Chapter 2 - Precautions for Raising Chickens, Good Luck!_1

"This is a Precious Chicken, not ordinary, imbued with spirit, breeding and hatching are extremely difficult, hence they must be carefully nurtured."

"The chicken feed is a mix containing small amounts of Spiritual Energy, with Spirit Valley Bran, spirit bean cake, Spirit Stone powder, bone powder of Spirit Fish, and so on, mixed in a certain ratio. There will be people delivering unwanted Spirit Insects as food from time to time..."

"The roosters mature in about three years, the hens in about four years."

"After reaching maturity, hens will lay an egg roughly every three to seven days."

"Each month, two mature and strong roosters, two mature and strong hens, and two hundred eggs of Precious Chickens must be supplied!"

"If raised properly, there is a reward!"

"If unable to provide the full quota, there is a penalty!"

After tidying up the room, he went over the chicken-raising instructions back and forth until he had completely memorized them.

Only then did Wang Ba leave the room.

Old Sun and his little stool had already disappeared, apparently having returned to his own house.

Wang Ba had no desire to converse with the old man.

Based on what Deacon Li had previously informed him, he made his way down from the villa, to the West Garden market on the other side of the valley for a look.

This West Garden market was not a marketplace for Cultivators, but a trading place for mortals.

After all, Cultivators have many relatives who cannot cultivate. These people follow the Cultivators into the Sect and need a place to live.

Thus, the West Garden market came into being.

Wang Ba did several rounds here, opening his eyes to new sights.

Although this place was for mortal trading, it was still under Sect jurisdiction, and one could always find good items left by Cultivators.

There were even stalls selling Precious Chickens, treasure pigs, colored ducks.

Unfortunately, Wang Ba couldn't afford any of them.

The cheaper items all cost hundreds or thousands of silver taels.

The expensive ones even required Spirit Stones.

He saw some people peddling Cultivators' cultivation methods.

Of course, he couldn't afford those either.

After wandering around all morning, he only bought a cooking pot, stove, and some rice and grains.

Now, he was completely out of money.

Not a single cent left.

Fortunately, after entering the Sect, even a menial servant like him would receive some silver money from the Sect periodically.

It was very little, barely enough for his basic needs.

He laboriously moved these items back home.

He then found an axe in the villa to chop some firewood and lit the stove.

It was not until evening that he finally had a meal.

There was only rice without any dishes, but after a busy day, Wang Ba still found it delicious.

He had already accepted his fate. If he had no chance with the path of immortality, he would do his best in the Sect and strive to become an outer Deacon in a few years.

He had heard Deacon Li say before,

Some outer Deacons require cultivation, but some mortals can also hold the position.

After all, there is a lot of menial work in the Sect that few Cultivators are willing to do.

After gaining a status and saving up,

He would descend the mountain to marry a few concubines.

Then, his trip wouldn't have been in vain.

After dinner, he got up for a walk outside the villa to aid digestion, mainly because the overpowering smell of chicken dung in the bedroom was a bit too much to bear.

He wondered how Old Sun had managed it.

As he looked up silently at the brilliant river of stars in the sky,

A beam of sword-light suddenly soared into the sky from afar!

Following closely behind, an enormous figure appeared to stand in the night sky, hands behind his back, letting out a long howl.

The sound resonated through the heavens.

"My path is complete!"

Thunder roared, and the river of stars dimmed!

Then, after a few moments, congratulatory voices wafted from every direction, echoing throughout the entire East Saint Sect.

"I wonder what realm that is."

Wang Ba gazed enviously at the brilliant lights in the distance.

From where he stood, he could vaguely make out the converging beams of sword-light and radiance.

"What a pity..."

Wang Ba lowered his head, his eyes filled with desolation.

The saddest thing in life is to be unrelated to all the splendor.

Stimulated by this scene, he had planned to go back to his room to rest, but now he didn't feel sleepy at all.

He decided not to sleep; instead, he held an oil lamp and went around the villa to count the chickens.

It took a long time before he finished counting the chickens in the villa.

There were 37 roosters.

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The hens numbered 70.

Due to the darkness, their maturity and egg production were hard to discern.

But such a number immediately set off alarm bells in Wang Ba's mind.

"This count is off!"

"Breeding Precious Chickens is extremely difficult."

"If we go by the roosters' maturity cycle... to ensure a full quota each month, we would need at least 36 pairs of roosters of various ages!"

"Similarly, since hens mature in four years, we would need at least 48 pairs to keep the production stable."

However, at present, the numbers of both roosters and hens didn't add up!

This meant that if pairing and breeding weren't timely, in just two years, it might become impossible to supply the full quota.

And there was only one result for not fulfilling the quota: punishment.

The yellow paper didn't specify what the punishment would be.

But Wang Ba definitely did not want to test it with his own body.

"No, this won't do! I must check the hens' egg-laying situation right away!"

A discrepancy in chicken numbers could be dealt with for the time being, but if the egg production was also off, that would be an immediate issue.

Wang Ba was now completely without sleepiness, ignoring the stench of chicken manure, and went straight to grab a hen from the corner.

In his previous life, he had learned how to feel for eggs from his mother.

Just by placing a hand between a chicken's belly and thigh, one could tell if the hen was about to lay an egg.

However, what he didn't expect at all was this.

As he reached out, he grasped at nothing!

The big hen leaped up and, like a bird, fluttered onto the eaves.

Displaying an agility completely at odds with its bulky body.

"Cluck cluck..."

The big hen on the eaves even turned around to cluck at Wang Ba, seemingly mocking his lack of skill.

Wang Ba, however, was helpless.

He was just a common man and couldn't fly up there.

Though his teeth itched with aggravation, he didn't dwell on it and instead turned his attention to another hen.

But the result was the same.

Stubbornly, he tried again and again, ten times in succession.

Frustratingly, he didn't catch a single one!

"It's not that I'm incapable; it's just that these Precious Chickens are too good at running away!" Wang Ba tried to justify to himself.

But these Precious Chickens were indeed no ordinary birds; their speed and strength were far beyond any chicken he had seen before.

He tried again seven or eight times, still ending in failure, and only succeeded in making himself reek.

"Stop trying, you won't catch them."

An elderly voice suddenly sounded behind Wang Ba.

Turning around, Wang Ba saw Old Sun wrapped in a Daoist robe patched all over, shaking his head.

"Sorry to disturb you, Old Sun. I just couldn't sleep and wanted to check on the egg-laying situation of the chickens..."

Wang Ba apologized.

Old Sun ignored him and walked to another corner.

With a trembling hand, he reached out.

Then, to Wang Ba's astonishment, like lightning, he effortlessly grabbed a wing of a large hen.

Twisting its wings together, he then tossed it to Wang Ba.

"Practice the 'Strong Body Sutra' more; that thing is good for strengthening the body."

Old Sun's face was expressionless, but he still spoke.

"Thank you, Old Sun!" Wang Ba hurriedly accepted the large hen.

His heart was a mix of emotions.

Shocked at Old Sun's hidden abilities and pained by his own weakness.

He couldn't even catch a single chicken.

And yet he had the audacity to dream of seeking immortality and knowledge.

Fortunate that he had extinguished such thoughts.

Wang Ba inwardly mocked himself.

His fingers then slid down the plump belly of the large hen...

[Target Lifespan: 19.2 years]

[Current Lifespan of the Original Body: 71.7 years]

[Expendable Items: None]

[Absorb/Deposit?]

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