Mu Cheng had originally prepared to state his condition, but upon hearing this, he paused again. “You really can agree to anything?”
Lian Yunzhi replied without thinking, “The Beast Taming Contract cannot be undone!”
Mu Cheng: “…”
Mu Cheng had never intended to undo the Beast Taming Contract anyway, but from Lian Yunzhi’s words, he clearly saw the man’s bottom line. Thus, he lowered his eyes and said nothing, secretly pondering how to modify his original condition—to expand his own benefits further.
Seeing Mu Cheng fall silent, Lian Yunzhi thought he was unhappy and felt a bit guilty.
But no matter how guilty he felt, the Beast Taming Contract could not be undone. It was his lifeline.
Lian Yunzhi sighed, pinched Mu Cheng’s hand, and coaxed him. “Although I cannot undo the Beast Taming Contract for you, I promise that from now on, I will never casually use the ‘Forced Command’ in the Beast Taming Contract to control you. Alright?”
Mu Cheng kept his eyes lowered and gave a faint “Mm.”
Lian Yunzhi added, “And once you become my human cauldron, I will treat you even better.”
Mu Cheng’s tone was calm. “How exactly do you plan to treat me well?”
Lian Yunzhi straightened his back, nearly counting on his fingers. “First, I will use you according to your physical condition, never exceeding your body’s limits, so you won’t perish prematurely like a fragrant jade vanishing.”
Mu Cheng: “…”
Lian Yunzhi continued, “Second, I will take good care of you. I will provide you with supplements every day, check your body regularly, give you pocket money, and allow you occasional outings to ensure both your physical and mental health.”
Mu Cheng: “…………”
Lian Yunzhi went on, “Finally, I will cherish you greatly. I will never casually sell you off or share you with others!”
Mu Cheng: “…………..”
Using, maintaining, selling off.
If this were any other new human cauldron, they would probably have despaired at this moment.
Mu Cheng closed his eyes briefly.
He did not correct Lian Yunzhi’s inappropriate wording and simply added, “I also want you to transmit spiritual power to me once a day. If it’s ever less on any day, you must make it up at another time.”
This was the “condition” he had originally planned to propose, unchanged and unexpanded.
Lian Yunzhi thought for a moment and nodded. “Alright.”
The spiritual power Mu Cheng needed was negligible for a cultivator. Moreover, once his body recovered and his spiritual energy stopped leaking, transmitting spiritual power to Mu Cheng could even be considered a harmless form of cultivation that brought benefits.
Mu Cheng lowered his eyes and said softly, “Then I am your human cauldron now.”
Lian Yunzhi suddenly felt a surge of emotions in his heart—some joy, some relief, and some indescribable flavors.
At that moment, he very much wanted to reach out, touch Mu Cheng’s ears, ruffle his hair, and finally scratch his chin with a smile.
But he held back.
He had promised to treat Mu Cheng well from now on, so he could no longer tease him like a little dog as before.
Lian Yunzhi’s thumb and index finger rubbed together with slight regret. In the end, he sighed and grasped Mu Cheng’s hand.
“I will really treat you well from now on.”
“…Mm.”
.
Since Lian Yunzhi’s spiritual power was leaking out every moment, he decided to use his new human cauldron as soon as possible.
But haste would not do.
There were necessary procedures before using a human cauldron.
Lian Yunzhi took out the Hehuan Sect Furnace Cauldron Great Accomplishment Technique, flipped to the chapter on “Human Cauldron Usage Methods,” and carefully read the precautions and step-by-step explanations.
But as he read on, he noticed something wrong.
Acquired Furnace Cauldrons were all refined products. They either had inscriptions on their bodies, had been refined through formations, or had been modified with spiritual medicines, making them simple to use—just use them directly.
Natural Furnace Cauldrons were different. Using a Natural Furnace Cauldron required an incantation. Without it, one could only achieve one-tenth of the cauldron’s effect.
Lian Yunzhi flipped through the book two or three times with a rustle, but still found no incantation.
Mu Cheng asked, “What are you looking for?”
Lian Yunzhi replied, “The Dual Cultivation Incantation.”
Mu Cheng pulled out a stack of items from somewhere and handed them to Lian Yunzhi. “It should be in here.”
Lian Yunzhi looked up and saw seven or eight books on dual cultivation and human cauldrons piled before him, including one titled Hehuan Sect Furnace Cauldron Great Accomplishment Technique, which appeared to be a copy of the one in his hand.
Mu Cheng explained, “These were placed by the bed in the Extreme Pleasure Hall. I only flipped through them casually.”
Lian Yunzhi raised a brow, finally understanding how Mu Cheng had known his thoughts earlier.
But he said nothing and simply picked up the books to flip through them.
Half a shichen later, Lian Yunzhi closed the books and fell into contemplation.
“What is it?”
A slightly distant voice came from behind.
Lian Yunzhi turned around.
He narrowed his eyes slightly.
Mu Cheng emerged from the Spirit Spring Pool like a mermaid surfacing. He had removed his outer robe, leaving only his inner garment, which was now soaked and clinging to his body, revealing his long legs, fit figure, and smooth skin without reservation.
Gilded sunlight sprinkled on him, making the water droplets rolling off his body sparkle with every step, rendering his entire form strikingly tall and handsome—provided one ignored the face crisscrossed with scars.
Lian Yunzhi frowned.
He was somewhat displeased that Mu Cheng had used the spirit pool he had eyed in advance, but recalling his promise to treat Mu Cheng well, he suppressed the emotion, averted his gaze to the book in his hand, and answered Mu Cheng’s question. “Nothing much. The book says Natural Furnace Cauldrons are rare. For dual cultivation with one, the first time is best for three days. But we don’t have time.”
Mu Cheng: “No time?”
Lian Yunzhi nodded. “The Tree Cave Exit is far from here. Even with my current cultivation, it would take two days to get there, let alone bringing you along. So we must depart at the latest tomorrow morning to leave before the Chen Family takes over the Xiao Yun Mountain Secret Realm.”
If they left after the Chen Family took over the Xiao Yun Mountain Secret Realm, they would have to hand over at least seventy percent of their harvest—that was the rule.
Mu Cheng suddenly said, “What if I say we can leave the Xiao Yun Mountain Secret Realm immediately?”
Lian Yunzhi: “Hm?”
Mu Cheng: “There’s a teleportation formation at the bottom of the Spirit Spring. It leads straight to the exit of the Xiao Yun Mountain Secret Realm.”
Lian Yunzhi was stunned. “…You just entered the spirit pool for that?”
Mu Cheng shook his head and placed a crystalline blue pearl into Lian Yunzhi’s hand. “I went into the water because of this. The teleportation formation was just an unexpected gain. It’s called the Spirit Marrow Condensing Pearl, usually formed naturally in spirit lakes. Once formed, it stores all the spiritual energy of the spirit lake. If you put it in your hot spring pool, you’ll have a hot spring spirit pool.”
