Beast Taming: I Have an Immortal Mansion-Chapter 95: Rearing Spirit Beasts

Inside the Immortal Mansion, life thrived. Fang Qingyuan walked to the border of the newly appeared Black Land. Peering through the thick barrier, he gazed at the world outside.

A black mist swirled ahead, and his gaze could only penetrate a few dozen yards. Anything further was a blur.

’Each time my cultivation advances, the Immortal Mansion Space expands a little further. Will the black mist on the other side completely dissipate one day, revealing what truly lies beyond?’

’What is hidden within the black mist?’

’Is it a silent, barren wasteland, or are there unknown creatures living there?’

Fang Qingyuan couldn’t figure it out, so he decided to stop thinking about it. ’Time will give me the answer. Overthinking it now will only drain my mental energy.’

Fang Qingyuan turned his gaze to this new land. The newly appeared Black Land, combined with the area that had been silently increasing, totaled about seven-tenths of a *mu*.

Fang Qingyuan already had a plan for how to use such a large piece of land.

’Continue planting Spirit Plants?’

’No, the returns from farming are too slow. A single Tier One Lower Grade Spirit Plant takes at least a year to mature, and the profits aren’t even that great.’

Compared to farming, Fang Qingyuan decided to return to his old trade: raising Spirit Beasts with higher economic returns.

As a disciple of the Beast Taming Mountain, Fang Qingyuan had access to numerous Beast Taming Techniques within the sect. And when it came to experience in raising all kinds of Spirit Beasts, if the Beast Taming Sect claimed to be second in this realm, no other sect would dare claim first.

While doing sect missions, Fang Qingyuan had raised quite a few Spirit Beasts. The year before last, he had raised a Medicinal Turtle called the Cloud-Headed Split Turtle. Five years ago, he had raised the Seven-Colored Glazed Frog. He also had hands-on experience with Spirit Beasts and Spirit Insects like the Water Spirit Rhinoceros Horn Beast and the Ox Demon Centipede.

Although they were all first-stage Spirit Beasts, they either had high medicinal value or unique uses. As long as he could raise them, he wouldn’t have to worry about sales.

Many of Fang Qingyuan’s senior and junior brothers had their own small businesses. Everyone had their own little specialty—one would raise turtles, another would raise fish. Getting together occasionally to exchange husbandry tips was also a source of joy.

Now that Fang Qingyuan had reached the Sixth-Layer Qi Refining realm, he would need over three years to reach Cultivation Perfection. Therefore, he decided to spend these three years diligently raising a type of Spirit Beast to serve as his main source of income.

Previously, Fang Qingyuan hadn’t raised Spirit Beasts, choosing to run a ferry business instead, purely because he was poor.

Renting a flying skate from the sect only required a one-month deposit of fifty Spirit Stones and another ten to twenty Spirit Stones for the docks. He could start working immediately and see a return on the very first day.

But if he chose to raise Spirit Beasts, he wouldn’t even be able to afford enough young ones without eight hundred to a thousand Spirit Stones.

Moreover, raising Spirit Beasts required a large investment, yielded slow returns, and came with a particularly high risk of loss. There was a crude proverb: "A fortune of ten thousand isn’t a fortune if it’s covered in fur." It spoke to the bitterness and helplessness of breeders.

Now that Fang Qingyuan had a small fortune, he no longer needed to toil away at his ferry business for half a year just for a few hundred Spirit Stones. He had the confidence to try his hand at the breeding business.

But as for what to raise specifically, he still needed to investigate a few options. Fang Qingyuan would only feel at ease after seeing them for himself.

The new Spirit Beast couldn’t be too large. Otherwise, the seven-tenths-of-a-mu plot, while seemingly spacious, would not be suitable for oversized Spirit Beasts to grow.

Besides, larger Spirit Beasts had longer growth cycles. Take cattle or horses, for example; they wouldn’t fetch a good price without five or six years of growth.

Therefore, Fang Qingyuan felt his ideal Spirit Beast should be smaller than a rabbit. For anything larger, the space here would feel a bit cramped.

