Cultivating the Meteor Butterfly Sword, a Spirit Plant, was rather complicated. Fortunately, Huang Kui had not taken away the Six-Chi Monkeys responsible for their care.
The Six-Chi Monkey is a special Spiritual Beast, a hybrid of Star Sea Spiritual Beasts and Heavenly Realm Spiritual Beasts. They possess not only high cultivation talent in Star Power but also considerable Spiritual Wisdom, making them one of the more successful hybrid Spiritual Beasts.
The only drawback was their limited potential; they were usually employed to care for Spirit Plants in the Star Sea that contained Star Power.
After arranging for other Spiritual Beasts to receive the last of Huang Kui’s legacy, Chen Jiuge went alone to find the leader of the Six-Chi Monkeys.
Six-Chi Monkeys weren’t very large; in fact, they could be described as petite, standing only about 1.2 meters tall. Even their strongest leader was no taller than 1.3 meters. They had silvery-white fur, four small, delicate ears, deep blue eyes, and refined features, appearing capable of meticulous work.
"Your former master, I’m afraid, has met with an unfortunate end," Chen Jiuge said to the Six-Chi Monkey leader, who was holding a wine gourd.
A rich aroma of wine wafted from the gourd as the Six-Chi Monkey leader responded indifferently, "I know. But I must clarify something: he wasn’t our master, merely our employer. So, Sir, do you wish to employ us?"
Employ? Chen Jiuge truly hadn’t considered this. Could Beast Workers be employed too?
"I can tell you’re new here. My name is Yuan Shu. If you want to hire us, I can give you an introduction," Yuan Shu said, swaying his wine gourd and speaking unhurriedly.
"Go on," Chen Jiuge didn’t refuse. If some miscellaneous tasks could be handled by hired help, then he could free up his own hands for other matters.
"Alright, I’ll keep it brief."
"In the Myriad Beasts Sect, we have more Spiritual Beasts than Cultivators, especially new hybrid varieties created by the Elders, like us Six-Chi Monkeys. Many such beings, like us, possess not only high talent but also significant Spiritual Wisdom. They are excellent assistants for the stationed disciples."
"But we are very expensive. In the Infinite Star Sea, transactions are mostly conducted using Star Time, which is unique to the Star Sea, or Contribution Points from within the sect. This makes us inaccessible to many newcomers and disciples who are short on funds. Hence, this employment model emerged." Yuan Shu used two idioms in a row, earning a sidelong glance from Chen Jiuge.
"Whether it’s for combat, caring for Spirit Plants, or raising Spiritual Beasts, you can hire suitable Spiritual Beasts for any task. Moreover, the hired Spiritual Beasts are not bound by Contracts. However, the price isn’t low, as newcomers like you tend to run into trouble easily."
"Huang Kui hired us to care for the Meteor Butterfly Sword. The payment was the Star Stones formed when its mature green leaves fall—three hundred Star Stones every hundred years. Remember, that’s three hundred per monkey," Yuan Shu said seriously, holding up three fingers.
How do I know you’re not trying to con me? This monkey doesn’t seem honest, Chen Jiuge thought.
Yuan Shu immediately bristled. "Do you think I’m that kind of monkey? This is the going rate! I would never disrupt the market."
Pulling out a Communication Stone, Chen Jiuge decided to contact Senior Brother Jin Xiao. As the current Commander of the Third Zone, he should have information on this.
"Junior Chen? What trouble have you encountered?" Jin Xiao’s voice sounded somewhat weary.
After Chen Jiuge briefly inquired about hiring Spiritual Beasts, Jin Xiao said he would send over the relevant information for him to review.
Once the call ended, Chen Jiuge noticed the little monkey’s blue eyes darting around. The little fellow has probably jacked up the price,
He sent Da Bai, who was idling nearby, to the Scripture Pavilion with his Token. Not long after, Da Bai returned looking displeased, carrying a thick scroll.
"Can you please not make me run errands? I’m going to be a future Artifact Refining Master! Silver King is the one for errands!" Da Bai explained earnestly.
"Go on, go on. You’re the one with the most free time. If not you, then who? If you have nothing to do, go refine some artifacts. You haven’t even finished refining those insect carapaces from last time. Why are you loitering around here?" Chen Jiuge shooed him away dismissively. Everyone else is busy. I ask this loafer to fetch something, and he dares to complain?
Employment Encyclopedia. Looking at the four large characters on the cover, Chen Jiuge couldn’t help but chuckle. "Quite an apt name, wouldn’t you say, Yuan Shu?"
Yuan Shu managed an awkward smile. "Yes, quite apt."
This book mainly detailed the hiring prices of various Spiritual Beasts. Most were hybrids with high Spiritual Wisdom; otherwise, they couldn’t perform hired work. Nearly all their Cultivators were Golden Immortals, with occasional creations from Immortal Daluo Golden Immortals. As for those cultivated by Heavenly Immortals, they were scarce, and there were none from True Immortals.
(One Contribution Point equals ten thousand Star Stones.)
Ghost Tiger: Possesses extreme speed and strong concealment abilities. Suited as an assassin.
True Immortal Level hiring price: One hundred Star Stones per year per beast.
Cultivator: Main Hall Third Elder Jiang Taiyuan.
Starland Dragon: Can care for Spirit Plants and accelerate their maturation. Suited as a Spirit Plant assistant.
True Immortal Level hiring price: Thirty Star Stones per year per beast.
Cultivator: Main Hall Great Elder Ye Sheng.
After a long while, Chen Jiuge finally found the page for the Six-Chi Monkeys.
Six-Chi Monkey: Cares for Spirit Plants and can slightly hasten the growth of star-attribute Spirit Plants. Suited as a Spirit Plant assistant.