Plans for Advancing the Spirit Vein, Rampant Evil Cultivators

Warm Velvet Chickens had gentle temperaments, and having been artificially raised since birth, they would not harm people.

Otherwise, mortals and martial artists from the foot of the mountain would not have been allowed to feed them.

Even if they advanced to the First Stage Mid-phase, that likely would not change.

However, there was another limitation to consider.

That was spiritual energy.

Fire Maple Mountain had only one First-grade Top-tier Spirit Vein.

The spiritual energy it produced had to supply three hundred mu of spirit fields, including one mu planted with First-grade Top-tier spirit herbs, as well as thirty thousand First-grade Low-tier Warm Velvet Chickens.

It also had to sustain the operation of the First-grade Top-tier Primordial Fire Array. This was already the limit.

If a large number of Warm Velvet Chickens advanced to the First Stage Mid-phase, it might even cause the Spirit Vein to run dry.

"Damn it! Why am I thinking so much? To complete their advancement, I still need to plant Fire Fluff Grass and keep feeding the Warm Velvet Chickens. Whether I can even see a single Warm Velvet Chicken advance during my three years of guarding this place remains uncertain.

"I'll test the waters first. If the Spirit Vein truly cannot hold up, then I'll just advance it to Second-grade Low-tier! Is my Zhang Family lacking that little spirit stone?

"Still, although I'm an Alchemy Master, I'm not proficient in cultivating spirit herbs. Right, I still haven't opened those eight Storage Bags from the Cloud Mountain Sword Sect."

With that thought, Zhang Xuanchen looked toward the eight Storage Bags he had tossed into the corner.

Five were low-grade Storage Bags, two were mid-grade Storage Bags, and one was a high-grade Storage Bag.

The high-grade one naturally belonged to Jiang Erhe.

A high-grade Storage Bag was worth at least five thousand Low-grade Spirit Stones. Particularly exquisite ones could even reach over ten thousand Low-grade Spirit Stones.

Spending so many spirit stones on such a thing was actually rather wasteful.

As long as the space was sufficient, that was enough.

Generally, only Foundation Establishment Early Stage cultivators used them, to flaunt their status.

As for Storage Rings, they were even more valuable. Usually, only the Clan Leaders of Golden Core Families or Alchemy Masters and Artifact Refiners of Second-tier Top-grade or above possessed them.

After sorting through them, he obtained five thousand six hundred and seventy-three Low-grade Spirit Stones.

Four Second-grade Low-tier Spirit Talismans.

Three First-grade Top-tier Magical Artifacts, nine top-tier Magical Artifacts, one First-grade Top-tier Barrier Breaking Pill, several First-tier Spells, and Qi Refining Stage cultivation techniques.

There were also various low-grade pills, Spirit Talismans, Magical Artifacts, ores, and other items. Unfortunately, there was no Spirit Planter inheritance.

"Robbery and arson bring golden belts indeed. No wonder so many cultivators willingly become Robber Cultivators. If they ran into a few fat sheep like Jiang Tiangou, they could even afford a Foundation Establishment Pill."

Zhang Xuanchen smacked his lips. It almost made him want to become a Robber Cultivator himself.

"Unfortunately, there's no Spirit Planter inheritance. Forget it. When the clansmen come to collect the eggs next week, I'll have them bring me a Second-tier Spirit Planter Inheritance."

He stood up, tossed those low-grade Storage Bags aside, and stored everything on the ground inside Jiang Tiangou's Storage Bag. When he returned to the Lineage, he would exchange it all for spirit stones.

After finishing everything, he left the wooden cabin and headed to the area where the Fire Spirit Grass was planted.

As an Alchemy Master, he knew a thing or two about Fire Spirit Grass.

It was the main ingredient for refining the First-grade Mid-tier Cold-Repelling Pill and took one year to mature.

After inspecting all five mu of Fire Spirit Grass, he really did discover seventeen unusual spirit herbs.

Unlike the fan-shaped leaves of Fire Spirit Grass, Fire Fluff Grass had three-dimensional, fuzzy leaves that shimmered with faint crimson spiritual light.

Since it was his first time seeing this spirit herb, Zhang Xuanchen did not dare act rashly.

He merely pulled out all the Fire Spirit Grass within one meter of the Fire Fluff Grass, leaving it ample room to grow.

The Fire Spirit Grass had only been planted three months ago and still needed nine more months to mature. Presumably, the Fire Fluff Grass that had mutated from it was the same.

