Delving into the path of formations, time counted for nothing.  

Li Pingcan studied the “Mysterious Tracking Formation” from the Five Elements Profound Formation manual over and over again, dozens of times, until every rune’s trajectory and every node’s transformation were deeply ingrained in his mind.  

He did not rush to set out immediately but first repeatedly practiced setting up the formation deep in his family’s peach orchard. The discarded formation diagrams piled up to half a person’s height.  

On this day.  

Inside the miniature Mysterious Tracking Formation, Xiao Ke carried food and spun around in confusion, unable to escape the three-foot square area within the formation. Only then did Li Pingcan nod with satisfaction.  

“It’s time to search for Spirit Mountain.”  

In an instant, a majestic golden eagle spread its wings, piercing through clouds and fog.  

When that familiar, rolling mountain range reappeared in his view, his mood surged with excitement.  

He did not rush in recklessly but circled the approximate area of Spirit Mountain remembered from memory. Transforming into a nightingale, he flew low, carefully sensing.  

The mulberry leaf in his hand warmed slightly, guiding him toward a vague direction.  

“This is it.”  

Before him was an ordinary dense forest, overgrown with weeds, no different from other places. But to the eyes of a formation master, the scene was entirely different.  

In the air, invisible pale white energy streams flowed slowly, weaving a net that enveloped the entire area. They intertwined, cycling repeatedly, forming a vast, intangible force field.  

This was Spirit Mountain’s protective formation, a naturally formed mist formation.  

“As expected, it’s profound. It actually manipulates the spirit mist, merging with the mountains and rivers, combining with the earth veins to form a natural illusion formation. No wonder I couldn’t see through it before!”  

Li Pingcan silently praised.  

Without the formation manual in hand, no matter how high his cultivation was, he wouldn’t have found the entrance.  

Once the secret was found, everything became clear.  

He took a deep breath, no longer hesitating.  

His divine sense spread like flowing mercury, carefully probing the formation’s movement patterns. His mind worked rapidly, cross-referencing the scene before him with the “Mysterious Tracking Formation” diagram in his head.  

He did not forcefully break the formation but followed the formation’s weak points. Like a fish swimming into water, his figure floated, each step precisely landing on a specific node in the formation’s energy flow, silent and stealthy, blending into the chaos.  

As he advanced deeper into the formation, the thick mist seemed torn apart by an invisible giant hand, revealing a narrow, quiet path only wide enough for one person.  

On both sides of the path, the swirling mist persisted, but the path itself was crystal clear, leading straight toward the vibrant Spirit Mountain in the distance.  

Li Pingcan did not dare to delay and stepped forward.  

Behind him, the path instantly sealed as he entered, the thick mist enveloping again, as if nothing had happened.  

“Spirit Mountain is still the most comfortable!”  

Li Pingcan took a deep breath. The spiritual energy here was countless times richer than outside, refreshing his mind and soothing his heart.  

He flapped his wings and flew toward the treasure-seeking bees’ resting place.  

“Venerable Nightingale, you’re here!” Unexpectedly, as he approached, a delighted tiger roar echoed from afar.  

Soon after, the figures of the bear, ape, and crane appeared one after another, the four spirit beasts’ faces showing human-like joy and excitement.  

“We’ve been waiting here for a long time.”  

The nightingale landed on Tiger Elder’s head and smiled, “It’s been months; the comrades still look as vigorous as ever.”  

He could feel the four spirits’ genuine happiness, warming his heart. Spirit beasts were pure, grateful, and loyal.  

“Venerable One, we’ve carefully guarded the items you entrusted to us.” White Crane waved its wings, pointing to a large tree not far away.  

Inside the tree hollow, neatly arranged were Li Pingcan’s notes, cultivation methods, and weapons left behind.  

On the other side, two treasure-seeking bees were lazily fluttering their wings on a honeybee hive they had taken by force.  

Seeing Li Pingcan, they excitedly flew over and affectionately rubbed against his feathers. Clearly, living in Spirit Mountain’s rich spiritual energy was very comfortable for them.  

The treasure-seeking bees shared the “treasure maps” they had collected over the past months through telepathic sharing, passing them all to Li Pingcan.  

The maps marked dozens of light points, some strong, some weak, all locations of precious plants and fruits.  

As for spiritual fruits? They were rare and could only be encountered by chance!  

“Thank you all for your hard work.” Li Pingcan nodded with satisfaction.  

