The next day, early in the morning.
Li Mu planted the six bags of spirit seeds he bought yesterday into the spiritual fields, cast the Qingfeng Huanyu Technique, and then fertilized and weeded the Cui Ling Fruit Seedling.
After finishing his farm work, he immediately flew to Qing'an Town on his sword.
The Spirit Animal Ranch, located on the south side of Qing'an Town, is the main industry of the Foundation Establishment Family, the Zhang Family, raising various Spirit Fowls and Spirit Beasts, and combining the acquisition of Yao Beast corpses, slaughtering, and hide processing, among other things.
"Come and see! Black Feather Eagle Spirit Eggs are on sale! If nurtured properly, they can advance to second-tier Spirit Fowls."
"Superior Fire Feathers, full of spirituality, can be used to refine Spirit Fan Magic Treasures, cheap for sale!"
"First-tier superior Spirit Deer meat, only five lower spirit stones per jin, no more once sold out."
...
Li Mu walked to the south district of Qing'an Town. Most of the pedestrians and stalls on the street were hunters with their prey, meat merchants buying and selling livestock and Yao Beast meat, and fur stalls selling hides...
Various hawking sounds made it lively.
【Black Feather Eagle Egg】
【Grade: Mortal Fierce Fowl】
【Characteristics: Carnivorous, Dynamic Vision】
【A male cub with a trace of Profound Iron Eagle Bloodline, dislikes: rainy weather, characteristics: swift reaction, fierce temperament, difficult to tame, has a certain chance of advancing to a first-tier Yao Fowl if it frequently eats high-grade meat.】
Li Mu paused for a moment in front of the Black Feather Eagle Egg stall, gazing at the eagle egg in the stall owner's hand.
His Talent Divine Power - Identify Myriad Spirits took effect, and the detailed information of the eagle egg quickly appeared in a virtual box.
"Little brother, do you want an eagle egg? For only three hundred lower spirit stones, you can raise a first-tier Spirit Fowl, and there's a good chance it will advance to second-tier later.
Its parents' parents even had Peak first-tier strength..." The stall owner looked at Li Mu, talking volubly as he introduced it.
Heh heh! What he said was truly tempting.
Li Mu said nothing, turned, and left.
Along the way, Li Mu saw many Yao Beast cubs, including Yao Foxes and Apes, but none of them were particularly special.
Living alone on Xiao Liang Mountain was too lonely, so Li Mu planned to raise a few Spirit Beasts for companionship.
However, the quality of the cubs sold by the vendors was too poor, and the prices were not cheap.
Li Mu browsed the market for a while, couldn't find a suitable target, then gave up and walked straight to the Zhang Family's Spirit Animal Ranch.
"Hello, Boss Zhang, I have a batch of Wind Spirit Grass to sell, about four thousand jin.
Does your Spirit Animal Ranch purchase it?" Li Mu entered the Zhang Family's Spirit Animal Ranch and stepped forward to ask the ranch master.
"Hmm! How's the quality of the Wind Spirit Grass? Did you bring a sample?" Zhang Shouquan, who was busy with accounts, looked up at Li Mu.
"I brought it! I brought it!" Li Mu quickly untied the cloth bag on his back, revealing a bundle of vibrant green, highly spiritual Wind Spirit Grass.
Zhang Shouquan reached out, plucked a section of Wind Spirit Grass, bit it, and then spat it out.
"The quality is decent.
I'll give you eighty jin for one lower spirit stone.
Will you sell?" Zhang Shouquan asked Li Mu.
"Yes, sell it!
Can you send someone to pick up the goods from my place?" Li Mu nodded in pleasant surprise.
The market price for Wind Spirit Grass was one hundred jin for one lower spirit stone.
The Zhang Family's Spirit Animal Ranch was relatively fair in its dealings.
This batch of Wind Spirit Grass was carefully cultivated by Li Mu, so its quality was excellent.
"No problem, where is it? I'll send someone with you." Zhang Shouquan nodded.
"Xiao Liang Mountain.
I plan to plant another batch of Wind Spirit Grass, about twenty thousand jin, and then sell it to your ranch." Li Mu introduced happily.
"Alright, if the quality remains stable, we'll continue to purchase from you at this price.
If it's too inferior, we can only offer one hundred jin for one lower spirit stone." Zhang Shouquan reminded him.
"Understood." Li Mu nodded knowingly, then asked, "Does your ranch sell young poultry? There's a lot of empty land on the mountain, and I'd like to buy some Spirit Chickens and meat beasts to raise for food."
"Yes, we do!
What do you want to raise?" Zhang Shouquan asked with a smile, then turned and called into the ranch, "Bai Ping, come out for a moment."
"Coming! Coming!"
As soon as his voice fell, a young man about Li Mu's age rushed out from the inner hall.
