Cultivation begins with forming a bond with a spirit bee.

Sharp Gold Thorn, a mid-grade Tier 1 item, requires 28 contribution points.

It condenses magical power into sharp spikes, long and thin, specifically designed to break through protective auras and weak points, and is adept at point-blank killing.

However, it becomes somewhat ineffective against group attacks.

"This spell suits me perfectly."

Qu Ye was overjoyed.

He wasn't going to take the direct confrontation route anyway. The sharp metal spikes were powerful and easy to release, making them perfect for coordinating with the bee swarm.

The swarm of bees is in the open, while the golden stinger is in the shadows. Once the enemy's mind is thrown into disarray, their life can be taken.

Having made up his mind, Qu Ye looked at it for a while and found that there was no more suitable spell. So he raised his hand, took the jade slip of the Sharp Gold Thorn, and held it in his arms.

After exchanging for this technique, I only have two of my thirty contribution points left, so it's obviously impossible to exchange for another one.

After thinking for a moment, Qu Ye walked towards the west side to see if there were any miscellaneous books there that he needed.

Why not take advantage of it?

The low shelf on the west side is noticeably older, with dust even covering the books, indicating that few people come to browse them.

The books were also much more disorganized.

There are travelogues about mountains and rivers, notes about sacred plants, observations of markets and towns in various places, and some incomplete notes.

Because of their low value, these miscellaneous books had almost no restrictions, and most of them could be read.

Qu Ye casually picked up a book titled "Liu Yang's Essays" and started reading.

As Qu Ye turned the pages, he read with great interest, not expecting the book to be so interesting.

Liu Yang, the author of this book, is a rogue cultivator in the late stage of Qi Refining in the Yun Kingdom. Because he was unable to establish his foundation, he decided to travel around and record his experiences, compiling them into a book to be passed down to future generations.

He traveled to many countries, including the Yun Kingdom and neighboring Yue and Zhao Kingdoms, recording the local customs, landscapes, and even vague descriptions of some powerful forces.

For example, the Yun Kingdom is home to four major Golden Core sects: Yunyang Sect, Qingzhu Sword Sect, Beast Slayer Sect, and Xuling Temple.

The same is true for the other surrounding countries, where two or more Golden Core cultivators control the entire country.

He also saw the Hengduan Mountains that Wang Meng had mentioned earlier.

According to Liu Yang's records, this mountain range was not only in Yun Kingdom. When he traveled to Qi Kingdom, which was separated from Yun Kingdom by a country, there was still discussion about the Hengduan Mountains there.

He speculated that such a massive mountain range probably contained not only Golden Core Demon Kings, but also Nascent Soul Transformation Stage Demon Emperors!

"Nascent Soul..."

With such a level of power, one could probably break mountains and destroy rivers with a wave of the hand, and reverse the flow of lakes and seas.

Qu Ye shook his head and continued flipping through the book in his hand.

Upon turning to the next page, he discovered the restriction was in place, and had no choice but to close the book and put it back.

Looking at the numerous books in front of him, Qu Ye realized that this was a rare opportunity.

The original owner made a living on her own in the market. After transmigrating, she continued to study the animal skin book and her understanding of the outside world mostly came from word of mouth among the rogue cultivators.

The Hou family disciples looked down on these miscellaneous books; they had been instilled with knowledge by their elders since childhood.

But for him, this was the best way to clearly understand the situation in the cultivation world around him.

Qu Ye calculated that it had been about half an hour since he received the wooden plaque, so he still had plenty of time.

Having made up his mind, Qu Ye began to select and browse through various books.

"The Distribution of Markets in Yun Kingdom", "Why Qingzhu Sword Sect is the Number One Sect in Yun Kingdom", "How is Foundation Establishment Cultivated", and so on.

Although he could only see most of it, it still brought Qu Ye a lot of knowledge about the cultivation world that he had never known before.

Time slipped away quietly amidst the sound of pages turning.

With only a quarter of an hour left, Qu Ye tossed aside a copy of "Portraits of the Fairies of the Four Great Sects," intending to read one last book before leaving.

At that moment, his gaze paused, and he looked at a book at the end of the bookshelf.

It was a yellowed old book, the cover worn and frayed, with only a few words barely legible:

The True Story of Taming Spirits.

It seems that half of it is missing; it's not the complete book.

Qu Ye picked it up and casually flipped through a few pages. At first, his expression was relatively calm, but the more he read, the more serious his eyes became.

