Beast Taming: My System is Bugged

Chapter 164 - 162: Ancient Bronze Tripod

’If Life Energy is to stabilize within the Dantian, it must be integrated with Dao Principles.’

Old Deng’s Health Array Pattern possessed the power of Dao Principles and could take shape in the Dantian, but its form was fleeting, lasting only a few seconds. This meant the general idea was sound, but they needed a different approach.

Therefore, both Gu Ming and Cyan Treasure began to ponder how to make the Life Energy conform to the principles of the Great Dao while tracing its path within the Dantian.

Grandpa Gu had been listening from the side for a long time, and only now did he understand the core difficulty of the problem his grandson was tackling.

Seeing Gu Ming’s furrowed brow and Ma Tianba ignoring Cyan Treasure to focus on replicating the Array Pattern, he spoke up.

"Are you looking for something that contains the principles of the Great Dao?

"If so, we have some old antiques in the house. They more or less have some of the Great Dao’s principles buried within them. I’ll go get them for you to take a look."

Gu Ming grunted in acknowledgment, not paying it much mind. He didn’t think his grandfather could produce anything suitable for his needs.

But when his grandfather left and returned with a rust-spotted Bronze Tripod, Gu Ming’s gaze was immediately drawn to it.

This Bronze Tripod was about the size of an ordinary washbasin, its interior shallow. The vessel’s shape was simple and ancient, carved with peculiar bronze beast patterns.

Gu Ming stared at the beast pattern—it had large, bell-like eyes, two sharp fangs, and a formidable, beastly aura.

At first glance, it was just an Ancient Artifact with a sense of history. He couldn’t feel any principles of the Great Dao from it.

However, as a breeze of Spiritual Qi wafted through the forest, a faint spiritual light bloomed on the surface of the bronze vessel.

The large eyes of the beast pattern suddenly flashed, transforming into a pair of orbs that glowed like molten gold and flowing fire.

Ma Tianba suddenly glanced over and infused the Bronze Tripod with Holy Light.

Instantly, the Dao Principles within the Bronze Tripod were fully activated, and the sounds of wild beasts echoed from it.

The ferocious beast face seemed to come alive, flowing with the light and shadows. Lightning patterns faintly appeared where its fangs crossed, and the phantasmal image of a tiger-like beast emerged from within the tripod.

At this point, the Ancient Artifact’s principles of the Great Dao were fully revealed, leaving Gu Ming thoroughly impressed.

Just then, his grandfather said,

"This is a Bronze Tripod I dug up from the ground back when I was in the army. We even used it as a urinal at first.

"It was only later that we discovered this thing was probably a Beast Taming artifact for Beastmasters in ancient times.

"But nowadays, no one knows how to use it correctly. Even if you inject Mana or something else into it, all it does is produce various Spirit Beast apparitions.

"Do you think this tripod would be a suitable reference for the shape of the foundation?"

A urinal... Gu Ming looked at the object and subconsciously took a step back.

However, as he gazed at the Dao Charm displayed on the tripod’s surface, it was as if a bolt of lightning flashed through Gu Ming’s mind.

’This... this could work!’

Gu Ming walked over and touched the Bronze Tripod himself, feeling the Spirit Beast apparitions surging on its surface.

He closed his eyes and could almost see an ancient, long-fanged tiger beast running through a mountain forest, leaving two bright trails like molten gold and flowing fire in its wake.

His mind opened up.

If the foundation that was meant to support the Magic Power Inner Core needed to have the principles of the Great Dao, then he could indeed directly copy an object from reality that already possessed those principles.

Although he hadn’t had Cyan Treasure try it yet, his instincts as a Beastmaster told him the probability of success was extremely high.

"It can definitely be used.

"But this one has a tiger pattern. Grandpa, do you have a Bronze Tripod with a snake pattern?" Gu Ming asked.

As he mentioned the snake pattern, the plot commentary for the "Old Deng’s Counterattack System" suddenly sprang to life again.

[You explain the latest Foundation Establishment Evolution Method developed by Human Race Beastmasters to Ma Tianba, who becomes greatly interested.]

[Attempting to create a Molded Foundation with an Array!]

[Cyan Treasure has failed.]

