Chapter 246 : Companion Beast Transformation

Chapter 246: Companion Beast Transformation

Chen Beiwu sat cross-legged on the meditation mat, holding the Golden Egg, and lightly tapped the projection screen with his fingertip.

The wall before him suddenly rippled like a watery curtain, revealing a series of images.

In the footage, True Monarch Yue Shan, clad in black robes, stood with hands clasped behind his back atop a lecture platform.

His eyes were like torches, his figure stood nine feet tall, his shoulders broad as cliffs. His exposed arms bore faint, dark-blue mountain totems. Suspended behind him was a dark-golden Fangtian halberd densely etched with dragon-scale patterns.

"‘Weapons are tools of slaughter; spirits are vessels of wisdom. To command tools of slaughter with the vessel of wisdom is to defy the heavens and alter fate—therefore, one must comply with the heavens and follow the Dao, with utmost caution.’"

"‘Today, I will lecture on the first section of the Companion Beast Transformation Divine Record—“Form Moves with Intent.”’"

As he spoke, True Monarch Yue waved his sleeve, and the halberd behind him lightly trembled, transforming into a majestic Prison-Suppressing Yue Turtle.

Its head was fierce like a dragon, shaped like a massive black-backed turtle bearing a mysterious mountain on its shell.

Its carapace consisted of one hundred and eight prison-stele mystic treasures inscribed with restrictive seals. Each stele shimmered with a dark-golden sheen.

This Fifth-Tier Mystic Beast, even while lying motionless, exuded an awe-inspiring aura akin to gods and demons—serene as a deep abyss, lofty as a sacred mountain, forming its own domain.

Even across the screen, the terrifying reputation of this beast made the Golden Egg gulp nervously and instinctively burrow deeper into Chen Beiwu’s embrace.

Chen Beiwu wasn’t surprised.

Third-Tier Flood Dragons were dragon-type beasts; Fourth-Tier Chi Dragons were half-dragons; Fifth-Tier Horned Dragons were a type of Soaring Dragon.

Should a Fifth-Tier Horned Dragon reach the peak of its bloodline, it could match the power of a Divine Transformation True Venerable—a terrifying existence indeed.

The Golden Egg was only a Third-Tier Treasure Beast. To evolve into a Fifth-Tier Horned Dragon, it would need to pass through both Flood and Chi stages. Fear before a Fifth-Tier Mystic Beast like the Prison-Suppressing Yue Turtle was only natural.

"‘One day, you shall surpass it!’" Though Chen Beiwu’s voice was calm, it brimmed with towering ambition.

His confidence influenced the Golden Egg, who stared at the Prison-Suppressing Yue Turtle on screen with newfound resolve in its eyes.

At the same time, True Monarch Yue gently stroked the turtle’s head, speaking gently.

"‘Watch closely. Companion Beast Transformation is not artifact refinement. It is the art of having your Companion Beast fight alongside you in another form.’"

In the next instant, the Prison-Suppressing Yue Turtle roared skyward, radiating blinding light, its body gradually becoming illusory under the gazes of Chen Beiwu and the Golden Egg.

Eventually, it transformed into a Fangtian halberd, its main blade shaped like a crescent moon, glinting with golden light.

At the halberd’s base, a miniature Prison-Suppressing Yue Turtle roared as if alive, and the entire weapon was enveloped in twin auras of green and red, radiating an indescribable power.

"‘In Companion Beast Transformation, one must follow the true form: flood dragon becomes spear, crane becomes sword, turtle becomes armor.’"

"‘Weapons are dead, beasts are alive; to wield death with life, to nurture life through death.’"

"‘In battle, transform the beast into a weapon—swift and decisive.’"

"‘In peace, nurture the beast and harmonize with its essence.’"

"‘When the two become one, the weapon gains spirit, divine abilities manifest, and the cultivator’s strength soars, allowing them to defeat foes beyond their realm.’"

"‘...’"

Having completed his overview of Companion Beast Transformation, True Monarch Yue concluded:

"‘Transformation is not mere technique—it is Dao.’"

"‘To even begin mastering the Companion Beast Transformation Record, one must meet three requirements.’"

