CHAPTER 81: CHAPTER 81: SPIRIT PET CONTRACT_1

Shen Mo had no regrets about losing to Lu Ming in the contest.

He was indeed very strong.

Even if he brought out the Soul Refining Flag, he wasn’t sure he could win.

"Getting second place in the newcomer competition was already quite an achievement," Guo Zhao said. "That Lu Ming possesses the Thunder Body and a solid foundation. He is a true genius; you weren’t wronged in losing to him."

Even though Shen Mo had opened all three of his Dantians simultaneously, which was an extremely rare and solid foundation, he still seemed somewhat overshadowed when facing a genius with such amazing Talent.

Thunder Body?

Upon hearing this, Shen Mo realized that Lu Ming possessed a natural Spiritual Body.

No wonder his combat power is so exaggerated.

「 」

Returning to his cave mansion from Stars Peak, Shen Mo began to consume the Foundation Pill.

GULP.

Swallowing this Grade II Foundation Pill, Shen Mo circulated the Purple Mansion Heart Scripture, continuously absorbing the power of the Elixir.

[You swallowed a Grade II Elixir, the Foundation Pill. The medicinal power of the Foundation Pill gradually spread, causing a continuous surge in your body. You began to operate the Purple Mansion Heart Scripture to absorb the medicinal power. Through your continuous absorption, the medicinal power gradually transformed into Mana and flowed into the Qi Sea in your Dantian.]

[You continuously digested the medicinal power of the Foundation Pill. The Mana in your body became increasingly abundant, and your Cultivation Realm improved.]

About three Shichen later, after completely absorbing the medicinal power of the Foundation Pill, Shen Mo opened his eyes. The medicinal power of this Foundation Pill is much stronger than the Qi Gathering Pill... but it still didn’t allow me to break through.

He had advanced to the Qi Gathering Realm only a short time ago. Although he had the aid of Elixirs, his accumulation was far from sufficient.

This Foundation Pill only made his foundation more solid and increased the abundance of Mana in his body.

There was still some time before he could break through to Layer II.

Besides the Foundation Pill... there’s also the Earth Yuan Pill!

As he thought this, he took out another jade bottle from his robes.

This Earth Yuan Pill was the introductory gift promised to him by the Stars Peak Master. It had the effect of condensing Qi and blood essence.

According to Zhou Shili, it could assist him in cultivating his body-refinement technique.

Let’s try its effects!

He picked one up and swallowed it.

Immediately, a burning sensation quickly spread.

The medicinal power of the Earth Yuan Pill dispersed, and waves of pure medicinal energy rapidly enhanced his internal organs, flesh, and fascia.

Bloody Dragon-shaped Body, devour!

When Shen Mo felt the Qi and blood in his body continuously churning and surging, he decisively began to condense his Dragon-shaped Body.

SPLASH!

Boundless Qi and blood essence transformed into long, blood-red lines, intertwining within his body.

Ultimately, Shen Mo’s vitality began to undergo a transformation.

The effects are quite good.

After another hour, Shen Mo had exhausted the medicinal power and assessed the changes in his body.

His strength had increased by at least fifteen percent.

The Bloody Dragon-shaped Body, which he hadn’t had a chance to cultivate before, also showed some improvement.

However, this progress wasn’t significant.

Shen Mo made a rough estimate: even if he consumed and absorbed all four remaining Earth Yuan Pills, the Qi and blood essence they produced still wouldn’t be enough for the Bloody Dragon-shaped Body to advance to the next stage.

It seems unrealistic to advance my vitality from the Elephant Body to the Dragon Body in such a short time, Shen Mo murmured to himself. To improve my combat power, I’ll have to find other methods.

Originally, Shen Mo was quite satisfied with his own cultivation speed and had even become a little complacent.

But after the confrontation with Lu Ming, he began to realize that while his strength was increasing rapidly, there was still a gap compared to true prodigies.

And the Riverside Sect, as one of the Five Great Sects of Red Flame Country, never lacked prodigies.

