The Ancestral Hall of the Ye Family was built against the mountain, with two stories in size, and on the roof, there were carvings of two True Dragons fighting over a pearl.
The tiles were vivid and lifelike, with an impressive majesty!
At the entrance stood a large incense burner, emitting a massive blue smoke, resembling a rising Flood Dragon.
This wasn't Ye Jingcheng's first visit to the Ancestral Hall; he had been here once when he first entered the mountain, but at that time, he was just a child over ten years old.
During that visit, the incense burner wasn't this large.
Ye Xingliu continued to walk, bypassing the incense burner, and entered the Ancestral Hall.
Ye Jingcheng followed closely behind.
As he passed through the rising blue smoke, Ye Jingcheng couldn't help but find the scent of sandalwood particularly pleasant, making him inhale a few more breaths, and in the next moment, he realized that his consciousness began to weaken, becoming gradually hazy.
His head grew heavier, and a bench appeared behind him.
He fell onto the bench.
"Who are you?" Ye Xingliu's cold voice rang out.
"Ye Jingcheng!" Ye Jingcheng answered mechanically, now unable to control his thoughts or think, only able to respond woodenly.
"Why have you come to the Ye Family?"
"For cultivation and immortality!"
Ye Xingliu's eyes changed, and the next moment, Ye Jingcheng added:
"This is also my home; I grew up here!"
Only then did Ye Xingliu nod, and with a finger, lightly touched Ye Jingcheng's brow.
Ye Jingcheng's body relaxed immediately at this touch, feeling his head become even dizzier, and within a few breaths, he fell into a deep sleep.
In his dream, Ye Jingcheng saw more Spirit Beasts of the Ye Family, saw himself successfully establish his Foundation in the Ye Family, and saw his fourth brother, Ye Jingyu, becoming the Patriarch, with the Ye Family thriving.
The dream was unusually long.
And exceptionally beautiful.
Until several coughs.
Ye Jingcheng awoke from the dream to find Ye Xingliu still waiting in an immaculate Daoist Robe as if he had been waiting for a long time.
The return of consciousness left his body somewhat uncomfortable.
"Patriarch..."
Yet he saw Ye Xingliu seriously say again:
"Jingcheng, what you're about to see, hear, and feel are the highest secrets of the family. Remember, you must not disclose even a bit to outsiders, not even to other family members, or the family will hunt you down and reclaim your cultivation. Do you understand?"
"I understand!" Ye Jingcheng nodded and stood up from the bench, following Ye Jingcheng behind.
Having said that, Ye Xingliu stepped into the Ancestral Hall, with Ye Jingcheng hurriedly following suit.
He was met with numerous memorial tablets, an Eight Immortals Table, a sacrificial burner, two red candles, and three zafus.
"Sit on the zafu!" Ye Xingliu continued to instruct, taking the lead in sitting down.
Ye Jingcheng nodded, knowing that he seemed to have just been tested.
And what followed might be the true secrets of the family.
Sitting on the zafu, Ye Jingcheng seemed to hear a series of chanting voices.
However, he couldn't hear the chants clearly, finding them extremely complex.
He tried to listen further, but the next moment, he looked up again!
He was shocked to find himself inside a Treasure Tower, but instead of memorial tablets, it was adorned with sculptures of Spirit Beasts!
They were lifelike, either sitting or standing, flying or still, angry or smiling.
"Jingcheng, preserve as many Spirit Patterns as possible!" Ye Xingliu's voice suddenly echoed in his mind, making it clear this wasn't an illusion, but real.
Though he still didn't fully understand what Spirit Patterns were or how to preserve them.
Boom!
Suddenly, a cracking sound was heard.
The statues began to show cracking lines, followed by falling fragments, until they had completely fallen away.
The Spirit Beasts came crashing towards Ye Jingcheng fiercely, a scene too inexplicable to comprehend!
Ye Jingcheng began to run, seeing that these beasts were not Mortal Beasts. However, the limited space within the tower soon had him bumped into!
Boom!
A trembling sensation was transmitted, and his body was passed through by a Spirit Beast.
On his body appeared a faint Spiritual Light Spirit Pattern.
The Spirit Pattern began to fade at a speed visible to the naked eye.
But in the next moment, several more Spirit Beasts rushed at him!
Each collision made his head dizzy for several moments.
And on his arm appeared another Spirit Pattern.
Three small Spirit Patterns would converge into a three-inch-long Spirit Pattern.
When three such three-inch Spirit Patterns appeared, they would transform into a five-inch-long Spirit Pattern.
At that moment, Ye Jingcheng felt as if his head would explode.
When two more Spirit Beasts passed through him, his arm bore one five-inch Spirit Pattern, along with two one-inch Spirit Patterns.
And in that instant, the Treasure Tower vanished, returning Ye Jingcheng to the Ancestral Hall!
Pain still showed on his face.
"Not bad! A Beast Communication Pattern as long as five inches!" Ye Xingliu also saw the Spirit Patterns on Ye Jingcheng's hand at this moment and couldn't help but praise him.
Noticing Ye Jingcheng's confusion, Ye Xingliu also revealed his arm, showing a five-inch-long Spirit Pattern.
The next moment, it easily disappeared from his arm.
"This Spirit Pattern is called the Beast Communication Pattern; it is the greatest secret of the family. When your Spirit Pattern becomes fully stable, you will be able to control it at will, hidden within or outside your body, just like I can!"
"Its greatest advantage is that it allows the exchange of Spiritual Power with Demon Beasts!"
"If a cultivator and a Demon Beast have vastly different levels of cultivation, this Beast Communication Pattern can quickly bridge the gap, even eliminating it!"
"Of course, this speed is merely several times faster than normal, almost akin to sharing the Spirit Beast's talent!"
"Moreover, many of the family's Beast Taming Secret Techniques are related to the Beast Communication Pattern. As you are now only at the Qi Cultivation Stage, you won't have access to them, but you should know!" Ye Xingliu explained one by one!
At this moment, Ye Jingcheng's heart had set off great waves.
His previous doubts were also resolved.
The Ye Family does not care about Spirit Roots, because, as long as there is a Spirit Beast with significant talent, it can elevate a cultivator's talent to a higher level through shared Spiritual Power.
Even if the Spirit Beast's progress slows after reaching maturity, the Ye Family's Spirit Beasts can be inherited.
Take Ye Jingcheng, for example; unsurprisingly, his cultivation speed will be constantly pulled along by the Red Flame Fox!
With the Beast Communication Pattern, he would always benefit.
Upon reaching full maturity, the Red Flame Fox can achieve the Late Stage of Foundation Establishment.
Of course, for Ye Jingcheng, it all seemed like a dream!
The Treasure Book within him was meant to enhance Spirit Beast talent, from a single tail to two tails, and eventually to nine tails, representing a qualitative leap.
The most crucial part is that the enhancement relies mainly on powerful bloodlines and nearly entirely on feeding!
"Here's how to use the Beast Communication Pattern; you need to record it once and then destroy the Jade Talisman!" Seeing that Ye Jingcheng did not have any questions, Ye Xingliu handed over a Jade Talisman.
"Thank you, Patriarch!"
"When there are no outsiders, just call me Third Uncle; our Ye Family is not so formal!"