I established the Eternal Immortal Clan by taming beasts.

Where Lin Che's gaze fell, the largest Xuanjia Dragon Rhinoceros was standing in a low-lying area eating spiritual herbs. Its breathing was steady and slow, and each exhale caused the surrounding spiritual flowers to bend over, like fine ripples spreading across the surface of water blown by the wind.

Its back is broad enough for three people to stand side by side without feeling crowded. It is about three zhang long from head to tail and nearly one zhang high at the shoulder. A nearly horizontal spine is formed from the tip of its horn to the tip of its tail. It is a perfect form optimized to support heavy armor and riders.

Lin Che's gaze lingered on the spine of the giant beast for a moment.

The heavy hoofbeats were like drumbeats, the broad shoulders and backs were like moving city walls, and the shield-shaped horns gleamed coldly in the sunlight. Imagine how oppressive it would be to forge a suit of spirit armor for it and let this war behemoth surge up on the battlefield.

That scene, even in mere imagination, was enough to send a chill down the spine of any opponent before the battle even began.

Several members of the Lin family who were on duty in the Xuanjia Longxi area were squatting behind a makeshift low stone wall, recording the activity data of the spirit beast.

They didn't notice Lin Che's arrival, focusing instead on observing the movement of the giant beasts.

Lin Che did not go forward to disturb them, but quietly observed them from a distance of more than a hundred feet.

His gaze slowly swept over the giants grazing, occasionally lingering for a moment on a dozing cub, watching its slowly rising and falling belly, before moving away to a more distant adult that was taking steady steps toward a puddle.

After standing on the hill for about the time it takes to brew a cup of tea, he continued walking south along the ridgeline of the hill.

The rocks underfoot became more numerous, and the vegetation became less and less. Rough gravel and gray-brown dwarf rocks interspersed, replacing patches of meadow.

The scorching heat in the air gradually subsided, as if we had just left a geothermal area and the temperature was slowly returning to normal.

The entrance to the third free-range area is a low stone gate with a frame carved from a single piece of bluestone, its surface covered with intricate patterns.

As Lin Che passed through the stone gate, he could feel the texture of the air change. The wind here was stronger than in the previous two areas, carrying a sense of flow that pressed down from the high ridge, and a continuous, low whistling as it swept past his ears.

The terrain behind the stone gate presents a stepped undulation, with one gentle ridge after another like magnified waves, and the spacing between each ridge is quite uniform, forming a natural running passage.

The field of vision naturally narrows here, then opens up again somewhere ahead, creating a rhythmic alternation of opening and closing.

This terrain has been artificially modified to suit the coordinated actions of social predators.

A dark red figure was moving rapidly along the ridge, dispersing and regrouping at an extremely fast pace.

The group in the distance is the Sky-Splitting War Wolves, a kind of social mount spirit beast, which is classified as a battlefield assault mount in the classification of the Ten Thousand Beasts Sect.

Lin Che stood on high ground, his gaze fixed on the pack of wolves.

The wolf pack moved with a unique rhythm of coordination, with two scouting ahead, three bringing up the rear, and the rest scattered on the flanks in a loose arc.

Their gait is light and silent; the moment their claws touch the ground, they make almost no extra sound, only a continuous and even hoofbeat slowly spreading in the air, like fine raindrops hitting dry ground.

The leader was a male that was a size larger than its kind, with a dark red body and darker hair on its shoulders than its companions behind it, with some silver hairs that shimmered slightly as it walked.

Its ears are always slightly turned, and it never stops capturing the sounds around it, even when it is running at full speed.

Its tail had an extra white tip compared to its companions, leaving a thin arc behind it as it ran—the only bright spot in the pack.

These guys' target is a few of the Moon Rabbits that the Lin family has placed here.

The rabbits were squatting in the low-lying area, munching on spirit herbs, their ears perked up, alert to any movement around them, unaware of the dark red figures that were circling around the back of the ridge.

With their hunting talent, this was naturally a piece of cake.

