Cultivating a family of immortals

The squirrels didn't have names. After they were able to cultivate and gain intelligence, they called each other names for convenience. The eldest was called Lili, the second was called Pengpeng, and the third was called Rongrong.

The three squirrels are covered in light brown fur, with a tuft of dark brown fur at the tip of their tails. Their bright black eyes are sparkling with intelligence, making them look incredibly cute.

Once they develop intelligence, their mental capacity is roughly equivalent to that of a ten-year-old child.

Upon hearing their names, Ao Yan frowned. After asking a few more questions, he discovered that these spirit beasts, despite having neither cultivation techniques nor elixirs, had achieved such a level of cultivation, which was truly a stroke of good fortune.

After a moment's hesitation, Ao Yan reached for the small green bottle in his pocket and pondered:

"The Dragon Slayer hasn't come for some reason, so I need to be careful. Once I've recovered some of my injuries, I'll use the greed of that Purple Mansion cultivator from not long ago to lure the cultivators from those two great immortal cultivation families on this riverbank to me, so I can devour them and help me condense my Golden Core!"

"A fierce battle is inevitable at that time, and this [Bodhi Liquid]... cannot be stored close to the body. It would be better to take this opportunity to train a subordinate, imprint him with a divine soul mark, teach him the cultivation technique, and let him hide under the river to cultivate, so that he can store the [Bodhi Liquid] for me and keep an eye on it at all times."

After thinking it over, Ao Yan had an idea.

He branded the three squirrels with his divine soul mark, and also taught them some cultivation techniques and low-level pills for them to practice.

Among them, Lili and Pengpeng, the two rats, usually scout out information for themselves, while Rongrong cultivates in the cave, so that in the future, she can hide somewhere and store treasures for Ao Yan.

The three squirrels obtained cultivation techniques and elixirs, and their cultivation gradually became more profound. With Ao Yan, who was at the peak of the Purple Mansion realm, personally teaching them, they even became powerful experts at the peak of the Qi Refining realm in the past four hundred years. Their intelligence also increased with their cultivation, and they were already like adults.

However, Ao Yan did not teach them the method of transformation, and the three squirrels remained in the form of spirit beasts.

One day, Ao Yan summoned three squirrels and sent Lili and Pengpeng out to spread the news that he was about to pass away. He also gave Rongrong a small green bottle and told him to find a place to hide in the river. He personally cast a [Breath Condensation Technique] on Rongrong and told him to come ashore and bring it to him as soon as he received the order.

The three squirrels bent down to receive their orders.

Over the past four hundred years, the three squirrels have become intelligent and have long witnessed Ao Yan's utterly cruel nature. He has killed all the spirit beasts in the river, and the three squirrels are terrified of him, living in constant anxiety.

He only wanted to resolve this matter and then flee far away, escaping this place.

As the three squirrels were about to leave to carry out their orders, Ao Yan looked at them and pondered:

"The reason I taught you this cultivation method was because I was afraid that your cultivation level was too low and you would be captured and killed by low-level cultivators. I never expected that you would actually reach the peak of Qi Refining in four hundred years. If you had Foundation Establishment Pills, wouldn't you have reached the Foundation Establishment Realm?"

"The matters to come are of great importance. If you harbor any disloyal thoughts, wouldn't that ruin everything? It would be best to give you a good warning!"

After thinking it over, he called them back and calmly said:

"Your name is Rongrong, right? Do you know the value of this treasure?"

Rongrong lay prone on the ground and spoke in human language:

"Immortal Venerable, I have no idea."

Ao Yan smiled wickedly, calmly raised his hand, and made a snapping sound with his fingers.

With a bang.

The leader's trembling body exploded.

Pengpeng and Rongrong were immediately horrified, their bodies trembling with grief, but they dared not look at Lili.

"One person is enough to deliver this message. This one called Lili need not live today, so that you two rats may know that such a treasure is hard to come by. You, Rongrong, must guard it carefully and not make any mistakes, otherwise, your second brother... Pengpeng, will suffer the same fate!"

Ao Yan watched the two rats bowing and kowtowing repeatedly, feeling extremely satisfied, and raised his eyebrows triumphantly.

The principle of combining kindness and severity, as taught by my father, is indeed excellent.

Pengpeng went out to spread the news.

Meanwhile, Rongrong was cast a [Breath Freeze] spell and hid in a cave under the river, quietly waiting for Ao Yan's summons.

