The Arrogant Immortal
Chapter 429 - 428: Stone-Eating Beast

Chapter 429: Chapter 428: Stone-Eating Beast

Xie Jiuniang extended her Divine Sense deep into the ground.

Suddenly, she saw the underground passageways branching in all directions. Beneath the Law House, there was a yellow, fluffy little creature with a cunning look in its eyes, hugging and nibbling on a rock.

A sentence that Raoyang had mentioned earlier flashed through her mind: "They can’t just eat rocks, can they?"

It had become true!

Could it be the rare Stone-Eating Beast of the Cultivation World?

Judging by its appearance, it certainly seemed so.

Stone-Eating Beasts are Spiritual Beasts that only consume various kinds of rocks yet excrete mineral sand. To a certain extent, they can improve the environment, much like the barren wasteland before her. If Stone-Eating Beasts lived here continuously, over time, they would create various mineral deposits. Hence, whenever a Stone-Eating Beast appeared on the market, it would be frantically sought after.

At an auction, a Stone-Eating Beast could fetch up to a hundred million Spirit Stones.

Naturally, spending such a huge sum of money was for profit.

Due to the greed of Humans, Stone-Eating Beasts were forced to consume a large amount of rocks daily, all to produce more mineral sand. Endless exploitation made the situation for Stone-Eating Beasts extremely difficult. Over the years, they’ve become increasingly rare, hardly ever captured anymore.

Jian Lingyan noticed her dog master’s unusual behavior and explored the underground with her, exclaiming in surprise, "It’s a Stone-Eating Beast."

Little Fatty caught hold of Xie Jiuniang’s sleeve, his voice firm with baby tones. "Fatty wants it."

"I’ll help you catch it!" Jian Lingyan volunteered eagerly.

Xie Jiuniang’s eyebrows lifted slightly. "Why catch it? It’s not bothering us, is it?"

"Eat rock rock, easy to raise." Little Fatty had learned quite a bit in the last few days and even added a few extra words. "Gugu, beast hungry."

Xie Jiuniang understood.

The inside of the treasure vault was barren and lacked food for the Demonic Beast unless one was willing to spare the Spiritual Plants and Fruits from the medicinal garden. But Little Fatty was apparently reluctant, thinking it would be easy to raise by catching the Stone-Eating Beast instead.

Well, I’ll be damned, Little Fatty’s treasure vault was indeed very suitable for the Stone-Eating Beast to live in.

Rocks were abundant, and the environment was safe.

Xie Jiuniang gave Little Fatty the Elixirs that Demonic Beasts loved to eat from her own supply. "If you want to catch it, then catch it."

"Yaya, good."

Little Fatty, dragging the Broken Sword, went to catch the Stone-Eating Beast.

Both sword and child vanished underground.

Xie Jiuniang hadn’t anticipated that a simple beast-catching mission would lead to a series of problems.

"Human!"

A grown version of a Stone-Eating Beast, she didn’t know when, had appeared in front of the Law House, looking at Xie Jiuniang with its simple eyes. "Can you ask your Contracted Spirit to spare my offspring? If you must catch one, catch me instead. I’m of age, the Clan Leader of the Stone-Eating Beasts, producing the most mineral sand every year."

Xie Jiuniang was on the roof.

Looking down from high above intensified the sense of pressure.

The adult Stone-Eating Beast was angry but suppressed, yet it had no choice but to compromise.

This compromise wasn’t just towards Xie Jiuniang but also a capitulation to the broader environment of the Cultivation World. In order to ensure the continued existence of its kind and to survive, it had to endure and plead for mercy.

A Demonic Beast capable of human speech.

Its rank must not be low, yet it was bowing its head before her, a Golden Core, for the sake of its tribe’s young.

Xie Jiuniang had a thought, and Broken Sword carried Little Fatty back to her. She scooped up Little Fatty, "Did you catch a lot of Stone-Eating Beast offspring?"

Little Fatty blinked his distinctively large eyes and said with a milky voice, "Cubs, easy to catch."

Xie Jiuniang held her forehead. "Don’t make a mess, the cubs have elders. If you’re going to catch, catch... cough cough, no, you shouldn’t catch any."

Suddenly she realized she was wrong.

Xie Jiuniang leapt down to the ground, lifting Little Fatty in front of the adult Stone-Eating Beast, she spoke frankly, "Elder, we have given offense. In a moment, I will have them release the offspring, and we will provide the appropriate reparations."

