CHAPTER 29: CHAPTER 29: AN AUSPICIOUS PHENOMENON

"Ji Dago, did you go to the city without bringing me anything?"

Just as Ji Yuan reached his doorstep, a little head poked out from the neighboring courtyard, round-faced, with chubby cheeks, sporting two skyward pigtails.

Looking at this little girl who seemed to have walked out from a New Year’s painting, Ji Yuan, despite his cold demeanor, couldn’t bring himself to speak harshly.

Before he could utter a word, the little girl was yanked back by someone grabbing her collar.

Soon, a young beautiful woman with a golden hairpin emerged from the courtyard, apologetically bowing slightly towards Ji Yuan and smiling, "Daoist Ji, I’m truly sorry, my daughter is a bit unruly."

The family that had just moved next door consisted of a man named Wen Lin, the woman in front of him was Zhao Yuechan, and the little girl who was just pulled back was Wen Linger.

Ji Yuan chuckled and took out a small box of osmanthus cake from his storage bag.

"No, actually I did buy some snacks for Linger. If Lady Wen doesn’t mind, please accept them."

The osmanthus cake was something Ji Yuan bought last month and had forgotten to eat. Fortunately, things stored in the storage bag don’t spoil.

Before Zhao Yuechan could decline, Wen Linger had already bounced out of the courtyard, stuttering slightly, "Thank you, Uncle Ji!"

Zhao Yuechan, seeing this, could only show a resigned smile.

Ji Yuan handed it over with a smile, slightly bending down as he did, "You should call me uncle, not brother."

Wen Linger rolled her eyes.

"But Uncle Ji looks so young and handsome, shouldn’t I call you brother?"

"What a sweet mouth."

Ji Yuan chuckled, patting Wen Linger’s little head, "Go play now."

Zhao Yuechan also just offered a bow and thanked him again.

"You are too kind, Daoist friend."

Having dealt with the little rascal, Ji Yuan turned around and went back to his own courtyard.

Times have changed; now, as Ji Yuan pushed open the door, a fresh scent greeted him. On the left side as he entered, near the Wen Family, he had planted two fruit trees.

One is a peach tree, and the other is also a peach tree.

On the right side of the entrance was a small patch of soil he had cleared in advance, with the chicken cage soon to be upgraded to level 2, where the blue-yellow chickens would peck out one tael of spiritual soil daily.

These precious goods, Ji Yuan didn’t plan on selling, but saving for planting some spirit plants himself.

After entering the house, the Level 1 cave mansion manifested its effects, enveloping him in an increasingly refreshing atmosphere.

Ji Yuan didn’t linger, instead heading straight to the backyard, which was finally more spacious compared to before and not as crowded.

It’s not that Ji Yuan dismantled everything but rather moved them to the further backyard.

Two months ago, Ji Yuan contacted Grandeur Head, securing his backyard at the cost of two additional spirit stones per month, including the barren land behind the Lin and Wen Family courtyards.

Then he went to Zengtou City to hire an earth cultivator, costing him another two spirit stones to quickly construct a new courtyard using earth techniques.

Thus, Ji Yuan transformed what was once a single-entry courtyard into a two-entry courtyard.

He relocated the unsightly pigsty and chicken cage to the second courtyard, while the first courtyard was dug out and remodeled into a fish pond.

A small stone bridge was erected in the center of the fish pond for strolling and sightseeing, while the half-spirit fish below continued to swim back and forth, making for an enchanting sight.

Ji Yuan had considered renting a large courtyard in Zengtou City.

But after deliberation, he abandoned the idea.

For one, renting a large courtyard in Zengtou City would cost at least a dozen spirit stones per month.

Secondly, most residents in the core area are mid to late-stage Qi cultivation, with strong methods. It would be hard not to arouse suspicion if he goes there to raise fish, chickens, and pigs.

After some thought, he decided to stay in this lakeside hut.

If anything happens, being next to Cloud Rain Marsh, he could escape quickly.

Standing on the small stone bridge, looking at the various forms of the 20 half-spirit fish in the fish pond, Ji Yuan’s mood was notably good.

