When Wang Cheng arrived with several wagons filled with cages of animals, I had just finished teaching Chen Hua and Chen Long the "Black Turtle art." It was an earth rank cultivation technique that suited their spiritual roots, and I also gave them Jade slips full of basic instructions and knowledge on talisman making, spiritual cooking, and rune craft. They received it with such enthusiasm and reverence that it made me uncomfortable.

Initially, I had planned to teach both Chen Long and Chen Hua everything they needed to know and then some. However, I realized that spoon-feeding them wouldn't be fair since they had already survived and thrived on their own for so long. Therefore, I decided to give up on the idea and focus on other things.

As I gazed upon the cages filled with an eclectic array of animals, a sense of unease crept over me like a dark cloud. The sight of these helpless creatures trapped in confinement tugged at my heartstrings, but I knew that I couldn't afford to dwell on my emotions. I had work to do.

I took a deep breath and began to assess the inventory of my newly acquired livestock. There were a dozen pigs and chickens, each of them boasting an exotic breed I had never seen before. The six large yellow dogs were a particularly impressive sight, their muscular frames radiating an aura of power and strength. A dozen rabbits and cats were also present, along with another eight red-wooled sheep. But what caught my attention the most were the ten white rats, their beady eyes darting around nervously as they scurried about in their cage.

Despite my initial reluctance, I knew that I had to turn these animals into spiritual beasts that would obey my every command. The task ahead of me was daunting, but I was determined to succeed. For the moment, however, I decided to focus on the more pressing matter at hand and leave the seven plants in the Cypress family and the edible spiritual plant called gargeer for another time.

To my surprise, some of the species I saw were completely new to me, their exotic nature leaving me feeling a bit guilty about my intentions for them. But I had a job to do, a task that required me to transform these animals into spiritual beings that would obey my every command.

With a deep breath, I steeled myself for what lay ahead. I sat down cross-legged and turned my senses inward, accessing the archive of knowledge stored within my mind.

I had been floundering aimlessly in my attempts to solve the problem at hand, but this time, I had a clear objective in mind. My goal was to transform the livestock I had acquired into something extraordinary, and this was the first crucial step towards achieving it. With a determined mindset, I began delving into the archives, throwing all of my theories at it until I found something that stuck. It wasn't long before I had discovered a specific method to quickly transform ordinary beasts into spiritual ones.

As I delved deeper into my research, I stumbled upon a method that seemed promising. The key was to create an artificial elemental spirit, one without any consciousness, and then implant that same elemental into the animal's sea of consciousness using my own spirit energy. The success rate of this method was only around seventy to eighty percent, but even if the animal failed to awaken as a spiritual beast, it would still become an animal with spiritual energy. Their meat would then carry spiritual energy, making them the perfect food stock to feed cultivators.

What's more, the process also had the added benefit of negating the creature's bloodline problem. Normal spiritual monsters could only reach higher realms if they had pure bloodlines of the twelve primordial creatures, but with this method, it didn't matter, Since the beast would follow the path of elementals who grew more powerful as time went by that meant the more Qi the animal consumed and refined the stronger they would grow

bypassing their limitation of bloodline potential.

Excitement coursed through me as I realized the potential of this method. I knew I had to try it out with the animals in front of me. With a newfound sense of purpose, I set to work on turning these ordinary beasts into extraordinary spiritual creatures.

With a clear plan in mind, I jumped into action. I rose from my seat and began drawing a large Qi gathering formation, using the used-up spirit stones I had fashioned into rods as Array nodes. After completing the Formation, I cast a small flame spell, no bigger than a golf ball. However, the spell depleted over half of my Qi reserve, but I quickly replenished it using my amulet. I threw the flame into the center of the formation, activating the formation to contain it.

