Chapter 73

Maoqiu darted very quickly, and Lu Xiaodeng, carrying a large tripod, found it cumbersome and awkward. She either got stuck on tree branches or was pulled by the shrubs, which greatly affected her speed.

When she ran to a place with a large garden, Maoqiu's trail had vanished, but she was not anxious because this was where the spirit pets were raised.

The entire mountain was divided into enclosures, where the spirit pets were kept. Each enclosure had trees, ponds, and caves made of piled stones. The pets could move freely within, but if they tried to jump over the waist-high fences, they would be repelled by the restrictions on them.

Lu Xiaodeng looked around and, seeing no one, emerged from the shrubs and walked to the fence at the edge. Inside were a group of spirit pets that looked like pigs, each the size of a watermelon, with white, plump bodies and a pair of wings on their backs, making them look like flying buns when they flew.

She reached out to test the fence and was blocked by a layer of something like water waves, which was the restriction keeping them in. Although she could feel it, she could still penetrate it with a slight force.

"Do you speak? I'm looking for an egg. Who can tell me where it is?" After some thought, she asked. As long as it was a demon beast at the Chaos Soul stage, she could find a way to communicate. Asking a demon beast was much more convenient than asking a human.

These pigs were huddled together sleeping, and when they were woken up, they grumbled in dissatisfaction and went back to sleep. Not a single one had developed intelligence, so Lu Xiaodeng had to look for other spirit pets. After searching for a long time, she found that this place was full of young ones. "What? I can't understand them at all."

She wandered around for a while and suddenly heard a roar in the distance, the sound of an adult demon beast. At this moment, she realized that while precious demon beast eggs and young ones could be captured from the wild, this alone was not enough, as the numbers would be severely insufficient.

Just like how spirit herbs were divided into wild and cultivated, spirit pets were the same. There must be adult demon beasts specifically raised to produce eggs and young ones. As long as they were not killed, demon beasts could live for a hundred years or more, even if they did not advance in stage. The Tianling Sect must have many adult demon beasts, and the sound she heard earlier was likely from them.

So she cautiously made her way in the direction of the sound, crossing the mountain filled with young ones. On the opposite side, she saw many deep pits dug into the flat ground, from which the roars of demon beasts could be heard.

Unlike the area for the young ones, there were more cultivators here, and people often flew overhead to observe the movements of the demon beasts in the pits. If the beasts caused too much trouble, they would use their ten-foot-long spirit whips to strike them.

"How can it be so chaotic here? If they don't treat them well, who would have the mood to mate and produce eggs and young ones?" Lu Xiaodeng had initially thought the Tianling Sect treated their spirit pets well, but now she saw that they were not so great. They only treated the young ones that could be sold well, while the adult demon beasts that laid eggs were not treated well. Since they were not for sale, their appearance and docility did not matter.

With a demon beast flying overhead, it would not be good to walk around so boldly. Thinking of this, she gathered many shrubs and carefully tied them to the tripod. She filled the entire tripod with shrubs, and if it did not move, it would look like a pile of shrubs from the air at night.

Feeling secure, she carried the tripod out, and if she saw a cultivator looking, she would crouch down and pretend to be a plant. With caution and the cover of darkness, she successfully sneaked in.

This garden was so large that small fences and restrictions were not enough to contain the adult demon beasts. The restrictions on the fences required crystal fruits to maintain their power and could not withstand the constant attacks from the demon beasts. So the Tianling Sect dug large pits and put the demon beasts in them, only needing to reinforce the pit walls. The restrictions were placed at the pit's mouth and did not need to be used all the time, as not all demon beasts could fly.

Although it was a bit troublesome, it was safe and cost-effective. Otherwise, the young ones sold would not be enough to cover the expenses of the adult demon beasts, making it a loss.

Lu Xiaodeng slowly walked to the edge of a pit and peered inside. Four golden lion-like beasts were confined below. They were particularly agitated, roaring continuously, clearly on the verge of going mad from confinement.

Suddenly, voices came from a distance, and she quickly moved the tripod to the side of a small pavilion where cultivators rested, crouching down to blend in with the plants.

"Uncle, the red-scaled dragon still refuses to eat. Will it die? It looks so weak, maybe its injuries haven't healed?" A group of five people were walking, pulling a cart about two zhang wide, on which lay the corpse of a snail-horned ox.

The cultivator leading the group said angrily, "The red-scaled dragon has developed intelligence. It is resisting us, trying to starve itself to death. If it doesn't eat tomorrow, we will use the soul-extraction technique to control it and force it to eat. We have already spent a lot of crystal fruits on it and haven't earned a single crystal bean. We can't let it die like this."

He paused and then said greedily, "If it can produce a few red-scaled dragon eggs, we will make a huge profit."

