Chapter 10: The First Spirit Pet

Jiufeng Ridge, Baozhi Peak.

After the Zhou Family occupied Jiufeng Ridge, aside from the main peak, Pagoda Peak, where the Supreme Elder and the Clan Leader resided, each Spirit Peak had its own Peak Master appointed.

The Peak Master of Baozhi Peak was named Zhou He, a lady Cultivator of the Zhou Family with Cultivation at the twelfth level of the Qi Refinement Realm, and she was sixty-seven years old.

Before Zhou Chun arrived at Baozhi Peak, there were a total of twelve Zhou Family Cultivators living and cultivating on the peak, which included Zhou Yong, with whom he had a decent relationship.

Having returned from Pagoda Peak, Zhou Chun was then led by Zhou Yong to pay a visit to Zhou He, the Peak Master.

As a senior member of the Zhou Family, Zhou He was extremely delighted to learn that Zhou Chun, a clan member with decent talent, had returned to the family and was now under her command.

She even took out the Spirit Honey Tea, which she usually couldn't bear to drink herself, to entertain Zhou Chun.

Then she personally led Zhou Chun to an independent courtyard outside and assigned this secluded residence in the mountains as his dwelling place.

Afterward, she took Zhou Chun to visit all the other Zhou Family Cultivators on the mountain, making sure everyone was aware that they had gained a clan member like Zhou Chun.

Such a warm reception made Zhou Chun feel both surprised and deeply touched, and his heart was filled with warmth.

It wasn't until late at night that he was able to return to his own isolated courtyard and calmly reflect on the events of the day.

Without a doubt, the experiences of the day fully validated his decision to return to the Zhou Family.

Returning to the Zhou Family certainly meant being bound by family rules and being ordered about by the Clan Leader and Elders.

However, after returning to the Zhou Family, the benefits he could enjoy were definitely worth those impositions.

In short, the advantages far outweighed the disadvantages.

Moreover, based on the experiences of the day and the interactions with Zhou Fei and the others in the past few days, the atmosphere within the Zhou Family seemed to be fairly positive.

While backstabbing might be inevitable, it probably wouldn't have much to do with them, the ordinary clan members.

Of course, he had just returned to the family, so none of these observations could be conclusive; further observation was needed.

After sorting through today's events, Zhou Chun suddenly slapped his Storage Pouch and took out the Rock Earth Turtle Spirit Egg bestowed upon him by the Clan Leader, Zhou Guyi.

Upon opening the jade box, a large grey-and-white egg came into view.

This giant egg was even larger than the ostrich eggs he had seen in his previous life, the egg of a low-level Demon Beast called the Rock Earth Turtle.

The Cultivation World classifies Demon Beasts according to Cultivators' Cultivation Realms, ranging from one to six ranks, and then categorizes them into four levels: low, medium, high, and top-grade, based on the beasts' growth potential.

Generally speaking, low-level Demon Beasts have a growth potential ceiling of the first rank.

Unless they experience special fortunes that cause their bloodline to transform and evolve, low-level Demon Beasts almost never grow into second rank.

Similarly, medium-level Demon Beasts have a growth potential ceiling of the second rank, high-level beasts of the third rank, and top-grade beasts of the fourth rank.

Therefore, if someone were to obtain an egg or cub of a top-grade Demon Beast, as long as they survived until the Beast matured, they could gain a fourth rank Demon Beast as a Spirit Pet with strength comparable to a Golden Core Stage Cultivator.

The Rock Earth Turtle Spirit Egg in Zhou Chun's hands, although a descendant of a low-level Demon Beast, belonged to one of the strongest among low-level beasts; at least significantly stronger than the "Windshadow Leopard" he had previously nurtured.

This kind of Demon Beast not only possessed incredible defensive capabilities and tenacious vitality but also wielded substantial offensive power. Once it reached adulthood, it would be equivalent to a first-rank top-grade Demon Beast, capable of contending with late-stage Qi Refinement Cultivators.

That is to say, if such a Rock Earth Turtle Spirit Egg were to be sold at the Marketplace, it would be worth at least three hundred Spirit Coins.

Hence, the reward Zhou Guyi gave for Zhou Chun's return to the family was indeed generous.

After examining the Rock Earth Turtle Spirit Egg for a while, Zhou Chun quickly cut his finger, using his blood as ink, and began to inscribe a Contract Formation on a flat stone slab.

The Zhou Family, known for its Beast Taming Techniques within the Cultivation World, possessed various secret techniques that allowed Cultivators to form contracts with Demon Beasts.

