spiritual light, becoming more solid than before.

Chen Qing nodded slightly, about to continue cultivating, when suddenly lines of small golden characters appeared before his eyes—

[Essence +2]

[Essence +2]

[Essence +2]

……

The number jumped up and down, and in a short time it rose by hundreds.

Chen Qing smiled slightly.

The batch of blue carp that was sold two months ago has finally been cooked in the kitchen. Just as he had initially estimated, there were two thousand blue carp, and each carp yielded two points of essence, which would amount to four thousand points.

Adding the 39 essence points remaining after testing the effects on Qingtian a year ago, the essence section on the system panel has now changed to—

[Highlights: 4039]

"More than four thousand..."

Chen Qing's gaze fell on the system panel, and he silently made plans in his mind.

Four thousand points of essence—not a lot, but not a little—is enough for both Qingtian and Danyu to break through to the middle rank of the first level.

When Chen Qing tested it a year ago, eleven points of essence only made Qingtian feel "a little bit of heat". He estimated that he would need about a thousand points to break through from the lower grade of the first rank to the middle grade of the first rank.

But that's a case of simply piling on the best ingredients.

Over the course of the year, Qingtian and Danyu each consumed three bottles of spirit beast pills, and with their daily practice of breathing in spiritual energy, their cultivation levels improved considerably compared to a year ago.

Although Qingtian still looked thin and small, Chen Qing could sense through the contract that the little guy's spiritual power was almost twice as strong as when they first formed the contract.

"To help Qingtian break through now, it's estimated that just over nine hundred essence points will be enough."

"As for Danyu..."

Chen Qing silently estimated in his mind.

Although Dan Yu is the same as Qing Tian, ​​both are of the first-tier low-grade, Dan Yu's cultivation is significantly stronger.

If we compare it using the cultivation level of the Qi Refining stage, Qingtian is roughly equivalent to the second level of Qi Refining, while Danyu is at least the third level of Qi Refining.

"If Dan Yu breaks through, six hundred essences should be enough."

Chen Qing made a judgment in his mind.

If both breakthroughs are achieved, around 1,500 essences will be enough to stop him. He currently has 4,000 essences, which is more than enough.

But that's not the problem.

When a contracted spirit beast cultivates or breaks through realms, it will give back some of its cultivation power. And when it breaks through realms, it is obvious that the feedback will be much greater than that from daily cultivation.

If both Qingtian and Danyu break through to the middle level of the first rank, with the two boosts combined, Chen Qing estimates that he might be able to break through to the fifth level of Qi Refining directly.

"No, I am just a cultivator with three spiritual roots, an ordinary person among cultivators. At most, I have only broken through to the fourth level of Qi Refining in less than a year and a half. Breaking through to the first level in less than a year and a half... this does not make sense."

"Although the atmosphere within the Lingyun Sect is amicable, and there's not much infighting among the fellow disciples I've encountered, being too conspicuous is ultimately not a good thing. Moreover, I possess the system, which is my biggest secret. It's best to avoid attracting attention as much as possible."

Chen Qing frowned and paced slowly in the courtyard.

His aptitude of earth, wood, and water spiritual roots is just average among cultivators. It took him nine years to reach the fourth level of Qi Refining, but he broke through two levels in less than a year and a half, which is too eye-catching.

Although he's not the type to lie low forever, he can develop peacefully and steadily, so naturally he won't cause any trouble.

Chen Qing glanced back and forth between Qingtian and Danyu, and gradually made up his mind.

"Let Danyu break through to the middle level of the first rank first, so that she can awaken her spiritual fire and make it easier for her to refine pills. Moreover, the cultivation that a spiritual beast can give back after breaking through is limited. At most, it will allow me to touch the threshold of the fifth level of Qi Refining, which won't be too outrageous."

"As for Qingtian..."

Chen Qing looked at the little guy on his shoulder and reached out to touch the three golden hairs on his head.

Qingtian tilted his head back, his golden-brown eyes looking at him, a puzzled expression on his furry face.

"squeak?"

"Wait a little longer. I'll help you break through a year from now when you're a bit older."

Qingtian tilted his head.

With his four-year-old intelligence, he didn't seem to understand what Chen Qing was saying, but sensing the gentleness in his tone, he stopped asking and simply nuzzled Chen Qing's ear with his head, conveying a "good" thought.

Chen Qing smiled slightly.

It took him almost two and a half years to break through to the fourth level of Qi Refining.

In two and a half to nearly three years, he broke through from the fourth level of Qi Refining to the fifth level. This was not too conspicuous within the Lingyun Sect. It would be natural for him to help Qingtian break through when the time came.

"It's settled then."

Having made up his mind, Chen Qing stopped thinking about it, closed his eyes, and began to cultivate the Soul Nourishing Technique.