Cultivation: I Can Steal Lifespan from Spirit Beasts

Chapter 152: Leaving Sword Billow Garrison

“Observe, Senior. This is the extraction protocol for the Eel-Tailed Toad.”

Inside the kitchens of the Sword Billow Garrison, Bao Chao finished processing the amphibian on his cutting board and presented the results to Wang Ba.

Wang Ba watched with clinical detachment, his mind racing to catalog every nuance of Bao Chao’s technique.

Compared to the initial slaughter, this second stage—processing—was mechanically simpler but intellectually more demanding. The physical act required only muscle memory. The true challenge lay in the chemistry: configuring the correct Processing Liquid for each specific specimen.

Birds, beasts, aquatic life, insects, flora—each category demanded a unique chemical solvent. Even the grade of the beast altered the formula.

The Eel-Tailed Toad was a prime example.

Even the unranked variants carried potent toxins in their dermal sacs. However, these toxins were inextricably bound to the creature’s spiritual essence. The goal was not merely to wash the meat, but to synthesize a solution that would neutralize the poison while chemically locking the essence within the tissue.

This required a precise blend of spiritual solvents, adjusted for the ingredient’s attribute, freshness, and grade.

Wang Ba realized that to master this, he didn’t need a chef’s intuition; he needed a researcher’s rigorous experimentation.

Once Bao Chao departed, Wang Ba began his formulation.

“Three drams of Daylily Leaf, two ounces of Willow Spirit Seed, five Red Fruits…”

He combined the reagents. But the moment he submerged the dissected toad segments into the vat, the liquid boiled violently, frothing with foul bubbles.

“Failure.”

Wang Ba shook his head, his expression flat. There was no frustration, only analysis. He immediately began a mental autopsy of the error.

The hue was too crimson… excess Red Fruit. Excessive foaming… likely a reaction with the Iron Bone Grass.

He dipped a quill and recorded the results on a fresh sheet of paper. Then, he adjusted the ratios, setting up comparative control groups based on the spiritual properties of the reagents.

“Again.”

Half a month later.

Wang Ba exhaled a long breath of turbid air as he watched the Eel-Tailed Toad segments floating serenely in the tank. The liquid remained clear, the essence locked tight.

“Finally. Stabilization achieved.”

Beside him lay a thick stack of parchment, dense with data points and observations. Intuition was fickle; data was absolute.

With the baseline established, Wang Ba expanded his trials to the stock of Spirit Poultry and spirit turtles he had brought with him. By cross-referencing the data from different species, he began to perceive the underlying chemical axioms governing the Processing Liquids.

These were fundamental laws that even Bao Chao had never articulated.

A month later, when Bao Chao returned and witnessed Wang Ba casually synthesize a perfect solvent for the toad, the chef was visibly shaken.

“Senior… have you studied alchemical culinary arts before?”

Wang Ba raised an eyebrow.

“My meaning,” Bao Chao clarified hastily, “is that while your mixing technique is still somewhat raw, the precision of your ratios is terrifying. I’m not sure I could balance the reagents any better myself.”

Wang Ba offered a slight, enigmatic smile but offered no explanation.

Bao Chao didn’t press the issue. Instead, he fetched a cage containing a creature Wang Ba had never encountered.

“Since Senior has mastered the basics, perhaps you’d like to attempt the Drill-Ground Rabbit?”

Wang Ba’s eyes lit up. He had exhausted his current test subjects; a new specimen was exactly what he needed.

He took the rabbit, his Divine Sense sweeping through its biology. In a heartbeat, he had mapped its skeletal structure and muscular composition.

The Drill-Ground Rabbit was a First-Grade Middle-Rank spirit beast. Its physiology was largely unremarkable, save for its two incisors. They were incredibly dense, surpassing the hardness of standard magical artifacts of the same rank.

The essence concentration there would be significant.

Wang Ba mobilized his Qi. It coated his hands like a scalpel. With surgical precision, he dismantled the rabbit in four breaths.

Meat, bone, dermis, fur, vascular system, ocular organs, teeth—all separated into neat piles.

Drawing upon his derived laws of configuration, he began measuring out the solvent.

“Six ounces of Nine Spice, two lbs of Spirit Pepper, five drams of Dragon Qian…”

Confident, Wang Ba dropped the rabbit parts into the vat one by one.

The liquid remained stable. No frothing.

Just as he was about to ask Bao Chao for another challenge, the tranquility in the vat shattered. The liquid swirled with a chaotic, multicolored light.

Instability!

Wang Ba reacted instantly. He flicked his sleeve, his Qi erupting to form a barrier as he telekinetically hurled the vat away.

BOOM!

The liquid detonated in mid-air, the splash contained harmlessly by Wang Ba’s shield.

He stared at the ruined reagents splattered across the floor, his face darkening. “Impossible. I followed the formulation protocols perfectly.”

Bao Chao chuckled, clearly expecting this outcome.

“Senior, do not be discouraged. The anomaly lies in the teeth. While they appear to be organic bone, they are structurally closer to mineral ore. You cannot treat them with biological solvents; they require a metallurgical approach.”

Wang Ba paused. The embarrassment of the failed experiment faded as the logic clicked into place. Mineral composition… of course.

