**Chapter 34: The Owner of the Golden Scaled Beast
The following days were tranquil. Ye Jingcheng spent his time refining spirit pills for the shop and caring for his spirit beasts. The Red Flame Fox was growing rapidly, its fur becoming increasingly red and radiant, indicating a possible breakthrough. This made Ye Jingcheng even more attentive to its needs.
He focused most of his energy on the Red Flame Fox, while the Jade-Eared Mouse was somewhat neglected. News of the Red Flame Fox's unusual growth had spread within the Ye family, and Ye Jingcheng was aware that the family's influence was more substantial than it appeared.
However, the owner of the Golden Scaled Beast had yet to return, leaving Ye Jingcheng in anticipation. While he longed to acquire the beast, it was not yet part of the Ye family's collection. This delay allowed him to save up spirit stones.
[Translator: sauron]
Outside the market, the situation with the evil cultivators worsened. Initially, only solitary itinerant cultivators went missing, but soon, entire small groups and even family cultivators were reported to have fallen victim. In response, the Mo family began organizing an alliance to hunt down these evil cultivators.
Despite the escalating situation, Ye Jingcheng remained focused on his own tasks. He was deeply engrossed in alchemy, with the Red Flame Fox continuously unleashing flames. The intense heat made the alchemy furnace glow red-hot, and the runes on it seemed to come alive.
A subtle fragrance of the pills began to fill the air, heightening Ye Jingcheng's excitement. The Red Flame Fox intensified its efforts, its flames turning an even more intense red, akin to the midday sun.
When the furnace lid flew off, Ye Jingcheng promptly had the Red Flame Fox extinguish the flames. Inside the furnace were eight perfect Green Spirit Pills, brimming with spiritual essence and emitting a richer fragrance than usual.
"Eight pills! Just one more, and I can attempt to refine a high-quality first-tier pill!" Ye Jingcheng was thrilled. In just a year and a half of refining pills with the Red Flame Fox, his skills had improved significantly. He now succeeded in producing Green Spirit Pills from nearly every batch, with the quantity increasing from three or four to six or seven.
He carefully placed six of the pills into a storage vial and fed the remaining two to the Red Flame Fox. The fox eagerly devoured them, its blue eyes narrowing in satisfaction. After consuming the pills, the Red Flame Fox emitted a series of high-pitched cries, its fur blazing with a vivid red hue.
Ye Jingcheng, recognizing the significance of the Red Flame Fox's impending breakthrough, set up a barrier to isolate the beast and ensure a smooth transition. The prospect of the fox reaching the late stage of Qi Condensation excited him, as it would enhance his own cultivation speed and enable him to refine higher-grade pills.
Taking a moment to calm himself, Ye Jingcheng left his room for the first time in a while, heading to the inner courtyard to inspect the family's spirit beasts. He routinely checked on them and provided spiritual light to those in need of healing. The business had been thriving lately, thanks in part to his attention to the beasts' welfare.
Approaching the Golden Scaled Beast's enclosure, Ye Jingcheng noted its growth over the past six months. The beast had become more friendly towards him, greeting him with lowered forepaws and a nodding head whenever he approached. Ye Jingcheng patted its head and provided some spiritual light, making the beast more relaxed.
At that moment, Ye Jingcheng's Thirteenth Aunt arrived with a young, beautiful female cultivator dressed in a green dress. The girl, appearing around sixteen or seventeen, eagerly approached the Golden Scaled Beast and tried to touch its head.
The Golden Scaled Beast, however, reacted aggressively, baring its teeth and retreating into its enclosure. It had grown resistant to anyone other than Ye Jingcheng and disliked unearned attention.
"Friend Ye, this is my father's Golden Scaled Beast!" the young woman, Xu Xiuqing, said with tearful eyes. "Please, if you can save my father, the Golden Scaled Beast will be yours!"
Ye Xinghe, present as well, tried to comfort Xu Xiuqing, explaining that the Ye family's chief manager was currently away. Ye Jingcheng learned that the Golden Scaled Beast originally belonged to Xu Xiuqing's father, who had intended to sell it to raise spirit stones for joining a sect. Unfortunately, her father had disappeared while negotiating with a buyer and was presumed to have been captured by evil cultivators.
Xu Xiuqing, desperate, offered two unpolished spirit stones as a reward if Ye Jingcheng could rescue her father. The stones, while raw and unrefined, were valuable and came from a genuine spirit mine.
At that moment, Ye Xinghe emerged from the inner courtyard, further complicating the situation.
The chapter ended on a cliffhanger, leaving readers eager for the next installment to see how Ye Jingcheng would handle the offer and the challenges that lay ahead.
**End of Chapter**