The Ten Thousand Beasts Office's Seven-Character Manor—Jia, Yi, Bing, Ding, Wu, Ji, and Geng—was spread across almost the entire outskirts of the Eastern Saint Sect.
Manor estates belonging to the Seven-Character Manor sat atop most of the many hills in the wilderness.
Some of these estates raised Treasure Pigs, while others raised cattle, sheep, ducks, geese, or insects.
Of course, the largest in scale was undoubtedly Dingzi Manor, which raised Precious Chickens.
Compared with cattle, sheep, and pigs, which required enormous amounts of food and meticulous care, Precious Chickens left the other species far behind in returns.
Most importantly, even ordinary people could raise Precious Chickens well.
Colorful Ducks, Jade Geese, and the like ate large amounts and were too aggressive for ordinary people to control.
Even the breeding problems that chicken keepers complained about were nothing compared with those of the other species.
Only insects reproduced relatively easily and required less trouble.
For this reason, seventy percent of the estates under the Ten Thousand Beasts Office's Seven-Character Manor raised Precious Chickens.
This also meant that when disease ravaged the sect unchecked, Dingzi Manor suffered the greatest losses.
Song Lun of Ding Sixteen Manor was undoubtedly a prime example of those sweeping rises and falls.
Previously, an elder's Spirit Beast had stolen and eaten quite a few Precious Chickens from his estate. Out of regard for the Ten Thousand Beasts Office's Department Elder, that elder had bestowed a hundred Spirit Stones as compensation.
Amid his peers' envy, Song Lun had waved a generous hand and purchased over two hundred Precious Chickens, with more than a dozen Spirit Stones left over for free.
For a time, no one could rival his prominence.
Counting those that remained on his estate, Ding Sixteen Manor had nearly five hundred Precious Chickens in all!
With these five hundred Precious Chickens, he no longer needed to worry about his monthly tribute. He could even sell some and save a fraction of a Spirit Stone each month.
His days were visibly improving, one after another.
What he had never expected was that before he could even settle into these good days, the sky would come crashing down!
News suddenly came from an estate very close to Ding Sixteen Manor that its Precious Chickens had contracted Chicken Plague!
Song Lun's heart had lurched, and he hurriedly cut off all contact with them.
He even refused to let the Servant Disciple delivering Chicken Feed enter his estate.
Yet after taking every precaution for a month or two, just when he thought he might be lucky enough to escape this outbreak of Chicken Plague-
He discovered in horror that a chicken with drooping eyes had appeared on his estate, looking utterly weak.
Although he swiftly threw the sick chicken away, the Chicken Plague still spread rapidly, like ink dripping into water.
A second, a third...
Although he rose early and worked late, exhausting every means until he looked haggard, his eyes bloodshot, resembling a trapped beast more than a person-
The spread remained unstoppable.
Soon.
Not a single healthy Precious Chicken remained in the entire Mountain Manor.
They all lay there listlessly. At a glance, they resembled little crouching burial mounds, making his heart bleed!
Although they had not yet begun dying in large numbers, it was only a matter of time.
Perhaps tonight, perhaps tomorrow morning...
At the thought, Song Lun could not stop grief from welling up within him.
Unable to sleep, he carried a lamp through the Mountain Manor, examining them one by one, hoping to find one he could still save.
Unfortunately, after making an entire round, he had not seen a single lively one.
"It's over! It's all over!"
His face downcast, Song Lun sat blankly on the ground.
His fine clothes were covered in runny chicken droppings, and his temples, which had already begun to gray, now showed scarcely a black hair.
Compared with his former high-spirited self, he seemed like an entirely different person.
At any rate, this was the scene Wang Ba saw when he entered the Mountain Manor.
Perhaps Song Lun was so overcome with grief that he had yet to react even after Wang Ba walked in.
Only when he saw the white Daoist robe on the other man did he spring to his feet in alarm.
"E-exalted immortal!"
Song Lun stammered, momentarily dazed.
What was an exalted immortal doing here at a time like this?
Had he come to punish him?!
