Eternal Life: I Can Harvest Demon Beast Talents

It was like a dwindling furnace fire, ready to be extinguished at any moment by the fierce wind manifested from Lin Changheng’s Rongsheng Divine Power True Intent.

Another half an hour passed.

"PHEW!"

Lin Changheng exhaled a breath of turbid air, having finally worn away the last wisp of Withered Silence aura inside Xiaobai.

But he didn’t stop, instead pushing through to thoroughly cleanse its entire body from top to bottom.

After confirming that not a single trace of the Withered Silence aura remained, Lin Changheng retracted his Divine Power True Intent.

"GURGLE GURGLE..."

The Deep Lake Spirit Clam was already acting as if nothing had ever been wrong. It was full of life and vigor, showing no signs of its previous decrepitude.

A world of difference from its earlier state, where it was on the verge of death, its flame of life about to be extinguished at any moment.

This change in its condition had appeared a month ago. Watching this, an idea began to form in Lin Changheng’s mind.

At first, he had planned to let the clam rest for a while, but it seemed that was no longer necessary.

So, he squatted down, patted its shell, and began to negotiate with Xiaobai.

He brought up the matter of donating blood.

"GURGLE GURGLE!"

Xiaobai showed no intention of resisting. On the contrary, it seemed to have expected this and thought nothing of it, generously opening its shell to reveal the soft, pale flesh within, as if to say, ’Do as you please.’

’So cooperative?’

Lin Changheng couldn’t help but smile.

Over the past while, with a frequency rivaling Tang Monk’s chanting, Lin Changheng had been constantly educating the Deep Lake Spirit Clam on the ways of Demon Beasts in the Cultivation Realm. The lessons were little more than a series of talking points centered on the theme "donating blood is good for your health."

Clearly, it had been incredibly effective.

Without further delay, Lin Changheng flipped his hand and took out a Jade Box. Inside lay a seven-inch-long Silver Needle.

It was called the Cold Marrow Silver Needle.

Specifically for drawing blood!

...

In fact, three months ago, Lin Changheng had paid a special visit to his neighbor, Artifact Master Guo, to commission a special Magical Artifact for drawing blood from Spirit Beasts.

He hadn’t expected, however, that just as he began to describe its requirements and function, Artifact Master Guo would interrupt him with a smile.

"What is it?"

Lin Changheng was puzzled.

To his surprise, Artifact Master Guo directly retrieved an item from his Storage Bag.

He handed it to Lin Changheng.

’Could this be the Magical Artifact I was looking for?’

How could Lin Changheng not understand his meaning? He immediately inspected it and found it was indeed what he needed. A flash of curiosity appeared in his eyes as he looked at Artifact Master Guo.

Artifact Master Guo then gave a simple explanation. It turned out that a Cultivator from a Beast Taming Clan had once come to him seeking an Artifact.

The Cultivator had even prepared blueprints and paid a deposit. But after the Artifact was refined, no one ever came to pick it up.

More than ten years had passed, and still, there was no sign of anyone coming to collect the Artifact. Artifact Master Guo reasonably guessed that something must have happened to that clan.

In the Cultivation Realm, the world was ever-changing. The rise and fall of powers, the ebb and flow of fortunes—such things were all too common.

"As it happens, Brother Lin needs it, so I’ll give it to you as a gift."

"Then I thank you." Lin Changheng did not refuse.

At the same time, he didn’t object to being called "Brother Lin."

This was because a rumor—"Alchemist Lin broke through to the Foundation Establishment Stage long ago, hiding it for twenty years! He’s hidden himself far too well!"—was now spreading widely throughout the Immortal City.

The Huang Family had released this news on his behalf.

Deng Changsheng, for whom this sort of work was a specialty, still hadn’t appeared. The last time he was seen, he had a Foundation Establishment Pill. It was unknown whether he had died from Foundation Establishment Failure or had been ambushed and killed for his treasure. In any case, there had been no news of him at all.

When he went to Spirit Dome Mountain to pick up Yan Mingyi last time, Lin Changheng’s breakthrough to Foundation Establishment could no longer be hidden. So, he simply used the Huang Family’s influence to slowly spread the news.

Lin Changheng had repeatedly emphasized that they must include a key phrase: [before the age of sixty]!

He had no desire to set a record like Chef Zeng and risk being captured by some powerful expert to be used as a specimen.

After a period of brewing and fermenting, the news finally caused a sensation in the Immortal City.

After all, Lin Changheng was already a celebrity among the Immortal City Cultivators, and now his fame had completely exploded!

But the tone of the talk had shifted. Before, it was mostly, "This Pill Master is incredible!" Now, it had become, "This Pill Master is too cautious!" or "He’s both incredible and incredibly low-key!"