"Third Uncle, why did you call me?" Zhang Baiping asked Zhang Shouquan curiously.
"Bai Ping, take this young brother to the ranch to pick out some young beasts.
Once he's done, go with him to Xiao Liang Mountain and transport a batch of Wind Spirit Grass back, at eighty jin for one lower spirit stone.
The young animals he picks will be deducted from this account." Zhang Shouquan instructed.
"Alright!
Come inside with me!" Zhang Baiping sized up Li Mu and greeted him warmly.
Li Mu nodded and followed Zhang Baiping out of the ranch building, walking towards the adjacent Spirit Animal Ranch.
Soon, the Zhang Family's Spirit Animal Ranch appeared before Li Mu's eyes: a large open area, about a dozen acres in size, covered with a dozen wooden sheds.
A dozen animal handlers were busy feeding the Spirit Animals and cleaning the ranch.
Cailing Chickens, Pearl Cranes, Red Spirit Deer... each shed housed a type of Spirit Animal, none of them ordinary creatures.
"What kind of Spirit Animal do you want to raise? And where will you raise them?" Zhang Baiping asked Li Mu.
"Can you recommend some? Which ones are easier to raise? I'll raise them on the mountain, next to the spiritual fields.
I don't need many, just enough to occasionally satisfy my craving for meat." Li Mu replied with a smile.
"Raise Cailing Chickens! You can free-range them after trimming their feathers; they'll forage on their own and won't require much management.
Male Cailing Chickens have a strong territorial instinct and can serve as a warning.
However, if you free-range them next to the spiritual fields, they might steal Spirit Valley, so you'd need to raise a Spirit Dog and teach it to drive away the Cailing Chickens." Zhang Baiping nodded and recommended to Li Mu.
"Coincidentally, our Spirit Ranch has a Red Spirit Female Dog that just gave birth to a litter of puppies a month ago.
We can let you have one.
What do you think?" Zhang Baiping paused, looking at Li Mu.
"Can you take me to see them?" Li Mu asked, his heart stirred.
Zhang Baiping nodded and led Li Mu to the back hall to see the puppies.
Soon, Li Mu saw a litter of puppies, chasing after a completely crimson female dog, trying to nurse.
The puppies were already a month old, and the mother dog was unwilling to feed them anymore, baring her teeth at the puppies.
The five puppies cried out impatiently.
【Red Herding Spirit Dog】
【Grade: Mortal Spirit Dog】
【Characteristics: Carnivorous, Fire Spirit Affinity, Acute Sense of Smell】
【A female Spirit Dog, a crossbreed of a first-tier Red-Eyed Wolf and a Herding Spirit Dog, recently gave birth to puppies, strongly protective of its young, dislikes: feline creatures, characteristics: loyal, intelligent, extremely easy to tame, highly vigilant.】
Li Mu stared at the mother dog, and his Talent Divine Power - Identify Myriad Spirits took effect, immediately providing him with its detailed information.
Upon discovering a stranger approaching, the mother dog instantly became tense, watching Li Mu warily and baring its fangs, ready to attack.
"Little Seven, it's a guest, no harming people." Zhang Baiping quickly spoke to stop it.
The mother dog immediately reined in its ferocity, walked to Zhang Baiping's feet, and wagged its tail obediently at him.
"Take a look.
Which puppy do you like? Pick one!" Zhang Baiping looked at Li Mu and gestured.
"Brother Zhang, can I have this one?" Li Mu pointed to a crimson-furred puppy he liked.
The five puppies were playing and wrestling, and this one was completely dominating the other four, looking adorably fierce.
"Uh! Yes, you have good taste.
But, aren't you going to ask about the price?" Zhang Baiping chuckled, reminding him.
"Oh, right!
Brother Zhang, please name a price, and I hope you'll be lenient!" Li Mu rubbed his hands, saying awkwardly.
Zhang Baiping laughed heartily.
Seeing that Li Mu was a dog lover, he sold it to him for 40 lower spirit stones, half-selling, half-gifting.
Afterward, Zhang Baiping took Li Mu to pick out a dozen Cailing Chicken chicks.
Finally, they flew together on their swords to Xiao Liang Mountain.
Watching Zhang Baiping use a Storage Pouch to pack away over three thousand jin of Wind Spirit Grass, Li Mu felt genuine envy.
As expected of a Foundation Establishment Family disciple, at an age similar to his, he possessed a Storage Pouch capable of holding thousands of jin of items.
Moreover, Zhang Baiping also had a Qi Refining Seventh Level cultivation, unlike him who relied on absorbing plant spirits to increase his proficiency points.
If he didn't have the Golden Finger of the proficiency panel, the gap between him and Zhang Baiping would be as vast as heaven and earth.