CHAPTER 170: CHAPTER 148: OUTER ELDER ATTACKS

A huge wave of zombies was attacking—no, a huge wave of Immortals was attacking.

As various white-browed, white-haired Immortals stood at the entrance of Eden Garden, the disciples who had originally come to buy Spiritual Beasts couldn’t help but lean into the corners.

"What’s going on here? Why are so many True Immortal Elders coming over?" a disciple whispered.

"Don’t you know? It’s because Senior Brother Chen healed a Spiritual Beast of the Second Elder from Hundred Herbs Peak. It’s said that even the Great Elder had seen the beast and was at a loss."

"Gasp! Senior Brother Chen is that amazing? Then I’ve been making a killing buying Spiritual Beasts at Eden Garden."

"What kind of Spiritual Beast did you buy, brother?"

"Of course, it’s a Fire Flood Dragon. Although it acts a bit like a Spiritual Chicken, it’s a real Flood Dragon. With a little nurturing, I’ll be a lot safer when I go out to find Spirit Plants."

"No, no, no, it’s even better to buy a Li Fire Monkey. It can help pick Spirit Plants, and its combat strength isn’t weak either."

"Actually, I think the Medicine Rabbit is divine."

"That makes sense. I’ll buy two more later."

Although the Immortal Elders did not speak, they clearly heard the names of the various rare Spiritual Beasts coming from the mouths of the disciples. Their hearts were somewhat settled; this Martial Nephew was likely capable. They just didn’t know if he was as miraculous as Senior Brother Li had said.

Before long, Chen Jiuge, who had received the news, hurried over.

Seeing the dignified-looking Elders, Chen Jiuge drew in a sharp breath. Goodness, the Second Elder really promoted himself! The power of this hardcore advertising is just too much!

The Outer Elder with the highest cultivation among the crowd of Immortals, Li Ziyan, spoke first, "You must be Nephew Chen Jiuge. I am Li Ziyan, an Outer Elder. The companions behind me are all Outer Elders."

"Elder Li, greetings to all the Elders. Please, come in first."

"Nephew Chen, I am Huo Ziyue," Huo Ziyue said. He had a rugged face that looked like it had been weathered by the years, full of vicissitudes, but he also had a volatile temper. "I’m quite straightforward. Can you solve any Spiritual Beast Bloodline issues for beasts below the True Immortal realm?"

"Elder Huo, if it’s below True Immortal and it’s just a bloodline issue, I do have some confidence," Chen Jiuge replied modestly.

"Good."

By the time the True Immortals arrived at Chen Jiuge’s cave mansion, they happened to meet Wudao Tian, who had just completed an early morning training session with the martial rats.

Seeing the sweat on Wudao Tian’s forehead, with three muscular little martial rats following him, Li Ziyan’s heart jolted. This time, it might actually work.

"Eh, why are all the Elders here?" Wudao Tian looked at the many Outer Elders with surprise. Isn’t this Junior Brother Chen’s Eden Garden?

"Eldest Senior Brother, hello."

Watching a group of old men bowing to Wudao Tian and calling him Eldest Senior Brother, Chen Jiuge almost lost his composure. The Myriad Beasts Sect’s naming conventions are truly peculiar.

It was said that because Immortals have such long Life Spans, some talented Heavenly Immortals are even younger than True Immortals. However, Heavenly Immortals couldn’t possibly call True Immortals ’Senior Brother.’ So, everyone just addressed each other as they saw fit. If all else failed, one could simply call anyone with higher cultivation ’Senior Brother’ to avoid mistakes.

"Just carry on with your work," Wudao Tian casually responded, taking the three little martial rats off to the ecological area for combat training.

"Nephew Chen, how is it?" Huo Ziyue asked expectantly, taking out a listless little black snake.

After checking with his Golden Finger, Chen Jiuge found that this Clearwater Black Snake had issues similar to Mo Yu’s; its main bloodline was entangled with other bloodlines. However, the bloodline forces weren’t as strong, which was why this Clearwater Black Snake had managed to survive until now.

