4: Chapter 4 The Medicine-Seeking Rat

Over the next few days, Lin Xuan's life seemed no different from usual.

He still went to the Dao-Expounding Platform every day to listen to lectures, completed simple chores like sweeping fallen leaves and wiping stone railings, received his daily portion of spiritual rice, and then returned to his quiet little courtyard in Zone C of Emerald Bamboo Peak in the twilight.

Chen Hao's cultivation progress was very fast. Since refining his first wisp of Fire Spiritual Energy, the spiritual energy in his Dantian had been increasing at a visible rate, accumulating a new wisp every few days. He had now stably accumulated seven wisps of spiritual energy. At this rate, he was expected to reach Level 1 Qi Refining within half a year.

He often shared his insights with Lin Xuan excitedly: "Lin Xuan, let me tell you, accumulating this spiritual energy really gets smoother with each wisp! The first one was the hardest, but after that, it felt like my Meridians were stretched open a bit, making it much smoother!"

He would also ask about Lin Xuan's progress. Lin Xuan always answered vaguely, saying he was "still trying hard to accumulate the second wisp," his face wearing a fitting look of exhaustion and a trace of unwilling persistence.

This was not entirely an act; before using any of the spirit control tower's abilities, his actual cultivation speed was indeed excruciatingly slow.

Five days had passed since he refined his first wisp of spiritual energy, but the trace of Thunder Spiritual Energy in his Dantian had only condensed by an imperceptible sliver. Forming a second complete wisp of spiritual energy was still a distant dream.

Chen Hao took his word for it and could only pat his shoulder in encouragement, "Don't lose heart, your Lightning Spiritual Root is rare, so it's normal for the beginning to be difficult! Once you get the hang of it one day, you might even be faster than us!"

He even secretly slipped Lin Xuan two of his own Low-Grade Spirit Stones. "Take them and use them first. The Fire Spiritual Qi is abundant on my side, so I don't need this many."

Unable to refuse, Lin Xuan felt deeply grateful and firmly engraved this kindness in his heart.

Only in the dead of night, after confirming that no one was spying on him, would Lin Xuan sink his entire mind into his Sea of Consciousness, carefully touching and studying the small nine-story tower floating deep within his consciousness—the spirit control tower.

The tower's body was illusory yet exuded an ancient and vast aura. It was a warm, dark gold color all over, with upturned eaves. Mysterious patterns could be faintly seen flowing in the details, though most were blurry, with only the bottommost layer appearing slightly more solid.

As his mind made contact, more information about the spirit control tower flowed out.

Tamer: An equal contract can be established with Yao Beasts that possess high intelligence or are willing, referred to as "Taming."

A Tamed Yao Beast will enjoy partial autonomy; the Tower Master cannot force it to do anything against its will, but it is also protected by the tower and will never betray him.

Slave: A master-servant contract can be forcibly signed with creatures of relatively low intelligence or those unable to resist (limited to those below the Tower Master's own Realm), referred to as "Enslavement."

Slaves are completely controlled by the Tower Master, who can decide their life or death with a single thought. A Restriction is placed within their Divine Soul; even if subjected to external investigations like soul searching, key memories regarding the Tower Master will self-destruct, maximizing the protection of his secrets.

Theoretically, there is no upper limit to the number of slaves, but maintaining the contracts still consumes the Tower Master's Soul Power. Having too many will cause a burden on the Divine Soul.

Beast Containment Space: A self-contained space within the tower that can accommodate tamed or enslaved creatures.

The space's size, environment, and Spiritual Qi concentration are related to the Tower Master's cultivation and the recovery level of the spirit control tower itself.

Currently in its most Elementary state, it spans about three to four miles across and is completely barren. The ground consists of dusty gray sand and stone, and the sky is a hazy gray with no sun or moon. The Spiritual Qi is so thin it is almost non-existent, only ensuring that the creatures kept inside do not die immediately, far from being suitable for cultivation or survival.

Talent Sharing: This is the core, Heaven-Defying feature of the spirit control tower! The Tower Master can choose to share a certain talent or ability of a Yao Beast (such as strength, speed, a certain elemental affinity, or special perception) and make it his own.

The shared talent will strengthen in sync with the growth of the shared Yao Beast.

Restrictions: For each major Realm, the number of shared talent slots is fixed. During the Qi Refinement Stage, there are only two shared slots. After Foundation Establishment, two more can be added, and so on.

Aside from this, there was some vague information regarding the origin of the spirit control tower itself. It seemed to have suffered severe damage and was currently only in the initial stages of recovery, with many of its deeper abilities still sealed.

Even so, Lin Xuan was already surging with excitement.

"Talent Sharing... Talent Sharing!" He repeatedly turned these words over in his mind, his eyes shining with a burning light.

This was simply a game-changing Divine Artifact tailored specifically for his "bottom-tier aptitude"!

His own Lightning Spiritual Root talent was a shortcoming, but what if he could share the talent of a Yao Beast that was good at absorbing Spiritual Qi or had a special affinity for lightning? Wouldn't his cultivation speed undergo a qualitative leap then?

But after the excitement came cold reality.

First of all, he had to have a Yao Beast. Furthermore, it had to be a Yao Beast worthy of "Taming" that possessed a powerful or unique talent.

Those low-intelligence or weak creatures that could be "enslaved" often had mediocre talents that could not be shared, serving only as labor or tools.