"‘First: Form Moves with Intent. The weapon has no fixed shape; it must align with the Companion Beast’s true nature. This is the focus of today’s lesson.’"

As he lectured, True Monarch Yue grasped the Fangtian halberd with his right hand.

"‘Before I achieved Nascent Soul True Monarch, my favored weapon was the Six-Harmony Great Spear.’"

As his voice fell, the Fangtian halberd quivered, fading into a 3.6-foot-long spiral spear resembling a centipede’s spine.

"‘Do you notice the difference?’" True Monarch Yue smiled.

Upon hearing this, Chen Beiwu’s eyes narrowed slightly.

Even through the screen, he could perceive the disparity between the two Companion Mystic Weapons.

Though both were Companion Beast Transformations, the aura emitted by the spear was far inferior to that of the Fangtian halberd—not even one-tenth its power.

"‘Is it a compatibility issue?’" a cultivator in the video voiced a guess.

True Monarch Yue nodded slightly: "‘Correct. In Companion Beast Transformation, one must respect the beast’s true form. Form Moves with Intent is the foundation.’"

"‘Forcing an unsuitable form leads at best to flaws in combat; at worst, it could damage one's essence—or even result in the destruction of both weapon and beast.’"

Soon, the footage shifted from lecture to one-on-one demonstrations of Companion Beast Transformation.

As student after student stepped forward, various Companion Magical Treasures were revealed.

However, none of these transformed artifacts had the spiritual power or majesty of the Fangtian halberd demonstrated by True Monarch Yue.

"‘Companion Beast Transformation is the foundation of the Immortal Alliance’s Companion Secret Technique derived from beast-cultivation essence. It also complements the Marvelous Method of Companion Beast Landscape.’"

As the lesson neared its end, True Monarch Yue left them with a meaningful statement:

"‘Only when you’ve mastered Companion Beast Transformation can you truly be said to have stepped onto the path of borrowing beasts for cultivation.’"

The screen then went black. The video ended.

Staring at the dazed Golden Egg, Chen Beiwu ruffled its head.

"‘Did you understand any of it?’"

"‘Gulu.’"

"‘Which half did you get?’"

"‘Gulu.’" The Golden Egg looked a bit guilty, its tail tightening slightly around his arm.

"‘So you didn’t understand a single thing.’" Chen Beiwu chuckled, condensed a sliver of spiritual light, and lightly tapped the Golden Egg’s forehead.

It didn’t matter if the Golden Egg didn’t understand. He did.

Under the illumination of the Guarding-the-One Mirror, Chen Beiwu quickly grasped the crucial key to Companion Beast Transformation.

The key question was: What type of magical artifact was the Golden Egg best suited to become?

‘Forget it, let’s try a flying sword first.’

With a thought, Chen Beiwu activated the Divine Record, channeling his mana. His left hand formed the “Soldier” seal, while his right hand drew the “Release” symbol.

"‘Buzz!’"

The next instant, the Golden Egg’s scales suddenly gleamed and stood on end.

Chen Beiwu clapped his hands together and shouted lightly, "‘Form Moves with Intent—Companion Beast Transformation!’"

"‘Zheng!’"

With a resonant sword cry, a sudden transformation occurred.

A sword about 3.3 feet long, two fingers wide, its blade cloaked in a faint golden glow, appeared before Chen Beiwu’s eyes.

‘That easy?’

He reached out and caressed the sword’s surface, then slowly gripped the hilt.

"‘Boom!’"

The moment his hand closed around the hilt, a massive surge of mana flooded into Chen Beiwu’s body, skyrocketing his aura and emitting pressure akin to a Golden Core True Person.

Even the Five Elements Mountain within his Dantian Qi Sea roared thunderously, as if urging him to shatter his foundation and condense the Golden Core Dao.

Meanwhile, the golden flood-dragon sword emitted a joyful chime, reflecting Chen Beiwu’s image—just like the Golden Egg, whose eyes held no one else.

‘This power!’

Sensing the near-endless mana within, Chen Beiwu stared at the sword in his hand and took a deep breath, trying to calm his excitement.

Companion Beast Transformation required a heavy toll, constantly draining both the cultivator and beast’s vitality and spirit—but in exchange, it granted the power to challenge foes across realms.

