"Senior Brother, I need your help with something," Yue Chengtian’s voice sounded somewhat rushed.
"Easy, Junior Brother. What’s the matter?" Chen Jiuge frowned.
After all, he was the one who had introduced this disciple to the Sect, so a direct refusal wouldn’t be right. If it wasn’t too troublesome, lending a hand was acceptable.
"Senior Brother, there’s an Outer Sect mission that requires three people. Originally, everything was set, but unfortunately, one of the cultivators had a backlash from cultivating a Secret Technique yesterday and can’t partake in the mission. So, I’d like to invite you to join, Senior Brother," Yue Chengtian explained.
"What mission?" Chen Jiuge’s interest dwindled at the mention of a mission. Leaving the Sect wasn’t conducive to his preference for laying low.
"Erm, feeding at Hundred Dragon Pond," Yue Chengtian said softly.
"What? Going to Hundred Dragon Pond to feed? Don’t tell me you dared to accept this task, Junior Brother?" Chen Jiuge was left speechless.
Hundred Dragon Pond was a place within the Myriad Beasts Sect where Flood Dragons were raised. This task wasn’t dangerous, as it didn’t require leaving the Sect, but it was certainly torment. The reason was that all the Flood Dragons in White Dragon Pond were High Rank Spiritual Beasts, at least Fifth Rank Divinity Transformation cultivators. The Sect had placed restrictions on them to prevent these Flood Dragons from fighting amongst themselves. Consequently, this made life difficult for the disciples assigned to feed them, as they were often subjected to the Flood Dragons’ pranks in the pond. On the other hand, the Merit for this task was not low. Three years of feeding warranted a thousand Merit points, and it was accessible to anyone with Foundation Establishment Cultivation. It was somewhat of a mixed blessing, though a tad infuriating.
"Senior Brother, is it possible?" Yue Chengtian’s anxious voice pulled Chen Jiuge from his thoughts.
"Alright. When do we start?" Chen Jiuge considered for a moment and agreed. He really didn’t have anything pressing to do lately.
His younger sister and two nephews from the family were currently only at the Qi Cultivation Stage and were being instructed by Stewards from the Outer Sect. They’ll likely spend the next decade focused on reaching Foundation Establishment and won’t have time to visit me, he mused. I can earn some Merit from this task in the meantime.
(Addition: The Golden Finger cannot forcefully extract a Spiritual Beast Bloodline from a Spiritual Beast with a higher Cultivation than one’s own, unless, of course, the Spiritual Beast is willing.)
"That’s great, Senior Brother! We start tomorrow. We’ll meet at the Hall of Affairs to register the mission details," Yue Chengtian exclaimed joyfully.
Ending the call, Chen Jiuge shook his head and chuckled. His Junior Brother must have run into some trouble; otherwise, normal cultivators wouldn’t take on the task of feeding at Hundred Dragon Pond.
"Senior Brother Chen, it’s me again."
Upon hearing the voice, Chen Jiuge connected his Divine Sense to the Array and found it was Fang Chong, the one who had sold him the Clear Light Turtle eggs last time. Could there be an issue with those eggs?
Opening the Array, Chen Jiuge inquired, "Junior Brother Fang, was there a problem with those Clear Light Turtle eggs from last time?"
"No, no, I’m here on behalf of someone else to discuss a matter with you, Senior Brother," Fang Chong said, somewhat reluctantly.
"It’s , Senior Brother Chen, you’ve contracted a Fighting Demon Ape, right?" Fang Chong then described the Demon Ape that had been seen with a Snow Ape.
Chen Jiuge’s expression darkened. "Alright, Junior Brother Fang, I get it. He’s mine. What trouble has he caused this time?"
"He’s been consorting with a Snow Ape. That Snow Ape is the Lifebound Spirit Beast recently contracted by a good friend of mine. She was planning to help it advance its realm after its breakthrough to Golden Core. Now, because of your Demon Ape, it has lost all interest in Cultivation," Fang Chong explained.
"That damned beast! Junior Brother, say no more. Just take me there," Chen Jiuge said, a flare of anger in his voice.
Watching the furious Chen Jiuge, Fang Chong wasted no time and immediately led the way.
