CHAPTER 61: CHAPTER 61 "THE POWER OF CELEBRITY

By the time Chen Jiuge finished crafting the second Daoist Soldier of the day, the sky had already turned dark.

Looking at the additional Jade Scroll next to him, Chen Jiuge gave it a cursory check and discovered it contained a message from the Zhu siblings. The main point was that they had a great time today and would come again when they were free. To thank Chen Jiuge for his hospitality, Zhu Yingque also mentioned in the Jade Scroll that she would promote Chen Jiuge’s Eden Garden.

"So, I’ve basically gotten a free advertisement from Miss Zhu," Chen Jiuge realized, not expecting this pleasant surprise.

With a Golden Immortal in residence, the Zhu Family had an unknown number of generations of inheritance. Among them, not counting mortals, the number of cultivators alone was in the tens of millions. As the young miss of the Zhu Family, Zhu Yingque’s words naturally attracted a large following of Zhu Family disciples.

Looking at the several dozen Zhu Family disciples in front of him, Chen Jiuge said, somewhat confusedly, "Do you all want to buy a Flame Demon?"

"Yes, exactly the kind you sold to the Young Master," the leading young man said arrogantly.

Chen Jiuge asked doubtfully, "Judging by your tokens, you’re still Outer Disciples, right?"

"That’s right, we all just broke through to Golden Core. We came here because the young miss said the potential of your Spiritual Beasts is very high," the same young man replied, with the same arrogant demeanor.

Chen Jiuge wouldn’t turn away business, but he still reminded them, "The Flame Demon the Young Master bought was a mutant. I might not have a second one like that. The bloodline potential of an ordinary Flame Demon typically maxes out at the Sixth Rank. Of course, there are some with purer bloodlines that reach the Seventh Rank, but their combat power might be somewhat weaker."

"It’s fine, our Spiritual Beasts can’t be stronger than the Young Master’s," the group of young men and women said after exchanging glances.

"Let me be clear first: a Sixth-Rank Flame Demon is six thousand Upper Spirits, and a Seventh-Rank Flame Demon is fifty thousand Upper Spirits." Chen Jiuge’s prices weren’t considered high; they were actually on the lower side.

"That’s so expensive!!!"

"If you don’t have enough Spirit Stones, you can buy the newly born ones with only First or Second Rank cultivation. The price for those can be reduced by a third," Chen Jiuge suggested.

Watching the crowd whisper among themselves, hesitant to make a decision, Chen Jiuge led them to an ecological zone and handed them a few maps of the area. "You can go take a look for yourselves, but you must stay within sight of the Daoist Soldiers."

Chen Jiuge had three Daoist Soldiers lead the way. He then went back to continue crafting Daoist Soldiers and to extract bloodlines from the newborn Spiritual Beasts.

Chen Jiuge didn’t know what those young men and women had experienced inside, but seeing them each holding a Spiritual Beast cub ranging from the First to Second Rank, he simply confirmed, "Have you made your choices? Once bought, Spirit Stones are non-refundable, you know."

"We’re from the Zhu Family; why would we even consider asking for our Spirit Stones back?"

"First Rank in cultivation, a Fifth Rank mutant Thunder Deer, three thousand five hundred Upper Spirits," Chen Jiuge told the girl in front of him.

"Second Rank in cultivation, a Sixth Rank Fire Flood Dragon, ten thousand Upper Spirits."

...

After sending off the bunch of kids, Chen Jiuge looked at the countless Upper Spirits in his Storage Ring and couldn’t help remarking, "Even the ordinary disciples from the Zhu Family are so rich. Is this the financial power of a large family?"

A youth without some recklessness is a youth wasted; similarly, a true youth doesn’t hide good things they possess.

Chen Jiuge was popular; to be precise, his Eden Garden was. It was a place where one could purchase high-rank Spiritual Beasts with just Spirit Stones, offering far better value than the Sect’s Spiritual Beast Hall.

This was especially true for cultivators of mortal origin who lacked background and resources. To obtain sufficient resources, they usually exchanged merits earned from tasks for Spirit Stones with disciples from prominent families. Insufficient merits meant they couldn’t obtain satisfactory Spiritual Beasts. Without powerful beasts, they would fall further behind the disciples of large families, lagging with each step. The appearance of Eden Garden gave these disciples a new option.

"Senior Brother, is the exchange rate between Merits and Spirit Stones really 1:3?" an Outer Disciple asked cautiously, holding a young Fire Flood Dragon.

