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

Chen Qing stood there stunned for a while, until a spirit sheep chicken pecked at the wooden bucket in his hand with a "thud," before he came back to his senses.

He looked down at the chicken, then looked up at the four golden characters still floating above its head, and took a deep breath.

calm.

必须冷静。

It's normal that the cheat system arrives late, after 18 years of time travel.

Many veterans only awaken their special abilities when facing life-or-death situations. He, on the other hand, lived peacefully until the age of eighteen and suddenly developed one; it's already a blessing from heaven.

But the more this is the case, the less we should rush things.

Chen Qing composed himself, picked up the wooden bucket and continued feeding the chickens, but his gaze would occasionally sweep over the heads of the chickens.

"contract"?

"Harvesting"?

The literal meaning is not difficult to understand.

The "contract" most likely means that he will sign some kind of contract with this spirit sheep chicken, just like the proper beast taming disciples of the Beast Taming Peak, who establish a connection with spirit beasts and drive them into battle.

But the problem is—

Chen Qing looked at the group of spirit sheep chickens pecking at their food and his lips twitched.

What's the point of this contract?

The Spirit Sheep Chicken is a low-grade first-tier spirit bird. Apart from being a size larger than ordinary chickens, laying eggs more frequently, and having slightly tastier meat, it has no combat power whatsoever.

They could kick three or five of them to death with a single kick if they encountered a cultivator at the first level of Qi Refining.

Is releasing a contract during a battle just to make your opponent laugh to death?

"And what about 'harvesting'?"

Chen Qing seemed to be deep in thought.

What is he harvesting? Life? Essence? Or something he doesn't yet understand?

He recalled the games he had played in his previous life, where there was always a "harvest" option for leveling up by fighting monsters and gathering resources. Could it be that his cheat ability was to harvest these spirit beasts and gain some kind of benefit?

"How about we slaughter one and see?"

Chen Qing's lips curled into a slight smile.

Speaking of which, there's actually a small but significant unspoken rule to the sect missions at Spirit Beast Peak.

Take this batch of spirit sheep chickens for example. Initially, there were fifty chickens, but when the buyers came to collect them, it was assumed that two or three would be missing. As long as it wasn't too outrageous, the higher-ups wouldn't interfere.

After all, in animal husbandry, there will always be births, aging, illnesses, and deaths; no one can say for sure.

These two or three chickens are a hidden benefit for chicken farmers like them.

Of course, this benefit isn't available to everyone.

If Chen Qing, a mere outer disciple at the third level of Qi Refining, dared to secretly kill a chicken and eat meat, he would be scolded at best, and fined at worst, with his spirit stones confiscated and him forced to work like a beast of burden.

but……

Chen Qing suddenly laughed.

He has Xu Gui.

Xu Gui was in charge of this area, responsible for counting, reporting, and handing over these miscellaneous tasks. Whether the chickens were raised well or not, and whether the final number handed over was fifty or forty-eight, depended entirely on Xu Gui's word.

As long as Xu Gui turns a blind eye, nothing will happen.

Moreover, this wasn't the first time he and Xu Gui had done this.

……

One hour later.

Chen Qing carried a wooden bucket full of chicken manure to the stream and poured the manure into the stream.

The stream flowed gurglingly, carrying the chicken droppings downstream, and then drifted into the carp pond that Xiao Chunan was in charge of.

"Chen Qing, there's a little less poop today!"

Xiao Chunan stood by the Green Carp Pond, holding a long bamboo pole as if wielding a sword, scattering something into the pond. When she saw Chen Qing dumping manure, she shouted from afar.

"The chickens haven't finished pooping yet; there's another batch this afternoon!" Chen Qing replied.

"Okay, then you save up more, my fish is starving!"

Xiao Chunan laughed and continued with her work.

Chen Qing rinsed the wooden bucket, carried it back and put it away, then walked towards Xu Gui's courtyard.

……

Passing through the bamboo forest.

Xu Gui was still sitting at that stone table, holding the scroll in his hands. There was a pot of tea on the stone table in front of him, and the aroma of tea was wafting through the air. He looked like a retired old man.

Hearing footsteps, Xu Gui looked up and saw Chen Qing, a look of surprise on his face.

"Hey, Chen Qing? What's up?"

Chen Qing stepped forward, smiled, and cupped his hands in a respectful gesture: "Master Xu, I apologize for disturbing you."

"Stop with the nonsense." Xu Gui put down the booklet, leaned back in the bamboo chair, and said, "Get to the point."

