Beast Taming Home, Rapid Development!

"Fight, my spirit tablets!"

Li Xiang, sitting before the screen, felt his blood boiling as he fought for the Beast Blood Fruit Tree.

[Ancestral Patriarch's Fury] X5!

Li Xiang manipulated the five ancestral spirit tablets in the game. He had already realized that each spirit tablet possessed the strength of a peak Qi Refining stage cultivator. Clicking on a tablet allowed him to control its trajectory; pressing A would attack the target, and pressing R would unleash an ultimate move—

Explosion!

Whenever the light of an ancestral spirit tablet dimmed during the battle with the Thunder Python, it meant its energy was nearly exhausted, signaling the perfect moment to press R.

Although this Thunder Python had thick skin and flesh, and its lightning-type energy was astonishing.

It could not withstand the relentless attacks from the ancestral spirit tablets.

By the time the five tablets were depleted, the Thunder Python was already covered in wounds.

"Hiss-roar!"

After the final spirit tablet exploded, the Thunder Python was thoroughly enraged. It hissed at the Li Family members, vowing to swallow Li Dalong and his family whole to vent its hatred.

"You dare to be insolent?!!"

Li Xiang's eyes widened.

Another spirit tablet appeared before the Thunder Python. The previously furious beast came to an abrupt halt, so terrified by the arm-length tablet that it stood upright on the spot.

Then, in a surprisingly human-like gesture, it lowered its body toward the ancestral spirit tablet, its eyes filled with a desperate desire to survive.

At the same time.

The members of the Li Family were not idle.

"The Ancestral Patriarch has won! This giant python is no match for our Ancestral Patriarch at all!"

"Long live the Ancestors!"

As the Li Family members cheered and rejoiced at the sight of the defeated Thunder Python.

They also discovered that the giant nets they had used to capture other spirit beasts had snared the Thunder Python's two offspring.

[The descendants of the Li Family have felt the great power of the Ancestral Patriarch, Incense +30!]

"Hiss~"

The Thunder Python's eyes turned even more despondent.

From the center of its head, a rhombus-shaped crystal filled with lightning arcs emerged.

[The Thunder Python is filled with fear and begs you to spare its life and the lives of its children, offering its life core.]

[Do you wish to consume 50 points of Incense to contract the Thunder Python and make it a Temple Guardian Beast?]

"Hmm?"

Looking at the information on the screen, Li Xiang raised an eyebrow. This was the first time such a situation had occurred.

The Thunder Python's life core had only appeared when it touched the spirit tablet, and it seemed this game still had many functions waiting for him to discover!

"Yes!"

Li Xiang clicked 'Yes' without hesitation. The incense just offered by his clansmen had given him just enough to contract the Thunder Python.

[You have contracted the Thunder Python as a Temple Guardian Beast. It will guard the ancestral temple for you, protect your spirit tablets, and convey messages from the Ancestral Patriarch!]

Above the spirit tablet.

Purple light shone down upon the Thunder Python. A circular icon appeared in the top-left corner of the game screen, depicting a python roaring toward the sky.

Li Xiang clicked on it and saw the Thunder Python's information.

One particular item made Li Xiang feel exceptionally excited—

[Please enter the message you wish to convey--]

"I can talk to the descendants of the Li Family?!!"

Li Xiang couldn't wait to test it out.

He immediately sent the message: Tell my descendants to take the Beast Blood Fruit Tree back for cultivation.

The Thunder Python on the screen seemed to sense the message coming from nowhere; it paused for a moment, then began to drag its wounded body, circling the Li Family members around the ancestral spirit tablets.

Finally, it crawled in front of Li Dalong, who was standing there in a daze, and affectionately rubbed its massive head against him.

Immediately after, it began to circle around the Beast Blood Fruit Tree!

The Li Family members looked at each other in confusion.

"The Ancestral Patriarch has subdued this giant python."

"Dad, it seems like it's trying to express something."

"Long live the Ancestral Patriarch!"

In the end, 8-year-old Li Yaoqing looked at the Thunder Python, then at the ancestral spirit tablets, and tugged on Li Dalong's sleeve. "Dad, is the Ancestral Patriarch telling us to take this tree back and plant it?"

Upon hearing this, lightning flashed instantly on the Thunder Python's head as it nodded vigorously.

"It nodded! It can communicate with the Ancestral Patriarch!"

Li Dalong was overjoyed. "Let's go, we'll harvest the fruits first and bring all the spoils of this trip back home. This tree is too massive; we'll have to plan for the long term!"

Nice!

Seeing his descendants understand his intentions, Li Xiang stood up excitedly.

For the longest time, he had only been able to express himself roughly by using 'Ancestral Love'.

But now, through the Thunder Python.

He could do so much more!

Following this, the Li Family returned to their family settlement with a bountiful harvest.

On the screen, the section dedicated to operations displayed a haul of spoils that left Li Xiang dazzled.

And in the days that followed.

The Li Family began a period of frantic development!

[Li Family Year 16: Xu Cuihua has completely tamed all the spirit beasts, moving them to the 'Wild Boar Forest' for free-range grazing, and renaming the Wild Boar Forest to—]

[Spirit Beast Garden]

Ever since Xu Cuihua married Li Dalong, she had been quietly bearing children and doing farm work, but now, her contributions to the Li Family were on par with Li Dalong's!

She developed in silence, and after learning the art of beast taming, even Li Xiang was stunned.

At this point, the [Spirit Beast Garden], with Xu Cuihua frequently accompanying Li Dalong into the Silver Iron Forest, housed over thirty different species.

However, because the chickens, ducks, cattle, and sheep Xu Cuihua raised, along with the crops and the herbs in the Spirit Herb Garden, were no longer enough to feed these demonic beasts, Xu Cuihua dared not tame any more of them easily.

