Cultivation: I Forge Immortality with My Spiritual Eyes

The shop is simply furnished, with bookshelves reaching up to the ceiling beams on all four walls.

Rows upon rows of books and volumes were neatly arranged and categorized.

At the entrance, there was a counter, behind which sat an old Taoist priest with gray hair and a wrinkled face.

He was dozing off at the table, completely unaware that someone had entered the shop.

Jiang Yi glanced around, approached the counter, and cupped his hands in greeting:

"Shopkeeper, excuse me, I'd like to purchase a technique for contracting spirit beasts, but I'd like to know..."

"Turn left and find the third wooden shelf yourself."

Before he could finish speaking, he was interrupted by a hoarse voice.

The old Taoist priest didn't even look up; after saying those words, he fell silent again.

Jiang Yi was not surprised by this.

Hearing this, he nodded, took a step and turned left, and soon stopped in front of the third wooden frame, looking up at it curiously.

There were more than a dozen books neatly arranged on it, all of which were related to monsters.

Monster Compendium

Records of Sea Beasts

The Compendium of Spirit Birds

A Beginner's Guide to Domestication...

Jiang Yi slowly scanned the scroll, then quickly looked at an old, small booklet.

The cover reads "The Art of Beast Taming" in small characters.

The wooden frame originally had a protective barrier in place, and a faint light flowed around it.

As someone approached, the light vanished instantly, likely due to the old Taoist priest's manipulation in the shadows.

Jiang Yi reached out and picked up the booklet. It was very thin, with only a few pages.

He opened the title page with great interest, his eyes scanning the opening sentences, and his mind quickly became absorbed in it...

According to the book.

The bloodlines of demonic beasts also vary in quality, roughly equivalent to the spiritual root grades of human cultivators.

Based on combat strength, supernatural abilities, and cultivation speed.

It can be divided into five grades: low grade, medium grade, high grade, earth grade, and heaven grade.

Superior-grade bloodline demon beasts are extremely rare.

There is a certain chance of condensing a demon core and becoming a demon king.

Earth-rank and Heaven-rank bloodlines are comparable to the various spiritual talents of the human race.

Most of them are born with supernatural abilities, have unlimited potential, and are capable of condensing into an infant or taking human form.

However, this only briefly introduces the bloodline rank and does not include any content on testing the bloodline.

After all, the bloodlines of demonic beasts are complex and varied.

Unlike the spiritual roots of human cultivators, which can be identified with just a spirit-testing talisman...

The shop was dimly lit and quiet.

Jiang Yi stood in front of the wooden frame for a long time, his gaze deep and unwavering.

Fifteen minutes later.

He flipped through the pages again, only to realize that he had unknowingly reached the last page.

He then closed the booklet and put it back in its place, his eyes thoughtful.

Although this book does not contain specific methods, it analyzes and explains the effects of various contracts.

Through the reading just now, Jiang Yi has gained a general understanding of the method of spirit beast contracts.

According to records, the Buddhist teachings circulating in the world today can be divided into three categories, each with different functions.

The first is the Soul Contract.

The second is the slave contract.

The third is the blood pact.

The first two are extremely restrictive.

Once the contract is signed, the spirit beast will be in a completely subordinate position, its life and death in the hands of its master.

They could only obey orders and had no room to resist.

However, setting up such contracts is quite troublesome.

Depending on the strength and bloodline of the spirit beast, special magic arrays are often needed to forcibly tame it.

Cultivators without substantial resources often struggle to gather the spiritual materials needed to set up an array.

The rules of the blood pact are relatively simple; it can be formed simply by inscribing a blood array.

The drawback is the lack of strong control over spirit beasts.

It can only serve as a means of communication, to deepen the bond between each other, and to no longer be limited by the barrier of words.

It allows the master and the spirit beast to communicate their thoughts and feelings.

Jiang Yi didn't hesitate for long and immediately chose the Blood Pact method.

Firstly, this method is relatively inexpensive, simple, and not complicated, which is just right for the current situation.

Secondly, that was all he wanted; he never intended to enslave the little guy.

