475: Chapter 475 The Compendium of Ancient Mythical Beasts

After finishing these instructions, Second Senior Brother Qin Yi grabbed a few grains of feed from the large bag, placed them in his palm, and held them out to Ying.

Ying, who had still been somewhat wary of Second Senior Brother Qin Yi just a moment ago, immediately abandoned its caution upon seeing the gourmet food. It nimbly stretched out its head and pecked the feed from Second Senior Brother Qin Yi's hand clean in just a few bites.

After finishing its meal, it surprisingly did not fly back to Su Ming's shoulder, but instead hopped directly onto Second Senior Brother Qin Yi's. Using its fuzzy little head, which had yet to grow stiff feathers, it rubbed affectionately against Second Senior Brother Qin Yi's cheek, even letting out a "purr" that sounded like it was acting spoiled.

"Hahaha..."

Second Senior Brother Qin Yi was amused by its charming and naive appearance and laughed heartily, gently tapping its head with his finger. "You little thing, you're quite the slick one who follows whoever feeds it."

After laughing, Second Senior Brother Qin Yi's expression gradually became more serious. He watched Ying, who had hopped back onto Su Ming's shoulder and was preening its feathers, and his tone took on a deeper meaning.

"Junior Martial Brother, after returning from your place last time, I went to the Merit Dispensation Pavilion and browsed through a large number of records concerning ancient avian species in the ancient texts section."

Second Senior Brother Qin Yi paused, his gaze becoming profound. "In a tattered copy of the 'Compendium of Ancient Exotic Beasts,' I found a few scattered words about it."

Su Ming's expression turned solemn as he listened intently.

"The book states—'Mystic Shadow Crow, an ancient exotic species; its Bloodline can be purified and cultivated into a Three-legged Crow. Pure-blooded ones are born like ordinary birds, with spiritual intelligence developing early and hidden markings between their brows.'"

Upon hearing the words "hidden markings between its brows," Su Ming's pupils shrank imperceptibly. He knew better than anyone that those were not natural hidden markings at all, but rather the three Laws that Lin Yu had forcibly branded into it!

Second Senior Brother Qin Yi did not notice Su Ming's reaction and continued reciting the contents of the ancient text: "'A Three-legged Crow controls True Fire and can rival Soul Transformation. If it finds an Opportunity, it can go a step further to cross its Heavenly Tribulation, shed its mortal shell, and become a true Divine Beast.'"

"Divine Beast..." Su Ming silently repeated those two words to himself, feeling their weight.

"This beast is exceptionally gifted and indeed worth cultivating well." Second Senior Brother Qin Yi's tone suddenly shifted, becoming extremely rational. "However, Junior Martial Brother, as your Senior Brother, I must remind you—never disproportionately allocate the resources you should be using for your own cultivation toward this Spirit Beast."

Su Ming was slightly taken aback.

"One of the most cruel rules of the Cultivation World is the gamble between longevity and time." Second Senior Brother Qin Yi sighed. "The Lifespans of Spirit Beasts are extremely long. A single slumber or a single molting could cost them decades or even centuries. Some Spirit Beasts with pure Bloodlines require a despairingly long accumulation of time to reach a Realm equivalent to the human Nascent Soul Stage."

"This Cultivation World never lacks Spirit Beast hatchlings with top-tier Bloodlines, but how many mighty figures have you seen dominate the world by relying on a Spirit Beast?" Second Senior Brother Qin Yi held up a finger and said very seriously, "Because the owner of the Spirit Beast might not be able to afford the time!"

"A hundred years is enough for you and me to risk everything to attempt a breakthrough to the Golden Core or even Nascent Soul Stage; but for it, a hundred years might only be the end of its infancy." Second Senior Brother Qin Yi pointed at Ying. "If you pour all your Heaven And Earth Treasures into it, by the time it reaches Major Achievement and can truly protect your path, you might have long since turned into a handful of yellow earth due to resource scarcity and your Lifespan running out."

These words were like the tolling of a great bell, striking heavily against Su Ming's heart.

Yes, this was the most realistic side of the Cultivation World. There were not many instances of skipping levels for a kill that could be achieved overnight; there were only cold calculations between time and resources.

"Su Ming will keep Senior Brother's teachings engraved in his heart." Su Ming bowed deeply.

The core of The Way of Cautious Survival was to quantify all risks. Su Ming would naturally Cultivate Ying, but he would never allow it to delay his own dao foundation.

By the time he returned from Beast Peak to the Immortal Cave at Star Gazing Cliff, the sky had completely darkened.

Along the way, Ying was extremely excited, weaving and flying through the woods to catch a few heedless venomous bees to satisfy its cravings. After returning to the Immortal Cave, it was clearly tired. After eating a small handful of feed mixed with stardust powder from Su Ming's palm, it wobbled over to the soft nest specially lined with Fire Sun Grass in the corner of the stone bed, tucked its head under its wing, and fell into a deep sleep.

Su Ming stood by the nest, and by the faint light of the Night-Luminescent Pearl embedded in the cave ceiling, he looked at this little black fellow, which was only the size of a fist when curled up. With its steady breathing, the fine feathers on its body rose and fell slightly, faintly resonating wonderfully with the Star Power drifting in the air.

However, this sentiment only lasted for a moment before Su Ming forcibly suppressed it. He turned around, strode to the stone table in the center of the Immortal Cave, and sat down cross-legged.

With a flick of his wrist, he took out the tattered "Soul Nourishing Incense Recipe" he had picked up earlier at a market stall from his Storage Pouch, as well as a thumb-thick dark gray incense stick he had spent a great deal of effort grinding and mixing according to the recipe.

A tiny flame flickered from Su Ming's fingertip, lighting the tip of the incense stick.

There was no pungent smoke, only an extremely delicate and strange fragrance that seemed able to penetrate directly into the depths of the Soul, curling upwards in the Immortal Cave like a green silk ribbon.

The Void Realm in mid-air rippled like water, and Lin Yu's Soul form silently drifted out.

Without even glancing at Su Ming, he drifted directly above the green smoke. Lin Yu tilted his head back slightly, opened his mouth, and took a sharp breath. The green smoke, which had been rising straight up, instantly changed its trajectory and turned into a green current, all of which was inhaled into Lin Yu's belly.

Visibly, a layer of gentle, moonlight-like luster appeared on the surface of Lin Yu's already very solid Soul form. His edges, which had become slightly dim from forcibly branding the Laws onto Ying's Divine Soul, became sharp and clear once more after inhaling this breath of soul nurturing incense.

"Phew—"

Lin Yu let out a long turbid breath free of Impurities, lowered his head to look at his nearly materialized hands, and nodded with satisfaction.

"Not bad, those three hundred Low-Grade Spirit Stones weren't spent in vain." Lin Yu's voice rang out in the quiet Immortal Cave, carrying a hint of lazy contentment. "The medicinal power of the silver-spotted heart-clearing orchid in this recipe was excellently stimulated, and its restorative effect on minute injuries to the Soul form is even stronger than I imagined."