"You said how much?" Chen Jiuge looked incredulously at the adorable junior sister before him.
"Senior Brother, that’s the price," the adorable junior sister said fearfully.
Chen Jiuge incredulously looked at the price of the Medicine Snake Egg, feeling a bit of a toothache.
One Medicine Snake Egg cost either 1,000 merits or 3,000 Upper Spirits.
"One thousand merits or three thousand Upper Spirits? Shouldn’t the Medicine Snake just be considered a special Third Rank Spiritual Beast? How can the price of a Third Rank beast be more expensive than a Fourth Rank, and even comparable to the price of a Fifth Rank?" Chen Jiuge gritted his teeth.
"This junior brother, the Medicine Snake is an extremely special Spiritual Beast; it’s not priced by its Grade," the Steward from the Spiritual Beast Hall explained, coming out from the inner hall.
"But that price is still too exaggerated," Chen Jiuge retorted.
"Do you know the origin of the Medicine Snake, Junior Brother?" The Steward, seemingly accustomed to such situations, spoke with an air of nonchalance.
"The Medicine Snake is a special Spiritual Beast cultivated by the Great Elder. As a disciple of the Myriad Beasts Sect, you should know about the Great Elder’s Lifebound Ba Snake. You should also be aware that the Great Elder particularly loves snake-species Spiritual Beasts. The Medicine Snake was specifically cultivated by him based on the Ba Snake’s Swallowing Heaven characteristic, combined with other methods."
"Although it belongs to the snake species, the Medicine Snake can, in a way, be considered not to be one. It’s more akin to an artificially cultivated Great Medicine. The Medicine Snake has a voracious appetite. The food it consumes is transformed within its body until it reaches the Third Rank limit. After this, it must undergo Tribulation. If the Tribulation fails, it transforms into a Great Medicine—specifically, Blood Medicine. Blood Medicine can greatly enhance one’s physique and may even slightly improve innate talent."
"So, the Medicine Snake is precious," the Steward said, spreading his hands.
Looking at the 9,200 Upper Spirits that had hardly warmed his pocket, Chen Jiuge said tearfully, "Give me three."
The previously calm Steward suddenly smiled. "A good choice, Junior Brother. Here are the Medicine Snake Eggs; take good care of them."
Looking at the three half-human-tall snake eggs pulled out from under the counter, Chen Jiuge was puzzled.
Groggy, he returned to the valley and looked at the three towering Medicine Snake Eggs before him. He sighed for a while and decided to use his Golden Finger to check the bloodline of these creatures.
"Isn’t it just the Medicine Snake bloodline?" Chen Jiuge was shocked. Could it actually be a purebred Spiritual Beast specially cultivated by the Great Elder?
"Then I’ve made an even worse deal!" Chen Jiuge was furious. The Golden Finger’s abilities were strong, but not omnipotent. Purebred Spiritual Beasts could not have their bloodlines extracted or injected, meaning he couldn’t use his cheat with this Medicine Snake.
Thinking about the 9,000 Upper Spirits, Chen Jiuge reluctantly contracted them. Of course, they were not Lifebound Spirit Beasts but were intended for his role as a Beast Master. As long as one’s Divine Soul was strong enough, one could contract many Spiritual Beasts in bulk, achieving the capability of being an army of one.
The young Spiritual Beasts or Spirit Beast Eggs from the Spiritual Beast Hall would break out of their shells once contracted.
Looking at the three pure white, large snakes, Chen Jiuge was even more confused. Who ever heard of newborn snakes that were already several meters long? The Myriad Beasts Record didn’t mention that the Medicine Snake was a giant Spiritual Beast.
"From now on, you’ll be called Da Bai, Er Bai, and San Bai," Chen Jiuge said, looking at the three First Rank Medicine Snakes that had yet to gain Spiritual Wisdom. He didn’t want to say anything more.
Before releasing them, he imprinted in their small heads what they could and couldn’t eat. Then he left them alone, reasoning that since these creatures couldn’t be used for battling others, he might as well keep three pets that, at least, were quite good-looking.
Chen Jiuge didn’t know that the three Medicine Snakes’ enormous appetite would nearly bankrupt him. Of course, that’s a story for another time.