Next, I reached into my spirit ring and retrieved a small red ruby, about the size of a small almond. I closed my eyes and started carving runes for qi gathering, Qi transformation, and Qi purification on the gem, effectively turning it into a spiritual vessel. Then, I began imbuing the flame with spiritual Qi, projecting my own will and desire into the flame and shaping it into a spiritual being - a strong golden blaze that would heat, burn, melt, and consume as required.

Once the flame began emitting a strong Fire attribute Qi, I used my Divine sense to attack the new elemental's small mind sea and destroyed it. After that, I merged it with the ruby, creating an elemental gem. I then took the gem to one of the cats and imbued it into the creature's dantian, giving it an artificial elemental core.

All that was left now was to wait and see whether the cat would adapt to the core and awaken its mind sea, turning it into a spiritual beast, or if the gem would crack, making the cat a failure.

The cat in question just closed its eyes and lay down quietly. I frowned as I watched the cat lying there, I wondered if the process had worked. Tentatively, I reached out to touch the animal, but quickly pulled my hand back when I felt a sudden surge of painful heat emitting from the cat's body. It was then that I realized that my plan had succeeded. I closed my eyes and projected my thoughts toward the cat, beseeching it to grant me its ownership. The cat's mind readily accepted my thoughts, and I could feel a sense of connection forming between us.

With the first step complete, I sent my desires to the cat, making it clear that I wanted it to serve me faithfully, to fight for me, and to protect me. I instilled the concept of boss and underling into its mind, and the cat readily agreed, projecting feelings of love and devotion towards me. With a contract made without words, only thoughts, I knew that the cat was now my loyal underling.

Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

As I opened my eyes, the kitten opened hers, revealing a pair of amber eyes that glowed slightly with a reddish light that reminded me of fire. As she focused her gaze on me, she let out a loud meow that echoed throughout the room. I smiled widely, pleased by the sound. Looking at her again, I realized that although her fur was still rather short, its color had changed to a vibrant orange that glowed with a bar of brilliant gold. Her head was raised proudly, her back arched, as she looked down on me with a sense of pride. I grinned happily.

"Hello, kitten. I will name you Sun. Do you like it?" I asked her.

The kitten let out another meow, as golden flames burst around her, and she began jumping around, projecting happiness towards me. The flames burned hot and bright, but no smoke came from them. It was then that I knew that I had succeeded, and I couldn't help but feel excited about what was to come next.. I grinned happily.

"Hello, kitten I will name you Sun do you like it?"

the kitten let out another meow as golden flames burst around her and she began jumping around projecting happiness toward me.

As I watched the kitten - now named Sun - frolic around the room, I couldn't help but feel a sense of satisfaction. My experiment had been a success. The artificial elemental core had taken root in her dantian, and her mind sea had awakened, transforming her into a spiritual beast.

Sun's appearance had also changed, her once dull orange fur now radiating a bright gold color that shimmered with a fiery glow. Her eyes, now a blazing amber, seemed to dance with the flicker of golden flames. As I spoke her name, she let out another meow, her excitement palpable.

The golden flames that surrounded her were intense, but strangely, no smoke was produced. It was almost as if they were a part of her, an extension of her new spiritual energy. As I observed her, I couldn't help but feel grateful for the opportunity to witness such a miraculous transformation.

I reached out to pet her, and to my surprise, she leaned into my touch, purring contentedly. I couldn't help but smile at her affectionate nature. It seemed that not only had I created a powerful spiritual beast, but I had also gained a loyal companion.

As I watched Sun play, I reached into my spirit ring and pulled out a handful of gems. Emeralds, rubies, sapphires, citrines, ambers, amethysts, and more sparkled brilliantly under the warm glow of Sun's flame. I carefully laid out each gem before me, knowing that each one represented a potential monster core for my new underlings.

I had already planned out which element to give to each animal in the room. The chickens would receive the wind element, the rats would be given earth, the sheep thunder, the dogs metal, the rabbits wood, and the cat's fire. As for the pigs, I wanted to mix things up a bit and experiment with different elements to see what would happen.

