“What’s going on?”
A master-level Spirit Tamer rushed over furiously, roaring in frustration at the empty air.
“It must have used some invisibility ability of a phantom spirit, and a very advanced one at that. Otherwise, it absolutely couldn’t escape my surveillance…”
Another master-level Spirit Tamer coldly remarked, while a golden spider beside him continuously spun silk, spreading a vast web in all directions.
“If it didn’t have some skills, how dare it come to this dragon’s den and tiger’s lair!”
The last one, an old man, smiled slightly while stroking his beard: “But no worries… I’ve already invited Master Suan Yisheng. His divination techniques using calculation rods are second to none, even rivalling those of the astrologers from the Star-Moon Empire…”
However, in the next moment, his expression turned extremely grim: “No good! Master Suan Yisheng just sent word that he couldn’t calculate even the slightest clue!”
“Who exactly is that person?”
Instantly, a massive mystery clouded the hearts of these three master-level Spirit Tamers.
…
“Good! No wonder it’s the Divine Ghost Celestial Star!”
Outside Zhongzhou City, Wu Ming removed his concealment and revealed his figure: “The net set by three master-level Spirit Tamers would have been extremely difficult to escape from before I obtained the Divine Ghost Celestial Star, but now it’s as simple as eating and drinking…”
With this concealment technique, he was even confident in secretly attacking, suddenly launching an assault, and directly killing a master-level Spirit Tamer, thus achieving the feat of a general-level assassin taking down a master-level target.
However, doing so would only draw more attention without any real benefit. After some contemplation, he chose to abandon the idea.
“Master!”
Upon returning to their temporary residence, Hou Yong and Zuo Linling were already waiting solemnly.
“This mission went smoothly… Rest tonight, and tomorrow we’ll prepare to set off!”
Wu Ming waved his hand.
“Where to?”
“Stonecity, my family’s location…”
Wu Ming replied coldly with a slow response.
“Stonecity is actually your family’s home?”
Both Hou Yong and Zuo Linling widened their eyes in surprise.
In recent days, Wu Ming’s talent, intelligence, and upbringing had made them feel inferior in every aspect.
They had assumed such a person must be a secret heir or prodigy from a hidden great family or powerful faction.
If they knew Wu Ming was merely a bastard from a minor family in a small city, their expressions would surely have been quite entertaining.
Pizi! Pizi!
The campfire crackled as a drunken swan was already plucked and cleaned by Hou Yong, coated with fruit syrup, and its roasting released a scent reminiscent of red wine.
“Master… the swan liver from this drunken swan is the most delicious…”
Hou Yong, quite aware of his sycophantic role, offered the best part to Wu Ming.
Beside him, Zuo Linling knelt and served him, presenting a wooden cup filled with fruit water.
“Hmm…”
Although the drunken swan was a harmless phantom spirit without much offensive capability, it naturally exuded a wine-like aroma, making it a supreme delicacy. Combined with Hou Yong’s culinary skills, the taste was truly exquisite.
After satisfying his hunger and thirst, Wu Ming glanced at Hou Yong: “You performed well this time in Zhongzhou City. I previously obtained a large amount of resources and intentionally left that thousand-year-old Kong Qing stone for you. With it, most of the conditions for Qing Shi Yuan to evolve into an outstanding species have been met. Next, I will also teach you the method to elevate the Great Strength Golden Ape into a silver-rank Earth-Covering Demon Ape. However, this will be quite challenging, so you must be mentally prepared…”
“Thank you, Master!”
Hou Yong was overjoyed, scratching his head and ears.
Evolving a species was no simple matter. Especially since Wu Ming had inherited Jia Kongming’s legacy, he knew that advancing through common, elite, and outstanding ranks might not be too complicated. However, the resources required for upgrading to silver and gold ranks were astronomical.
In fact, even with all the gains from this trip to Zhongzhou City, it would still fall slightly short.
Furthermore, finding silver and gold rank phantom spirits was nearly impossible. Unless one had great confidence in their luck, one could only rely on pouring in massive resources to force the evolution.
“And also… Zuo Linling! After our trip to Stone City, we will explore other ruins of Jia Kongming and seek ancient immortal techniques!”
Since both of them had performed well this time, they naturally deserved some rewards.
“Thank you, Master!”
Indeed, upon hearing this, Zuo Linling also showed visible delight.
“Chirp! Chirp!”
Beside them, Tie Chi Jin Diao and Xie Lang each occupied a spot, devouring their food voraciously.
For Spirit Tamers, nurturing phantom spirits was an extremely important matter, especially concerning their respective diets, which were essential expenses.
Take Tie Chi Jin Diao, for example; its ideal food was golden-haired mountain goats, each worth hundreds of spirit coins. It had a huge appetite, needing to eat more than a dozen goats at a time. Of course, after a meal, it could go without food or water for ten days or half a month. Even so, it was still a heavy burden, and ordinary Spirit Tamers might be driven bankrupt by the costs.
However, with Wu Ming’s current wealth, he naturally didn’t care about such trivial expenses.