That afternoon, Zhang Xuanchen inspected Fire Maple Mountain once before arriving at the chicken coop.

He did not wait long before a young man arrived at Fire Maple Mountain.

However, his robes were somewhat tattered, his face pale, and his aura unsteady.

Seeing this, Zhang Xuanchen hurried forward and asked with concern,

"Big Brother! How are you? Who injured you?"

The newcomer was the eldest of the Xuan Generation, Zhang Xuanhu, twenty-nine years old and at Qi Refining Level 6.

"Hahaha, Seventh Brother, don't worry. I ran into a First Stage Mid-phase Shadow Leopard on the way here, but it has already been dealt with."

Zhang Xuanhu waved his hand, signaling that he was not seriously hurt.

Then his expression turned stern as he looked at Zhang Xuanchen. "By the way, Seventh Brother, I don't know what has been happening lately, but Evil Cultivators have become extremely rampant. They specialize in plundering cultivators' essence blood and living souls.

"More than twenty Qi Refining Families throughout the Penglai Islands have already been wiped out. Not a single cultivator or mortal survived.

"The Clan Leader asked me to inform you that unless there is something urgent, you must not leave Fire Maple Mountain. If anything seems amiss, immediately report to the Lineage with a Sound Transmission Talisman. You must not act on your own."

Fire Maple Mountain was several hundred kilometers away from Xuanxiao Mountain.

A First-tier Sound Transmission Talisman naturally would not suffice, but a Second-tier one was enough.

Hearing his big brother's words, Zhang Xuanchen nodded heavily. "I understand, Big Brother."

No one valued his life more than he did. Now that he knew this news, he absolutely had to play it safe.

"Mm."

Seeing that Zhang Xuanchen had truly taken the matter to heart, Zhang Xuanhu was relieved.

"You needn't worry too much either. The Lineage has recalled the Monster Hunting Team from the Endless Sea. They likely will not head out again for the next few years. Recently, quite a few monsters have been sighted between the Lineage's Spirit Vein territories. It is time to clear them out.

"At the same time, if anything unexpected happens, they can rush over to provide support and handle the emergency."

It was not just the Zhang Family doing this. More than half the powers across the South Sea Immortal Continent were doing the same.

This was also the wisest choice.

"Alright, I understand."

The two came beside the chicken coop. Looking at the densely packed spirit chicken eggs inside, joy at the harvest appeared on their faces.

"Big Brother, I've already counted them. There are more than forty-two thousand eggs here, not much different from before."

Warm Velvet Chickens were not spirit chickens with high egg production. They generally laid an egg only every few days, or even after longer intervals, so this number over seven days was already quite good.

More than forty-two thousand eggs, if all sold, would bring in over four thousand two hundred Low-grade Spirit Stones.

Although that seemed like a lot, their daily food consumption was also considerable. They had to be fed Spirit Rice, Spirit Insects, and the like.

After costs were deducted, the spirit stones earned each year would not exceed ten thousand.

Hearing Zhang Xuanchen's words, Zhang Xuanhu nodded. He took out several Storage Bags and put away the eggs, then prepared to leave.

But Zhang Xuanchen called out to him. Seeing the puzzled look in his big brother's eyes, Zhang Xuanchen did not waste words and said,

"Big Brother, after you return to the Lineage, have my father get me a Second-tier Spirit Planter Inheritance and a Wind Attribute Evasion Technique. Next week, have the clansman who comes to collect the spirit chicken eggs bring them over."

"Alright, leave it to me."

With that, he flew toward the Lineage.

If any other clansman had asked him to request a Second-tier skill inheritance from the Clan Leader, he certainly would not have agreed so readily.

But Zhang Xuanchen was different. Over the years, everyone had seen the contributions he had made to the Lineage.

The egg with the potential to advance to Golden Core that he had brought back to the Lineage a few days ago was still displayed in Treasure Pavilion.

Those clansmen who had hopes of breaking through to Foundation Establishment were desperately accumulating Contribution Points, hoping to exchange them for that powerful companion.

Zhang Xuanchen returned to the wooden cabin and sat down cross-legged.

He circulated the Sky Burning Wind Control Art, absorbing the surrounding Heaven and Earth Spiritual Energy.

Clearly, the issue of Evil Cultivators had put considerable pressure on him. He had to increase his strength as quickly as possible.