"As long as you’re buying a Spiritual Beast, the rate is 1:3. If not, it’s 1:2.5," Chen Jiuge indicated, pointing to the price list beside him.

"I want to exchange three thousand Merits, which is equivalent to nine thousand Spirit Stones. Here are the remaining one thousand Upper Spirits."

Watching the disciple run off, delighted with the Fire Flood Dragon, Chen Jiuge simply shook his head and said to Yue Meng, who had just experienced an alchemy explosion and was covered in soot, "Stop with the alchemy for now. Come take care of some customers today."

Yue Meng, looking somewhat dejected, silently sat at the small desk used for settling accounts. After a month of continuous alchemy failures, Yue Meng started doubting whether she really was a Moon Rabbit. Weren’t Moon Rabbits supposed to be natural-born Alchemists? Could it be that I’m a counterfeit?

Chen Jiuge watched Yue Meng as she began to doubt herself, but he said nothing. Yue Meng’s bloodline wasn’t very pure; it could be considered quite mottled. If her Moon Rabbit bloodline had been as pure as Da Bai’s Fire Qilin Bloodline, she might have already been taken in by a Heavenly Immortal or even a Golden Immortal. Moon Rabbits were ancient Divine Beasts. Leaving aside their combat prowess, their incredible alchemy ability alone was enough to form a substantial foundation for any Sect.

With a substantial influx of Spirit Stones, Chen Jiuge also seized this opportunity to significantly expand his Spiritual Beast inventory. Besides, each Spiritual Beast’s cultivation resource allocation was increasing, and his own cultivation resources were also becoming more abundant.

What made Chen Jiuge happiest was that he had received 105,000 Merits, enough to enter the small world exclusive to Spiritual Beast training ten times.

It was said that this small world was filled with Spiritual Beasts, but these creatures had very low Spiritual Wisdom, so low that not even a Wisdom Fruit could enhance it, thus distinguishing them as Fierce Beasts. Fierce Beasts were highly aggressive and brutal, but with the Sect’s control, their lives could be preserved until just before death, and they could be teleported out—once out, they couldn’t return.

As for the first group of candidates to enter this Fierce Beast Secret Realm, Chen Jiuge had already decided:

War Song the Fighting Demon Ape

Fire Flood Dragon Ao Yi (formerly Bao Nu)

Red Flood Dragon Ao Li (formerly Li Fire)

Violent Rabbit Yue Li (formerly Giant Spirit)

Phantom Beast Yang Huan (formerly Dark Light)

*(Author’s note: I’m changing those self-indulgent names here to something more standard. I’ll put more thought into the Spiritual Beast names going forward.)*

For now, these five will do, Chen Jiuge thought as he carefully categorized his Spiritual Beasts. There’s no need to elaborate on War Song; it’s a Spiritual Beast oriented towards battle. The four Contracted Spirit Beasts were acquired as fighters from the start. Yue Meng’s role is that of an Alchemist and Spiritual Plant Master. Da Bai’s Spiritual Wisdom is still a bit underdeveloped, so I’ll observe for a while longer. As for the Eternal Vine, it hasn’t even been born yet, so there’s no need to discuss it.

Under the twilight glow, Zhu Yingque and Zhu Yinghuang arrived together.

"Brother Chen, I have some good news to discuss with you," Zhu Yinghuang said with a smile.

"What’s the matter?" Chen Jiuge asked, looking suspiciously at Zhu Yinghuang, who looked completely unreliable.

"Senior Brother Chen, the Sect Elders recently conquered a small world, and they now need disciples to explore it. I’ve already found out that the strongest being in that world is only equivalent to the Returning to Void cultivation level. I also heard that cultivation in that world primarily focuses on the physical body," Zhu Yingque explained.

"Really?" Chen Jiuge, who was troubled by the slow progress of his cultivation, asked in amazement.

"Of course. We only found out a little earlier than others. Senior Brother Chen should receive the news soon enough," Zhu Yingque nodded.

"We also plan to take a look. This time, Brother Chen, you should come with us. Oh, and you can’t bring Spiritual Beasts into that small world, so it’s best if you buy more Elixirs and powerful Magic Treasures," Zhu Yinghuang reminded.

"Alright, thank you both for informing me," Chen Jiuge said with gratitude.

The two of them, having arrangements within their family, only chatted briefly before heading straight back.