Anomaly

"Big Brother Ji, when you went to the market, didn't you bring anything back for me?"

Ji Yuan had just reached his gate when a little head poked out from the neighboring courtyard—a round head, chubby cheeks, and two little pigtails sticking straight up.

Looking at the little girl who seemed to have stepped straight out of a New Year's painting, even someone as aloof as Ji Yuan could not bring himself to say anything harsh.

But before he could speak, the little girl was seized by the collar and carried back inside.

Soon, a young, beautiful married woman wearing a golden hairpin stepped out of the courtyard. She dipped slightly toward Ji Yuan and said apologetically, "Fellow Daoist Ji, I truly apologize. My daughter is terribly mischievous."

The family next door had only recently moved in. The man was named Wen Lin, the woman before him was Zhao Yuechan, and the little girl who had just been dragged back was Wen Ling'er.

Ji Yuan smiled and took a small box of osmanthus cake from his storage pouch.

"No, I really did buy Ling'er some snacks. If Madam Wen does not mind, please accept them."

Ji Yuan had bought the osmanthus cake last month and had forgotten to eat it. Fortunately, it would not spoil inside his storage pouch.

Before Zhao Yuechan could decline, Wen Ling'er had already skipped out of the courtyard and called out with a slight stutter, "Thank you, Big Brother Ji!"

Seeing this, Zhao Yuechan could only reveal a helpless smile.

Ji Yuan smiled as he handed it over, then bent down slightly and said, "I told you to call me Uncle, not Big Brother."

Wen Ling'er's eyes rolled around.

"But Big Brother Ji is so young, and so handsome too. Shouldn't I call you Big Brother?"

"What a sweet mouth."

Ji Yuan smiled and rubbed Wen Ling'er's little head. "Go play."

Zhao Yuechan could only offer another salute and thank him once more.

"You are too polite, Fellow Daoist."

Having dealt with the little brat, Ji Yuan turned and returned to his own courtyard.

Times had changed. The moment Ji Yuan pushed open the gate, a fresh scent rushed toward him. On the left side of the entrance, near the Wen family's side, he had planted two fruit trees.

One was a peach tree, and the other was also a peach tree.

On the right side of the entrance was a small patch of farmland he had opened up beforehand. The [Chicken Coop] was about to reach Level 2, and by then the Green-Yellow Chickens would be able to scratch out 1 qian of Spirit Soil every day.

Ji Yuan had no intention of selling such good stuff. He planned to save it for planting spirit vegetation himself.

After entering the house, the manifestation effect of the Level 1 [Cave Abode] sent an even fresher breath of air washing over him.

Ji Yuan did not linger. He went straight to the backyard. Compared to before, the backyard was finally somewhat more spacious and no longer as crowded as it had been.

It was not that Ji Yuan had torn all those things down, but that he had moved them to the rear rear courtyard.

Two months ago, Ji Yuan had found Pangtou and, at the cost of two additional Spirit Stones each month, secured Pangtou's backyard along with the patch of wasteland beyond the backyards of the Lin Family and the Wen Family.

Afterward, he went to Zengtou City and hired an earth-method cultivator. He spent another two Spirit Stones to have him use earth-element techniques to swiftly construct a new courtyard.

Thus, Ji Yuan transformed his originally single-courtyard residence into a double-courtyard residence.

He moved the unsightly [Pigsty] and [Chicken Coop] into the second courtyard, while the first courtyard was entirely excavated and converted into a [Fish Pond].

A small stone bridge stood in the middle of the fish pond for him to stroll across and admire the view. Below it, the Half-Spirit Fish darted endlessly through the ponds on both sides, a delightful sight to behold.

It was not as though Ji Yuan had never considered renting a large courtyard in Zengtou City.

But after thinking it over carefully, he gave up on the idea.

For one thing, renting a large courtyard in Zengtou City would cost at least a dozen or so Spirit Stones in residence fees each month.

For another, most of those who could live in the core district were at the middle or late stages of Qi Refining and possessed considerable means. If he went there to raise fish, chickens, and pigs, it would be hard not to arouse suspicion.

After turning it over and over in his mind, he decided he might as well remain in this little lakeside house.

If anything really happened, with Cloud-Rain Marsh right beside him, even fleeing for his life would be quicker.

Standing on the little stone bridge, Ji Yuan looked at the twenty Half-Spirit Fish in the [Fish Pond], each with its own posture, and naturally felt excellent.

