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

Chen Qing returned to the chicken coop and quickly finished the remaining work.

After sweeping, adding water, and inspecting the fence, the sky gradually darkened.

He looked around. The bamboo forest was quiet and the stream was babbling. Xiao Chunan was still busy at the Green Carp Pond and wouldn't be coming over for a while.

Chen Qing turned and walked towards a small hut behind the chicken coop.

This is his resting place. It's called a house, but it's really just a small shed made of wood, barely enough to keep out the wind and rain. Inside, there's a dilapidated wooden table, a bamboo chair, and some odds and ends piled up in the corner.

After finishing his work, he would come here to rest and have a drink of water.

Chen Qing sat down on the bamboo chair, made a hand seal, and assumed a meditative posture.

In fact, he was staring at the light screen in front of him that only he could see.

[Beast Taming and Immortality System]

[Host: Chen Qing]

[Realm Level: Qi Refining Stage 3]

[Contracted Spirit Beast: None]

[Highlights: 1]

[Note: May enhance the host's affinity with mammals]

The light screen is simple and clear, with two options below, glowing with a faint golden light—"Beast Taming" and "Immortality".

Chen Qing composed himself, and with a thought, he opened [Beast Taming].

The light screen swirled, and lines of small text appeared:

Beast Taming Contract

[Current Contract Slots: 0/2]

[Note: Contracting a spirit beast creates a connection of minds. It can be used in battle and its senses can be shared. Contracting requires the consumption of divine soul power. The number of contracts that can be made is determined by the strength of the host's divine soul. Current divine soul strength allows for 0/2 contracts.]

[Note: Both parties to the contract share both prosperity and ruin. If the contracted spirit beast dies, the host's soul will be severely damaged, resulting in a drop in cultivation level or even loss of sanity. Therefore, contracts must be entered into with utmost care.]

Chen Qing looked at the note and raised his eyebrows slightly.

"We all prosper together, and we all suffer together?"

He pondered the meaning of those words for a moment, and gradually came to understand.

This isn't the kind of game where you just buy another pet after it dies; this is a true test of life and death.

If he dies, his contracted spirit beast will most likely not survive either; conversely, if his contracted spirit beast dies in battle, he, as its master, will also suffer greatly.

"So you can't just sign a contract with any spirit beast," Chen Qing said thoughtfully. "You have to choose one that you can stay with for a long time, preferably one with high potential, long lifespan, and not easy to die..."

He subconsciously glanced at the group of spirit sheep chickens not far away, still pecking at their food.

On the chicken's head, the four golden characters "Contract" and "Harvest" still floated, gleaming slightly in the sunlight.

Chen Qing's lips twitched.

What is a contract?

He tried to imagine a scene: one day in the future, he went down the mountain to train and encountered an evil cultivator blocking his way. The evil cultivator grinned and summoned a flying sword, but he waved his hand—fifty spirit sheep chickens clucked and rushed out, defecating as they went…

The scene was too beautiful for him to bear.

No, no.

Chen Qing shook his head vigorously, trying to shake the absurd thought out of his mind. "When contracting a spirit beast, you have to choose one with high potential. This spirit sheep chicken will only reach the third level of Qi Refining even if I raise it until it dies. What's the use of contracting it? What if it gets swallowed by a passing first-level demon beast one day? I'll be seriously injured as well. It would be a huge loss."

He decisively turned off [Beast Taming] and opened another option, [Longevity]—

[The Fruit of Longevity]

The Dao Fruit is the essence of heaven and earth, the ultimate destination of all things.

[Any creature that has been personally fed, cared for, and brought to maturity by the host has a chance to condense essence upon the end of its life (natural death/slaughter/death in battle), and in very rare cases, this essence can condense into a special item.]

[Current Essence: 1]

[Note: After activating the Legion system, you can actively harvest the essence of unfamiliar creatures.]

Chen Qing stared at these lines of text, his eyes gradually brightening.

He quickly flipped through the pages and found a more detailed explanation:

[Essence: Formed from the essence, energy, and spirit of a living being, it can help contracted spirit beasts purify their bloodline, awaken their intelligence, break through bottlenecks, and increase their cultivation.]