These are all spirit stones!

Not long after, he opened the door and entered the second courtyard.

Here, however, it’s not a pretty sight, with 30 blue-yellow chickens walking everywhere, and leaving droppings... Ji Yuan possessed the gold, wood, water, and fire spirit roots by birth, lacking only the earth spirit root.

So facing this situation, he couldn’t cover the ground with earth but instead used Yu Wu to clean it and then set it ablaze nice and clean.

He arranged the chicken cage on the left and the pigsty on the right.

After a round of inspection and confirming there were no issues, Ji Yuan returned to the front yard and took out the newly bought piece of centennial paulownia wood.

This centennial paulownia wood isn’t spirit plants but has absorbed a hint of spiritual qi.

It is said to have formed from paulownia wood where Tier Four or even Tier Five great demon beasts have long resided, which naturally elevated its price.

Ji Yuan first took out the talisman brush to mark the wood with spiritual power, then tossed it into the air, and with a thought, summoned the Black Gold Saber.

With casual movements of the saber.

After a dozen slashes of blade light flashed, the paulownia wood tossed into the air transformed into evenly sized boards.

Ji Yuan gathered them and took them to the backyard, and soon after, looking at the chicken cage built from centennial paulownia wood, he glanced at the panel.

[Chicken Cage lv2 (Upgradable)]

[Spirit Effect: Claws growing spirit patterns, able to dig out a small amount of spiritual soil (1 tael per day), can briefly control spiritual birds]

[Upgrade Conditions: Low-grade Spirit Stones ×50, Chicken Cage made from Centennial Paulownia Wood (Achieved)]

spirit stones, Ji Yuan currently had saved up 76, so it’s well within his means.

With a thought.

The panel refreshed, and the "1" floating above the chicken cage turned into "2."

Moreover, the area around the upgraded Level 2 chicken cage was surrounded by a faint blue light, easily recognized as extraordinary.

The blue-yellow chickens that were moving about, as they walked, their chicken claws naturally developed cyan-black spirit patterns, exuding an aura akin to demon beasts.

Claws growing spirit patterns, daily digging out 1 tael of spiritual soil.

But the anomalies with the Level 2 chicken cage were so evident; anyone who took a look would realize there’s something peculiar... Just as Ji Yuan was troubled, he suddenly had a realization.

The anomaly effect could be turned off!

The panel is understanding, as Ji Yuan had a thought, the chicken cage reverted to its ordinary appearance, and the spirit patterns on the blue-yellow chicken’s claws vanished accordingly.

Ji Yuan slightly let out a sigh of relief.

Next, he had to consider buying a spiritual bird—a fancy name for a spiritual bird, bluntly a chicken or bird-like demon beast. Ji Yuan planned to buy one to raise in the front yard as a guardian.

Next time someone tries to assault him, it would offer some support.

The chicken cage was upgraded to Level 2.

Consequently, the spirit effect and upgrade conditions for Level 3 were revealed.

[Chicken Cage lv3]

[Spirit Effect: Daily production of 1 tri-colored spirit egg, encasing a bird king, its call can intimidate Tier One demon beasts, spiritual birds can be commanded]

[Upgrade Conditions: Cultivation must reach Mid-stage Foundation Establishment, Mid-grade Spirit Stones ×50, Chicken Cage made from Carapace Glow Cypress (Not Achieved)]

"Huh??"

Ji Yuan first noticed the upgrade requirement where cultivation had to reach Mid-stage Foundation Establishment.

For Level 3 buildings, there began to be hard standards for cultivation.

Ji Yuan took another look at the spirit effect, estimating it concerns the bird king, its call intimidated Tier One demon beasts, so it likely is a Tier Two demon beast.

Furthermore, the requirement regarding commanding spiritual birds no longer had restrictions, meaning it likely could be commanded for a long time, thus inherently becoming a cultivator of beast taming lineage?

In this regard, it’s unavoidable that there would be cultivation demands.

But the tri-colored spirit eggs...