Gu Ming saw the bullet comment, and his heart pounded.
'If this actually works, my Beast Taming career is about to take off.'
The purity of a Spirit Stone allowed an ordinary Pet Beast to achieve twice the results with half the effort during Cultivation. Gu Ming couldn't think of any Elixir that was cheaper or more effective.
The old Grouper Fish didn't understand what kind of stone its master was looking for, so it waved its fins, asking about the characteristics of a Spirit Stone.
"It's a stone with Spiritual Qi. If you see one, bring it back in your mouth."
"If you can't find one, just bring back any pretty stone you see."
After saying this, Gu Ming suddenly remembered that he had a Spirit Stone himself.
He first looked left and right. Seeing no one by the river, he took the Small Spirit Stone from his pocket.
The Little Cyan Snake, coiled on his shoulder, saw the Spirit Stone and its eyes instantly locked onto it. It flicked its tongue and scrambled over impatiently.
"This is a Spirit Stone. Got it?" Gu Ming asked.
The Grouper Fish gazed at the translucent Spirit Stone crystal, sensing the fluctuations of Spiritual Qi.
'So this is a Spirit Stone.' It understood now.
'But are there really things like this in the river?'
It remained skeptical, but its master's meaning was clear: Spirit Stones looked like this, and its job was just to find one.
"Go on, no pressure. If you can't find a real one, just bring back a stone that you think has Spiritual Qi," Gu Ming encouraged.
'Even my salary can turn into Spirit Stones.'
'Making an ordinary stone turn into a Spirit Stone might not be impossible either.'
He watched the Grouper Fish leap into the river and vanish from sight shortly after.
「The Juvenile Kunpeng sets out. Yet to undergo Star Promotion, it is collecting resources in the dark river outside the Sect. This is clearly a dangerous task.」
「But born a Kun, how could it know fear? It departed without a shred of hesitation.」
He was keeping a close eye on the system's bullet comments. When he saw this message, he suddenly grew worried.
'That's right, it's only a Zero-star and hasn't even formed an Inner Core yet.'
'Sending it into the river to find a Spirit Stone... isn't that asking too much of it?'
However, Gu Ming vaguely remembered that this river had been fished clean many years ago. There were no Zero-star Pet Beasts in it, only ordinary fish—fish without Spiritual Roots.
Nowadays, if you wanted to buy a Pet Beast cub, you had to go to a Pet Beast Store or venture into the mountains outside the city to catch a wild Spirit Pet yourself.
The dangers of wild Spirit Pets need not be detailed here; all he knew was that the rivers within the city were safe.
'I'll just wait.'
'I believe in the Grouper Fish!'
Gu Ming sat down on the bank to wait.
The Little Cyan Snake flicked its tongue nonstop, licking his hand, begging to begin its Cultivation.
It had seen the Spirit Stone just now and was incredibly excited, fondly recalling the sensation of leveling up.
Its usual Breathing Technique with the air didn't have this kind of efficiency.
It craved the Spirit Stone.
"Alright, come cultivate in my hands," Gu Ming said.
He sat cross-legged on the ground, cupped his hands together, and placed the Spirit Stone in his palm to hide it from prying eyes.
The Little Cyan Snake excitedly burrowed into his palms, hugged the Spirit Stone, and began its Breathing Technique using the Snake Swallowing Elephant Technique.
In an instant, the overflowing Spiritual Qi transformed into streams of energy visible to the naked eye and streamed into the Little Cyan Snake's mouth.
Its mouth was like a vortex, constantly sucking Spiritual Qi into its belly. In less than a minute, it was stuffed. It closed its eyes and once again coiled up like a mosquito coil, meditating to digest the energy.
Gu Ming put the Spirit Stone away, then brought the Little Cyan Snake up to his eyes to examine his Pet Beast up close.
The Little Cyan Snake was sleeping soundly. Its Snake Scales glowed with spiritual light, each one smooth and shiny.
Through the Pet Beast Contract, he could clearly feel the Little Cyan Snake's Mana being rapidly replenished.