Of course, this was only whispered in private circles; no one would dare say it to his face. No one wanted to openly offend a Tier Two Alchemist who could refine Masterpiece Foundation Establishment Pills. Besides, he was already a Foundation Establishment Cultivator. While he might not fly into a rage and kill someone in the street, plenty of others would seize the opportunity to act on his behalf, hoping to appease him and curry favor.

...

At this very moment, in the courtyard of his cave residence.

Lin Changheng twirled the seven-inch-long Cold Marrow Silver Needle between his fingertips, its tip glowing with a faint blue light. Since the Deep Lake Spirit Clam had lowered its defenses, he quickly located its Essence Blood with his Divine Sense. With a slight push, he precisely inserted the needle into the glistening white flesh visible in the crack of its shell.

"Don’t be afraid. I’m just taking one portion."

His voice was gentle, but his hands moved with clean, decisive precision.

The moment the needle touched the clam’s flesh, it felt no pain, only shuddering reflexively. Its two bluish-black shells instinctively tried to snap shut, but Lin Changheng, already prepared, held them apart with his left hand, freezing them in mid-air.

"SHIIINK—"

As the needle was withdrawn, it held a thin line of pale blue blood, within which delicate, watery patterns swirled.

Lin Changheng was ready. He flipped his hand over, produced a Jade Bottle, and caught the drop.

"Not bad." A look of satisfaction flashed in his eyes as he stared at the Essence Blood rolling around inside the swaying Jade Bottle.

The Deep Lake Spirit Clam, however, now lay limp, its flesh splayed open. It looked as if a great deal of its Essence, Qi, and Spirit had been drained, no different from how Lin Changheng himself had appeared after his own Essence Blood was drawn.

Lin Changheng chuckled softly and flicked a Tier Two Blood Replenishing Elixir inside.

This was an Elixir from his personal supply that he hadn’t finished. It was now perfect for the Deep Lake Spirit Clam to use after its blood donation.

His Origin Treasure Seed had now achieved Perfect Spirit Stealing and was stuck at the Metamorphosis stage. The Primordial Cauldron no longer extracted his Essence Blood on a monthly basis.

This fixed "procedure," which had been going on for over seventy years, was suddenly gone. It was strangely unsettling.

"GURGLE GURGLE..."

The Elixir was enveloped by the clam’s flesh, and its shell closed. Lin Changheng then picked it up and placed it in the water to recuperate.

This was the first time he had drawn the Deep Lake Spirit Clam’s Essence Blood. Lin Changheng still needed to observe its recovery and regeneration to determine a suitable extraction frequency—one that was sustainable and wouldn’t harm its foundation by "draining the pond to get all the fish."

Just then, the Black Armored Earth Turtle was watching curiously from a distance. When it saw Lin Changheng’s gaze fall upon it, it actually seemed eager to have a try.

It was probably thinking that getting pricked by that Silver Needle in exchange for a fragrant Elixir seemed like a pretty good deal.

Lin Changheng now had a basic sense of the turtle’s thoughts because he had established a higher-level Spirit Pet Contract with it. They were gradually moving beyond the limitations of the Beast Taming Token, and in the future, they would be able to communicate directly through their minds.

This was a Tier Two technique. The contract Materials were more expensive, and it bound the pet to a Cultivator, not to a Beast Taming Token.

With the latter, if the Beast Taming Token changed hands, the Spirit Pet would also change owners. It recognized the token, not the person.

This was very practical for clan Spirit Beasts. There was no worry that the Spirit Pet would be severely injured if its master died, and ownership could be transferred with extreme ease.

The Spirit Pet Contract, on the other hand, had one high requirement: the Spirit Beast had to be willing to form the contract.

Transitioning from a Beast Taming Token to a Spirit Pet Contract was also a gradual process.

Xiaohai was currently in this stage.

...

Upon sensing the Black Armored Earth Turtle’s thoughts, Lin Changheng couldn’t help but smile. It was clear that of its two main traits, "gluttony" had won out over "timidity."

Lin Changheng walked over and patted Xiaohai’s head. "Grow up a little faster. Once you reach Tier Two, you can have some too."

A Tier Two version of this turtle would require fewer Essence Blood extractions, and the Spirit Stealing efficiency would be twice as high.

Besides, it was currently in its growth period. He couldn’t act recklessly for fear of affecting its potential.

"CHIRP CHIRP—"

Although the Black Armored Earth Turtle was a little unhappy and sulky, it had no choice but to accept it.

If an outsider were here to witness this scene, they would undoubtedly be astonished and sigh, ’Just what has this Spirit Beast been conditioned into...?’

And there would be only one answer:

What else? It was spoiled rotten with Elixirs as snacks!

...

「Three days later, around Noon.」

Someone came to visit and request an audience:

"Alchemist Lin, Bai Zhenchuan has come out of seclusion and requests to see you..."