Also, the Spirit Beast couldn’t be a glutton, or Fang Qingyuan would end up wasting all his time on scheduled feedings.

Raising Spirit Beasts was undoubtedly a chore. Compared to cultivating Spirit Plants, raising Spirit Beasts not only required a larger investment but also demanded more energy.

But the Spirit Stone profits were truly immense. A well-raised Spirit Beast could yield more than five times the profit of cultivating Spirit Plants.

After settling on a use for the Black Land, Fang Qingyuan went to see the Bee Queen. When it came to raising Spirit Beasts, he would definitely need her help.

Ever since this Golden Jade Scorpion-tailed Bee Queen had advanced, not only had a blurry human face grown on its head, but its intelligence had also increased significantly.

Originally, the intelligence of a Tier One Lower Grade Bee Queen was equivalent to that of a three- or four-year-old child. Now, after advancing, the Bee Queen’s intelligence had reached the level of a five- or six-year-old.

This level of intelligence was already quite high, comparable to that of a dog breed like a Border Collie.

If Fang Qingyuan weren’t worried that the Bee Queen would eventually notice that something was amiss with this place, he would have even considered finding some basic books to cultivate its knowledge.

Right now, the Bee Queen did nothing in her hive but sleep and eat. Her life was quite dull. Fang Qingyuan’s daily visits were the only thing that made her happy.

Of course, that was on the condition that Fang Qingyuan didn’t covet her Flower Nectar rations. On this point, no amount of affection could sway her; when it came to food, the Bee Queen was very stubborn.

Sensing Fang Qingyuan’s arrival, the Bee Queen twisted its massive body and wriggled to the entrance of the hive. Its pair of black compound eyes stared intently at Fang Qingyuan’s spiritual soul form, its entire body trembling with joy.

Seeing the Bee Queen act like this, Fang Qingyuan couldn’t help but laugh. ’Has this little one evolved to the point of using such flattery to stop me from taking her Flower Nectar?’

Fang Qingyuan remembered clearly that the Bee Queen had still been angry with him yesterday. He had taken half a catty of Golden Jade Flower Honey from her to reward Jinbao for training diligently.

The poor Bee Queen still didn’t know that there was a little bear cub outside constantly competing with her for her Flower Nectar rations.

However, Fang Qingyuan only ever took a little at a time, not enough to affect the Bee Queen’s normal consumption. The reason she was so resistant was purely due to her body’s instincts.

Bee-type and ant-type Spirit Insects all have an instinct to hoard food. Even if they have a mountain of it—more than they could ever eat—they will continue to hoard it nonstop.

The Bee Queen would probably only lose this habit when she became a Second-stage Spirit Beast. By then, her mind would be strong enough to resist the influence of instinct and become more rational.

But for now, Fang Qingyuan saw right through the Bee Queen’s little ploy. It was like a small child denying they stole a piece of chocolate, all while forgetting to wipe the evidence from the corner of their mouth.

So, suppressing a chuckle, Fang Qingyuan reached out and gently stroked the Bee Queen’s round, plump belly, much to her enjoyment.

But when Fang Qingyuan left, he took another half-catty of Flower Nectar. This time, the Bee Queen was furious. She wriggled back into her little nest, unable to understand how her brilliant scheme had failed yet again.

The moment Fang Qingyuan left the Immortal Mansion, his Divine Sense detected Jinbao slacking off in the training room next door. The little guy was lying on the floor with his legs kicked up, shaking them contentedly.

So he let out a cold snort, which made Jinbao shudder. It immediately scrambled to its feet and began to practice with all its might. 𝓯𝓻𝓮𝙚𝙬𝓮𝙗𝒏𝙤𝒗𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝒐𝓶

Meanwhile, Fang Qingyuan looked at the Flower Nectar in his hand and concluded with a mix of helplessness and delight, ’This honey won’t be going to Jinbao. Looks like I’ll just have to enjoy it for him tonight.’