The urgent task today was treasure hunting. He eagerly prepared to seek the light points found by the bees, excitedly parting ways with the Five Spirits for the time being.  

The nightingale flapped its wings and walked along with the treasure-seeking bees.  

Suddenly,  

A purple-red, crystal-clear fruit exuding intense life energy slowly floated down from the sky.  

The fruit was only about the size of a baby’s fist, but its surface shimmered with flowing light. A fragrant scent wafted, inhaling it made one feel refreshed and completely comfortable.  

“Mulberry Spirit Fruit?”  

“For me?”  

From the Five Spirits, he learned that there was a thousand-year-old mulberry tree here. Previously, the possessed young deer was guided by the old mulberry tree to find them.  

Li Pingcan felt both puzzled and delighted. This was a real surprise.  

He could sense that the spiritual energy contained in the Mulberry Spirit Fruit was purer and more concentrated than all the precious fruits he had eaten before combined!  

Flapping his wings, he flew forward and steadily caught the Mulberry Spirit Fruit in his claw.  

However, before he could savor the joy, a strange, faintly sweet and greasy fragrance suddenly blew from deep within the forest.  

A soft and alluring female voice that seemed to drip water sounded:  

“Venerable Immortal Celestial~”  

Before the voice finished, a female nightingale with seven-colored radiant feathers gracefully flew out from the forest.  

Her eyes were like autumn waters filled with waves. As she moved, her waist swayed, colorful ribbons fluttered, and every step seemed to tremble the heart’s tip.  

She did not directly ask but looked at the nightingale pitifully with watery eyes. That gaze could soften even the hardest-hearted male nightingale.  

Her voice was so soft it seemed fragile enough to crumble bird bones. Li Pingcan paused and asked, “Calling me?”  

The female nightingale chuckled softly, “Venerable Immortal, this girl is lost here, hungry and thirsty in her belly. I wonder if you could kindly gift me the spiritual fruit in your hand to quench my thirst?”  

After speaking, her charming eyes stared fixedly at Li Pingcan. As her gaze shifted, an invisible charm quietly spread.  

“You want the Mulberry Spirit Fruit?”  

“Yes, yes!” The female nightingale eagerly nodded, feathers trembling, excited expression flashing a determined look in her eyes.  

“No Mulberry Spirit Fruit here,” Li Pingcan smiled, “How about some roasted bird?”  

The female nightingale was stunned. This warm-mouthed bird actually spoke such cold and cruel words.  

Realizing the situation was bad, she tried to retreat but saw the nightingale’s figure flicker, appearing behind her like a ghost.  

Li Pingcan had never been tempted. Ridiculous. If it were a human woman, maybe, but a novice bird? Cross-species romance had reproductive isolation; he wasn’t some tragic wind emperor.  

The innate physical power of his Postnatal Realm body suddenly exploded. The nightingale’s figure was as fast as lightning, striking first with a heavy blow.  

“You!”  

The female nightingale was terrified, trying to pull back but found the opponent’s claws as strong as iron clamps, with immense strength.  

She cried out in pain. Her illusions could no longer be maintained and, amid dazzling light, transformed into a large, colorful heavenly bird dragging a long, gorgeous tail.  

This was a spirit beast, a Blissful Bird specializing in illusion.  

The Blissful Bird shrieked in pain, its other wing transforming into a blade, glinting coldly as it slashed toward the nightingale’s head.  

Li Pingcan neither dodged nor evaded. He wanted to test the strength of his Postnatal Realm physical body. Activating the Five Spirit Play technique, he advanced instead of retreating. The two collided, producing a clang of metal striking metal!  

“Such tough bones!”  

The Blissful Bird’s wing tingled slightly; it was shocked that its wings, as strong as divine weapons, couldn’t break through his defense!  

Seeing the situation was bad, it swept its long tail, whipping up a fierce wind, ready to fly away.  

“Trying to run now? Too late!”  

Li Pingcan was unwilling to let it escape. The Transform Beast into Friend spell instantly activated!  

A peaceful and irresistible mental force forcibly enveloped the Blissful Bird.  

The Blissful Bird wanted to resist but felt the force was not meant to harm it but to soothe a frightened child. Its struggling paused; the ferocity in its eyes faded, replaced by confusion and closeness.  

Taking advantage of this, Li Pingcan rushed forward and quickly subdued it.  

“How dare you touch my fruit! You’re in for it now!”  

