The perusal of the list of items in the book was boring. Ye Xiu had noted several items of interest in his mind that he would love to take out but he hadn't even gone half-way through the book. Tian Bai was a big help since he certainly knew many of the items, though the biggest help was probably Xiao Bai

He had called Xiao Bai simply for his expertise and experience when it came to dealing with items in general. Xiao Bai's skill in detecting rare treasures also helped tremendously as he pointed out several items of interest to Ye Xiu.

Xiao Bai had responded to his call with slight irritation since he had just made it back to the main house. Ye Xiu was unsure how Xiao Bai had managed to enter the vault though Xiao Bai simply explained that he was given permission to freely enter the vault to sort out the items from time to time.

Apparently, the vault was able to gather rare items that meet certain requirements and they get stored into the vault. It meant that it would be rare for the vault to ever be empty if ever.

Ye Xiu asked how that function worked and how the vault would be able to gather so many items. Xiao Bai's explanation was short and succinct, merely telling him that the vault was sentient, the Dimension has more functions that Ye Xiu would eventually learn and reminded him that time in the Dimension moved much faster than in reality.

They were going to go finish going through the book before deciding on the five items that he would want to take with him. There was certainly a huge array of items that he could pick up on the first floor of the vault and many had unknown functions that intrigued Ye Xiu.

It took them two more days to get through the entirety of the book and noting down everything that they would need to find. Xiao Bai's explanations of the items of interest further shortened the list of potential rewards that they would take.

Xiao Bai explained that if they wished to find an item, all they would have to do is direct Qi into the book that held the list and then say the name of the item. The said item would appear directly above the book and if it is not to your liking then the Qi flowing into the book should be cut off so it can be returned.

If you wish to choose the item then simply pour your Qi into the item and it should register. Ye Xiu got his explanation pretty easily since it wasn't complex at all.

Ye Xiu had chosen his five items in a relatively quick fashion after he had examined all the items on his personal list of interest. He noted that he had chosen four books and a single weapon for the five rewards that he could take. He sighed since those books would cost him more than a simple weapon.

He left the vault house and left the Dimension after thanking Xiao Bai for helping him. When he returned back to reality he noticed that it was midnight. He moved out of his bedroom and went to the kitchen to fix something up for himself. He released Tian Bai from his soul space and told him to cause some havoc in the residence.

Tian Bai was more than happy to oblige with the command and scurried throughout the entire residence with a cooking pan in his mouth and banged it all along the floor. Unsurprisingly, the inhabitants of the household started to stir from their meditative sessions and wandered downstairs to see what was going on. When they saw Tian Bai with a pan in his mouth, they started to chase him.

Shi Die managed to catch Tian Bai with a burst of speed that came with his transformation. Tian Bai struggled as he was being held in Shi Die's hand and was about to bite him when Ye Xiu's laughter could be heard from the living room. With Shi Die holding onto Tian Bai tightly, the group walked into the living room to see Ye Xiu simply sitting on a couch.

Shang Yang raised an eyebrow at Ye Xiu. "What's going on? Why have you disturbed us from our meditation session?" Shang Yang didn't bother with any greetings since she was rather annoyed, she had barely had any rest since she had an epiphany and had been making steady advances with her illusions due to the epiphany. She was about to go into a meditative state when Tian Bai had interrupted everybody in the entire household.

Shi Die was looking at Ye Xiu's face and noticed relief and happiness. His nose was also picking up Ye Xiu's scent but it had changed drastically. There were very faint signs that it was Ye Xiu's scent but if he hadn't known Ye Xiu on an intimate level then he would've believed that Ye Xiu was a completely different person standing in front of him.

Ye Xiu simply smiled at Shang Yang's question and shook his head softly. "I just wanted to see everyone. I found it amusing to have the little guy that Shi Die is holding wake everybody up in the most obnoxious way that he could possibly think off."

Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

Shang Yang glared at Ye Xiu before turning and leaving the living room. She stomped her way back up to her room and they could hear every single one of her steps which dictated her mood. Xiao Tu simply looked at Ye Xiu with a gaze that was questioning him. He too left the living room and went back to his own room to rest.

Shi Die stayed in the living room, still holding on to Tian Bai. Tian Bai decided to bite Shi Die at this moment which forced him to be dropped. Shi Die dropped him due to the surprise of the sudden bite and saw that his hand was bleeding quite a lot. Though Tian Bai didn't bite very hard, the wound was still rather deep.

