Chapter Six: Mutation

Lotus Peak!

Elder Mo sat at a stone table, sipping spirit tea.

A Black Bear Monster wearing a white Daoist robe strode toward him.

“Master, the Chang Sheng Body that kid Ouyang Hao and I brought back seems to have successfully completed Qi Training.”

As the Black Bear Monster finished speaking, Elder Mo nodded.

“Faster than I imagined.”

“This Chang Sheng Body is indeed difficult to Cultivate.”

“But fortunately, it’s all worth it. A Qi Training Stage Cultivator can easily live past a hundred years, but in his case, it wouldn’t be surprising if he lived to a thousand.”

“Even if his Cultivation speed is a bit slow, with such a long lifespan bonus, after thousands of years, as long as he doesn’t perish, he will be enough to become an Old Ancestor of a region,” Elder Mo sighed with emotion.

Unlike those cultivation Physiques that show their power during the Qi Training or Foundation Establishment Stage… the effects of the Chang Sheng Body can only be seen over a long period of time.

“I just don’t know if he can successfully make that Squirrel mutate…” The Black Bear Monster scratched its head.

“Yes, if he succeeds, he won’t have to wait thousands of years; he can soar to the sky right now…” Elder Mo put away his serious expression and said anxiously, “I have already told him the differences between Spirit Beasts, Yao Beasts, Precious Beasts, and Immortal Beasts.”

“However, I didn’t tell him that whenever a special cultivation Physique forms a Contract with a Pet Beast, there is a certain probability of activating the hidden power in their Bloodline, causing the Pet Beast to undergo a ‘Racial Mutation,’ evolving toward a Precious Beast and Awakening a special Divine Ability.”

“Forming a Bloodline Contract with a Cultivator of a special Physique is the second chance for ordinary Spirit Beasts and Yao Beasts to mutate into Precious Beasts.”

“Unfortunately, the greater the expectation, the greater the disappointment. Since I learned this information, up until Ouyang Hao brought back so many special spiritual bodies, not a single person has succeeded.”

“I wonder how this Chang Sheng Body will fare.” Elder Mo’s expression was impatient as he said, “This time… I hope the gamble succeeds!”

Saying so, Elder Mo ran off to worship the ancestors, burn incense, and pray for blessings.

“Ancestors of the Sect above!”

“Six pairs have already failed; it’s time for a success.”

The Black Bear Monster sighed.

“Master, I feel like you’ve definitely been tricked by the people from Tianji Tower… the information is fake, stop gambling.”

…Outer Courtyard!

Inside the room, Lin Jing pinched the Pine Leaf Rat’s aggrieved little face.

“Squeak!” The Pine Leaf Rat broke free from Lin Jing’s hand and resolutely wiped away its tears.

The Beast Master it chose for itself… so what if his Cultivation is a bit slow… after eating so many Spirit Stones, even a pig could take flight.

It chose to believe in Lin Jing.

Accumulate steadily and break out later; its master’s Physique must be extraordinary.

These Spirit Stones will surely be earned back twofold.

The Pine Leaf Rat closed its eyes and brainwashed itself.

Waiting for the Contract.

Meanwhile, Lin Jing felt the majestic vitality within his body; he didn’t care at all about his slow Cultivation.

There are gains, and there are losses.

Furthermore, he felt that this terrifying vitality brought far more benefits than just a long lifespan.

Since his flesh and blood were a great tonic for monsters.

Then, from another perspective, as long as he was willing, it would also be a great tonic for his Pet Beast.

Of course, directly bleeding and cutting his flesh for his Pet Beast was too brutal; he was a normal person and couldn’t accept it.

So, he had previously considered whether it was possible to use blood for Alchemy and strengthen his Pet Beast with Medicinal Pills?

By using Alchemy to weaken the connection between the Medicinal Pill and himself while retaining the tonic effect, he could prevent his Pet Beast from having bad thoughts about him… but this still sounded like a demonic cultivation method, and he was not yet familiar with the Dao of Alchemy, so he would wait to study it further after learning more.

Lin Jing’s eyes flickered; he was still just a minor Qi Training Stage Cultivator, and this kind of approach was not suitable for him for now.