His instincts told him: with the flood-dragon sword in hand, he could likely cleave through a Gilded Body in a single strike—and even slay the three-hundred-thirty-four-year-old Golden Egg.

Golden Egg: "‘???’"

Has the Beast Tamer gone mad with power, thinking of slaying me with a sword I transformed into!?

"‘Buzz!’"

As the Golden Egg’s thoughts shifted, the golden glow quickly dissipated. The flood-dragon sword vanished, revealing its slender fish-dragon body.

The vast mana within Chen Beiwu’s Dantian rapidly faded as well, not even one-tenth of its former strength remaining.

‘Only ten breaths’ worth, huh?’

Chen Beiwu frowned slightly and looked at the now-exhausted Golden Egg.

"‘Gulu.’"

It shook its head, and then its eyes dimmed as it sank into deep sleep. Clearly, the first transformation had drained it considerably.

‘No wonder True Monarch Yue said Companion Beast Transformation is the foundation of the Immortal Alliance’s Companion Secret Technique.’

Chen Beiwu mused silently.

The first requirement of Companion Beast Transformation: Form Moves with Intent—Unity of Weapon and Beast.

The second: Movement and Stillness Interwoven—Hearts in Sync.

The third: Mutual Growth and Progress—Borrowing Beasts to Align with the Dao.

Upon mastering the three essentials, those who had fully grasped the Companion Beast Transformation Divine Record could proceed to cultivate the renowned Immortal Alliance secret technique—Companion Soul-Heist Contract.

The Companion Soul-Heist Contract was a supreme art that only Nascent Soul True Monarchs could cultivate, passed down exclusively by the Thirteen Immortal Sects and the Five Great Grotto-Heavens.

If cultivated successfully, the cultivator could forcibly embed their Companion Beast’s Fate Wheel into their own, enacting a feat akin to stealing the sky and replacing the sun—extending their lifespan by siphoning the Companion Beast’s years.

What did that mean?

If a Companion Beast had a maximum lifespan of seven thousand years, and a Nascent Soul True Monarch had a cap of three thousand years—

Then after cultivating this art, the True Monarch could gain a lifespan cap of five thousand years, while the Companion Beast’s lifespan would be reduced to five thousand years.

Moreover, cultivating the Companion Soul-Heist Contract came at a terrible cost: eternal severance from reincarnation.

For every additional thousand years gained through the lifespan theft, the cultivator had to endure a tribulation of the Three Calamities sent by heaven and earth.

If they survived, their cultivation could soar dramatically, possibly even allowing them to ascend as a Divine Transformation True Venerable.

If they failed, however, it meant total annihilation—no reincarnation, no Dao.

Some Nascent Soul True Monarchs who had lost all hope of reaching the Divine Transformation realm would even voluntarily cultivate the Companion Soul-Heist Contract in an attempt to defy fate.

Suppressing the distracting thoughts in his mind, Chen Beiwu opened the second lecture by True Monarch Yue: Movement and Stillness Interwoven, Heart and Mind Aligned.

……

Time passed quickly, and soon five days had gone by.

Golden Egg stared blankly at the True Monarch’s lesson playing on the wall.

Over the past few days, in order to test the most compatible beast-weapon form, it had to cooperate with Chen Beiwu to perform Companion Beast Transformation once every six hours.

Saber, spear, halberd, axe, polearm, hook, fork, whip, mace, hammer, seal, bow...

After testing over a dozen common types of magical weapons, Chen Beiwu found that transforming Golden Egg into a saber or spear yielded the greatest boost to his cultivation. The rest were mediocre.

‘Still feels like something’s missing.’ Chen Beiwu furrowed his brow in thought.

Whether it was a saber or a spear, he always felt something was off—unable to perfectly manifest Golden Egg’s true Companion Form.

The best way to solve this quickly would be to consult True Monarch Yue directly.

True Monarch Yue had cultivated Companion Beast Transformation for many years. His cultivation was unfathomable. A single word from him could be like divine enlightenment—worth more than ten years of seclusion.

Just then, his phone buzzed—the prize he had won on the Cultivation Pinball site had arrived at the entrance of his cave residence.