But these demonic beasts had become the Li Family's hidden strength!

These beasts weren't just being kept; they were also helping significantly with the Li Family's development.

The Iron-Hoofed Ox plowed the fields, the Buze Bird watered the crops, and the Baili Pigeon and Anteater handled pest control. The Li Family's farmland expanded ever larger, saving the family members a great deal of effort.

The Tracking Hound accompanied Li Dalong on hunts, joined by a Swift Leopard, and with the Iron Forest Horse pulling the cart, Li Dalong always returned from the Silver Iron Forest with a massive haul!

Eleven-year-old Li Yaozu was not idle either.

He was more passionate about martial arts, and over a dozen high-attack demonic beasts became his sparring partners, his combat skills growing with each passing day.

Li Yaoqing, as always, remained interested in plants.

Inside the Spirit Beast Garden, protected by the demonic beasts, she had started a herb garden.

The most prominent feature was a large tree planted in the center—the Beast Blood Fruit Tree!

Li Yaoqing simply built a thatched hut under the tree, monitoring its growth every day. For some reason, this fruit tree, which had been laden with fruit in the Silver Iron Forest, had not bloomed even after a year.

She drew blood from the demonic beasts every day, but it was only enough to maintain the tree's vitality.

Instead, various herbs began to sprout and grow sturdily beneath the fruit tree.

Among the Li Family members, the one with the highest aptitude, Li Yaotie, was only seven years old. Unlike his older brother, he didn't care for fighting; instead, after meeting a passing blacksmith, he became deeply interested in crafting equipment.

Now.

In the Li Family's courtyard, a simple forge had been set up for Li Yaotie to work.

Beside him, the Flame-Tailed Spirit Cat and the Raging Flame Lizard, which could spit fire, used their beast flames to help Li Yaotie temper his ironware, while the Ice Spirit Fish kept in a water tank would occasionally spit a mouthful of solid ice into the stone trough to cool the red-hot metal.

The whole family was working hard for the Li Family.

Only the youngest, Li Yaowen, lived a life of peace. The two-year-old girl seemed naturally quiet; at such a young age, she was already dipping a brush in water and writing crooked characters on stones. Every morning, one could hear Li Yaowen's reading voice, still carrying a milky, slightly slurred tone.

[Li Family Year 17: Li Dalong breaks through to the seventh level of Qi Refining!]

[After more than a decade of hunting, during one particular excursion, Li Dalong felt as though he had suddenly merged with the forest environment. Obtained Trait: Forest Ranger!]

[Trait: Forest Ranger]

[Wood-attribute spirit roots receive a minor enhancement while in the forest. Years of hunting experience have made him more familiar with the woods, increasing combat effectiveness by 100% within the forest!]

Although Li Dalong's aptitude remained poor even after the modification from the Heavenly Secret Spirit-Replenishing Pill.

After consuming five Beast Blood Fruits and two years of digestion, he finally began to break through!

In particular, possessing three traits seemed to compensate for the flaws in Li Dalong's aptitude.

And not just him.

This year, the strength of everyone in the Li Family had risen by a notch!

Aside from Li Yaowen, who was still young but already able to hold a brush to write many characters and read clearly, everyone else in the Li Family had advanced by a small realm.

And as for their Beast Blood Fruits, even after giving twenty to the Thunder Python, more than half still remained!

"Developing quite well."

Li Xiang had been watching the Li Family's progress on the screen, a fatherly smile appearing on his face.

He occasionally dealt with bandits and robbers who came to harass the Li Family during the years of drought, and in the span of two years, he had only encountered cultivators twice, with [Ancestral Patriarch's Fury] only being used once.

"I wonder when the Thunder Python will wake up."

The ancestral shrine built for him by the family had become the finest structure in the settlement. Beneath the towering spirit tablet, the Thunder Python lay in a deep slumber; its skin had already split open, for it was in the midst of a breakthrough!

This period of time had also made it impossible for Li Xiang to send messages to the family.

Of course, Li Xiang was capable of waking the Thunder Python, but he did not know if disturbing its molting process would cause any adverse effects.

[Year 18 of the Li Family: A decade-long drought persisted, yet the farmland surrounding the Li Family remained lush and green, and the Wild Boar Forest was gradually revitalized. More and more people discovered that this might be a prosperous land. Although the rumors that no bandit who entered the Li Family ever survived were terrifying, a large number of bandits still set their sights on this wealthy territory!]

"Father, someone has broken into the Spirit Beast Garden!"

In the vision, Li Yaoqing, who had been stationed at the Spirit Herb Garden, rushed back home in a panic with his spirit beasts. "They were eating everything they saw in the Spirit Herb Garden. I harvested all the spirit herbs, and they are now heading in the direction of our home!"

The members of the Li Family gathered together.

A Baili Pigeon with human-like intelligence flew onto the shoulder of Xu Cuihua and squawked into her ear.

Xu Cuihua's expression quickly turned grim as she said to her family, "There are cultivators among them; they are much more formidable than the fellows who have harassed our home in the past."

"Hmph! If they dare to come, we shall make sure they never return!"

Li Dalong stepped forward and stood before the courtyard gate, brandishing two large broadswords with the imposing air of a warrior capable of holding off ten thousand enemies single-handedly.

Behind him, the members of the Li Family were filled with fighting spirit, their various spirit beasts prowling behind them, seemingly on high alert for the enemies about to invade the Li Family.

A demonic wind blew through the settlement, kicking up dust, but it could not blow away the fighting spirit the Li Family had accumulated over these years.

Li Xiang's spirit tablet in the Li Family ancestral hall shone with a brilliant luster.

Li Dalong raised his broadswords high.

"Ancestors, protect the members of my Li Family—"

"Ever-victorious!"