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

"Chen Qing."

"I feel like I'm a little different now."

A clear thought entered Chen Qing's mind.

Qingtian tilted his head, a confused expression on his little face, looking just like a child who had just realized the existence of "self".

Chen Qing was slightly taken aback, then smiled.

"What's different? Be specific."

Qingtian lowered his head and pondered for a moment, then transmitted a thought that was much clearer than before:

"I feel like my mind is clearer than before."

"In the past, I was often confused about many things. I knew what happened, but I didn't know why it happened."

"But now..."

Qingtian raised his head, a thoughtful glint in his golden-brown eyes. "I'm starting to understand some things."

"For example?" Chen Qing asked, intrigued.

"for example……"

Qingtian tilted his head and thought for a moment, then pointed to Danyu, who was squatting on the old pine branch. "Danyu used to ignore me, not because she hated me, but because she thought I was too noisy and disturbed her alchemy."

On the old pine branch, Dan Yu's body stiffened slightly.

Chen Qing suppressed a laugh and asked again, "Any other feelings?"

Qingtian thought for a moment and shook his head: "Nothing else for now, it's just that I feel... my mind is much clearer. Things I couldn't understand before, I can understand now."

Chen Qing looked Qingtian up and down, secretly making a calculation in his mind.

After a thousand essences were used, Qingtian's intelligence improved from the level of a four or five-year-old child to that of a ten-year-old. Although he was still somewhat confused, he could at least communicate normally, think independently, and express his feelings clearly.

After two years of training, Dan Yu's intelligence is roughly equivalent to that of a twelve or thirteen-year-old girl. Although Qing Tian is still a bit behind, he is much, much better than the little guy who could only "squeak" and couldn't even speak clearly before.

"Sure, here's the book. Take a look."

Chen Qing patted Qingtian's head and took out a book from his storage bag, handing it to him.

This book was one of the two special items that dropped after "harvesting" two thousand blue carp not long ago. Chen Qing was quite happy when he received the notification, only to find out that it was a book—

Romance of the Three Kingdoms!

Chen Qing's face darkened immediately. He cursed the system under his breath. Although it was useless, it was perfect for enlightening Qingtian and hopefully changing its somewhat self-conscious and withdrawn nature.

Qingtian took it, opened it, and saw that the page was full of text.

Fortunately, it was in tune with Chen Qing's mind, and since Chen Qing had taught it many characters, it could barely understand them.

Qingtian silently looked through the pages and saw words like "Lord," "Zhuge," and "Wenchang" written inside. He casually flipped through a few pages, as if he had opened the door to a new world.

Chen Qing ignored Qingtian and instead focused his attention on the system.

A semi-transparent ball of light appeared before my eyes, quietly floating in the system inventory slot, emitting a faint blue glow.

This is another special item dropped by the blue carp.

Water Arrow Technique

[Effect: After a contracted spirit beast learns this skill, it can conjure water arrows for attack; the power depends on the spirit beast's cultivation level.]

[Note: Formed from the essence of the Azure Carp's bloodline, this item can only be used on contracted spirit beasts.]

"Water-based magic..."

Chen Qing shook his head, and with a thought, put the ball of light into his system inventory.

Qingtian has both metal and earth attributes, while Danyu has fire attribute. This water-type spell is useless to anyone, so let's save it for later and deal with it if we contract a water-type spirit beast in the future.

Chen Qing put away the ball of light and looked up at the night sky.

The moon had already set in the west, its clear light like a ribbon. From Beast Taming Peak, a few beast roars could be faintly heard, deep and long. It was unknown which senior brother's spirit beast was active at night.

He knew it was time to leave when he broke through to the fifth level of Qi Refining three days ago.

Having spent two and a half years on Beast Taming Peak, progressing from the fourth to the fifth level of Qi Refining, while not particularly fast, would inevitably attract attention if I stayed any longer.

Moreover, the speed of essence collection is still a bit slow.

Two thousand green carp only yield four thousand essences a year. It seems like a lot, but with the bloodline that Qingtian needs fifty thousand essences to activate, this amount is simply not enough.

