I tamed beasts and achieved immortality in the world of cultivation.

Xu Gui's courtyard is not far away.

Chen Qing walked through the bamboo forest and arrived at the stone courtyard. There he saw Xu Gui sitting at the stone table, holding a cup of tea in one hand and a scroll in the other, looking quite relaxed.

Hearing footsteps, Xu Gui looked up, somewhat surprised:

"Chen Qing? What brings you here today?"

Chen Qing stepped forward and greeted him: "Master Xu, I have something to discuss with you."

Xu Gui put down the booklet and pointed to the bamboo chair: "Sit down. What is it?"

Chen Qing sat down and got straight to the point: "Master Xu, I've accepted a mission at Beast Taming Peak to raise twenty fish ponds and two thousand blue carp."

Xu Gui was stunned for a moment, and his brows gradually furrowed.

"Twenty mouths? Two thousand tails?" He stared at Chen Qing. "You alone?"

"Yes."

Xu Gui frowned: "Chen Qing, we've known each other for four years, and I won't beat around the bush. Do you know that raising so many fish will interfere with your cultivation?"

Chen Qing nodded: "I know."

"You still raise them even though you know that?" Xu Gui asked with a hint of confusion. "Raising fish to do sect missions is to earn spirit stones, but you are now a formal disciple of the Beast Taming Peak with three spiritual roots. You are eighteen years old and at the fourth level of Qi Refining. If you cultivate diligently, you have a chance to reach the Foundation Establishment stage. You spend all your time raising fish, and your cultivation has fallen behind. You can't make up for it later."

Chen Qing felt a warmth in his heart upon hearing this.

Although Xu Gui is a talkative person, he genuinely cares about him.

Chen Qing cupped his hands in a respectful gesture and said earnestly:

"I appreciate Master Xu's kindness, but Beast Taming Peak is currently short of people. As a disciple of the peak, I should do something for it. The blue carp is an industry of Beast Taming Peak. If we raise them well, we can also bring more income to the peak."

These words sounded so grand and dignified that even Chen Qing himself felt they were a bit fake.

But there's no way around it; you can't exactly say you have a system and that raising fish is for earning essence, can you?

After listening, Xu Gui remained silent for a moment, then sighed:

"Alright, since you've already made up your mind, I won't try to persuade you any further. But you need to think this through. Two thousand fish is no small number. Changing the water and feeding them every day will take at least two or three hours. You'll be exhausted from now on."

"I understand."

Chen Qing nodded and said without beating around the bush, "Master Xu, the main reason I came here is to ask you for help in connecting the fish fry."

Upon hearing this, Xu Gui raised an eyebrow: "Oh?"

Chen Qing explained, "I asked Senior Sister Zhou, and although the blue carp is an industry of our Beast Taming Peak, and the fry are also bred on the peak, they are usually raised in the nursery pond on the east side of the Spirit Beast Peak, not here. You, Master Xu, have always been in charge of liaison there, and I was thinking—"

Xu Gui waved his hand to interrupt him, laughing and scolding, "Alright, alright, stop beating around the bush, you just want me to run an errand for you, don't you?"

Chen Qing chuckled awkwardly, "Nothing can be hidden from Master Xu."

As he spoke, he took a cloth bag from his pocket and handed it over with both hands.

"This is twenty-five low-grade spirit stones, for the fish fry."

Xu Gui took the cloth bag, scanned it with his spiritual sense, and raised an eyebrow slightly:

"Twenty-five yuan? Two thousand green carp fry would cost thirty yuan on the market. I could only negotiate down to twenty-eight yuan at most. What are you doing?"

Chen Qing replied truthfully, "Senior Sister Zhou said that fish are raised by disciples within the peak, and according to the internal price, twenty-five yuan is enough."

Xu Gui suddenly realized.

He thought Chen Qing wanted to use his connections to save some spirit stones, but it turned out he just wanted Chen Qing to run an errand.

He tucked the storage bag into his sleeve and nodded:

"Okay, come pick up the fish fry in three days, and I'll help you with the connection."

Chen Qing stood up and solemnly cupped his hands in thanks: "Thank you, Master Xu. Once I've raised my fish, I'll definitely send you the first one to try."

Xu Gui was taken aback for a moment, then laughed and scolded, "Get lost! You think you can get rid of me with just a fish?"

Chen Qing laughed. Actually, he could go himself, but Xu Gui had always taken good care of him, and he just wanted to take this opportunity to repay him. Just as he was about to leave, he suddenly heard footsteps outside the courtyard, followed by a familiar voice:

"Chen Qing! Chen Qing, are you there?"

Chen Qing turned his head and saw Xiao Chunan stride into the courtyard, half a green date dangling from his mouth, and the sword at his waist swaying.

"You're here!" Xiao Chunan leaned closer, her eyes shining. "I saw you standing by the stream from afar, and there are a lot more fishponds around there. What's going on?"

Helpless, Chen Qing explained the fish farming matter again.

Xiao Chunan's eyes widened in disbelief: "Two thousand tails? Chen Qing, are you crazy?"

Chen Qing shrugged: "Twenty ponds, just right."

