Du Xinghe raised her hand and scratched the right dragon head’s chin as if petting a cat.
The right Qilin immediately nestled softly against her palm, while the left one flew into a rage and bit its sibling brother’s neck. The two began pecking at each other to compete for her favor, giving her quite a headache. In Pingyun Continent, the cultivation path of beast taming was highly niche, and she didn’t know how to form contracts with Spirit Beasts either.
As a last resort, Du Xinghe asked her System: “Do you have any methods for contracting Spirit Beasts?”
The System righteously refused her:
[We are a proper imperial harem intrigue system.]
Fine then!
Du Xinghe could only search through the System’s marketplace on her own.
Surprisingly, she actually found an item with a very similar function.
[Beast Control Talisman]: Feed this talisman-infused water to an animal, and it will be able to carry out one simple task. You can command it to attack a pregnant consort, causing her to be frightened and miscarry.
Between the lightly written lines lurked malice toward the imperial consorts.
After thinking for a moment, Du Xinghe decided not to use it.
Although Spirit Beasts were animals not bound by human moral codes, they possessed intelligence equivalent to young children. After being controlled by the Beast Control Talisman once, they would definitely notice something wrong and become suspicious of her. Currently, the Qilins regarded her as their birth mother and were dependent on her—clearly an excellent starting point that shouldn’t be jeopardized by short-sightedness.
Suddenly inspired, she searched through the offspring category.
Sure enough, she found something useful.
[Heart-to-Heart Connection]: Historically, when Crown Prince Liu Ju was framed by Jiang Chong, Emperor Wu of Han sent someone to summon the crown prince for questioning. That person never even entered the city before turning back to report to Emperor Wu that the crown prince wanted to kill him and was planning a rebellion. Convinced of the crown prince’s rebellion, Emperor Wu sent troops to suppress it, ultimately forcing the crown prince to commit suicide outside Chang’an city. Later, Emperor Wu suddenly realized there had been a messenger sowing discord and was filled with regret and remorse. This shows that in an era when even letters traveled slowly, timely communication can prevent misunderstandings between you and your offspring, allowing you to create perfect information asymmetry during imperial harem intrigue!
Du Xinghe: …
Using such a powerful wartime tool for imperial harem intrigue? How ambitious!
Never mind, she happened to have enough points from previously obtaining two offspring to unlock it.
The next second, she could hear the inner voices of her two cubs.
[Mother is so soft! I must protect mother who doesn’t have scales to protect her!]
[Get lost, this is my mother.]
[She’s mine too!]
Along with the two fierce juvenile voices, they started bickering again. The young Qilins had completely opened their hearts to Du Xinghe, and a massive stream of memories flooded into her consciousness. The amount of information was so vast that if she hadn’t successfully reached Foundation Establishment, with a body far stronger than before, she might have lost consciousness instantly from the impact.
Fish are born swimmers, and so it is with Spirit Beasts.
Qilins possessed their own memory inheritance. Closing their eyes was like seeing an endless inheritance palace. While humans had to join sects and serve as lowly outer disciples, demon beasts could simply close their eyes to access online lessons, learning secret techniques passed down by their ancestors.
Through [Heart-to-Heart Connection], combined with the Qilins having no defenses against her, it meant she could also enter this inheritance palace!
“Heh…”
Du Xinghe laughed: “Yuanming Zunzhe used to love dangling the promise of teaching techniques like a carrot, but now I have more than I can possibly learn!”
Struck gold!
She immediately needed to find an auspicious location to seclude herself and cultivate until she reached the Great Ascension Stage!
While happily patting the Qilins’ heads, Du Xinghe searched the inheritance palace for basic techniques suitable for her.
Finally, she found a technique classified as beginner-level:
[Flowing Light Kill]
【Prerequisite for Cultivation: Golden Core】
“……”
Du Xinghe swiftly closed the Heritage Palace.
Even a single glance at these legendary beasts who were born with Golden Cores could shake her Dao Heart.
【Mother?】
The Qilin tilted its head: 【Why does Mother have no scales? And why are you so weak? Are you really our mother?】
Two pairs of crimson vertical pupils stared at her with innocence, fangs slightly visible.
They possessed both the naive purity of newborns and the oppressive aura of Golden Core stage power—if the Qilin decided to kill, ending her life would be as easy as crushing an ant. She had to win their trust.
“You take after your father in appearance.”
Du Xinghe smiled with unshakable composure.
To quickly deceive the Qilin, she immediately gave them names.
The brother was called Ye Qi, the sister Ning Lin. Then she activated the buffs from the offspring panel: “Of course you’re my children. If you weren’t mine, where did you come from? And why would I hatch you? If others say you’re not my biological children, it’s because they can’t give birth to two-meter-tall babies covered in scales—they’re jealous and trying to drive a wedge between us. Feel the changes around me; this is the bond between us.”
She was gambling, betting that the “learning” mentioned in the System panel was broad in meaning.
They blinked and obediently began to sense their surroundings. The next moment, both pairs of beastly eyes lit up!
Beside their mother, even absorbing spiritual energy became smoother.
Moreover, it was their mother’s aura that had awakened them. How could they ever doubt her? Ye Qi and Ning Lin’s eyes shimmered with remorse as they gently nuzzled Du Xinghe, begging for forgiveness.
Even with the Heritage Palace, the Qilin were still newborns who had just hatched—easily fooled by her tricks.
【We’re sorry for doubting you, Mother.】
【Even though Mother is weak, we’ll protect you! If Mother drips blood on our reverse scales, we can form a contract!】
After speaking in their milky voices, the Qilin proudly raised their heads.
So, the reverse scales were hidden in their vital spots, rarely revealed to others.
To subdue a magical beast, one typically needed to set up a soul contract array, and many beast-taming secrets were never taught to outsiders.
But when the beast proposed the contract themselves, things were different!
A voluntary spiritual contract between beast and cultivator meant partnership, not master-servant relations—transcending cultivation realms and eliminating the need for taming arrays.
No wonder the beast-taming cultivator who climbed mountains and forded rivers to reach the depths of the cave had been so disappointed. He wanted to claim the Qilin offspring but could only sigh at the eggs.
Joy surged in Du Xinghe’s heart. She hastily cut her fingertip and let blood drip onto the reverse scales.
The crimson blood was instantly absorbed. She extended a trace of divine sense—the Qilin’s aura merged with hers, showing complete dependence without resistance. Still, she dared not delve deeper; the power within the Qilin cubs was too immense, and premature contact would bring no benefit.
Du Xinghe contentedly enjoyed the pleasure of her meridians being nourished by the Qilin’s spiritual energy.
Suddenly, an idea struck her:
“Glimpse the Emperor’ Shadow led me to the Qilin…”
Since ancient times, the appearance of the Qilin has been regarded as an auspicious sign for the nation. Moreover, it carries a symbolic meaning—as mentioned in the Gongyang Commentary, the Qilin only emerges in the presence of an enlightened ruler, arriving when there is a true king and departing when there is none. It recognizes only a wise sovereign as its master! The Spring and Autumn Annals further records “capturing a Qilin during a hunt in the west,” treating it as a form of divine portent.
How could this not be considered discovering the emperor’s trail?
Such successive strokes of fortune made Du Xinghe feel that using the imperial harem intrigue system for cultivation truly held great promise.
With an open mind, it could even be a dimensional downgrade attack!
At that moment, the System voiced its astonishment and doubt: 【Host, please verify the offspring’s physical data again. How can there be a two-meter-tall infant?】
Du Xinghe: “Think bigger. This is called species diversity in the imperial harem.”