Chapter 1016: Bao Wuwu

When Zhang Zhao reached this point, he laughed again:

"Your Guihuanwang is not a pet beast from our Zhitia region, and its talent is extremely high. If you can try to have it absorb this positive energy as well, it will certainly gain something. When that time comes, I hope you can contact me."

This was his true objective.

To be honest, he had seen plenty of regional competition champions, but Qiao Sang was very different. A 17-year-old B-rank Beast Tamer who had suppressed that group of the most talented young Beast Tamers in the Zhongkong region to win the championship—even in all his years, this was his first time seeing such a thing.

Most importantly, she had a Ghost-type pet beast, and it was equally gifted.

A gifted professional Beast Tamer plus a gifted pet beast; if the Guihuanwang could truly absorb that energy, it would certainly be able to attempt it quickly. This would be a tremendous help to his research.

Before the evolutionary path was clearly defined and backed by examples, his thesis would at most be seen and noted by Beast Tamers in the Zhitia region.

Yet, this energy was the easiest for Ghost-type pet beasts outside the Zhitia region to absorb. If Qiao Sang's Guihuanwang could absorb it and successfully evolve, then the vast majority of Beast Tamers in the Dragon Kingdom who owned Ghost-type pet beasts would likely give it a try.

This was the celebrity effect.

High talent doesn't mean it can absorb it; otherwise, with so many Ghost-type pet beasts in the Zhitia region, there would always be some with high talent, so why haven't we seen them absorb it... Qiao Sang muttered to herself, then said seriously:

"If there are any results, I will definitely contact you."

Gangbao silently glanced at its Beast Tamer.

"Haha, good." Zhang Zhao looked at the young girl before him with a beaming smile and asked:

"Is there anything else you'd like to ask?"

"No." Qiao Sang shook her head, not wanting to waste any more time, and stood up:

"Then I won't continue to disturb you."

Having said that, she prepared to leave.

Seeing this, Zhang Zhao was stunned for a moment and hurriedly said:

"Why leave as soon as you've arrived? Since you've come all this way, let me take you on a tour of our research institute."

Qiao Sang felt a stir in her heart: "Would that be too much trouble for you?"

"Not at all." Zhang Zhao smiled: "I was just about to take a break."

Hearing this, Qiao Sang said nothing more and immediately agreed.

Aside from some large-scale pet beast bases, research institutes definitely had the most pet beasts, and some of the pet beasts in research institutes were likely ones you wouldn't normally see outside. She had no reason not to take a look.

Zhang Zhao led Qiao Sang to the area where Ghost-type pet beasts usually spent their time.

At the entrance, one could see the interior was gloomy.

As she stepped inside, the lights suddenly blazed bright.

The interior suddenly opened up, with a pool, trees, bushes, and several pieces of weightlifting equipment on the ground for physical strengthening.

There weren't many Ghost-type pet beasts, just scattered about in various corners.

"There aren't many Ghost-type pet beasts here, either..." Qiao Sang thought to herself, scanning the surrounding pet beasts.

"Clap clap!"

At this moment, Zhang Zhao clapped his hands and said loudly:

"Everyone come out and meet our guest."

The next second, above the pool, in the trees, among the bushes, on the ground, and in mid-air, countless Ghost-type pet beasts appeared densely.

There was even a Ghost-type pet beast only about ten centimeters in size, positioned just 0.5 centimeters away from Qiao Sang's left side, looking her over with curiosity.

Holy crap, so many Ghost-type pet beasts?! Qiao Sang almost shrieked, but fortunately, after training during this period, her mental fortitude had improved significantly, and she quickly restrained herself.

She glanced at the Ghost-type pet beast on her left that was almost face-to-face with her and silently moved to the right.

"How about it? Are there a lot of Ghost-type pet beasts here?" Zhang Zhao said with a smile:

"Besides the Ghost-type pet beasts from the Zhitia region, there are many Ghost-type pet beasts here from other regions."

Qiao Sang remarked with genuine emotion:

"There are more than what I saw at the Ghost Market last night. It feels like you could open a pet beast base on your own."

Zhang Zhao smiled:

"Many of the Ghost-type pet beasts I have here can't be found at pet beast bases."

"Chouchou~"

As soon as he finished speaking, a Ghost-type pet beast wearing a red bow on its head, with a body primarily pink and dark green, petals on its body that were pitted and uneven, extremely small eyes, and a sausage-like mouth, walked past in front of them, pretending to be nonchalant.

So ugly... Qiao Sang couldn't help but mutter to herself.

Zhang Zhao introduced:

"This is the Ugly Night Flower I mentioned earlier." Zhang Zhao introduced.

Qiao Sang was silent for a moment: "It really is much more beautiful than other Ugly Night Flowers."

"Chouchou!"

The Ugly Night Flower raised its head and walked with a confident gait, yet the next second, it suddenly turned back to glare at her, then turned invisible and vanished.