Secondly, whether taming or enslaving, the target Yao Beast needed to be in a relatively weak, defenseless, or willing state.

With his current meager cultivation at just the entry level of Qi Refining and only a single wisp of spiritual energy, let alone capturing a powerful Yao Beast, even if he encountered the most ordinary Tier 1 Low Grade Yao Beast (equivalent to an Early Stage Qi Refining Cultivator), he would likely just end up as its next meal.

Lastly, resources. Obtaining a Yao Beast required opportunity, and raising a Yao Beast after signing a contract required even more resources. And resources were exactly what he lacked most right now.

The Sect had a rule that Outer Sect Disciples had to reach Level 1 Qi Refining before they were qualified to take on official Sect missions to earn contribution points, which could be used to exchange for Spirit Stones, Medicinal Pills, Cultivation Techniques, and so on.

He was currently stuck at the "entry" stage, still thirty-five wisps of spiritual energy away from Level 1 Qi Refining. At his current snail's pace, it might take him a year or half a year to succeed.

Without contribution points, there would be no extra resources; without resources, cultivation would be even slower, let alone purchasing or capturing a Spirit Beast—it was practically a vicious cycle.

"I must break this cycle." Lin Xuan's gaze sharpened. Sitting and waiting was absolutely not an option. The appearance of the spirit control tower had given him hope, but he also needed to take the initiative to seize the opportunity.

He turned his gaze toward the back mountain of Emerald Bamboo Peak.

The various outer peaks of the Sanyang Sect covered a vast area, and not all places had frequent human activity.

For peripheral peaks with relatively thin Spiritual Qi like Emerald Bamboo Peak, the deep parts of their back mountains were even more sparsely populated, with only some Utility Disciples occasionally going there to gather ordinary firewood or some low-grade herbs.

There, it was possible that some unranked creatures, or those that had just stepped onto the threshold of Tier 1, existed.

Unranked creatures, strictly speaking, were not considered Yao Beasts; they just possessed slightly more spirituality than ordinary wild beasts, perhaps with one or two instinctive talents. Their combat strength was extremely limited, and they couldn't even cast the lowest-level Spells.

For Cultivators, their value was extremely low, and they were usually of no interest to anyone.

But at this moment, in the eyes of Lin Xuan, who possessed the spirit control tower, they might be the first brick to shift the situation.

Over the next few days, Lin Xuan kept an even lower profile.

Using his free time after completing his chores, he carefully studied the records of common low-level creatures in the nearby mountains that he had heard about at the Dao-Expounding Platform, most of which were casually mentioned by Senior Brothers to warn new Disciples about which areas were dangerous.

Taking advantage of his sweeping chores, he also indirectly inquired about the situation of Emerald Bamboo Peak's back mountain from an older Utility Disciple who seemed friendly.

"The back mountain?" The Utility Disciple said casually as he tapped his pipe. "There are lots of bamboos, it's damp, and there are plenty of snakes, insects, rats, and ants. If you go deeper, there are a few old forests. It's said there's miasma and some fellows with a bit of Demonic Qi, but as long as we Outer Sect Disciples don't go there, we'll be fine."

"Near the foot of the mountain, there are just some bamboo rats, mountain sparrows, and occasionally you can see an Herb-Seeking Mouse—those things are clever and run fast, but other than having a sharp nose to find ordinary herbs, they are completely useless."

Herb-Seeking Mouse.

Lin Xuan remembered this name.

According to scattered descriptions, this was a small beast slightly larger than a common house mouse, with grayish-brown fur and an exceptionally keen sense of smell. It liked to eat the roots of certain low-level Spiritual Plants or fungi tainted with Spiritual Qi. It had absolutely no combat ability, was timid and alert, and was considered fast among rodents, but it was unranked, not even reaching Tier 1 Low Grade.

"Its combat power is negligible, but its sense of smell is keen... Isn't this exactly the most suitable "tool" right now?"

Lin Xuan calculated in his mind. He could use it to find potentially existing, undiscovered low-level Spiritual Plants!

Even if it was just the most ordinary Tier 1 Low Grade Spiritual Plant, it would still be a precious resource for him right now!

Furthermore, for an unranked creature, the Restriction of the spirit control tower's "slave" contract (being below his own Realm) meant he could forcibly sign it!

With his target set, the next step was preparation.

Spells could only be learned after accumulating ten wisps of spiritual energy, and Magical Artifacts would only be distributed by the Sect after reaching Level 1 Qi Refining.

Lacking both Magical Artifacts and the ability to cast Spells, he could only utilize his current conditions and some common sense from his past life.

He tore his spare set of clothes into strips of cloth, twisting them into several sturdy ropes.

He also found a few flexible old bamboo branches from a discarded corner of the courtyard.

Using the saved spiritual rice mixed with a bit of slightly sweet wild fruit residue found in the Dining Hall, he kneaded them into several firm little balls.

Spending two nights, after Chen Hao thought he had already fallen asleep, Lin Xuan crafted three simple snare traps and a deadfall trap in his Quiet Room by the faint light of an oil lamp.

The principle of the traps was very simple: using the elasticity of the bamboo branches and snares, or using a stick to prop up a flat stone slab with bait placed underneath, so that triggering the mechanism would cause the slab to fall.

Crude, but perhaps effective. The target was the timid and greedy Herb-Seeking Mouse, not an experienced Yao Beast.