Jiang Yuan never expected it to truly light up, and he was momentarily stunned.

Then he realized—after Qing Niao was brought back from the Hollow House, she had almost never left the small courtyard!

She was either cultivating in the courtyard; or going to grind instances and had never truly come into contact with the spiritual energy of the Wilderness World.

Thus, she wasn’t polluted at all. She was either absorbing the Spirit Stones and Immortal Jade he provided or absorbing and refining the spiritual energy generated by the courtyard’s landscapes. At this moment, the Spirit Testing Ball showed a deep blue color, proving the courtyard’s spiritual energy was pure and rich, close to Immortal Energy.

The reason why Xiao Yunque was slightly inferior is that—when it first awakened, it had been absorbing the polluted spiritual energy of the Wilderness World during cultivation.

However, it hadn’t really encountered any cultivation techniques at first, and when it later learned a portion of the "Heaven-Burning Flame," it still hadn’t reached Foundation Establishment, so the amount absorbed and refined was not much.

Thinking back, even if there was pollution, it was only a small part and not too deep.

When it came to the courtyard, following Qing Niao’s training, it rarely went out again, nourished by the rich and pure spiritual energy of the courtyard, which had already cleansed the earlier pollution.

In other words, the spiritual energy released by the landscapes purchased from the System Mall was both rich and purely unpolluted. The entire courtyard, protected by the System, was actually isolated from the pollution of the Wilderness World.

From the situation of Xiao Yunque, it seems that the courtyard’s spiritual energy also had a certain purification effect.

As long as one stays in the courtyard, and diligently enters the Celestial Palace Holy Realm for purification, even a Great Demon Cultivator can quickly cleanse the pollution!

This was indeed an unexpected surprise. After Jiang Yuan simply explained it to the two of them, he thought he had to quickly find a new instance to grind. It was hard to have two unpolluted beings in the courtyard, and they needed to be protected well.

"Congratulations to Senior Xie for advancing to the Soul Emergence Realm!"

"The Thunder Tribulation was crossed so smoothly, which shows solid cultivation in ordinary days."

"Mr. Jiang’s courtyard is truly a treasure land of feng shui, with Thunder Tribulations being crossed one after another, rare indeed..."

......

Compared to Bai Yunqi’s sky-high fighting intent, Xie Chenyuan’s tribulation-crossing style was much steadier, mainly about crossing smoothly. Ling Di focused intently for a while and then wandered off to chat with others and listen to gossip.

"Is there anyone else going to cross the tribulation?" Jiang Yuan surveyed the crowd, and they all shook their heads and waved their hands.

"If not, everyone can move freely for now, later we’ll have a celebration banquet!" He instructed Hu Zhile to oversee everything and then called Bai Yunqi to his side, "Xiao Bai, you’re about to transform into a Walking Flood Dragon, and there’s not much else I can help with..."

Bai Yunqi was flattered, thinking that just joining forces with the Ancient Ten Great Sects to withdraw the Dragon-slaying Sword and other arrays was already a huge favor. Was this really nothing? You’re just short of crossing the tribulation for me personally!

"The Venerable Family has already done a lot, Bai Yunqi is deeply grateful!" He quickly cupped his hands in thanks.

Jiang Yuan patted his shoulder, clicked to use the Contract Pet Upgrade Card exclusive to him, and in a low voice said: "I’ll gift you another blessing, wishing you to ride the wind and transform into a dragon!"

"Whoosh!"

A gust of wind rose out of nowhere, and before Bai Yunqi could react, he felt a strange power descending from the sky, enveloping him!

Very familiar, yet hard to describe.

Surrounded by a white mist, filled with that powerful force, drilling straight into his body through his seven apertures and every pore!

"Vene... Venerable Family..." Bai Yunqi couldn’t see anything, nor could he move his body, and the Spiritual Power within him surged more and more violently, like a thousand troops and horses or roaring ocean waves.

In an instant, his body was like a small boat drifting on the sea, lifted by the powerful force gathering in waves, rushing him straight toward the peak!

He knew very well what would happen next because he had experienced this feeling not long ago.

"Crack!"

A soft sound, as if some critical blockage in his body was shattered by the majestic Spiritual Power.

Though he hadn’t gone through a Thunder Tribulation, he felt as if he had just been tempered by lightning. The Spiritual Power that had just advanced to the Transformation Realm was still restless, but then was compressed and purified again, with its aura climbing steadily!

Bai Yunqi savored the comfort and joy carefully, feeling every detail of his body’s change as if much time had passed.

But from Jiang Yuan’s point of view, it was merely a process of using the Item Card that only lasted a dozen seconds for the progress bar to complete.

[Contract Pet Bai Yunqi, upgrade successful]

[Bai Yunqi Favorability +1000]

[Bai Yunqi Favorability +1000]

......

Messages popped up in sight, seeing the favorability reach the end, fulfilling the last bit, turning into ten sparkling diamonds.

Jiang Yuan was still waiting for them to turn into a crown but didn’t expect ten diamonds to shine simultaneously, instantly exploding into electronic fireworks. All the previous diamonds in his interpersonal relationships disappeared, becoming two large, weighty bold words—Death Warrior!

[Death Warriors, brave warriors unafraid to die at the master’s command]

[Achievement: Cultivate and obtain your first Death Warrior. Reward: Death Warrior’s Immortal Medal +1]

[Death Warrior’s Immortal Medal: As Death Warriors, they never hesitate to blaze a trail for their master at critical moments, hence the high casualty rate among Death Warriors. With this medal, they can block a fatal threat for the Death Warrior at a critical moment]

Shit! So, when favorability goes up, it turns into Death Warriors!

He suddenly remembered overlooking the grand Celestial Realm in a dream, hearing that voice—grant them a chance to become a god; they repay you with their lives...

Suddenly, a heaviness settled in Jiang Yuan’s heart. He thought of various welfare distributions, whether it was contract pets, sisters, or mounts, or even those titular guests, their favorability would increase more or less, and eventually, they would all become his Death Warriors.