Chương 176: Bond Between - Creator.

"What are you talking about? Such a thing is possible?" Shu He's brows furrowed, he hadn't heard of any such thing in the records he had read here, the technique scroll itself doesn't mention it either, so he couldn't help but find Elder Bai's words doubtful.

"Well, it's never been done before at least; Not according to what I know" Elder Bai said honestly, but a grin was still plastered on his face, his eyes told Shu He that he was happy because he had found something interesting.

"Then how do you know it would work? How would I go about it anyway? Doesn't the technique require trust between the two participants, along with the animal having a spirit heart?". In the end, he couldn't describe his bond with Little Xue as a bond of deep trust, more like something between owner and pet right now.

That isn't even talking about how she was still mid ascension, she was just a chrysalis right now! Let alone a spirit heart, she doesn't even have an actual body to use!

"Well…" Elder Bai paused for a second as he held his chin in thought "… I'll have to explain to you more about the <<Inner Heart Linking Technique>> for you to understand, you only have a basic understanding of it right?".

"Well, as much as the scroll explained" Shu He placed Little Xue's chrysalis on a nearby bench as he took a seat, he felt like this would be a long conversation. Elder Bai sat opposite in a very relaxed manner as he looked out over the feeding animals.

"Do you know how techniques are made?" He asked while smiling slightly, like he was watching his children bicker over their food. "Not just the <<Inner Heart Linking Technique>>, but all of them?" Shu He asked to which Elder Bai nodded lightly.

Shu He went silent for a moment as he gathered his thoughts, he hadn't learned many techniques, so his initial answer would be that they were just imagined by their creators, yet he paused before he gave that answer.

'It can't be that simple' He thought to himself as he looked over at the animals that were feeding, and then he remembered something; The innate techniques of spirit animals, they weren't made but rather they were born with them, yet Humans manage to create such complicated techniques without that advantage.

Ideas are never born from nothing, there is always inspiration no matter how vague or distant it is.

"Are they taken from the surrounding world, like the technique of a spirit animal?" He said, tilting his head slightly as he thought about the implications.

Elder Bai nodded slightly "That's one part of it yes, many techniques have been derived from spirit animal's inner techniques, however that's just a small part of it; Not just animals, inspiration is taken from the natural world, the plants, the earth, the sea, the sky; All of these wonderous sights and phenomena; That isn't to say you can't attempt to create something without inspiration, it's just that 99 times out of 100, such inspiration will make the technique soar".

"Interesting…" Shu He lent on his hand as he thought 'I wonder if the technique that Long Tian gave me was inspired by something… not just that, what about my <<Divine Territory>>? I named it, and have steadily evolved it throughout my life so far, but I never purposely did so…' he shook his head slightly, those were things he would have to answer later. "Then, what about the <<Inner Heart Linking Technique>>? It feels so abstract in use, I don't understand what inspiration it could have been developed from?"

"Inspiration doesn't always have to be tangible, what serves as a basis for this technique is the bond between spirit animals, more specifically it was developed by focusing on the bond between parent and child" Elder Bai explained.

"Parent and child? I thought the technique put the participants as equals".

"Are parent and child not equal?" He shook his head "It matters not how you see it, but that mechanism was the basis for the technique; Spirit animals have a much deeper, tangible bond between family members unlike normal animals, do you know why?" he questioned Shu He again.

"Is it because it's much harder for them to reproduce, so they value their kin more? Or maybe because they're more intelligent, so they have higher emotional intelligence as well?".

"Those are a part of it, but the biggest reason is far more tangible; When a spirit best is conceived it requires a lot of Qi to grow, normally the mother will consume large quantities of valuable materials in order to provide for them, and after birth this job is taken up by the father while the mother recovers, providing the Qi through physical contact along with feeding".

"The interesting thing is that through this process an invisible bond is formed between parent and child, some have called it a psychic connection but more precisely it is a link formed between their three cores of cultivation, a mutual understanding and link of growth, a pack of spirit animals is far more dangerous than a pack of normal animals simply because of this; If a pack can provide their Qi to a strong leader, a true monster can be born".

"…And this connection is the basis of the technique?" Shu He asked, a slight drop of sweat falling from his brow, he was imagining just how much of a terrifying force a pack of spirit beasts would be, he couldn't imagine facing more than one of those Razor Wolves if they were capable of flawless communication and Qi sharing.

"That's right, in truth this technique is one of the most powerful ones in the sect, it's just that it's hard to use and requires a partner spirit beast, so it hasn't been able to rise to prominence" Elder Bai boasted.

"Who is it that made such a technique? There's no name on the technique scroll…" Every other technique had the name of the original developer on them, so Shu He did find it odd; For example the Titanic Art series of techniques was developed by the First Sect Master, Yang Jie, so he was credited as such.

"Oh, it was made by yours truly" Elder Bai said with a grin.

"Oh!... So a spirit beast made it, that makes sense…" Shu He nodded lightly.

"At least be a bit more surprised…" Elder Bai murmured with a slightly disappointed expression.

"I am! It's just… not as surprising as other things I've experienced…" Shu He scratched his head; on the scale of things it really wasn't up there. "Why would you develop this technique anyway? As a spirit beast, are you very familiar with such a bond?" Shu He asked out of curiosity, this technique feels like something a cultivator would develop and not the other way around.

"More familiar than anyone else" Elder Bai answered, a bittersweet smile crept up on his face catching Shu He off guard, it was the first time he'd seen this Elder making such an expression. "But- I won't tell you about any of that, it's all in the past. I made this technique because I want my fellow spirit beasts to get closer to humans, not to fear or despise them" a hint of melancholy flashed in the Elder's eyes as the looked over the animals that had finished eating and began to waddle off "I want to prevent the same mistake I made happening as much as possible".

"…" Shu He glanced at Elder Bai in silence, he could almost feel an aura of sorrow wash over him as he held his tongue, there was no point pressing, the Elder had decided to tell no one.

"Sorry, I got a little sentimental, where were we…?" Elder Bai brushed away his long white hair and a smile returned to his face "Right, now that you know what became the basis for the technique, I want you to think for a second, why is it I said it might be possible for the connection to be made now?".

Shu He's brows furrowed as he looked at the golden chrysalis that was sitting on the table between them, he could feel a very faint connection between him and little Xue inside, he thought back to the conversation he just had, and it hit him.

'Right! If the process of ascension was compared to conception then-'

"She is undergoing her 'birth' right now, and me giving her my 'Qi' is equivalent to a mother feeding her in the womb?" Shu He connected the dots.

"Perfect, that's right, the fact that there is already a connection between you two means that the process has already started! It's not a situation I've ever encountered, but I'm sure it will work!" Elder Bai clapped lightly as he stood up ecstatically.

"So should I just continue as is?" Said Shu He. 'If the process is already undergoing, it would be fine to continue, right?' was what he thought.

"No! We need to take the bull by its horns! The technique was designed to achieve an immediate effect, if we use it now we should be able to create a bond that is even stronger than normal!". He picked up Little Xue's chrysalis before he began to run inside.

"H-hey! I said not to touch her!" Shu He jumped up in surprise as he began to chase him.

"We already have the formation set up inside for use at any time, let's do it now!" Elder Bai Ignored him as he charged off.