Shi Die pushed his Qi towards the wound, quickly removing any signs of the wound existing. He glared at Tian Bai. "I thought you were an adorable little creature but now I want nothing more than to strangle you then use your fur as some kind of material for clothes." The glare didn't give any pause to the cheeky laughter that had erupted from Tian Bai.

Tian Bai jumped onto Ye Xiu and nested himself safely onto Ye Xiu's head. He watched Shi Die comfortably from the position as Shi Die continued to speak. "You smell very different Ye Xiu. That weasel of yours has some of your scent on it. Did you claim a familiar? How have I not noticed this yesterday? You've been with us the entire day but I never noticed any changes with your scent so why is it that there are so many differences?"

Ye Xiu was slightly surprised. He had forgotten that Shi Die would be able to smell the many changes in his body especially after he bonded with his familiars and his transformation. "I would love to tell you all about my adventure as long as you don't tell the others. Shang Yang and Xiao Tu would probably overreact. I know them very well, if you agree to this, then I'll begin my story."

Shi Die looked at Ye Xiu knowingly, he knew that from the words that Ye Xiu said, it was more than likely that his adventure contained a life-changing experience. "Alright, begin your tale."

Ye Xiu cleared his throat but before he could start speaking, Tian Bai used the telepathic bond to ask Ye Xiu for food. Rolling his eyes at Tian Bai's behaviour, he took out several pieces of smoked meat and handed it to him. Tian Bai jumped off Ye Xiu's head and started to eat enthusiastically.

"Apparently when I was actually sleeping instead of meditating, I got transported away into the Dimension for a test. The test was apparently forced onto me since I had reached the realm of cultivation needed for that test. The first stage of the test needed me to look for clues in order to finish the stage. It barely took me a day before I finished the first stage which was fairly easy."

"The second stage... would've taken an entire month to complete though I was rather close to the deadline. I was forced to kill numerous different types of Qi Beasts. I can say for sure that I faced a life-threatening situation and I've learnt from that experience. I've dealt with the trauma that came with that particular experience but I won't go into it that much. I found my first familiar, Tian Bai, the weasel who is currently eating the meat on the floor after he offered me a deal."

"For the third stage, I had to learn a technique and I had to use that technique to defeat an opponent. There, I faced another near-death experience. I found out about my inner beast and I can say for sure that the ordeal was definitely less dramatic compared to yours." Ye Xiu quickly explained the stages of the test since he didn't really want to drag it on for that long.

"I was able to choose five rewards from a vault for finishing the test. Though it's weird that I didn't receive anything for the third round. Though I could consider that technique as the true reward..." Ye Xiu trailed off, thinking about the technique.

Shi Die was looking at Ye Xiu with a curious expression on his face. "I can see why your scent changed but it doesn't explain how it would change so dramatically. I've seen many people with familiars before and after they bond with them, and they never have such a drastic change in their scent. What else are you hiding?"

Ye Xiu was thinking about what else would've possibly changed his scent when he realised that his transformation had most likely made him smell more like a dragon. "My technique may have a hand in the change but I won't give any details. It's a secret move and I'll use it to surprise everyone during a fight one day."

Shi Die nodded his understanding. "I'll be going back to meditate first. Keep on the schedule that we have." He left the living room and entered his own room. Ye Xiu heard his door shut and watched Tian Bai continue eating.

"Tian Bai, I'm sending you back to the soul space." Ye Xiu told Tian Bai what he was going to do since he needed some time and space for himself to think about what would happen next.

'I'm surprised so little time had passed in reality but from what Xiao Bai told me, the entire testing area and the vault area had a time dilation placed on them. I think Shi Die has not only noticed my change in scent but probably the change in behaviour from the way he was acting just now. His transformation does give him some of his inner beast's habits.'

'I'll need to name my new familiar. I don't know how to come up with a name that would sound good for the familiar but I'll try my best. I'll also need to go to the Auction House to sell everything that I have. I also need to ask Shang Yang to help create more seeds since I've literally run out of them. I'm not sure how I'm going to explain that to her but I'll probably tell her the truth sooner or later. Even If I don't tell her the truth, she'll probably be able to infer from the many changes that I've gone through.'

Ye Xiu sat on the couch and sighed. He looked older than he was as he continued to plan away.