[Ma Tianba shakes its head and takes an Ancient Artifact from its King’s Treasure Vault. It is a wine cup that the Gu Family’s old master gave it years ago. The ancient beast patterns on it inspire you.]

[You can’t help but ask if the Gu Family left behind a Dragon Race beast-patterned tripod. Ma Tianba gives you a look, implying that if such a thing existed, it wouldn’t be taken out so easily.]

Gu Ming: "..."

He knew, of course, that it was a pointless question. His grandfather also shook his head.

"Our family doesn’t have a Snake Pattern Tripod, but we dug up quite a few Bronze Tripods back then, with other beast patterns.

"Let me ask my old classmates if the tripods are still in their homes."

Hearing this, a glimmer of hope sparked in Gu Ming’s heart.

But it was the middle of the night, not a convenient time to call and disturb people.

With nothing else to do for the moment, he decided to have Cyan Treasure try imitating the tiger-patterned Bronze Tripod to see if it could form a Great Dao Foundation.

Cyan Treasure used its Earth Shifting Technique, struggling to move the Life Energy and trace the lines, referencing the real Bronze Tripod’s appearance.

Soon, Cyan Treasure’s Spiritual Power ran out. Like a flood bursting through a dam, it was completely depleted.

This time, the bottleneck wasn’t Life Energy, but Cyan Treasure’s Spiritual Power.

Ma Tianba, while recalling the Array Pattern, used its Divine Sense to observe Cyan Treasure and noticed its unusual state.

Even injecting Holy Light Energy couldn’t help Cyan Treasure smoothly mold the foundation from Life Energy.

Ma Tianba used its immense Power to perceive the difficulties in Cyan Treasure’s Foundation Establishment.

It quickly realized why constructing a Bronze Tripod consumed so much energy.

Previously, it was just a matter of tracing an Array Pattern. Constructing a solid object was an entirely different matter.

An Array, after all, is a two-dimensional Array Diagram. It doesn’t have the energy consumption of a three-dimensional structure.

But a physical Bronze Tripod was far more complex. The difficulty of construction and the energy required had expanded explosively.

This was not something a creature of Cyan Treasure’s Level, with its current Spiritual Power and Life Force, could support.

Ma Tianba shook its head again and said,

"Give up on the idea of Foundation Establishment. This simply isn’t something you can accomplish at your current stage.

"Besides, researching Skills that are beyond your Star Level is extremely difficult. This is no longer a matter of whether you’re a genius or not.

"In fact, if you were to succeed in molding the Great Dao Foundation, it would mean you’ve surpassed the power of your own Star Level.

"Once you complete it, a Super Evolution is highly likely to occur."

Gu Ming’s ears twitched, and a strange expression crossed his face.

As the saying goes, the speaker may have no particular intention, but the listener reads between the lines.

Although Gu Ming didn’t know much about Super Evolution, he knew it was an evolutionary phenomenon that occurred after surpassing one’s own limits, and that it involved a process of replenishment from the Celestial Dao.

The immense difficulty of Foundation Establishment would explain why it could trigger a Pet Beast’s Evolution.

However, according to information from the future, many One-star Pet Beasts were able to achieve a Two-star Evolution after Foundation Establishment.

Therefore, this shouldn’t be such a massive bottleneck for Cyan Treasure.

’After all, even if Cyan Treasure doesn’t have the vast potential of a high-potential cub, its Spiritual Power shouldn’t be so low that it can’t even lay a single "brick,"’ he thought.

Gu Ming silently mulled it over, reviewing the basic principles of the Foundation Establishment Method, when suddenly a new idea struck him.

In the real world, to build a skyscraper, you first have to lay the foundation, pour reinforced concrete, and then slowly lay it brick by brick.

Perhaps molding the Great Dao Foundation within the Dantian could also reference real-world civil engineering.

Speaking of earth and wood...

Wasn’t this perfect?

Cyan Treasure was currently practicing the Cultivation of the "Mastery of Wood Escape." This Ultimate Skill was a combination of the Earth and Grass Attributes, which thoroughly tested a Pet Beast’s ability to control Life Energy of the earth and grass types.

Who would have thought that after going around in circles, Cyan Treasure had returned to its starting point.