I examined each gem closely, analyzing its properties and potential uses. The wind gems were light and airy, the earth gems were solid and grounding, the thunder gems crackled with electricity, the metal gems were hard and unyielding, the wood gems were flexible and adaptable, and the fire gems burned brightly with intense heat.

I carefully picked out the appropriate gems for each animal, making sure to match the element with their personalities and traits. Once I had made my selections, I set about imbuing each gem with spiritual energy, preparing them to be implanted into the animals' dantians to create artificial elemental cores.

I smiled to myself, excited to see what kind of powerful spiritual beasts my new underlings would become.

I quickly made another elemental core this time with white blazing flames, filled with destructive Qi, I took this particular core to the only black cat in my possession, After implanting the artificial elemental core into the cat's dantian, I sat down cross-legged and closed my eyes, focusing my Divine Sense on the creature's sea of consciousness. I watched intently as the artificial elemental began to interact with the cat's spiritual essence, waiting to see if it would awaken and transform into a spiritual beast.

For what seemed like hours, I remained still, monitoring the cat's progress. I could sense the power of the artificial elemental spreading throughout its body, infusing it with a strange and unfamiliar energy. Suddenly, I felt a spark of consciousness within the cat's mind sea, and my heart leaped with excitement.

I continued to observe the cat's mind sea as it began to take shape, forming a distinct pattern that resembled the flame elemental that I had implanted. It was as if the creature's mind was reaching out to the artificial elemental, trying to connect with it on a deeper level.

Then, as if by magic, the cat's eyes snapped open, and it let out a loud meow that echoed throughout the room. The transformation was complete - the once-ordinary cat had become a powerful spiritual beast, radiating an aura of pure elemental energy.

I smiled in satisfaction, feeling a sense of pride and accomplishment wash over me. I had succeeded in my task, and I knew that with this method, I could transform the rest of the livestock into spiritual beasts in no time.

With renewed vigor, I set to work on the rest of the animals, implanting artificial elementals into their dantians and watching as their minds awakened and transformed. Each one was different, with its own unique elemental attributes and characteristics.

By the time I had finished, all the animals had been transformed into spiritual beasts. The chickens had become wind attribute spirit beasts, while the dogs had become metallic elementals, their bodies now capable of withstanding incredible amounts of punishment. The rabbits had become nimble beasts with the ability to manipulate wood Qi, and the sheep had become strong thunder elementals, their wool now imbued with a powerful destructive energy.

I don't know if I was just lucky or these beasts had something special but nearly all the animals had awakened into strong elemental spirit beats.

The transformation was nothing short of miraculous, and I knew that these spiritual beasts would prove to be invaluable assets in the future. I had turned what was once a collection of ordinary livestock into a formidable force that would obey my every command, but not every animal was a success story, For some reason, the pigs didn't seem to take to the elemental core. Each one I tried to transform simply rejected it, causing the core to crack and dissolve. As a result, they remained ordinary pigs with a bit of spiritual energy coursing through them. Nevertheless, it was still a huge success. I couldn't wait to see what these elemental beasts could do in the future.

As I gazed at the magnificent, elemental creatures that once were ordinary livestock, a wave of contentment coursed through me. However, my elation was short-lived, as a sudden realization hit me like a ton of bricks.

"What in the world am I going to feed them?" I muttered under my breath, my mind racing with concern.

I knew that these newly transformed animals required a unique diet that I had no idea how to provide. I felt a tinge of regret for not considering this earlier. It was a monumental task to care for these beasts, and I didn't want to fail them now that they were under my protection.

Despite my initial panic, I took a deep breath and focused on the task at hand. I couldn't let my worries consume me; instead, I needed to find a solution.

I spent the next few hours researching the dietary needs of elemental beasts, scoured through various books, and consulted with the archive. After an exhaustive search, I finally found a suitable diet that I could provide for them.

With a newfound sense of determination, I set out to gather the necessary ingredients and caretakers for my army.