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

The next day, early in the morning.

Chen Qing pushed open the courtyard gate and took a deep breath of the cool mountain breeze. He had been cultivating until midnight last night, but he felt refreshed and energetic this morning, without any signs of fatigue.

The benefits that came from Dan Yu's breakthrough were even greater than he had expected.

"Let's go." Chen Qing patted Qingtian on the shoulder, then glanced at Danyu standing under the old pine tree. "I'm taking you somewhere today."

Qingtian rubbed his sleepy eyes, a groggy thought popping into his head: "Where to?"

"Tianzhu Peak".

Chen Qing smiled slightly and walked away.

The man and two beasts descended the mountain path, passed through the ancient forest, and soon arrived at the fishpond at the foot of the mountain.

As usual, I fed the fish, changed the water, and patrolled the area.

Two thousand new carp, their scales shimmering, surged and scrambled for food in the pond where their predecessors had once swum. They were even larger than they had been a month ago.

Chen Qing stood by the pond, looking at the pool of lively "spirit stones" and essence, feeling quite pleased.

By the time I finished dealing with the fishpond, it was already past 9 AM.

Chen Qing didn't return to the courtyard. Instead, he took Dan Yu and Qing Tian and headed towards Tianzhu Peak along the mountain path.

Between Beast Taming Peak and Heavenly Pillar Peak are three main peaks: Sword Echo Peak, Myriad Manifestations Peak, and Danxia Peak, connected by stone steps. Pine and cypress trees line the way, and cranes occasionally fly through the clouds. Sometimes, you can also encounter disciples from other peaks, either flying on swords or using magical artifacts to travel, making it quite lively.

Qingtian perched on Chen Qing's shoulder, looking around curiously.

He grew up in the Hundred Beast Valley of the Beast Taming Peak. After following Chen Qing, the farthest he ever went was Lingyun Market.

Dan Yu remained calm, walking gracefully beside Chen Qing. Occasionally, a crane would fly overhead, but she would only glance at it indifferently, with an expression that said, "It's nothing special."

After walking for about half an hour, the mountain range ahead suddenly opened up.

A majestic peak rises abruptly from the ground, piercing the clouds. Its summit is hidden in the clouds, obscuring its full appearance. Only a few waterfalls can be vaguely seen cascading down from the towering cliffs, like an inverted Milky Way. The rising mist creates rainbows under the sunlight.

It is the core of the Lingyun Sect—

Tianzhu Peak.

Chen Qing looked up and sighed inwardly. He had been in Lingyun Sect for ten years, but he had only visited Tianzhu Peak a handful of times. It wasn't that he didn't want to come, but that there was no need for him to.

It would seem rather presumptuous for an ordinary disciple to climb Tianzhu Peak without any apparent reason.

I have important business to attend to today.

Continuing up the stone steps, passing through a huge mountain gate carved from a single piece of bluestone, a wide plaza appears before you. At the end of the plaza, a nine-story building stands majestically, with flying eaves and brackets, exuding an imposing aura.

This was Chen Qing's destination—

The Sutra Repository.

Chen Qing straightened his robes and strode toward the entrance of the Sutra Repository.

At the entrance, behind an old wooden table sat an elderly man.

The old man appeared to be around sixty years old, with white hair and beard, a thin face, and wore a moon-white Taoist robe with a small Ling Shu Peak emblem embroidered on his chest. He also had a jade plaque with the words "Ling Shu" engraved on it hanging from his waist.

At this moment, he was half-closing his eyes, holding a yellowed ancient book in his hands, engrossed in reading it.

Chen Qing felt a slight chill.

Foundation Establishment cultivators of Ling Shu Peak?

He had been in Lingyun Sect for ten years and had some understanding of the situation of each peak. Ling Shu Peak was in charge of general affairs. Although its combat strength was generally not high, it controlled the operation and scheduling of the sect. Anyone who could reach the Foundation Establishment stage in this position was an extremely shrewd person.

not to mention--

The fact that such an important place as the Scripture Pavilion is guarded by a Foundation Establishment cultivator from the Spirit Pivot Peak, rather than a combat-oriented cultivator from the Sword Echo Peak or the Dharma Aspect Peak, speaks volumes.

This old man is probably no ordinary person.

However, Chen Qing only considered the situation in his mind and was not flustered.

What kind of place is Tianzhu Peak?

The core of Lingyun Sect is located on the peak, where even a Nascent Soul ancestor is stationed. Even if a Qi Refining stage disciple were to guard the place, no one would dare to cause trouble.

Chen Qing stepped forward a few steps and respectfully bowed with his hands clasped in greeting:

"Disciple Chen Qing of Beast Taming Peak greets Martial Uncle."

