The Master of Beasts

Seeing Hua Jianyu again, Chen Jiuge felt that this girl was rather unfortunate. She was clearly pretty and seemed to have a nice personality, but why did so many Divine Beast cubs disdain her?

Could it be she has a Sacred Body immune to innate Divine Beasts? Chen Jiuge silently marveled in his heart.

"Senior Brother Chen, thank you for your trouble," Hua Jianyu's voice carried a hint of melancholy.

"Black Eye, bring your child over," Chen Jiuge said to Black Eye, who bore a look of expectation.

Black Eye immediately dragged over his "rebellious child."

"Senior Brother Chen, Senior Brother Wu, is this the Spiritual Beast you chose for me?" Hua Jianyu found it incredible.

A disciple from Flower Fairy Valley like me, walking around with a hairless, muscular hellhound? Is that appropriate?

Chen Jiuge also felt it was quite mismatched. However, if one were to look at Bloodline and potential, aside from his own Contracted Spirit Beasts, the best Bloodline in Eden Garden probably belonged to "Little Coal Ball."

Of course, this didn't include the two little ones that were about to be born.

Wudao Tian, however, saw no issue and even found Little Coal Ball to quite suit his aesthetic. Those bulky muscles are very masculine, he thought.

"Junior Sister, this is the Bloodline of a Hellhound. Junior Chen's Hellhound's Bloodline is stronger than that of ordinary Divine Beasts. Its first offspring surely won't be too bad."

Hua Jianyu imagined herself walking out with a hairless, muscular hellhound by her side...

Seeing Hua Jianyu shaking her head furiously, Chen Jiuge thought it was a miracle that his Eldest Senior Brother even had a Daoist couple.

At that moment, Die Luowu also hurried over. "Senior Sister, Senior Sister, Dao Tian didn't mean it! He just thought Little Coal Ball's Bloodline was quite good, and that's why he suggested it."

Hua Jianyu shook her head to indicate that she wasn't angry. Although Little Coal Ball wasn't much to look at, its Bloodline was indeed excellent, and she wasn't the kind to misunderstand things.

"Junior Sister Hua, no offense, but the disciples from your Flower Fairy Valley came here to enhance their strength. You shouldn't care so much about the appearance of a Spiritual Beast," Wudao Tian said while holding Little Coal Ball, trying to promote him.

This little thing looks quite unique, and it feels nice to touch... If Junior Sister Hua doesn't want him, maybe I could ask Junior Brother if he could give him to me? Wudao Tian thought silently.

As a Heavenly Immortal, Wudao Tian actually had few Contracted Spirit Beasts. The only notable one was a Mo Qilin. Although this was largely because he preferred handling things personally, he truly had comparatively fewer Contracted Spirit Beasts.

Hua Jianyu looked at Little Coal Ball as it stuck out its tongue to please Wudao Tian, then glanced at its shiny muscles. She found it hard to appreciate and could only silently shake her head.

"What a pity! Then give him to me, Junior Brother," Wudao Tian said, his expression changing instantly.

The three of them looked at the elated Wudao Tian, unsure what to say. Don't you consider others' feelings at all?

Die Luowu also pressed her forehead. What should I do? My Daoist couple's EQ is too low!

"Eldest Senior Brother, let's not talk about Little Coal Ball for now. Shouldn't we first choose a Spiritual Beast for Junior Sister Hua?" Chen Jiuge changed the topic.

"Right. Junior Sister Hua, what kind of Spiritual Beast do you want? Junior Chen here is a master at Spirit Beast Breeding; he can cultivate any type you desire," Wudao Tian grandly offered.

"I'd prefer one that's slightly stronger, with higher potential, and a bit better looking," Hua Jianyu said, somewhat sheepishly.

Chen Jiuge finally understood. So, in the end, Junior Sister Hua isn't accepting Little Coal Ball because he's too ugly.

"Junior Sister, please wait for a while. I have an idea," Chen Jiuge said, suddenly thinking of the Jade Beast breeding technique he had obtained from the Jade Clan. Jade Beasts quite fit Hua Jianyu's requirements.

Breeding Jade Beasts wasn't difficult; it mainly required the strong influence of the Jade Dao, which Chen Jiuge naturally didn't possess, but Yu Heng did.

Since Yu Heng had given him the breeding technique for Jade Beasts, he naturally wouldn't omit the catalyst.

The catalyst was a piece of black jade. According to Yu Heng, it was the Enlightenment Jade of the Jade Daoist, exceedingly precious—assuming one also cultivated the Jade Dao. Otherwise, it was just an ordinary Dao jade; though still a Treasure, it would be somewhat useless.

After all, in this era, there were far too many Golden Immortals. Although the numbers of Heavenly Immortals and True Immortals were not as high as in the ancient past, the count of Golden Immortals was much higher. As for the reason, Chen Jiuge naturally didn't know.

All I need to do is bury this black jade in the soil, place a Jade Carving on it, along with a good amount of the Water of Life, and the Jade Clan will appear? This process seems a bit too casual.

With a heart full of doubt, Chen Jiuge used an Array to enclose a piece of land in Eden Garden. He buried the black jade, then poured most of the Water of Life he had on it, and finally placed his own carved jade sculpture on top.

After completely closing off the Array, Chen Jiuge fell into deep contemplation.

This must be some sort of figurine resurrection program, right? Could it be that the Jade Daoist was also a figurine enthusiast??? A wild guess suddenly popped into Chen Jiuge's mind.

The wait for the figurine—ah, no—the Jade Beast wasn't long. For reasons unknown, this Jade Daoist's Jade Dao was just that potent; it could bring inanimate objects to life in just a few years, completely shattering Chen Jiuge's understanding.

