NOVEL NEXT Ch. 33
Chapter 33: Spirit Beast Selection
Vast azure waves stretched endlessly, blending sky and sea into one.
The majestic sea roiled in grandeur, seeming to meet the heavens above. In the heart of this boundless, jade-mirrored sea, a towering immortal island surged from the depths like a jade pillar supporting the sky, piercing straight into the firmament.
Islets of various shapes were scattered like stars across the sea—some crouched like turtles upon the water, some spread wings like great roc birds, some coiled like serpents—but all circled around the immortal island like stars around the moon.
"Boom!"
As the breeze swept past, mighty waterfalls cascaded down from the peaks of countless small islands, merging with the mist rising from the sea to form a magnificent torrent of skyward surging waterfalls.
"Creating islands out of nothing with formations..." Xu Ziqing marveled. "The methods of a Fourth-Tier Formation Master are truly beyond comprehension."
As far as she knew, the Spirit Beast Pavilion had specially invited a Fourth-Tier Formation Master to arrange a grand formation to provide the most optimal environment for spirit beasts to grow.
This master first used a True Lord-level formation to divide and refine the spirit veins into five great Five Elements Immortal Islands—named in order as Edge Marrow, Qingluo, Mystic Waterfall, Sulfur Reef, and Flowing Loam.
Then, using the five great immortal islands as the core of the formation plate, the power of sun, moon, and stars was drawn to condense countless scattered islets, forming a grand formation within the formation.
The spectacle of Mystic Waterfall Island's waterfalls flowing upward into the sky before turning into rainfall was precisely designed to allow the Fourth-Tier grand formation to draw upon heaven and earth’s vital energy to produce the Starflow Essence capable of awakening spirit intelligence.
“Good enough.” Chen Beiwu wasn’t interested in how powerful a Fourth-Tier formation was. He only cared whether he could find a Companion Beast to his liking on this trip.
Following the jade slip’s guidance, he turned his gaze toward a serpent-shaped islet. “The Azure‑blue Spirit Carp is located in Zone Jia‑Yin‑18 of Mystic Waterfall Island, about forty-five li from the teleportation array—probably in that direction.”
Soon after, the two of them arrived at a vast lake spanning several hundred li, its shores lined with towering, layered rocks.
“Someone got here before us.” Xu Ziqing glanced at the three figures atop the rocks.
“Expected. The Azure Blue Spirit Salamander has a gentle nature and is quite popular among cultivators with water-attribute spiritual roots.”
Just as Chen Beiwu finished speaking, a juvenile Azure Blue Spirit Salamander suddenly leapt out from the lake’s surface.
Its body was slender, about three feet long, its entire form like sculpted jade, shimmering with a soft blue glow under the sunlight.
[Species]: Azure Blue Spirit Salamander
[Attributes]: Water, Wood
[Bloodline]: Second-Tier High-Grade (Spirit Beast)
[Innate Ability]: Vitality of Water (Excels at enhancing plant vitality and healing)
[Advancement]: Azure-Scaled Giant Newt (Third-Tier Low-Grade Treasure Beast), Azure Water Dragon Newt (Third-Tier High-Grade Treasure Beast)...
[Evaluation]: The Azure Blue Spirit Salamander is mild-tempered, has dorsal fins, enjoys leaping from the water to glide. It can consume Flood Dragon essence blood to undergo bloodline mutation, with a chance to evolve into the Azure Water Dragon Newt.
At that moment, the white-robed cultivator on the rock leapt down, reaching out in an attempt to catch the salamander.
"Whoosh!" The azure shadow accelerated mid-air, narrowly dodging the grasp.
“Damn it, I don’t believe I can’t catch this salamander!” The white-robed cultivator tossed off his outer robe and jumped into the lake.
Seeing this, the other two Qi Refining cultivators followed suit, leaping in to catch fish as well.
“Want to give it a try?” Xu Ziqing looked at Chen Beiwu with anticipation.
Fishing was out of the question. Chen Beiwu had streamed himself fishing for an entire year without catching a single fish. Diving for fish seemed more practical.
