novelraw Chapter 195 : 【Chicken Coop: lv3】
Chapter 195 : 【Chicken Coop: lv3】
Chapter 195:【Chicken Coop: lv3】
A month later, when the crowing of roosters scared away the corpse servant on the western side of Misty Island—
Ji Yuan finally returned to his lair.
Before he even landed, the Ice Flood Dragon inside the Spiritual Beast Pouch seemed to sense something, and it could no longer hold back. It started thrashing about madly.
Now that he was home, Ji Yuan naturally would not restrain it any longer.
But he had not expected that as soon as the Ice Flood Dragon came out of the Spiritual Beast Pouch, it crashed straight into the giant toad that leapt up to greet him.
Before the giant toad could react, the Ice Flood Dragon already opened its ferocious dragon head.
“Ha—”
A breath of icy cold shot out, instantly freezing the giant toad.
Giant Toad: “???”
It blinked, seemingly unable to process what had just happened.
To it, the Ice Flood Dragon had only been away for as long as it took to take a nap. How could this guy already have gained such strength?
What used to be nothing more than a chilly breeze in its eyes now carried such frightening power.
Before the giant toad could strike back, the Ice Flood Dragon suddenly lifted itself into the air, and with one heavy swing of its tail—
Smack!
It slammed down onto the giant toad, sending its massive ten-plus-meter body flying, toppling trees as it crashed to the ground.
But in doing so, it also thawed the giant toad.
“Croak!!”
With a furious roar, the giant toad was enraged.
“Awng—”
The Ice Flood Dragon refused to show weakness and roared back at it.
Standing between the two beasts, Ji Yuan could not even be bothered to look. He simply pointed toward Yunyu Marshlands.
If you want to fight, fight outside. Dare to fight here at home, and I’ll stew you both today!
Fortunately, though both beasts were furious, they still heeded Ji Yuan’s command. With a bound and a tail sweep, the two monsters vanished into Yunyu Marshlands within the span of a breath.
Soon, the lake waters were thrashing violently against the shores.
In some places, the surface of the lake even began to freeze.
Ji Yuan did not need to watch to know the outcome. The giant toad would surely win.
Though the Ice Flood Dragon had superior bloodline, it was still only an early-stage second-rank beast. The giant toad, however, had been entrenched in the late stage of the second rank for many years.
So the result was clear without needing comparison. What Ji Yuan truly wondered about was just how far apart their strengths were. After all, during his trip this time, the Ice Flood Dragon had not been of any use.
Not even the swarm of bees had been used.
Ji Yuan did not know the Ice Flood Dragon’s precise strength, so with the giant toad serving as a touchstone, this was perfect.
While the two beasts fought, Ji Yuan looked at Tu Yue as she came forward to greet him. No matter how he looked at it, she seemed like a little wife, waiting for him to return from work outside and stepping up to welcome him.
More importantly, she would voluntarily hand over all the gains collected during this time.
Ji Yuan took the Storage Pouch from her, emptied it, returned the pouch, and did not forget to pinch her cold little face.
Unfortunately, Tu Yue had no reaction whatsoever.
But perhaps it was fortunate she did not react.
If she did, that would have been eerie indeed.
“Wait, go call Chu Er over here.”
Ji Yuan remembered this corpse servant Chu Er—it was an old woman at the edge of rotting wood. She was so useless she struggled even with feeding chickens.
Such a corpse servant was unworthy even as consumable material. Ji Yuan would not feel the slightest heartache if she were destroyed.
But using her to test this Yin Ghost Sect ring was just right.
Not long later, Tu Yue dragged over the corpse servant, her hands caked with filth and her face covered in age spots.
Ji Yuan cast several Purification Techniques on her, tidied her appearance, then brought out the Yin Ghost Sect ring and had her wear it.
The corpse servant had no will of its own and acted only on Ji Yuan’s orders.
Thus she offered no resistance, obeying every instruction.
The moment she put on the ring, change occurred.
Within Ji Yuan’s perception, this corpse servant, who had originally been at the ninth level of Qi Refining, suddenly vanished. He could still see her with his eyes and detect her presence with divine sense, but her aura was obscured—her strength unreadable.
Furthermore, a layer of black mist now shrouded her body, exuding a chilling ghostly might.
The aura clearly emanated from the ring.
So this ring could conceal one’s cultivation, preventing others from discerning it?!
At first glance, it was good. Looking deeper, it was still good. The only drawback was its effect—the eerie ghostly aura made it clear to all that the wearer was a demonic cultivator.