The old man slowly raised his eyelids, looked Chen Qing up and down, then glanced at Qingtian on his shoulder and Danyu at his side, and nodded slightly:

"From Beast Taming Peak? That's a rare guest."

Chen Qing smiled and said, "I have come here to ask for some defensive techniques. I would be grateful if you could give me some pointers, Uncle."

"Defensive spells?"

The old man nodded, pointed behind him, and said, "Go inside and turn left. On the second floor, on the south side, by the window, there are shelves full of defensive and escape techniques for the Qi Refining stage. Go and choose one yourself, then bring it over to register."

"Thank you, Uncle-Master."

Chen Qing cupped his hands in greeting and stepped into the Sutra Repository.

……

The library was very quiet.

Rows of tall bookshelves were neatly arranged, filled with all sorts of jade slips, bamboo slips, animal skin scrolls, and even a few pieces of tortoise shell and a few stone slabs.

Following the direction the old man pointed, Chen Qing passed through the first-floor hall and went up the wooden stairs to the second floor.

The second floor is smaller than the first floor, and the bookshelves are much sparser. Sure enough, there are dozens of jade slips on the south side by the window, each with a small wooden plaque underneath, on which the name and description of the spell are written.

Chen Qing walked quietly to the shelf and examined each item one by one.

"Golden Light Shield... An introductory defensive spell. After casting, a golden light shield condenses around the caster, capable of blocking a full-force attack from an opponent of the same level..."

"Wind Control Technique... a higher level of escape technique than Lightness Technique, making one as light as a swallow and able to briefly walk on air..."

"Earth Wall Technique... A dual-elemental technique involving earth and wood, it draws upon the earth's energy to condense an earth wall. Its defensive capabilities are decent, but its casting speed is relatively slow..."

"Water Curtain Heavenly Splendor... It condenses spiritual energy into a water curtain, capable of neutralizing attacks from the five elements..."

"Mystic Ice Shield... requires a water elemental root to condense ice into a shield. It offers superior defense, but requires continuous consumption of spiritual energy..."

"..."

Chen Qing browsed through them one by one, secretly making plans in his mind.

His visit to the Sutra Repository was out of necessity.

In fact, defensive spells didn't only come from this one source. He had also been to Lingyun Market, but after looking around, he found that either the spells were of too low a grade and had little effect, or their origins were unknown and the spells themselves were problematic. More importantly—

It's ridiculously expensive.

The marketplace is like a battlefield. When those vendors saw that he was just a Qi Refining stage disciple, they immediately asked for hundreds of spirit stones, clearly trying to rip him off.

Another source is the senior brothers and sisters from Beast Taming Peak.

Although the Lingyun Sect stipulates that the techniques in the Scripture Pavilion cannot be passed on to outsiders, the senior brothers and sisters have been traveling in the cultivation world for so many years, and they all have more or less learned a few techniques from the outside world. It is not a big deal for them to exchange them.

Unfortunately—

Most of the disciples of Beast Taming Peak have high combat power, and when they go out to fight, they have spirit beasts to protect them. Therefore, they don't need defensive spells. So, none of these senior brothers and sisters have any defensive spells, including the eldest senior sister Zhou Ruoqing.

It is worth mentioning that Zhou Ruoqing went into seclusion to build her foundation a year ago, and successfully emerged from seclusion in less than half a month. After the news spread, all the disciples of the Beast Taming Peak who were scattered elsewhere rushed back to celebrate.

That was the liveliest time at Beast Taming Peak since Chen Qing joined the sect.

With Chen Qing and Shen Tu Yu joining them, the entire Beast Taming Peak lineage gathered in the Beast Taming Hall at the summit, drinking and eating meat. With each person owning two or three spirit beasts, they managed to turn the magnificent hall into something resembling a team-building event.

Shen Tu Yu was so happy that he drank six jars of spirit fruit wine in a row, and finally got so drunk that he was unconscious and was dragged back to the back hall by the Iron-Eating Beast.

Chen Qing counted them carefully at the time—

Besides him, there were only twenty-five disciples present.

Shen Tu Yu had told him that there were twenty-seven disciples on Beast Taming Peak.

Two people are missing.

Chen Qing later inquired with Song Yang, who remained silent for a moment, then sighed and told him: those two senior brothers had both died in a secret realm in Chen Qing's hometown—the Wu Kingdom.

That's how it is for cultivators; you never know when they might die.

This news further solidified Chen Qing's desire to purchase defensive spells.

He didn't want to die someday inexplicably in some corner, with no one even to collect his body.