Born as an ant, I was summoned to ascend to immortality.

Chapter 66 The Young Master Leaves

The area around the Demon-Fighting Arena was completely silent, as everyone was awestruck by the Ye family's power.

Jiang Lao Si's face alternated between pale and flushed. He knew that Chen Ying's cultivation was a notch above his own, and if they really fought, the Jiang family would not gain any advantage.

Moreover, even if they could win, the Jiang family couldn't face the Ye family's retaliation. He finally gritted his teeth and sternly said to Jiang Liulang, "You'd better cut off your arm and apologize!"

Jiang Liulang's eyes were filled with resentment and unwillingness, but faced with the absolute strength of the Ye family, he could only laugh bitterly, and with his left hand pointing like a knife, he slashed his right arm hard!

"Crack!" A sickening sound of bone breaking rang out as Jiang Liulang's right hand was severed at the elbow, blood gushing out. He groaned, his face deathly pale, and quickly slapped three healing talismans.

The severed arm fell to the ground and was struck by the tip of Chen Ying's staff, turning into a pool of blood and mud.

However, Jiang Liulang secretly vowed, "This kid has been hit by my Netherworld Finger, he won't have an easy time either. This cold and yin energy will slowly erode his meridians like a bone-deep sore. By the time he realizes it, his meridians will be riddled with holes, and he will never have a chance to achieve the Great Dao in this life."

"Let's go!" Jiang Laosi helped up the seriously injured Jiang Liulang, stirred up a gust of cold wind, and quickly left in a disheveled state.

A storm ended in such a bloody manner.

Ye Jin'er quickly walked to Zhou Li's side and asked with concern, "Fellow Daoist Zhou, are you alright?" Her tone was tinged with apology and lingering fear.

Zhou Li suppressed the surging blood and qi within him and shook his head: "It's alright, thank you for protecting me, Young Master Ye." He was not concerned about the chilling aura that had seeped into his meridians at the moment.

Seeing that he did not seem to be injured, Ye Jin'er felt somewhat relieved: "Fellow Daoist Zhou, there's no need to be so polite. The Jiang family has become increasingly arrogant and domineering in recent years, daring to act so violently on the Demon Fighting Platform."

After a moment's hesitation, she took out the Formless Gu from the beast ring, put it in the spirit beast bag, and handed it to Zhou Li: "If it weren't for your keen insight today, I would not only have been unable to win back the old item, but I would also have lost another spirit beast and caused you to be attacked. I will give this beast to you as a token of my apology."

Zhou Li was about to decline when he saw the girl's clear eyes behind her mask: "I, Ye Jin'er, never mistreat my friends."

These words revealed his identity, which surprised even Chen Ying, who was standing to the side. Unfortunately, Zhou Li had not been practicing for long and did not know the significance of this name.

Ye Jin'er stuffed the spirit beast pouch into Zhou Li's hand: "This beast was obtained by chance and is of no use to me. Although it is not a mirage demon, it still has its own unique characteristics. I hope Fellow Daoist Zhou will not refuse it."

Seeing Ye Jin'er's sincere gaze, Zhou Li stopped refusing and accepted the gift with a cupped hand: "Since that's the case, I'll accept it without being impolite. Thank you for your generous gift, Young Master Ye."

The two talked for a long time and enjoyed their conversation. However, as darkness fell, the Ye family's flying boat was already approaching from the distant clouds.

With this matter concluded, Ye Jin'er will no longer stay at Shannan Pavilion, and the Xuntianfang ship will soon depart from Changtian Sect. It is time to part ways.

Ye Jin'er slowly stepped onto the flying boat, then suddenly turned back, her voice lowered: "I almost forgot, Fellow Daoist Zhou, if you have time in the future, you can bring this to the Ye family in the south of the mountain to find me."

A jade pendant slid out from Ye Jin'er's sleeve. The front of the pendant was engraved with the two characters "Yu Ling" and the back had a powerful and vigorous character "Jin".

"Simply show me this, and someone will lead you to me."

Zhou Li accepted the jade token, cupped his hands in greeting, and said, "Until we meet again."

The two parted ways. On the flying boat, Ye Jin'er said with a hint of reproach in her voice, "Grandpa Chen, if you had acted faster just now, Zhou Li wouldn't have been in danger."

"Please forgive me, Miss," Chen Ying bowed and apologized, but a glint of shrewdness flashed in his eyes. "It was my carelessness. I did not expect Jiang Liulang to be so despicable. Fortunately, Zhou Li has his own protective methods and was not injured."

He chuckled softly, "But did you notice, Miss, that when you rushed to protect him, Zhou Li's eyes held genuine gratitude?"

Ye Jin'er frowned: "What does this have to do with anything?"

