"A creature wrapped in rock?"

"Is there any spirit beast that wraps itself in rock during battle?"

Qi Ping immediately felt a hint of confusion, unable to recall which kind of spirit beast wraps itself in rock during battle.

"How strong are they?" Qi Ping continued to ask.

"Buzz... (Two Tier Two humans, one Tier One, judging from the battle situation, they are much weaker than the boss.)"

"Buzz... (The other creature wrapped in rock is also at Tier Two, not fast, but with impressive defense!)"

Hearing that the enemy's combat power was inferior to his own, Qi Ping felt somewhat relieved.

"Not fast... impressive defense?"

"Buzz... (Yes, boss!)"

"Could it be..."

Suddenly, an answer surfaced in Qi Ping's mind.

Stone Spirit!

Or Stone Essence!

"No way..."

If it really was a Stone Spirit, Qi Ping would have struck gold.

But the only thing that perfectly matched the scout bee's description was indeed the Stone Spirit.

The Stone Spirit is a rare creature, surpassing even spirit plants in rarity, born from innate ore.

Its bloodline tier distribution is vague, determined by the quality of the ore before its transformation.

However, the Stone Spirit's bloodline and power can breakthrough more easily than ordinary spirit beasts, as long as it consumes enough precious ore.

For Cultivators, the Stone Spirit is a rare spiritual pet or excellent crafting material, suitable for nurturing into a powerful spirit beast pet or forging into a highly-growth Lifebound Spiritual Treasure.

And for Qi Ping, the talents of the Stone Spirit were naturally very tempting.

No matter the type, a Stone Spirit's innate talents usually include super defense, an extremely high Metal Talent, and a significantly longer lifespan, all of which are highly beneficial to Qi Ping. Some special Stone Spirits may even possess more powerful talents.

Coupled with the Stone Spirit's relatively easy-to-improve bloodline and strength, it makes a great choice as an animal companion.

"Let's go check it out. If it's a Stone Spirit, I'll do my best to save it..."

"As for the Cultivators fighting it, with my current strength, I should be able to manage. If we can communicate, I'll compensate them with some Spirit Stones..."

Qi Ping didn't want to turn an encounter into a life-or-death struggle without cause. It's best to make as few enemies as essential.

Then Qi Ping immediately transformed into a Tier Two Scout Bee through Wilderness Transformation.

The Scout Bee, with its stealth and perceptive traits, is most suited as a reconnaissance form.

After completing his transformation, Qi Ping followed the scout bee reporting the situation to the battlefield.

...

Not long after, Qi Ping saw both sides of the conflict beneath a large canyon.

"It really is a Stone Spirit!"

Upon seeing that wrapped figure, Qi Ping immediately recognized the Stone Spirit's identity.

The Stone Spirit had tightly wrapped its true form in various tough ores, forming a rock monster.

At this moment, battling the Stone Spirit were two early Foundation Establishment Stage cultivators, their hair slightly graying, with their physical vitality beginning to age.

Behind them was a young man in splendid Treasure Clothing, holding a valuable Magic Scroll intended for contracting spirit beasts...

However, upon understanding the scene in the canyon, Qi Ping was filled with surprise.

"How dare these two not-in-their-prime old men deal with an early Tier Two Stone Spirit?"

"Could they think this Stone Spirit is in a weakened state and thus can't defeat them?"

After considering, Qi Ping could only come up with this reason.

It did seem overly confident.

Although this Stone Spirit was clearly just awakened after a long period in the Mortal Realm and was somewhat weakened, it certainly wasn't something those two old men could easily handle.

This Stone Spirit's frailty was also related to its inherent characteristics.

Stone Spirits have long lifespans, limited intelligence, prefer tranquility over movement, and lack a strong desire for power, appearing quite passive.

Sometimes it doesn't matter where they are, they'll pick a mountain and sleep for hundreds or even thousands of years.

However, seeing this Stone Spirit which obviously slept in the Mortal Realm's mountains, Qi Ping thought it was a bit too passive; it should have chosen a mountain with a Spirit Vein.

Due to Cultivators' particular fondness for Stone Spirits (forging growth-type Lifebound Treasure Artifacts), a Stone Spirit's low intelligence in the Mortal Realm isn't necessarily a bad thing, as the chance of being discovered is significantly lower, although it was a pity it was found by other cultivators.

Nonetheless, Qi Ping wasn't worried about the Stone Spirit's safety because even if it was passive, its combat power was top-tier among its level, far beyond what those two old men could take on.

The battle on the field demonstrated this point.

The two old men fought the weakened Stone Spirit for a while, but besides breaking some stones, they couldn't harm the Stone Spirit's true form, and they ended up sustaining considerable internal injuries from its counterattacks.

However, the Stone Spirit's agility was poor, severely weakened from a prolonged sleep, which was the only reason it hadn't inflicted deadly damage on the two Foundation Establishment cultivators.

The battle that ensued further proved Qi Ping's assessment was correct.

After a bout of intense fighting, the two Foundation Establishment cultivators couldn't hold on any longer, severely wounded, they spewed a mouthful of fresh blood and immediately fled with the young man ready to forcibly contract behind them.

"Let's go first! This Stone Spirit doesn't have anything to recover with, so once we take elixirs to recover our spiritual power and physical injuries, we can come back and settle the score with it! It won't run far!"

"If your contract doesn't succeed, you can always forge it into a Lifebound Treasure Artifact!"

Seeing the two who had pestered it for so long wanting to leave, the Stone Spirit gave chase, but its heavy body moved too slowly for the Foundation Establishment cultivators. After a while, it could only watch them disappear.

Afterward, the slightly bemused Stone Spirit maintained its rock-monster form for a bit, and, finding no more threats, released its current form.

Stripped of the Stone Spirit's power, the extraordinary-looking stone instantly turned into ordinary rocks, falling to the ground.

"The stone that could withstand Foundation Establishment attacks is made of ordinary rocks?"

Upon seeing this, Qi Ping was struck with amazement by the Stone Spirit's remarkable abilities.

Moments later, the heap of scattered stones slightly moved, and then a coal-like figure, the Stone Spirit's true form, emerged from within.

It was at this moment that Qi Ping finally saw the Stone Spirit's true form.

It was a black stone, roughly two to three times the size of a fist, looking somewhat like a lump of coal, all black...

The limbs were made of several colorful stones, and with a light press of its feet, it agilely bounced out of the pile of stones....

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.