Xiao Chunan was stunned for a moment, then suddenly burst into laughter.

"Wow, you're something else!" he exclaimed, slapping his thigh. "You've even come up with some fancy ways to raise fish!"

After laughing, he rolled his eyes, leaned closer, and winked, saying, "Chen Qing, look, you can even raise fish, why can't you learn swordsmanship? Let's practice swordsmanship together, and then we can combine our swords—how impressive!"

Chen Qing's lips twitched.

Again.

He stood up and cupped his hands in greeting to Xu Gui: "Master Xu, I will come back in three days to collect the fish fry."

After saying that, he turned and left.

Xiao Chunan called out from behind, "Hey, don't go! Think about it! Let's combine our swords!"

Chen Qing didn't turn around and quickened his pace.

Behind him came Xiao Chunan's loud curses: "Chen Qing, you heartless bastard! How many times have I told you! Why are you running away?!"

Chen Qing's expression changed, and he used his lightness technique to dash towards Beast Taming Peak.

The giant bird on my shoulder was tossed about, but it squeaked excitedly, and even the wing-flapping bird, Dan Yu, which was lagging behind, increased its wing-flapping frequency.

The man and the two beasts vanished into the depths of the bamboo forest in the blink of an eye.

……

When we returned to the small courtyard halfway up the mountain, the sun was shining brightly.

Dan Yu landed under the old pine tree in the courtyard and continued to preen its endless feathers. Qing Tian also jumped off Chen Qing's shoulder, squatted on the stone bench, took out half a green jujube that he had hidden away at some point, and ate it with relish.

Chen Qing sat down at the stone table in the courtyard, his mind immersing in the light screen before him.

[Highlights: 50]

Fifty points.

He raised the spirit sheep chicken for five months in exchange for these fifty points of essence.

Chen Qing looked at Qingtian, who was squatting on the stone bench eating green dates. Qingtian seemed to notice his gaze, raised his head, blinked his golden-brown eyes, and showed a puzzled expression on his furry face.

"Squeak?"

"Come here." Chen Qing beckoned.

Qingtian darted in front of him in a few quick movements, looked up at him, and still had half a green date in his mouth.

Chen Qing reached out and stroked the three golden hairs on its head, looking at the light screen in front of him:

[Consume 1 essences to increase the cultivation level of the Spirit Monkey - Sky-Piercing?]

"Yes."

Chen Qing had a sudden thought.

The numbers on the light screen jumped, and then a warm stream of air flowed out from between Chen Qing's eyebrows and entered Qingtian's body.

Qingtian trembled slightly, almost dropping the green jujube it was holding. It looked down at itself, then looked up at Chen Qing, its face full of confusion.

Chen Qing stared at it: "What does it feel like?"

Qingtian blinked, tilted its head as if sensing something, and after a moment, it shook its head and took a bite of a green jujube.

Chen Qing: "..."

No feeling?

He frowned, and another thought crossed his mind.

[Consume 10 essences to increase the cultivation level of the Spirit Monkey - Sky-Piercing?]

It's ten o'clock, so be it. Just think of it as throwing it into the water and hearing the splash.

"confirm."

This time, the warm airflow was ten times stronger than before, surging out from between Chen Qing's eyebrows and completely entering Qingtian's small body.

Qingtian trembled, and the green jujube it was holding finally fell to the ground. Its three golden hairs stood up. It stood there blankly for several breaths before slowly coming to its senses. It looked down at its empty two front paws, then looked up at Chen Qing, squeaking.

Chen Qing quickly asked, "How does it feel?"

Qingtian looked down at itself, then looked up at Chen Qing. Its furry little face was full of confusion. It stretched out its paw, pressed on its belly, scratched its head, and squeaked a few times.

Chen Qing felt a connection with it, and could vaguely sense its meaning—

It seems... a little hot?

That's it?

Chen Qing frowned slightly.

Ten essences, ten spirit sheep chickens, and only a little bit of heat?

He stared intently at Qingtian's condition—

【…】

[Realm Level: First Tier, Low Grade]

【…】

The "Realm" column remained completely unchanged.

Chen Qing made a mental estimate.

Eleven points of essence only made Qingtian feel a little bit hot. If he wanted to break through from the lower grade of the first rank to the middle grade of the first rank, he would probably need... a thousand points?

One thousand points of essence equals one thousand spirit sheep chickens.

He now has twenty fish ponds and two thousand carp, which amount to four thousand elite fish a year.

A thousand points of essence can be accumulated in just three months.

Chen Qing nodded slightly.

It's simple.

But what about after that?

He estimated that it would take at least double to go from mid-grade to high-grade first-order, requiring at least two thousand essences.

The breakthrough from the first-order upper grade to the second-order lower grade is equivalent to the breakthrough from Qi Refining to Foundation Establishment, which is a major realm breakthrough. It probably takes five or six thousand, or even nearly ten thousand.

Chen Qing glanced at the number "50000" on the light screen indicating that Qingtian had activated his bloodline, then looked at Qingtian squatting in front of him, looking down for the half-ripe green date, and his lips twitched.

The task is arduous and the road ahead is long.