You Cultivate, I Farm

"Just an intermediate Qi cultivator acting as the steward of the Myriad Beasts Grotto, what's the big deal about holding the Beast Control Command?"

A slender silhouette slowly emerged from the darkness.

Upon closer inspection, Lu Xuan realized it was a grey-black fox.

The fox appeared to be in its twilight years, its movements sluggish, its gaze cloudy. Its sparse, grey-black fur was in disarray, fluttering about as if it had a life of its own.

The several grey-black tumors on its back were particularly striking, expanding and contracting with the old fox's movements as if something was being nurtured inside.

It bore no resemblance to the grandeur of a fifth-rank spiritual beast.

"With the Beast Control Command, one can freely roam the forbidden area. What, does this old fox, hidden from the sun for ages, have any objections?"

The old dragon turtle, superior in both age and strength to the fox spirit beast, spoke with undisguised impatience.

"Life or death, it's all the same to me."

Leaving these words behind, the old fox glanced indifferently at Lu Xuan and retreated back into the darkness.

"Lu lad, want to take a look at the lower levels? Don't worry, my divination is very reliable; nothing will go wrong."

The dragon turtle asked Lu Xuan.

"Sure, then I'll trouble the senior to accompany me."

Lu Xuan was also curious about the forbidden area's depths.

Together, the man and the beast slowly descended.

The bottom was much smaller than the entrance, with fewer caves around. Each cave was surrounded by powerful formations and restrictions.

Following behind the dragon turtle, Lu Xuan curiously looked into the caves at the mutated beasts within.

The first thing that caught his eye was a demonic snake with the head of a beautiful young girl. Her features were exquisite, evoking a protective desire in anyone who saw her.

But upon seeing the body below her head, that impulse quickly faded. Her pale body was covered in rows of dark holes, from which grey-black threads like worms occasionally crawled out, floating in the air and devouring each other, creating a stark contrast with her delicate face.

Passing by another cave, Lu Xuan saw hundreds of crimson pupils suddenly appear, turning the entire cave blood-red.

Numerous crimson pupils, with their tentacle-like limbs, scurried around like headless flies, eventually merging into the body of a bizarre beast.

This beast had no head, replaced instead by a giant crimson eyeball. Even separated by layers of formations and restrictions, making eye contact with the crimson eyeball made Lu Xuan feel dizzy and as if something was about to crawl out of his eyes.

With a cold snort, the dragon turtle exerted its dominance, suppressing the giant crimson eyeball with its terrifying might, forcing it to close its pupil.

"Having a powerful ally by your side really does bring a sense of security to the max," Lu Xuan silently reflected.

Next, they saw a sinister spider, its eight long, slender legs held high like sharp bone knives.

The spider's body was rich in blood color, and one could vaguely see a baby's face on its back, eyes tightly shut, with numerous blood-red tentacles spreading into the spider's body.

...

One after another, bizarre and ancient demonic beasts appeared before Lu Xuan, broadening his horizons and greatly satisfying his curiosity.

After the tour, the old dragon turtle led him back to the entrance of the hole.

"Kid, if you want to enter the forbidden area in the future, you can do so directly with the Beast Control Command."

"The beasts, fierce beasts, and demonic beasts inside are all restricted by formations and sealed with magical items. As long as you don't provoke them, there won't be any safety issues."

"Before you come in, you can come to me for a divination. If you encounter any danger, you can seek help from that old fox. After all, staying in the sect for a thousand years, it's still trustworthy."

"It's just that it's a bit reclusive and seems not very approachable. Also, unlike this old fellow like me with abundant lifespan, it probably doesn't have much lifespan left. Always staying in the forbidden area, studying and experimenting with fierce and demonic beasts, might have something to do with it."

The old dragon turtle advised Lu Xuan through telepathy.

"Understood, thank you for the reminder, senior dragon turtle."

Lu Xuan expressed his gratitude to the old dragon turtle, bid farewell, and returned to the Cloud Houses.

Unlike Sun Yun and the others, who needed to tame spiritual beasts, he only needed to oversee the Cloud Houses, managing the entire blessed land.

During his tenure, he practiced the newly learned "Green Lotus Sword Scripture," along with two other sword techniques, and also studied the "Divine Genesis Scripture," "Illusion Breaking Eye Technique," and visualized the "Pure

Yang True Fire Scroll." His days were quite fulfilling.

In the blink of an eye, half a month passed.

One day, his spiritual sense suddenly detected some disturbances within the blessed land.

Looking down at the blessed land from the thick clouds, he saw thousands of spiritual beasts running wildly on the ground, while avian spiritual beasts flew high, turning into streaks of afterimages that flashed beneath his eyelids.

"What's happening?"

Lu Xuan was puzzled.

"Brother Lu, the blessed land is about to produce Emperor Essence, which the spiritual beasts have sensed, hence their restlessness."

"With the Beast Control Command in hand, you can calm all the spiritual beasts to prevent a rampage."

An early Foundation Establishment cultivator explained to Lu Xuan in detail.

"Emperor Essence..."

Lu Xuan murmured to himself, then controlled the Beast Control Command with his mind. Under his control, all the spiritual beasts in the blessed land trembled slightly, stopping in their tracks and occupying their spots.

After a moment, Lu Xuan felt something and looked up at the endless sky.

The dark azure sky suddenly brightened, and strands of milky white light began to fall from the sky.

The guardian spiritual beasts did not scramble for the milky white light. At most, they used their innate abilities to intercept and absorb it for their own use.

Lu Xuan extended his hand, letting the milky white light fall onto his palm.

Instantly, he felt a cool energy surge into his body, swiftly flowing through his limbs and bones. His flesh greedily absorbed the faint energy, continuously enhancing his physique.

"This Emperor Essence is indeed mysterious. Even with my strengthened body, I can feel a significant change after absorbing it."

Lu Xuan thought, spreading his spiritual sense as much as possible, trying to capture the falling milky white light.

"It's essential to collect more of this treasure to feed to the Wind Falcon, Fire Flood Dragon, and the others. It might significantly promote the growth of the spiritual beasts in the dwelling."

Unfortunately, the milky white light was ethereal and elusive, as if predetermined by fate, making it difficult to capture. After much effort, he managed to collect about half a bottle.

The eruption of Emperor Essence gradually subsided, and in less than half an hour, the sky returned to its dark azure color.

Thousands of spiritual beasts lay on the ground, eagerly absorbing and refining the Emperor Essence they had collected.

Occasionally, a spiritual beast would roar, its aura suddenly surging, significantly increasing its strength.

After a while, all the spiritual beasts reluctantly returned to their dwellings.

Lu Xuan turned to look at his fellow sect members above the clouds. Seeing that they had collected less than a third of what he had, his mood improved somewhat.

Today is a family member's birthday, so I only managed to write one chapter. I'll make up for it with three more chapters tomorrow.