"Senior Uncle, if I may be so bold as to ask, was this Clearwater Black Snake bred with a Moon White Jade Python?" Chen Jiuge looked at Huo Ziyue, somewhat speechless. This Senior Uncle is too wildly imaginative, crossing two Spiritual Beasts, one dark and one light. He’s even wilder than I am!

When Chen Jiuge spoke, the other Elders looked disdainfully at Huo Ziyue. Didn’t he study Spirit Beast Breeding properly? Breeding Spiritual Beasts with completely opposite attributes—he had it coming!

"COUGH, COUGH, that’s right. Perhaps it’s true love between them, and I shouldn’t beat the mandarin ducks," Huo Ziyue bluffed.

True love, my foot! This Elder Huo sure can spin a yarn, Chen Jiuge scoffed internally.

"There are two solutions," Chen Jiuge offered. "Choose either of the two bloodlines, and I can eliminate the other. Alternatively, I can allow one to be devoured by the other, which makes mutations more likely."

"Devour, devour," Huo Ziyue chose without a second’s hesitation.

The many Outer Elders became even more scornful. Didn’t he just speak of true love? Now he wants to devour the other half of the bloodline?

"Then Elder Huo, please come with me. However, the method and process I use require a Heavenly Dao Oath. I hope there’s no problem." Since the Second Elder, a Heavenly Immortal, has already set an example by swearing a Heavenly Dao Oath, I might as well make this a standard rule, Chen Jiuge figured.

"No problem."

「In the secret chamber」

After Huo Ziyue had sworn the Heavenly Dao Oath, Chen Jiuge finally asked, "Elder Huo, which bloodline would you like to keep?"

Huo Ziyue touched the little black snake, conflicted. "Little Black, although you were born black, I think I like white more. So, sorry."

"I choose the Moon White Jade Python."

This Elder Huo is quite a character, Chen Jiuge realized. Now that he knew Elder Huo’s choice, the next step was simple.

With the power of the Golden Finger, the Moon White Jade Python’s bloodline completely devoured the Clearwater Black Snake’s bloodline. A brand-new Little Black emerged—no, it should be called Little Flower now, he thought.

Looking at the lively, black-and-white patterned Little Black in front of him, Huo Ziyue first examined its condition. The bloodline was stable without conflict, and its foundation had strengthened. He nodded with satisfaction and finally pulled out a stalk of Wujing Bamboo as payment.

Leaving the secret chamber, he was still grumbling, "Although it has grown stronger, why does it look uglier to me? It seems pure colors are true beauty."

Chen Jiuge broke into a cold sweat. I really didn’t see that coming! The boisterous Elder Huo is actually a Beast Master who appreciates the beauty of pure colors. One truly can’t judge a book by its cover!

The next Elder to enter was Li Ziyan.

Li Ziyan’s Spiritual Beast was a newt. Chen Jiuge didn’t know the exact breed, as it was also a crossbreed with the same bloodline issues.

The same process, the same steps, and the same result—the problem was smoothly resolved.

As one Elder after another had their Spiritual Beast’s issues resolved, Chen Jiuge gathered more and more Spirit Plants.

It was only when night fell that Chen Jiuge finally finished dealing with the last Spiritual Beast and saw off the last Outer Elder.

"Junior Chen, come over and have a few drinks," Wudao Tian invited, as he drank with the three Martial Rats in the courtyard.

"Thank you, Eldest Senior Brother." An afternoon of hard work had indeed tired Chen Jiuge.

"Junior Brother, you can solve the bloodline issues of crossbred Spiritual Beasts. Your future is boundless! You might even become a Core Disciple," Wudao Tian said with a hint of admiration.

Such problems were difficult even for the Great Elder to fully resolve.

"You flatter me, Eldest Senior Brother," Chen Jiuge replied modestly.

