The Master of Beasts

Jun Linseng's reward was simple. Since Chen Jiuge raised Spiritual Beasts, Jun Linseng decided to improve Eden Garden for him.

Though he decided to improve Eden Garden, Jun Linseng was not going to alter its internal structure, as he was not its owner.

The primary core formation, after being strengthened during Chen Jiuge's apprenticeship under Wen Tianming, was not an Immortal Array but a complex, compound array connecting the entirety of Eden Garden. Its functionality could be said to be quite comprehensive.

But in the eyes of Array Master Lan Tian, it was rather crude—the formation's strength was insufficient, and its integration wasn't perfect. For the current Eden Garden, it was passable, but once Chen Jiuge became an immortal, this array would prove inadequate.

"Let's use the Cycle Star Formation," Lan Tian mused. "It's strong defensively and can attract Star Power, which is beneficial for the growth of Spiritual Beasts and can subtly enhance their aptitude."

"For the secondary formation, let's add a Myriad Spirit Formation. It can be used to counterattack enemies and also to directly subdue any troublesome Spiritual Beasts within the garden. For the smaller formations in each area, simple Barriers will do. Finally, we'll add some Spirit Arrays beneficial for the Spiritual Beasts."

"This Myriad Transformation Array is good; it can enhance the potential of unborn Spiritual Beasts. Let's also install the Time Trace Array, as it can accelerate the maturation of Spiritual Beasts. And I almost forgot the Spirit Gathering Array. That should be about right. Making it too cluttered with arrays would affect the core's operational efficiency."

After Lan Tian had selected the formations, Jun Linseng began to infuse a large amount of Space Stone into Eden Garden, causing it to expand once more after its previous enlargement.

"That should be enough. If it's too large, Jiuge will also have trouble refining it into a Grotto Heaven Magic Treasure." Jun Linseng stopped his actions and nodded in satisfaction as he watched Eden Garden expand a hundredfold.

"Lan Tian, you can begin setting up the formations now," Jun Linseng called out.

The core Cycle Star Formation descended like true stars into the enlarged Spirit Lake. As the various formations settled, the Spiritual Energy in Eden Garden gradually grew richer. The Spirit Gathering Array, positioned with the core formation, continuously condensed the rich Spiritual Energy into Spiritual Liquid, which slowly flowed into the Spirit Lake.

One could imagine that both the quality and quantity of the Spiritual Fish in this Spirit Lake would eventually experience a dramatic surge.

The last to make his contribution was Ba Tianba.

"Is it ready?" Ba Tianba asked, looking at the completely transformed Eden Garden.

"It is."

"Then I'll begin."

As his words fell, a colossal Ba Snake, large enough to block out the sun, appeared in Eden Garden. It controlled its size to avoid piercing through the top of Eden Garden.

Its terrifying size was truly worthy of the name Ba Snake.

With a vast opening of its mouth, numerous Spiritual Beasts of all sizes began to fall in an orderly manner into Spirit Beast groups in different areas—this was Ba Tianba's way of expressing gratitude.

With Eden Garden expanded, a large number of Spiritual Beasts were naturally needed. Ba Tianba, who had no other particular talents for this task, had gathered Spiritual Beasts from various Secret Realms within Ye Sheng's cave mansion to populate Eden Garden. After all, this quantity was a mere trifle for Ye Sheng.

The main constraint was Eden Garden's current size; otherwise, Ba Tianba claimed he could have emptied all the Spiritual Beasts from Ye Sheng's Secret Realms.

***

Using the Golden Finger this time not only revealed its limits but also made Chen Jiuge understand his own.

He had been in a deep sleep for a month before slowly regaining consciousness.

As soon as he opened his eyes, he saw a white rear directly in front of him. Its owner, Yue Meng, was holding a Medicine Mortar, continuously crushing herbs, completely unaware that Chen Jiuge had awakened.

"Ahem, Yue Meng, what are you doing here?" Chen Jiuge reminded her.

"Oh, my goodness, Master, you're awake already! And you haven't even taken your medicine yet. I've been laboring over it for a whole month. Maybe, Master, you could sleep a little longer? It will be ready in another two hours," Yue Meng fiddled with her hands, suggesting somewhat sheepishly.

"Stop kidding around." Chen Jiuge disdainfully flicked away Yue Meng's outstretched little hand.

He then asked, "Are the Sect Master and the others still here?"

"Do you mean those intimidating-looking men?" Yue Meng shuddered at the thought of them.

"I suppose so," he said, patting Yue Meng's head.

"They left a few days ago, but they left a Sound Transmission Talisman. They also took Tian Que and the Ming Snake with them, saying they would help enhance both beasts' potential and strength for you, Master."

"Is that so? Then it's fine."

After lying down for a month, Chen Jiuge wanted to go outside for a walk. As soon as he stepped out of the small courtyard, he was dumbfounded.

Am I still dreaming?

Exiting the small courtyard used to provide a direct view of a throng of Red Flame Sheep and scattered Giant Rhinoceros. But now, all he saw were multicolored Spirit Plants, mostly Second Rank and Third Rank, with occasional sightings of Fourth Rank and Fifth Rank Spirit Plants. However, there was no sign of the Red Flame Sheep or other Spiritual Beasts.

Yue Meng, putting on an adult-like air, sighed and said, "Master, you've slept too long. Eden Garden has changed."

Chen Jiuge was speechless, wondering what she was on about, especially since she'd just revealed he had only been asleep for a month. However, the changes in Eden Garden were undoubtedly due to the Sect Master and the others.

"Give me the Sound Transmission Talisman the Sect Master left."

Opening the talisman, a magnetic male voice emerged, "Jiuge, you did very well this time. Silver Flower's Tribulation also proceeded smoothly. To reward you for your contributions, Tianba and I discussed it and decided to improve your Eden Garden."

"It's mainly about expanding the space a bit, strengthening the arrays a little, and we've added quite a number of Spiritual Beasts, so don't be too surprised."

"Oh, by the way, your Eden Garden has now become a Grotto Heaven Magic Treasure. We've already bound it to you while you were unconscious. However, you might have to wait until you become a Heavenly Immortal to carry it within your body. Also, after Silver Flower stabilizes her Realm, she will give you your reward."

"Just a reminder, even with the effects of the Yin Yang Creation Fruit, it's best if you still temper your Cultivation. I don't know how much karma using your karmic Divine Skill will accumulate. However, seeing that most of the Spiritual Beasts in your garden have had it used on them, it seems the repercussions aren't too severe."

"Lastly, I'll take the Lu Wu and the Ming Snake that returned with you for now. Their Cultivation is too weak, so I'll let my Spiritual Beasts train them a bit. As for that Fire Qilin, you can train it yourself."

Is this what a Golden Immortal calls 'improvements'? This has practically turned Eden Garden into an Immortal Realm!!! Chen Jiuge screamed inwardly.

The benefits are immense, but it looks like I'm going to be incredibly busy from now on, Chen Jiuge thought, a wry smile touching his lips.

According to Yue Meng's description, Eden Garden had expanded at least a hundredfold, the number of Spiritual Beasts had increased by hundreds of times, and the vast array of Spirit Plants also needed replanning. It would likely take several years to manage it all properly.

Fortunately, his Cultivation had skyrocketed to the Mahayana Realm. It also needed tempering, which he could use as an opportunity to refine his Cultivation. After all, the prosperity of Eden Garden was indeed a great boon for him.