"We do have some, but they aren’t for public sale. They’re for internal use within the family." Shopkeeper Liu paused for a moment, then added, "However, Fellow Daoist, you are an honored guest. If you were to conduct another piece of business with our shop, it wouldn’t be out of the question to include a copy as a gift."

A moment later, Lin Changheng was escorted out of the Spirit Fox Beast Pavilion.

Beneath his green robes, a new Spirit Beast Bag now hung from his left hip, a Beast Egg resting quietly inside. It mirrored the Storage Bag on his right hip, which now contained two new Jade Scrolls and a Jade Token.

Despite his calm exterior, Lin Changheng’s heart was filled with the thrill of scoring a major steal.

It was an even greater rush than finding a genuine antique on a street full of curios in his past life.

As was his custom, he wound his way through the streets to shake off any potential unwanted attention before changing into a black robe and entering the Immortal Inn.

Using a Technique to activate the room’s built-in Isolation Array, Lin Changheng immediately took out the new Turtle Egg and placed it on the floor.

’I hope this doesn’t disappoint me.’

Before paying the Spirit Stones, Lin Changheng had asked Shopkeeper Liu about the Turtle Mother that laid this egg. The answer he received was "Tier One Late Stage."

After the turtle was discovered, it was easily killed by that Foundation Establishment Elder, whose Divine Sense then detected this Beast Egg inside the cave.

From this, he could deduce that the enemy Demon Beast that had used the poison was most likely not Tier Two. Otherwise, why would it have needed to resort to poison?

As long as the poison wasn’t from a Tier Two creature, Lin Changheng was confident he could completely neutralize it with his Poison Transformation Demon Technique and restore the Beast Egg to health.

’First, a quick check!’

His eyes narrowed. Lin Changheng cautiously placed his hand on the Beast Egg’s green shell, carefully extending his Magical Power to inspect its condition.

The situation was indeed dire.

The Life Force within the egg was shrinking rapidly, ravaged by the poison. It had to be hatched as soon as possible, or he had to try and detoxify it.

Otherwise, in a few more months, the life within this Beast Egg would likely be extinguished.

’Here we go.’

Confident in his plan, Lin Changheng kept his hand on the eggshell and began to cast the Poison Transformation Demon Technique. A pure, cleansing intent immediately gathered within his body, slowly channeling into the Beast Egg along with his Magical Power.

In his perception, the virulent poison inside the egg had been like a cancer clinging to the bone, spreading wantonly. But as his Magical Power seeped in, the outer layers of the toxin began to melt away like snow in the sun.

’It’s working.’

His spirits lifted, and Lin Changheng pushed the Poison Transformation Demon Technique deeper.

Before long, the chaotic and weak life aura inside the Beast Egg began to calm, like a trickling stream, soothed by the cleansing intent of the Poison Transformation Demon Technique.

Another incense stick’s worth of time passed.

Lin Changheng voluntarily withdrew the Demon Technique. He was already reaching his limit.

The technique was ultimately based on Magical Power and supported by his Heart and Spirit. It was delicate work that couldn’t be rushed, and it had left him mentally exhausted and his Magical Power depleted.

The Beast Egg’s condition had stabilized and was no longer worsening.

’Three or four more sessions like this, and I should be able to clear out the remaining poison completely. Then the egg will be good as new and can hatch normally.’

Lin Changheng placed the Beast Egg from the floor back into his Spirit Beast Bag and collapsed onto the bed, his heart filled with satisfaction.

This was a Spirit Beast with a Profound Spirit Bloodline, something that would make even a Foundation Establishment Cultivator’s heart race with desire. And now, it was about to be his.

However, if not for his specific methods that were the perfect antidote, this Beast Egg would have been unsavable by anyone short of a Great Power or an immortal!

’Therefore, this beast is destined to be mine!’

Lin Changheng’s eyes shone.

He then took out the Beast Taming Jade Token, which would be used to form a contract and control the Spirit Beast after it hatched. He inspected and toyed with it for a moment before falling into a deep sleep.

[...]

