Qi Ping figured that it was precisely because the Cloud Dream Immortal Tiger was nearly impossible to forcibly contract that it even appeared on the Mysterious Black Market’s sales list in the first place.
Otherwise, under normal circumstances, most people wouldn’t choose to sell this type of spirit beast—and even if they did, the price would be astronomically high.
As for the other spirit beast, the Spirit Saint Turtle, it was in no way inferior to the Cloud Dream Immortal Tiger in terms of rarity or divination abilities.
The Mystic Turtle, as one of the cultivation world’s most powerful divine beasts for measuring heaven and earth, actually surpassed the White Marsh in this regard, and it also enjoyed an incredibly long lifespan.
And the Spirit Saint Turtle, which carried the Mystic Turtle’s bloodline, shared the same traits—superb divination abilities and an exceedingly long life.
However, there were also clear differences between the two in terms of their capabilities:
[Breed: Cloud Dream Immortal Tiger]
[Bloodline: Third-Tier High-Level]
[Talents: Insight into All Things, Deep Fortune, Water Marsh True Lord]
Insight into All Things: Grants understanding of all principles in the world, knowledge of spirits and supernatural matters, and the ability to divine all things under heaven. (Divination and calculation consume lifespan and physical vitality. The greater the karma involved, the stronger the target, and the more detailed the reading, the heavier the toll. In severe cases, backlash may result in death.)
Deep Fortune: Carries inherent fortune, inviting fewer calamities and troubles while increasing the chance of encountering opportunities. Shielded by fortune, it can use this auspicious power to protect itself and block heavenly divination and curses.
Water Marsh True Lord: Possesses exceptional talent in water-element cultivation—a true lord of the waters. Comes with the special water-attribute constitution [Cloud Dream Spirit Body], granting faster cultivation speed, mastery over water spells, and the ability to call upon the power of rivers, lakes, and seas in battle.
[Evaluation: With this one by your side, luck is on your side!]
[Breed: Spirit Saint Turtle]
[Bloodline: Third-Tier High-Level]
[Talents: Mystic Turtle Divination, Spirit Turtle Saint Body, Spirit Turtle Longevity]
Mystic Turtle Divination: Can divine the heavens and all things within them. (Divination and calculation consume lifespan and physical vitality. The greater the karma involved, the stronger the target, and the more detailed the reading, the heavier the toll. In severe cases, backlash may result in death.)
Spirit Turtle Saint Body: Possesses a special water-attribute constitution with extraordinary defensive power, strong regenerative abilities, and incredible life-preserving capabilities.
Spirit Turtle Longevity: Enjoys an exceptionally long lifespan. One turtle outlives ten generations—people come and go, but the turtle remains!
[Evaluation: Don’t let the turtle overdo it with divination—otherwise, it might not even make it through one generation!]
“The Cloud Dream Immortal Tiger leans more toward fortune—it can increase luck and use that fortune to block heavenly divination!”
“The Spirit Saint Turtle leans more toward survivability and divination itself!”
“Both have their strengths, but the Cloud Dream Immortal Tiger is clearly the better fit for me!”
Given the choice, Qi Ping naturally leaned toward the Cloud Dream Immortal Tiger.
The reason he wanted to contract a heaven-oracle divination spirit beast in the first place was so that when others tried to divine the heavens, he could use the power of fate to interfere and cause backlash. That way, he could also better prepare for future dangers.
And the Cloud Dream Immortal Tiger could counter those divination attempts with its Insight into All Things talent, while also using its fortune to shield itself and everything around it. In terms of preventing others from divining him, the Cloud Dream Immortal Tiger was far superior to the Spirit Saint Turtle.
The Spirit Saint Turtle’s advantage lay in its extremely long lifespan, which allowed it to better bear the consumption of divination.
But Qi Ping didn’t have much need for divination anyway—he wasn’t planning to run around outside, and only his Treant Clone occasionally ventured out.
Weak divination wasn’t useful, and strong divination could easily get you killed!
So while the Spirit Saint Turtle wasn’t bad, it ranked lower in priority than the Cloud Dream Immortal Tiger and had lower cost-performance.
Plus, Qi Ping was seriously tempted by the Cloud Dream Immortal Tiger’s Water Marsh True Lord talent!
Not only would it grant him a spirit body with exceptional water-attribute talent—the Cloud Dream Spirit Body—but it would also provide a huge boost to his water-element spell cultivation!
If he could get it, that would give him the third of his Five Elements Spirit Bodies!
“Now the question is—is this Cloud Dream Immortal Tiger cub willing to contract with me?”
Qi Ping had no idea how this kind of spirit beast would respond.
Especially with something like the Cloud Dream Immortal Tiger, where forced contracts invited backlash from both fate and the heavens. Qi Ping wasn’t sure he could withstand that!
Luckily, he’d asked the box puppet before—if the spirit beast wasn’t a good fit after viewing it, he could choose not to buy, only paying a few hundred spirit stones for the courier fee. For special items, the courier fee might be higher.
Hearing that had put Qi Ping at ease. His biggest fear was spending over three hundred thousand spirit stones on a spirit beast, only to find out he couldn’t contract it, with no refunds or only being able to sell it back at a loss—that would have been infuriating.
Thankfully, he only had to pay the courier fee, which he could accept—after all, they’d made the trip for nothing!
After making his decision, Qi Ping spent another two hundred spirit stones to refresh the Black Market and purchased some Tier-2 Low-Level, Tier-2 Mid-Level, and Tier-2 High-Level fire-attribute spirit herb seeds.
These included things like the Tier-2 Mid-Level Flame-Fruit and the Tier-2 High-Level Blazing Pattern Grass…
These were all herbs he and Crow-Crow needed for their cultivation. With these spirit herbs on hand, he could finally start boosting his cultivation again.
As for spirit trees, Qi Ping hadn’t yet decided which ones to buy, so he planned to figure that out later and then have his Treant Clone make the purchase. With the Treant Clone, he no longer had to worry as much about safety.
Decision made, Qi Ping didn’t waste any time and immediately confirmed the purchase.
Not long after, a message appeared on the Mysterious Black Market:
[Purchase successful! Arrival in five days, seven hours, and three quarters of an hour…]
“Five days? That long?”
This was the first time Qi Ping had encountered such a delay. He figured it was because of the Cloud Dream Immortal Tiger.
To be safe, Qi Ping decided to wait at a different location.
That way, even if his Treant Clone was exposed for some reason, the transaction site wouldn’t be compromised.
Thankfully, everything went smoothly, and the five days passed in the blink of an eye.
Five days later, Qi Ping arrived at the transaction spot, filled with both anticipation and anxiety.
He genuinely loved the Cloud Dream Immortal Tiger’s talents—but if it wasn’t willing to become his animal companion, there was nothing he could do.
Not long after Qi Ping arrived at the meeting spot, the familiar box puppet showed up right on time.
Without any small talk, the box puppet immediately brought out the core item of the transaction—the Cloud Dream Immortal Tiger.
When that little white tiger cub with two small horns on its head appeared, it didn’t seem at all surprised to find itself there. It simply looked at Qi Ping with curious eyes, as if it had already known this moment would come.
Then, it trotted over on its fluffy little paws, rubbing naturally and affectionately against Qi Ping’s pant leg.
The whole sequence of actions left Qi Ping thoroughly astonished.
“Whoa… did it already foresee this?”
As expected of the beast of fortune that perceives all things!
