As expected!
Sensing the changes within the Myriad Spirits Codex in his mind, Su Ping's attention immediately locked onto a specific page.
This unfamiliar codex was no longer the Lin Wolf he knew so well, but a towering pine tree instead.
On its branches hung countless pinecones—yet these pinecones were a vivid crimson, as if they might explode at any moment.
Though undeniably a wood-element pet beast, the Falling Seed Pine specialized in wide-area offensive power. Just from this codex illustration alone, one could already glimpse how terrifying an adult Falling Seed Pine would be.
Almost instantly, the originally dull gray-black page began to change. From the top down, it was slowly dyed with color, like ink spreading through water, until a faint glow appeared.
Just like when Xiao Qing had first completed her contract and the Lin Wolf codex had lit up.
Even though it was only a simple Level 1, as long as a codex could be lit up, it would grant a Myriad Spirits Codex Origin Reward.
And sure enough—
[Codex "Falling Seed Pine" activated. Current Codex Level: 1.
Origin Reward obtained: Mind Communication.]
[Mind Communication (Beast Tamer Ability): Allows the user to focus their mental power to sense and understand the meaning of a pet beast's thoughts and communicate with it mentally.]
As expected!
Su Ping's eyes lit up instantly. The reward for activating this codex was just as powerful as ever.
Although it was still one of those "common" talents—like True Sight—that countless beast tamers awakened at birth, there was no denying that, even if it was considered mediocre, it was extremely useful.
True Sight's value went without saying. As for Mind Communication, it allowed Su Ping to directly and intuitively converse with pet beasts.
No longer did he need to rely solely on experience and guesswork to infer their intentions.
For cultivation work, the convenience this brought was immeasurable.
In fact, Jin Sheng had mentioned before that for ordinary cultivators, the most suitable talent wasn't some flashy ability—it was precisely something as simple as Mind Communication.
Communication was the bridge.
And communication was also the very first step in cultivating pet beasts.
Without a doubt, this talent would provide Su Ping with tremendous help.
Rather than immediately testing its effects, Su Ping immersed his consciousness back into the Myriad Spirits Codex. The newly lit Falling Seed Pine codex unfolded fully before his eyes.
[Codex: Falling Seed Pine]
A wood-element plant-type pet beast. Poor mobility, but possesses rare long-range, wide-area offensive capabilities for its rank.
Racial skills include: Photosynthesis, Pinecone Cannonball, Pine Needle Defense, etc.
Current Codex Level: 1 (5/500)
Known Evolution Paths / Special Cultivation:
[None discovered]
Preferences & Habits:
[Extremely adaptable to environments. Low requirements for sunlight and water, but correspondingly slower natural growth. High-quality air and spiritual spring water can moderately accelerate its development.]
Log Records:
[Encountered and bonded with a standard Falling Seed Pine. Affinity requirement met. Codex EXP +5.]
[For each subsequent day spent interacting, Codex EXP +0.5.]
[Daily EXP gain depends on interaction frequency, creature rank, and enhancement of bonded individuals, contributing to codex completion and level-ups.]
The structure was nearly identical to the Lin Wolf codex.
The log entries were much simpler, and the experience gain was pitifully low—but that was already enough.
Under current circumstances, Su Ping had no intention of fully cultivating the Falling Seed Pine. Simply lighting up the codex and obtaining the origin reward was more than sufficient.
Satisfied, Su Ping opened his eyes.
In front of him, the Falling Seed Pine swayed even more excitedly than before.
Its trunk and branches trembled rhythmically.
"Xuh-xuh… (New… skill… cannonball… happy…)"
This time, as the pine tree swayed and emitted its faint rustling sounds, Su Ping could vaguely understand the meaning behind it.
The sensation was still weak, though. He wasn't sure whether it was because he had just awakened the Mind Communication talent, or because Songzi itself was still too young—its mental fluctuations too faint to be clearly perceived.
Like a child who had just received a fascinating new toy, Su Ping's interest skyrocketed.
Without wasting a second, he hurried over to the Lin Wolf training area to continue experimenting.
While Su Ping was having the time of his life, deepening his understanding of the Lin Wolves through Mind Communication—
Li Shu, standing beside the medicine cauldron, was on the brink of collapse.
When he first learned how to use the cauldron and understood what he was about to do, Li Shu had been thrilled.
At last, during his nightly video call with his father, he could proudly say that he hadn't spent the day answering calls, shoveling poop, or cutting grass.
He was finally doing something a real cultivator did—processing materials, preparing medicines, or whatever else breeders handled.
In short, this was a small step on the path of becoming a cultivator, but a giant leap in the meaning of his life.
For the first five minutes, carefully controlling the temperature while grinding with the pestle, everything felt fine.
After thirty minutes, his neck and arms were sore, but still manageable.
After an hour, his arms began to tremble uncontrollably, and any sense of anticipation had long vanished—he was just hoping it would end soon.
After two and a half hours—
His arms were swollen, his entire body drenched in sweat as if he'd been pulled from water. The boiling steam made him dizzy, and the horrific stench of Wolfsmoke Grass—crushed and stirred at high temperature—couldn't be fully blocked even by the gas mask.
The combined physical and mental torture finally broke him.
Li Shu entered a full-blown existential crisis.
If this is what a cultivator's life is like… should I really keep going?
Is this something a human is supposed to do?
Are you sure this isn't work meant for some mountain-donkey, strength-type beast instead?!
Li Shu seriously doubted his life choices.
And clearly, if this kind of work were easy, Su Ping wouldn't have stared at Vice President Liu's message—about a three-hundred-million-yuan machine—with such burning envy.
Beast tamers did gain physical enhancements as their rank increased, but the focus was still primarily on mental power and the expansion of their beast space.
True physical strength was rare.
And Li Shu, barely at Ordinary Rank Two, certainly didn't have it.
Yet no matter how unwilling he felt, staring at the cauldron where the heated mixture had finally begun to reduce and thicken, Li Shu could only grit his teeth and force himself to raise the pestle again—
Beginning the final stage of suffering, even worse than a mountain donkey's labor.
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