Ji Yuan waited a while longer to confirm the corpse servant had no further changes before retrieving the ring.
“Go back to work.”
With a casual wave, Ji Yuan turned his attention back to the ring in his hand. After a moment’s thought, he slid it onto the index finger of his left hand.
The instant the ring touched him, Ji Yuan felt the chilling aura pour into him.
He instinctively shivered as the Yin energy engulfed his body.
At first, the sensation was jarring, but soon after, he realized—
It was just like enjoying a refreshing breeze from an air conditioner in midsummer.
And then there was the aura.
Normally, Ji Yuan’s presence was warm and approachable, allowing him to get along with anyone. But with the Yin Ghost Sect ring on, his aura became forceful and domineering, almost regal.
Not a joke—this was true majesty.
“This ring is quite something. Not only can it conceal one’s strength, it also imposes an oppressive presence.”
Ji Yuan had no doubt that if he stood before a Qi Refining cultivator now, he could scare them into trembling.
A fine item, though regrettably useful only when disguising himself as a demonic cultivator.
When he removed the ring, the oppressive aura immediately dissipated, and he once again appeared plain and unremarkable.
“I wonder just how effective this concealment is. It likely fools Foundation Establishment cultivators. But what about Golden Core cultivators?”
He thought of finding Hua Yaoyue to test it, telling her he had happened upon a ring that blocked probing.
The matter of the Yin Ghost Sect was something Ji Yuan would not reveal.
Of course, he could also take the opportunity to ask Hua Yaoyue if she had any soul-related cultivation techniques. And if she did not… well, Master, wouldn’t you like to learn one?
If so, just call me Master, and I’ll teach you.
Ji Yuan indulged in this fantasy for a moment before putting the ring away. Then he brought out two blocks of Corrupt-Firefly Yin Locust Wood.
The two blocks weighed only four catties combined—barely enough—but Ji Yuan had not forgotten that Mourning Taoist still owed him another catty. If that man had perished at the hands of the Blood Demon, then fine—when a man died, his debts vanished.
But if he still lived, then sorry—once Ji Yuan grew strong, he would demand repayment.
From past attempts, Ji Yuan knew well how large a【Chicken Coop】had to be.
With a few swift cuts of his flying sword, the Corrupt-Firefly Yin Locust Wood was sliced into uniform planks. After a quick assembly, a brand-new【Chicken Coop】stood before him.
Looking at the words hovering above the【Chicken Coop】, Ji Yuan let out a long sigh of relief.
【Chicken Coop: lv2 (Upgradeable)】
“Perfect!”
Clenching his fists, Ji Yuan could not help but exclaim.
He had gone through no small ordeal to upgrade this thing—even risking his life in the Ghost-Seeking Pit. The hardships, only he knew.
But fortunately, the harvest was well worth it.
Not only could the chicken coop now be upgraded, he had also gained an invaluable soul cultivation technique.
Ji Yuan then placed fifty Mid-Grade Spirit Stones into the【Chicken Coop】.
One thought… Upgrade!
The words above the【Chicken Coop】refreshed.
Streams of radiant light burst forth from within the small chicken coop, swirling and shimmering.
This time, Ji Yuan did not rush to shut down the building’s effects.
He stared directly at it, watching as the light converged, finally condensing into—an egg.
A Spiritual Egg of three colors: red, yellow, and blue.
Ji Yuan did not know why it was these three colors. He only knew that when he held it in his hand, the egg was faintly warm.
It felt just like… the moment a hen went “cluck-cluck” after laying an egg, faintly carrying a subtle fragrance.
Holding the Spiritual Egg in his hand, Ji Yuan found himself momentarily dazed.
He remembered the time he had first transmigrated. Back then, at the lakeside hut in Zengtou Market, he had been nothing more than an early-stage Qi Refining cultivator.
At that time, it was precisely by relying on these very Spiritual Eggs that he advanced step by step in cultivation.
One could say, without the Spiritual Eggs produced by the【Chicken Coop】back then—
His cultivation journey would never have gone so smoothly.
“Never thought that back in Qi Refining I depended on Spiritual Eggs, and now at Foundation Establishment, I still rely on them to get by.”
Ji Yuan chuckled, feeling a bit emotional in his heart.
The path of cultivation—truly, a difficult road.
Just as before, Ji Yuan casually cracked open the Spiritual Egg and directly poured the liquid inside into his mouth.
He did not even waste the eggshell. With a squeeze of his hand, he crushed it into fine powder and swallowed it in one gulp.
The spiritual liquid entered his belly and was instantly refined.