"Let’s leave it at that for now," Chen Jiuge mused, a cold smile playing on the corner of his mouth. "The Red Flame Sheep have just sold out, and the next batch won’t be available for a few years. The Grass and Wood Turtle will take an age to mature enough to sell its Grass and Wood Essence. Whether the Spiritual Chickens and Snow Rabbits can keep up with the Medicine Snakes’ appetite remains to be seen. I’ve finally freed up some time to go find that monkey who never stays put."
「On a grassy patch within the Sect」
A burly Demon Ape with a menacing face shivered involuntarily. Cuddled up beside it was a white monkey.
"War Song, what’s wrong? Are you catching a human’s cold?" the white monkey asked War Song with concern.
War Song sneezed disdainfully. "I am a Fighting Demon Ape! How could I be as fragile as those two-legged beasts?"
"War Song, you’re really amazing." The white monkey gazed at War Song, stars in her eyes.
Behind the two lovey-dovey monkeys stood two women. One of them, who looked more mature, sighed and said, "Sigh, Little Sister, it looks like your Snow Ape is a lost cause."
"Baili Qing Senior Sister, what should I do then? This Snow Ape is the Lifebound Spirit Beast I just contracted," Chen Tingting, the slighter figure, said anxiously.
Baili Qing glanced at the smitten white ape, then at the cool-acting War Song. She turned and said, "Little Sister, I’ve been helping you investigate the owner of this Fighting Demon Ape these past few days. It’s very likely Chen Jiuge from the Chen Family’s pet. The other disciples who have contracted a Fighting Demon Ape all still have their Spiritual Beasts. According to some of our fellow disciples who know Senior Brother Chen, this Demon Ape of his is especially unruly and loves to go out and fight." f|re(e)web.n\ovel. (c)o.m
"Should we go find Senior Brother Chen then?" Chen Tingting hesitated.
Unlike those from various large and small Cultivation Families, Chen Tingting had come from the mortal world and always kept a respectful distance from members of such families. But now that her Lifebound Spirit Beast was involved, she was at her wit’s end.
Baili Qing gently patted Chen Tingting’s back. "It’s okay. Now that we know the actual owner, I’ve already asked someone to contact Senior Brother Chen. When there’s news, we’ll tackle this matter together."
Aside from the trouble War Song was causing outside, Chen Jiuge had intended to find War Song after letting the Medicine Snakes out to feed. However, he became curious about their appetite. After all, it was said to be quite voracious, and as a knowledgeable Beast Master, he felt he had to verify this for himself.
From initial surprise to later numbness, Chen Jiuge looked at one of the snakes, now dozing off after eating its fill, with a complex expression. Each Spiritual Chicken cost five pieces of Lower Spirit. A single meal was almost equivalent to one Mid Spirit. It seemed like a manageable expenditure on paper, but this was just a freshly hatched First Rank juvenile.
Chen Jiuge was starting to strongly suspect that his Golden Finger was broken. This Medicine Snake definitely has Ba Snake bloodline, right? It has to! Otherwise, how could it be such a glutton?
Regardless, it was a concern for the future. Chen Jiuge didn’t dwell on it; after all, he was a man who ran a breeding farm. Surely, he could afford to keep a mere three little snakes.
What Chen Jiuge did not know was that an hour after he left, the Medicine Snake began eating again, still consuming eighteen Spiritual Chickens.
Fortunately, because he had previously tested the limits of bloodline enhancement with his Golden Finger, the valley was overrun with Spiritual Chickens. Even his own Spiritual Dogs were tired of eating them. Only Xu Tian from the Hundred Flavors Pavilion would occasionally buy a few during his visits to purchase Red Flame Sheep. At other times, these Spiritual Chickens were left unchecked, laying eggs without any natural predators.
Just as he returned to his small courtyard and was planning to practice Cultivation, Chen Jiuge found his Communication Stone had lit up.
"Huh, is that Yue Chengtian? Why is he looking for me?" Chen Jiuge said in surprise, looking at the Communication Stone in his hand.
In the first few decades after joining the Sect, Chen Jiuge had taken on the task of serving as a guide for Sect assessments. Yue Chengtian was one of those under his mentorship then; he was the type who was talkative and unafraid of strangers, which is why they had exchanged Communication Stones.