Immortality and Cultivation: This old man seeks enlightenment through mere survival.

"return!"

With a wave of his hand, the little guy's leaping figure was immediately forced to retreat.

Despite its constant struggle, it was still dragged back to the remnant soul's side.

"Waaaaah... Eeeeeeeee!!"

The little guy was all over the place, his face flashing expressions of anger, anxiety, and grievance – it was quite a sight!

"What...what's wrong with it?" Lu Zaian asked in surprise.

"Hehe, the Xuanbing Hanzhongshui has been collected, so the binding force of the crystal of water essence on it is no longer there."

"That little guy was trying to reclaim his original form and run away..."

The remnant soul smiled slightly, fiddling with the restless little creature in its hand.

Lu Zaian asked in surprise, "Isn't that exactly what it was thinking? Could it be that Senior has another use for the little guy?"

Lu Zaian found the little guy quite adorable, and without it, he wouldn't have been able to get here, and wouldn't have had this opportunity.

So I can't help but ask one more question now.

"Haha, that's for sure, but it won't be me using it, it'll be you!"

The remnant soul laughed and pointed at Lu Zaian.

"I?"

"Indeed, this little fellow is a naturally born spiritual creature from heavy water. After eating lotus seeds and lotus roots and obtaining a spiritual body, it can even cultivate on its own."

He was born with mastery of water and ice laws, a true darling of heaven and earth, his talent even comparable to that of a human with a celestial spiritual root!

"Heavens...Heavenly Spiritual Root? That's insane?!"

Lu Zaian stared wide-eyed at the little guy in disbelief.

It's hard to imagine that such a small and cute body could contain such potential.

In the cultivation world, if a human cultivator's earth spirit root is not compromised, they can naturally break through to the Foundation Establishment stage.

As for the even rarer, legendary Heavenly Spiritual Root, wouldn't it at least be a Core Formation seed?

This adorable little guy in front of me has at least the potential to form a Core Formation?!

tease me?

Why is there such a huge difference between people... no, between people and things?

Lu Zaian thought about his lowest-grade spiritual root and burst into tears...

"You don't need to be discouraged. Humans are inherently inferior to these spiritual beings who are blessed by heaven and earth in terms of cultivation talent, and even their physical bodies are not as strong as those of the demon race."

But we humans, being the most intelligent of all beings, naturally possess our own unique advantages!

"Take these spiritual treasures of heaven and earth, for example. As long as we cultivators refine them, we can gain some of their abilities, comprehend the mysteries of the laws, and reverse our innate talents!"

The remnant soul grabbed the little guy and explained the wonders of the matter one by one.

"Refine...refine? Could it be that refining this little guy would grant me its talent and comprehension of the laws?"

Lu Zaian watched the struggling little guy and quietly swallowed.

This little guy looks incredibly intelligent, just like a human infant. It seems a bit too much to treat it as a rare and precious treasure for refining.

However, if it truly enhances one's talent, thereby accelerating cultivation and increasing combat power, then that's a different story...

Lu Zai'an never forgot that he was forced to go to Lingyao Valley to report the news, and was later sent by the Valley Master to explore this secret realm.

He blamed everything on his own low cultivation level, which made him unable to resist.

If I had been at the late stage of Qi Refining when Xiao Fenlin self-destructed, I probably would have escaped long ago.

Then he wouldn't have been afflicted with the Flame Mark and forced to go to the Valley of Spirit Medicine...

"Ee-woo ee-woo~~"

The little creature seemed to sense the danger and struggled incessantly in the remnant soul's grasp, but was immobilized and unable to move.

Immediately, its little face showed an anthropomorphic look of grievance and sadness, and its big, bright eyes blinked incessantly, even flowing out droplets that looked like tears.

At the same time, a sense of sadness swept over the area, as if flowing against the tide.

It actually diffused into the surrounding space, touching the soul!

It brings tears to one's eyes and sorrow to one's ears...

"This... I didn't expect the little guy's spirituality to be so pure, that it could actually affect my remnant soul. I'm finding it hard to do it now."

The remnant soul was somewhat taken aback, and couldn't help but shake its head with a wry smile, while also loosening its grip on the soul power.

This little fellow was born from the icy pool and the water lily, both of which were planted and arranged by the remnant soul before its death.

In addition, since the little guy was born, he has stayed in the spirit plant garden and has been accompanied by the aura on the remnant soul and corpse all day long, so he has developed a sense of attachment and closeness.

It's rare for such rare and precious materials to develop spirituality, and this is the first time the remnant soul has encountered one so full of spirituality.

It could be said that the remnant soul was already a father figure to this little guy.

Tiger poison does not eat its seeds.

But what the remnant soul is doing now is tantamount to handing over its own child to someone else and refining it alive as an object!

No wonder the little guy was so aggrieved and sad...

Lu Zaian, standing to the side, was also inevitably affected by the sorrowful atmosphere.

Although his resolute mind allowed him to immediately sever these emotions, he couldn't help but ask:

"Senior, are there any other methods besides refining?"

"Other ways?"

The remnant soul lowered its head and pondered for a moment, then its eyes lit up and it quickly said, "There really is one!"

"The Art of Contracts!"

"It's like forming a spirit pet contract, but the contract needs to be modified slightly..."

The essence of the contract is to make the spirit pet recognize its master, and the real purpose of taming this little guy is to obtain its talent and comprehension.

Therefore, its spirituality must not be damaged, nor can the mark of slavery be planted.

By establishing a slave contract, one can control the life and death of their spirit pet. With a master's single thought, the spirit pet dares not disobey.

However, this kind of slave mark will subconsciously damage the spirit pet's talent and potential.

It's quite good for dealing with some ferocious and unruly spirit pets and monsters.

For example, the six-winged venomous centipede egg that Lu Zaian obtained was ferocious and difficult to tame, so the only way to control it was by using the slave seal contract.

This method has its advantages and disadvantages, but it is not suitable for use on small children.

The remnant soul, one hand on its chin, pondered:

"The only way to preserve its spirituality is to establish an equal contract."

Thus, once the contract is formed, you will no longer be its master, but rather you will be more like comrades-in-arms, a part of each other's lives.

In this way, you can share the little guy's talent and comprehension, making it twice as effective to cultivate water-based techniques...

It can also share a part of your life essence and possess a stronger spirituality.

You will be of one mind, as one, and grow together…

Lu Zaian's eyes lit up; this sounded good. He immediately asked:

"Would entering into this equal contract be harmful or dangerous to me?"

Although tempted, Lu Zaian still wanted to clarify the details beforehand to avoid any mishaps later.

"Overall, the benefits outweigh the drawbacks, but there are two points to note."

First, contracts are based on equality. Although you are of one mind, you cannot force each other to do things you do not want to do.

For example, you can command it to fight like a spirit pet; if it doesn't want to, you can't force it.