Taoist Longshan took the Ice Silkworm Strength, quickly skimmed through it, and his eyes showed admiration.
"The predecessor who created this Ice Silkworm Strength is indeed a genius of the ages, but alas, only the first three layers have been created. Otherwise, it would be slightly superior to the several Stacking Strength Skills you have been cultivating."
Hearing such an evaluation from Taoist Longshan, Ye Qinghe couldn't help but be shocked, realizing she had underestimated this Ice Silkworm Strength.
She couldn't help but feel a bit regretful.
However, Taoist Longshan did not dwell further on the Ice Silkworm Strength, instead asking another question.
"You mentioned earlier, this White Ape swallowed a red fruit, describe the characteristics of that fruit in detail."
Taoist Longshan's expression became somewhat solemn.
Seeing him like this, Ye Qinghe dared not delay and immediately described the appearance of the red fruit.
"Bright color, with a dark yellow stem, round in shape..."
Although she held the red fruit for just a few breaths of time, Ye Qinghe's memory was good enough to recall it completely.
Furthermore, the red fruit indeed appeared to be extraordinary.
She couldn't help but ask curiously:
"Master, do you know what kind of exotic item this red fruit is?"
Taoist Longshan slightly furrowed his brows,
"It somewhat resembles the legendary Vermilion Fruit, but a Vermilion Fruit can transform the bones and cleanse the marrow. If, as you said, this White Ape consumed more than one Vermilion Fruit, its strength should not be weak; I'm afraid you may not even be its match, so it's unlikely that the red fruit is the legendary Vermilion Fruit."
"This red fruit can enlighten wisdom, yet the White Ape's strength is only that of an ordinary beast, quite strange indeed."
He then shook his head.
"In the vast world, there are all sorts of wonders; what kind of exotic fruit it is doesn't really matter. Since it's been obtained by this little ape, it's its destiny, and you two need to maintain a proper mindset and not harbor false thoughts."
Ning Qi and Ye Qinghe straightened their expressions and respectfully said,
"Disciple thanks Master for the guidance."
The True Martial Sect has always been like this, its disciples acting heroically, not committing evil deeds or wanton killing.
Taoist Longshan nodded in satisfaction. He was very confident in the character of his disciples, and he waved the White Ape over.
The White Ape first nervously glanced at Ning Qi but, upon seeing the encouragement in his eyes, respectfully walked up to Taoist Longshan, knelt on the ground, kowtowed, and made repeated obeisances.
Taoist Longshan stroked his beard and laughed,
"Indeed, it is extraordinarily intelligent."
He solemnly asked,
"White Ape, let me ask you, are you willing to join my True Martial Sect? You need to know, after joining True Martial, you must not act recklessly or wantonly kill!"
Taoist Longshan's voice was loud and full of authority.
The White Ape was overjoyed.
It nodded repeatedly.
It was just a hair's breadth away from shouting 'The disciple is willing.'
Seeing the White Ape gained the master's approval, Ning Qi and Ye Qinghe exchanged a smile.
Taoist Longshan looked over:
"Jiu, since you brought back the White Ape, let it stay with you from now on, so you'll have someone to watch over you."
His thinking was quite similar to Ye Qinghe's: having such an intelligent White Ape accompany the little disciple was better than letting him cultivate alone every day.
"Disciple accepts the order."
"Since the little monkey has joined our True Martial Sect, why don't we give him a name?" Ye Qinghe suggested.
"Very well." Taoist Longshan nodded, "Since the White Ape wants to follow Jiu, let Jiu give him a name."
Ning Qi didn't refuse.
He thought for a moment, looked at the White Ape, and said,
"Since you belong to the Ape Race, let's take the surname Yuan for you. You roam the mountains and forests, unique and with many opportunities, truly born of heaven and earth, how about the name Yuan Tiancheng?"
The words fell.
Taoist Longshan and Ye Qinghe were still pondering the meaning of the name, while the White Ape's pupils widened in excitement. If not for the inappropriate occasion, he would have started rolling and jumping, yet even so, his scratching and fiddling betrayed his mood.
Clearly, the White Ape was very pleased with the name.
All three smiled.
Ning Qi suddenly said,
"I have a question I'd like to ask Master."
"On this trip into the mountains, my senior sister and I encountered many exotic beasts, some with strength rivaling the Inner Essence Realm, others even weaker than the Bone Refining Realm. Why is there such a vast disparity in the strength of these exotic beasts? Do they have a method of cultivation?"
The Scripture Pavilion does contain records of exotic beasts, but they are not comprehensive.
Taoist Longshan glanced at the White Ape, then said,
"The origin of exotic beasts is untraceable, only rumors remain. It is said that initially, some beasts, by chance, were favored by the heavens and earth, and thereafter could directly temper themselves with the power of heaven and earth, even mastering it, thus called 'Heavenly Beasts.'"
"But the favor of heaven and earth is too great a cause and effect, and bearing it is not simple; something seemed to have gone awry, leading to a backlash, and the Heavenly Beasts gradually disappeared."
"Thereafter came the era of exotic beasts, said to all carry the bloodline of Heavenly Beasts."
"Exotic beasts, unlike our Human Race, are not innately endowed with great wisdom. Although they start at a higher point, they do not have a gradual cultivation path like our Human Race. Their route to power is to explore their Heavenly Beast bloodline until reaching its limits."
Ning Qi was hearing this for the first time, and his eyes were filled with astonishment.
Heavenly Beasts could directly use the power of heaven and earth to temper themselves; their starting point is so much higher than that of the Human Race, which only at the Celestial Human Realm can resonate with the power of heaven and earth.
"So, whether an exotic beast is powerful or not depends entirely on the strength of its internal bloodline?"
"Exactly, for example, the Iron-Armed Ape you encountered before could at most rival a Body Tempering Martial Artist unless it possessed other ancient bloodlines. In the Hundred Rivers Lake of Great Yan, there is a Flood Dragon Monarch, one with extremely top-tier bloodline; it has now matured, and even Celestial Being Strong Persons dare not easily provoke it."
The White Ape listened, deeply engaged yet feeling somewhat disheartened. It believed it did not have any powerful bloodline, only that after eating a few red fruits, its understanding of things increased.
Taoist Longshan glanced at the White Ape, saying,
"However, theoretically speaking, humans and other beasts are not particularly different. The Human Race has a path of cultivation because generations of predecessors created it through many attempts. If beasts possessed great wisdom, perhaps they too could create a suitable cultivation method for themselves."
"It's just that every beast's physical structure is different, making it very difficult."
The White Ape's eyes immediately brightened, a glimmer of hope rising within its heart.
Ning Qi understood even more clearly.
It's not that beasts cannot cultivate; it's just that there is no corresponding Dharma Method.
The term 'beast' is a generic name. For instance, to create a Dharma Method suitable for the Snake Race, there would need to be a snake with astonishing wisdom, paving the path through generations, similar to the Human Race.
But, imagining the difficulty is enough; snakes being born with wisdom is already uncommon, and greater wisdom and efforts across generations make the completion unfathomable, perhaps taking 100,000 or even a million years.
Ning Qi slightly shook his head in his heart.
"However, the Ape Race is close to humans; even though their body structure is different, they can refer to human Martial Arts and make adjustments, which is much less challenging."
"For me as well, it can serve as mutual verification."
With this thought.
Ning Qi had a plan in mind, and he bowed,
"Thank you, Master, for resolving my doubts."
He felt that he still needed to grow, and no matter how strong his comprehension, some aspects of knowledge required constant accumulation.