Chapter 32: Spiritual Bird
"Who?!"
A low and deep voice came from within the island.
The black mist split apart to the sides, revealing a narrow, shadowy path.
A tall man clad in rotting hemp robes slowly walked out.
He was tall and burly, but his body was covered in festering wounds, looking extremely terrifying.
He was alive, yet he exuded a heavy aura of death.
Though it seemed like he had only taken a few steps, in the blink of an eye, he appeared right at the shore.
The long-bearded man standing on the flying boat stroked his beard and laughed, "Every trade has its own rules. As for who wants this Bone-Corroding Flower… naturally, I cannot say."
"Mm."
The man in hemp robes nodded and did not make things difficult, or rather… did not dare to make things difficult.
"How did he inquire about it?"
The long-bearded man answered directly, "He wants to buy four of them. Old Ghost, are you selling or not?"
The man called Old Ghost pondered for a moment and said, "No Spirit Stone trade. Barter only. Arrange a meeting between me and him. That should still be within the rules, right?"
"Of course, that’s not a problem," the long-bearded man smiled. "But whether the other party is willing to meet you, I can’t guarantee."
"No matter, just ask him first… Anyone who knows about the Bone-Corroding Flower can’t possibly refuse to meet."
"Just have him meet me at this place."
Old Ghost casually tossed over a slip of paper.
The long-bearded man caught it with one hand, glanced at it, then cupped his hands and said, "Alright, farewell."
With that said, the flying boat sliced through the water, and the long-bearded man quickly disappeared into the vast expanse of Yunyu Marshlands.
The island was once again shrouded in black mist, and Old Ghost's figure vanished as well.
…
"Brother Chicken, has the Red-Crested Chicken I ordered last time arrived?"
That day, Ji Yuan arrived at the familiar chicken cultivator’s shop.
Ever since the Chicken Coop had been upgraded to Level 2, it could briefly control first-tier spiritual birds.
Naturally, Ji Yuan wasn’t about to miss this opportunity, so he had come early to purchase one from this chicken cultivator.
Unexpectedly, the shop only sold semi-spiritual chickens, similar to the Green-Yellow Chicken.
For true spiritual birds, Ji Yuan had to place an advance order.
He had already come by several times, each time being told it had not yet arrived. Today, he came again.
"It’s here, it’s here! Just waiting for you, Brother Chicken." The chicken cultivator nodded repeatedly.
Ji Yuan patted his waist and said, "Eh, seems like I didn’t bring any Spirit Stones. I’ll go back and check."
Seeing this, the chicken cultivator quickly begged for mercy, "Brother Yuan, I was wrong, I was wrong."
Ji Yuan called him Brother Chicken because he sold chickens.
The cultivator was not pleased and started calling Ji Yuan "Brother Ji" instead. After being called a few times, "Brother Ji" turned into "Brother Chicken."
One or two times was tolerable, but now that Ji Yuan was about to pay, the cultivator certainly didn’t want to suffer that embarrassment any longer.
"Bring it out and let me have a look."
As the chicken cultivator walked toward the inner room, he explained, "Brother Yuan, I really have to apologize. The hen you requested is extremely rare. The catchers at Jing’an Market tried for a long time but couldn’t catch one. They only managed to get a rooster."
"A rooster?"
Ji Yuan frowned slightly.
With the effect of the Chicken Coop, it was best to buy a hen so it could lay spiritual eggs daily, which would certainly be better than those laid by the Green-Yellow Chicken.
"Yes, but Brother Yuan, think about it. A Red-Crested Rooster is actually better! Every ten days, it can produce a small vial of Red Crest Blood. This blood is a nemesis of Yin creatures and sells for a high price."
While speaking, the chicken cultivator had already brought out an iron cage sealed with talismans.
Inside stood a large rooster about four feet tall.
The most eye-catching feature of the Red-Crested Rooster was its dark red Crest, resembling blood amber, with jagged fleshy serrations on the edges.
Its entire body was covered in scale-like hard feathers, and it had three tail feathers the color of dark iron.
Even though it had been captured, it still stood in the cage like a victorious general.
Although it was a rooster, Ji Yuan couldn’t help feeling a bit pleased at first glance.