Li Pingcan pressed the Blissful Bird down, eyes lighting up as he looked at its gorgeous tail feathers.  

“These feathers have good color, long and smooth. Plucking them might make excellent formation flags. If not, selling the feathers to noble families would fetch a good price!”  

Muttering to himself, he reached out and grabbed the longest and most beautiful tail feather.  

“What!?”  

In a breath, the Blissful Bird was regaining consciousness and stiffened when hearing Li Pingcan’s words, seemingly unable to believe its ears.  

It was the most beauty-loving spirit beast of Spirit Mountain, proudest of its feathers!  

This bird immortal was actually… actually going to pluck its feathers?  

Better to die than suffer humiliation!  

It struggled violently, screaming in grief and anger.  

But its body was firmly pressed down, mysterious thorns spread its wings and claws apart, making its resistance weak and fragile.  

“Hey, don’t move! I’m skilled, I promise it won’t hurt!”  

“What if I pluck the wrong one if you move?”  

Li Pingcan soothed while his hands moved swiftly. With a snap, a colorful tail feather was neatly plucked off.  

“Shu, shu, shu!!!”  

The Blissful Bird emitted a scream like a slaughtered pig, large tears rolling down its eyes. It felt its dignity and beauty leaving with that feather.  

Li Pingcan, however, felt as if he had discovered a new world. Holding the feather in sunlight, he examined it: “Hey, the quality’s really good, even has a faint fragrance. Hmm, this one’s pretty, and this one…”  

“Snap!”  

“Snap!”  

Amid the Blissful Bird’s increasingly pitiful screams, Li Pingcan’s skilled hands worked like an experienced farmer pulling carrots.  

In no time, the Blissful Bird’s proud, gorgeous tail display became bare, with only a few crooked, messy feathers left fluttering in the wind.  

The naked Blissful Bird lay on the ground, trembling uncontrollably, eyes vacant, utterly hopeless, like a drenched chicken stripped of all feathers.  

It “loo loo loo”ed in tears.  

Venerable Nightingale, so… so cruel!  

After signing a hundred unequal treaties, Li Pingcan was satisfied and let the Blissful Bird go.  

He was not merciful but considerate of the spirit beasts’ feelings here. After living together on Spirit Mountain for many years, no one knew who was whose friend or mate; relationships were complicated. Offending someone would not be good.  

He came to Spirit Mountain only to cultivate peacefully and keep a low profile.  

Besides, spirit beast cultivation was not easy. Plucking the Blissful Bird’s feathers was a harsh lesson it wouldn’t forget in this life.  

...  

Finding a secluded cave, Li Pingcan unapologetically stored the colorful feathers in his storage bag and then took out the Mulberry Spirit Fruit.  

He no longer hesitated and bit down.  

The peel was extremely thin, breaking instantly upon entry. In a moment, an indescribable sweetness and fragrance exploded in his mouth, classic melt-in-the-mouth sensation.  

Boom!  

Li Pingcan felt his dantian ignite like a volcano. The accumulated spiritual energy merged with this life force, and the Earth God Refining Qi Technique operated by itself, accelerating more than tenfold.  

The originally trickling magic power now surged like a roaring river, furiously scouring and expanding his meridians.  

“Hu...”  

Li Pingcan exhaled a long breath of turbid air; the breath arrow lingered in the air like frost. Opening his eyes, he felt refreshed and bright, his whole body filled with unprecedented strength.  

“What a Mulberry Spirit Fruit! It saved me months of hard cultivation!”  

Feeling the abundant magic power inside, his heart filled with joy.  

After stabilizing his cultivation, he wasted no time and summoned the treasure-seeking bees to start treasure hunting in Spirit Mountain.  

Only treasures in hand were true treasures!  

With the bees’ “living map,” his efficiency was very high.  

“Thirty zhang southwest, a single Red Flame Grass, fire-attribute precious herb, seventy years old.”  

“Fifty zhang due north, three Clear Spirit Fruits, water-attribute precious fruits, calm and concentrate.”  

Along the way, various precious plants and fruits rare in the outside world were successively collected. Spirit Mountain’s wealth exceeded his imagination.  

That day, he followed the bees to a deep valley.  

Before he could approach, two deafening roars erupted from within the valley, followed by violent shaking of the earth.  

Li Pingcan’s heart stirred; he quickly concealed his aura and quietly flew behind a rock above the valley, peeking out.  

In the valley, two enormous beasts were fiercely battling.  