“The world is vast,” Bao Chao said sagely. “Countless beasts and plants exist between heaven and earth. Anomalies are the norm, not the exception. One cannot rely on a single universal formula. It requires endless observation and accumulated experience.”

Wang Ba nodded slowly, showing no disdain for the lecture despite the difference in their cultivation bases.

After Bao Chao left, Wang Ba visited the market district. He spent a significant sum of Spirit Stones to purchase a dozen diverse spirit beasts.

While completing the transaction, he pumped the shopkeeper for intelligence.

“The Sword Billow Garrison sits within the territory of the State of Yan—not the Great Yan Dynasty to the north, mind you, but here in the northwest of the Great Chu Dynasty,” the shopkeeper explained, eager to please a Foundation Establishment customer. “This region is teeming with resources. The deep mountains outside are a treasure trove, though you mustn’t venture too far. Rumor has it that Third-Grade beasts rule the core. If you plan to explore the outskirts, I have a map…”

Wang Ba accepted the map with thanks, paying the “internal price” offered to sect members.

Another month passed.

He systematically processed every beast he had purchased. As he worked, he refined his theories.

There is no universal key, he concluded, reviewing his notes. Different species require different chemical keys. My current model is sufficient for general anatomy, but to reach perfection, I need a broader sample size.

He pulled out the map the shopkeeper had given him.

Truthfully, his heart was restless.

From his days as a mortal to his ascension to Foundation Establishment, Wang Ba had rarely left the safety of a sect. Apart from the brief assignment at Meng Xing Village, he had never truly ventured into the wild alone.

Hiding within the Heavenly Gate Sect was the optimal survival strategy. Yet, safety bred stagnation.

Sword Billow Garrison had been pacified by the sect for years. The immediate vicinity was safe. And he was no longer a weak Qi Refiner; he was a Foundation Establishment cultivator.

After weighing the risks, he made his decision.

He would leave the garrison. He would hunt.

Naturally, he did not go unprepared. He purchased several Second-Grade Middle-Rank offensive and defensive talismans. He also took the time to fully refine the Second-Grade flying artifact he had looted from the red-haired Incense Dao cultivator.

While organizing his inventory, his eyes fell upon two Storage Bags he had seized during the conquest of Mirror Moon Mansion.

Back then, his cultivation had been too low to break their seals. Now, his Divine Sense surged forward like a battering ram, shattering the restrictions effortlessly.

The first bag contained a modest pile of wealth—roughly 30 Middle-Grade Spirit Stones—and various raw materials.

Most were unfamiliar, save for a pile of Metal Spiritual Iron Sand. This was the catalyst required to train the Golden Wind Swift Arrow Art to Perfection.

Wang Ba shook his head. A First-Grade technique, even at Perfection, is fragile before Second-Grade power. It wasn’t worth the time investment.

He tossed the bag aside and opened the second one.

His eyes widened.

Inside sat a set of 28 needles, resting in a case alongside a manual for their refinement and deployment. They were Second-Grade Low-Rank, but the manual claimed that when deployed as a formation, their lethality rivaled Middle-Rank artifacts.

[Iris Formless Needles]

He held one up to the light. It was slender, cold, and deadly.

During his Qi Refining days, he had trained with needle artifacts. He understood their nature: they were weapons of deceit.

Ideally, a male cultivator would wield a broadsword or a flying sword—weapons of grandeur and open combat. Needles were often associated with female cultivators or assassins. They lacked glory.

But for Wang Ba? They were perfect.

He possessed few direct combat techniques. His fighting style relied on his spirit beasts acting as tanks while he manipulated the battlefield from the rear.

Ambush. Sneak attacks. Self-defense.

When infused with Qi, the Iris Formless Needles vanished from sight, becoming invisible to the naked eye and difficult for Divine Sense to track.

They were a weapon designed for the paranoid.

The bag also contained more talismans and Spirit Stones, which he pocketed happily.

Finally, he examined the last two items from his old Incense Dao loot: a drum made of human skin and a black jar swirling with Yin energy.

With his enhanced Divine Sense, the function of the drum became clear.

A Soul Weapon.

By using one’s own soul as the mallet, the drum emitted shockwaves that struck the enemy’s spirit directly. The stronger the user’s soul, the more devastating the blast. However, the material was limited; it could withstand Early Foundation Establishment power, perhaps straining to reach Middle Foundation Establishment output, but anything beyond that would shatter the drumhead.

Still, a useful trump card, he mused.

The black jar was identified via the golden paper rubbings he had studied. It was a vessel for the Yin Spirit lineage, designed to capture, nurture, and refine ghosts into life-bound servants.

He popped the lid. Empty.

Wang Ba sighed. He had no wild ghosts to store in it, and he wasn’t about to go hunting for them specifically. He stowed it away.

With the Iris Formless Needles refined and a few practice runs completed, he felt ready.

He summoned Alpha-Fifteen and his other beasts. It was time to see the world.

Sorry everyone, only two chapters today. I’ve been staying up late every day recently and can’t keep it up anymore. Need to rest. The author is part-time, and this update schedule is already pushing it.

(End of Chapter)