Chapter Fifty-Six: The Jade Stone

The surface of the golden spirit stone emitted a faint golden glow, which intensified as the stone rose higher. Looking out across the scene, it was a dazzling sea of golden light. Upon closer inspection of the golden spirit stone, one could see several tiny shadows within, resembling small dogs and birds, ceaselessly leaping and galloping. Gradually, as the spirit stone ascended, the golden radiance it cast fell upon the crowd, gilding everyone in a luminous golden sheen, making them appear resplendent.

Jiang Yan gazed intently at the golden spirit stone, and a transparent information interface appeared before him.

Spirit Artifact: Soul Suppressing Stone
Grade: Second Grade
Accompanying Functions: Suppress spirit beast souls, soul locking

A faint smile graced Jiang Yan’s lips. As expected, a second-grade spirit beast garden was extraordinary; to think that the very foundation of the beast garden was a second-grade spirit treasure, the Soul Suppressing Stone, which far surpassed the tattered plaque he had used to suppress his own beast garden when he first established it.

A muffled rumble reverberated from underground, and then a circular fence emerged from beneath the Soul Suppressing Stone—the railing of the spirit beast garden slowly rising from the ground...

Beast Taming Rune Array, Beast Nurturing Grand Formation, Beast Gathering Mirror...

The spirit beast garden gradually emerged from underground, and with a final tremor beneath their feet, a garden far vaster than before stood solidly before them.

From above, the newly ascended spirit beast garden was laid out in a perfect hexagon. At each of the six corners stood a massive pillar built from blue stone, each crowned with a round, azure boulder. Under the intense sunlight, the blue stones emitted a gentle, misty glow.

Between the blue stones at each corner, bright blue beams interlaced, forming a faint light screen. The six boulders created six translucent blue walls, keeping the spirit beasts confined within the garden.

“What an enormous spirit beast garden! It must be worth a fortune in spirit stones,” Mu Yun exclaimed, feeling a pang as he thought of all the spirit stones it must have cost the sect leader to build such a grand garden.

“What a big garden!” Yun Ying, nestled in Jiang Yan’s arms, pointed with her tiny hand at the distant garden, her clear voice full of wonder.

“Such large blue stones,” Tang Wan’s beautiful eyes sparkled as she stared in amazement at the six round boulders atop the garden’s pillars, her gaze gleaming with stars.

“This... this... this courtyard is so vast and bright, A’Qian,” Sun Yang stammered, turning to Ning Qian beside him.

“How did the spirit beast garden advance?” Jiang Yan muttered to himself, puzzled as he looked at the grand and spacious garden. He had done nothing to spur its advancement, so how had it evolved on its own?

Staring at the second-grade spirit beast garden, the transparent information interface hovered before Jiang Yan’s eyes.

Special Structure: Spirit Beast Garden
Grade: Second Grade; can hold fifteen first-grade spirit beasts, nine second-grade, and one third-grade
Current Spirit Beasts: Moon Mink (asleep), Howling Sky Hound (first-grade upper rank), Howling Soul Hound (first-grade mid-rank), Golden-Eyed Eagle (first-grade mid-rank), Spirit Worm (first-grade mid-rank)
Functions: Nurture spirit beasts, promote advancement, tame spirit beasts of third grade and below, slay spirit beasts of fourth grade and below
Accompanying Functions: Increase advancement speed of spirit beasts by 1.5%, assist wild beasts in evolving into spirit beasts, Spatial Compression

The most notable change after the spirit beast garden’s ascension to second grade was its capacity—leaping from fewer than ten beasts to nearly ten just for second-grade creatures. What delighted Jiang Yan even more was the garden’s new ability to tame third-grade spirit beasts.

Third-grade spirit beasts were unavailable in Huashan, Tianshan, or even the largest sect of Linqing Prefecture, the Golden Flame Sect. As for which sect might have them, Jiang Yan did not know, but it no longer mattered—he no longer feared third-grade spirit beasts.

The second-grade spirit beast garden boasted a unique ability—Spatial Compression. With this function, Jiang Yan could shrink or expand the garden at will and carry it with him. If he encountered a third-grade spirit beast, he could simply deploy the garden overhead and the beast would be tamed with ease.

