Translator: 549690339 I

“Senior, please observe, this is the method of processing the Eel-tail Clam.”

Jiantao Station, Food Preparation Room.

After processing the Eel-tail Clam on the chopping board, Bao Chao presented it to Wang Ba.

Seeing this, Wang Ba quickly memorized Bao Chao’s methods and the key points he explained.

Compared to the first step, the difficulty of the second step, the processing method, has decreased a lot.

It only requires memorizing the corresponding processing method for different ingredients. Once done proficiently, the second step is deemed complete.

Whether it’s birds, beasts, fish, insects, plants, or fruits, or even different grades, their corresponding processing methods are all different.

The tricky part is the configuration issues associated with the processing materials for the corresponding ingredients.

Take the Eel-tail Clam, for example.

Ungraded Eel-tail Clams contain toxins in the poison sacs within their skin; these toxins also contain a lot of essence. Hence, you need a specially formulated treatment liquid for initial detoxification while preserving this essence.

This treatment liquid is concocted using different spirit materials according to the category, grade, style, etc. of the ingredient.

Wang Ba needs to familiarize himself with the treatment liquid configuration for each ingredient through continuous trials.

Bao Chao left soon, and Wang Ba started the configuration of the treatment liquid according to what Bao Chao had explained.

“Three fen of Daylily Leaves, two taels of Willow Spirit Seeds, five Red Fruits…”

As expected, bubbles immediately started to rise in the treatment liquid when he soaked the body of the Eel-tail Clam partitioned off.

“Failed.”

Wang Ba shook his head, his inner state remaining unshaken.

He calmly considered which step went wrong.

“A reddish treatment liquid… I must have used too many Red Fruits.”

“Too many bubbles… it must be due to the Iron Bone Grass.”

He quickly recorded the results on paper.

At the same time, he conducted comparative reference experiments according to the proportions and varieties of the spirit materials in the treatment liquid.

“Let’s try again.”

Half a month later.

Watching the body of the Eel-tail Clam quietly floating on the surface of the treatment liquid before him, Wang Ba finally breathed a sigh of relief.

“Phew— finally succeeded!”

Next to him, he had recorded a thick stack of paper. These were all experimental data he had collected.

With the first success, Wang Ba quickly understood the method.

Most importantly, intuition might not be accurate, but data never lies.

Afterwards, he started using the Spirit Chicken and Spirit Turtle he brought as experimental subjects.

With different experimental subjects and a wealth of experiments, he soon found the rules for configuring treatment liquid while handling different spirit beasts.

And these rules were something not even Bao Chao had mentioned.

So much so that a month later, when he saw Wang Ba confidently concoct the perfect treatment liquid for the Eel-tail Clam, he couldn’t help being shocked. “Senior… have you studied this before?”

Bao Chao immediately explained:

“What I mean is, although senior’s processing liquid configuration method is a bit raw, the ratio of different spirit materials is handled extremely accurately. Even I may not do it better than senior.”

Wang Ba just smiled and did not elaborate further.

Bao Chao didn’t mind, thought for a moment, and then brought another Spirit Beast, a rabbit Wang Ba had never seen before, and said with a smile:

“Senior, why don’t you try this ‘Burrowing Rabbit’?”

Wang Ba hadn’t tried any Spirit Beasts other than the Eel-tail Clam and the Spirit Chicken and the Spirit Turtle, and he was instantly excited.

Taking the Burrowing Rabbit and scanning it with his spiritual sense, he quickly understood the body structure and composition of the Burrowing Rabbit in the blink of an eye.

This Burrowing Rabbit was a middle grade Class I spirit beast, and there was nothing special about it except for its two teeth.

The hardness of the teeth even surpassed that of a typical middle-grade Class I magic tool.

The essence contained in them goes without saying.

Instantly, Wang Ba used his mana as a knife, quickly penetrating the rabbit’s body. In just three or four breaths, he easily dissected the burrowing rabbit neatly.

Flesh, bones, skin, fur, blood vessels, eyeballs, teeth…

Next, he started configuring the treatment liquid according to the rules he understood:

“Liuliang of Jiu Xiang, two jins of Spirit Pepper, five fen of Long Qian…”

Then, with full confidence, he placed each part of the Burrowing Rabbit into the treatment liquid one by one.

As expected, no bubbles came out of the treatment liquid as it did during the first configuration.

Just as Wang Ba was about to ask Bao Chao for another new spirit beast to try, the previously calm treatment liquid suddenly radiated an eerie rainbow of colors.

He quickly flicked his sleeve. The treatment liquid was splashed out and exploded midway in the air.

But it was blocked outside by Wang Ba’s mana.

Wang Ba looked at the spirit materials on the table with a grimace:

“How could this be? I configured it according to the method.”

Bao Chao wasn’t surprised by this result and said with a smile:

“Senior, calm down. The key to configuring this treatment liquid lies in this Burrowing Rabbit’s teeth. The teeth seem similar to the normal spirit beast’s flesh, but they are actually very different, almost mineral-like. Naturally, the processing required is also different.”

Wang Ba wasn’t too anxious, but after being confident earlier, he was now feeling somewhat humiliated. Hearing this, he seemed to understand where the problem was.

Bao Chao added: “In this world, there are countless types of spirit beasts and spirit plants. You will always encounter strange things. The method of configuring the treatment liquid naturally can’t be generalized. Therefore, you need to observe, experiment, and accumulate experience.”

Wang Ba nodded, not looking down upon the other because their cultivation realm was lower than his own.