These were all Spirit Stones!

Before long, he pushed open the gate and entered the second courtyard.

This place was not much to look at. Thirty Green-Yellow Chickens roamed everywhere, and they also shit everywhere... Ji Yuan had the metal, wood, water, and fire Four-Spirit Roots by nature, lacking only an Earth Spiritual Root.

Thus, faced with such a situation, he had no way to turn over the soil and cover it. He could only use object control to clean it up, then burn everything to ashes with a single blaze.

He had arranged the chicken coop on the left and placed the pigsty on the right.

After checking everything over and confirming that there were no problems, Ji Yuan returned to the front courtyard and took out the Centennial Parasol Wood he had just bought.

Though this Centennial Parasol Wood was not spirit vegetation, it had still been tainted with a trace of spiritual energy.

It was said that only parasol wood where a Fourth-Order Great Demon—or even a Fifth-Order Great Demon—had dwelled year after year could take shape like this, so its price naturally rose accordingly.

Ji Yuan first took out a talisman brush and marked it with spiritual power. Then he tossed it into the air and summoned the Blackgold Blade with a thought.

The blade moved with his will.

As more than a dozen flashes of blade light streaked past, the parasol wood he had thrown out became planks of perfectly uniform size.

Ji Yuan gathered them and carried them to the backyard. After some time, he looked at the chicken coop built from Centennial Parasol Wood before him, then glanced at the panel again.

[Chicken Coop lv2 (Upgradeable)]

[Spirit Effect: Spirit patterns grow on claws; can scratch out a minute amount of Spirit Soil (1 qian daily); can briefly control spirit fowl]

[Upgrade Requirements: Low-Grade Spirit Stone ×50, chicken coop made from Centennial Parasol Wood (Completed)]

Fifty Spirit Stones—Ji Yuan still had seventy-six saved up, so it was naturally no trouble.

With a thought from him—

The panel refreshed, and the "1" floating above the chicken coop before him became a "2."

Not only that, but after reaching Level 2, the chicken coop was surrounded by a faint azure glow. One glance was enough to tell that it was no ordinary object.

As the Green-Yellow Chickens walked around nearby, azure-black spirit patterns spontaneously emerged on their claws, radiating the aura of demon beasts.

Spirit patterns grew on their claws, and they could even scratch out 1 qian of Spirit Soil each day.

But the anomaly of this Level 2 chicken coop was far too obvious. No matter who saw it, they would know something was strange... Just as Ji Yuan was troubled by this, he suddenly sensed something.

The anomaly effect could be turned off as well!

The panel was quite understanding. With a thought from Ji Yuan, the chicken coop once again became utterly ordinary, and the spirit patterns on the Green-Yellow Chickens' feet vanished along with it.

Ji Yuan let out a slight sigh of relief.

Then he had to consider buying a spirit fowl. Calling it a spirit fowl sounded nicer; put plainly, it was a chicken-or-bird-type demon beast. Ji Yuan planned to buy one and keep it in the front courtyard as a guard.

Then, if someone launched another sneak attack, he would have some support.

The [Chicken Coop] had reached Level 2.

Accordingly, the spirit effects and upgrade requirements for Level 3 also appeared.

[Chicken Coop lv3]

[Spirit Effect: Produces 1 Tri-color Spirit Egg daily; a Bird King is born within the coop; its crow can intimidate First-Order Demon Beasts; spirit fowl can be commanded]

[Upgrade Requirements: Cultivation must reach Foundation Establishment Middle Stage, Mid-Grade Spirit Stone ×50, chicken coop made from Rotfire Yin Locust (Not Completed)]

"Hmm??"

The first thing Ji Yuan noticed was the requirement that his cultivation had to reach the Foundation Establishment Middle Stage.

Level 3 buildings had begun imposing hard standards on cultivation.

Ji Yuan looked again at the spirit effects. He guessed it had something to do with the Bird King. Its crow could intimidate First-Order Demon Beasts, so this Bird King was most likely a Second-Order Demon Beast.

Moreover, the restriction had disappeared from the condition allowing him to command spirit fowl. That most likely meant he could command them for extended periods. Would that not make him a cultivator of the beast-taming lineage by nature?

In that case, it was only natural for there to be cultivation requirements.

But these Tri-color Spirit Eggs...