Then, she signaled Little Fatty to release the beast cubs.

Little Fatty was reluctant yet obediently agreed to release the Stone-Eating Beast cubs.

Jian Lingyan was unwilling now, hopping up and down as he protested, "No way! We caught it with so much effort, why should we let it go?"

Slap!

A stick sent the sword flying.

Xie Jiuniang said calmly, "Step aside, this has nothing to do with a broken sword like you. Kid, open the treasure vault and let the Clan Leader in to fetch its young."

The Stone-Eating Beast Clan Leader was momentarily stunned; this person was quite reasonable.

Xie Jiuniang then said, "Elder, please don’t blame the kid. He used to be an Immortal Residence but then encountered misfortune. Now, there’s nothing inside but a surplus of stones, so he wanted to raise a few Stone-Eating Beasts."

"He isn’t your Contracted Spirit?"

"No, he has already shape-shifted and doesn’t need to make a contract with anyone. Being contracted to someone would actually limit his growth," Xie Jiuniang subtly introduced Little Fatty, then proceeded with the adult Stone-Eating Beast into the vault.

This was her second time entering.

She appeared directly on the platform in front of the grand hall she and Master Chaoyan had restored.

About a dozen Stone-Eating Beast cubs were cutely huddled together, surrounded by various rocks.

Little Fatty took his beast-raising duty seriously.

But being a cub himself, he really didn’t know how to raise them and simply placed them together, thinking that feeding them rocks was enough.

Xie Jiuniang then motioned to Little Fatty, "Give the Elixirs I gave you to the cubs as a peace offering."

"Pills?"

Little Fatty was reluctant to part with them.

Xie Jiuniang coaxed him further, "I’ll concoct pills for you in the future. As long as we have enough Spirit Plants, you can have as many as you want."

Hearing this, Little Fatty was no longer reluctant.

He took out several hundred bottles of Elixirs at once, a considerable quantity.

The eyes of the Stone-Eating Beasts shined brightly.

Xie Jiuniang immediately picked up a bottle and opened it, then poured out its contents, trying her best to endear Little Fatty to them. "Kid, personally give an Elixir to one of the cubs. Remember, you can’t eat too many at once, just give them one each."

Little Fatty was very obedient.

He wobbled over and stuffed an Elixir into the mouth of a cub.

The dozen or so cubs loved it, affectionately surrounding Little Fatty to play, ignoring even their own Clan Leader.

Xie Jiuniang said with a smile, "Elder need not worry, my own child is also a little cub and won’t harm the others. Besides, this place is vast and safe. If you like, you can also settle here..."

"I do not trust Humans."

"The kid isn’t human; he’s a free spirit, pure, adorable, and kind-hearted," said Xie Jiuniang, seizing every opportunity to boast about Little Fatty’s good points, truly sparing no effort.

Another person might ask if a kind-hearted spirit would steal someone’s cubs, but unfortunately, while the Stone-Eating Beast Clan Leader was intelligent, he was also quite naïve.

Xie Jiuniang didn’t interfere, allowing Little Fatty to have a private conversation with the Stone-Eating Beast Clan Leader.

With a mountain of Elixirs upfront, the chances of the Stone-Eating Beast agreeing were quite high.

Indeed, it wasn’t long before a group of Stone-Eating Beasts happily began their relocation.

There were less than a hundred in total.

One beast per bottle of Elixir, so each beast looked quite pleased. Xie Jiuniang suspected that they agreed because of the Elixirs.

Xie Jiuniang exited the treasure vault.

Standing outside watching their relocation, Broken Sword was flying about, giving all sorts of nonsensical orders while Little Fatty chuckled gleefully.

After the fellow clan members had all entered the treasure vault, the Stone-Eating Beast Clan Leader approached Xie Jiuniang, expressing gratitude, "Human girl, thank you, you are a good person. Some time ago, a bad man discovered us and captured many of our kin; that bad man was very powerful. You should leave as soon as you can."

"Alright, thank you for the warning, Elder."

Xie Jiuniang took the opportunity to ask how to leave the wilderness?

After pondering, the Stone-Eating Beast Clan Leader said, "I have never left this wilderness since I was born. However, our ancestors left a saying—if we want to leave the wilderness, we can do so by following the moon."