Chapter 663 - 449: Mulberry Fields and Dragon Horns (Part 2)

"And I’m not sending you out to train by yourself. That Lou Yuan you just met? He’s much younger than you, but he has a good head on his shoulders and is very experienced. I’m assigning him the task of taking you out to gain experience. If you come back and your pill dissertation is still going nowhere, then you should just prepare to get married."

Without a second glance at Jiang Wanqin’s complicated expression, Fang Qingyuan rose and walked toward the back of the room.

...

His mood finally settled once he returned to his Quiet Chamber. When the Qingyuan Sect was first established, it didn’t have much in the way of talent, and there were few suitable people. It was originally just the shell of a Foundation Establishment Sect, but now it had been forcibly elevated to a major sect with Nascent Soul Battle Power. And yet, the Vice Sect Leader was merely a Late-stage Foundation Establishment Cultivator.

In contrast, the Vice Sect Leaders of the Pill Alliance, the Lihuo Sect, and the Spirit Wood Sect were at Late-stage Golden Core, and the rest of their upper echelons were all Golden Core cultivators. The Qingyuan Sect’s leadership, however, was still composed entirely of Foundation Establishment cultivators, none of whom showed any promise of reaching the Golden Core realm. This truly made Fang Qingyuan feel distressed.

Of the Qingyuan Sect’s five key figures, only the last one, Jie Xuanli, seemed to have the makings of a Golden Core cultivator. ’For the others to reach Golden Core... it’ll be a true challenge!’

These thoughts flashed through his mind, and Fang Qingyuan sighed softly. The Reclamation War was still thirty-three years away. ’Hopefully, by then, the Qingyuan Sect will produce a few Golden Core prospects during the war.’

Putting sect matters aside for the time being, Fang Qingyuan closed his eyes and meditated, sinking his consciousness into the Immortal Mansion.

Two and a half years had passed, and the Immortal Mansion had changed dramatically. A significant portion of what was once a boundless expanse of Spirit Rice paddies was now covered by lush, green mulberry trees.

Unlike Spirit Rice, which was harvested once a year, mulberry trees could live for over a hundred years once they took root. Their leaves could be harvested continuously throughout this period. In the eternally spring-like environment of the Immortal Mansion, this maximized their economic value.

Looking up, he saw countless Mutated Bees. Following the orders given by the Bee Queen, Fang Ruoxi, they diligently cut and harvested mulberry leaves, then carried them back to a series of drying sheds.

Each bee could only carry a few leaves at a time, but the swarm was so enormous that it didn’t matter. Moreover, these Mutated Bees were tireless, making them far more cost-effective than hiring Cultivators for the job.

Once the collected mulberry leaves accumulated to a certain amount, intelligent Long-armed Ape Demons would use simple Magical Artifacts to transport them to the Spiritual Silkworm feeding dens located near the Purple Bamboo Forest.

Here, tens of thousands of baby Spiritual Silkworms feasted on the fresh mulberry leaves inside a specially constructed rearing house, growing big and strong.

Ten thousand Spiritual Silkworms required a rearing house of about thirty to fifty square meters. Their space requirements changed at different stages of growth; especially after their third molt, the ideal number of silkworms per square meter decreased significantly.

Therefore, Fang Qingyuan did his best to expand the living space for these Spiritual Silkworms to prevent them from becoming overcrowded.

’These Spiritual Silkworms were already dedicating their entire lives to him. If he didn’t even let them live comfortably, wouldn’t that make him too cruel?’

Looking down from high above, rows of rearing houses, each nearly a hundred square meters in size, were laid out neatly beside the Purple Bamboo Forest. The lines of buildings stretched so far one couldn’t see the end. A rough estimate put their number at three or four hundred, at least.

In some of these many rearing houses, the Spiritual Silkworms had already molted three times and were ready to spin their silk and form cocoons. In others, the Spiritual Silkworms had only just hatched.

This was because Fang Qingyuan wanted to ensure a stable monthly output of Spiritual Silkworm Silk. He didn’t want it all hitting the market at once, as that would make it difficult for him to control the price.

The mulberry fields, spanning over twenty-five thousand acres, were enough to feed tens of millions of baby Spiritual Silkworms daily. And that was with Fang Qingyuan consciously restraining the harvest, careful not to overtax the trees.

When Fang Qingyuan’s spiritual form arrived in the Purple Bamboo Forest, the Bee Queen immediately sensed his presence. She moved her enormous body, overjoyed to see him.