"I’m speaking the truth. After all, within the Myriad Beasts Sect, there are loads of Elders who engage in random crossbreeding. These people, with time and resources to spare, love to mess around. Your rise to success is imminent, Junior Brother," Wudao Tian said, raising his cup in a toast.

Chen Jiuge shuddered at those words. "Eldest Senior Brother, is this kind of crossbreeding common?"

"Of course. Even the Outer Elders who came today were probably just trying out a single Spiritual Beast to see if you had the ability to solve the issue."

"But don’t worry, Junior Brother. Your performance today was excellent. I suspect more Spiritual Beasts with these problems will come your way."

Chen Jiuge was speechless. Have I made a mistake? If I use my Golden Finger every day to handle these crossbred Spiritual Beast bloodline issues, won’t I just become a tool?

"Eldest Senior Brother, I won’t have time to cultivate then," Chen Jiuge said reluctantly. This is the Cultivation Realm, after all, where strength is paramount.

"Indeed, that’s a problem—but I can help you with that. Tomorrow, I’ll establish a rule for you: you’ll only handle ten Spiritual Beasts per day. Registration in the morning, drawing lots at noon, and treatment in the afternoon."

"At your speed, Junior Brother, ten Spiritual Beasts should take about an hour or so."

"Thank you, Eldest Senior Brother," Chen Jiuge said gratefully.

"It’s nothing, nothing at all. Come on, let’s have another round."

CLINK! CLINK! CLINK!

Amid the continuous clinking of glasses, Chen Jiuge smoothly ended up face down on the table.

Although he also didn’t dispel the alcohol, given his Heavenly Immortal’s body, which had been refined by Heavenly Tribulation, and not to mention that his Eldest Senior Brother was also a Body Cultivator, it was no surprise that Chen Jiuge couldn’t hold his liquor.

"Junior Brother, you really need to work on your alcohol tolerance."

"Come on, you lot, let’s move on to a new place!" After patting the Martial Rats awake, Wudao Tian staggered out of the courtyard, his destination for continued drinking unknown.

"Really now, drunk again! When it counts, it always comes down to me," Yue Meng, who had transformed into a little girl, complained with a pout at Chen Jiuge.

After casually wiping Chen Jiuge’s face twice, she planned to carry him back to his room. As fate would have it, she encountered Mo Yu holding a damp towel.

"Yue Meng?"

"Mo Yu?"

"What are you..."

"What are you..."

After exchanging glances, they haphazardly carried Chen Jiuge back to his room and then climbed to the rooftop.

Gazing at the round moon above, Yue Meng was in high spirits, swinging her delicate little feet. "Mo Yu, can you tell me about your past?"

Mo Yu reminisced for a while. Remembering a painful life where she couldn’t stand or move, and comparing it to her present happiness, she smiled slightly. "Sure."

After listening to Mo Yu’s experiences, Yue Meng felt a wave of emotion and patted her shoulder. "Don’t worry, life in Eden Garden will be good for you."

"Our master might seem unreliable, but he’s miraculous and can solve anything."

"I know."

Unaware of the nocturnal conversation between the two beasts, Chen Jiuge woke up the next day around noon.

Stepping out of his small courtyard, he saw an impatient Moluo Shaye.

"Are you a pig? Sleeping until now? Aren’t Cultivators supposed to meditate and cultivate?" Moluo Shaye barraged him with words.

Chen Jiuge, nursing a headache, pretended not to hear. "What are you here for?"

"This is from Sister Tingting. Take a look," Moluo Shaye said, tossing him a Sound Transmission Talisman.

Its message read: "Boss, Eldest Senior Brother has already set the rules for you. This is the list of Spiritual Beasts and their respective Outer Elders that you need to handle this afternoon. If you are awake, please deal with them as soon as possible."

Just as Eldest Senior Brother said, huh? Well, at least with his rule, ten beasts a day isn’t too much. It’s only about an hour of work. I’ll just consider it relaxation, Chen Jiuge thought, a wry smile on his face.