Chapter 148: Chapter 147: The Charming Female Cultivator

The Ten Thousand Beasts Sect’s Market was established in a massive city at the foot of Ten Thousand Beasts Mountain.

True to the Ten Thousand Beasts Sect’s usual naming style, it was simple and clear: the Ten Thousand Beasts Pavilion.

Bai Zichen took a look around. The Ten Thousand Beasts Pavilion was at least ten times larger than the Qingfeng Sect’s Market.

This was to be expected. The Qingfeng Sect’s market was only patronized by its own disciples, the Cultivation Families of Black Mountain, and a few Loose Cultivators.

But the Ten Thousand Beasts Sect’s fame had spread to several neighboring kingdoms. The moment anyone thought of buying a Companion Spirit Beast, the first place that came to mind was the Ten Thousand Beasts Pavilion.

Coupled with the existence of the Clear Spirit Jade Marrow, more than half of the people in the Ten Thousand Beasts Pavilion were Cultivators from other prefectures.

"Since you two fellow Daoists are here to choose Companion Spirit Beasts, I’ll take you directly to the Spirit Beast Pavilion run by our Sect. These outer shops aren’t worth browsing."

Acting as a conscientious host, Honglian introduced the main shops of the Ten Thousand Beasts Pavilion and the things to keep in mind when choosing a Companion Spirit Beast at the Spirit Beast Pavilion.

"If you’re buying Spirit Beast cubs or eggs, the price generally isn’t too high... The ones that sell for astronomical prices are the mature Spirit Beasts that our Sect has already raised and tamed. As soon as you sign a Spirit Beast Contract, you gain a powerful combatant."

As they talked, the three of them passed through the bustling crowd and arrived in front of the Spirit Beast Pavilion.

"For example, this Tier Two Mid-Grade Red Flame Tiger. I estimate you couldn’t get it for less than twenty thousand Spirit Stones."

Honglian pointed a slender finger at a magnificent tiger being led out. Its fur was crimson, and as it opened and closed its maw, sparks flew out.

A flamboyantly dressed young Cultivator eagerly tried to mount the Red Flame Tiger, only to be thrown to the ground with a roar.

"Your sect’s Spirit Beast Contracts don’t seem very effective," Su Li remarked.

Su Li had little interest in Spirit Beasts. If not for Ancestor Yangg’s arrangement, he would much rather have stayed indoors and drawn a couple more Talismans.

"It’s perfectly normal for a Qi Refining Stage boy to be rejected when trying to control a Tier Two Mid-Grade Spirit Beast, especially with no innate affinity for it," Honglian explained. "The contract only ensures the Spirit Beast won’t harm its master and can clearly receive your commands. When the gap in Cultivation is too large, the Spirit Beast will naturally resist."

Honglian was clearly well-known in the Spirit Beast Pavilion. As soon as they entered, disciples of the Ten Thousand Beasts Sect greeted her enthusiastically and led them up to a private room on the third floor.

"Junior Sister Honglian, what brings you to my Spirit Beast Pavilion for an inspection today?"

A seductive voice drifted in from outside the private room. Before the person even appeared, an image of a bewitching and beautiful woman had already formed in Bai Zichen’s mind.

"Senior Sister Hu, you jest. Master has a guest... I’m just showing the guest’s two juniors around the Spirit Beast Pavilion."

Honglian’s already elegant face grew even more serious, and her voice became icy, a stark contrast to the alluring, melodious tone of the other woman.

Senior Sister Hu pushed the door open and entered the room, a fragrant breeze wafting in with her. She was dressed in a bold, fiery manner.

Tight-fitting hunting trousers accentuated her full, rounded thighs, which looked firm and supple.

Her upper body was clad only in a piece of red cloth resembling a bodice, her ample chest swaying with her movements, and her waist as slender and seductive as a willow branch.

"Well now, where did these two handsome young Daoists come from? I don’t believe I’ve seen you before. Is this your first time at the Spirit Beast Pavilion?"

Senior Sister Hu took two steps closer, dipped a fragrant shoulder, and curled her crimson lips into a slight pout, her eyes shimmering with amorous intent.

’Such a powerful Charming Skill!’

A fire ignited in Bai Zichen’s heart. He could feel her hot breath on his neck, a ticklish and incredibly alluring sensation.

The Heaven and Earth Furnace materialized in his Sea of Consciousness. With a few swings of its hammer that seemed to shatter the heavens, he finally steadied his mind.