Ji Yuan clearly sensed a surge of pure spiritual energy rushing straight into his dantian.
Once it reached his dantian, the energy spread out, layering itself atop the spiritual liquid inside.
Immediately, the spiritual liquid in his dantian began to bubble and boil. With his inner sight, Ji Yuan even saw wisps of spiritual energy evaporating away.
Moments later—
The total amount of spiritual energy in his dantian had not changed, but the space it occupied had shrunk ever so slightly.
Minuscule, but undeniably real.
If this accumulated over the years, the result would surely be astonishing… In the same-sized dantian, where others could only store ten parts of spiritual energy, he would be able to store twelve.
Those extra two parts could very well become the decisive factor!
After finishing the Spiritual Egg, Ji Yuan put away the remaining Corrupt-Firefly Yin Locust Wood.
Since the【Chicken Coop】had already been upgraded, its effects could now apply to other coops. It was no longer necessary to specifically build coops from Corrupt-Firefly Yin Locust Wood.
Such good materials naturally had to be stored away. Whether used for cultivation techniques later, or given out to settle debts, both were excellent uses.
With everything tidied, Ji Yuan summoned the Panel.
【Chicken Coop: lv4 (Not Upgradeable)】
【Effect 1: Chicken Coop produces higher-quality spiritual soil and increased yield (1 tael per day); spiritual birds raised inside the coop have a small chance of mutation (maximum rank no higher than fourth rank).】
【Effect 2 (Four-Colored Spiritual Egg): The coop produces one Four-Colored Spiritual Egg per month, capable of purifying spiritual power and enhancing Golden Core quality.】
【Upgrade Requirement: Cultivation must reach Golden Core Realm; 1,500 Mid-Grade Spirit Stones; coop built from Soul-Eroding Ghost Willow. (Not Fulfilled)】
When Ji Yuan checked the panel, the first thing that caught his eye was Effect 2.
After the Three-Colored Spiritual Egg came the Four-Colored Spiritual Egg.
If the three-colored one could increase Foundation Establishment spiritual energy capacity, then the four-colored one would surely enhance Golden Core spiritual energy storage… to refine the quality of the Golden Core itself?
Could it be that Golden Cores even had grades of quality?
Ji Yuan had never heard of such a thing.
He figured he might ask Hua Yaoyue about it when he had the chance.
Still, based on this, Ji Yuan could already guess the effect of the level 5【Chicken Coop】. One of its effects would very likely be the Five-Colored Spiritual Egg.
After all, since there were already three and four-colored eggs, surely there had to be five-colored ones too.
And its effect—would be to enhance Nascent Soul quality.
How exactly was Nascent Soul quality graded?
Ji Yuan could not help but feel curious.
As for Effect 1, it was a standard upgrade, though with some variation. This time, spiritual birds had a chance of mutation, but unlike the【Fish Pond】, it did not specify the mutation’s direction.
Otherwise, Ji Yuan could have fantasized about the【Fish Pond】producing a True Dragon—
And the【Chicken Coop】producing a Phoenix.
The good part was that the level 4【Chicken Coop】could also stack with the current level 3 coop’s effect, breeding a Bird King that could be commanded. In this way, even if mutated spiritual birds could not be bound as his, they should still remain under his control.
The upgrade requirements were difficult: another hard condition—his cultivation must reach Golden Core. Spirit Stones were not a problem.
But as for the Soul-Eroding Ghost Willow, just from the name he could tell it was something connected to the demonic path. Likely just as rare and troublesome as the Corrupt-Firefly Yin Locust. He would simply need to keep an eye out for it in the future.
With the【Chicken Coop】upgraded, Ji Yuan had settled a major matter.
Now, all he needed was to eat eggs peacefully, and his strength would naturally rise in due course.
With this finished, Ji Yuan was about to return to the【Enlightenment Room】to comprehend his newly gained divine technique, when suddenly he heard a low whimpering cry from the direction of Yunyu Marshlands.
An ice-blue Flood Dragon burst from the waters, leaping high before plunging back toward Misty Island after a few heavy tail flicks.
Ji Yuan looked at the Ice Flood Dragon, its scales missing in patches, and was stunned. Did the great toad really fight with such lack of restraint?
For a dragon-to-dragon fight, that was excessively harsh.
But soon Ji Yuan realized, it was not the great toad’s fault.
For the beast itself was covered in bruises, with a bleeding gash on its head.
A late-stage second-rank great toad had actually been battered this badly by an early-stage second-rank Ice Flood Dragon?
Ji Yuan never considered the possibility of the great toad holding back. Beasts were not so delicate in thought. If the Ice Flood Dragon struck fiercely, the great toad would surely return the same.