"Uncle, the red-scaled dragon is male. Even if it becomes strong, we don't have a female to mate with it," one of them said sheepishly.

"Idiot," the uncle scolded, "Don't you know that if we have a healthy red-scaled dragon, we can send out the message? Naturally, cultivators with female red-scaled dragons will come to us, paying a high price to breed and hatch young dragons. Adult red-scaled dragons are powerful, but they are not as good as those raised from a young age. Not only red-scaled dragons, but dragons can also interbreed to produce eggs."

The disciples finally understood and quickly praised, "Uncle, you are wise. We must not let the dragon die."

"Of course, I need to discuss it with the sect leader. To use the soul-extraction technique, the sect leader must act." They walked past Lu Xiaodeng, completely unaware of her presence, even if they used their divine senses to check.

After they were out of sight, Lu Xiaodeng laughed, "A red-scaled dragon with intelligence, looks like my luck is really good. Outside, there's a bird that wants to lay eggs but can't find a mate, and inside, there's a dragon that doesn't want a mate but will be forced to become one. What are these demon beasts thinking? They are so stupid."

Without hesitation, the red-scaled dragon must be in the largest pit, and it must be submerged in water. This should be easy to find. Lu Xiaodeng looked around and started to search stealthily. When she found the red-scaled dragon, she was speechless.

It was a large pit burning with fierce flames, the fire so intense that it reached outside the pit, turning everything red. The cultivators guarding it only checked every half an hour, just flying over to take a quick look and then leaving. Staying for a few more minutes would make them sweat profusely.

They were not Foundation Establishment cultivators but Qi Condensation cultivators using flying tools. Even with their spirit energy protecting them, they could not withstand the heat from the fire pit. This job was unbearable, and if possible, no one would want to do it.

Lu Xiaodeng was not afraid of fire. She had been burned by fire for years. After the Tianling Sect's cultivators checked and left, she carried the tripod and jumped into the fire pit. The restriction outside the pit flickered, causing a ripple, but it still let her in.

This movement was not significant, and the cultivators resting in the cool pavilion far away did not notice anything unusual. If the restriction was not attacked, such a small ripple was normal. Occasionally, a bird flying by and hitting the restriction would produce the same effect.

"Too hot," Lu Xiaodeng jumped into the pit, surrounded by red flames. Her clothes were immediately burned, and when she landed, only she and the tripod remained.

In front of her was a nearly ten-zhang-long dragon lying on the ground, looking as if it were dead. It was not clear if it was due to the flames or its natural color, but its entire body was red. A flame ran through the scales on its back, which would not be noticeable if it were not black.

The red-scaled dragon did not even lift an eyelid at her sudden intrusion, clearly having lost interest in anything thrown in.

Lu Xiaodeng carefully observed it, seeing through the flames that its scales were injured in many places, still bleeding. Despite the scars, new wounds appeared on the old ones. The Tianling Sect valued it so much; they would not continuously beat it. Could it be self-harm?

"Such severe injuries. If you eat properly, you should be able to recover," she said after a moment.

But the red-scaled dragon still ignored her, showing no reaction, which left Lu Xiaodeng speechless. She wanted to ask about the egg, but if the dragon remained silent, her trip would be in vain. So she reached out and waved her hand, "Spirit Realm."

The surrounding flames instantly disappeared, leaving everything dark except for her standing with the tripod. Opposite her, a pale red dragon soul with many black spots lay on the ground.

Lu Xiaodeng sat down in the air and said to the dragon soul, "Don't pretend to be dead. Get up for a moment. I want to ask you something."

The red-scaled dragon sensed something was wrong when it was forcibly pulled into the Spirit Realm. This time, what was thrown down did not seem to be food, though it smelled delicious, and its stomach could not help but rumble. If it had not been years without eating, its stomach would have made a thunderous noise.

It finally opened its eyes and saw a spirit artifact spirit sitting opposite it, making its eyes widen. These cultivators were too generous, willing to use a spirit artifact spirit to make it eat and earn crystal fruits for them.

No, I must resist this temptation. I cannot fall for a bit of food and become a breeding dragon.

Although it thought this, its body could not control itself. The dragon lying on the ground started to drool profusely, and it desperately wanted to eat, even considering that if it could eat such a spirit artifact spirit every day, being a breeding dragon might not be so bad.

Lu Xiaodeng saw the intense desire in its eyes and quickly said, "Aren't you fasting for your dignity? Do you now want to become a breeding dragon? They said they will not only make you mate with red-scaled dragons but also with other dragons. If you eat me, there will be no turning back."

The red-scaled dragon shuddered and quickly regained its senses, almost losing control.

Seeing its eyes calm down, Lu Xiaodeng breathed a sigh of relief. Given its weak state, if it dared to attack, she would eat it. She still had questions to ask and did not want to do that yet.