“Let’s form the Contract,” Lin Jing smiled.

Thanks to this Hoarding Rat, otherwise, even with the treatment of an Inner Sect Disciple, it would have probably taken him much, much longer to succeed in Qi Training… in the future… he would compensate it.

Lin Jing began to mobilize his special blood according to the method recorded in the Beast Taming Art.

He cut a wound in the center of his fingertip.

He used True Qi to force out the special blood within his body.

Soon, a drop of golden blood faintly appeared on his fingertip.

As Lin Jing began to bleed, the Pine Leaf Rat, which had been waiting with its eyes closed for the Contract, suddenly opened its eyes.

Its nose twitched slightly.

Its large eyes looked at Lin Jing.

Master, you smell so good.

Before it could savor it, Lin Jing’s finger had already touched its forehead.

“Don’t struggle.”

“You wouldn’t want me to suffer a backlash and have my Cultivation Base regress, would you?”

The Pine Leaf Rat was startled and did not struggle, fearing that Lin Jing’s Realm would drop.

This was cultivation built up from all its Spirit Stones!

Buzz!

The golden blood merged into the Pine Leaf Rat’s body.

Both sides began to form a Bloodline Contract.

Just as the Pine Leaf Rat felt the connection between itself and Lin Jing grow closer… suddenly.

It felt as if it had suddenly plummeted into a dream, its thoughts drifting back to the time it was still in the pine forest, sitting cross-legged on a tree and bathing in starlight… at this moment, starlight filled the sky, passing through the night curtain to fall upon the earth, with a faint light also landing on its body.

Time flew by, and this starlight did not completely disappear with the dawn; it seemed to be hidden within the Pine Leaf Rat’s Bloodline, waiting for an opportunity to be awakened.

Boom!

The Contract was completed. The Pine Leaf Rat opened its eyes, the spiritual power within its body surged, and its pupils became even more emerald green.

“Squeak?” However, it was dazed and didn’t know what had happened; in the knowledge taught by the Sect, there were no such anomalies explained in the Contract changes.

“Hmm?”

Besides the Pine Leaf Rat, Lin Jing also saw that vision.

What was that?

The Contract was complete, and Lin Jing was stunned.

“Is there such a phenomenon during the Contract process?”

He was puzzled.

In the knowledge Lin Jing understood, the process of forming a Contract with an ordinary Spirit Beast should be very calm.

Starlight… wait, the starry sky?

Suddenly, Lin Jing thought of something.

Related to the starry sky, it seemed there was only what Elder Mo had told him about… Precious Beasts!

Precious Beasts are born from the Light of Alien Stars. Compared to ordinary Spirit Beasts or Yao Beasts, they will additionally Awaken a Divine Ability!

But right now, the Pine Leaf Rat was not bathing in starlight. If it had bathed in it before, could there be a delayed mutation?!

So now… does this mean the Pine Leaf Rat has mutated from an ordinary Spirit Beast into a Precious Beast?

Lin Jing looked at the Pine Leaf Rat.

If that were the case, what he wanted to know most now was what the Pine Leaf Rat’s newly Awakened Divine Ability was.

The Pine Leaf Rat race has spiritual power with inherent Wood-attribute properties, which can accelerate the growth of plants.

However, this is not some special talent; most Wood-attribute Spirit Beasts can do it.

As for combat ability, the Pine Leaf Rat is also very weak, only able to use spiritual power to strengthen leaves and launch them like hidden weapons with limited power, known as the Flying Leaf Technique.

Under these circumstances, the chance for the Pine Leaf Rat race to become very strong relying on their innate abilities is minuscule; they can only learn powerful Spells later on.

But now, if it has Awakened a Divine Ability without having learned any Spells yet, it might be a Heaven-Defying opportunity to change its fate for this ordinary species.

“Is there anywhere you feel uncomfortable?”

“Could it be… a Racial Mutation? You’ve Awakened a new Divine Ability!” Lin Jing asked.

The Pine Leaf Rat spun around dizzily a few times and then shook its head, appearing very “sober.”

“Squeak…”

It meant that if his Cultivation was slow, he should work harder and not daydream about good things; it didn’t feel anything at all.