Is it glaring at me? What did I do to it? Qiao Sang was completely bewildered.

Zhang Zhao held his forehead and said:

"It probably didn't receive the emotion of genuine praise and knew you were lying to it."

Qiao Sang: "..."

Zhang Zhao thought of something and said seriously:

"I almost forgot to tell you. Ghost-type pet beasts, besides absorbing that positive energy, can also sense whether the emotions expressed by the other party are genuine. If they are fake, it seems it will affect the energy previously absorbed. This is also one of the reasons why, even after researching for so long, no Ghost-type pet beast has officially evolved."

So the absorbed energy can also be affected; how amazing... If Little Xunbao could really absorb this energy, I wonder what the thing that would make it absorb this energy would be... Qiao Sang looked at Little Xunbao, who had drifted into the middle of the Ghost-type pet beasts and was already playing with them.

"Huanhuan?"

Suddenly, a Ghost-type pet beast about a meter in size, with a body of alternating purple and red, looking like a flower wreath, drifted to Like Ya Bao's side, pointed at the pet beast egg it was holding, and let out a cry.

"Yaya!"

Like Ya Bao protected the pet beast egg, bared its teeth at the wreath-like pet beast, made a fierce expression, and let out a cry.

The wreath-like pet beast's body trembled immediately, showing a fearful expression, then turned invisible and vanished.

"Yaya..."

Like Ya Bao relaxed.

Ring-Eating Ghost, doesn't like to absorb negative emotional energy, but likes to eat food, even food not related to Ghost-types, and especially likes to eat pet beast eggs. It is said that after they lay pet beast eggs, the keepers must immediately separate them from the eggs to prevent them from eating the pet beast eggs... Qiao Sang's mind flashed with the data on that wreath-like pet beast.

Good grief, was that Ring-Eating Ghost just asking if this pet beast egg could be eaten by it...

Zhang Zhao saw this scene, his gaze fell on the pet beast egg, and he asked:

"What is this egg?"

With his experience, he hadn't recognized what pet beast was inside this egg at first glance.

"It's the championship prize from the Zhongkong regional competition." Qiao Sang replied.

Zhang Zhao showed an expression of realization.

He didn't have much interest in pet beasts that weren't Ghost-types, and although he didn't recognize what pet beast was inside this egg, he knew it wasn't a Ghost-type pet beast.

Immediately, he thought of something and asked:

"Are you planning to make it your next pet beast?"

Qiao Sang told the truth: "I haven't considered it yet. I have to wait for it to hatch and see if there's a connection between us."

Zhang Zhao laughed and said:

"If you have plans to contract another pet beast, I actually think there is one pet beast that is very suitable for you."

Next one... I just became a B-rank Beast Tamer, I don't know when I'll contract the next one... Qiao Sang asked:

"What pet beast?"

Zhang Zhao put away his smile and said seriously:

"Spirit-Crossing Cat."

Spirit-Crossing Cat? Qiao Sang was stunned for a moment.

She discovered that with her currently profound knowledge, she actually didn't know what a Spirit-Crossing Cat was.

Zhang Zhao saw that Qiao Sang didn't have any particularly big reaction, suddenly remembered something, and said with a complex expression:

"I almost forgot that you contracted the legendary pet beast from the Zhongkong region, the Qingyin Fairy."

What does this have to do with me contracting Qingbao? Qiao Sang was completely bewildered.

Zhang Zhao continued:

"Spirit-Crossing Cat, a Ghost-type pet beast, said to be able to cross human souls, allowing creatures to be reincarnated into the womb they wish to be in. The species limit is Sovereign-tier."

"Sovereign-tier?" Qiao Sang's voice suddenly rose.

Sovereign-tier, above Emperor-tier, second only to God-tier.

At this moment, she finally understood why the other party had mentioned Qingbao earlier.

She had to admit, after contracting Qingbao, she had become much calmer about these ultra-rare pet beasts.

Zhang Zhao saw Qiao Sang give this reaction and started laughing again:

"That's right, it's Sovereign-tier. A Spirit-Crossing Cat recently appeared in Xihancheng, and many professional Beast Tamers are rushing there. You can go over and try your luck."

Xihancheng? Why is this name so familiar? Qiao Sang recalled in her mind and said in astonishment:

"The Xihancheng of the Ten Great Ghost Cities?"

"Yes, that's the place." Zhang Zhao nodded.

Qiao Sang couldn't help but say:

"Isn't it a Ghost City? Aren't they afraid?"

Zhang Zhao laughed immediately:

"For people from other regions, they might be afraid, but for us in the Zhitia region, a Ghost City isn't anything particularly terrifying. At most, there are a few more Ghost-type pet beasts there, and they like to play a few more pranks."

I suppose you people in the Zhitia region aren't afraid of horror movies either... Qiao Sang muttered to herself, then hesitated:

"I heard that many people go missing in the Ten Great Ghost Cities every year."

