The white crane led the way, with Yuan Liang following behind, eager to select his Spirit Beast.
The white crane, Elder Huo's Spirit Beast, was guiding Yuan Liang.
"From now on, we're like family," said the crane kindly.
The place to select Spirit Beasts was located at the foot of the mountain.
This trek had exhausted Yuan Liang.
With the white crane leading him, Yuan Liang finally arrived at a small house.
"I'll first take you to see the Unihorned Silkworm. The other Spirit Beasts are on different peaks, which may be quite far," the crane said.
Yuan Liang nearly stumbled in surprise; he thought all the Spirit Beasts were gathered here and didn't expect he'd need to walk further.
"No need," Yuan Liang replied quickly, shaking his head. "I think the Unihorned Silkworm suits me perfectly—I'm a homebody anyway."
As he pushed open the wooden door, Yuan Liang's eyes were immediately drawn to countless white threads.
Inside the room, a young man noticed the white crane and greeted it with respect, "Elder."
"Please help him select a Unihorned Silkworm. I have other matters to attend to," said the crane, hastily flying out.
Yuan Liang was surprised to recognize the young man before him—it was Xu Hong.
Xu Hong nodded with a smile.
After exchanging a few pleasantries, Xu Hong spoke.
"This is where the Sect produces silk. Everyone here, from elders to disciples, wears robes made from the silk produced here."
The room was filled with shelves.
Each shelf held a variety of silkworms.
"Senior Brother Xu, do you have any recommendations?" Yuan Liang asked, overwhelmed by the choices.
"Most of the silkworms here are quite similar, but there's one Unihorned Silkworm that's rather unique," Xu Hong said.
Yuan Liang's interest was piqued. "What's different about it?"
"That Unihorned Silkworm has stubbornly refused to spin a cocoon and transform into a butterfly."
"Why?"
"Maybe it's just too lazy," Xu Hong replied with a helpless shake of his head.
Yuan Liang quickly spotted the Unihorned Silkworm.
At that moment, it was leisurely munching on mulberry leaves.
Upon noticing Yuan Liang's presence, it lifted its head.
Their eyes met.
"It's just a regular silkworm," Yuan Liang muttered, frowning.
"A regular silkworm? That's a dragon!" Xu Hong replied with a serious face.
"Huh? Senior Brother Xu, you can't be serious. How could a silkworm possibly be related to a dragon?"
"Legend has it that the first elder of the Beast Taming Faction also had a Unihorned Silkworm as his first Spirit Beast."
"The elder's Unihorned Silkworm awakened its bloodline, becoming the Void-Horned Undying Dragon. It was with this dragon's power that the elder joined the Great Love Sect, establishing what would later become the Beast Taming Faction."
Xu Hong's story left Yuan Liang dumbfounded.
"Then why are there so many silkworms left here unchosen?"
"Ah, awakening a bloodline is exceedingly difficult," Xu Hong sighed.
The Unihorned Silkworm's dark eyes observed Yuan Liang.
Xu Hong said, "You need to introduce yourself. Choosing a Spirit Beast is a two-way process; if you want to take it with you, it needs to accept you too."
"Earning a Spirit Beast's acceptance is essential."
"Only when both sides acknowledge each other can training yield twice the result with half the effort."
"I understand," Yuan Liang nodded.
Talking his way into what he wanted was something he was well-versed in.
"My name is Yuan Liang, and I'm a new disciple of the Great Love Sect."
Yuan Liang looked at the Unihorned Silkworm, expecting it to agree.
However…
The Unihorned Silkworm lowered its head and resumed eating mulberry leaves.
An ordinary person without any notable traits wants to form a contract with me?
Seeing this, Yuan Liang fell silent.
It seemed that taming a Spirit Beast with such a peculiar personality wouldn't be easy.
Fortunately, Yuan Liang was no ordinary person.
Observing the Unihorned Silkworm as it ate, Yuan Liang suddenly had an idea.
"If you become my Spirit Beast, I'll provide you with high-quality mulberry leaves every day. You can eat as much as you like."
"Most importantly, I won't make you train."
Remembering what Senior Brother Luo had said earlier, Yuan Liang quickly realized that this Unihorned Silkworm shared his lazy nature.
The Unihorned Silkworm immediately raised its head, its dark eyes sparkling.
Seeing his words had worked, Yuan Liang clenched his fist in triumph.
"This actually worked?" Xu Hong was surprised; he hadn't expected it to be so simple.
The Unihorned Silkworm eagerly crawled forward, and Yuan Liang extended his hand, allowing it to climb up.
The Unihorned Silkworm spun around excitedly in Yuan Liang's hand, thrilled to finally leave this place.
It had always hated the constant work.
Its eyes sparkled with hope for the future, entirely oblivious to the fact it had fallen into a new trap.
Xu Hong led Yuan Liang to his new quarters.
They arrived at a small, simple room, which contained only the bare essentials.
"Here's a package with some basic cultivation resources for new disciples," Xu Hong said, handing Yuan Liang a small bundle.
Yuan Liang accepted it respectfully, saying, "Thank you, Senior Brother Xu."
The Unihorned Silkworm also bowed slightly in gratitude.
Xu Hong glanced at the silkworm. "You should listen to Yuan Junior brother from now on, understood?"
The Unihorned Silkworm nodded.
Soon after, Xu Hong left, and Yuan Liang sat on a rock.
He gently poked the Unihorned Silkworm. "We'll be cultivating together from now on, but I still don't know your name."
The Unihorned Silkworm looked up at Yuan Liang, wearing an expression that seemed to say, "Are you joking?"
It couldn't yet speak human language, so how could it answer?
Awkwardly, Yuan Liang changed the subject. "When will you be able to talk?"
The Unihorned Silkworm shook its head.
Opening the bundle that Senior Brother Xu had given him, Yuan Liang found an outer disciple's robe, a small jade token, and two spirit stones.
The jade token contained guidelines for the sect, along with a basic introductory cultivation technique.
It was called the *Beast Taming Heart Method*.
To acquire more resources, he would need to complete tasks.
Tasks like farming, mining, and delivering supplies were among the basic ones.
As Yuan Liang picked up the jade token, an immense surge of spiritual energy poured into his mind.
"Absorb the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, merge it into the body, convert it to beast-taming spirit energy, and nourish oneself."
"You may transfer your own spirit energy to your spirit beast, or have the spirit beast pass their energy to you to quickly restore your own."
"Cultivators at the early stage of the Black Iron Realm will produce a special drop of blood."
"Press this special blood onto the spirit beast's forehead to complete a bloodline contract, establishing a spiritual connection between you both."
Yuan Liang processed the vast amount of information in his mind, rubbing his forehead.
"Looks like I'll have to cultivate and get stronger."
Upon hearing him talk about getting stronger, the horned caterpillar gave him a surprised look.
Hey, buddy, didn't you say we wouldn't have to cultivate?
As Yuan Liang looked at the two spirit stones, an idea suddenly came to him, and he stood up abruptly.
Since arriving in this world, he hadn't yet tried using alchemy.
"Whatever I do next, don't move around, okay?" Yuan Liang said, placing the horned caterpillar on the ground.
With a small rock, he began drawing a formation on the ground. The horned caterpillar watched him curiously, staying obediently still.
It could sense that Yuan Liang meant it no harm.
The formation was a bit crude, but Yuan Liang didn't mind. He placed the two spirit stones on either side of the horned caterpillar.
"Don't be afraid."
Clapping his hands together, Yuan Liang began chanting softly.