[Species: Jade-Scale Demon Spider]
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Bloodline: First-order, High-grade
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Innate Abilities: Danger Sense, Jade Scales, Venomous Silk
Danger Sense: Can predict imminent threats to itself, though it fails to perceive dangers far beyond its own power.
Jade Scales: Its body is covered in jade-like scales, providing strong defensive capabilities.
Venomous Silk: The transparent silk it spins carries sharp barbs and potent venom. The silk is highly durable, sticky, and elastic.
……
[Species: Emberflame Crow]
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Bloodline: Second-order, Low-grade
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Innate Abilities: Emberflame Body, Emberflame, Solar Perception
Emberflame Body: Contains a trace of ancient Golden Crow bloodline, granting high affinity for fire-based cultivation. Consuming fire-attribute spiritual materials can rapidly enhance its strength.
Emberflame: Due to its diluted Golden Crow lineage, it produces an intensely burning flame known as “Emberflame.”
Solar Perception: Its bloodline naturally resonates with the sun, allowing it to absorb solar energy to empower itself.
…..
[Species: Illusion Moon Fox]
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Bloodline: Second-order, Low-grade
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Innate Abilities: Natural Intelligence, Resilient Spirit, Fox Illusion Art
Natural Intelligence: Highly intelligent, with exceptional comprehension and learning abilities.
Resilient Spirit: Possesses strong spiritual resistance, surpassing most spirit beasts of the same rank. Highly resistant to soul-based attacks.
Fox Illusion Art: Extraordinary talent in illusion techniques, capable of killing unseen through illusions.
…..
“Jade-Scale Demon Spider, Emberflame Crow, Illusion Moon Fox…”
These three spirit beasts were Qi Ping’s final choices out of seven. He had already reviewed their details in ancient texts, which matched exactly what Shopkeeper Gao had described.
Other options, like the Shadow Serpent—priced at six or seven thousand spirit stones—were beyond Qi Ping’s reach. Even if he could afford them, flaunting such wealth at his current strength would be reckless. Six or seven thousand spirit stones were a far cry from one thousand, and the risk of attracting greedy Foundation Establishment cultivators—possibly even the sellers themselves—was too high.
“Each of these three spirit beasts has unique strengths that would greatly benefit me…”
The Jade-Scale Demon Spider, though a solitary insect-type beast, was nearly the size of a human head. With its Venomous Silk and Jade Scales, its combat prowess was formidable—especially in defensive battles. Its Danger Sense ability made Qi Ping practically drool with envy.
Foreseeing danger + transforming into a bee to escape? That was his dream combo!
Moreover, the spider could be cultivated using the Demon Insect Breeding Manual, giving it tremendous future potential.
The Emberflame Crow was another highly appealing option—perhaps even more so than the spider.
With its trace of Golden Crow bloodline, the crow’s potential could continuously awaken if fed enough fire-attribute spiritual materials. Its growth ceiling might even surpass the Jade-Scale Demon Spider’s.
Qi Ping’s [Plant Growth] skill allowed him to cultivate ample fire-attribute herbs, perfectly complementing the crow’s needs. While raising an Emberflame Crow would be prohibitively expensive for others, it was ideal for Qi Ping—since he couldn’t openly sell too many of his self-grown herbs anyway.
Additionally, the crow was low-maintenance—just basking in sunlight could sustain it.
But what truly excited Qi Ping was how any one of the crow’s three major talents could drastically enhance his own fire-attribute aptitude. Whether he inherited Emberflame Body, Emberflame, or Solar Perception, mastering the high-tier “Woodfire Art” would become far easier, solidifying his foundation.
And once he perfected his “Honey-Infused Fire Spirit Body Tempering Pill,” the synergy with the crow would be unmatched.
As for the Illusion Moon Fox—the most expensive of the three—it ranked slightly below the spider in Qi Ping’s priorities, but not by much.
The fox’s heightened intelligence and spiritual resilience would be invaluable, as improving one’s soul and comprehension in the cultivation world was notoriously difficult. However, at this stage, Qi Ping needed physical enhancements more urgently.
Another consideration was that insect swarms, while formidable, had a glaring weakness: vulnerability to soul attacks.
Insects were ferocious and numerous, but a single spiritual assault could cripple them. The fox’s illusion and soul talents could patch this weakness, making it a good complement to his bee swarm.
Overall, Qi Ping was quite satisfied with all three options.
Current Pricing Estimates:
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Jade-Scale Demon Spider (Juvenile): ~1,300 spirit stones (ideal for bonding from a young age).
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Emberflame Crow (Semi-Mature): Originally first-order peak, but its bloodline was damaged, dropping it to first-order mid-stage. Normally worth 3,000 stones, now discounted to ~1,500.
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Illusion Moon Fox (Juvenile): Starts at 2,000 spirit stones.
These prices were actually lower than market rates—likely because spirit beasts were less sought-after in Qingstone County. For Qi Ping, this was a bargain, even if the selection was limited.
As Qi Ping deliberated, Shopkeeper Gao waited patiently. After all, spending over a thousand spirit stones was no small decision for a Qi Refining cultivator.
“Shopkeeper Gao, I’ve made my considerations. Let’s examine these three beasts in person, discuss pricing, and then I’ll finalize my choice.”
“Of course! Each spirit beast has a unique temperament, so seeing them firsthand is essential. Shall we go now?”
“One moment—do you have any black robes here?” Qi Ping asked.
“Black robes? Ah, yes! Just a second, Brother Qi!”
After a brief pause, Qi Ping donned a full disguise—black robes and a mask—while suppressing his aura. Then, he followed Shopkeeper Gao into a northern shop.
Inside, various spirit beasts were on display, including the Jade-Scale Demon Spider.
Qi Ping glanced at the others but found none as impressive, so he focused on the spider.
It was smaller than a palm, its body encased in jade-like scales, as if carved from white jade…
