The Master of Beasts

The waste of resources in Eden Garden was actually quite severe, and Chen Jiuge was partly to blame.

With the Golden Finger, Chen Jiuge leaned more towards cultivating powerful Spiritual Beasts, earning Spirit Stones by selling these formidable creatures. The idea was good, but it was too simplistic for Eden Garden and somewhat distorted.

The key issue was that after years of breeding, Chen Jiuge realized a serious problem. It was impossible to extract Bloodlines from all the Spiritual Beasts born within the garden. At most, he could do so for the first batch, or occasionally whenever he felt like it.

If he truly checked daily which Spiritual Beasts had their Bloodlines extracted, he would have no time for Cultivation—such a pursuit of minor details at the cost of fundamentals was not something he would do.

Especially after participating in the Beast Breeding Competition, Chen Jiuge developed a great interest in auxiliary-type, resource-producing Spiritual Beasts. A diversified development was more suitable for Eden Garden's growth and would allow him to utilize the abilities of the Golden Finger more comprehensively.

Early in the morning, Chen Jiuge visited Wen Ruo's cave mansion to inquire if there was a way for Li Qiwen's group of servant disciples to freely enter and exit Hundred Herbs Peak.

After a moment of thought, Wen Ruo said, "Junior Brother, you can create Affiliated Tokens. This way, those people brought back from the minor worlds can freely enter and exit Hundred Herbs Peak, although this method has its pros and cons."

"The advantage is that this group of disciples will become your affiliates, firmly bound to you. The downside is that their Cultivation resources and their future actions outside will all be attributed to your commands."

"It mainly depends on the abilities of these people. If they are capable, there's no need to worry, but if they lack ability, it could lead to a great deal of unnecessary trouble."

Chen Jiuge nodded thoughtfully. Indeed, the matter had its pros and cons, but for the current Chen Jiuge, the advantages outweighed the disadvantages.

Wen Ruo could handle the creation of the Affiliated Tokens, so there was no need to trouble others.

Returning to Eden Garden with a batch of the Affiliated Tokens, Chen Jiuge summoned Li Qiwen and about a hundred others.

After a century of Cultivation, this group had achieved quite impressive levels. The most talented among them had reached the peak of the Nascent Soul realm, and even the least advanced were at the mid-Nascent Soul stage. They could now be entrusted with significant responsibilities.

"You have been with me for a hundred years now, and today I am giving you a choice." He placed a token in front of each of them.

"This is my Affiliated Token. By accepting it, you will become my people, and your lives and deaths will be decided by me. Of course, I will also provide your Cultivation resources, and the stronger your abilities, the greater the rewards you'll receive."

"If you do not accept, that's fine too. I will send you back to the Martial Arts World, where you can live quite well with your current levels of Cultivation."

With synchronized movements, each person picked up the token before them. Having seen a broader horizon, how could they choose to return to the Martial Arts World to be mere frogs in a well?

Moreover, over the years, they had become well aware of the difficulty of ascending from the minor worlds to the Myriad Beasts Sect and the dangers of being forcibly conscripted into the Protector Army.

Now that a Direct Disciple was willing to recruit them as affiliates, how could they possibly refuse?

Chen Jiuge was very pleased with this outcome. He then said, "Having worked in Eden Garden for a hundred years, you must be aware of some of its shortcomings. I plan to dispatch you to establish shops and inns in the Immortal Cities outside. These will be used to manage the surplus of Spiritual Beasts from Eden Garden."

"In addition, I will need to purchase a large number of resource-producing Spiritual Beasts. I will supply the Spirit Stones; you all just need to execute my tasks accordingly. For now, go and prepare. Li Qiwen, please stay behind for a moment."

Addressing the increasingly mature Li Qiwen, Chen Jiuge instructed, "I plan to put you in charge of this group. You will need to manage our external industries for me in the future. As for Eden Garden, Black Eye and that group of monkeys will remain responsible for it."

"I will grant you partial control over the Daoist Soldiers within Eden Garden to provide you with some protective forces."

"Right, about Spiritual Beasts. As members of the Myriad Beasts Sect, it wouldn't be fitting if you didn't have Spiritual Beasts. Find some time to take them to the ecological zone to contract Spiritual Beasts—one beast per person. You will receive one as well. In the future, significant accomplishments can be exchanged for the qualification to contract additional Spiritual Beasts."

Li Qiwen expressed her surprise, "Thank you, Master."

"Call me Boss. I'm not used to being called 'Master.' This Jade Scroll contains some matters I've outlined. Review it and handle them accordingly," Chen Jiuge said, handing the Jade Scroll to Li Qiwen.

Though she found the new title a bit strange, Li Qiwen didn't contest it.

Appointing Li Qiwen as the manager was, in truth, partly out of consideration for her being a grandniece of someone influential. Of course, as a princess herself, Li Qiwen's capabilities were indeed far superior to ordinary people. Furthermore, the old eunuch Ye Xiaotian, who was always by her side, possessed strength that was foremost among this group. If not for his physical infirmities, he likely would have already achieved Divinity Transformation.

「...」

After carefully inspecting the Jade Scroll, Li Qiwen immediately gathered everyone and established her authority as the manager. Naturally, there were many dissenting voices, but these were quickly quelled by the old eunuch Ye Xiaotian. After all, no one could challenge his strength, and since the appointment was likely issued by Chen Jiuge, a small fuss might be tolerable, but causing a real stir would bring no benefits.

Having established her authority, Li Qiwen immediately issued orders.

One group was sent to purchase resource-producing Spiritual Beasts, while another went to the Immortal Cities to investigate the costs of setting up an inn. The Spirit Stones required for these activities could be withdrawn directly from Eden Garden's Spirit Stone Storage, which were also used by Outer Disciples for exchanges.

This vigorous operation lasted for a full year, until the disciples in the Immortal Cities returned with news that they could establish an inn.

「...」

"Boss, Xiaotian and the others have brought back information on dozens of Immortal Cities near Hundred Herbs Peak. Setting up the inn should be no problem. With your status as a Direct Disciple, things proceeded smoothly. However, we are short on chefs and some security personnel," Li Qiwen said, somewhat troubled.

"That's a minor issue. I'll talk to Senior Brother Lei about purchasing some highly skilled chefs. A Fourth Rank Spirit Chef's abilities should be more than sufficient. As for security, I'll refine some more Daoist Soldiers. Besides, there are quite a few Golden Dogs in the garden now; they can also be sent to support you," Chen Jiuge responded.

"That's great. However, regarding the ingredients and some of the resource output within Eden Garden, I have some thoughts," Li Qiwen said cautiously.

"Go on."

"I think we can open a Spirit Food ingredients shop in the same Immortal City where we establish the inn. This would not only solve the inn's ingredient supply issues but also allow us to sell those high-yield resources, generating additional income."

"Our Spiritual Chicken eggs, Red Flame Sheep Milk, the Red Flame Sheep themselves, Snow Rabbits, Grass and Wood Essence from the grass turtles, Moonlight Stones condensed by the Moonlight Giant Frogs, and the honey that will eventually be produced by the recently purchased Spiritual Bees—all these resources could be sold more conveniently. We could even directly sell some Spiritual Beasts with ordinary aptitudes to Loose Cultivators."

Seeing the somewhat anxious Li Qiwen, Chen Jiuge smiled. "That's an excellent point. I'll leave that to you to handle. Don't be afraid to spend Spirit Stones; results are what matter."