Chapter 412 - 315: Breeding Ground
Fang Qingyuan followed Jiang Tianfang into a subterranean cavern on the northwestern side of the mountain base, just inside the Qingyuan Sect’s main gate.
Fang Qingyuan had never been here before. He had explored every part of the Qingyuan Sect when it was first established, but this cavern was clearly a breeding ground developed only in recent years, which was why he was unaware of it.
The sound of water echoed incessantly within the cavern. Below was a dark, murky marsh, with insects buzzing about. The environment, frankly, left much to be desired.
Fang Qingyuan and Jiang Tianfang hovered in mid-air over the marsh, taking in the scene. Jiang Tianfang quickly began to explain.
"This is where we cultivate the Four-winged Cyan Jade Dragonfly. We scatter the eggs into the marsh, where they hatch and develop into Water Scorpions. They prey on the insects, tadpoles, and small fish in the water. After a certain amount of time, they crawl out of the water and metamorphose into dragonflies.
"At this point, the Four-winged Cyan Jade Dragonfly is not yet fully mature. They go through a screening process and are nurtured with a secret concoction before we can select the qualified adults. Then, we imprint them with an Array, etching the beast patterns onto them. Only then is a Four-winged Cyan Jade Dragonfly considered a final product, ready to be sold."
Fang Qingyuan listened to Jiang Tianfang’s account in silence. He released his Divine Sense, letting it sweep over the subterranean cavern, which spanned several dozen acres. Instantly, points of light, each a soul, glittered like stars in his mind’s eye.
Each point of light represented a mature insect or a nearly-mature nymph. The younger larvae could not be perceived, as their souls were too weak to register.
Of course, this was also a result of Fang Qingyuan’s own insufficient cultivation. If he could reach a realm where his senses could reflect all of creation, then mere larvae would naturally be visible to his divine soul.
After only a moment of extending his Divine Sense, Fang Qingyuan finished counting the mature insects and those on the cusp of their final metamorphosis.
’The numbers are too low.’ Fang Qingyuan mentally shook his head. ’In a cavern of several dozen acres, there are only one to two hundred mature insects. After screening and imprinting the beast patterns, how many will actually be left to sell?’
"What’s the cost?"
Fang Qingyuan asked the question that concerned him most. With more and more Immortal Seedlings joining the sect, expenditures were beginning to far exceed income. If the Four-winged Cyan Jade Dragonfly could become a flagship product for the Qingyuan Sect, he would gladly give the project his full support.
"The feed, the metamorphosis-inducing concoctions, and the upkeep for the Spiritual Power gathering Array... all told, the cost for each finished adult insect comes out to about fifteen Low-grade Spirit Stones. It’s a shame this place is so small. If it were bigger, we could amortize the costs and lower the per-unit price."
Jiang Tianfang’s tone was tinged with regret. Fang Qingyuan glanced around the cavern; the area was indeed small, but it was already at its maximum size. To excavate any further would mean digging into the Celestial Eagle Mountain Spirit Vein, right where he himself resided.
No one in the sect would dare to excavate recklessly just to raise insect beasts. Damaging the flow of the Spirit Vein was an unforgivable crime. This Third-Order Lower Grade Spirit Land was the foundation of the Qingyuan Sect for the next thousand years. Fang Qingyuan didn’t even have to say anything; Mao Cheng would probably beat anyone who suggested it to death.
As for building a marsh on the surface, that would mean competing for land with the mortal villages. With a growing population, the mortals’ traditional subsistence farming was already becoming more difficult. Taking over a plot of land, especially in the fertile region at the mountain’s base, would be next to impossible.
In terms of land value across the entire Qingyuan Sect’s territory, the area surrounding the base of the mountain, this Third-Order Lower Grade Spirit Land, was by far the most expensive.
Jiang Tianfang, a war orphan, lacked the clout to requisition land here. The mortals living in this area were all relatives of the sect’s founding families. If he even thought about touching this land, the Patriarchs of those families would likely file a deluge of complaints against him.
So why not build the breeding ground in the harsh environment of the borderlands?
This came down to the layout of the Spirit Vein. The Qingyuan Sect was situated on a Third-Order Lower Grade Spirit Land. While an Array contained most of the Spiritual Power within the sect proper, the ambient Spiritual Power that naturally leaked to the periphery was enough to significantly reduce the number of Spirit Stones needed for the breeding marsh’s Array.
If they were to build the breeding ground in the outer areas where Spiritual Power was scarce, the daily Spirit Stone consumption of the Gathering Spirit Array would skyrocket. The profit margin on the business would become razor-thin.
Fang Qingyuan didn’t usually concern himself with such matters, but that didn’t mean he was ignorant of them. As Sect Leader, he only needed to manage the big picture; he had always preferred to delegate the day-to-day administration.
Only at times like this, when the sect’s progress had begun to stagnate, would Fang Qingyuan personally intervene to forge a new path forward.
After listening to Jiang Tianfang’s explanation, Fang Qingyuan began to calculate. ’Right now, there are several obstacles hindering the production of the Four-winged Cyan Jade Dragonfly Beasts. The biggest one is the size of the breeding ground. Several dozen acres of Spiritual Land can only produce so much.’
But for his Immortal Mansion, this wasn’t a problem at all.
As Fang Qingyuan’s cultivation reached the Ninth-Layer Foundation Establishment, the territory within his Immortal Mansion had expanded as well. It now contained around two thousand seven hundred acres of Black Land.
’The first two thousand acres are already allocated, and I don’t need to change those plans. But this new seven hundred acres... I was going to plant more Spirit Rice, but now I can use it to raise these insect beasts instead.’