When he looked at Senior Sister Hu again, she was still impossibly charming, but he no longer felt that overwhelming, uncontrollable fascination.

Su Li, not being the primary target of the Charming Skill, was in slightly better shape. He had his eyes squeezed shut, his face was beet red, and his whole body was trembling slightly.

"Senior Sister, your Divine Sense is formidable. Why must you tease my Junior Brother?"

Bai Zichen stood up, positioning himself between Senior Sister Hu and Su Li. This seductive woman was actually a Late-Stage Foundation Establishment Cultivator!

Moreover, her Divine Sense was powerful, definitely a cut above that of an ordinary Late-Stage Foundation Establishment Cultivator.

A flicker of surprise crossed Senior Sister Hu’s eyes. It was truly rare for a mere Early-Stage Foundation Establishment Cultivator to break her Charming Skill.

Her Lifebound Spiritual Beast was a Three-Tailed White Fox. While not very helpful in Combat, it made practicing Charming Skills twice as effective. Even a Perfect Foundation Establishment Cultivator could fall for it if they weren’t careful.

Otherwise, she wouldn’t be qualified to manage an establishment like the Spirit Beast Pavilion.

"My name is Hu Yushan, little Junior Brother. You’re quite capable... And here you are calling my Divine Sense formidable. Compared to yours, it’s nothing at all!"

Hu Yushan retracted her Charming Skill and sized Bai Zichen up with curiosity.

For an Early-Stage Foundation Establishment Cultivator to break her Charming Skill, he either had to possess an Innate Divine Sense powerful enough to rival someone at Foundation Establishment Perfection, or he was carrying a Secret Treasure that could protect its wearer from Charm Arts and Spiritual Sense Attacks.

Hu Yushan felt the latter was more likely.

Honglian stepped forward to make introductions and explained their purpose: to purchase two Spirit Beast cubs.

"Rest assured, since my dear junior sister personally brought such handsome guests to my door, I will certainly treat you with the utmost care."

Hu Yushan giggled, her eyes dancing, and sashayed out of the private room.

"My apologies, fellow Daoists. Senior Sister Hu is not usually like this... It’s just that from practicing the Spirit Control Scripture, she is subtly influenced by her Lifebound Spiritual Beast, which can sometimes cause her to act a bit improperly."

Honglian and Hu Yushan’s relationship was average at best, but in front of outsiders, she still had to offer a word of explanation to protect the Ten Thousand Beasts Sect’s image.

’No wonder Ancestor Yangg calls the Ten Thousand Beasts Sect an Outer Dao. One look at this Demoness and you know the sect’s ways are crooked!’

Bai Zichen nodded to show he understood, though he was grumbling incessantly in his heart.

’If my Realm weren’t so low, I’d definitely put her in her place and teach her the consequences of using her Charming Skills so wantonly.’

A short while later, Hu Yushan returned to the private room with four disciples. The disciples placed the boxes they were carrying on the floor, bowed, and then excused themselves.

"Distinguished disciples of the Qingfeng Sect, I’ve brought you the most precious and treasured Spirit Beast cubs in the entire Spirit Beast Pavilion..."

Hu Yushan clapped her hands, drawing everyone’s attention as the four boxes were opened to reveal the Spirit Beasts inside.

"In this box are six Supreme Cold White Serpent eggs, meticulously cared for by the Sect’s Tier Three Beast Master. I guarantee that every single egg is full of life and will hatch successfully. Once hatched, they’ll be Tier One Mid-Grade Spirit Beasts, and they can grow to become Tier One Peak Spirit Beasts in thirty years at most."

"As for the Supreme Cold White Serpent, it becomes a Tier Two Peak Demon Beast upon reaching adulthood, showing immense potential. It can spit Cold Qi and alter the climate. Rumor has it there’s even a slight chance for it to evolve into a Supreme Cold White Qiu. At that point, a single breath of its Cold Qi could freeze everything for ten li!"

"Miss Hu, let’s get to the point. What’s the price?"

Bai Zichen looked at the row of fist-sized serpent eggs in the box. Their shells were like jade, and a distinct chill could be felt just by touching them.

Beneath the eggs lay pieces of Cold Jade, which not only provided energy for the eggs but would also serve as the first meal for the newborn Supreme Cold White Serpents.

Although he lost most of his interest upon hearing it would take thirty years for it to become a Tier One Peak Spirit Beast, he still wanted to hear the price to get a better sense of things.