This is just a half-step Dao Yi. Wouldn't a true Dao Yi be equivalent to the Saints from the ancient myths of my past life?

Watching the originally dull Jade Carving slowly start to move its eyes, followed by its whole body beginning to move slowly, Chen Jiuge nearly popped his eyes out but still couldn't discern anything unusual.

"Kid, stop staring. This is the essence of my original body's Jade Dao, mixed with the Laws from the Creation Dao. You're merely a True Immortal and haven't even properly begun to comprehend Laws. It'd be a miracle if you could notice anything amiss," Yu Heng said disdainfully.

"Yu Heng? How did you get out? Weren't you taken away by the Sect Master?" Chen Jiuge asked in surprise.

"You have some nerve to ask! I waited there for you for years, and you didn't even come to pick me up! I didn't know the way. If it weren't for that Jun Sandao fellow needing to go out and bringing me along, I would have waited there until I died!" Yu Heng said irritably.

Chen Jiuge blushed with embarrassment; he had been unaware that he was supposed to pick up Yu Heng. After repeated explanations, he was begrudgingly forgiven.

"Kid, you've already cultivated the first batch of the Jade Clan, huh? Why are they all Jade Beasts? Little Jade People would have been quite nice too," Yu Heng commented, looking at the Jade Beasts slowly moving inside the Array.

"I think the Jade Beasts are pretty good, very suitable for Eden Garden. Let's talk about other forms later," Chen Jiuge said nonchalantly.

"That's true. With your current Cultivation, if you were to truly cultivate a large number of the Jade Clan, you'd likely be captured by other Sects if you took them out," Yu Heng agreed.

The two chatted sporadically as the tens of thousands of Jade Carvings within the Array all came to life.

Watching this miraculous scene, Chen Jiuge's face was involuntarily filled with awe. Was this the miracle of life?

"Actually, my original body's Enlightenment Jade not only contains the Jade Dao but also the Creation Dao and Life Dao, infused by my master's two old friends, true Dao Yi Saints. That is the true catalyst for the emergence of the Jade Clan."

"My original body once said that the world had become too tainted. He wanted to create a pure and holy race, but unfortunately, he failed. Even inherently flawless Spirit Jade can be corrupted by the filth of this world."

"Treasure it well, kid. The Enlightenment Jade I gave you is one of the last such Treasures in the world."

Chen Jiuge didn't know when Yu Heng had left.

Gathering all the Jade Beasts, he managed to assemble a hundred rare-colored Jade Beasts. This consumed several times more resources than buying Jade Beasts from the Treasure Pavilion in Jade Immortal City.

It seems the quality of the jade used for the carvings does affect their Bloodline, Chen Jiuge pondered.

Next, I'll need to get more Water of Life and cultivate another batch of Jade Beasts. But this time, I have to keep them as breeding stock. I can't keep cultivating rare-colored Jade Beasts; otherwise, if I do this a dozen more times, I'll have to mortgage Eden Garden.

Jade Beasts generally possessed high aesthetic appeal. Even a creature like a pig, which normally looked ugly, had a unique charm when crafted from shimmering jade. Chen Jiuge believed that this time, Hua Jianyu would find no reason to reject them. The only issue now was the strength of their Bloodline.

A Sixth Rank Bloodline for Jade Beasts was indeed a bit weak. Fortunately, as long as they continuously consumed high-quality Spirit Jade, their Bloodline could be enhanced, though the limit was around the Seventh Rank. Whether they could break through this limit, Chen Jiuge didn't know, and Yu Heng had no memories regarding it.

So Yu Heng doesn't know either. Thankfully, I managed to get some Immortal Jade, so the trip wasn't entirely wasted, Chen Jiuge thought, very satisfied as he looked at the full Storage Ring of Immortal Jade. He had used most of his resources to exchange for Water of Life, so it was best not to spend Spirit Stones if possible.

Before starting the cultivation, Chen Jiuge had specifically asked Hua Jianyu to pick a Jade Beast she liked. After all, Yu Heng, that stingy fellow, had only provided enough Immortal Jade to cultivate one Jade Beast; he would rather die than give any more.

"Let's go with this one," Hua Jianyu said after a very long time, finally choosing a Jade Fox with a conflicted expression.

This Jade Fox was also a rare-colored Jade Beast, but its color variation was white. Compared to ordinary Jade Beasts, the difference wasn't very distinct—perhaps it was just a more dazzling white?

After Hua Jianyu made her choice, things became easier. They continuously fed the Jade Fox Immortal Jade and had other Spiritual Beasts take it into fights frequently to accelerate its digestion of the Immortal Jade.

However, something went wrong at some point. Three years later, on a certain day, that Jade Fox evolved—no, it should be called an ascension. That didn't seem quite accurate either. In any case, it had changed.

"Are you saying this is the Jade Fox I had you take care of?" Chen Jiuge stared at the pitch-black Jade Fox before him, completely lost in thought.

Why would a dazzlingly white Jade Fox turn into such a lump of charcoal? Could it be that Hua Jianyu is fated to be with dark-skinned Spiritual Beasts? Chen Jiuge silently wondered.

"Forget it, I'll let Hua Jianyu see for herself," Chen Jiuge decided. It was best to consult the intended owner first, as Hua Jianyu was the one who would form a Contract with it. He just didn't know if she could accept it.

If we need to cultivate a new one, I'll have to ask Eldest Senior Brother for the resources. After all, this is for his Daoist couple's Senior Sister. Helping out once is enough; I can't let myself be mooched off indefinitely.