Beast Taming Clan: I Have a Jade Book Chapter 1: Fairness

Sudden flames blazed skyward in the brightly lit Fire Room.

In the next instant, a cloud of black smoke billowed from the Pill Furnace right before Ye Jingcheng.

A mild foul smell started diffusing, repulsive even amidst the searing blaze.

Excessive heat had caused the alchemy to fail!

And this was his expertise, the Spirit Nourishing Pill.

Yet Ye Jingcheng felt no discouragement; his eyes instead gleamed with eager excitement.

For right then, deep inside him, the first page of a profoundly ancient book fully lit up and took shape.

Ye Jingcheng, a transmigrator who arrived in the Ye Family over a decade ago, climbed from isolation without allies to esteemed Immortal Master in the clan, only to find his Four Spirit Roots slowed his cultivation to a crawl.

The trials he endured exceeded the turbulence of his past life.

This realm belongs to cultivators, where supreme experts command storms, conjure rains, achieve impossibilities; reaching cultivation's pinnacle grants eternal life rivaling the heavens!

His one true asset and hidden trump card was the cryptic ancient book, etched with enigmatic spirit patterns, lodged within his body.

Earlier, that ancient book had flared with spiritual glow, devouring his mental focus entirely and botching his routine pill refining.

Half a day's labor crumbled in moments.

Its cover bore subtle spirit patterns that writhed intricately, sketching bizarre spirit beasts unique to each page.

He had tested the spirit book's radiant light before, finding it exceptionally useful for mending wounds and fostering poultry—even once saving a bird on the brink of death.

But the cost was a hefty drain on its spiritual light.

Thankfully, it recovered gradually, though never to fullness—until today, when it shone with dazzling brilliance for the first time.

Unfortunately, though part of a Beast Taming Clan, Ye Jingcheng lacked the chance to acquire a demon beast cub of true promise.

Ye Jingcheng contemplated deeply until tolling bells interrupted.

Forming a spirit art, Ye Jingcheng invoked the Artifact Manipulation Skill; deftly, he extracted the Pill Furnace, then drew out Cold Silkworm Cloth to wrap its scorching handles.

Then he emptied the leftover pill sludge from the Pill Furnace into his prepared wooden tray.

After tucking it into a storage bag, he grabbed a special cleaning brush to scour the Pill Furnace interior spotless.

Not a blemish lingered in plain sight.

Ye Jingcheng stroked the furnace's lingering warm handles and heaved a sigh.

"I wonder when I can have a Pill Furnace of my own."

This furnace was Ye Family property; as a clansman, borrowing it was allowed, yet every spirit pill batch refined demanded half sold back to the family at set rates.

Owning his own would let him offer only 80% of standard price to the clan.

Bells outside pealed anew.

"Coming!" Ye Jingcheng shouted back, grabbing a nearby special broom for hasty sweeping.

A quick scan assured him the Alchemy Room looked pristine as ever, so he strode out.

The expansive outer hall stayed cool thanks to the cultivation array—a world apart from the inner swelter.

A gray-white Daoist-robed elder manually rang the bell by his Alchemy Room.

Three or four similarly attired Ye Family members stood behind the elder.

They had waited ages, faces shadowed sullenly from the drawn-out warmth.

Ye Jingcheng offered a wry smile, knowing Grandpa Nine—Ye Haitian, Pill Pavilion warden—had secretly stretched his time once more.

The elder moved to the hall table, fetched brush and ink, and began noting down each entry:

"Alright, come over now, tally up the yield; the next batch is about to come in!"

"Jing Yun, refined thirty Spirit Nourishing Pills, using the family Pill Furnace, each appraised at 1 Contribution Point, totaling 30 Contribution Points, three days rent, a total of 6 Contribution Points, remaining 24 Contribution Points!"

...

Before long, Ye Jingcheng's settlement came up.

Habitually, he set five palm-sized pill bottles before the elder.

Each brimmed with pills, wafting a gentle medicinal scent.

The elder glanced up, skipping praise to eye Ye Jingcheng, "Planning to buy a Spirit Beast?"

Before, three days let Ye Jingcheng forge seven furnaces; as mass-produced elixirs, Spirit Nourishing Pills gave at least ten per batch, up to fifteen or sixteen at times.

Thus, in his eyes, Ye Jingcheng had pocketed a portion for himself.

As a Beast Taming Clan, the Ye Family emphasizes not just spirit roots like other clans, but the caliber of spirit beasts as well.

One could say that even with Five Spirit Roots, if your spirit beast flourishes under care, the Ye Family will push your cultivation to the forefront.

"Grandpa Nine, you predict things so precisely!" Ye Jingcheng rubbed his head, nodded smilingly, displaying a rare sincere warmth.

"Let me tally your contribution points!" Ye Haitian grabbed Ye Jingcheng’s Clan Token and announced routinely:

"Jingcheng, you refined fifty Spirit Nourishing Pills using the family Pill Furnace; each valued at 1 Contribution Point, totaling 50 Contribution Points. On top of that, thanks to the pill fragrance, an additional 30 Contribution Points as reward. Three days' rent deducts 6 Contribution Points, leaving 74 Contribution Points!"

Ye Haitian said with a faint smile.

Ye Jingcheng stood stunned; fragrant Spirit Nourishing Pills were superior, yes, but hardly deserving of extra rewards.

No such regulation existed in the Ye Family; this was purely Ye Haitian helping him on the side.

"Grandpa Nine..."

"Jingcheng, bear in mind—in the Cultivation Realm, total fairness breeds injustice. The Ye Family operates no differently!" Ye Haitian offered no more explanation, simply waving Ye Jingcheng off.

He went back to arranging the ledgers of contribution points.

Ye Jingcheng clutched his Clan Token tightly and bowed profoundly.

Ye Family contribution points exchanged one-to-one with lower-grade Spirit Stones.

However, these points proved far more valuable than lower-grade Spirit Stones in reality.

Family treasures and certain spirit beast cubs demanded contribution points for redemption.

Though no grand power, merely a modest force among Foundation Establishment Clans, the Ye Family gained fame for its spirit beasts across the Taihang Mountain.

Ye Jingcheng possessed Four Spirit Roots, missing only metal from gold, wood, water, and fire; he climbed the mountain at eleven, now twenty-one and at Qi Cultivation Fourth Layer, achievements born of relentless diligence and a keener sense of cultivation's scarcity than his peers.

Nevertheless, he still fell well behind same-age Three Spirit Roots cultivators.

For that reason, over these three years, he immersed himself in alchemy, hoarding contribution points to swap for a superior spirit beast.

At present, his Clan Token luckily contained precisely four hundred contribution points.

Don't scorn four hundred points; a mid-stage Qi Cultivation cultivator's yearly wage in the Ye Family amounts to just five lower-grade Spirit Stones—even an Alchemy Master gains only two extra per year.

To earn additional Spirit Stones, cultivators had to shine in family contests or tackle family duties for personal gains.

Amassing four hundred beyond cultivation expenses stemmed from his innate alchemy knack.

Furthermore, he couldn't splurge it all on spirit beast cubs; his personal cultivation demanded points, acquiring pill ingredients cost points, and feeding future spirit beast cubs would require points too...

His lone aspiration lay in the Jade Book housed within him, which, post its radiant spiritual glow, would deliver beyond mere healing for spirit beast cubs!

Ye Jingcheng pondered this and sensed a mild headache brewing.

Strolling along, Ye Jingcheng promptly reached the family Demon Hunting Hall.