Elder Tian, with his celestial bearings, and a quirky little girl next to him, created a seemingly mismatched but heartwarming pair.
Watching Elder Tian’s face brimming with affection as he gazed at his granddaughter, Chen Jiuge started with a bow and then inquired about the status of his Spiritual Beasts in the Minor World.
"Nephew Chen, the potential of your five Spiritual Beasts is immense. I have been stationed in the Fierce Beast Minor World for so many years, and it’s rare for Spiritual Beasts to last over a year there," praised Elder Tian.
"Uncle Tian, you are too kind," Chen Jiuge didn’t deny this, as he had strengthened them step by step with his Golden Finger. Even though they weren’t Divine Beasts yet, their Bloodline potential was among the top beneath Divine Beasts.
"Nephew Chen, you should already know my intentions. I originally planned to bring your Spiritual Beasts here with me, but your beasts have been delayed. Besides, Yaoyao has already reached the later stages of Qi Cultivation and needs to contract a Spiritual Beast," Elder Tian said fondly as he looked at Tian Yao, whose eyes were restlessly moving.
"Uncle Tian, there’s no need for such words. Niece Tian’s cultivation path is important, but may I ask what type of Spiritual Beast Niece Tian wants?" Chen Jiuge asked.
"I want a Spiritual Beast that can defeat the bad guys with one punch," Tian Yao’s crisp voice rang out.
Looking at the young girl’s youthful and innocent face, Chen Jiuge suspected he had misheard and asked, "What Spiritual Beast?"
"A Spiritual Beast that can defeat bad guys with one punch," Tian Yao repeated discontentedly.
Elder Tian interrupted with a chuckle, "I’ve spoiled my granddaughter too much; she has taken a liking to those powerful Spiritual Beasts."
"I understand. I do have two types of Spiritual Beasts I can show you, Niece Tian—Seventh Rank Bloodline Violent Rabbit and Seventh Rank Bloodline Power King Ape," Chen Jiuge mused. He knew that with a True Immortal Elder present, he couldn’t afford to present anything less than Seventh Rank; it would be looking down on them.
"Nephew Chen, may we go have a look?" pondered Elder Tian.
Leading them to the periphery of the ecological zone, Chen Jiuge briefly described the appearances of the two beasts and informed them of the breeding area’s location, then said, "Elder Tian, please use your Divine Sense to check them out directly. It might take me quite some time to find them myself."
Elder Tian was swift in his actions. Moments later, two groups of Spiritual Beasts appeared—precisely the Power King Ape and the Violent Rabbit.
Even as cubs, both stood over a meter tall and were muscle-bound Fierce Beasts, though the Violent Rabbit, wrapped in light white down, looked slightly more adorable.
Despite its slightly violent tendencies, since she was still a little girl, Tian Yao didn’t hesitate in choosing the Violent Rabbit.
Waving his hand to send the Power King Ape back, Elder Tian consulted, "Nephew Chen, which of these Violent Rabbits has higher potential?"
Upon hearing this, Chen Jiuge inwardly sighed. This Elder Tian is being far too polite; he’s a True Immortal expert, surely he can tell the difference.
Pretending to inspect, but actually using his Golden Finger to single out the Violent Rabbit with the strongest talent and potential by extracting one of its other Bloodlines, Chen Jiuge patted its shoulder and said, "Elder Tian, this one. However, it’s about to reach Foundation Establishment soon. I wonder if that will be an issue?"
"Tian Yao’s Divine Soul aptitude is quite good; nearing Foundation Establishment is just the right stage," Elder Tian commented.
After confirming this Violent Rabbit was hers, Tian Yao cheered and hugged the Violent Rabbit, which was almost as tall as she was. As a stranger suddenly approached, the Violent Rabbit had a stress reaction. Chen Jiuge was about to cast a Spell, only to see the Violent Rabbit, renowned for its strength, being held tightly by the little girl Tian Yao, rendering it motionless.
Observing its bulging muscles, Chen Jiuge knew it had tried its hardest. So this is a little girl with freakish strength.
"Nephew Chen, don’t worry," Elder Tian said, already accustomed to it. "Tian Yao’s physique has undergone some mutations. Although she’s not a Spiritual Body, she has Innate Divine Strength, far surpassing the strength of an ordinary Foundation Establishment cultivator."
