The Master of Beasts

First, he arranged housing for the two before going to buy some suitable chicken-type and rabbit-type Spiritual Beasts. Finally, he had to purchase some Elixirs that would aid in inducing mating, as he could not wait for them to naturally develop feelings and breed—that would be too slow.

The breeding pace of the Spiritual Chickens was very fast, basically taking only three months from hatching to adulthood. Their Grade was low, and even with the aid of the Golden Finger, they could barely be considered at the peak of First Rank, with an occasional one reaching Second Rank. Therefore, the best-matched Spiritual Beasts should also be around Second Rank.

Chen Jiuge carefully selected a Second Rank Fire Feather Chicken, choosing one whose mixed internal bloodlines were more compatible. Their sizes were also similar, so they should match well. However, he still did not know what the success rate would be.

As for the choice of Snow Rabbits, there were quite a few more options. Overall, Snow Rabbits were slightly better than Spiritual Chickens, with most reaching Second Rank and occasionally even the peak of Second Rank, but none had ever achieved the Golden Core realm.

Both the Long-tail Spiritual Rabbit and the Unicorn Spiritual Rabbit were Second Rank Spiritual Beasts, and they were also the chosen subjects for this round of Snow Rabbit cross-breeding experiments.

He cordoned off a small area and placed the sexually mature individuals into their respective enclosures. Chen Jiuge then planned to let them get acquainted for a few days before using the Aphrodisiac to speed up the process.

「Three days later」

Chen Jiuge looked at the dozens of Spiritual Chickens before him. These Spiritual Chickens looked almost like the Duke roosters from his former world, except the males were more colorful—while the Fire Feather Chickens had a more uniform color, a solid red from head to tail. I wonder if they can really succeed, he thought.

To facilitate the use of the Aphrodisiac, Chen Jiuge also deliberately bought a batch of Spiritual Insects that the Spiritual Chickens loved most.

The enticing scent of the Spiritual Insects spread, and the carefree Spiritual Chickens frantically chased after them as they approached Chen Jiuge. Even the Fire Feather Chickens, which had been relatively reserved these past few days, could not resist this temptation.

There were fifteen male Spiritual Chickens and fifteen female Fire Feather Chickens.

The effects of the Elixir were quite good. Within just a quarter of an hour, he saw the Spiritual Chickens charging at the Fire Feather Chickens with red eyes. Chen Jiuge nodded in satisfaction. After ten minutes, the process concluded. He then isolated the female Fire Feather Chickens to see if they would lay eggs in a few days.

The process with the Spiritual Rabbits was the same.

In the courtyard, Chen Jiuge was also diligently cultivating the revised "Green Vine Immortal Body." Although he could create a large number of high-quality Spiritual Beasts, his own Cultivation was too low—well, not too low, just utterly unremarkable.

In terms of Body Refinement, he now had the powerful "Green Vine Immortal Body" to cultivate thoroughly. I certainly don't want to become one of those "fragile-skinned" Beast Masters, he thought. Imagine, in a battle, my Guardian Beasts drive the enemy into a frenzied retreat, only for me to be beaten and have nowhere to run. That would be quite humorous.

Body Refinement was an agonizing process, but it yielded strong combat power, especially in close quarters. In the Heavenly Realm, it was widely recognized as number one in melee combat. It was said that once a Body Cultivation practitioner achieved immortality, their exaggerated Life Force could only be likened to that of an indestructible cockroach.

Feeling the Spiritual Energy cutting through his body like a knife, Chen Jiuge's face twisted with a grimace. The pain after the revision had significantly increased. It had not been so severe before.

「Seven days later」

Five of the Fire Feather Chickens had successfully been fertilized, while the Snow Rabbits had not yet shown a reaction. A single experiment couldn't directly prove incompatibility. Chen Jiuge put the other unsuccessful Snow Rabbits and Spiritual Chickens back in, planning to try a few more times. At least he now knew that Fire Feather Chickens and Spiritual Chickens could mate without reproductive isolation.

「Four months later」

Chen Jiuge looked eagerly at the five "chicken" eggs that were starting to hatch in front of him, curious as to what kind of "chicken" would emerge.