「Three quarters of an hour later.」
Chen Jiuge saw his own Demon Ape, War Song.
Seeing the Demon Ape cuddling a snow-white ape, Chen Jiuge was about to unleash a torrent of abuse when, unexpectedly, the Demon Ape spoke to the white ape, "Little Flower, you’re too honest. What’s a master? Just a servant who gives us food and drink, right? Look at the Magic Artifact on me and the Storage Bag at my waist; all these were given by my master. I do whatever I want on normal days. Therefore, Spiritual Beasts need to learn to be independent."
"Is that right? So in your eyes, War Song, I am your servant? I seem to recall a certain shameless monkey rolling on the ground, relentlessly begging me to buy those things for him," Chen Jiuge said, his face dark and his voice ominous.
The familiar voice made War Song shudder. He turned, his courage deserting him— "Heavens, Master! What brings you here? You didn’t even give your little monkey a heads-up!" War Song said fawningly, his eyes darting about.
Seeing the guilty War Song, Chen Jiuge thought for a moment but still decided to grant him some dignity. "Alright, you’ve been out too long this time. Others have complained to me, saying you’re seducing Spiritual Beasts."
After speaking, Chen Jiuge glanced at the Snow Ape, which had its head bowed.
"No! My love for Little Flower is real! Master, please give us a chance. It’s true!" War Song pleaded.
Just then, Baili Qing and Chen Tingting arrived.
Chen Jiuge first bowed to the two women in apology, then said, "It’s indeed my Spiritual Beast’s fault, but I can see these two monkeys also have feelings for each other. It’s not right to forcibly separate a loving couple. I wonder which of you is this Snow Ape’s master? I’d like to discuss this with her."
Baili Qing stepped in front of Chen Tingting, who looked like she was about to speak. "You’re Chen Jiuge, right? By rights, I should call you Senior Brother. However, your Spiritual Beast has hindered my good sister’s Cultivation. This isn’t something that can be resolved with just a few words."
Chen Jiuge sighed, shook his head, and took out one hundred Upper Spirit from his Storage Ring. "Take these hundred Upper Spirit as compensation for this Junior Sister. Junior Sister, would you be willing to discuss this with me?"
"No, no, it’s not a big deal, really. It’s just that, Senior Brother, your Spiritual Beast has been hanging around constantly, and Little Flower won’t cultivate anymore," Chen Tingting said, somewhat abashed.
Eventually, with Baili Qing and Fang Chong mediating, the four of them managed to hammer out an agreement that satisfied everyone: one hundred Upper Spirit would be given to Chen Tingting as compensation. As for War Song and Little Flower, the two beasts were to be separated for now but could meet once a month, provided it did not hinder their Cultivation.
A hundred Upper Spirit wasn’t much to him. This Junior Sister clearly didn’t come from a prominent family, yet she had gone out of her way to buy a Wisdom Opening Pill for a mere Second-Rank Snow Ape. It showed how much she valued the creature. He might as well consider this an advance betrothal gift for War Song.
Having exchanged Communication Stones, they had, in a way, become friends through this conflict. Chen Jiuge invited the three of them to his small valley for a barbecue feast, thus resolving the minor disagreement.
"Little Flower, wait for me! Once my Cultivation reaches the heavens, no one can stop us!" War Song said, full of reluctance to part.
"Brother War, I’ll wait for you," Little Flower replied, her face blushing.
With that, the two spirit beasts began to nuzzle and mouth each other passionately, leaving the four humans extremely embarrassed by the utterly indecorous display.
Finally, the two young women couldn’t bear it any longer. Chen Tingting forcibly recalled Little Flower, at last bringing the farce to an end.
After seeing the three of them off, Chen Jiuge turned to the dejected War Song and said, "Come on, stop sulking. She’s just one Snow Ape. As long as you’re strong enough, do you think her master will still try to stop you? You’ve fooled around outside long enough. Stay home for a while. Black Eye is about to break through, so keep an eye on it."
"Understood," War Song responded listlessly.
Chen Jiuge couldn’t be bothered with him anymore; the ape was simply too unreliable. Let him be, he thought. Besides, after reaching the Nascent Soul stage, he no longer needed his Spiritual Beasts to be a realm higher than his own cultivation for him to achieve his own breakthroughs.