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

outside the temple.

Chen Qing walked down the bluestone steps and returned to the familiar yet somewhat unfamiliar courtyard halfway up the mountain.

Pushing open the courtyard gate, the old pine tree and the wind chimes remain the same.

Despite being uninhabited for over two years, the courtyard did not appear desolate. The spiritual energy of the Beast Taming Peak was abundant, and even the weeds grew vigorously. Several unnamed wildflowers peeked out from the cracks in the rocks, swaying gently in the wind.

Chen Qing looked around, nodded slightly, and casually patted the spirit beast pouch at his waist. Qingtian, Danyu, and the little silver moon wolf all appeared in the courtyard.

As soon as Qingtian landed, it leaped up onto the old pine tree, perched on a branch, looked around, and chirped, conveying its thoughts: "We're back! We're back! Chen Qing, we're finally back!"

Dan Yu landed gracefully on the ground, her slender neck turning slightly. Her gaze lingered on the string of wind chimes for a moment before returning to it, and she let out a soft call, her voice cool yet carrying a hint of barely perceptible nostalgia.

The little silver moon wolf quietly squatted at Chen Qing's feet, its eerie green eyes curiously surveying the unfamiliar courtyard, its nose twitching slightly as it sniffed the unfamiliar scent in the air.

Chen Qing squatted down and reached out to stroke the little silver moon wolf's head. It was soft and fluffy to the touch, and felt wonderful.

At the same time, a screen of light appeared before his eyes—

Silver Moon Wolf

[Realm Level: First Tier, Low Grade]

[Potential: Mid-grade Tier 2]

Bloodline: Normal

[Status: Curious & Vigilant]

Chen Qing glanced at it and understood what was going on.

The potential of a mid-grade second-tier weapon is similar to that of Qingtian back then—sufficient, but not outstanding.

But it's okay, with the system at hand, potential can be increased sooner or later.

Chen Qing withdrew his gaze and took out the golden contract scroll from his storage bag. The little silver moon wolf tilted its head, its eerie green eyes fixed on the scroll, and seemed to sense something, its ears twitching slightly.

"I want to sign a spiritual contract with you. From now on, we will be family. Are you willing?" Chen Qing looked at it and said softly.

The silver moon wolf cub blinked, let out a soft cry, and walked over to him with its short legs, touching his fingers with its nose.

Chen Qing smiled and tore the talisman off the scroll, sticking it to the little wolf's forehead.

At the same time, he silently recited in his heart:

"System, contract."

The next moment, the light screen in front of them lit up—

[Contract activated...]

[Target: Silver Moon Wolf (Tier 1, Low Grade)]

[Potential: Mid-grade Tier 2]

[Do you confirm the contract?]

"confirm."

A heat rose between his brows, and a wisp of his soul left his body, silently disappearing into the little silver moon wolf's brow.

The little silver moon wolf trembled, its eerie green eyes widening as it stared blankly at Chen Qing. Its gaze first held confusion, then doubt, and finally transformed into deep affection and dependence.

It stuck out its pink little tongue and gently licked Chen Qing's fingers. Chen Qing reached out and picked it up from the ground. It was a fluffy ball of fur, but it was very soft.

Chen Qing glanced down and clicked his tongue, saying, "It's a girl."

Chen Qing thought for a moment, his gaze falling on its silvery-gray fur in its juvenile stage. After a moment of contemplation, he said softly, "I'll call you Silver Moon."

"Waaah—"

The little wolf let out a soft cry, it was unclear whether it understood or not, it just snuggled closer to him, found a comfortable position, and squinted its eyes, letting out a comfortable thought.

Chen Qing smiled and turned his gaze back to the light screen in front of him—

[Consume 1000 essences to increase the Silver Moon Wolf's intelligence?]

【whether】

"Yes."

With a single thought, a thousand essences were instantly deducted.

[Remaining Essence: 4538]

In an instant, a cool stream of air emanated from between Chen Qing's eyebrows and silently entered between Yin Yue's eyebrows.

Silver Moon shuddered, its eerie green eyes instantly becoming clearer. Its previously hazy gaze now held a newfound liveliness. It raised its head to look at Chen Qing, its eyes no longer filled with mere dependence, but with a new kind of... understanding.

"Awooo—"

She called out softly, the message no longer a vague emotion, but a clear thought: "Chen Qing...Master?"

Her voice was soft and sweet, with a hint of childishness, like a little girl's.

"Just call me Chen Qing, no need to call me master." Chen Qing patted Yin Yue's head and said gently.

Yin Yue tilted her head, a hint of doubt flashing in her dark green eyes, but she quickly accepted it and rubbed her hand against Chen Qing's: "Chen Qing."

Her voice was soft, with a hint of dependence.

Qingtian jumped down from the pine branch, squatted on the stone table, and curiously looked at Yinyue: "What? I have a little sister now?"