Chen Ying thought to himself, "Although Miss is intelligent and decisive, she still seems naive when it comes to human relationships."

He paused for a moment, then explained, "If this old servant intervenes in time, the favor will belong to the Ye family and to this old servant. Only if you, Miss, personally protect me will this kindness truly be appreciated by Zhou Li."

"The Ye family is going through a turbulent time, and you are in need of capable people. Zhou Li has remained calm and composed in the face of danger, and he has the ability to hold things in check. He will surely be a person of great importance in the future. Let him feel grateful for your protection today, and he may be of great use in the future. This old servant's actions are for your long-term benefit."

Ye Jin'er's fingertips trembled, and then she sighed softly: "In the future, we must not risk other people's lives. If Jiang Liulang hadn't underestimated us, Zhou Li might be dead by now."

Chen Ying nodded: "This old servant will remember."

The flying boat descended straight down, passing through layers of clouds. Ye Jin'er's snow-white brocade dress swept across the crimson sunset, much like a white azalea petal about to fall into a sea of ​​fire.

…………

On the other side, Xia Mingduo and Fang Yu had already returned, and Zhou Li did not linger in the market. He rode in a cloud sedan chair and went straight back to Ziyun Peak.

Inside the cave, Zhou Li sat cross-legged, circulating his internal energy and regulating his breathing to calm his turbulent blood and qi.

The trip yielded many rewards: top-grade Fire Spirit Marrow, the Formless Gu that comes with the Thousand Illusion Stone, and a guest jade token from the Ye family.

The greatest gain, however, was the "Spiritual Rhinoceros Transformation Guide." At this moment, Zhou Li was focused and began to study this top-level codex of the Imperial Spirit Pavilion.

Opening outline: "All things possess a spirit, and animalistic nature is profound. Guided by the divine, bound by contracts, weaving a tapestry of spiritual paths, the mind transforms in myriad ways..."

This technique does not follow the traditional path of beast taming, but instead points directly to the source of spirituality, using spiritual thought to simulate complex hand gestures, thus constructing a more efficient beast taming system.

At the beginning of cultivation, one must first construct the "Myriad Transformations Spiritual Track" in one's spiritual mind. This spiritual track is the foundation of the "Myriad Transformations Spiritual Guide". All subsequent beast-taming methods must operate through this track.

When controlling spirit beasts, one can use the Myriad Transformations Spirit Track as a guide to transform complex hand gestures into hundreds of mental reflexes, which is more than ten times faster than hand gestures and allows for more refined and subtle control over spirit beasts.

Zhou Li was overjoyed. This Myriad Transformations Spirit Orbit was indeed the Spirit Pivot he obtained from Yuwen Zhao, and its construction method was exactly what he needed.

But upon closer examination, he discovered several oddities.

"While mental manipulation is more flexible than hand gestures, it is also more difficult to understand. What should be done if a spirit beast cannot decipher the mental transformation of this spiritual path in time?"

This technique merely makes it easier for cultivators to control spirit beasts, but it takes just as long for the spirit beasts to understand it, so it doesn't seem to truly enhance their ability to control beasts.

It's like a martial arts manual, full of flashy external moves but lacking the corresponding internal cultivation techniques.

"Could it be..." Zhou Li frowned and muttered to himself, "This technique requires the use of a Soul Jade? But just now, Young Master Ye was riding the Golden Phoenix, yet he was still using complicated hand seals..."

Zhou Li's prediction was correct. To cultivate the "Spiritual Rhinoceros Transformation Guide," one needs a Soul Jade to build a bridge between the mind and the spirit beast, allowing the cultivator to transmit their thoughts and truly control the spirit beast with ease. As for why Young Master Ye didn't use this method, that was beyond Zhou Li's current understanding.

"Never mind," he laughed casually. "I didn't ask for the 'Spiritual Rhinoceros Transformation Guide' to control spirit beasts. It was only to reconstruct this myriad transformation spiritual track. There's no need to worry about the difficulties."

As the moonlight gradually brightened over the purple bamboo forest, Zhou Li focused his mind and, following the instructions of the incantation, activated his spiritual thoughts to weave together several intricate magic arrays.

Meanwhile, the Wuxiang Gu, which had just signed a blood pact with Zhou Li, was quietly resting in the spirit beast pouch beside him, recovering from its burns and awaiting its new master's summons.

Zhou Li and Ye Jin'er's first meeting ended hastily, but their fates had already intersected. When they met again, it was unknown whether they would be friends or enemies.

The green gauze curtains in the streets, before I could inquire about their whereabouts, drifting clouds chased the setting sun, I often laughed at how hastily things were.

The young master flicked his robes and departed, gracefully disappearing into the azure clouds. Mountains and rivers may end, but we will meet again in the depths of the clouds.