Chen Jiuge’s mouth twitched. Foundation Establishment strength inferior to a little girl’s? Another anomaly! She’s going to be a monster in the future.
Violent Rabbits weren’t cheap, but for a True Immortal without the burden of a family, it was a small matter.
"Nephew Chen, I really appreciate your help this time." Elder Tian was somewhat grateful. It wasn’t that there weren’t high-quality Spiritual Beasts in the Sect, but it was very difficult to satisfy Tian Yao.
Tian Yao, smiling sweetly, held the Violent Rabbit, which bore an expression of despair, and said sweetly, "Thank you, Uncle Chen."
After bidding farewell to the two, Chen Jiuge returned to his small courtyard, full of emotion, and drank a cup of Spiritual Tea to calm his nerves.
Goodness, the disciples who came to Eden Garden to buy Spiritual Beasts all looked quite ordinary before, but today a prodigy has arrived. It seems my Eden Garden’s fame is quite high, but in reality, word has only spread among some ordinary disciples. This won’t do; I need to work on more publicity, Chen Jiuge mused. Exactly how to promote it is something that still needs careful preparation.
In the following three years, Chen Jiuge continuously conducted cross-breeding experiments with Spiritual Chickens. For now, he had temporarily shelved the Snow Rabbits, leaving them to fate. Additionally, he also allowed those Grass Turtles to join the cross-breeding family.
For the Snow Rabbits and Grass Turtles—one’s reproduction rate was too low, and the other’s growth too slow—both were long-term experiments. The key focus at present was still on the Spiritual Chickens.
Over these years, among the cross-bred Spiritual Chickens continuously cultivated, the most outstanding were the Fire Spiritual Chicken, White Spiritual Chicken, and the Silver Iron Chicken discovered a year ago.
The Fire Feather Chicken’s combat prowess was average, but its taste was very good. It could reach the Third Rank and become a quality Spirit Food ingredient. Its reproduction was fast, and Chen Jiuge had already renegotiated a deal with Xu Tian from the Hundred Flavors Pavilion to supply a certain number of Fire Feather Chickens each month, thus creating a new source of income.
The White Spiritual Chicken was quite good. Although it was also Third Rank, after extraction by the Golden Finger, it was not far from Fourth Rank. It would probably take a few generations of breeding for its Grade to stabilize at Fourth Rank. Most importantly, it was indeed a Mutant Spiritual Beast, so its talent was the rather unimpressive gathering of Water Spiritual Energy. No one knew how it had mutated. At least it was a Mutant Spiritual Beast, so it wasn’t hard to sell.
The Silver Iron Chicken, another Mutant Spiritual Beast, was also Third Rank, but its combat strength was especially strong. Not only could its strength compare to the White Spiritual Chicken, but its defense also exceeded other Spiritual Chickens by several times, and its speed was also commendable. Most bizarrely, it could fly; its feathers became heavier, yet it managed to take to the skies, a sight that truly opened Chen Jiuge’s eyes. The most crucial mutated talent was its whole body’s silver transformation, which could grant immunity to Spell damage, making its breeding value skyrocket.
"Did you write it down?" Chen Jiuge turned and asked Li Qiwen.
"Senior Brother, I’ve written it all down."
"Good, you’ve been performing well recently. Your Cultivation Technique has also transformed, and you’ve stabilized at the Nascent Soul stage. You may find a Spiritual Beast in the ecosystem to Contract. Any Cultivation level is fine, as long as you can form the Contract." Chen Jiuge was well aware of Li Qiwen’s purpose in following him to the Myriad Beasts Sect, but he had no intention of deliberately suppressing her. As long as she worked diligently, he considered helping her advance more quickly a minor issue.
"Thank you, Senior Brother," Li Qiwen said, somewhat excited.
"You can go ahead; I don’t need you here anymore," Chen Jiuge signaled that she could go pick a Spiritual Beast.
Watching Li Qiwen walk away, Chen Jiuge shook his head. She’s really naive. Without the Beast Scripture, although the Cultivation Technique she practices is decent, how can it compare to that of a true Myriad Beasts Sect disciple?