Cultivation is just so scientific!

Chapter 1102: Chapter 597: Phoenix (Part 2)

Li Shiming smiled, the peak he cultivated was planted with Third-grade Beast Saliva Fruit, which is the main material for refining Third Grade Spiritual Beast Essence Enhancement Pill, and is moreover diligently cared for by two spirit plant caretakers.

A tenth of these Third-grade Beast Saliva Fruits are given to the spirit plant caretakers, while the remaining are all refined by him into Third Grade Spiritual Beast Essence Enhancement Pills.

Even if Little Feng and the Illusion Spirit Dragon have large appetites, regardless of how much they eat, considering the quantity of Third-grade Beast Saliva Fruits, there’s enough resources for nurturing even more spiritual pets than just them.

Li Shiming received a communication technique message, and with a smile, he activated the formation.

Zhong Qiang, Yue Shan, and Lu Heng arrived together, seemingly aware of Little Feng’s advancement to Fourth-grade.

”Congratulations, junior brother (senior brother)!” they said in unison, offering their congratulations.

Since Zhong Qiang advanced to the Golden Core stage, he has gained much more confidence, and judging by his aura, he will soon reach the Golden Core Middle Stage.

His rapid advancement is due not only to being reborn through body seizing but more importantly, because Li Shiming provided him with a large amount of high-quality cultivation assistance spirit pills for the Golden Core stage.

”Come in quickly and have a seat!” Li Shiming ushered them into the hall of his cave dwelling.

He poured for the three of them his handmade Fourth Grade Spirit Tea and offered some Fourth Grade Spirit Fruits, of which he had no shortage. Besides what he grew on his spirit fruit trees, he also received over a hundred as a five-year stipend from Central State Commerce.

”Senior brother, you should take this Fourth Grade Spirit Tea and Spirit Fruit back and consume them slowly; your current stage might not handle consuming them all at once!” Yue Shan, being considerate, reminded Zhong Qiang.

”I won’t stand on ceremony with junior brother; I’ll take what I can, such spiritual objects can save me a lot of cultivation time!” Zhong Qiang replied with a smile.

Having received so much help from Li Shiming, Zhong Qiang even gave his most precious items to Li Shiming, cementing an extremely close relationship between them.

This especially went for all the cultivation dissemination pills he used during his Golden Core stage, which were all provided by Li Shiming.

Every Third-grade spirit pill was an Advanced Third-grade Spirit Pill, which alone allowed Zhong Qiang to reduce the intervals between doses and maximize cultivation effects.

He had long heard of the reputation of Li Shiming’s Fourth Grade Spirit Tea, but due to his cultivation stage, he normally had no access to such a premium item.

Taking the opportunity of this celebration, he finally got to taste the Fourth Grade Spirit Tea. Since he couldn’t consume it all then, he planned to take the spirit tea and spirit fruits back with him, as these were the best resources.

”Where is Little Feng?” Lu Heng asked as he looked toward the depths of the cave dwelling.

As soon as he called Little Feng’s name, he saw Little Feng, who had shrunken its body and was happily running out, flapping its wings as it ran.

”Is this the Red Gold Phoenix?” Yue Shan and Zhong Qiang questioned simultaneously.

Little Feng’s appearance was identical to the sect’s description of a Red Gold Phoenix, but its character was clearly that of a child, quite different from the proud demeanor typical of a Red Gold Phoenix.

They immediately realized that it hadn’t been many years since Little Feng had contracted with Li Shiming, and despite Little Feng already being Fourth-grade, it was still in the juvenile stage of a spirit beast in terms of age.

They understood that Little Feng encountered Li Shiming, an Alchemy Master, and because it had devoured many Third and Fourth-grade spiritual insects during a battle with a Nascent Soul cultivator from the Gu Feng Sect, it matured in a short time and advanced to Fourth-grade.

When they looked at Zhong Qiang, his situation was quite similar.

With Li Shiming’s aid as an Alchemy Master, he was able to significantly reduce the time spent during the Foundation Establishment and Golden Core stages with the help of Second and Third-grade spirit pills.

”Little Feng, this is the gift we have for you!” Yue Shan said with a smile, taking out a crown made from Fourth-grade Spiritual Flowers and placing it around Little Feng’s neck.

