The chicken feed and discarded spirit insects were finally delivered by the servants.
However, Old Sun was still somewhat confused.
"Why would it suddenly lay an egg... Could I have remembered it wrong?"
Wang Ba, standing next to him, didn't dare to chime in. He just followed Old Sun's lead, pouring the delivered chicken feed into the large barrel for fermentation.
Despite being just chicken feed, it still contained a hint of spiritual energy.
Just inhaling a tiny bit of the feed caused Wang Ba's feelings of weakness to weaken.
After sufficient fermentation of this chicken feed, the quality of the spiritual energy would increase even further.
The Precious Chickens that eat this type of feed, would just grow more healthy and their spiritual energy, more abundant.
Naturally, the discarded spirit insects also played a vital role.
"Don't use your hand!"
Old Sun halted Wang Ba, who was trying to grab the spirit insects with his hand.
Instantly he picked up an iron spoon, scooped up the crawling spirit insects, and sprinkled them around for the waiting Precious Chickens.
"These discarded spirit insects are mostly poisonous. The Precious Chickens aren't affected, but if we touch them, we will either die or get severely injured!"
Perhaps due to some unknown reason, Old Sun, who wasn't very friendly to Wang Ba yesterday, was surprisingly conversable today.
Every so often, he would offer some helpful tips.
After receiving the warning, Wang Ba instinctively retracted his hand.
Old Sun saw this and didn't look down on him.
Anyone would be shaken up after a close escape from death.
"They only need to be fed once a day. Don't worry about them getting hungry. The spiritual energy from the chicken feed and spirit insects is enough for them to digest for an entire day and night."
Old Sun dropped the iron spoon, providing further guidance.
Wang Ba nodded, absorbing all of this new information.
He definitely learned something new; the chickens from his past life had to constantly peck at their food all day.
After all, chickens are straight digested animals, eating after excreting, and they digest food at an exceedingly fast pace.
Perhaps because he saw Wang Ba was understanding, polite and humble,
Old Sun's attitude softened quite a bit compared to yesterday and he wasn't reluctant to say a few more words:
"You see that one? After eating, it doesn't eat much anymore. And that one, these Precious Chickens... their tastes are extremely picky. So sometimes, they need to be starved a bit to discipline them, and that one over there, that... Huh? That's strange!"
Following Old Sun's gaze, Wang Ba saw a robust and rotund hen that he found somewhat familiar. It was using its plump body to push away its companions.
Meanwhile, its beak pecked frantically, like it had been starving for years and was trying to regain its strength in one go.
The chicken feed in front of it was disappearing at a speed visible to the naked eye.
It was eating more than the other hens combined.
Wang Ba felt his heart jump.
This chicken was behaving too brazenly!
Old Sun, who had witnessed this scene, furrowed his brows deeply.
"It's this chicken again..."
"How strange!"
Old Sun hobbled over and with a flash of hand, reached out to grasp it!
However, much to the bewilderment of both Old Sun and Wang Ba,
The hen lightly hopped and dodged his grasp!
Wang Ba was particularly astounded!
As he had personally witnessed the speed of Old Sun's hands both last night and this morning
It could be said that his moves were clear and explicit!
Whoever he wanted to catch, he would catch!
Seeing this, Old Sun, rather than being shocked, was ecstatic.
He attempted to grab the hen once again.
This time, Wang Ba couldn't even determine when he had made his move.
There was just a flash before his eyes.
"Cluck! Cluck..."
The plump and rotund hen had already landed in Old Sun's grasp.
He skillfully twisted the chicken's wings behind its back, then started to move his hands up and down...
As he was feeling around, Old Sun's eyes lit up.
"My goodness! It's almost a Spirit Chicken!"
"Spirit Chicken?"
Wang Ba asked in confusion.
Old Sun was in a good mood after discovering a treasure, so he didn't hide anything.
"Although Precious Chickens are valuable, and even the Qi refining immortals within the Sect consume them, at the end of the day, they are still mundane poultry, at most, they have a bit of spiritual intelligence!"
"But a Spirit Chicken, it's indeed an Immortal Bird that has truly transcended the mundane!"
"Of course, this chicken can't be considered a true Spirit Chicken yet, but it's rather close. Even so, this can be considered a great achievement!"
"As long as it is taken care of properly in the coming days, it is bound to become a Spirit Chicken."
Old Sun enthusiastically explained.
As he examined the hen in his hands from all angles, his joy was evident.
Meanwhile, Wang Ba's emotions were a bit complicated.
After all, it was only expected that the chicken underwent its transformation after being put into its lifespan.
However, he still asked the crucial question:
"Old Sun, how much credit can I gain from offering such a Spirit Chicken?"