Moreover, while soul contracts and slave contracts are powerful, they are not foolproof methods and have their own flaws.

All things under the frosty sky compete freely.

According to the records, once a spirit beast signs a slave contract or a soul contract, it will be unable to control its own life and will lose its will to be independent.

However, if one's natural instincts are suppressed for a long time, one will inevitably gradually sink into depravity, become ignorant, and develop laziness.

This has a significant impact on its potential.

Therefore, the last page of the booklet repeatedly emphasizes and warns against this.

When contracting with a spirit beast of medium or higher bloodline, one must carefully weigh the pros and cons.

Jiang Yi did not linger.

He stepped back to the counter, and softly cupped his hands in greeting:

"Shopkeeper, I'd like to purchase a Blood Pact technique. What is the price?"

Upon hearing this, the old Taoist priest finally slowly raised his head, glanced at Jiang Yi with his cloudy eyes, and said indifferently:

"Fifty spirit stones, no bargaining."

"Fifty?"

Jiang Yi's expression froze, and he stood there stunned.

He originally thought that such a method could be acquired for at most a dozen or so spirit stones, but he did not expect the price to be so high.

Hesitated for a moment.

Seeing the old Taoist priest smirk and about to slump back onto the table to doze off again, he gritted his teeth and nodded, saying:

"Okay, I'll buy it."

After saying that, he reached into his sleeve, rummaged around for a while, and reluctantly handed over a money pouch.

The old Taoist priest took it, weighed it in his hand, and put it away without counting the pieces.

Then, after rummaging under the counter for a while, he tossed over a folded animal hide and warned:

"You are not allowed to take it away. Write down the Dharma here. Before you leave, you must make a solemn vow never to reveal a single word to anyone."

"clear."

Jiang Yi reached out and grabbed the animal hide, quickly unfolding it to examine it.

This item is made of an antique material, with many worn edges, yet it remains supple and resistant to decay.

The writing on it was dense and powerful, as if it were written with blood and sweat.

Despite the passage of countless years, the ink remains as deep and fresh as ever.

The opening line is a line of ancient seal script:

"With blood as the bond, with soul as the bridge, two hearts in harmony, sharing life and knowledge, neither master nor slave, never abandoning or separating..."

It then details the methods of carving, the essentials of ritual refining, and the various key points of the spiritual connection between the two parties when the contract is concluded.

Jiang Yi narrowed his eyes, clearing his mind of all distractions, and focused intently on reading the contents of the animal skin.

I will firmly imprint every formula and every key point in my mind, and dare not miss the slightest detail.

Half an incense stick's time passed in the blink of an eye.

"Phew~"

Jiang Yi breathed a sigh of relief, folded the animal hide neatly, and put it back on the counter.

Then his expression turned solemn, and he pointed to the sky, saying earnestly:

"Heaven and earth bear witness, the sun and moon are my proof, I hereby swear that I will never reveal even a trace of the Blood Pact Technique! If I break this oath, may I be plagued by inner demons and my path to enlightenment be utterly destroyed!"

After saying this, he cupped his hands in greeting, turned around, stepped out of the gate, and disappeared into the crowd of people in the streets.

This oath of inner demons seems to have no mystery whatsoever, and there is no unusual phenomenon when the oath is uttered.

However, it has already become a widely accepted and quite restrictive method in the cultivation world.

Almost all purchases of martial arts techniques, secret arts, or the inheritance of various skills come with such requirements.

Cultivators absorb the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, and resonate with and harmonize with it.

All I ever sought in my life was to live a carefree and long life.

The oath of inner demons cannot completely prevent leakage.

Those who aspire to the Great Way will not easily choose to go against it.

Otherwise, if one's thoughts are not clear and one's character is flawed, one will inevitably be troubled when breaking through to a higher realm in the future.

This is not a fabricated rumor, but rather based on countless bloody lessons from the past.

Having obtained the Blood Pact Technique, Jiang Yi was burning with excitement and couldn't wait to rush back to study it thoroughly.

After leaving the Hundred Skills Hall, he did not wander around for long.

He bought only ten catties of spirit rice at the rice shop, then left the market and hurried to his lodgings...