Chapter 38: Beast Companion Contract Array

“Huh......”

Cang Luo exhaled a thick, blood-red turbid gas, completing the forty-second circuit of the first layer of the Annihilating Body Divine Art.

At the same time, a portion of the demonic core deposited within his body had been digested.

At this rate, he could complete the first layer of the Annihilating Body Divine Art in three more days.

Since arriving in the Demon Beast Forest to train, Cang Luo had continuously uncovered numerous capabilities of the satellite.

Infinite Qi, healing, dynamic tracking—each one was a god-tier cheat!

Cang Luo should have been delighted, yet he couldn’t smile, because the content of that anonymous text message had been pressing on his chest, suffocating him.

After Xuantian Sect arrived on Earth, they would surely discover that his phone could connect to Earth’s network—then he would be dead for certain.

Even a fool could deduce that he was secretly sending intelligence to Earth to profit from others’ struggles; faced with a spy, they would never let him live in peace.

Cang Luo had considered asking Earth’s nations to keep his secret, but not only would secrets eventually leak out.

Take Chen Da—he might betray him; China’s hostile factions would too.

Moreover, Elder Xuan and the others had already seen what his phone looked like; if they spotted one on Earth, they’d instantly connect the dots.

“Sigh! No solution! Whatever, when the boat reaches the bridge, the path will appear...”

Cang Luo sighed, forcing himself to stop thinking about it.

At that moment, the video had finished uploading, and the three million magnesium yuan in labor fees had been received; Cang Luo immediately transferred the money to his cousin Yang Yongshan.

Cang Luo now truly regarded Earth’s money as worthless, his eyes fixed only on cultivation and things related to it.

Demon beasts, demonic cores, elixirs, spiritual herbs, and Qi stones, and so on.

Suddenly, Cang Luo saw someone @ him in the WeChat group—it was John Smith, the Eden Park manager.

But whether it was truly him was uncertain; after all, a department head couldn’t be glued to his phone all day, could he?

He wrote in the group: “Cang, based on our analysis, the reason your demonic core absorption rate has slowed is likely your body has developed resistance to them.”

“There are two solutions: one is to consume second-rank or higher demonic cores; the other is what you mentioned—refining them into elixirs...”

After reading this, Cang Luo was slightly surprised—they’d deduced the cause so quickly, yet he’d never mentioned resistance to them.

But he could understand; after all, they controlled a nation’s resources and had countless researchers—figuring this out wasn’t hard.

Second-rank or higher demonic cores? Are you asking me to go kill myself?

Refine them into elixirs?

Cang Luo had considered it, but didn’t know the cost—he’d have to return and ask, see if he could substitute demonic cores; he had not a single silver tael to his name!

Others in the group also agreed with John Smith’s assessment and demanded more detailed data from Cang Luo.

For example, what differences existed in energy between demonic cores from different first-rank demon beasts, or between those of different elemental affinities?

How much Qi could they convert? How many Qi wheels could they form? Could they enhance Qi awareness?

Facing all these demands from global elites, Cang Luo replied with only two words: No time

He didn’t even bother with punctuation; the once lively WeChat group fell silent. Some global elites, glued to their phones, stared at his reply, speechless with rage, unable to vent their fury.

When had these high-ranking global elites ever been so rudely refused—especially by a commoner?

If Cang Luo were on Earth, they had a thousand ways to make him vanish without a trace.

But unfortunately, Cang Luo wasn’t on Earth—he was in another world, and they had almost no power over him.

Not only could they not touch him, they had to coddle him—who else was the sole transmigrator?

Cang Luo snorted, about to put away his phone, when Li Weiguo suddenly messaged: “Little Cang, aren’t martial artists supposed to subdue demon beasts as beast companions? Why don’t you capture one?”

“With a beast companion’s help, you might even kill a second-rank demon beast; even if you can’t, it’ll boost your efficiency against first-rank ones—overwhelm them with numbers.”

Cang Luo immediately shut his screen, too lazy to reply. Haven’t I told you all that martial warriors aren’t suited to summon beast companions?

Summoning a beast companion consumes massive Qi, and martial warriors have minimal Qi reserves—after summoning, they’d have none left to fight, let alone recall or nurture the beast.

Thus, typically only martial generals or higher can subdue beast companions, using them as mounts or auxiliary combatants.

Cang Luo put away his phone, reconnected the satellite camera, and resumed searching for lone first-rank demon beasts.

To reach martial general rank sooner, he needed to kill more demon beasts, gather demonic cores, exchange them for elixirs and Qi stones, and ascend as quickly as possible to subdue a beast companion.

