Family Cultivation: Rise of the Wilderness

Chapter 247 Cao Yanjun's Plan
"Yanji!"

After searching for a while, Li Xiangming quickly found the familiar figure. Cao Yanjun was carefully wiping the body of a gray-blue horse, and her focused expression looked particularly gentle in the sunlight.

"Why are you here?"

Cao Yanjun was pleasantly surprised. She put down the rag and ran over lightly.

The two embraced, their fingers intertwined, as if a thousand words were surging in their hearts, yet at this moment they transformed into a silent understanding.

A moment later, Li Xiangming turned his gaze to the horse that was waiting quietly. Although its posture was still upright, the marks of time had etched vicissitudes into its eyes.

"Is this the Fire-Scaled Steed? It looks quite old."

"Ah."

Cao Yanjun responded softly, stepped forward and gently stroked the Fire-Scaled Steed's mane, his tone tinged with regret: "This is a purebred Fire-Scaled Steed, extremely rare, but unfortunately it has entered its twilight years and is no longer of use. However, it is precisely because of this that the Luo family is willing to give it to us."

"Since it's so unreliable, why are you still so concerned about it?"

Li Xiangming was quite puzzled. Although this purebred Firescale Steed was precious, it had not yet entered the demonic path and was not outstanding among the rare demonic beasts of the Beast Breeding Peak.

Moreover, having grown so old, it is neither rideable nor sellable after being tamed, making it utterly useless.

What is it about Cao Yanjun, a second-tier beast tamer, that attracts him?

Do you remember the Blue-backed Demon Lizard?

Cao Yanjun suddenly asked.

"of course I remember."

The Blue-backed Demon Lizard was the starting point of their relationship, something Li Xiangming would never forget.

Cao Yanjun smiled slightly: "It seems that your family wants to use the Blue-backed Demon Lizard as a breeding stock to raise baby Demon Lizards."

"Don't you think it's possible?"

Li Xiangming scratched his head. This was a suggestion he had made to the family, and the Beast Breeding House was responsible for implementing it. It had been several years since then.

Cao Yanjun shook her head. Her knowledge of the Blue-backed Demon Lizard far exceeded that of ordinary people. She immediately said, "The Blue-backed Demon Lizard has an extremely low reproduction rate. Even in the Cao family, it is not used as a regular riding pet. You have been to Qingliang Mountain. Have you ever seen anyone riding a Blue-backed Demon Lizard?"

Li Xiangming recalled that, just as Cao Yanjun had said, almost no one rode the Green-backed Demon Lizard around Qingliang Mountain.

Even on Cuiwei Peak, the Blue-backed Demon Lizard is rarely seen.

Cao Yanjun continued to explain, "The Blue-backed Demon Lizard is indeed an excellent riding pet, but it is very difficult to breed. They grow slowly, taking almost a hundred years to reach adulthood, and it is even more difficult to reproduce. In the Cao family, the average age at which the first cub of a Blue-backed Demon Lizard is over 150 years old, and they only reproduce two to three times in their lifetime."

"While the Cao family's Crimson Lion may not be as endurance or load-bearing as the Green-backed Demon Lizard, its moderate size and agile physique make it more suitable for cultivators' travels. The Crimson Lion also possesses considerable combat power and can serve as a cultivator's battle partner when necessary. Most importantly, the Crimson Lion is easier to breed and raise than the Green-backed Demon Lizard."

"Therefore, although the Cao family possesses the Blue-backed Demon Lizard, their standard riding pet is the Crimson Lion."

After listening to Cao Yanjun's explanation, Li Xiangming realized that he had made assumptions earlier.

While the Blue-backed Demon Lizard is indeed a superior riding pet, it is not worth promoting.

This can be seen from the Cao family's attitude. The Luo family of Shangqingyuan even kept the Fire-Scaled Steed hidden away, while the Cao family did not prohibit Yuyuan from selling the valuable Blue-Backed Demon Lizards, and did not even need to sterilize them, because they were certain that no force would breed Blue-Backed Demon Lizards on a large scale.

Because the cost of doing so is too high.

Leaving aside the main food that the Blue-backed Demon Lizard is fed daily, let's just talk about the Spirit Feeding Pill, an essential snack for spirit pets.

Other spirit pets, even combat spirit pets, only need to be fed one pill at a time, but the Blue-backed Demon Lizard needs to be fed three pills at a time to be satisfied.

If the Li family were to use the Blue-backed Demon Lizard as a common riding pet, the expense of feeding spirit pills alone would be enough to plunge the Li family into financial difficulties.

In addition, breeding the Blue-backed Demon Lizard requires a huge amount of time.

At first, Li Xiangming thought that his own animal breeding facility was not up to par, which was why the Blue-backed Demon Lizard had not been able to reproduce for so long.

