My best friend asked me if I was still doing system tasks.

Ruan Chayan and Luo Hanying stood to one side, watching as Dou Xueran performed first aid on the lion cub. After spitting out some water, the cub opened its red eyes and whimpered.

Dou Xueran gently coaxed it, taking out the pet's favorite snacks to feed it. The two looked very harmonious.

Luo Hanying snorted: "[Green tea! Absolutely green tea! I just said it was dangerous, and it jumped into the lake to prove its innocence. What else could it be but green tea?]"

It must have a brain, just like Sichuan peppercorns, and understand what we're saying!

"As it stands, it doesn't seem to have any malicious intent, at least not like it's going to suddenly turn hostile."

Ruan Chayan analyzed the current situation, ["Then why did it target us? What is it about us that attracted it?"]

The two exchanged a glance and said in unison, "Could it be the cultivation technique I (you) practice?"

Ruan Chayan immediately concealed her aura while observing the little lion's reaction.

Ruan Chayan and the little lion made eye contact, and the little lion stared at Ruan Chayan expectantly without backing down.

Ruan Chayan: "...Hmm...Do you want to become my spirit beast?"

Dou Xueran glanced at Ruan Chayan, then at the little lion, and remained silent.

"Stop pretending, I knew you could understand human speech."

Ruan Chayan said directly, "If you want to form a bond with me, come over here."

The little lion wobbled to its feet and walked to Ruan Chayan's feet.

Luo Hanying exclaimed in surprise: "My God! A slave delivered to our doorstep—oh, not a companion!"

The little lion let out a few plaintive cries, and Dou Xueran smiled.

Ruan Chayan called out Huajiao, but the little guy turned his back to her as soon as he came out and didn't say a word.

Ruan Chayan thought for a moment and said, "How about I cook two dishes to make amends when we get back?"

Huajiao glanced at Ruan Chayan, then turned back without a second thought.

"Half a month, half a month, one meal a day, I'll do whatever you say." Ruan Chayan winked at Luo Hanying.

Luo Hanying readily agreed and squatted down, poking Huajiao's back: "I'm sorry, Huajiao, I was wrong. I shouldn't have laughed at you. I promise I won't do it again."

How about this, I'll cover your alcohol needs for six months, how about that?

Huajiao immediately turned around, patted his chest to show that he was very magnanimous, and that the two things were settled.

Seeing that Huajiao had forgiven her, Ruan Chayan became unusually nervous. She said cautiously, "Huajiao, what do you think of this little guy?"

It wants to form a bond with me. Are you willing to accept it?

Upon hearing this, Sichuan peppercorns haughtily glanced sideways at the little lion and squeaked a few times.

The little lion tilted its head, clearly not understanding what the peppercorn was saying.

Ruan Chayan then replied, "I don't know how strong it is either. I can't even tell what level of cultivation it has."

Dou Xueran and Luo Hanying were both shocked.

"What the heck! You, a Nascent Soul cultivator, can't even tell its cultivation level, so its cultivation level must be higher than that of a Nascent Soul cultivator?"

Luo Hanying was incredulous. She frowned and spoke ill of it openly, "So, is it pretending to be like this now?"

Would spirit beasts or demonic beasts with cultivation levels higher than the early Nascent Soul stage appear so harmless?

Dou Xueran guessed, "Maybe not? Perhaps it's just that it's good at hiding its cultivation level? After all, we don't know what kind of spirit beast this is, so it's natural to be surprised if we don't understand it."

Huajiao stood with its hands on its hips and mumbled a lot of things. Ruan Chayan roughly explained to everyone that it meant it was fine to take in the kitten, but the kitten would have to train Ruan Chayan, protect her, and take care of her. It would be a lazy cat that was pampered.

Huajiao was dissatisfied with Ruan Chayan's choice of words, but she still held back.

Since the peppercorns were fine, and Ruan Chayan also wanted more spirit beasts, the matter was settled.

Luo Hanying, holding Sichuan peppercorns, stood to the side with Dou Xueran, watching Ruan Chayan and the little lion form a contract.

Since the little lion showed no signs of taking the initiative, Ruan Chayan took the initiative to cut her fingertip and said, "Come on."

The little lion readily stepped forward and took Ruan Chayan's finger into its mouth, but it didn't go as smoothly as when she formed a bond with Huajiao—

The sea was calm and still, with nothing changing.

Dou Xueran's eyes widened: "Is it unwilling? Why is there no formation?"

Ruan Chayan was also puzzled, this was not what she had imagined: "It can't be because its cultivation level is higher than mine, right?"

She didn't really believe that such a small, cub-like creature could have a higher cultivation level than her, but since it was willing to be her spirit beast, and the formation couldn't possibly be wrong, then why wasn't it reacting?

Luo Hanying reminded her, "You beast tamers should have other formations, right? If this doesn't work, try another one?"

After a moment's thought, Ruan Chayan said, "I have a foolproof formation."

Regardless of its willingness or its cultivation level, this formation will never have any problems.

Ruan Chayan used her chisel to infuse it with spiritual power, and together with the spirit stone, drew a linked-branch formation centered on the little lion.

As she put pen to paper, lines radiating a gentle light gradually lit up, slowly rising and falling a few inches above the ground.

She had studied this formation before, but had never succeeded. She didn't know if it would work this time.

Dou Xueran had never seen such a formation before. She stared intently at the formation, but after a while, she felt dizzy and had to look away.

Ruan Chayan's hands trembled slightly, and fine beads of sweat appeared on her forehead.

As the last stroke connected with the first, the entire formation shone brightly. Ruan Chayan immediately flicked her hand to retrieve the chisel, made a hand seal, and chanted incantations.

"Heaven and Earth bear witness to this heart. I now make a pact with them."

A small array, exactly the same as the one she had drawn, appeared beneath her feet.

"We pledged our allegiance as ruler and subject, vowing never to forget. We will share the same boat and weather the storms together, growing old side by side."

"The formation is complete!"

As she uttered her last word, the two formations burst forth with light before shrinking and disappearing into the lion cub and her body.

Ruan Chayan had just breathed a sigh of relief, and before she could even properly feel the strong aura that had suddenly appeared in her sea of ​​consciousness, she and the little lion slowly floated up.

A massive array launched out from beneath her feet, rotating clockwise, with a smaller array nested within it, rotating counter-clockwise.

Ruan Chayan stood at the center of the large formation, while the little lion became the eye of the small formation.

She suddenly felt something surge into her dantian, forcefully tearing away the tiny infant within it, and then it transformed into spiritual energy that flowed into her ancestral aperture.

Ruan Chayan's cultivation level rose steadily, and she broke through to the Nascent Soul Realm in one fell swoop, but her cultivation level remained at the late stage of the Divine Transformation Realm.