"For you, I’ll give you the discounted price for Ten Thousand Beasts Sect disciples. One serpent egg plus a complete rearing manual, only one thousand five hundred Spirit Stones!"

"I’ll take one."

The words had barely left Hu Yushan’s mouth when a voice spoke up from the side, before Bai Zichen could even start to haggle.

Su Li explained to Bai Zichen, "I’m not interested in Companion Spirit Beasts, nor do I have the energy to raise one for decades or even centuries. But since Ancestor Yangg required it, he must have his reasons. I’ll just pick one randomly. I don’t really care how useful it will be."

Bai Zichen remained silent, watching as Su Li accepted a Supreme Cold White Serpent egg along with a Jade Scroll containing the rearing manual.

He then spent an additional five hundred Spirit Stones on a Spirit Beast Bag and some food for the Supreme Cold White Serpent.

’They don’t make their profit on the Spirit Beast, but on all the accessories...’

That was the only thought in Bai Zichen’s mind as he watched Hu Yushan skillfully collect the Spirit Stones.

He felt his own storage pouch, the one Ancestor Yangg had tossed him, and felt a little more confident.

With his own wealth, he wouldn’t have been qualified to sit in the Spirit Beast Pavilion and leisurely select a Spirit Beast.

Ancestor Yangg had been generous, putting thirty Spirit Stones in the storage pouch, all of them Mid-Grade Spirit Stones.

"Let’s see the next one. I’m not interested in the Supreme Cold White Serpent."

Bai Zichen waved his hand dismissively. He had some standards for his first Spirit Beast.

’Although a Spirit Beast’s growth speed will never match my own, I can’t be as careless as Su Li... It would be best if it had some special Divine Techniques that could be useful in certain situations. At the very least, it should have an impressive appearance, something with an ethereal, immortal-like quality. That Red-Capped Silver-Winged Immortal Crane that Fang Qing was riding earlier was quite nice!’

The price of a Spirit Beast in its infancy or egg stage was on a completely different level from a fully raised, mature one.

Take the Supreme Cold White Serpent, for example. Once fully grown, it would be a Tier Two Peak Spirit Beast, with even a slight possibility of evolving into a Tier Three Spirit Beast, the Supreme Cold White Qiu.

But its selling price was less than a tenth of the fully-raised, mature Tier Two Mid-Grade Red Flame Tiger.

This was mainly because raising a Spirit Beast required a huge investment of time and resources, and the process was fraught with uncertainty.

For the serpent egg Su Li bought, by the time the Supreme Cold White Serpent grew to Tier One Peak, he would likely already be at Mid-Stage Foundation Establishment, assuming his progress was smooth.

For a Spirit Beast to break through a major hurdle like advancing to Tier Two, it was normal for it to take fifty or sixty years. Only then could it be of any real help to a Foundation Establishment Cultivator.

But if his cultivation journey went well, Su Li might have already reached Late-Stage Foundation Establishment by then.

The gap between the master’s and the Spirit Beast’s Realm could never be closed.

The only exceptions were if a special fortuitous opportunity accelerated the Spirit Beast’s growth, or if the master’s Cultivation stagnated, allowing the Spirit Beast to catch up and surpass them.

Cultivators of the Ten Thousand Beasts Sect would normally choose a mature Demon Beast as their Lifebound Spiritual Beast.

Then, as a backup plan, they would choose a second, infant Spirit Beast to grow alongside them.

"Since Junior Brother Bai doesn’t care for the Supreme Cold White Serpent, then take a look at this white deer... Once it grows up, it has an elegant form and can fly by stepping on clouds."

Like a dedicated salesperson, Hu Yushan bent over, revealing a breathtaking view of her charms.

From the second box, she lifted out a white deer the size of a small dog.

It was snow-white all over, with four small antlers on its head, and its four hooves kicked energetically, full of life.

The Cloud-Stepping White Deer, a Tier Two Mid-Grade Spirit Beast.

This type of Cloud-Stepping White Deer had no offensive Magic. Its only two advantages were its incredible speed on the ground and its ability to conjure clouds at its hooves to fly slowly through the air.

However, the pairing of a crane and a deer was an extremely auspicious symbol.

Coupled with the Cloud-Stepping White Deer’s beautiful appearance, the sight of someone riding on its back and treading on clouds truly resembled an Immortal descending to the mortal world. As such, it was highly sought after as an ornamental Spirit Beast.