Therefore, his sense of urgency about improving his combat power had greatly increased.

In one month, when I enter the Mountain River Realm for cultivation, I’ll likely have to fight.

Guo Zhao had previously told him the rules of the Mountain River Realm.

Disciples who entered could freely collect the spiritual medicine and treasures within, but at the same time, robbing others was not prohibited.

Hence, every generation of inner disciples entering the Mountain River Realm for trials was bound to experience combat and confrontation.

Only the strong could safeguard their interests.

Otherwise, even if they relied on luck to find many secret stashes of spiritual medicine in the Mountain River Realm, these treasures would likely be seized by others.

Within this one month, Shen Mo had to do his best to enhance his strength, with the goal of gaining maximum benefits from the Mountain River Realm.

Speaking of the Mountain River Realm, I first need to solve the communication issue with the Spirit Storage Rat. Its ability to ignore Prohibitions and find treasures everywhere will be my core advantage when searching for treasures in the Mountain River Realm.

With this thought in mind, Shen Mo cast his gaze outside the cave mansion.

Beside the Spirit Field on the cliff edge, the Spirit Storage Rat was curled up under a vine tree, sound asleep.

Apparently, it was unaware that Shen Mo was already preparing to put it to hard labor.

I need to go to the Deacon Hall and fetch the Contract Magic for Spirit Pets. I should have done this earlier. But since I didn’t particularly need this little fellow before, I kept putting it off. Now, it’s time.

With a thought, he left the cave mansion.

「 」

Two hours later, Shen Mo returned from the Deacon Hall with a scroll in his hand.

With this, I can begin forming the contract.

Shen Mo approached the Spirit Storage Rat and woke it up.

CHIRP! CHIRP!

The Spirit Storage Rat was still drowsy, seemingly annoyed at being disturbed.

"Today, you and I will sign the contract," Shen Mo said, unfurling the contract scroll. He then bit the tip of his tongue lightly, squeezing out a drop of his blood essence onto the scroll.

"Your turn."

After applying his blood essence to the contract, Shen Mo placed the scroll in front of the Spirit Storage Rat.

According to the rules for signing the contract, both the master and the Spirit Pet must offer a drop of their blood essence to activate the Spirit Pet Contract.

SQUEAK! SQUEAK!

The Spirit Storage Rat examined the scroll for a while, seemingly only then understanding what to do.

Under Shen Mo’s gaze, it pricked its small paw and pressed its print onto the contract scroll.

HUM!

When the Spirit Storage Rat’s paw print landed, the contract scroll slowly radiated a golden glow.

At the same time, an indescribably wondrous sensation arose in the hearts of both Shen Mo and the Spirit Storage Rat.

It was as if, in that instant, the man and the rat were completely bound together.

"Master... Master?"

The first thing that reached Shen Mo’s ears was a slightly crisp, youthful male voice.

Upon hearing this voice, Shen Mo raised his eyebrows. Little fellow, we can finally communicate!

"I’m hungry..."

He had wanted to say something sentimental to mark the occasion, like how they would accompany each other on the immortal path, through life and death, for all their days to come. After all, establishing a Spirit Pet Contract was a significant moment.

But its declaration of hunger shattered the mood.

Sure enough... a complete foodie.

The original atmosphere completely dissipated. Shen Mo, no longer in the mood for sentimental words, directly prepared it a meat-filled meal.

He used the meat of the Double-horned Red Bull.

The meat of this Class I demonic beast was considered top-grade, far more expensive and flavorful than what he usually provided.

Shen Mo usually fed the Spirit Storage Rat meat from the Red-browed Deer, which was naturally far less valuable than that of the Double-horned Red Bull.

He reasoned that he would soon need to rely on this little fellow in the Mountain River Realm, so he had specifically bought a hundred catties from the Market.

He planned to let it eat well this month, as a preemptive reward.

CHOMP, CHOMP!

As soon as the meat dish was served, the Spirit Storage Rat was overjoyed and began to eat with great delight.