The wolves showed no impatience. They lowered their bodies, bypassed a patch of low bushes, and slowly approached from the windward direction. The lead male stopped about fifty feet away from its prey, tilted its ears forward slightly for a moment, and then the entire pack accelerated at the same time, instantly switching from stealth to full-speed running.

The lead male pounced on the rabbit that hadn't had a chance to escape, followed by the second, then the third... The whole process took less than five breaths, clean and efficient, without any unnecessary movements or wasting a single bit of energy.

Clearly, this method of raising them is training their wildness and teamwork.

Lin Che did not linger on the ridge for long.

He continued along the ridge, where the terrain gradually flattened out, transitioning from the ridge to a gentle slope, and then to a relatively flat highland, opening up a wider field of vision.

The fourth free-range area is the largest area in the entire secret realm, covering more than 150 miles. It is a terrain that interweaves grasslands, low forests and a small shallow lake.

The shallow lake is located in the central-western part of the free-range area, with a ring of low reeds growing around its edge. At this moment, several slender figures are strolling, pecking, and preening their wings on the water.

Their movements are graceful and elegant, occasionally emitting short, clear cries that echo across the lake and are reflected back by the distant mountain walls, forming invisible ripples of sound.

Those are Azure Cloud Cranes, a species of sky mounts.

Lin Che walked slowly along the lake for a while, his gaze lingering for a moment on the flock of cranes strolling by.

Their feathers are a color between gray and blue, showing varying shades under the light. Their necks are long and smooth, drawing a soft arc in the air every time they lower their heads to peck at food.

Several newly hatched crane chicks were following behind a mother crane, learning to walk, clearly mistaking her for their mother.

Their steps were still a little unsteady, their wings were half open, as if they were trying to find their balance. Every few steps they would stagger, but they would quickly regain their footing.

His gaze then turned to the wooden frame area on the east side of the lake, which was specifically built for flight training.

The wooden frame was made of ironwood and was about ten zhang high. There was a horizontal bar every zhang, and it was divided into five layers from top to bottom. The spacing between the horizontal bars of each layer was enough for a bird with outstretched wings to pass through.

That is a facility used to train young cranes to adapt to flying and turning at different altitudes, and its design is consistent with the illustrations in the Ten Thousand Beasts Cultivation Manual.

At this moment, several half-grown cranes were standing on the lowest horizontal bar, tilting their heads to look at the higher horizontal bars above, their wings slightly open and closed, as if simulating their flight routes in their minds.

"Master of the family."

Lin Xinyao walked briskly from the other side of the lake. Today she was wearing a light blue short outfit that was easy to move in, her hair was tied into a neat single ponytail, and her notebook and a pen that she had used for a long time were hanging from her waist.

Two years have passed, and she has become more composed and calm than before. Her long-term management experience has made her appear more mature.

She walked up to Lin Che, bowed slightly, opened the record book in her hand, and said in a clear and steady voice: "The situation in the fourth free-range area has basically stabilized. The number of Qingyun Xuanhe cranes has increased to 1,412, including 498 newborn chicks. They are currently adapting to the crossing training of the first horizontal bar and are expected to enter the second stage in two months."

Lin Che turned around, shifting his gaze from the lake: "How's the coordination between the Xuanjia Dragon Rhinoceros and the Sky-Splitting War Wolf going?"

"The cubs of the Xuanjia Dragon Rhinoceros have grown steadily since weaning, and two of them entered the basic command training stage half a month ago." Lin Xinyao opened the booklet, her fingertip moving along the page and stopping at one of the marked lines, "The earliest batch of Rift Sky War Wolves has already conducted two joint training exercises with humans, and the integration effect is better than expected. Although these Rift Sky War Wolves seem to be very wild, they are extremely close to their breeders. They are indeed worthy of being a spirit beast breed cultivated by the Ten Thousand Beasts Sect back then."

"The hatching progress of the Crimson Feathered Golden Roc and the Frost Night Bat is also as expected." She turned to a later page in the booklet. "The last Crimson Feathered Golden Roc egg hatched a week ago. All the hatchlings are now eating normally and there are no abnormal rejection reactions. The Crimson Feathered Golden Roc chicks have a large appetite and need to be fed at least three-tier bloodline spirit beast meat every three days. The spirit beast meat reserves are currently sufficient, and there is no supply pressure at the moment."