Which meant—once the Ice Flood Dragon reached mid-stage of the second rank, it would be able to fight the great toad evenly.
At present, the Ice Flood Dragon’s strength was already around the mid-stage.
That was more than satisfactory.
“Come, if you’re injured, eat more.”
Ji Yuan fed the Ice Flood Dragon nearly ten drops of Ice Soul Cold Dew, and gave the great toad ten Spiritual Pigs.
Thus, the two injured beasts were happy again.
The great toad devoured the pigs, its eyes rolling slyly. Ji Yuan waved his hand and said, “Don’t think of mooching food and drink. If you fight again, neither of you will get anything to eat.”
The great toad lowered its head in disappointment.
The Ice Flood Dragon quickly scampered off on all fours and finally slipped into the【Fish Pond】.
Ji Yuan sternly warned it not to eat the Spiritual Fish inside.
The Spiritual Fish in the pond were all reserves prepared for the Ice Flood Dragon itself.
After dealing with them, Ji Yuan moved to the dense forest on the western side. First, he released the bee swarm he had taken out before, letting them return to the【Bee Nest】.
With a sweep of his divine sense, Ji Yuan found that during this trip, the Spirit-Devouring Bees had multiplied by several thousand.
At this rate of reproduction, the swarm would soon become a terrifying force.
He rewarded them with 100 Mid-Grade Spirit Stones, then proceeded to the【Grave Mound】. There, he dug a pit and buried the Thousand Souls Banner and Yin Ghost Flag, letting them soak up Yin energy.
Then he brought out the corpse of Yin Child, dug a pit nearby, and buried it as well.
Ji Yuan checked his existing corpse servants.
The number had grown from Chu Yi to Chu Liu, but none had reached Foundation Establishment yet. They were all still in Qi Refining, of little use—just suitable for labor.
After inspecting the buildings on Misty Island, Ji Yuan returned to his【Cave Dwelling】.
With the chores done, it was time to thoroughly check the Storage Pouches.
Ji Yuan did not enjoy killing people, but he did enjoy sorting through their Storage Pouches.
That was, in itself, a sort of puzzle.
“Now then, this is my Senior Brother Ma’s. And this one is Yin Child’s.”
Glancing between them, Ji Yuan decided to check Yin Child’s pouch first. The good things should be saved for later, to savor slowly.
The demonic cultivators of Shangdong lived with their heads hanging from their belts. Spirit Stones were always scarce, for any they had were immediately poured into strengthening themselves.
So even though Yin Child was a mid-Foundation Establishment demonic cultivator—
He still had little on him: only 176 Mid-Grade Spirit Stones.
Not even enough to feed the Spirit-Devouring Bees twice. Pathetic trash.
The only valuable items were spiritual artifacts. Ji Yuan found himself intrigued by the bell.
Its frightening sound had caught him off guard earlier.
The bell was a mid-grade spiritual artifact, looking like it was crafted from an infant’s skull bound with bronze chains.
Just holding it, Ji Yuan felt the surge of intense resentment within.
He refined it, and discovered—
“Seven-Slaughter Infant Cry Bell. When shaken, it produces the sharp cry of a baby, disrupting cultivators below late Foundation Establishment for three breaths.”
A fine item indeed.
This meant Ji Yuan had yet another weapon in his demonic toolkit. And at critical moments, he could even wield it openly in his righteous identity, so long as he silenced any witnesses afterward.
From Yin Child’s pouch, Ji Yuan also pulled out his flying artifact: a skull that, when flown, left trails of rolling black smoke.
Ji Yuan remembered it vividly.
Unexpectedly, it too was a mid-grade spiritual artifact, and excellent at short-distance acceleration.
Its normal flight speed was slower than most artifacts of its grade, though.
Ji Yuan planned to check Senior Brother Ma’s flying artifact later. If that one was better, this skull could be sold off.
Aside from that, there was only a low-grade defensive robe.
During their fight, Ji Yuan’s Sword Embryo had pierced it, leaving damage—still sellable, but just that.
Judging by spiritual artifacts alone, demonic cultivators were indeed wealthier than righteous ones. Ordinary mid-Foundation Establishment cultivators could never afford three spiritual artifacts, let alone two of mid-grade quality.
No talisman treasures, just ordinary talismans.
Pills were the same. Not even a single Foundation Establishment Pill. Ji Yuan cursed him as a penniless wretch several times over.
The last thing of note was a secret technique.
After some searching, Ji Yuan really did find something valuable.