’Besides, the Spiritual Qi in the Immortal Mansion is rich. Over the years, its spiritual quality has reached the level of a Second-rank Middle-grade Spiritual Land. That’s more than enough for raising beasts at the Qi Cultivation Level, and I won’t even need to bother setting up a Gathering Spirit Array.’
The only problem now was one of logistics. ’After I start breeding the Four-winged Cyan Jade Dragonflies in such large numbers, what excuse can I use to explain this massive output of beast mounts to the rest of the sect?’
’The Spirit Rice I produced in the Immortal Mansion before had no distinguishing features. I could just sell it in the Marketplace, and as long as the quality was good, it would sell without issue.’
’But these Four-winged Cyan Jade Dragonfly mounts are clearly a signature product of the Qingyuan Sect. It’s impossible for me to sell them on the sly. They have to be counted as the sect’s own production.’
’I don’t really care about the Spirit Stone income, anyway. I can just book the beasts I produce at a price of twenty Low-grade Spirit Stones each. I’ll take a smaller cut and let the sect have the lion’s share of the profit.’
’The only tricky part is explaining the seven-hundred-acre Spiritual Land.’ An idea suddenly struck him. ’The Barbaric Wilderness.’
He could just claim he was breeding them somewhere in the Barbaric Wilderness. As long as he was vague about the location, no one would ever be able to find it—because it wouldn’t exist.
’Yes, to be safe, I should create a fake Water Marsh Spiritual Land. I don’t need to invest much in it—just enough to serve as a convincing front.’
’The bulk of the production will happen in the Immortal Mansion. As for the later stages, like feeding and imprinting the control patterns, that can be handled separately. The Immortal Mansion will be responsible for producing the base insects, and the remaining steps can be left to the sect disciples.’
Having figured it all out, Fang Qingyuan chuckled. As Jiang Tianfang watched in utter confusion, he magically gathered up a wide array of the local creatures—including various Water Scorpions, shrimp, mayflies, and mosquito larvae, as well as the nearly mature insects—and stored them all in his Ten Thousand Beasts Qiankun Banner.
"I’m going to find a place in the Barbaric Wilderness, set up an Array, and create a Water Marsh Spiritual Land to breed these Four-winged Cyan Jade Dragonflies. This should solve the sect’s production bottleneck. In the meantime, you go and find out how many Cultivators out there want one of these beasts. If they’re interested, you can take a small deposit of a few Spirit Stones, and we’ll credit them double the amount on their final purchase."
Hearing Fang Qingyuan’s plan, Jiang Tianfang nodded in assent. In his eyes, now that Fang Qingyuan had decided to take action, the matter was as good as settled. This was the kind of confidence Fang Qingyuan had inspired in the people of the Qingyuan Sect over many years.
Once Jiang Tianfang left to see to his task, Fang Qingyuan returned to his Quiet Chamber. He deposited the creature eggs and larvae he had just collected into a low-lying area within the Immortal Mansion. Then, he commanded his Water Element Black Tortoise Aspect, Wood Spirit Fish Dragon Aspect, and Earth Planet Bear Aspect to begin the vigorous transformation of the seven hundred acres of Black Land.
The Bear Aspect dug earth, piling it onto the high mountain at the center. The Black Tortoise drew vast amounts of water from the One-Yuan Heavy Water River, pouring it into the depression. Then, the Fish Dragon brought various aquatic plant roots, placed them in the water, and channeled its Wood Spirit Life Power to make them grow at a tremendous rate.
In just a single day, the area of Black Land had been transformed into a seven-hundred-acre marsh, overgrown with aquatic plants and rippling with dark waves. Fang Qingyuan moved the creatures into their new home, and with that, this phase of the project was complete.
All that remained was to wait. As for feeding the beasts, Fang Qingyuan had already made preparations. Previously, he would burn the leftover stalks after the Spirit Rice harvest and bury the ash. Now, he planned to chop them up for compost to raise earthworms and other small creatures, which he would then add to the marsh.
According to Jiang Tianfang, the growth cycle for a Four-winged Cyan Jade Dragonfly was about five months. If he started the brood now, he could expect a harvest in five months’ time.
After finishing this work, Fang Qingyuan felt a weight lift from his shoulders. He looked upon the fruits of his labor, filled with a grounded sense of satisfaction.
A moment later, however, he remembered the lecture he had promised Liu Xun and began to fret. ’What on earth should I teach?’
He ran through the Divine Techniques he knew. ’I can’t teach the Soul Dao, nor can I touch on profound concepts like the Dao of the Seven Emotions and Liu Yu. The Longevity Dao seems too advanced—I don’t even fully grasp it myself. It looks like the only thing left is the Five Elements Dao.’
’Besides, everyone has some connection to the Five Elements Dao. Lecturing on it would be the most helpful for the Low-tier Disciples.’
’So, the Five Elements Dao it is. But this is my first time giving a public sermon as Sect Leader. I absolutely cannot mess it up. It would be best to win thunderous applause, which means I’ll need to design this lecture carefully.’
Thinking this, Fang Qingyuan’s gaze fell upon his four idle Dharma Illusion Beasts. ’It’s about time you all made an appearance.’
「Half a month later.」
The disciples of the Qingyuan Sect were gathered, hundreds of them waiting with eager anticipation for Fang Qingyuan’s arrival. Suddenly, he appeared, riding a one-hundred-foot-long Wood Dragon Incarnation woven from plants and trees. He dove from the highest peak of Celestial Eagle Mountain, making a stunning entrance for the entire crowd.