Free Web NovelChapter 390: Chapter 305: Path of Infinity
Spring and summer passed, giving way to the autumn harvest. More than half a year later, Fang Qingyuan was inside the Immortal Mansion, directing the Long-armed Apes as they meticulously harvested the Spirit Rice.
Because these Long-armed Apes cultivated, Spiritual Power had entered their minds, making their intellect far more nimble than that of their mundane counterparts.
After several years of multiplying, there were now a dozen or so young monkeys in the troop. At this moment, they clung to their mothers’ backs, watching their elders walk through the Spirit Rice fields and take turns working.
Yuan Yi, their leader, wasn’t idle either. He used a delicate technique to look after the old and weak of the troop, striving to ensure not a single grain of Spirit Rice was lost.
As the Three-legged Golden Crow above slowly dissipated its light and heat, the sky began to dim. When the Golden Crow completely folded its wings, night fell upon the land.
Although it was night, an unknown light still shone down. Compared to the light and heat scattered by the Three-legged Golden Crow, this light was clearly gentle and healing.
This was the alternation of dark and light, the cycle of day and night within the Immortal Mansion. Although everyone could have lived in perpetual light, Fang Qingyuan believed it was necessary to conform to the way of heaven and earth so the Immortal Mansion could endure for eternity, just like the outside world.
Yuan Yi called his troop back to their settlement to rest, while he himself approached Fang Qingyuan, prostrating himself to report on their progress.
The eight-hundred-mu Spirit Rice field would be fully harvested in about ten days. After that would come plowing and weeding in anticipation of next year’s harvest.
Having lived in the Immortal Mansion for three years, Yuan Yi was very content with his current life. Although his days were a bit monotonous, he no longer had to worry about the predators that could appear at any moment outside. For him, who had once lived in constant fear, this place was already a paradise.
It was no exaggeration to call it a paradise. Fang Qingyuan had previously transplanted many fruit-bearing peach trees into the mansion, and now, most of the fruit the apes ate daily came from the two-hundred-mu orchard he had created.
Only when a female monkey was about to give birth or had just given birth would Fang Qingyuan take out some nutritious food and give it to Yuan Yi to be used as a supplement for the mothers.
After chatting with Yuan Yi for a bit and reassuring him, Fang Qingyuan sent him back to look after the troop. He then turned and went to the Bee Queen’s side to check on her.
Two and a half years had passed since the Bee Queen took the Great Barrier Breaking Pill and fell into a deep slumber. During this time, with the shop in Nine Stars Square lacking the Elixir Pills she refined, business had plummeted, and the amount of Spirit Stones handed over to the sect had also steadily decreased.
Although Fang Qingyuan didn’t care about such things, he still sincerely hoped that the Bee Queen and Jinbao would wake up soon. Without these little ones making a ruckus by his side, he felt like something was missing.
The Bee Queen was still sleeping soundly. Seeing her pale, soft belly exposed, Fang Qingyuan stepped forward and pulled the Tier Three Top-Grade Fire Fox Fur covering her up a little higher.
This spirit material was one of the five Tier Three top-grade spirit materials the Nanchu Sect had used for an exchange. Since Fang Qingyuan had insisted on three specific items, the Nanchu Sect had simply thrown in two less valuable spirit materials to make up the numbers for the remaining two.
Lechuan had taken the other item, leaving this Fire Fox Fur for Fang Qingyuan. The original intention was for Fang Qingyuan to have a large cloak made, but he couldn’t bear to use it. So, he simply draped it over the Bee Queen, using the fire power nurtured within it to nourish her.
The Bee Queen’s elemental attribute was wood. Since fire and wood complement each other, the fur would absorb the wood-element impurities from her body, purify and refine them, and then feed the resulting energy back to her. This allowed her to be nourished by fire energy even in her sleep, making the spirit material a perfect fit.
The Tier Three Top-Grade Fire Fox Fur had come from a late-stage Golden Core fire fox. A Spirit Beast of this level had already touched upon a trace of the True Meaning of the Great Dao. Even after its death, its fur was imbued with the fire fox’s original understanding and insights into the Path of Fire. Although it wasn’t much, it was more than enough for the Bee Queen.
After checking on the Bee Queen, Fang Qingyuan went over to Jinbao. In contrast to his gentle care for the Bee Queen, his approach to Jinbao was far more casual. He saw Jinbao’s round, plump body rising and falling ceaselessly with each breath.
Seeing that the motion was much more pronounced than the last few times he had checked, Fang Qingyuan knew in his heart that Jinbao was about to wake up.
Sure enough, half a month later, Jinbao’s roars echoed from within the Immortal Mansion. The moment Fang Qingyuan entered, he saw Jinbao bounding toward him like a puppy, wagging its head and tail as it begged for food.
Every time Jinbao woke up, he would stuff himself to fill the void from years of not eating. This time, however, the various foods Fang Qingyuan had left for him were clearly not enough.
Fang Qingyuan sighed. He had underestimated Jinbao’s appetite after his advancement. Summoning a hundred pounds of Spirit Rice from a granary in a corner of the Immortal Mansion, he used a Fire Element Technique to heat and steam it. He then brought it before Jinbao, thoughtfully drizzling Flower Nectar over the top and mixing in various dried Spirit Fruit jerky.
While Jinbao was burying his head in his meal, Fang Qingyuan carefully observed him. After waking from his evolutionary slumber, Jinbao’s cultivation had already reached the mid-stage of Foundation Establishment. For a Spirit Beast, this growth rate was truly astonishing.
Jinbao was not yet seventy years old, but he was already at mid-stage Foundation Establishment. Such a cultivation speed was something that not even most Cultivators could match, let alone other Spirit Beasts. In this world, humans had always cultivated far faster than Spirit Beasts and demonic beasts; the latter were better at using their long lifespans to slowly improve themselves.
There were two main reasons for Jinbao’s rapid advancement. First, his lineage was extraordinary, and his potential was limitless. Second, by following Fang Qingyuan, he had eaten far too many treasures.