[Taking the Spirit Sheep Chicken as an example: The Spirit Sheep Chicken is a low-grade first-tier spirit bird. If its bloodline is purified with essence, it can be gradually upgraded to—]

[Tier 1, Mid-Grade (Qi Refining Levels 4-6)]

[Tier 1, High Grade (Qi Refining Levels 7-9)]

[Tier 2, Low Grade (Early Foundation Establishment Stage)]

【…】

[Theoretical Upper Limit: Third Tier (Golden Core Stage)]

Chen Qing's pupils contracted slightly when he saw the words "third tier".

Third stage, Golden Core stage.

An ordinary spirit sheep chicken, if fed with essence all the way up, could actually grow to the Golden Core stage?

What if it were a spirit beast with high potential?

After reading the long explanation, Chen Qing slowly exhaled. He roughly understood how the system worked.

This is a pyramid.

He stood at the top of the tower.

Contracted spirit beasts are the second level—

They are few in number, but they are tied to his life; they are his true partners, his fighting force, and his trump card.

And the creatures he or his contracted spirit beasts raised by hand are the foundation of this tower, the bricks and stones at its base—

They provide essence to nourish the contracted spirit beasts as they grow; their numbers are vast, but they have no direct contractual connection with him, so no matter how many die, they will not harm him in the slightest.

"I'm a farm owner, you know." Chen Qing couldn't help but laugh. "I raise them, and when they die, they drop essence for me. I use that essence to feed my contracted spirit beasts, and when they become stronger, they in turn help my cultivation..."

The more he thought about it, the more interesting he found the system.

Isn't this the "ox-horse system"?

Isn't this just the same model from the previous life where "ordinary players support paying players, and paying players support the game"?

However, here, he is the "game creator" standing at the top.

"etc--"

Chen Qing suddenly remembered something and clicked on the [Beast Taming] section again to take a closer look.

A moment later, he raised his head, his gaze intense.

There was a line of smaller text at the end of the Beast Taming section, which he hadn't noticed earlier:

When a contracted spirit beast cultivates, a portion of its spiritual energy will be fed back to the host, aiding its own cultivation. The amount of this feedback depends on the spirit beast's aptitude, cultivation level, and intimacy with the host.

After reading this line of text, Chen Qing couldn't help but smile.

"Isn't this just a cultivation accelerator?"

He did the math—

He is now cultivating alone. With his three spiritual roots as his aptitude, he meditates for an hour with great difficulty, but only manages to refine a tiny bit of spiritual energy.

However, if he contracts with two spirit beasts, those two spirit beasts will also feed back spiritual energy to him when they cultivate.

Although each one doesn't give back much, two together mean two extra benefits.

Moreover, as his cultivation level increased, the number of contract slots increased, and the number of spirit beasts also increased...

By then, even if he were to lie down and sleep, a dozen or even dozens of spirit beasts would be cultivating for him, continuously feeding him spiritual energy...

"This is true 'immortality'."

Chen Qing sighed, gaining a deeper understanding of the system's name.

Taming beasts is the means, immortality is the goal.

Raising spirit beasts yields rewards, accelerating cultivation, extending lifespan, and ultimately seeking immortality.

He turned off the light screen, leaned back in the bamboo chair, and stared at the dappled light and shadows filtering through the bamboo forest above him, his mind racing.

Now comes the problem.

Which spirit beast should I choose for my contract?

The Spirit Sheep Chicken is definitely not an option; its potential is too low. Even if raised to death, it will only have the combat strength of the third level of Qi Refining. Contracting it would be a waste of a spot. If it gets swallowed by a passing first-level demon beast one day, it will also suffer severe injuries. It would be a losing proposition.

Unless you spend "essence" to purify your bloodline, but the cost will definitely be huge.

therefore--

If you're going to choose, choose the one with high potential.

It's best to raise them from a young age to cultivate a bond and increase intimacy, so that they will give back more in return.

So here's another question—

Where in Lingyun Sect are the most spirit beasts with high potential?

Without even thinking, Chen Qing's gaze fell upon the Beast Taming Peak shrouded in mist not far away.