However, the garden itself was quite large, and with the addition of stone walls, weighed nearly a thousand jin. It was not quite realistic to rely solely on his own spiritual power to move it...

“Doggy…” Yun Ying slipped from Tang Wan’s embrace and dashed into the spirit beast garden.

“Woof woof!” The Howling Sky Hound leapt up joyfully when it saw Yun Ying. In a flash of white, it jumped into her arms, stretching out its long red tongue to lick her delicate, doll-like face.

“Good dog!” Sun Yang shouted angrily at the Howling Sky Hound, full of indignation. Down at the foot of the mountain, he’d wanted to pinch that little girl’s cheeks, but had been sent flying into a wall by that giant bird. You damn lecherous dog...

“Woof woof!” The black Howling Soul Hound circled Yun Ying, barking happily.

The Spirit Worm, now at mid first grade and more radiant from its advancement, wriggled its body and disappeared into the soil. In Jiang Yan’s spiritual perception, it slithered swiftly underground toward the spirit fields behind the mountain.

“Hoo, hoo…” The Golden-Eyed Eagle beat its massive wings and soared slowly into the sky. Having advanced, its body had grown even larger, its black feathers now tinged with a faint gold, and its broad wingspan had lengthened by at least a yard.

“Woof woof!” An angry bark from the Howling Sky Hound echoed from the corner.

Jiang Yan turned to see Yun Ying and the two little dogs—one black, one white—blown into the corner by the gale from the Golden-Eyed Eagle’s takeoff. The Howling Sky Hound was baring its teeth at the eagle in fury, while the black Howling Soul Hound bounced beside it in protest. Only Yun Ying, wide-eyed and curious, stared up at the giant bird.

“Senior Brother, why is Big Black so much bigger now?” Yun Ying, held in Tang Wan’s arms, pointed at the eagle in the sky with her small hand, asking in wonder. In her memory, the Golden-Eyed Eagle had never been so large.

Ning Qian was dumbstruck, staring blankly at the eagle soaring overhead. How had it grown so much in less than a month?

“Glutton,” Sun Yang grumbled resentfully beside Ning Qian, glaring at the gigantic eagle.

Mu Yun tapped Sun Yang’s forehead with a smile. “Don’t insult the Golden-Eyed Eagle, boy. It’s smart. Now that you’re in Huashan, you’ll have the chance to ride it down the mountain someday. If it remembers your words and takes it out on you, you’ll be in for a rough time.”

Thinking of himself riding the eagle, being tossed about as it spun and turned, even doing a full three-sixty, Sun Yang immediately shut his mouth.

Jiang Yan glanced curiously at the Moon Mink crouched in the corner. Seeing it still motionless, he stared at the Soul Suppressing Stone in the sky, trying to discern why the Moon Mink could not awaken...

Spirit Artifact: Azure Jade Stone
Grade: Third Grade
Accompanying Function: Advancement Aid

Jiang Yan’s gaze swept over the six hexagonal stone pillars encircling the spirit beast garden, and a transparent information interface suddenly appeared. Seeing the name Azure Jade Stone, Jiang Yan had a sudden realization—no wonder the spirit beast garden could advance; Huashan Mountain now possessed several of these stones.

Azure Jade Stones, third-grade spirit treasures, contained immense energy—enough in a single stone to sustain the cultivation of a Golden Core expert, evidence of their tremendous power.

Yet the most important function of the Azure Jade Stone was to aid the advancement of special structures. Its energy dispersed slowly, a trait lamented by high-level cultivators, but this slow release was perfect for nourishing special buildings, making it ideal for their progression.

Moreover, the Azure Jade Stone possessed a unique trait—it was a companion treasure. Each stone was surrounded by five others, forming the six pillars that powered the second-grade spirit beast garden and enabled its successful advancement.

“Ding, a disciple has entered the sect at the foot of the mountain.” The sect leader system’s voice echoed in Jiang Yan’s ear.

PS: Brother ngstone has sent two update votes, for which Hong Yan is deeply grateful and hopes to fulfill ngstone’s wish. One chapter today, one tomorrow—Hong Yan will do his best.