Cang Luo desperately wanted a beast companion—preferably a flying one...

As he thought, he suddenly froze.

“Wait—I have infinite Qi! The Qi consumed to summon a beast companion would instantly replenish, right?”

Cang Luo cursed himself for being an idiot, then broke into a grin.

“Why didn’t I think of this sooner? If I’d had a beast companion from the start, I wouldn’t have had to be so cautious.”

For the past half-month, Cang Luo had only fought weak demon beasts, avoiding stronger ones entirely—otherwise, he wouldn’t have killed only twenty-five.

The more he thought, the more excited he became, but then he frowned—he remembered a critical problem.

How do you subdue a demon beast?

Xuan Qingqing had only told him that subduing a demon beast required sacrificing an organ—she never explained the details.

How exactly do you sacrifice?

Does the demon beast need to be dead or alive?

Thinking of these, Cang Luo decided to return to Xuantian Sect and ask Zang Feng and the others.

Two hours later, Cang Luo stepped out of the Demon Beast Forest.

But he didn’t head straight back to Xuantian Sect; instead, he went to the camp to check if his tent had been taken by Zang Feng and the others—it held spare clothes, and he planned to change before returning.

Cang Luo hadn’t bathed in half a month; his body reeked, his beard was unkempt, and his clothes were filthy and torn.

The camp remained unchanged—still a group of Xuantian Sect disciples resting, chatting, or setting up stalls.

“Come take a look! Come take a look! Freshly slain second-rank demon beast, Fiery Hare! Eat it to boost virility! Only ten lower-grade Qi stones!”

“Don’t miss out! Second-rank spiritual herb, Sulfur Grass! Only one lower-grade Qi stone! Buy more, get a discount!”

“High price for first-rank, second-rank, third-rank demonic cores—bulk discounts! Also selling Beast Companion Contract Array...”

Hearing this shout, Cang Luo abruptly stopped.

Beast Companion Contract Array? Could this be used to subdue demon beasts?

Cang Luo’s eyes lit up, and he strode quickly toward the stall hawking demonic cores and the Beast Companion Contract Array.

Cang Luo addressed the fat stall owner: “Brother, is the Beast Companion Contract Array used to subdue demon beasts?”

Seeing a customer, the fat stall owner sized up Cang Luo—he saw his battered state and knew he’d just returned from the Demon Beast Forest.

Moreover, he noticed Cang Luo carried a pack.

That meant Cang Luo had gains—and thus purchasing power.

The fat stall owner grinned: “Correct! You just returned from the Demon Beast Forest, didn’t you? You look badly injured.”

“Ah, you lack a powerful beast companion! Come, come—Brother here sells Beast Companion Contract Arrays!”

He pulled from behind his tent a dark-brown leather scroll, unrolled to roughly the size of an A4 sheet.

He pointed to the intricate array patterns on the leather: “Still warm—genuine article, no fraud! Only six lower-grade Qi stones.”

“So expensive?”

Cang Luo blurted out. Though he didn’t know if this price was truly high or standard, he’d shout first—raising his voice was the foundation of haggling.

“Expensive?” The fat stall owner’s smile vanished instantly. “The Zhubao Pavilion sells it for five lower-grade Qi stones—I carried it all the way here and charge one extra? What’s wrong with that?”

“Don’t I deserve a profit? If you won’t buy, others will—how many people come to the Demon Beast Forest daily to subdue demon beasts? How many of them forgot their Beast Companion Contract Arrays or had them damaged?”

“Uh...” Cang Luo chuckled awkwardly.

Cang Luo realized—if true, it wasn’t expensive. Where there’s demand, there’s supply; if you think it’s too pricey, don’t buy.

Cang Luo thought it over, decided to buy now—but he had no money. So he asked: “How much for a first-rank demonic core?”

The fat stall owner replied coolly: “First-rank demonic core: one lower-grade Qi stone. Second-rank: five. Third-rank: twenty-five. Market price.”

Cang Luo understood: demonic core prices, in lower-grade Qi stones, followed a fivefold multiplier per rank—first-rank equaled one, each higher rank multiplied by five.

He also exhaled in relief—he had thirteen demonic cores, worth thirteen lower-grade Qi stones.

One lower-grade Qi stone equaled ten silver taels; thirteen meant one hundred thirty taels—roughly twenty-six thousand RMB by Earth’s silver price.

One low-grade Qi stone equals ten taels of silver; thirteen stones amount to one hundred and thirty taels, which, based on Earth’s silver price, is roughly twenty-six thousand RMB.