"Master, the raw silk in Storage Room Five is full. Storage Room Six is now half-full. This next batch of raw silk will be ready for storage in half a month. Storage Room Eight is currently being expanded. Would you like to go take a look?"

The Bee Queen immediately began her report. Fang Qingyuan smiled in satisfaction and patted her enormous head in approval.

The Bee Queen seemed to greatly enjoy being petted by Fang Qingyuan, but he didn’t want to talk about work right now. He had come to the Immortal Mansion today to check on Yinbao.

Nanli had woken up a few months ago. As expected, she hadn’t taken the opportunity to break through and become a Golden Core Demon Beast. Her foundation was still far too lacking; she wasn’t at a stage where a single stroke of fortune could guarantee success.

Jinbao, however, was still in a deep slumber, so Bear Wind’s trip to Qingfeng Mountain would have to wait.

Yinbao was the only one who had also consumed a great deal. Furthermore, as a Water Demonic Beast, he had previously consumed the heart of a Sea Spirit Whale during an advancement, which had strengthened his potential. Now, supplemented by a massive quantity of Purple Crystal Spirit Fish, his chances of reaching Golden Core were about fifty-fifty.

Over the past few days, the Spirit Pool where Yinbao slumbered had been stirring with considerable activity, unlike its previous tranquility. Fang Qingyuan suspected this was a sign of Yinbao’s imminent awakening.

Counting the days, Yinbao should be waking up within the next day or two. Whether he would emerge a dragon or remain a worm all depended on whether he could overcome this hurdle.

"Let’s put your work aside for now. Come with me to check on Yinbao. If he succeeds in his breakthrough, your life will get easier too. You’ll at least have a helper for deliveries."

Fang Qingyuan teased the Bee Queen, but it was also a way to ease his own subtle anxiety and worry. Yinbao’s success wasn’t guaranteed, and Fang Qingyuan had invested a great deal of emotion in him.

A century of companionship. You don’t notice it day to day, but when truly faced with the possibility of loss, how could Fang Qingyuan not be worried?

The chance to break through to Golden Core wasn’t unlimited. Cases like Nanli’s were fine; knowing she couldn’t succeed, she simply gave up without any harm to her body.

But if Yinbao went all out for the breakthrough and still failed, it would be a major blow to his potential.

Damaged potential meant that his chances of reaching Golden Core in the future would become even slimmer.

Fang Qingyuan’s mind was filled with thoughts, but as he arrived before the Spirit Pool where Yinbao slumbered, his heart couldn’t help but feel more at ease.

Through the Guardian Array, Fang Qingyuan could see Yinbao’s current state, and it already had the bearing of a Golden Core Great Demon.

The two bumps on his head, which used to look like swollen lumps from being hit with a hammer, had now, in a short time, transformed into magnificent, enormous horns, like those of a stag.

Combined with Yinbao’s massive body, these two giant horns were at least seven or eight meters tall.

’A Flying Manta Ray with horns?’

’This has to be an extremely rare mutation.’ Fang Qingyuan had never heard of a Flying Manta Ray growing horns. Even Zhao E Lian’s Golden Silk Silver-backed Manta Ray from all those years ago never grew horns, even after it reached the Nascent Soul Tier.

A pleasant surprise bloomed in Fang Qingyuan’s heart. He took a long, serious look at Yinbao. With the horns, the creature no longer looked like a lovable oaf; he actually looked rather dashing.

Time trickled by. After Fang Qingyuan had been standing by the Spirit Pool for a long while, the Spirit Water within began to roil and bubble like a boiling kettle.

’It’s starting. The moment of Yinbao’s evolution has finally arrived.’

Seeing this, Fang Qingyuan couldn’t help but fly up above Yinbao. With a single thought, all the Water Element Spiritual Energy within the entire Immortal Mansion began to converge, forming a swirling vortex that funneled down toward him.

A massive roar, sounding much like a dragon’s cry, erupted from Yinbao’s body, and the heavy Protective Array around him shattered into nothingness.

In an instant, an endless mist billowed out from Yinbao’s body. In the blink of an eye, the entire area for several miles around was plunged into the sudden, thick fog.

And that wasn’t all. The dense fog spread with incredible speed, about to reach the Purple Bamboo Forest in a moment. But then the Bee Queen sprang into action. Over a million bees formed a simple array, holding the fog at bay before it could reach the forest.

This small interlude didn’t draw Fang Qingyuan’s attention; his focus was entirely on Yinbao. ’With such an immense life force,’ he wondered, ’if he forms a Golden Core, what tier of innate Talent will he awaken?’

...

I’ll see about adding an extra Chapter today. Let’s see if I can get another one out this morning.