At the thought, fear rose uncontrollably on Song Lun's face, and he babbled, "Exalted immortal, I-I-I... this isn't my fault! It's Chicken Plague! All my chickens are about to die..."
Wang Ba was equally nervous.
Given his temperament, he would lie low whenever possible. Had he any other choice, he would never have done something as suicidal as using Yin Spirit Power to impersonate a sect disciple within the sect.
But again, he no longer had a choice.
Gritting his teeth and frantically reassuring himself inwardly, he kept his expression perfectly still, his voice devoid of emotion:
"I'll take all these sick chickens. Not for nothing. These are for you."
He sounded exactly like a lofty sect disciple.
As he spoke, he tossed down two Spirit Chickens he had concealed beforehand with Yin Spirit Power.
Seeing two Spirit Chickens appear out of thin air, Song Lun doubted the sect disciple's identity even less. Although he wondered what use sick chickens could be, when he heard that the two Spirit Chickens were for him, he froze!
Then wild delight surged forth!
Two Spirit Chickens!
Once he offered them to the sect, they would suffice to exempt him from nearly two years of tribute.
Of course, Ding Sixteen Manor's tribute requirements were high, so the exemption would not reach two years, but it would still postpone his obligations considerably.
It would greatly ease his burden.
At the thought, his withered, dried-up heart immediately came alive again.
"But, exalted immortal, these are all sick chickens. They won't live long..."
Song Lun hesitated, but still cautiously offered a reminder.
He would rather not have, but he needed the courage to keep quiet.
Offending a sect disciple was far more serious than being punished for insufficient tribute.
"No need to say more."
The "sect disciple" spoke coldly.
"Yes! Yes!"
Song Lun secretly breathed a sigh of relief. It's not that I didn't warn you. I warned you, and you told me not to waste words.
He hurried to find some rope.
But the "sect disciple" stopped him.
"Go outside. Come back in when I tell you to."
"Yes! Yes!"
Although he did not know what the other man intended to do, a sect disciple's words were an imperial decree. How could he dare disobey? He hurriedly backed out with his waist bent, clutching the two Spirit Chickens as he left, terrified they might escape.
And once Song Lun had left the Mountain Manor-
Only when Wang Ba, disguised as a sect disciple, felt his Yin Spirit Power stop revolving did he breathe a sigh of relief.
Then he began carrying out his plan in a flurry of activity.
He touched the Precious Chickens one after another.
[Current lifespan +2.1] [Current lifespan +1.8] [Current lifespan...]
Fortunately, they were all sick chickens, huddled motionless, allowing Wang Ba to touch them easily.
Even so, by the time he finished touching over four hundred chickens, the moon was already high overhead.
Looking at the dying Precious Chickens throughout the Mountain Manor, more than half of them already dead, a trace of heartache flashed through Wang Ba's eyes.
How much could he have gained if he had first given them a Lifespan Breakthrough before extracting their lifespans!
Unfortunately, he had no time to nurture them now and could only choose this approach of killing the chicken to take its eggs.
Of course, had they not contracted Chicken Plague, he could never have exchanged just two Spirit Chickens for so many Precious Chickens.
Nor would anyone have sold him such a large number.
Although they were sick chickens, that made no difference to him.
Once he finished, he immediately went to another nearby estate that had also suffered from Chicken Plague.
However, this estate ranked lower and had far fewer Precious Chickens than Ding Sixteen Manor, only a little over two hundred and forty.
Wang Ba bought them all for fifteen Spirit Stones, leaving the other man weeping with joy.
Then he touched the chickens one by one.
By the time he finished, the horizon had already turned Fish Belly White.
And his night of hard work had not been in vain.
His lifespan had successfully soared to around 1,810 years.
Unfortunately, despite having so much lifespan, he felt no change beyond being full of vitality.
He did not choose to spend this lifespan immediately. Instead, he quietly returned to his room at the Mountain Manor before opening the panel.
[Current lifespan -576 years]
The seventh level of the Body-Strengthening Scripture, complete!
[Current lifespan -1152 years]
The eighth level, complete!
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