Dan Yu stood to the side, glanced at Yin Yue indifferently, and thought to himself: "Not bad."

Yin Yue looked at the two spirit beasts in front of her. One was a gray-haired monkey with three golden hairs on its head and a strong spiritual energy fluctuation emanating from its body; the other was a white-feathered crane with a cold temperament, giving people a feeling of keeping them at a distance.

She shrank her neck and snuggled closer to Chen Qing.

Chen Qing chuckled, took out a pill bottle from his storage bag, poured out a pale red pill, and handed it to Yin Yue.

"This is a spirit beast pill, a low-grade first-tier one, suitable for your current cultivation level."

Silver Moon sniffed, stuck out its little tongue and licked it, its eyes lit up, swallowed it in one gulp, then looked up at Chen Qing, its tail wagging rapidly.

"This spirit beast pill can be taken once every three days; you can't take more than that."

Chen Qing smiled, and with a thought, the light screen before him reappeared, only this time with several new options—

【Silver Moon Wolf - Silver Moon】

【…】

[Enhance Potential (Tier 2 Mid-Grade → Tier 2 High-Grade): 5000 Essence]

[Bloodline Purification (Normal → A Slight Sliver of Wolf True Spirit Bloodline): 120000 Essence]

Chen Qing stared blankly at the last line. He had previously thought about contracting a fish-like spirit beast, and it was possible that the "purify bloodline" option would appear after the contract was signed. Now it seemed that it was indeed possible.

Thinking of this, the idea of ​​"Soaring Kunpeng" in Chen Qing's mind popped up again.

However... 120,000 essences.

Chen Qing's lips twitched. He looked down at Yin Yue, who was squinting in his arms, then at the string of numbers on the screen, and sighed silently.

Activating the Sky-Piercing Xuanhuang Ancient Ape requires 50,000, Danyu's Crane True Spirit Bloodline requires 100,000, and Yinyue's Wolf True Spirit Bloodline requires 120,000...

Each one is more expensive than the last.

His gaze fell on his remaining essence balance—

[Highlights: 4538]

The fish and chickens I painstakingly raised for four years didn't even amount to a fraction of what I earned.

Chen Qing shook his head, deciding to put those distant matters aside for the time being and focus on the present.

There are still spirit sheep chickens and blue carp to take care of at Half Moon Lake, so I can't leave for too long. This time I've taken care of everything I needed to do back at the mountain, so it's time to go back. But since it's a rare trip back, even though there aren't many senior brothers and sisters on Beast Taming Peak, I still need to see the ones I should.

Chen Qing stood up and was about to walk out when he suddenly caught a glimpse of the old pine tree in the courtyard and stopped in his tracks.

The old pine tree had gnarled and twisted branches, its verdant canopy forming a canopy. The branches were laden with pine cones, so heavy that they drooped slightly.

"Pine cones?"

Chen Qing looked up at the tree full of pine cones and a feeling of emotion suddenly arose in his heart.

It can be said that he lived in this small courtyard for four years.

From the fourth level of Qi Refining to the seventh level, from the contract with Qingtian and Danyu to bringing back Yinyue now, many things have happened here.

Chen Qing thought for a moment, then used his Wind Control Technique to leap onto a branch. He picked the largest and brightest pine cones, peeled off the ripe nuts, and put them into his storage bag.

After careful selection, I finally gathered about a hundred of the best-looking grains.

Chen Qing landed back on the ground, patted the debris off his hands, and looked up at the string of copper wind chimes on the old pine branch. A thin layer of verdigris had formed on them, and they made a crisp sound as the mountain breeze blew by.

This wind chime was hung there when he moved in; Song Yang said it was left by the senior brother who lived here before.

Chen Qing didn't know where that senior brother went afterward, whether he was alive or dead, and no one had ever mentioned it, but one thing was certain—

He's not coming back.

Chen Qing withdrew her gaze and did not touch the wind chimes.

He figured he wouldn't be able to return to this little courtyard anytime soon, so he decided to let the wind chimes wait for the next destined person, just like they waited for that senior brother.

"I'm gone."

Chen Qing patted the spirit beast pouch, and three beams of light flashed, taking in Qingtian, Danyu, and Yinyue.

He pushed open the courtyard gate, took one last look at the small courtyard, turned around and walked eastward along the bluestone steps.

There aren't many disciples on Beast Taming Peak, but there are plenty of places to stay. Several senior brothers and sisters live in the courtyard on the east side. Now that you're back, you should go and say hello.

Unfortunately, after going around in circles, Chen Qing discovered that his more familiar senior brothers, such as Song Yang, had already broken through to the seventh level of Qi Refining and gone to various secret realms, but Su Wanwan was still there.

This youngest senior sister joined the sect three years earlier than him. She had good aptitude, was straightforward, and cared about spirit beasts. The two got along very well.

[New book recommendation period, please vote, fellow readers!]