Zhang Zhao's smile disappeared, and he said in a deep voice:

"Indeed, I won't hide it from you. The frequency of secret realm rifts appearing in the Ten Great Ghost Cities is higher than in other cities, so the danger coefficient is higher than in other cities."

He glanced at Qiao Sang and continued:

"However, crises are often accompanied by opportunities. Like the Spirit-Crossing Cat that recently appeared in Xihancheng. You are a B-rank Beast Tamer and have a Ghost-type pet beast, so you shouldn't encounter any danger if you go over."

Qiao Sang pondered for a few seconds and said:

"A Sovereign-tier pet beast is indeed very attractive to me, but I want to contract pet beasts of different attributes."

Meaning the Spirit-Crossing Cat's attributes overlap with Little Xunbao's.

Zhang Zhao fell silent.

Seeing this, Qiao Sang asked:

"You seem to have something you want to say."

Zhang Zhao looked at Qiao Sang:

"Actually, I have a pet beast here that came out of a secret realm rift in Xihancheng. I have inquired about the trend of the secret realm rifts there; in two days, multiple secret realm rifts will erupt. I was thinking that if you were to go, you could help me take that pet beast along."

Take it along? Qiao Sang probed:

"Does that pet beast want to return to the secret realm?"

Zhang Zhao nodded slightly: "It has had a poor appetite for a long time. I have twice entrusted people to take it to Xihancheng, but they never found the secret realm it originally came out of, so others brought it back to me. I originally thought that if you were going, you could take it to look for it again."

After a pause, he added:

"It's called Bao Wuwu, and it can sense unusual auras. It is very easy to find treasures and rare pet beasts."

When he said the last sentence, he glanced at Qiao Sang.

If the other party was interested in the Spirit-Crossing Cat, then taking Bao Wuwu along would be killing two birds with one stone.

It was a pity the other party wasn't interested.

Zhang Zhao wasn't particularly disappointed.

Qiao Sang's visit itself was an accident. What he most wanted to complete was his research. Even if the other party didn't go to Xihancheng, he could ask someone else to take Bao Wuwu over.

Just as Zhang Zhao was preparing to introduce some more Ghost-type pet beasts, Qiao Sang said:

"Can I see that Bao Wuwu?"

Zhang Zhao was stunned for a moment and smiled:

"Of course."

He didn't call out directly as he did for the other pet beasts, but brought Qiao Sang to a corner, seemingly certain that Bao Wuwu was right there.

"That's it." Zhang Zhao pointed to the pet beast curled into a ball in the corner and said.

Qiao Sang looked in the direction he pointed.

The pet beast with its eyes closed was about twenty centimeters in size, its limbs were very thin, its skin was pink, its head was large, its mouth revealed two fangs, and it wore a hat on its head similar to the ones only witches in movies have.

In front of it was a whole bowl of energy pills, as well as a pile of tree fruits that Ghost-type pet beasts eat, looking as if they hadn't been touched.

Zhang Zhao introduced the situation:

"This Bao Wuwu was sent to me by someone a year ago. I happened to be lacking Ghost-type pet beasts to research how to absorb positive emotional energy, so I kept it. It has always been very quiet. Later, after I got to know it, I learned that it wanted to return to the secret realm."

"Later, after two failed experiences going to Xihancheng, it became like this. It only eats one meal a day. Now, its weight is a full half smaller than a normal Bao Wuwu of the same age."

Qiao Sang looked at the Bao Wuwu with its eyes closed before her and inexplicably thought of the former Qiyunla.

She was silent for a few seconds and said:

"Is it multiple secret realm rifts erupting in two days?"

Zhang Zhao was stunned for a moment, then his eyes lit up, and he nodded:

"That's right."

Mingzhuhua won't arrive until nine days later. If I go to Xihancheng and take Bao Wuwu to look, it should still be in time... Thinking of this, Qiao Sang said with a smile:

"I had heard of the Ten Great Ghost Cities before I even became a Beast Tamer. Since I've finally come here, I might as well go and see it. It can be considered checking in at a famous local attraction. I'll take Bao Wuwu along."

"Good! Good!" Zhang Zhao smiled brilliantly, and his impression of Qiao Sang shot up.

He was over a hundred years old; how could he not see that the other party had changed her mind because of Bao Wuwu.

"Bao Wuwu, aren't you going to get up?" Zhang Zhao said.

"Wuwu!" Bao Wuwu opened its eyes and floated up at once.

Its eyes were exceptionally bright; there was no sign of decadence or listlessness at all.

Qiao Sang: "???"

Zhang Zhao coughed and explained:

"It does have a poor appetite and its mental state isn't good, but every time it sets off for Xihancheng, it becomes especially spirited."

"Wuwu!"

Bao Wuwu nodded.

That's right, that's right!

Qiao Sang: "..."