I only just learned that the Blue-backed Demon Lizard cannot reproduce until it reaches a certain age.

Even though the Li family possessed the Cao family's technology, the 150-year-old Blue-backed Demon Lizard only gave birth to its first offspring.

With only three pairs of Blue-backed Demon Lizards, it would take the Li family almost a thousand years before they could fully popularize the Blue-backed Demon Lizard!
No, if the Li family had continued to exist until that time, there would be countless cultivators, and the Blue-backed Demon Lizard would still be the exclusive property of a few. Li Xiangming gave a wry smile. When he bought the Blue-backed Demon Lizard, he thought he had gotten a bargain.

Little did they know that Cao Yanjun's ability to take the Green-backed Demon Lizard from Qingliang Mountain spoke volumes.

"Since the Blue-backed Demon Lizard is not worth promoting, we need to find a new riding pet for the family."

Li Xiangming's expression was grave. His misjudgment had caused his family to waste several years of their time.

If he hadn't bought the Blueback Demon Lizard, but instead purchased the cheaper and more common Divine Wind Steed, perhaps he would already have a foal at home now.

"Don't you think the Fire Kirin Steed would be a perfect fit for the Li family right now?"

Cao Yanjun asked softly, and seeing Li Xiangming's gaze on the Fire-Scaled Steed, he continued, "The Fire-Scaled Steed is as fast as other riding pets. It is obedient, good-looking, and has good endurance. Whether carrying people or hauling goods, it has no complaints. The key is that the cost of raising it is low, which we can afford."

After she finished speaking, she patted the "Green Phoenix" beside her, and the old horse affectionately snorted and swayed its tail, appearing exceptionally docile.

In Cao Yanjun's view, riding pets must meet two conditions: first, they must be able to reproduce in large quantities; second, they must have the lowest possible cost of raising them.

Mounted pets are different from battle pets. Battle pets protect their masters and risk their lives, so they deserve to be well cared for.

Mounts are positioned as tools for travel. If the cost of raising mounts is comparable to, or even higher than, that of battle pets, it would undoubtedly be a heavy burden for cultivators.

Li Xiangming pondered for a moment and felt that Cao Yanjun's words made a lot of sense.

Compared to the Blue-backed Demon Lizard, the Fire-scaled Horse is easier to popularize within a family and will not cause financial difficulties for the family.

But then he frowned: "The Fire Kirin Steed is good, but the Luo family is unwilling to sell it to us."

The Luo family makes a living by selling Fire-Scaled Steeds, but they are very particular about regional transactions. They only sell Fire-Scaled Steeds to other places. The few Fire-Scaled Steeds that appear locally are all sent out by them, and they are all castrated.

This is a means for the Luo family to protect themselves.

"Qingfeng is enough. Qingfeng wasn't castrated."

Cao Yanjun chuckled lightly, appearing quite confident.

Li Xiangming asked curiously, "Qingfeng is old and frail, yet it still has the ability to reproduce?"

"The Luo family thinks it's not possible, but the Cao family has its own secret method to help Qingfeng regain his former glory."

A sly glint flashed in Cao Yanjun's eyes: "I plan to have Qingfeng mate with the other horse demons in Shifang Valley to breed a new horse breed. That way, even the Luo family will have nothing to say."

Upon hearing this, Li Xiangming was overjoyed and tightly grasped Cao Yanjun's hand: "If this is truly the case, you will be a meritorious contributor to the Li family."

Cao Yanjun shook his head: "Whether you are a meritorious official or not is not important. I just hope I can help you."

"Yanjun, thank you."

Li Xiangming was moved and embraced Cao Yanjun, gently stroking her soft hair with his fingers.

Cao Yanjun's face flushed slightly as she nestled against Li Xiangming's chest, closed her eyes, and immersed herself in this tranquility and happiness.

After a long while, Cao Yanjun suddenly thought of something and said softly, "Uncle Tong wrote to me saying that life in Yuyuan is boring and he wants to come and find me. I also hope to have a helper."

“That’s easy. Uncle Tong left the Cao family long ago and is no longer considered a Cao family cultivator. Since he doesn’t want to stay in Yuyuan, I will immediately have someone from my family go to Yuyuan to recruit Uncle Tong as a guest elder so that he can continue to take care of you.”

"That's good."

A warm feeling welled up in Cao Yanjun's heart. Uncle Tong was like a teacher and a father to her.

In order to take care of her when she came to Yuyuan all alone, Uncle Tong voluntarily gave up his status as a guest of the Cao family.

Now that she has married into the Li family, Uncle Tong is all alone, and she really can't bear it.

Fortunately, Li Xiangming was willing to bring Uncle Tong along.

This reduced her guilt and gave her a sense of peace.

(End of this chapter)