“‘Gulu.’”

Seeing the fifty neatly arranged random blind boxes on the table, Golden Egg’s eyes lit up with eager excitement.

Meanwhile, Chen Beiwu narrowed his eyes as he studied the special restriction imprinted on the surface of the blind boxes.

Back when he had low cultivation, merely a Qi Refining novice, he couldn’t perceive the mysteries of the blind boxes at all.

Looking now, he realized that the reason the pinball manufacturer dared claim random luck was partially due to a one-time formation inscribed on the blind boxes—[God-Insight Fracture Seal].

Though the God-Insight Fracture Seal sounded impressive, it was actually drawn using cheap Mirage Sand. Its cost was incredibly low—barely qualified as a First-Tier Formation.

Its sole function was to overreact to spiritual perception.

Even a Nascent Soul True Monarch trying to use spiritual sense to peek into the box would cause the formation to instantly shatter—marking the box as "viewed" and thus invalid.

Of course, just because a blind box couldn't be inspected didn’t mean there was no foul play involved.

Unless the so-called "Lucky Blind Box" packaging process was truly as the merchant claimed—an entirely impartial sealing process done by high-grade puppets that cultivators couldn’t influence and certified by the Immortal Alliance’s three major institutions—

"‘Half each. Let’s see who pulls the better item?’" Chen Beiwu looked over at Golden Egg.

“‘Gulu.’”

Golden Egg eagerly agreed and immediately opened one box, revealing a yellowed Clear Wind Talisman with faded ink.

At six thousand Spirit Yuan for fifty random boxes, each box was worth about 120 Spirit Yuan—roughly equivalent to ten top-grade First-Tier Exotic Pills.

Yet a Clear Wind Talisman was a mid-grade First-Tier talisman, normally sold for about three Spirit Yuan. This particular worn-out one could maybe fetch a single Spirit Yuan if resold—barely worth anything.

Still, Chen Beiwu’s cost calculation had flaws. Back when he first won a Lucky Blind Box, he only spent three Spirit Yuan—making their actual value difficult to evaluate.

Seeing this, Golden Egg, unwilling to admit defeat, whipped its tail and opened ten boxes in a row.

"‘Cracked Peachwood Sword.’"

"‘Exotic Sexy Underwear.’"

"‘Shriveled Unknown Pill.’"

"‘First-Tier Sunken Iron.’"

Looking at these odd flea-market items, Chen Beiwu raised an eyebrow.

If the pinball manufacturer’s Lucky Blind Boxes only contained junk like this, then they were useless for laundering Southern Wastes resources—and could even expose the secrets he carried.

“‘Gulu.’”

Upon opening the twenty-fifth box, Golden Egg froze, its last hope dashed.

Trash. All of it, trash.

Not even a single Second-Tier spiritual herb among them.

Noticing Golden Egg’s gaze, Chen Beiwu chuckled, picked up a random blind box, and opened it—only to find a Spirit-Sealing Box inside.

‘A hit already?’ Chen Beiwu’s eyes lit up.

Spirit-Sealing Boxes were expensive—just the box alone was worth over a thousand Spirit Yuan.

Logically, any cultivation resource stored inside one of these should be extraordinary—at least a top-grade Second-Tier spiritual herb, possibly even a Third-Tier Treasure Pill.

“‘Gulu!’”

Golden Egg eagerly leaned in, curious to see what was inside.

Click.

As the box lid opened, a surge of vibrant life force filled the entire cave.

Inside, nestled on a bed of velvet, lay a beast egg about the size of a fist.

Its shell was smooth and glossy, colored dark red, with brown, crack-like markings spread across its surface.

Chen Beiwu reached out and touched it. The shell was scalding hot, and faint rhythmic pulses emanated from within.

"‘Covered in brown patterns, absorbing solar essence by day.’"

"‘Scorching to the touch, pulses like fire.’"

Chen Beiwu’s heart skipped a beat.

Could it be... had he wrongly blamed the pinball manufacturer?

All signs indicated that this was no ordinary Spirit Beast egg, but rather the egg of one of the top ten poisons on the Earthly Sha Rankings—Scarlet-Patterned Scorchfire Serpent.