Although the system was unreliable, after two days of using it, Gu Ming was gradually figuring out its patterns.
Don't be fooled by the system's extremely exaggerated descriptions of ordinary things; beneath the hyperbole, there was always a kernel of truth.
And what was about to happen, in his eyes, contained some of that truth.
An Evil God ceremony, a divine invitation, and the expansion of his Sea of Spiritual Consciousness.
He stopped at the door, his mind replaying the system's "Life Review of a 50-Year-Old Deng."
If his other-timeline self still failed the college entrance exams, even with a ten-million-dollar check and an Iron Gall Lone Dragon...
Then he must have fallen into all sorts of major traps before the exams, which is why he failed and couldn't even get into a Beast Taming University.
This current juncture made him inexplicably wary.
'Is this potion really okay?'
He paused, not rushing to take a shower.
The system had called it a Divine Invitation Potion, and the instructions for use included a Divine Invitation Ceremony.
Whether or not the system would transform it, the 'divine invitation' step was indispensable.
The Spirit Venerable was a subordinate of the Spirit God in the real world.
The Spirit God was the Mother of All Spirits, the spiritual embodiment of all things in the world, and controlled the Great Dao of the Spiritual Domain.
However, the Spirit God did not manifest in the mortal realm, and no one had ever seen it. It was merely the embodiment of a concept, lacking distinct human emotions like joy, anger, sorrow, or happiness.
Usually, it was Its subordinate, the Spirit Venerable, who descended upon the world to bestow blessings on Pet Beasts.
The vast majority of Spiritual Element-related Pet Beasts had received the Spirit Venerable's blessing and made great strides in their progress.
Gu Ming searched online for rumors about the Spirit Venerable and saw nothing but positive reviews and adoration for the god's subordinate.
'No bad reviews?'
Gu Ming wondered.
Without the system's warning, Gu Ming would never have considered the Spirit Venerable to be something like an Evil God.
However, after seeing the system's comments, the seeds of suspicion were planted in Gu Ming's mind and refused to go away.
He began to question the legitimacy of the Spirit Venerable and the intention behind this potion.
No matter how much he searched, Gu Ming could only find good reviews for the potion, not a single bad one.
Even when he went to the Beast Taming knowledge network to search for related theses, he only found some pharmacological papers he couldn't understand. He hadn't yet learned complex pharmacology and was completely clueless about it.
A thought suddenly struck him. 'What about the growth path for a normal Beastmaster, one who doesn't rely on drugs?'
He had never planned on using drugs to expand his Sea of Consciousness in the first place.
If his parents hadn't bought it for him ahead of time, the idea would never have crossed his mind.
He changed his search query, looking for the normal methods Beastmasters used to expand their Sea of Consciousness.
Soon, he discovered three schools of thought on cultivation online.
One type was the Ascetic Monk-style Beastmaster, who advocated for relying on Spiritual Techniques to cultivate day and night, expanding their Sea of Spiritual Consciousness through sheer, grinding effort, without taking shortcuts with any external items.
Another faction advocated for using drugs. They would not only use the Spiritual Expansion Elixirs for eighteen-year-olds hyped up in TV commercials, but would also soak their heads and hair in all sorts of Treasure Medicines.
Inviting one subordinate to descend and grant a blessing wasn't enough; they would also invite various subordinates of dubious origins to shower themselves with countless blessings.
As long as it expanded the Sea of Spiritual Consciousness, it was good, and good was great. At the same time, this was also the path of a pay-to-win player, something a family like Gu Ming's couldn't afford to burn money on.
The third category was a mix of the two, advocating for both arduous cultivation with techniques and a balance of work and rest, occasionally using Spirit Medicines to advance the cultivation progress of their Sea of Spiritual Consciousness.
This faction's approach to using medicine was less aggressive, generally prioritizing Natural Medicinal Herbs, supplemented by Spirit Medicines refined by Pill Pets.
