Longevity, starting from being a chicken raising servant

Chapter 594: Chapter 27 Survival_3

Of course, the extent of this improvement may vary, but once the base number increases, even a slight increase in the breeding rate can bring about noticeable changes.

“For example, the ‘Nine-cornered Toad’—the male species has no interest in mating, and their population is almost extinct in the wild… After observing, we found that the problem lies in the female toads being extremely choosy towards the male ones. The males have to create a den filled with spiritual energy to attract a mate. However, most locations abundant with such energy in the wild are already occupied by cultivators. Unable to build such dens, the males, left with no hope of mating, choose to live out their lives alone… After making this discovery, every time a toad matures, we would set up a den for it, consequently greatly increasing the breeding rate.”

Deacon Yang introduced with a smile.

Upon hearing this, Wang Ba could not help but express his admiration.

Indeed, no matter how much theory he knew, it was crucial to apply it in practice.

He was greatly inspired.

...

Could he do the same for the Spirit Chickens he was raising?

The experiences of Jia 15 and Jia 17 proved that the capabilities of the male Spirit Chickens were sufficient. However, it was unknown why most male Spirit Chickens lost their mating instincts.

If he could find the reason…

“However, there are times when it’s not the environment that is problematic, but a flaw inherent in the beast breed itself… In such cases, we can only let nature take its course. We carry out long-term observations on the entire species, pick out those with a strong desire to mate, and preserve them. Then, with each generation, we select those with intense reproductive instincts for breeding. In this way, in around ten to twenty generations, we can typically breed Spirit Beasts suitable for large-scale breeding.”

Deacon Yang added.

Wang Ba was familiar with this—it was nothing more than selection and breeding.

However, the principle of breeding Spirit Beasts was not complicated; the main issue was that this process was extremely time-consuming and labour-intensive.

Not to mention, the maturation time of Class II Spirit Beasts ranged from a few years to several decades.

The more valuable the Spirit Beast, the longer its maturation.

A generation after generation, such a time span was indeed significant.

Many cultivators did not have enough time for their own cultivation, let alone spare so much time on this.

The Beast Department of the Wanxiang Sect had no shortage of manpower and could continuously deploy people for sustainable breeding.

Wang Ba had thought about this method before. After all, he could mature these Spirit Beasts quickly, saving an unimaginable amount of time.

The troublesome part was that he did not have time to focus on the entire breed.

Moreover, he was not short of Spirit Beasts.

So he hadn’t given it too much thought before.

But now, he suddenly conceived an idea.

“I don’t have the time… but surely Jia 15 and Jia 17 would notice their competitors?”

“This could be a project to consider. I also need to properly cultivate the Phoenix-feathered Chickens and Black-feathered Chickens… I wonder if they can be made into spirit food.” @@novelbin@@

Not all Spirit Beasts are suitable for making spirit food.

In fact, a large proportion of Spirit Beasts’ bodies are inedible—either their spiritual energy, spiritual power, and the like would rapidly disappear once they die, rendering the spirit food made worthless, or they contain substances that are highly toxic or have other negative effects on cultivators.

For instance, a Spiritual Cook once turned a ‘Split-head Red-eyed Dog’ into spirit food. The person who consumed it became mentally deranged and went mad.

Of course, such extreme scenarios are rare; most cases are the former, with no harm but also no benefits.

Walking past numerous breeding fields with Deacon Yang, Wang Ba learned quite a bit.

Meanwhile, he also gave some suggestions on breeding the Azure Spirit Turtles—this was naturally his area of expertise.

Deacon Yang carefully noted down the suggestions Wang Ba provided.

Seeing that he was no longer needed, Wang Ba was about to leave when he unexpectedly saw Mo Qi flying over.

“Junior Brother Mo, you’re here too?”

Wang Ba greeted with a smile.

Seeing Wang Ba, Mo Qi’s eyes flashed with a complicated look. He first gave a bow to Deacon Yang on his side:

“Mo Qi pays his respects to the Deacon.”

His position in the Beast Department was far inferior to that of the Deacon.

“Uncle Mo, there’s no need for such formalities in private…”

Deacon Yang reluctantly replied while bowing back.

Mo Qi snorted: “We’re still within the Beast Department.”

He then turned to Wang Ba, bowing before saying:

“Deacon Wang, the Minister has summoned you.”

Qi Yan?

Wang Ba was slightly taken aback.

“Junior Brother Mo, is there anything wrong?”

Mo Qi shook his head: “I don’t know.”

His master always kept him uninformed about his plans, so naturally he had no idea why Wang Ba was summoned.

Upon hearing this, Wang Ba didn’t hesitate and immediately followed Mo Qi, flying low. They soon landed in a courtyard built halfway up a hill.

Seeing the layout of the courtyard, Wang Ba couldn’t help but be struck by a sense of grandeur and extravagance.

Indeed, this was Qi Yan’s style—fond of grandeur and luxury.

As expected, under Mo Qi’s guidance, after passing through the courtyard’s landscapes and corridors, they spotted Qi Yan sitting in a pavilion, engrossed in an unfolding scroll.

Noticing their presence, he put down the scroll and gave a nod:

“You’re here, sit.”

“Mo Qi, go brew some tea.”

A flash of resentment passed through Mo Qi’s eyes.