When Qi Ping returned to his mountain peak with the Hundred-Eyed Flower Demon and the Enchanting White Fox, he could no longer contain his excitement.
“Finally, I have new animal companions!”
“And two of them at that!”
Getting both spirit beasts was truly an unexpected surprise for Qi Ping!
All his efforts to find more powerful spirit beast partners had not been in vain.
“This time, I can contract two spiritual soul-type beasts simultaneously. Surely, I’ll manage to share at least one decent talent!”
If he could share two powerful spiritual soul talents at once, that would be the best surprise imaginable.
“I really owe Brother Meng for his help this time!”
Qi Ping hadn’t expected Meng Yan to do this for him.
The thought of asking Meng Yan for help had crossed his mind, but Qi Ping had dismissed it almost immediately.
After all, Meng Yan had already helped him plenty. Asking him to front such a large sum of spirit stones—never mind whether he even had them—was something Qi Ping would have felt too uncomfortable about.
Yet, even though he never asked, Meng Yan went ahead and did it for him.
This filled Qi Ping with both surprise and deep gratitude.
So, no matter what, he had to repay those two thousand extra spirit stones!
He considered it partial repayment for all the help Meng Yan had given him recently.
“In six months, under normal growth conditions for the Hundred Spirit Grass, the Nourishing Spirit Honey should bring in around eight to nine thousand spirit stones. That’s not too far from ten thousand. I just need to use Plant Growth on a portion of the Hundred Spirit Grass…”
With the time pressure less intense, Qi Ping decided against massively boosting the honey production in the short term.
Even though he was confident he could handle the risks, it was still better to avoid unnecessary trouble.
After all, the factions and relationships within Greenstone were deeply intertwined. The biggest fear was the classic scenario: you deal with the small fry, only for their older, powerful backers to show up. If he accidentally provoked a Golden Core cultivator, Qi Ping would have no choice but to flee to unfamiliar lands as a fugitive.
“Brother Meng is a friend worth keeping. So, if he ever faces danger, I’ll do my best to help if I can!”
Qi Ping could tell that Meng Yan was a truly pure-hearted cultivator.
He felt that if someone like Meng Yan didn’t meet an early demise, he would undoubtedly become a formidable powerhouse in the future.
Old Man Zhou had also told him that no matter how strong you become, it’s best to make fewer enemies and more trustworthy friends when there’s no conflict of interest. That’s the better way to survive.
In his youth, Old Man Zhou had known many cultivators more talented than himself, but most of them died, perishing due to being combative and making enemies everywhere.
Because even with great talent, one is still likely an insignificant existence in the cultivation world. Staying hidden is the better way to survive. It’s similar to sects like the Qingyuan Sect or the Skyfire Pavilion; every new generation starts with a surge of geniuses, but very few actually manage to grow to their potential.
Without a powerful background or supernal talent, if you want to live well, you either need exceptional luck or a thorough understanding of how to survive. Yet, for some reason, so many people seem to think they are the former…
Back on the peak, Qi Ping released Ya Ya and the bee swarm from their spirit beast pouches. After instructing them to keep watch and guard the area, he finally felt at ease to prepare for the contract ritual.
The first spirit beast Qi Ping took out from his storage pouch was the Enchanting Spirit Fox.
It was a little creature, completely snow-white and fluffy.
Its appearance was quite similar to the Illusory Moon White Fox Qi Ping had seen before.
However, the Enchanting Spirit Fox’s body was a bit more round and chubby, making it look especially adorable.
The most distinct difference was the unique Enchanting Mark on the little fox’s forehead—the hallmark of the Enchanting Spirit Fox lineage. Starting with one mark, the more marks it has, the stronger its bloodline.
The little Enchanting White Fox in Qi Ping’s hands only had a single Enchanting Mark, but its bloodline had already reached the high second tier. In some respects, it wasn’t inferior to Ya Ya.
However, the difficulty of raising and advancing the bloodline of an Enchanting White Fox was even greater than for Ya Ya. This was probably the reason Meng Yan’s senior sister had chosen to sell it; it was too hard to make it combat-ready quickly.
Even for Qi Ping, he currently lacked the resources to properly raise this little spirit fox. What he needed right now was more about sharing this little fox’s innate talent.
“Still not awake?”
Looking at the little thing still fast asleep, Qi Ping reached out and gently stroked its body a few times.
Feeling the touch, the little spirit fox slowly woke up. It shook its head drowsily, blinking its eyes as it looked at Qi Ping.
Upon seeing Qi Ping’s unfamiliar face, the little fox’s first reaction was a bit fearful.
However, after sensing Qi Ping’s aura, it calmed down. The aura emanating from Qi Ping felt very comfortable and safe to it.
Right at that moment, the little fox’s stomach suddenly let out a soft gurgling sound. It seemed it was hungry.
Feeling the hunger in its belly, the little fox looked up at Qi Ping with a mixture of helplessness and timidity.
Its stomach was hungry and wanted food, but it was a little too scared to eat.
Seeing the still somewhat timid little fox, Qi Ping took out a few Nourishing Spirit Fruits and a piece of Blood Ginseng from his storage pouch, placing them in front of it.
The little fox saw the spirit fruits Qi Ping offered and couldn’t help but swallow, yet it didn’t start eating. Instead, it looked back at Qi Ping with a questioning gaze.
Qi Ping smiled and said:
“Go ahead, little one!”
“Chirp chirp. (Okay! Then I’ll eat!)”
“Chirp chirp. (Huh? Wait, how can I understand you, Foxy?)”
The little spirit fox responded instinctively, but only after bringing its mouth close to the Nourishing Spirit Fruit did it react.
Its eyes widened suddenly as it stared at Qi Ping. This was incredible!
Of all the two-legged creatures it had met so far, this was the first time it had encountered one whose speech it could completely understand!
Its intelligence wasn’t low, so it naturally recognized the difference.
Its intuition told it that this two-legged creature seemed completely different from all the others!
“Eat first and fill your stomach. After you’re full, I’ll explain,” Qi Ping suggested.
“Chirp chirp. (Alright then! That works! But remember to tell Foxy me later!)”
Being simple-minded and, having confirmed Qi Ping meant no harm, the little spirit fox decided that filling its tummy was the top priority!
For a little spirit fox of its age, no matter how big the world is, eating is the most important thing!
But it was also extremely curious about why it could understand Qi Ping.
Before eating, it sniffed the Nourishing Spirit Fruits and the Blood Ginseng again, detecting nothing unusual. In fact, they smelled rather nice.
So, it began to eat, taking one bite after another.
It ate quite fast, clearly very hungry.
But the fact that it could sleep so soundly while being this hungry was still somewhat unusual.
A little while later, the Blood Ginseng and Nourishing Spirit Fruits Qi Ping had provided were all finished.
Lying on the grass, the little fox rubbed its round belly with its front paws, a content expression on its face.
After lying there for a moment, it looked back at Qi Ping and said:
“Chirp chirp. (I’m full! Now can you tell Foxy me? Why can I understand you?)”
