Chapter 56: Chapter 54: Beast Taming Token At quarter past 5:00 AM, Ji An woke from a hazy dream to hear a faint noise from the bamboo basket. He yawned, and the sound from the basket immediately ceased. Rising from his bed, he walked to the basket and saw the Spirit-Seeking Rat bound like a zongzi with strips of cloth. This Spirit-Seeking Rat was clearly a juvenile; adults were as big as cats. The juvenile had only its eyes exposed, while its mouth and limbs were tightly bound by the strips of cloth. It wasn’t very strong and was tightly wrapped in three layers of cloth, making escape impossible. Ji An ignored it, went outside to splash his face with water, and the coolness quickly refreshed him. The sky looked like an overturned bowl, with the moon a mere sliver, and the starlight was incredibly dim. The distant mountains resembled a giant beast lying in the shadows, indistinct and hard to discern. Back in the bamboo building, he sat cross-legged on a pudun, swallowed a Ginseng Essence Pill, and began his morning cultivation with the Qingyuan Scripture. The spiritual power in the pill was absorbed by his Immortal Vein, flowing like a gurgling stream before transforming into pure magical power that gathered in his dantian. The Stone Turtle jumped forward, immediately consuming half of the magical power. When the medicinal power of the pill was exhausted, Ji An opened his eyes, brimming with vitality and spirit. He nodded with satisfaction and smiled; the feeling of rapid cultivation progress with the help of pills or a Spirit Capturing Array was always intoxicating. Daylight brightened the sky, and the golden morning light illuminated the valley. Ji An picked up the Spirit-Seeking Rat, feeling its accelerated heartbeat, and gave it a gentle squeeze. He stepped out of the bamboo building and counted the Fire Cloud Ginsengs; not a single one was missing. Relieved, Ji An mounted the Talisman Bird and flew toward Cui Bamboo Peak. ... "Senior Sister Zhao’s spiritual pressure today is stronger than ever; it seems she is not far from breaking through to the Ninth-Layer Qi Refining." Ji An complimented, quickly glancing at the prominent rise and fall of her chest, silently noting that her development had significantly accelerated since they last met. "Indeed, it’s quite close." Zhao Mengyao’s lips curled into a smile, dimples appearing on her cheeks. She had grown taller since entering the sect, her legs now appearing more slender, and her hairstyle had changed, making her even more radiant than before. Lately, she had been in a great mood; the bottleneck of the Ninth-Layer Qi Refining was loosening, and a breakthrough was imminent. She glanced at him and said: "Junior Brother Ji is indeed a rare visitor; what are you holding?" In her impression, the last time he sought her was to borrow spirit stones. "I caught a wild Spirit-Seeking Rat that practically walked into my trap. I found it quite spiritual and plan to tame it for future use. Today, I’ve come to ask Senior Sister for a Beast Taming Token to facilitate its control." Senior Sister Zhao was a disciple of the Beast Taming Hall; buying from her assured quality goods. Demon beasts naturally have a wild nature, and to conveniently control them, a wisp of their essence soul is sealed within a Beast Taming Token. Cultivators can issue commands through the Beast Taming Token and perform simple spiritual communication. Destroying the Beast Taming Token would grievously harm the demon beast, acting as a safeguard for cultivators to control their beasts. "The Spirit-Seeking Rat that satisfies you must have an excellent bloodline worthy of cultivation. May I take a look?" "Of course you can." Ji An unbound the Spirit-Seeking Rat, revealing its fluffy golden-brown fur. "Is it still playing dead?" Zhao Mengyao chuckled, thoroughly inspecting it, and said: "Not bad, I’d say this demon beast’s bloodline is near top-grade; if cultivated well, it might become a Mid-stage Foundation Establishment beast." The bloodline levels of demon beasts are equivalent to a cultivator’s aptitude, ranging from lower-grade, middle-grade, top-grade, earth-grade, to celestial-grade bloodlines. A bloodline signifies a demon beast’s growth limit, though cultivation practices play a crucial role as well. It is said that a great master once cultivated a Spirit-Seeking Rat to the Golden Core level, far beyond its bloodline limit, though the truth of this is unknown. Returning the Spirit-Seeking Rat, Zhao Mengyao nodded and said: "I happen to have two Beast Taming Tokens I made myself, but they can only restrain Qi Refining Stage beasts. Will that suffice?" "That’ll be more than enough, thank you, Senior Sister. How many crystal stones?" "Two spirit stones, will Junior Brother settle now?" Zhao Mengyao revealed a teasing smile, producing a palm-sized piece of green jade engraved with runes and a gray round bead embedded in the center. "I’ll owe it to Senior Sister for now." Ji An responded with a friendly smile, the advantage of a thick skin evident. He pulled out a paper and handed it over: "If it’s not too inconvenient, I’d also like to purchase a set of medicinal herbs from Senior Sister." This was for making Spirit Feeding Pills, a secret medicine specifically for cultivating the Spirit-Seeking Rat. Of course, he added three extra herbs, with excessive amounts of each. Along with needing special techniques to process some herbs, reproducing the secret medicine from this formula was impossible. Zhao Mengyao’s gaze flickered as she examined the recipe carefully: "These are common herbs. I’ll prepare a set for you, just wait a bit." During this interval, Ji An signed a Spirit Pet Contract with the Spirit-Seeking Rat using the secret technique and confined a wisp of its essence soul into the Beast Taming Token. The little rat was released, looking utterly dejected. A quarter-hour later, Zhao Mengyao returned with a bundle of paper-wrapped herbs: "The herbs are worth three spirit stones." "Thank you, Senior Sister. I’ll pay you back five spirit stones in three months." Ji An thanked her solemnly before taking the herbs, sufficient for three months for the Spirit-Seeking Rat; if sparing, it could last four or five months. With no pressing need to purchase anything besides pills, he could afford to raise the Spirit-Seeking Rat. Waiting until needing a beast to start cultivating would be too late. ... Back at his dwelling, Ji An sternly warned: "From now on, don’t you dare touch the spirit medicine in the yard, or else..." Releasing the Geng Metal Finger, a flash of golden light carved a hole in the stone at the entrance. Feeling its sharpness, the Spirit-Seeking Rat’s neck fur stood on end, terror flashing in its eyes as it nodded vigorously like a pecking chick. Ji An set the beast down and fed it a handful of Spirit Rice. The Spirit-Seeking Rat’s mood improved a bit, and it began eating quickly; after a long night of exhaustion and fright, it needed something to calm its nerves. Ji An began crafting the Spirit Feeding Pills. Being new to the process, he wasted quite a few herbs, and after half a day, he managed to produce twenty-two pale red pills. Normally, a Spirit Feeding Pill is needed every three days, but with the current shortage, it would be rationed to one every four days. "This is a reward; work hard, good times lie ahead." Ji An tossed one Spirit Feeding Pill, and the Spirit-Seeking Rat leapt to catch it. Upon landing, it cradled the pill between its forepaws, sniffed it carefully a few times, then licked it, its glossy eyes suddenly brightening, and gulped it down. The Spirit-Seeking Rat lay contentedly in the sunlight, a look of satisfaction on its face. ```