Old Sun carefully put the hen back, and responded to Wang Ba's question at the same time:
"It can exempt the annual offering."
"Just one year's offering exemption?"
Wang Ba was immediately somewhat disappointed.
He had thought that he could get some Cultivation Methods as rewards from the Sect, even though he wouldn't need them.
"Huh! Don't underestimate the significance of an exemption."
Old Sun was in a good mood, and so began to talk more:
"The Sect has rules."
"You can process the remaining chickens in the villa as you wish, provided you take care of them, and provided that you don't interfere with the monthly offerings. Failure to do so will lead to unpleasant consequences."
"Think about it, if you don't need to offer the chickens for a year, you will have an additional 48 Precious Chickens and 2400 Precious Chicken eggs to sell!"
"According to the market price, a Precious Chicken, a male two-point Spirit Stone, and a female four-point Spirit Stone; just these, could be sold for fourteen lower grade Spirit Stones!"
"Although precious chicken eggs are not valuable, 2400 of them can be worth two or three Spirit Stones."
"So calculate it, there are seventeen to eighteen lower-grade Spirit Stones!"
"With seventeen or eighteen Spirit Stones, you could even buy a big compound in the mortal city, and earn several wives!"
Wang Ba's heart was racing!
He never expected Precious Chickens to be so valuable!
He also didn't know that the value of a Spirit Chicken could be so high!
After all, the rewards probably aren't worth as much as the offerings. The Sect is willing to give so much, naturally, because they receive more.
However, upon thoughtful consideration, he felt something wasn't right.
"Old Sun, the chickens we have here seem not to be enough for the offerings."
"Even if we are exempted from giving offerings for one year, we will eventually have to set aside some chickens for breeding, and for the offerings of the subsequent year; in the end, we might only be able to sell about eleven male chickens and two hens."
"Including the eggs, when counted, it's just about three to four lower-grade Spirit Stones."
Old Sun was somewhat taken aback when he heard Wang Ba's words.
"You are quite quick-witted!"
After thinking for a moment, he looked around and spoke in a low voice:
"The Sect would not be so generous, they calculate things clearer than you do! These Precious Chickens are just the closest breed to Spirit Chickens, extremely difficult to breed. The managers of the Sect know this well; each estate ensuring their monthly supply of offerings is already quite an achievement. There may be excess, but it certainly won't be a lot."
"As for our estate, due to an epidemic a few years ago, we suffered heavy casualties. We have only recently regained some vitality."
"And regarding your comment about a shortage...hehe, the Sect doesn't mind that! If it's not enough, find a way to supplement it yourself. Even buying from the market to make up the shortfall is a must. Do you think that's why they still give us our salary?"
So that's how it is.
Wang Ba suddenly realized.
He wondered how the value of a Spirit Chicken could be so high, turned out it was pretty much like writing a blank check.
This also explains his doubts about why there were discrepancies with the number of Precious Chickens in the villa.
"Alright, since I'm about to leave, I thought I should tell you so that you could keep it in mind. It would be beneficial for you."
Old Sun stroked his beard and spoke.
"Huh? You're leaving the mountain?"
Wang Ba was taken aback by his words.
"Life demands it!"
Old Sun sighed with a touch of his beard:
"When I was young, I was obsessed with the pursuit of immortality. I was willing to spend all my fortune to join the Sect, hoping to seize even the slightest chance."
"After joining the Sect, I diligently cultivated the Body Strengthening Scripture for fifty years. I have now reached Stage IX, and am only one stage away from developing the Spiritual Root, Stage X…"
"But it's a pity, a great pity!"
"One stage away, yet the gap is as wide as a thousand miles!"
"Wang, life is short, seize the moment, don't wait until my age to regret."
"This is the only piece of advice that I, as an elder, can give you."
Wang Ba remained silent.
Old Sun's life experience upon hearing it at first glance seemed like a mirror image of his own.
It almost made him mistake it for his own story.
Compared to Wang Ba, Old Sun's qualification is much better.
At least he was able to cultivate the Body Strengthening Scripture to Stage IX in merely fifty years.
If he had stayed in the mortal world, he would arguably have been an extraordinary talent in martial arts.
He could have traveled the world on horseback, living a remarkable life.
But now, in this immortal Sect, he is just an unknown old man raising chickens.
His life spent in regret and dissatisfaction.
If it weren't for the golden finger, Wang Ba's future would probably look the same.
"However... now that I have the opportunity to turn things around, I will not let it slip away!"
"But... I still need patience and to wait!"
Looking at the Precious Chickens wandering around, Wang Ba clenched his fists secretly.