Lin Che nodded slightly: "Take me to see the newly added flying spirit beast species."

Lin Xinyao closed the notebook and turned to walk west along the lake shore.

Lin Che followed behind her, walking along the southern edge of the shallow lake, through a small patch of low mixed trees, and the space in front of them opened up again.

The fifth free-range area is located in the northwest corner of the secret realm, and its terrain is higher than the previous areas.

The ground here is mainly composed of gravel and sand, covered with a thin layer of grayish-white rock fragments. When you step on it, it makes a soft, rustling sound, which is different from the thick meadows of the grassland area and the rough texture of the volcanic rock area.

The sunlight shines directly down, creating a continuous reflection on the ground and bathing the entire area in a bright, warm light.

This area has neither dense vegetation to block out the wind nor complex terrain to buffer it. The wind passes through the gaps everywhere, which makes it a constant and unpredictable airflow state all year round. For winged spirit beasts, this is a natural environment to adapt to.

Several crimson-gold figures were constantly circling, diving, and ascending in the high sky, each movement carrying a smoothness that could only be achieved through repeated practice.

That's the Crimson Feather Golden Roc, a combat flying mount, classified as an aerial strike force in the Ten Thousand Beasts Sect's classification.

They are more than twice the size of the Azure Cloud Crane, with a wingspan of over two zhang when spread out. Their crimson-gold feathers gleam like flames under the sunlight, and each flap of their wings leaves a very shallow trail of hot air behind them, which is particularly clear in the cold air.

Their flight posture differs from that of the Azure Crane; it is a higher frequency vibration mode. Their wings flap with a smaller amplitude but a faster frequency, consuming more energy every moment in exchange for greater speed.

As they saw Lin Che approaching, they circled twice in the air before landing on a floating array base that was slowly being adjusted in the distance. They folded their wings, lowered their bodies, and calmly watched this direction with their golden pupils.

Lin Che's gaze swept over them, then turned to the group of dark figures resting on the rock wall on the other side—the Frost Night Bats.

They are much smaller than the Crimson-feathered Golden Roc, with wingspans of only about ten feet. Their bodies are dark gray-blue, with a light-colored texture like frost on their surface. When the light changes, they exhibit a flowing silver luster, as if a thin layer of ice crystals is sliding across their wings.

At this moment, they were resting upside down in the grooves on the rock wall, their wings folded, wrapping their bodies into slender, dark cocoons, with their ears occasionally turning slightly to catch the sounds around them.

After Lin Che finished looking at the flying spirit beast area, he followed Lin Xinyao through a short corridor and into a downward-extending passage.

On the stone walls on both sides of the passage, lines of text were engraved in silver-gray spiritual ink, marking the depth, flow rate and bottom material of each water system. Every few feet there was a water quality monitoring point, and the spiritual light at the monitoring point flashed at a fixed frequency. The time interval between each light was about ten breaths, forming a stable visual rhythm in the dim passage.

At the end of the passage was a water gate sealed with transparent spirit crystals, and the space behind the water gate was illuminated by a continuous light blue spirit light.

The sixth underwater breeding area is located behind this spirit crystal water gate.

Inside the doorway, the water was calm, with a slight ripple.

Unlike the previous release areas, the temperature in this underwater area is significantly lower. Judging from the residual coolness in the air and the subtle ripples on the water surface, the water temperature is at least ten degrees lower than the ambient temperature.

The light mainly comes from the crystal layer at the bottom of the water and the tiny specks of light suspended on the coral-like matrix.

There is no doubt that this simulation is not of a lake, but of a marine environment.

Looking through the crystal glass here, it feels like being in an aquarium.

Looking inwards, the flowing, silver-white and pale blue figures moving among the points of light are the true protagonists of this place.

Those were the Azure Tide Spirit Pig and the Silverfin Dragon Carp, aquatic mount species.