PIP, PIP, PIP.

It came out.

Chen Jiuge looked at the chick in his hand, just hatched with a coat of red and yellow feathers, and frowned. "Aren't chicks supposed to be born bald? Whatever, let's see how the bloodline is."

The most important Fire Dragon Bloodline was still there, virtually unchanged in quantity, and the other bloodlines as well, with some having disappeared and some new ones emerging. However, the main bloodline is a question mark—what on earth is that?

Since he was unsure of what the main bloodline was, Chen Jiuge named this kind of chick a Fire Spiritual Chicken, taking one word from each parent. Fair and square.

As time passed, Chen Jiuge bred a large number of Fire Spiritual Chickens.

And during the breeding process, two things happened.

First, the status of the Lost Continent in the Desolate World had been confirmed—it would return to the Sect after a while. Among other news, Chen Jiuge had also heard about his little sister; apparently, she was doing quite well, which put one of his worries to rest.

The other matter was the arrival of Chen Tingting with the Snow Ape, Little Flower.

Seeing Little Flower full of expectation, only to be informed by Chen Jiuge that War Song wasn't there, and watching her exude an aura of disappointment, Chen Jiuge felt somewhat embarrassed and said, "Why don't you wait a bit longer?"

"Senior Brother, wouldn't that be too much trouble for you?" Chen Tingting, who was introverted by nature, didn't actually want to stay here. However, in order to meet War Song, Little Flower had pushed hard from Foundation Establishment all the way to Golden Core in just a few short decades. Now that Chen Tingting had promised, she felt it wasn't right to go back on her word.

"It's alright; I don't have much to do on ordinary days, and there are spare rooms in the little building. Just pick one for yourself." Chen Jiuge didn't really mind. He was currently busy every day pairing the Spiritual Chickens and Snow Rabbits and observing the new little ones. Aside from Cultivation, he rarely returned to his cave mansion.

This little interlude also reminded Chen Jiuge of the existence of War Song and the other four beasts. Those five critters have been in Snow Ape's little world for almost three years now, haven't they? Why haven't they finished yet?

It wasn't just Chen Jiuge who was troubled by this; Elder Tian was as well.

What's the situation with these five? Four at mid-Nascent Soul and one at late-Nascent Soul stage—it's been three years, right? Thirty years have passed in the little world, and they still haven't come out? This does show that this disciple's breeding skills aren't low, Elder Tian thought. He felt both impatient and quite pleased.

However, we can't drag this on any longer. The name of Eden Garden is becoming more and more well-known. These days, the three new kinds of Spiritual Beasts that have emerged have great potential and their supportive capabilities are excellent. I should take Yaoyao to see them first.

「Half a month later」

The second kind of hybrid Spiritual Chicken was born. Its parents were also a Fire Feather Chicken and a Second Rank Spiritual Chicken.

It was born with snow-white down, looking as if it had leukemia. After a careful examination, he found that, to his surprise, the chick's constitution was several times stronger than that of the previous Fire Spiritual Chickens. Moreover, it was born as a First Rank Spiritual Beast. As for the most crucial bloodlines, only a few could be detected.

Looking at the little treasure in front of him, Chen Jiuge knew he had succeeded. This is a Mutant Spiritual Beast, he realized. Only Mutant Spiritual Beasts can forcibly reject or integrate other bloodlines to produce a different appearance.

Mutant Spiritual Beasts were very rare, and although mutations were not always enhancements, at least this White Spiritual Chicken's was.

If there was one, there could be a second. For Chen Jiuge, who aspired to be a Master of Spirit Beast Breeding, once he had the first White Spiritual Chicken, he could breed another. After many trials, when he could finally stably produce White Spiritual Chickens, Elder Tian arrived.

Chen Jiuge had no choice but to stop his current action and said to Li Qiwen, who was keeping records beside him, "Record the data from this experiment. Arrange for some Daoist Soldiers to keep a good watch over these White Spiritual Chickens. After you're done, go cultivate."

Li Qiwen, now accustomed to his role, respectfully said, "Yes, Senior Brother."