Chen Qing didn't beat around the bush and lowered his voice, saying, "Master Xu, my batch of spirit sheep chickens should be ready for market in another half month."

Xu Gui raised an eyebrow but didn't say anything.

Chen Qing continued, "I raised these chickens for five months, and they're all plump and healthy. The canteen will definitely be satisfied, but—"

He paused, then lowered his voice slightly: "There are one or two of them that don't seem to be in good condition. I'm worried that if they get sick from eating them at the canteen, it won't look good for us."

Xu Gui stared at Chen Qing for a moment, then suddenly smiled knowingly.

"Let's go take a look."

Xu Gui stood up, patted his robes, and followed Chen Qing toward the chicken coop.

The two walked one after the other through the bamboo forest and arrived at the chicken coop.

Xu Gui stood with his hands behind his back by the fence, his gaze sweeping over a group of spirit sheep chickens, his expression calm and revealing nothing of his thoughts.

Chen Qing stood to the side, saying nothing.

A moment later, Xu Gui stepped into the chicken coop and slowly walked around the flock of chickens. The Lingyang chickens were not afraid of people and clucked as they pecked at food at his feet.

After circling around, Xu Gui stopped, pointed to a spirit sheep chicken pecking at its food at his feet, and said casually:

"There's something wrong with this chicken."

Chen Qing asked calmly, "What's the problem?"

"It's suffering from heatstroke." Xu Gui said seriously, "Look at its condition, it's listless and its feathers aren't shiny. It's obviously a symptom of heatstroke. We can't send this kind of chicken to the canteen. If someone gets sick from eating it, we can't take the responsibility."

Chen Qing followed his gaze.

The pheasant that had been called out was pecking happily, its head bobbing up and down, its feathers glossy and shiny, looking incredibly energetic.

But Chen Qing nodded without changing his expression:

"What Master Xu said is true, something does look off."

"Hmm." Xu Gui nodded in satisfaction. "These sick chickens are only a nuisance if kept alive. Get rid of them as soon as possible. You decide what to do. I'm going to take a look over there."

After saying that, he put his hands behind his back and slowly walked away into the distance.

Chen Qing watched him leave until his figure disappeared into the bamboo forest before turning his gaze to the "sick chicken" that was still pecking at its food.

On the chicken's head, four small golden characters were gleaming faintly.

【"Contract" / "Harvest"】

Chen Qing picked up the chicken and quickly walked to a secluded corner behind the chicken coop, where there was a large blue stone surrounded by bushes, making it completely invisible from the outside.

Chen Qing pressed the chicken down on the bluestone and tried to silently recite the word "harvest" in his mind.

Nothing happened.

He then tried reaching out and making a grasping motion on the chicken's head.

Nothing happened.

Chen Qing frowned, his gaze falling on the chicken's neck.

Forget it, I'll just kill him first.

He pulled a short knife from his waist, aimed it at the chicken's neck, and cleanly slashed it off. Chicken blood splattered on the bluestone, warm and sweet.

The spirit sheep chicken struggled for a couple of moments, then quickly stopped moving.

At this very moment—

Suddenly, a line of small golden characters appeared before Chen Qing's eyes:

[Essence +1]

[Host detected to be over eighteen years old and undergoing first "harvest"; Beast Taming Longevity System activated...]

【…】

Activation complete.

Welcome to the Beast Taming and Immortality System.

Chen Qing stared blankly at the words in front of him, still holding the dead chicken in his hand, and didn't move for a long time.

really.

Sure enough.

He took a deep breath, suppressing the surging excitement in his heart, and slowly exhaled. After a long while, he managed to twitch the corners of his mouth and reveal a silent smile.

Eighteen years.

His magic touch has finally arrived.

Just then, footsteps sounded behind them.

Chen Qing quickly composed himself, sheathed his short sword, and looked back.

Xu Gui had returned sometime earlier and was standing not far away with his hands behind his back. His gaze fell on the dead spirit sheep chicken in Chen Qing's hand, and he nodded in satisfaction.

"It's all taken care of? Okay, give me this sick chicken. Your cultivation is weak, don't let its illness harm you."

Xu Gui stepped forward, took the chicken, and weighed it in his hand. "Not bad, quite plump. By the way, after you finish your work today, call Xiao Chunan and come to my place together."

Chen Qing's eyes lit up: "Okay, sure!"

Xu Gui waved his hand, picked up the chicken, and turned to leave.

Chen Qing stood there, watching Xu Gui's figure disappear into the depths of the bamboo forest, before turning around and slowly walking towards the chicken coop.