Cang Luo’s heart soared. Martial artists in this world made money fast—why bother working a job? Just hang out in the Demon Beast Forest.

Based on his half-month haul, he could kill at least fifty first-rank demon beasts monthly—that’s over a hundred thousand RMB...

Uh... why so little? Less than what he made from selling videos.

Hmm? Cang Luo suddenly had a flash of insight.

After returning to Earth, if he exchanged Earth money for silver, brought it to the Yuanwu Continent, and bought Qi stones—wouldn’t he have endless cultivation resources?

Thinking of this, Cang Luo couldn’t help but grin. Earth’s money wasn’t useless after all!

This was a way to get rich—on both Earth and the Yuanwu Continent.

Trade Yuanwu Continent intelligence for Earth money, invest that money to generate more—this was already underway; his cousin Yang Yongshan was starting companies, factories, real estate.

Then, once the teleportation array opened, use Earth money to buy silver, bring it to the Yuanwu Continent, and purchase Qi stones and other cultivation resources.

Finally, bring these exotic goods back to Earth, sell them for silver, pocket the profit—repeat endlessly. Wasn’t this interdimensional arbitrage?

But one prerequisite: he had to survive. Thinking of this, Cang Luo smiled bitterly.

“Hey, what are you grinning at? If you’re not buying, get out of the way—you’re blocking my business!” The fat stall owner glared at Cang Luo, his jowls quivering as he spoke.

“Hey, what’re you grinning at? If you’re not buying, get out of the way—don’t block me from doing business.” The fat vendor glared at Cang Luo, his facial fat quivering with every word.

Cang Luo snapped out of his future fantasy, pulled out six first-rank demonic cores, and handed them over—offering them in exchange for the Beast Companion Contract Array.

The fat stall owner took the demonic cores, weighed them in his palm, then released a sliver of Qi awareness to inspect them carefully.

The fat vendor took Cang Luo’s demon core, weighed it in his hand, and released a trace of Nascent Soul awareness to examine it closely.

After checking, he said, “Quality’s decent—just killed, right?”

Without waiting for Cang Luo’s reply, he tucked the core away and casually handed him a leather scroll inscribed with a beast bond array.

Cang Luo took the scroll happily, cradling it in his arms, feeling the faint Yuan force within, and nodded in satisfaction.

“Yeah, all hunted these past few days. By the way, Senior Brother, how do you use this array?”

“You don’t know?”

The fat vendor, seeing Cang Luo didn’t even know this, guessed he’d only recently become an outer disciple.

He rolled his eyes, reached behind him, and pulled out a pale yellow book. “Here, it’s all written in here. You look clueless—I’ll sell you this book cheap. Just one beast core.”

Cang Luo frowned, deeply annoyed.

Damn! You could’ve just told me in one sentence—now you’re trying to sell me a book? Do I look that gullible?

Annoyed as he was, he still took the book—better to take a look first.

“Basic Array Theory?”

The title instantly sparked his interest—he remembered Elder Xuan’s mention of the teleportation array, and this “Basic Array Theory” might hold some clues.

Still, he didn’t expect much—just wanted to get a general idea.

Even Elder Xuan, with his Wu Di cultivation base, was still studying it—the teleportation array to Earth wouldn’t be completed until next year at the earliest.

How could Cang Luo possibly succeed?

Besides, this was only basic theory—there must be advanced array teachings beyond it.

Cang Luo promptly pulled out a beast core and handed it to the fat merchant, then headed straight for his tent without lingering.

The sky was growing dark.

He wouldn’t return to Xuantian Sect—he planned to sleep well tonight and enter the Beast Forest tomorrow to find a suitable beast as a companion.

With the satellite’s help, Cang Luo quickly found the tent he’d set up half a month ago.

Only one remained—the other had likely been taken by Zhan Feng and the others.

The tent was covered in leaves, weeds, and dust; Cang Luo cleaned it slightly before stepping inside.

Inside, he immediately spotted his pack—containing a change of clothes and some dried rations, though the rations were surely inedible.

“Better change clothes—I’ve never worn one outfit this long...”

Cang Luo muttered happily, reaching for the pack to open it—but the pack suddenly burst open, spilling his blue robe and rations onto the ground.

“Loose tie... or did someone tamper with it?”

Cang Luo frowned slightly, gathered the rations and clothes, and carefully scanned the tent’s interior—soon spotting faint footprints on the floor.

He shook his head, dismissing it—he’d become overly cautious from fighting beasts in the forest. These were probably Li Zhanxing’s footprints from packing up.

After changing clothes, Cang Luo eagerly pulled out “Basic Array Theory” and began reading intently...