The "Soul Controlling Blood Array" Zhou Chun was using was one of the safest and most reliable contract secret techniques.

```

However, this method was only suitable for entering into a contract with Rock Earth Turtle Spirit Eggs that had not yet developed spiritual intelligence, like Demon Beast Eggs, and was hardly effective for those Demon Beast Cubs that had already been born and opened their eyes, let alone adult Demon Beasts.

Zhou Chun spent nearly half an hour engraving the Contract Formation before continuing to etch related Spirit Patterns onto the shell of the Rock Earth Turtle Spirit Egg.

Only after the grey-white surface of the Rock Earth Turtle Spirit Egg was covered with various blood-colored Spirit Patterns did Zhou Chun place the Spirit Egg onto the stone slab engraved with the Contract Formation, then using blood as a catalyst, he pinched his fingers together, recited an incantation, and activated the Contract Formation.

As the Contract Formation was activated and set into motion, the array patterns etched with Zhou Chun's fresh blood on the stone slab turned into a blood mist that rose like evaporated water, surging towards the Rock Earth Turtle Spirit Egg in the middle.

Soon, the entire Rock Earth Turtle Spirit Egg was enveloped in a dense cloud of blood mist.

At that moment, the previously inert Rock Earth Turtle Spirit Egg seemed to sense something, suddenly emitting a suction force, drawing the blood mist from outside into the Spirit Egg as nourishment for its growth.

With all the blood mist absorbed, the Rock Earth Turtle Spirit Egg returned to its original grey-white color.

But by then, Zhou Chun had already established a mysterious connection with the Rock Earth Turtle Spirit Egg and could faintly feel the life inside, which had been sealed from growing, now rapidly incubating and maturing.

Generally speaking, if one acquired a Demon Beast Spirit Egg and had not yet found a suitable owner, a Cultivator in possession of a special sealing Secret Technique would use it to temporarily seal the life force of the Spirit Egg, significantly delaying its growth and incubation time.

Only when an owner contracted the Demon Beast Spirit Egg would the sealing be lifted and the egg would then incubate many times faster than normal.

After observing the Rock Earth Turtle Spirit Egg for around two hours, Zhou Chun concluded that it would take at least two days and at most three days for the Spirit Egg to hatch successfully.

Therefore, he did not put the item away but left it under his bed to hatch on its own.

In the second half of the night, Zhou Chun only managed a light sleep for less than two hours before he got up and hurried to the cliff top of Baozhi Peak.

He thought he had arrived early enough, before the hour of Mao (5 AM).

But upon arrival, he discovered that Zhou Yong and three other Baozhi Peak Cultivators from the Zhou Family had already been waiting there.

"It seems the world never lacks for diligent people!"

Zhou Chun sighed inwardly and found a place to sit down cross-legged.

Around two quarters past the hour of Mao, as the sky began to whiten, seven Zhou Family Cultivators had gathered on the cliff top.

Then, the seven Cultivators each sat cross-legged on the cliff, forming hand seals and quickly entering a meditation state to cultivate.

By the time the morning sun rose and purple qi arrived from the east, all seven were deeply immersed, capturing a wisp of Morning Sunlight Purple Qi and refining it into their bodies in the most perfect state.

When Zhou Chun reopened his eyes and stood up after the session, the sky was already bright, and the time was around four quarters past the hour of Chen (7 AM to 9 AM).

By then, three of the Zhou Family Cultivators had already left after completing their cultivation, while Zhou Yong and the remaining two were still meditating.

Seeing this, Zhou Chun silently left the cliff top and went to the communal dining hall on Baozhi Peak for breakfast.

The Zhou Family had moved a long way from Fengguo, and the majority of the mundane clansmen were unable to come along, leaving only a few relatives of the Foundation Establishment Elders and other high-ranking Cultivators who were brought over to Jingguo Country.

Now that the Zhou Family was in full swing, even the relatives of high-ranking Cultivators had to contribute to the family's efforts.

Therefore, places like the dining halls and laundry rooms of each peak were staffed by these individuals.

However, these people used to live in luxury and comfort, so naturally, their work now hardly met satisfaction.

Zhou Chun picked up a few meat buns for breakfast, only to find that two were undercooked. Since he didn't spend any money and didn't want to cause trouble just after his arrival, he held back from complaining, otherwise, he would have certainly scolded them.

Eventually, annoyed, he tossed down the buns and left, deciding to simply cook his own food from then on.

After casually finding some edible wild fruits in the mountains to fill his stomach, Zhou Chun hurried to the residence of Clan Leader Zhou He.

Although people like Zhou Fei had already told him a bit about the current state of the Zhou Family, they hadn't been very detailed, especially about the various rules and such.

Now, Zhou Chun needed Zhou He, the Peak Master, to give a detailed explanation so he could get a clear understanding.

```