In the dead of night, the sky was like spilled ink, with only a few faint stars gasping for breath between the clouds.

Lin Changheng awoke on his bed, his spirit refreshed. With a flick of his wrist, he retrieved the newly acquired *Study of the Wild Demonic Spirit Beasts* from his Storage Bag.

According to Shopkeeper Liu, it was compiled by the Liu Family’s Cultivators, who had added to and revised an ancient text.

Even for this text, Lin Changheng had been required to swear an oath not to share its contents.

Lin Changheng immediately opened it and found that it recorded over eight hundred known Demon Beasts and Spirit Beasts from the Wilderness.

Some entries were quite detailed, introducing the beast’s name, appearance, habits, strength, and an evaluation, complete with an illustration to give a glimpse of its form.

Others had only a name and an image with no other information. The evaluation was just a single word: "Flee!"

It was obvious that these were so ferocious that if encountered, there was no other option but to run.

Lin Changheng quickly found the entry for the Fire Crow.

It was extremely detailed, even listing the Demon Skills it possessed.

His brow twitched slightly as he read on—

"Flame Breath" and "Flying Beak Strike." 𝐟𝗿𝐞𝚎𝚠𝐞𝚋𝕟𝐨𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝕔𝕠𝚖

"Fire Control," one of the three major Demon Beast Talents from Treasure Seed Spirit Stealing, was not mentioned.

Lin Changheng thought it over and realized it made sense. After all, Fire Control was not something that could be directly observed with the naked eye, so it would naturally be difficult to record. Its absence was reasonable.

He continued to flip through the entries for several other Demon Beasts to compare.

Lin Changheng came to a conclusion:

The *Study of the Wild Demonic Spirit Beasts* was credible and accurate to a degree, but since it was a "study" compiled by humans, it was normal for it to have omissions and limitations. He had to keep that in mind.

In his past life, even textbooks revised countless times by experts were occasionally found to have errors, let alone a text like this.

’Use it as a reference, but don’t follow it blindly.’

He set his approach.

Then, he went straight to the entry for the Fire-tailed Golden Rat.

Its Muddy Evil Essence Blood was used for refining the Burning Breath Pill, and he could get it from the Xu Family. However, the supply of Wasted Pills was controlled by others, and the quantity was insufficient, so he had held off on Spirit Stealing, afraid of using up a Species Position.

’Now that I have the *Study of the Wild Demonic Spirit Beasts*, I can learn about it first before deciding whether to perform Spirit Stealing.’

Lin Changheng skimmed the entry.

He was slightly surprised.

The Fire-tailed Golden Rat was actually a rat-type Demon Beast with both Gold and Fire Element affinities.

Furthermore, the text clearly recorded three of the Fire-tailed Golden Rat’s Demon Skills:

"Limb Hardening," "Fire Tail Flame Wave," and "Spiritual Tracking"!

They were a Gold Element Demon Skill, a Fire Element Demon Skill, and an innate Demon Skill developed from the rat’s natural habits.

’Not bad at all.’

Lin Changheng gave his assessment.

Although he didn’t know which three Demon Beast Talents his Primordial Cauldron would extract when it performed Spirit Stealing on the Essence Blood, the deviation wouldn’t be too great. At the very least, they would all be useful.

"Limb Hardening" in particular could be used for self-defense and had other ingenious uses as well.

’Now I can perform Spirit Stealing on the Fire-tailed Golden Rat with peace of mind. When I get back to the family, I’ll find that Pill Master and pay whatever price it takes to trade for the task of handling the Wasted Pills.’

’As for a reason... Heh, I’m a Middle Grade Alchemist now. What reason do I need?’

Lin Changheng chuckled, amused at his own excessive caution.

He had been cautious before becoming a Middle Grade Alchemist, but if he stayed that way after, wouldn’t his promotion have been for nothing?

Within the Xu Family’s sphere of influence, as an Honored Guest Elder, he could afford to relax a little.

[...]

「A day later.」

Lin Changheng changed his disguise again, donning his usual black robe and bamboo hat, and paid another visit to the Spirit Fox Beast Pavilion.