“You underestimate me. Catching fish isn’t that hard.”
Chen Beiwu wasn’t one for undressing in public. Instead, he channeled his internal spiritual power, his fingers forming a flurry of hand seals.
In the next moment, twenty-six streams of water shot into the sky, forming layered curtains that entrapped the Azure Blue Spirit Salamanders swimming in the lake.
Swept to the surface by the surging current, the white-robed cultivator looked up to see five immobilized Azure Blue Spirit Salamanders caught in a water prison, squealing in panic.
“How the hell?” The white-robed cultivator froze, staring at Chen Beiwu.
Brother, you're really something. Contracting a Companion Beast at the Spirit Beast Pavilion isn’t just about brute strength.
In this world, background and power matter.
Don’t be fooled—those Azure Blue Spirit Salamanders in the lake may have just been born, and couldn’t defeat even a Third-Level Qi Refining cultivator, but they’ve got guardians.
Adult Azure Blue Spirit Salamanders were all Second-Realm Lesser Beasts with over fifty years of cultivation, equivalent in power to a rogue Foundation Establishment cultivator.
Their clan leader was even more fearsome—a Third-Realm Beast General with over five hundred years of cultivation, strength on par with a Golden Core True Person.
Doing something like this in front of the parents… Was this guy not worried about getting pummeled and thrown out?
Sure enough, a massive shadow emerged on the lake’s surface.
“Splash!” The lake suddenly sank a full zhang, and a massive creature over ten zhang long revealed a blue vertical pupil, silently watching the Azure Blue Spirit Salamanders inside the water prison.
‘Thank heavens I didn’t get rough.’ The white-robed cultivator held his breath, heart full of relief.
“This…” Xu Ziqing looked to Chen Beiwu.
“Relax, it’s fine.” Chen Beiwu gave the imposing beast a glance and calmly approached the water prison.
He had read the jade slip materials and was well aware of the Spirit Beast Pavilion's rules—no way he’d be scared by a fish.
“Dark green, deep green, light blue, blue, deep blue.”
After confirming the precise fate level of the five salamander cubs, Chen Beiwu changed his hand seal, and the formed water prison collapsed with a roar. The five azure shadows within darted toward the massive beast at once.
Pushing aside the frightened cubs in mild disdain, the giant beast gave Chen Beiwu a deep look, then slowly submerged, and the vast lake returned to calm.
“That scared me…” Xu Ziqing patted her chest lightly—she had nearly panicked just now.
“No worries. We didn’t break any rules. Second-Realm Lesser Beasts within the Spirit Beast Pavilion can’t attack us.” Chen Beiwu remained composed.
There were many rules in the Spirit Beast Pavilion, with the most serious being to harm spirit beast cubs without cause. The water prison technique he had used merely restricted the cubs’ movements and didn’t harm them, so it didn’t count as a violation.
“That’s not the point.” Xu Ziqing spoke seriously. “To contract a Companion Beast, one must gain the cub’s recognition. Doing this might scare them off.”
“If they can’t handle even this level of testing, then they’ve completely lost their wild instincts.” Chen Beiwu shook his head.
When cultivators selected a Companion Beast in the Spirit Beast Pavilion, it wasn’t a one-way choice—they had to be mutually acknowledged to form a contract.
But Chen Beiwu had always believed that, more important than gaining recognition, was finding a Companion Beast whose talent, bloodline, temperament, and fate aligned with his heart’s desire.
Just now, he had deliberately restrained the power of his Water Prison Technique—it was roughly capable of binding a Fourth-Level Qi Refining cultivator.
The salamander cubs were innately attuned to water and wood. Had they resisted with all their might, they could have easily broken through the (weakened version) Water Prison Technique, yet they hadn’t.
Faced with sudden danger, their first instinct wasn’t to unleash their beast power and fight back—but to call for help.
Of course, this might also be because Chen Beiwu hadn’t exerted enough pressure to make them feel a true threat of death.
Even so, temperament alone was enough for Chen Beiwu to eliminate the docile Azure Blue Spirit Salamanders from consideration.