After Bao Chao left, he went to the market and bought a dozen or so diverse spirit beasts with his spirit stones.

While he was there, he also gleaned some information from the shopkeeper of the spirit beast store.

“Our Jiantao Station is located in Yan State, not the Northern Yan Dynasty. We are in the northwest of the Chu Dynasty…Our area is rich in various spirit beasts and spiritual medicines found in the deep mountains surrounding us. However, it’s not safe to venture too deep, it is said that Class III spirit beasts reside there. If you’re interested, I do have a map.”

Seeing Wang Ba’s Foundation Establishment status, the shopkeeper of the spirit beast store was naturally extremely enthusiastic, offering internal prices.

Wang Ba didn’t refuse. He accepted the map, thanked the shopkeeper, and then returned to the dining hall.

One month later.

He had successfully tested each spirit beast he had, one by one, indeed discovering some patterns different from before.

“So it seems that there is no universal rule for the configuration of the treatment liquid corresponding to spirit beasts of different species. At most, there are similarities, but there are significant differences at their core.”

“However, based on the patterns I have figured out so far, most of the spirit beasts should be able to be treated.”

“Of course, it would be better to find more differing spirit beasts to compare and perfect the rules I have.”

After considering, he took out the map given by the shopkeeper of the spirit beast store and started studying it.

Frankly speaking, he was becoming somewhat restless.

From starting as a mortal and cultivating all the way to Foundation Establishment, he had never ventured out alone, except when he went to Mengxing Villa for a task.

Although staying in Tianmen Cult for safety was currently the best solution, he couldn’t help but get restless.

Moreover, Jiantao’s station has been managed by the Tianmen Cult for many years. There wouldn’t be much danger near the station, especially now that he had reached the Foundation Establishment stage, making it even safer.

After repeated hesitation, he eventually made a decision.

He would leave Jiantao Station.

Going out to explore, preferably capturing some differing spirit beasts along the way.

Of course, before this, he made ample preparations. Not only did he buy several Class II middle-grade offensive and defensive talismans, but he also refined the Class II lower-grade flying tool he got from Incense-burning Dao’s red-haired cultivator.

However, while he was sorting through several storage bags he brought with him, he found two storage bags he had obtained during the Jingyue Mansion campaign.

At that time, his low cultivation realm prevented him from refining them, but now that he was a Foundation Establishment cultivator with a strong spiritual sense, he immediately tried to refine them.

This time, it was done with ease and without any hindrance.

In the first storage bag, there was a small pile of spirit stones and some cultivation resources. Wang Ba estimated that there were about twenty to thirty middle-grade spirit stones.

Among these cultivation resources, Wang Ba only recognized ‘Golden Magnetic Sand’ while being fairly unfamiliar with the rest.

Golden Magnetic Sand was required for cultivating the powerful class I spell, ‘Golden Wind Arrow’. Judging by the quantity of the resources here, it would be sufficient to perfect this spell.

However, no matter how powerful a class I spell was, it would be fragile in front of a class II spell. Wang Ba didn’t plan to waste any more time practicing it.

Storing these items away,

he opened the second storage bag.

This time, he was pleasantly surprised.

Inside was a set of Class II lower-grade needle tools that seemed to have never been used before. There were also specific methods for refining and using them.

A total of twenty-eight needles could be set up in formations against enemies, its power comparable to a typical class II middle-grade tool.

“Iris Invisible Needle.”

Wang Ba held it in his hand, becoming more joyous the more he looked at it.

Back during the Qi Refining stage, he also received a set of needle tools and had spent some time practicing with them.

Therefore, he was not unfamiliar with the usage of needle tools.

Although it might not look good for a male cultivator like him to use a tool designed for a female cultivator, nor did it look as radiant as those cultivators who used magic swords,

for him, who had not mastered any spells and relied purely on spirit beasts to be on the frontline, this set of tools was more than suitable.

Concealing his movements, a stealth attack, self-defense…

Under his mana, these twenty-eight Iris Invisible Needles would instantly become invisible, often evading the spiritual sense of ordinary cultivators.

They were difficult to guard against.

Aside from this, there were also several Class II talismans and a pile of spirit stones in the second storage bag.

Wang Ba naturally accepted them all with a smile.

Apart from these two storage bags, he also found a human skin drum and a jar enveloped by dense Yin energy, which he had obtained from the Incense-burning Dao cultivator.

Using his spiritual sense, he quickly discovered how to use the human skin drum.

It was simple.

Using his soul as a beater and stirring up the human skin drum, he could create a powerful soul attack.

The stronger the soul used, the stronger the soul attack produced.

However, the human skin drum could only withstand soul strength at the early stage of Foundation Establishment at most, producing a soul attack close to the middle stage of Foundation Establishment.

Anything stronger, and the human skin drum would likely break and become useless.

But it was enough for Wang Ba.

And that black jar, Wang Ba also found its usage in the gold paper rubbings from the Incense-burning Dao cultivator.

It turned out to be an instrument used by the Yin God lineage to cultivate Yin Ghosts.

It was used to contain ghosts, refine them into Destined Ghosts after nurturing them.

However, when Wang Ba opened it, he found no Yin Ghosts inside.

He could only regretfully put it away.

After all, up until now in his cultivation journey, apart from the Yin Ghosts of Incense-burning Dao, he had never encountered wild ghosts.

Fortunately, with the ‘Iris Invisible Needle’, he finally had an extra option.

After refining it and practicing well, he left with his spirit beasts including Jia 15 and left Jiantao Station..