Reading this, Gu Ming finally understood that the Spiritual Liquid in his hand was a potion synthesized and refined by a Pill Pet.
It wasn't made of purely natural ingredients. Instead, it had been refined using a Pill Pet's various Daoist Skills, changing the potion's intrinsic properties to better match the refiner's desired effects.
If someone had malicious intent, they could implant a kind of suggestive thought into this type of medicine, and a Beastmaster with a weak will could very likely be influenced.
Gu Ming put down his phone and rubbed his temples.
Just that bit of searching and studying had burned through quite a few brain cells.
He wondered if there had been any plot progression with the system. He'd been so engrossed in his reading that he hadn't noticed any activity from it.
He glanced at the system, and sure enough, the history log had been updated.
You have become engrossed in the Record of the Outer Celestial Demon and have begun to touch upon deeper, forbidden knowledge.
You suddenly realize the flaw in this type of Divine Invitation Ceremony: it is extremely easy to be subtly influenced by a Spirit Medicine refined by an unknown party, causing the originally safe ceremony to point toward a dangerous Evil God.
Faced with the potential risk of an Evil God ceremony, you have regained your senses. You decide to...
The text paused there, unchanging.
Gu Ming knew the system was waiting for him to either perform the ceremony or cancel taking the potion.
This represented two different paths forward.
Gu Ming picked up the flask. When he looked at the liquid inside again, its color hadn't changed. It was still sparkling like starlight, like a swirling galaxy, possessing an alluring beauty that made one want to swallow it down and refine it into spiritual nourishment.
The Little Cyan Snake watched for a long time, its forked tongue flicking out. It craved the Spiritual Liquid intensely, sensing that it was something delicious.
'Isn't it supposed to become a venomous snake immune to all poisons? Might as well start testing some now.'
Gu Ming reached out and flicked the Little Cyan Snake on the forehead. "In your dreams. Even if I just turn around and sell this, I could get a few million for it. That's what we really need."
After some thought, Gu Ming decided it was better to play it safe.
He had the "Old Deng's Counterattack" system with its text-based Beast Taming ability. There would be plenty of opportunities to convert resources in the future. Why risk it all for a small gain in the face of such a hidden danger?
As for his mom and dad, he'd have to figure out a way to explain it to them.
If he didn't drink the potion, they might fly into a rage and force him to.
Or they might just let it be and allow Gu Ming to do as he pleased.
After all, they were both gambling addicts. Gu Ming still found it hard to believe they had truly turned over a new leaf.
To earn his trust, they would need to spend at least a few years showing genuine remorse through their actions. Only then would it count as real repentance.
Otherwise, it was all just crocodile tears, not worth mentioning.
He opened his bedroom door and was immediately met with the sight of his two parents, who had been pressing their ears against it to eavesdrop. They were in an extremely awkward position and tumbled inside as the door swung open.
The two scrambled to their feet, faces plastered with smiles, and asked, "How was it, son? Did you drink the Spirit Medicine?"
"Does your mind feel really clear, like it's been expanded?"
Halfway through their words, their eyes fixed on the liquid at the bottom of the flask in Gu Ming's hand.
The crystal-clear, galaxy-like liquid was still in the flask; it hadn't disappeared.
"What's going on? You didn't drink it?"
"Son, I remember the instructions said you need to bathe and change clothes. You're about to go shower, right? Go on, hurry up."
"Dad, Mom, I'm not going to drink it," Gu Ming said.
The old couple looked like they were about to say something more, but upon hearing their son's words, they froze on the spot, completely stuck.
They couldn't figure out why their son didn't want to drink it.
They just couldn't understand.
"Why?" Mrs. Gu asked, her brows furrowed tightly.
"This medicine requires inviting the Spirit Venerable to descend and grant its blessing, and its effect is only a temporary expansion of the Sea of Consciousness. I don't want to rely on external items." Gu Ming shook his head. "I'm going to take the path of an Ascetic Monk and expand my Sea of Consciousness through my own cultivation."