However, Ao Yan underestimated the bond between the three squirrels.

Ever since witnessing the eldest brother die in terror before the eyes of the two rats, Rongrong outwardly appears fearful, but inwardly she is already filled with resentment.

That day, after finishing his cultivation in the cave, he suddenly felt melancholy. Gazing at the pitch-black expanse of the river below, devoid of any living creature, he pondered:

"This vicious dragon has killed countless spirit beasts since it came here. Now, only the three of us brothers are alive on the entire riverbank and in the riverbed. We are alive only to serve it. Now that our eldest brother is dead, I wonder if he will casually kill me after I give him the treasure?"

"My second brother went out to spread the word, and he must have already realized the dragon's cruelty. He's unlikely to return easily, probably because he's worried about me and wants to come back to save me! But both my second brother and I have been marked with his soul, how can he possibly save us!"

Thinking of this, Rongrong felt utterly desperate. She dared not leave this place even for a moment; what would become of her in the future...?

Just then, his eyes suddenly narrowed as he looked into the dark river and saw a mountain beast swimming towards him.

The mountain beast resembles a wild boar, and is probably derived from this kind of creature.

Rongrong's divine sense landed on the mountain beast, but he could not detect any spiritual energy fluctuations. This thing was actually a mortal. How could it go into the river without breathing?

Just then, the mountain beast floated over and stopped at the cave entrance, speaking in human language:

"Third brother, it's me!"

Hearing the familiar voice, Rongrong was overjoyed and jumped to the cave entrance to ask:

"Second Brother? What method did you use?"

"My elder brother and I have spent many years gathering intelligence and have come into contact with cultivators from the outside world. Once, a cultivator tried to arrest us, but we fought back and killed him. We found a book called 'Beast Taming Technique' on him. Thanks to that dragon, we learned to read and mastered this technique!"

"Second Brother, what is the purpose of controlling this mountain beast?"

The mountain beast continued speaking in human language: "This mountain beast is a mortal. A cultivator like the evil dragon would naturally not care about this thing. I brought this mountain beast here to discuss with you how we can hide the treasure elsewhere, so that the evil dragon will fail at the last moment! At the same time, we can save our lives and avenge our elder brother!"

Upon hearing this, Rongrong felt an overwhelming sorrow welling up inside him. His eyes gradually hardened. "Second brother, what should we do?"

"I will use a mountain beast to carry this treasure away to Qingping Mountain or that immortal sect's land behind it. The mountain beast is a mortal, so no one will care and it should be safe. When that evil dragon calls you to deliver this item, you must refuse to give it to him. After he removes the divine soul imprints on us, you can use this item to blackmail him into letting us go!"

Rongrong nodded in agreement, then added, "Second Brother, you must take good care of this item!"

"That's only natural!"

As soon as she finished speaking, Rongrong took out the treasure and carefully placed it into the mountain beast's mouth. The mountain beast slowly drifted towards the riverbank with the current.

Rongrong only breathed a sigh of relief after watching the mountain beast come ashore.

It was dusk, and night was gradually falling.

A mountain beast was running vigorously across the Mochuan River, with a squirrel following behind. Upon closer inspection, the beast's eyes, like those of a squirrel, were darting around.

The mountain beast cautiously crossed the forest in front of Qingping Mountain. There were no more spirit beasts here, so it was safe.

However, there were few living creatures in the forest. The squirrel pondered for a long time before continuing to steer the mountain beast toward Qingping Mountain until it entered a field.

Wu Yuanzuo, the field keeper, was cultivating under the pavilion when he suddenly sensed something, looked up, and smiled slightly.

"Where did this wild beast come from? I wonder who will slaughter it next!"

The mountain beasts crossed the fields, and the squirrels hid outside the spirit fields, but dared not go in again, lest they be discovered by the Foundation Establishment cultivators on the mountain. So they manipulated the spirit beasts to go up the Snowmelt Mountain.

It was completely silent here, but the squirrel could sense that there were many spirit beasts and mortal wild animals on the snow-covered mountain.

"This place is good. Let the mountain beasts hide and live here, for future use! If that evil dragon tries to harm my third brother, he'll never find out where the treasure is!"

Just then, as the mountain beast leaped, it fell into a trap.

Through the mountain beast's eyes, the squirrel saw two figures step forward and, without saying a word, stabbed the mountain beast to death with a sharp weapon.

The [Beast Taming Technique] was immediately severed.