He had already reached his limit by raising two thousand blue carp on Beast Taming Peak. If he wanted to expand the scale further, he would have to find another place.

Fortunately, we were prepared.

Chen Qing smiled slightly, took out a jade slip from his storage bag, and injected spiritual power into it. A map then appeared before his eyes.

The map marked hundreds of properties surrounding the Lingyun Sect, one of which he circled with a red circle using his spiritual power.

Lin Yuan County of Wu State, Half Moon Lake.

There is a first-grade mid-level spiritual vein there, as well as a lake several miles in circumference. It belongs to the Lingyun Sect, but because of its remote location, it has never been highly valued.

Three months ago, a senior brother at the seventh level of Qi Refining who was stationed there sent a message saying that he felt his time was coming to an end and that he was afraid his days were numbered. He asked the sect to send someone to take his place, but no one came forward for three months.

Three days after breaking through, Chen Qing went to the mission hall to take on the job of guarding Lin Yuan County. The job is rotated every five years and pays 60 low-grade spirit stones per year. The formalities have already been completed.

To be honest, Beast Taming Peak's situation within the sect is indeed somewhat awkward.

Each of the ten peaks of Lingyun occupies a region, and the core area of ​​Lingshan and Linghu is mostly occupied by peaks such as Danxia, ​​Baicao, Wanxiang, and Jianming.

Because of its weak position, the Beast Taming Peak disciples received very few resources. With no other option, they had to diversify their resources – raising chickens, fish, pigs, and so on.

But there's a limit to everything.

Chen Qing already had more than two thousand green carp; any more would be unacceptable unless his cultivation completely stagnated. Otherwise, there would definitely be a problem.

Fortunately, although Half Moon Lake is far away and located in a remote area...

But remoteness is good.

Because it was secluded, no one was watching him, no one noticed how quickly his cultivation had increased, and no one noticed how strange the spirit beasts he raised were. Although Beast Taming Peak was safe, it was always under the watchful eye of the Nascent Soul Ancestor, so there were still too many concerns.

After visiting Half Moon Lake, it wouldn't hurt to see my cultivation level increase faster—there are plenty of reasons: serendipitous encounters, spiritual herbs, and secret realms.

Thinking of this, Xu Gui and Xiao Chunan came to mind.

Xu Gui is ninety years old this year, and his once middle-aged appearance has gradually become aged.

The lifespan of a Qi Refining stage is two Jiazi (60 years), but that is an ideal state without illness or disaster. Xu Gui damaged his foundation in his early years, and with the depletion of his health over the years, it would be good if he could live to be a hundred years old.

Xu Gui himself was aware of this, so he started making arrangements to return to his hometown half a year ago.

His hometown was in Zhenyuan County, which was adjacent to Linyuan County.

Chen Qing, Xu Gui, and Xiao Chunan had already discussed it and decided to leave the sect together tomorrow and travel together.

Since Xiao Chunan dared to clamor for the so-called "Three Heroes of Sword Echoes", he naturally had his own confidence. After some maneuvering, he obtained a mission at Lingjian Mountain in Zhenyuan County. Chen Qing went to Banyue Lake in Linyuan County to take charge, and Xu Gui returned to his hometown in Zhenyuan County to retire. The three of them happened to be going the same way.

"How long is human life? Life is as fleeting as morning dew. The path to immortality is elusive, and the road to immortality is fraught with peril. How many can truly die a peaceful death?"

Chen Qing sighed softly.

Looking up at the clouds that never disperse at the top of Tianzhu Peak, one can see Golden Core cultivators in seclusion and Nascent Soul elders guarding their sects, some with lifespans of hundreds or even thousands of years.

But in this vast Lingyun Sect, with its six thousand years of heritage, how many people can actually reach that level?

Xu Gui could not.

Even that senior brother whose time was drawing to a close couldn't.

Where is Chen Qing?

he does not know.

All he knew was that the path to immortality was like this: talent, opportunity, and temperament were all indispensable. Some people reached the eighth level of Qi Refining at the age of twenty, while others were still at the sixth level at the age of one hundred. No one could blame anyone else.