Beast Tamer Ascension

Chapter 17: Dual Breakthrough

Golden Pearl Grove, within the bamboo forest.

Lín Jìng and the Pine Leaf Mouse would meditate to rest whenever they felt fatigued, absorbing the natural spiritual energy to rejuvenate. Once recovered, they immediately resumed their harvesting efforts.

When the senior brother came to check on them, Lín Jìng felt that their time was running out, as both sensed that a significant challenge was imminent.

Indeed, before long, two streaks of light flashed across the sky and descended into the bamboo forest, landing directly in front of them.

The arrivals were... a blue-robed elder with a stern expression and a black-robed elder with a look of astonishment.

“Elder Jade… and Elder Mo? You’ve returned?”

Lín Jìng and the Pine Leaf Mouse looked on in surprise.

Elder Jade glanced at the piles of Spirit Bamboo, feeling a pang in his teeth.

It wasn’t the Spirit Stones he worried about but the fact that making mechanized bamboo dragons didn’t require such an excessive amount of material!

“Did you two harvest all this?” Elder Mo asked, eyeing the red flying leaf in the Pine Leaf Mouse's grasp and noticing its unique quality with a start.

A special spiritual plant!

Its type was unknown.

For the Pine Leaf Mouse, having such an item was akin to a cultivator wielding a powerful artifact, indeed enhancing its capabilities. But where had Lín Jìng and the Pine Leaf Mouse obtained it?@@novelbin@@

Moreover, wielding this type of leaf would drain the Pine Leaf Mouse’s energy tremendously, so seeing this amount of harvested bamboo seemed exaggerated—had they been cutting non-stop day and night?

What incredible determination.

Suddenly, Elder Mo's heart leaped as he connected some thoughts.

“Yes, Elder,” Lín Jìng confirmed. “To avoid delaying the Ascending Dragon Festival preparations, we haven’t dared to slack off, sleeping only two hours each day.”

“Hahaha! Good job!” Elder Mo burst into laughter, clapping Elder Jade’s shoulder. “Old Jade, see how diligent the disciple I brought back is? I’d say this amount of Spirit Bamboo should suffice for your bamboo dragons. How about letting him rest now?”

“Make sure you don’t skimp on the mission rewards…” With that, Elder Mo stepped forward, summoned a cloud of mist, and carried Lín Jìng and the Pine Leaf Mouse away, leaving Elder Jade bewildered.

“Damn! That old miser Mo Wuyá must have secretly trained this Longevity Body! Otherwise, how could a third-stage Pine Leaf Mouse achieve this?” Elder Jade muttered. “This much Spirit Bamboo could make a foundation-stage bamboo dragon.”

“This year’s Ascending Dragon Festival… no one’s going to have it easy! I’ll add some intensity!”

…

Outer Sect, private courtyard.

Elder Mo brought Lín Jìng back and kept scrutinizing both him and the Pine Leaf Mouse, asking, “Where did you get that red flying leaf?”

“Elder Mo, this red flying leaf... was created by the Pine Leaf Mouse itself through its innate ability. Shortly after forming our contract, it underwent a mutation! I suspect it evolved toward the rare type you once mentioned,” Lín Jìng explained.

“Rare beast…” Elder Mo’s breath quickened, his face flushed. “So, it’s true.”

“Yes,” Lín Jìng nodded. “We’ve been waiting for your return to ask—is this normal for it?”

Elder Mo laughed heartily, throwing his head back.

“After six failed attempts, we finally succeeded, haha!”

Whoa!

Lín Jìng and the Pine Leaf Mouse instinctively took a step back at the sight of Elder Mo’s manic excitement.

Moments later, Elder Mo’s gaze focused on them again. “What is its innate ability?”

“Glazed Celestial Eyes, capable of converting certain quantities of lower-grade resources into a different type of high-grade resource,” Lín Jìng explained.

“Glazed Celestial Eyes?” Elder Mo echoed. “Then this red flying leaf must be something synthesized by its ability.”

“Yes!”

“Can you demonstrate it for me?” Elder Mo asked the Pine Leaf Mouse.

Hearing this, the Pine Leaf Mouse immediately adopted an exhausted posture, its body swaying as if about to collapse, eyes weary as it looked at Elder Mo.

“Ah, yes, cutting Spirit Bamboo must have exhausted you both.” He produced a jade bottle, pouring out a white pill and tossing it to the Pine Leaf Mouse.

“This is a ‘Replenishing Pill.’ Once consumed, it will restore your state to peak condition.”

“Squeak?!” The Pine Leaf Mouse gleefully accepted it and bit into it. The moment it swallowed, the pill’s energy coursed through its body like a stream, replenishing its vitality. Unexpectedly, the pill not only restored its spiritual energy but also infused it with newfound power, pushing it straight to the fourth stage of cultivation!

Additionally, due to their blood contract, Lín Jìng felt the powerful feedback firsthand. As the Pine Leaf Mouse broke through, his own spiritual energy surged, breaking past the first-stage barrier and elevating him to the second stage of cultivation.

Both had broken through!

Elder Mo was hardly surprised by the Pine Leaf Mouse’s progress. Considering its rigorous “training” in the bamboo grove and its innate talent, he expected nothing less. When it came to rare beasts, no development was too surprising.

Now at the fourth stage, the Pine Leaf Mouse regained its enthusiasm. It initially intended to synthesize another red flying leaf but soon noticed that the spiritual beans they had planted in the yard were almost ready for harvest.

Eager to see the effects of synthesized spiritual beans, it quickly picked and shelled them. Two beans, four beans, six beans… soon, over a hundred beans were collected.

“Spiritual beans, a basic type of spiritual plant, function like spiritual rice. They replenish a small amount of spiritual energy when consumed,” Elder Mo commented.

The Pine Leaf Mouse activated its Glazed Celestial Eyes to work on the beans, unsure of what would happen.

Fortune favored it. The dazzling light from its eyes enveloped the pile of brownish beans, transforming them into a single, fragrant, energy-filled green bean!

“Elder Mo, this is what the Glazed Celestial Eyes can do. But since it’s the Pine Leaf Mouse’s first time synthesizing a spiritual bean, we’re not yet sure of its effects,” Lín Jìng remarked as he inspected the green bean, noting its potent aroma—it seemed like a significant restorative.

It looked brimming with life, reminiscent of an “Immortal Bean” mentioned in legends.

“Hmm.” Elder Mo flicked his sleeve, and a drowsy Black Bear Monster appeared in the courtyard.

“Master, what’s up?” the Black Bear Monster yawned, seemingly just awakened.

“There’s a treat for you over there. Go try it,” Elder Mo pointed to the green bean on the ground.

“Huh? Let me see!” The Black Bear Monster's nose twitched as it picked up the green bean and popped it into its mouth.

In the next moment—

Boom!

The green bean exploded with surprising force. The mutated bean had the properties of a spiritual energy bomb—it wasn’t edible.