Ten minutes later, the Mana within the Little Cyan Snake had been restored to the level it was at before the poison test.
Twenty minutes later, Gu Ming felt the Mana inside the Little Cyan Snake begin to circulate on its own, completing its first Circulation around its body.
Another half hour passed before the system's bullet comments showed any activity.
「The Time Dragon has once again completed a full Circulation of Cultivation. It, which should have died, is still cultivating. This is a miracle.」
Gu Ming looked at the line of text and began to ponder quietly.
'I can give the "Kunpeng" a mission... so what about the "Time Dragon"?'
'Should I have it look for Spirit Stones too?'
'Or do something else?'
'There's definitely a trick to this, but it's not urgent. I'll wait for the Grouper Fish to get back.'
Just then, he saw a ripple on the water's surface, and a black, white-spotted Grouper Fish broke through.
「After a long wait, just as you worried the Juvenile Kunpeng might have died in the wild, it has returned, dragging its broken body to bring you back a Spirit Stone.」
「Though it's not a large Spirit Stone, this is the one it defended with its life to leave for you.」
'What? A broken body?'
This gave Gu Ming a huge fright. He rushed forward, scooped up the Grouper Fish, and placed it back in its Fish Tank.
The old Grouper Fish landed in the Fish Tank, and the clear water quickly became tinged with red. A wisp of blood flowed through the Spiritual Water, making Gu Ming jump in alarm.
"Are you okay, Grouper Fish!?"
Gu Ming cried out, leaning in to inspect its injuries with a face full of worry.
The Grouper Fish waved its plump fins. Hearing its master's voice, its cloudy eyes briefly regained their clarity. It greeted its master and showed him a small wound on its side.
It had accidentally bumped into a sharp object in the river, resulting in a tiny cut about a centimeter long. It was very small.
"Are there any other wounds?"
Gu Ming was still tense, trying to find a more serious injury to confirm the system's assessment.
But the Grouper Fish just shook its head.
It could feel its master's concern, which warmed its heart.
Then, it spat out the stone it had found in the river. It waved its fins regretfully, indicating that it had failed to find a Spirit Stone and had let its master down, even though it had tried its best.
"It's okay. All that matters is that you came back safely."
Gu Ming circled the Fish Tank three times. After repeatedly confirming that there were no other serious injuries, just one tiny scratch, he knew the system had played him again.
'I almost forgot. The system has some kind of cognitive disorder; it exaggerates simple things into dramatic events.'
Then, he looked at the small stone in the Fish Tank.
It was a pebble, smaller than his little finger, with a smooth surface. There was nothing special about it; it looked almost identical to an ordinary stone.
He looked at the system's bullet comments again.
'That's right, the system said it brought back a Spirit Stone.'
'That can't be right.'
'You call this a Spirit Stone?'
'Does this mean I have to hide it in my pocket for a while?'
He thought about his salary packet. When he first held it, it had indeed felt like cash. Only after he brought it home and opened it did it turn into Spirit Stones.
'Maybe this stone also needs to be hidden for a bit.'
He put the stone in his pocket and waited for the bullet comments to change.
Two seconds later, the system's text appeared:
「You praised the Kunpeng for its valor and tucked the Spirit Stone into your right pants pocket.」
Seeing this line, a thought struck Gu Ming. He reached into his right pants pocket again.
Sure enough, the texture of the stone was different.
It had a completely different, icy feel, and his fingers could sense the flow of qi.
He took it out and saw that the pebble was gone. In its place was a crystal-clear Spirit Stone.
It was just too small, about half the size of the Spirit Stone from the red envelope.
Well, the Grouper Fish itself wasn't very big, and the space in its mouth was limited. The fact that it managed to bring back one stone was already the result of its best effort.
Seeing this, Gu Ming smiled at the fish.
"You worked hard. Let's go home."
He gripped the Spirit Stone as if he were holding the future in his hand.
Hearing this, crystalline fish tears flowed from the Grouper Fish's cloudy eyes.
This was the first time it had ever felt someone's concern.
'If only I could become his Pet Beast for real...'