The Azure Tide Spirit Pig is about three feet long, streamlined, with smooth, silky skin that is a deep blue-gray color. Each time it sways its tail, it leaves a very thin, almost invisible dark streak of light.

Their movements are gentle and precise. During observation, they adjust their swimming speed and direction at any time. When they encounter a turn, they adjust their center of gravity at the last moment, making the entire turning process as smooth as a pre-designed trajectory.

The Silverfin Dragon Carp is slightly larger than the Azure Tide Spirit Pig, with a body length of about four and a half feet. It is silvery-white in color and has a thin, long silver fin line on its back that extends from the top of its head to its tail fin. When it swims, it looks like a blade polished by the water flow. When viewed from above the water, the silver fin lines intertwine and move underwater, forming a constantly changing flowing pattern.

They are currently swimming in their own areas, with the Azure Tide Spirit Dolphin moving back and forth in the middle and upper layers below the surface, occasionally leaping lightly out of the water.

Silverfin Dragon Carp are distributed in deeper waters, forming a sparse horizontal line along the direction of the underwater current. Their movement is quieter and more unpredictable than that of the Azure Tide Spirit Pig.

Lin Che stood in front of the water gate for a while, watching the dark and silvery figures intertwine and swim underwater, keeping them within their respective water areas at a fixed frequency.

Two years ago, when the incubation process began, these spirit beasts were just embryos in their eggs, but now they have developed into a sizable population.

The underwater light scatters upwards from the bottom, reflecting the swimming outlines as flowing lines in the field of vision.

He straightened up, turned around, and walked back down the passage to the ground.

In the distance, the outlines of the seventh and eighth grazing areas were emerging in the sunlight. These were reserve areas specifically for mounts designed for special terrains, and their specific uses were not yet planned.

Lin Che withdrew his gaze and paused briefly on the stone steps at the exit of the passage: "What is the biggest bottleneck in spirit beast breeding right now?"

"Time." Lin Xinyao answered quickly without hesitation, "These spirit beasts generally take more than ten years to reach adulthood. They are of the fifth-order high-grade bloodline, and their growth cycle is at least three times longer than the mid-grade and high-grade bloodline spirit beasts we have cultivated before. The care, training, and breeding during their infancy will take a long time before we can see significant results."

She paused for a moment, not looking at the record book; the data was already in her mind.

"The young Xuanjia Longxiong can only fully enter the riding state in the eighth year, the full maturity period of the Lietian Zhanlang is six years, the Qingyun Xuanhe can only carry out long-distance flight training in the fifth year, and the flying ability of the Chiyu Jinpeng will not truly stabilize in the sixth year."

The Blue Tide Spirit Pig and Silverfin Dragon Carp have relatively shorter maturation cycles, at four and five years respectively, but their breeding cycles are longer, and the birth of the first batch of calves may take a long time.

She turned the page and continued in a steady voice: "We have already hatched most of the eggs stored in the secret realm. At the current pace of hatching and the allocation of breeding resources, we can reach a scale sufficient to support normal breeding in six populations within ten years, and achieve complete self-sufficiency within twenty years."

"Remember to include the night training of the Frost Night Bats in the next phase of the plan," Lin Che added. "Their breeding manual mentions that the hearing and night vision of these spirit beasts need continuous stimulation during their infancy to fully develop. If they are always raised in a daytime environment, their perception abilities will be affected when they grow up."

"It's already been included." Lin Xinyao raised her head, her gaze falling on the dark silhouette resting on the distant rock wall. "The next batch of baby bats is expected to hatch in three months. At that time, we will let them adapt during the day for one to two weeks, and then gradually adjust the light cycle to introduce nocturnal activity periods."

I saw that description in the manual and also asked the breeding manager of the Frosty Night Bat population. They have developed a specific training program, including the first phase of daytime adaptation and the second phase of nighttime stimulation.

Lin Che nodded, shifting his gaze from her notebook to the distant grassland that was slowly changing under the sunlight.

"You've done a great job; now all that's holding us back is time!"