“As for the Divine Ghost Celestial Star, it’s quite peculiar. Whenever occasionally exposed to the outside world, it automatically draws sustenance from its host…”
Wu Ming summoned the Divine Ghost Celestial Star, watching it fly to his face, seemingly absorbing mysterious and unfathomable energy, gaining an understanding: “Is it misfortune? Or human aura? Feeding on such things… It’s surprisingly easy to raise…”
“Aoww! Aoww!”
“Master is truly extravagant… especially when feeding the wolves…”
Hou Yong and Zuo Linling exchanged glances, looking at Xie Lang devouring its meal heartily, their facial muscles twitching slightly.
At this moment, Xie Lang wasn’t eating low-grade meat like Saro flesh. Instead, it was consuming chunks of mammoth meat with a gem-like sheen, even containing tiny, sparkling jade fragments—powder made from top-grade green jade.
After finishing its meal, Wu Ming split open the purchased beast bones, extracting eighteen beast king bone pearls and tossing them to Xie Lang.
Crunch! Crunch!
Xie Lang devoured them like peanuts, one after another, making a crisp sound.
“Xie Lang is just an elite species. To evolve into the outstanding species, the Azure-Eyed Demon Wolf, it needs to be fed high-grade green jade along with Beast King bone powder… Now I’m using top-grade green jade and Beast Emperor bone pearls. Even Jia Kongming probably never indulged like this back then…”
Wu Ming pondered silently.
This Xie Lang was his first phantom spirit, naturally holding a special place in his heart, and its intelligence was also worth cultivating.
Previously, he had no choice but to make do, but now that he had the means, he didn’t have any better options.
“After all… silver-rank and gold-rank phantom spirits aren’t something one can easily obtain. Even the phantom spirit about to emerge in Stonecity only has a fifty percent chance…”
“Moreover… the Azure-Eyed Demon Wolf is already quite formidable among outstanding species, not to mention the potential for future evolution into the Wild Green Wolf and even a king-class phantom spirit…”
He looked toward Xie Lang.
At this moment, Xie Lang’s aura was surging, clearly at the peak of the War-Bound tier—Wu Ming’s feeding regimen was too rich in energy, and without the hindrance of a Spirit Tamer’s soul, in just over a month, Xie Lang had already advanced two minor stages, now only one step away from reaching War-General status!
Moreover, its original pair of ruby-red eyes now carried faint streaks of green, gradually intensifying.
“Come here, Xie Lang…”
Wu Ming gestured, and Xie Lang immediately wagged its tail, approaching in a fawning manner for Wu Ming to examine the changes in its eyes.
“Hmm… The green has already occupied half the eye. This is the sign of accumulating strength, the best proof for breaking through to the Azure-Eyed Demon Wolf… Judging from this, when it reaches War-General level, its chance of breaking through species limitations should be at least fifty percent or more…”
He couldn’t help but feel a sense of admiration.
This Xie Lang had originally been just an ordinary gray wolf, yet through several evolutions, it had stubbornly kept up with his footsteps, never falling behind.
“You must work hard… I’ve provided all the conditions for you. If you fail to evolve your species upon reaching War-General level, your future development will be greatly restricted. In that case, no matter how reluctant I am, I’ll have to replace you!”
“Woof…”
Xie Lang drooped its head, then raised its paw defiantly, as if making a vow like an ordinary person, causing Hou Yong’s eyes to nearly pop out in astonishment.
…
Stonecity.
“Greetings to the Grand Elder and Second Elder!”
Dongfang Yudie performed a solemn bow, looking at the three elders seated formally above, as well as Dongfang Ba and Dongfang Shuwen by her side. Her beautiful eyes showed confusion: “I wonder why we were summoned here?”
Dongfang Tie and Dongfang Xiong exchanged glances. Finally, Dongfang Ying coughed slightly, his expression serious: “I have summoned you here today because there is a major matter concerning the future of our Dongfang family! This is the greatest secret among the families that have settled in Stonecity. Only our most outstanding young generation can bear this responsibility…”
“The most outstanding young generation?”
Dongfang Ba’s face darkened slightly. Dongfang Shuwen and Dongfang Yudie exchanged glances, their minds conjuring the image of a young boy.
If there was a true genius, it would probably be the only one fitting that title.
“Cough… cough…”
Seeing this, Dongfang Ying frowned slightly, his expression turning gloomy. After a violent cough, he slowly continued: “Now… I will tell you the reason why our Dongfang family settled here long ago…”
…
A long while later, the three of them exited the Elders’ Hall, all with dazed expressions.
“Silver-rank phantom spirit… the agreement among the three major families… the selection of talented disciples…”
Mentioning the great secret they had just learned, even Dongfang Yudie couldn’t help but feel shaken and excited: “So this is our family’s greatest secret! I must strive to secure sufficient resources for our family…”
Seeing Dongfang Ba and Dongfang Shuwen in a daze, she couldn’t help but feel amused: “These two are probably still thinking about getting their hands on the silver-rank phantom spirit, not realizing that even if they obtained it, they would have to hand it over to the family… Previously, Ming obtained an elite earth dragon egg but dared not use it himself. As for a silver-rank… Hmph…”
At this thought, she became somewhat melancholic.
It had been several months since they last met. She wondered how that determined young boy was doing now.
Tai Sui Yellow Amulet Paper FuLu Taoist Love Talisman Traditional Chinese Spiritual Charm Attracting Love Protecting Marriage