The crown had been intended as a hat for Little Feng, but since Little Feng had shrunk its body, it could only wear it around its neck.

Although it was presented as a gift from all three, most of it was provided by Yue Shan, as Zhong Qiang was only at the Golden Core stage and had lost most of his assets. He couldn’t access the rest stored in his cave without first reaching the Nascent Soul stage, leaving him unable to offer a comparable gift.

Lu Heng, a registered disciple, had some assets, but they paled in comparison to Yue Shan’s.

”You shouldn’t have!” Li Shiming glanced at the crown. Despite it being made from Fourth-grade Spiritual Flowers, the craft was not casually accomplished.

The Fourth-grade Spiritual Flowers had undergone some special process to prevent withering, and in crafting the crown, artifact refining techniques were used, making it equivalent to a Fourth-Grade Magical Treasure.

The crown had the effect of enhancing Little Feng’s soul, albeit a very subtle one, but even the slightest enhancement increased Little Feng’s potential.

”This is for Little Feng!” Yue Shan waved dismissively.

He smiled at Little Feng who, delighted with the crown, hopped happily over to his side.

It was clear Yue Shan was intentionally trying to win Little Feng’s favor.

And understandably so, as Little Feng’s future was bright. Once it advanced to the late stage of Fourth-grade, it would possess the same combat power and status as Grandmaster Hu.

”Junior brother, you must exercise caution in your future actions and not expose your whereabouts lightly. Though you are a Guest Elder of Central State Commerce, the greed of cultivators can lead them to extreme acts!” Zhong Qiang advised.

”Thank you for the warning, senior brother, I will be careful!” Li Shiming wasn’t one to ignore advice, so he nodded and replied.

He was well aware, especially since the news of him having a Red Gold Phoenix Spirit Pet was completely exposed and that Little Feng had advanced to Fourth-grade.

Within the Ten Thousand Beast Sect, some didn’t want their spiritual pets to be overshadowed by the Red Gold Phoenix, considering eliminating it a solution, while others coveted the Red Gold Phoenix bloodline to enhance their own. Such daring acts were not beyond some sect cultivators.

Outside the sect, rival factions like the Sun Concealing Sect and others, related or unrelated, wouldn’t want Little Feng to grow to a late-stage Fourth-grade.

The most direct way to thwart Little Feng’s growth was to kill her master, Li Shiming.

Even though Li Shiming served as a Guest Elder for Central State Commerce, as long as the execution was clandestine, Central State Commerce would remain in the dark.

”Senior brother, when do you plan on entering the Ten Thousand Beasts Cave Heaven to select a spiritual pet? If you need contribution points, I still have some that I can give to you!” Li Shiming asked Zhong Qiang.

Zhong Qiang’s spiritual pet had perished long ago, and he currently did not have a contracted spiritual pet, an uncommon situation in the Ten Thousand Beast Sect.

”Senior brother, don’t hold back with him. His contribution points come easily; mine were earned at the risk of my life with each point!” Yue Shan chimed in with a laugh, speaking to Zhong Qiang.

”Junior brother, I won’t hesitate when I need to, but I plan to decide after advancing to the Nascent Soul stage. I won’t leave the sect until then!” Zhong Qiang replied with a smile.

”Senior brother, when choosing a spiritual pet, don’t pick one from the Phoenix lineage; you must know that after Little Feng advanced to Fourth-grade, her call defeated the will of many Phoenix-lineage spiritual pets. Your Phoenix-based pet would immediately defect to Little Feng!” Lu Heng suggested from the side.

”What spiritual pet could rival a Red Gold Phoenix? Likely only a top-tier Dragon lineage one!” Zhong Qiang laughed in response.

His ambitions for contracting a spiritual pet were not grand. His potential was limited, and returning to the Nascent Soul Middle Stage would already mark the peak of his journey.

The four brothers gathered, chatting about sect and Dongqi Continent happenings, an encounter fostering brotherly bonds.

Li Shiming cherished the ambiance as it adorned his otherwise solitary cultivation journey with rare companionship, making him feel not so alone, if only for a moment.

Elsewhere in the sect, discussions about Li Shiming and his Red Gold Phoenix dominated conversations, once again placing Li Shiming in the spotlight.