“Every temple has its own scripture. What’s recorded here is the scripture for us breeders—we call it the ‘Heart Sutra.’ Only by cultivating the Heart Sutra can one become a true breeder.”

Chapter 013: Luohe Heart Sutra

“What is the purpose of the Heart Sutra?” Henry Bennett asked. Old Grant replied calmly, “To turn us into guardian beasts as well.”

“Ah!” Henry Bennett was greatly surprised. Although the twin-bladed Backblade Mantis was fierce, its back arched like a mountain and looked very imposing, he still felt that his current appearance was much cuter.

“Heh, don’t worry. I don’t mean turning into a guardian beast in appearance, but in spirit. The Heluo Heart Sutra allows our bodies to secrete a kind of crystal. This crystal is useless to humans, but for guardian beasts, it’s indispensable. The growth of guardian beasts depends entirely on this crystal.” Old Grant took out a pale blue, crystal-like object about the size of a fingernail. “Look, this is it. This is my limit—I can only secrete this much crystal each time. But this small piece is already enough for a Backblade Mantis to grow from the hatching stage to the juvenile stage.”

“Don’t guardian beasts eat food? Why do they still need these crystals?” Henry Bennett didn’t understand. “This is the arrangement of the gods. It’s hard to say why, but all guardian beasts are like this, which is why breeders are needed. No matter how much food a guardian beast eats, without these crystals, they simply can’t grow.”

“Generally, when a guardian beast hatches from its egg, it enters the hatching stage. After the hatching stage comes the juvenile stage, then the adolescent stage, then adulthood, then the dormant stage, and finally the mature stage. Only guardian beasts that reach maturity can combine with warriors to become guardian beast warriors.” Old Grant, holding the blue crystal, said, “Throughout the entire process, this crystal is essential. It’s called the ‘divine crystal.’ For a Backblade Mantis to go from the egg stage to maturity, it needs a total of eight pieces of divine crystal of this size. Each upgrade requires twice as many divine crystals as the previous one. And once a guardian beast combines with a warrior, upgrading at that point requires eight pieces of divine crystal of this size all at once.” Henry Bennett looked at the beautiful, mysteriously alluring crystal, feeling it was a bit unbelievable. “Where is it secreted from?” Henry Bennett asked. Old Grant answered, “It condenses in your heart, then is transported out through spatial magic—the Heart Sutra records this kind of spatial magic, the simplest kind.”

“Come, let’s begin your first training as a guardian beast breeder now!” Old Grant pulled Henry Bennett to sit down beside the stone, explaining the Heart Sutra while demonstrating himself. Under his guidance, Henry Bennett slowly entered the state. “Focus your mind, feel a stream of crystal flowing inside your body, let it follow the prescribed route, and finally gather in your heart. As it accumulates more and more, when you feel you can’t contain it anymore, use that magic to transport it out.” After Henry Bennett had circulated the crystal stream several times, Old Grant asked, “How do you feel? Does your heart chamber feel full?” Henry Bennett shook his head. “No, it still feels empty.”

“Huh?” Old Grant was a bit puzzled. Normally, when a new breeder first cultivates the Heart Sutra, after the first circulation of the crystal stream, the heart chamber will feel full, because at the beginning, the heart chamber hasn’t been developed and is very small, so usually after one circulation, the accumulated divine crystal will make the heart chamber feel full.

He carefully observed Henry Bennett. There was a faint glow flowing beneath his skin—though weak, it was still visible—which meant Henry Bennett already had the crystal stream, but his heart chamber didn’t feel full. Old Grant couldn’t figure out what was going on. After waiting a while, he asked, “How many times has your crystal stream circulated?”

“Seventeen times,” Henry Bennett answered honestly. Old Grant was shocked. “That fast!” You see, a new breeder’s mental control is usually very weak. Completing one circulation in an hour is already good. Henry Bennett had completed seventeen circulations in just a few dozen minutes, which was about the same as Old Grant’s own level of mental control. How could Old Grant not be surprised?

“Does your heart chamber feel full?” Old Grant asked cautiously, and once again Henry Bennett surprised him: “Still no.”

“Ah!” Old Grant was a bit flustered. He had never encountered this situation before—not only had he never experienced it, he’d never even heard of it. A new breeder, on their first cultivation, could circulate the crystal stream over a dozen times in less than an hour, and yet the heart chamber didn’t feel full at all. Was he a peerless genius, or a completely unqualified defective? Old Grant was unsure.

After thinking deeply, he said to Henry Bennett, “Take your time cultivating, don’t rush. When you finally feel your heart chamber is full, transport the divine crystal out yourself. I’ll wait here and won’t disturb you.” Henry Bennett nodded with his eyes closed, still busy circulating the crystal stream.