This type of spirit fruit grew only near Jade Marrow Springs deep within Soul Transformation spiritual veins, requiring centuries of absorbing jade marrow spiritual aura to mature.
Each fruit tree produced merely a handful of fruits every few hundred years.
Furthermore, high-tier spirit beasts usually guarded the vicinity of a Jade Marrow Spring, leaving ordinary Nascent Soul cultivators with virtually no chance of approaching even if they stumbled upon one.
The higher one's cultivation reached, the harder it became to advance further.
Although spirit beasts possessed advantages over human cultivators in physical constitution and lifespan, breaking through from the Nascent Soul realm to Soul Transformation was no less arduous for them.
The spirit snake and spirit tiger before her were both at the mid-stage Nascent Soul realm; naturally, they longed to take that next step.
The Soul Transformation Jade Marrow Fruit could not only enhance their demon cores, but also purify their bloodlines, offering an irresistible allure to them.
Most importantly, Yun Heng had produced two of them in one go.
To casually pull out two Soul Transformation Jade Marrow Fruits meant she was eight or nine times out of ten truly the Young Lord of a secluded clan.
Yun Heng naturally caught the shock and yearning in their eyes.
She smiled with satisfaction, lightly shaking the two spirit fruits in her hands.
“So, do you believe me now?”
“Are you willing to form a contract with me?”
“As long as you agree, these two Soul Transformation Jade Marrow Fruits are yours.”
The spirit snake and spirit tiger traded another glance. This time, they did not hesitate any longer.
Both spirit beasts reached a decision at the same time and replied in unison:
“We are willing to form a contract.”
The smile on Yun Heng's face deepened.
“That's more like it.”
“Rest assured, following me, you won't be mistreated.”
She sheathed her longsword, pulled out two blank contracts, and squeezed two drops of blood from her fingertip, dripping one onto each contract.
The patterns on the surface of the contracts rapidly lit up.
Yun Heng then directed the two contracts to fly over to the spirit snake and spirit tiger.
When the two spirit beasts read the contents clearly, shock flickered in their eyes once more.
They were actually equal contracts.
In the cultivation world, most cultivators established master-servant contracts with spirit beasts.
Fearing betrayal or abandonment in critical moments, cultivators naturally preferred using contracts that granted complete control over their spirit beasts.
They had originally assumed Yun Heng would produce master-servant contracts as well.
To their surprise, what she offered were equal contracts, which imposed no binding force on either party.
At first, their willingness to contract with Yun Heng was indeed solely to obtain better cultivation resources.
However, seeing these two equal contracts made the two spirit beasts realize that the human cultivator standing before them was far more sincere than they had imagined.
Without further hesitation, the spirit snake and spirit tiger each dripped a drop of blood onto their respective contract, and the four drops of blood fused into the two scrolls.
The patterns on the contracts blazed brightly before turning into two streaks of light that sank into Yun Heng and the two spirit beasts.
The contracts were officially established.
Yun Heng could distinctly feel two new connections established between herself, the spirit snake, and the spirit tiger.
She stowed the two contracts away and handed over the Soul Transformation Jade Marrow Fruits.
“One for each of you.”
The spirit snake coiled its tail around its fruit, while the spirit tiger carefully took the other in its jaws.
Having received what was promised, the way they looked at Yun Heng underwent a noticeable change.
Yun Heng nodded with satisfaction.
Contracting spirit beasts for the very first time and landing two mid-stage Nascent Soul beasts at once—not bad at all.
She gripped the Tianheng Jade. In the next instant, the figures of Yun Heng and the two spirit beasts vanished simultaneously from the dense forest.
When Yun Heng brought the two beasts into the shattered realm, they quickly attracted everyone's attention.
By now, the population inside the shattered realm had grown considerably, and busy figures could be seen everywhere near the main hall.
A section of the Golden Armored Guards were cultivating under the leadership of Xuan Yi through Xuan Shi, their orderly ranks occupying almost an entire open field.
Clanging sounds of spirit weapons clashing periodically echoed from the refining workshop, and waves of heat generated by the furnace billowed out through the open doors and windows. Xuan Zheng stood amidst a group of Grade Two Refiners, instructing them on processing materials.
On the other side, people were constantly entering and leaving the Large Alchemy Room as well.
A subtle medicinal fragrance wafted on the breeze. Xuan Heng, leading one hundred Grade Two Alchemists, had already begun organizing the alchemy materials stored inside earlier.
Beside the original ten mu of Spirit Field, large swathes of spirit soil had been added.
Twelve Green-Clad Attendants were busily working within them, categorizing and planting the newly acquired spirit herbs, spirit grains, and crop seeds.
The moment Yun Heng appeared, everyone in the shattered realm sensed her presence.
Those nearby immediately set down their tasks, preparing to gather around as they had last time.
“Greetings, Young—”
“Stop.”
Yun Heng quickly raised her hand to halt them.
Their voices cut off abruptly.
Looking at the people hurrying over from all directions, Yun Heng felt a touch of helplessness in her heart.
She would certainly enter the shattered realm frequently in the future.
She couldn't have everyone set down their work, gather around to kneel, and chant “Young Lord” in unison every single time she stepped inside.
The grand scale might have felt impressive the first time, but if repeated continuously, it would not only waste time, but also prove overwhelming for her.
“From now on, when I enter the shattered realm, you don't need to come over and pay respects every time.”
“Those who should cultivate, keep cultivating; those who have tasks, stick to your work.”
Hearing this, despite some initial hesitation, everyone answered respectfully:
“Understood, Young Lord.”
Yun Heng glanced around and quickly spotted Yun Che among the crowd.
“Yun Che, come over here for a moment.”
Yun Che immediately stepped up to her and bowed with hands cupped.
“Young Lord.”
Yun Heng stepped aside, allowing him to see the two beasts behind her.
“These are two spirit beasts I just formed contracts with.”
“They are members of our side now. You'll be in charge of managing them for now and showing them around the shattered realm.”
Yun Che looked up.
A massive bluish-black spirit snake was coiled behind Yun Heng. Many of its scales were damaged, and unhealed wounds still remained along its flank.
On the other side stood a reddish-yellow spirit tiger.
It possessed a towering frame, with striking black patterns across its forehead and numerous battle scars lingering on its body.
Judging by the aura emanating from both spirit beasts, their cultivation had both reached the mid-stage Nascent Soul realm.
Yun Che respectfully accepted:
“Subordinate understands.”
Just as Yun Heng was about to assign other tasks, she suddenly remembered an important matter.
“Ah, right. I haven't named them yet.”
She turned around, her gaze landing first on the spirit snake.
The spirit snake's scales were predominantly bluish-black, and its body was slender and long. Coiled upon the ground, those scales resembled overlapping layers of light green gauze.
Yun Heng pondered for a moment.
“From now on, you shall be called Qingxiao.”
Then, she turned her eyes toward the spirit tiger beside it.
The spirit tiger was tall and imposing, radiating a ferocious aura. Standing quietly, it resembled a vast, boundless mist wind lingering among mountain forests.
“As for you, your name shall be Canglan.”
Ever since entering the shattered realm, Qingxiao and Canglan had been trapped in a state of shock.
A blink of an eye ago, they had still been in the dense forest of the Qingming Secret Realm, and now the surrounding scenery had completely transformed.
Just what kind of place was this?
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