He initially thought this was just another one of those unrelated fantasies.

Unexpectedly, these were some scattered records of the Hou family's early attempts to raise and tame spirit beasts.

The author of this book was Hou Yuansheng, the steward of the Hou family at the time who was in charge of this matter.

He meticulously recorded all the taming and trial-raising processes of the spirit beasts he handled in this book.

Some Ironback Wolves were unable to adapt to living in groups and fought each other; some Crimson Rainbow Rats broke out of their enclosures and ate the spirit rice, nearly destroying a piece of spirit field.

These records are not mere rumors or gossip, but genuine accounts of the trial breeding process.

In order to select the most suitable spirit beasts for domestication from the monsters near Yumen Market.

This book explains everything clearly, from the feed ratio for young animals and their temperament changes to whether to keep or abandon them.

Unfortunately, this book, "The True Story of Taming Spirits," is incomplete, with many pages missing or sentences broken, clearly indicating that it is only a part of the original.

Even so, the contents recorded therein were enough to broaden Qu Ye's horizons.

As Qu Ye flipped through the pages, he couldn't help but secretly memorize the notes.

These things may not be useful right now, but if we encounter a suitable monster to form a bond with in the future, they might serve as a reference.

The pages continue.

Birds and beasts gradually disappeared, and in their place came records of some mythical insects.

But when his gaze swept over the words "Jade Spirit Bee," his heart skipped a beat.

He immediately composed himself and looked down.

"Bee colonies are orderly and have a clear division of labor. The queen bee can collect spiritual substances, while worker bees can collect pollen, resulting in a stable output."

"Among all the spirit insects, the jade spirit bee is the most gentle and the most suitable for careful raising, so it is ranked as the best."

Just as he was about to continue reading, he discovered that the book's prohibition was located right after this passage.

"It actually broke right here."

Qu Ye felt somewhat helpless.

Then, he looked at the contribution points required to exchange for the book "The Record of Spirit Taming" and found that it only required one point.

After thinking about it, Qu Ye felt relieved.

While the other miscellaneous notes and observations may have some use, this true record is better than nothing.

Not to mention that this book is only half a book, and there are many places where words or pages are missing.

Even if you want to raise a spirit pet, you need to understand spirit beast knowledge. You might as well find a proper beast taming manual.

Qu Ye was able to form a bond with demonic beasts, and he was also able to control the Jade Spirit Bees and was very interested in cultivating bee colonies, which is why he thought of exchanging for them.

After thinking it over, Qu Ye picked up "The True Story of Taming Spirits" and the Sharp Gold Jade Slip, and then chose another book of miscellaneous writings that interested him, thus accumulating thirty contribution points.

He then went to the entrance and handed the three items and the wooden plaque to the disciple.

The disciple took the wooden plaque, looked at the contribution points required for the three items, and with a wave of his hand, deducted them from the plaque.

After recording it down, he took out three blank jade slips and attached them to the ones Qu Ye had selected. Using a special method, he transferred the contents onto the new jade slips.

He then handed it to Qu Ye and instructed him, "These three books are exactly thirty contribution points, and you've already used up all your contribution points."

Qu Ye nodded to indicate that he understood, put away his things, and turned to leave the library.

Upon reaching the door, Hou Yanke saw Qu Ye emerge and said with a wry smile, "Fellow Daoist Qu, I've been waiting for you for quite some time."

Qu Ye then realized that he had been so engrossed in reading that he had completely forgotten about Hou Yanke.

He quickly cupped his hands in apology: "I'm sorry, this is the first time I've seen so many spells. I was so captivated that I forgot the time. Please forgive me, fellow Daoist."

Hou Yanke waved his hand: "Fellow Daoist Qu, there's no need to take it to heart. To be honest, when I first came to the Scripture Pavilion, I was in a similar situation to you, staying for a full three hours before leaving."

The two looked at each other and laughed.

Qu Ye glanced at the sky; it was already noon, and it was about time to leave.

"Fellow Daoist Hou, I have some important matters to attend to at the horse farm, so I will take my leave now. Let's meet again another day."

"Please, please."

Afterwards, Hou Yanke escorted Qu Ye to the mountain gate, and only after watching Qu Ye leave did he turn back.

On the way back, he pondered to himself that Qu Ye must have sensed his goodwill.

"Yes, having more fellow Daoists means having more paths to take. This Fellow Daoist Qu has remarkable skills and knows when to advance and retreat. Perhaps he will be of help to me someday."