One was a beast covered entirely in black scales, shaped like a pangolin, but with a single horn on its head. For now, it was called the “Black Armored Earth Dragon.” Each charge carried immense force, smashing deep pits into the ground and shattering rocks.  

The other was a slightly smaller but agile blue wolf, surrounded by flickering electric light. Every leap and pounce was as fast as lightning, its sharp claws scratching sparks on the Black Armored Earth Dragon’s scales.  

“This is a treasure beast fight! And their attributes counter each other!”  

Li Pingcan watched with interest, like a frontline spectator.  

“The Black Armored Earth Dragon’s defense is amazing; it’s an earth-attribute treasure beast with thick skin and flesh. The Blue Electric Wolf is fast, with attacks causing paralysis, a lightning attribute that counters the earth’s sluggishness. This is going to be a good show!”  

He analyzed while planning in his mind. The two treasure beasts were evenly matched, apparently fighting to the death for a treasure deep in the valley.  

The battle grew more intense. The Black Armored Earth Dragon roared, its horn suddenly glowing a soil-yellow light. The valley floor began to bulge, forming sharp earth spikes stabbing toward the Blue Electric Wolf.  

The Blue Electric Wolf howled loudly, advancing instead of retreating. Its electric light flared, transforming into a blue thunderbolt, forcibly breaking through the earth spike formation, biting the Black Armored Earth Dragon’s neck!  

“Clang!”  

The Black Armored Earth Dragon howled in pain, violently shaking its body and slamming the Blue Electric Wolf against a rock wall. The Blue Electric Wolf was dazed, spitting blood, but bit tightly, refusing to let go.  

“Both wounded, the time has come!”  

Li Pingcan’s spirit surged. Damn, this was the moment!  

He no longer hid and burst forward. His Postnatal Realm physical power and Refining Qi layer magic power were both pushed to the limit!  

He did not choose to attack either side first but used his water and earth techniques to create a swamp beneath the beasts’ feet.  

The two already severely injured treasure beasts were briefly confused and disoriented.  

Taking this chance, Li Pingcan descended like a fierce tiger, his wings slashing like blades, targeting the necks of both beasts!  

In an instant, blood gushed out!  

Moments later, calm returned to the valley.  

Li Pingcan stood beside the two giant treasure beasts, exhaling deeply, his face filled with the joy of reaping benefits from others’ fights.  

“Heh, killing two birds with one stone. This was worth it!”  

He skillfully began processing the spoils. The indestructible scales, the wolf skin imbued with lightning power, and various attribute beast blood were valuable treasures, useful not only for crafting divine weapons but also excellent materials for formation arrays.  

Loaded with bounty, Li Pingcan returned to the Five Spirit Beasts’ habitat.  

When he laid out the treasure pills from the Black Armored Earth Dragon and Blue Electric Wolf, along with some rare materials, even the experienced Five Spirits gasped.  

“Venerable Nightingale, have you… have you shaken Spirit Mountain itself?” the Spirit Bear stammered.  

The nightingale form of Li Pingcan smiled, “Just a modest harvest. I came today to propose a deal to you.”  

He expressed his wish to find a quiet place in Spirit Mountain for long-term secluded cultivation and hoped the Five Spirits could accommodate this. The treasure beast materials would serve as his “rent.”  

Hearing this, the Five Spirits exchanged looks and all readily agreed.  

“Venerable One, you jest. We could never accept your gifts. Having you reside on Spirit Mountain is our honor!”  

Tiger Elder said, “Deep within Spirit Mountain lies ‘Listening Wind Cliff,’ a place rarely visited by humans or cultivators. It suits your cultivation well. The spiritual energy there is pure and tranquil, perfect for quiet cultivation. At dawn, you can see the first ray of purple energy. From today on, it is yours!”  

Secluded, peaceful, rich in spiritual energy, exactly what Li Pingcan wanted.  

“Then, thank you all very much.”  

He insisted on giving the “rent” to the Five Spirits.  

Even though spirit beasts were pure, he could not let others take advantage of him. Genuine sincerity could only be exchanged with genuine sincerity. This was the most precious lesson he had learned dealing with spirit beasts.  

“Who would have thought I’d have my own ‘cave residence’ now.”  

Li Pingcan’s heart surged with excitement and joy.  

With this “cave residence,” he could calmly set up Spirit Gathering Formations on Spirit Mountain without worrying about scarce spiritual energy anymore.