A true spiritual bird was indeed far superior to those half-baked Green-Yellow Chickens.
"Alright then."
Ji Yuan pretended to look extremely regretful, even showing a trace of disappointment. "Then about the price…"
Hearing this, the chicken cultivator immediately grew anxious, "The price can’t be lowered any further. I’ve already spent a lot on this. If you cut me down again, I really can’t do this business anymore."
"I originally wanted the hen for its eggs. Though the rooster’s blood is good… Who can extract it while it’s alive? The Red-Crested Rooster is a living creature, not a dead one. Besides, harvesting the blood is probably a one-time thing. If you don’t lower the price a bit, it doesn’t seem fair."
"Seventeen Spirit Stones, how about that? That’s the final price. Brother Yuan, if you still won’t take it, then I’m done with this deal."
"Alright… fine."
The original price was nineteen Spirit Stones.
Knocking off two was acceptable.
Ji Yuan paid the Spirit Stones.
This Red-Crested Rooster was only an early first-tier spiritual bird. It was pricier mainly because Ji Yuan wanted it alive.
Carrying the rooster through the market drew plenty of attention.
After all, cultivators who bought live spirit beasts were still a minority.
Ji Yuan was not concerned.
After all, live creatures couldn’t be stored in a storage pouch, so he had no choice but to carry it like this.
After a while, when he returned home, he went straight to the backyard.
He first summoned the Dragon Armor Shield to protect himself, then called out the Black Gold Dagger, positioning it above the rooster’s head, while the Life-Taking Needle hovered right in front of its eyes.
Only after setting all this up did Ji Yuan feel safe enough to open the cage and release the rooster.
With the threat of three artifacts, even though the Red-Crested Rooster had been freed, it didn’t dare resist.
Ji Yuan then grabbed it and threw it into the Chicken Coop.
The moment it landed, Ji Yuan immediately sensed that the rooster had become docile.
It felt as though an invisible bond had formed between them.
Moreover, all the Green-Yellow Chickens in the backyard raised their heads, trembling as if threatened, not daring to move.
Then, the Red-Crested Rooster strutted out of the Chicken Coop, raised its head, and let out a loud crow.
"Cock-a-doodle-doo!"
All the Green-Yellow Chickens trembled and prostrated on the ground.
Seeing the entire scene unfold, Ji Yuan couldn’t help but feel a sense of realization… The king of birds had emerged!
Among the many Green-Yellow Chickens in the Chicken Coop, this newly arrived spiritual bird, being a large rooster, had undeniably become the king, or perhaps more accurately, the leader of this flock of hens.
One rooster with thirty hens—what a life of fortune.
Just as the Red-Crested Rooster crowed, in the neighboring Wen family courtyard…
Zhao Yuechan was startled out of her cultivation.
She turned to look at Wen Lin, who was also curiously gazing next door.
"Brother Wen, is that… a Red-Crested Rooster?"
"Mm."
Wen Lin turned his head to look at the neighboring courtyard, his eyes filled with curiosity. "It seems our neighbor isn’t without secrets either."
"Then shall we…"
"Let’s maintain normal contact for now. Outsiders… cannot be trusted."
"Alright."
After the couple finished discussing, they decided not to pay it any more attention.
Meanwhile, Ji Yuan stared at the rooster’s vividly red Crest, knowing that it was time to harvest its blood.
For others, extracting Crest blood might be troublesome, but for Ji Yuan… with a single thought, he controlled the Red-Crested Rooster.
He then manipulated it to obediently walk over.
The Black Gold Dagger flashed with a dark light and sliced through the rooster’s Crest.
After a short while, Ji Yuan looked at the small vial of Crest blood emitting a strong Yang energy in his hand and felt immensely satisfied.
This stuff was truly a treasure.
Ji Yuan had no intention of selling it. If he ever encountered Yin creatures or ghosts, this could very well save his life.
Looking at the now completely drained and weakened Red-Crested Rooster, Ji Yuan felt a bit of pity.
The next time he could harvest blood would be at least ten days later.
If only he could collect a vial every day…
As the days passed, by the time Ji Yuan was about to collect the third vial of Crest blood, it was finally December 3rd.