After receiving the critical hit rebate from Lin Xiaoyue, Su Bai arrived at the Spirit Beast Garden the very next day.
As soon as he stepped inside, Su Bai was greeted by a rather unpleasant odor.
Since this place was dedicated to raising spirit beasts, it naturally generated a vast amount of waste.
"Such a massive place, and cleaning it up is certainly no easy task."
Fortunately, Su Bai was not alone in the Spirit Beast Garden.
Aside from him, there were over a dozen chores disciples. Because the work here was filthy, stinky, and completely lacked any perks, outer disciples almost never chose to be assigned here.
Su Bai was the first person in decades to come work in the Spirit Beast Garden holding the status of an outer disciple.
"What is Senior Brother Su doing coming to the Spirit Beast Garden?"
"Haven't you heard? He is already in his seventies. He was originally a chores disciple, so I suppose he's just used to doing menial labor."
"He probably came here to slack off and enjoy some peace and quiet!"
The chores disciples whispered among themselves, yet the moment they saw Su Bai approaching, their faces immediately broke into smiles.
"Hello, Senior Brother Su!"
"Hello, Senior Brother!"
"Have you had breakfast yet, Senior Brother?"
Beaming with smiles, their voices were exceedingly enthusiastic.
As the saying goes: a magistrate afar is no match for a resident bailiff. Since Su Bai had come to the Spirit Beast Garden as an outer disciple, he was their immediate boss, and naturally, they had to wait on him hand and foot.
Su Bai smiled and greeted them back, showing not a shred of arrogance.
"Since I'm new to the Spirit Beast Garden, I've brought a small gift for everyone."
Before coming, Su Bai had exchanged a few spirit talismans for Spirit Stones, and now he handed out one Spirit Stone to each person, leaving the chores disciples utterly shocked.
Many of these chores disciples were still young and held deep aspirations for cultivation, yet lacking cultivation resources, they could only grind away slowly.
Yet now, with a single gesture, Su Bai had handed each of them a Spirit Stone, which would drastically accelerate their cultivation progress.
Su Bai's extravagant generosity instantly won them over.
"Senior Brother Su is so magnanimous!"
"We really shouldn't accept this!"
"Please, have some tea, Senior Brother!"
These people waited on him like grandsons pampering their grandfather, terrified of offending this God of Wealth.
"Everyone, I happen to prefer tranquility. How about this: I will take charge of the work inside the Spirit Beast Garden, and you can handle the cleaning outside?"
"Senior Brother Su, the work inside the Spirit Beast Garden is exhausting. Can you really handle it all by yourself?"
Feeding and tending to so many fierce beasts was difficult enough for all dozen of them combined, yet Su Bai actually intended to do it alone.
"Rest assured, how many years do you think I've spent as a chores disciple? I'm already well-versed in this sort of work."
Su Bai fully intended to enjoy spirit eggs and roasted bear paws inside the Spirit Beast Garden; if these people found out, word might easily leak, which was why he had gone out of his way to send them outside.
The disciples were more than happy to take the easy way out.
The work on the outer perimeter of the Spirit Beast Garden consisted mostly of hauling spirit beast waste and fodder. Although it was physical labor, it only required busywork early in the morning and late in the evening, leaving virtually nothing to do during the day.
Since Su Bai insisted on arranging it this way, the dozen or so chores disciples readily agreed.
After dismissing them, Su Bai began to inspect the entire Spirit Beast Garden.
The fierce beasts kept here were bizarre and varied, spanning a multitude of species.
Generally speaking, they could be categorized into insects, birds, beasts, and fish.
The insects could be fried into silkworm pupae, and their honey was an immensely nourishing treasure.
The birds provided eggs, and the beasts provided meat.
As for the fish in the water, their numbers were vast, meaning even if he ate a few extra, it wouldn't easily be noticed.
Su Bai could hardly keep his mouth from watering.
Right now, he was standing outside a crane enclosure.
A massive iron cage enclosed a very spacious area housing over a dozen spirit cranes. These avian beasts were colossal, their feathers shimmering with a metallic luster, and their crimson eyes radiated a murderous intent that chilled the bone.
"My, oh my, these are actually Qi Refinement 7th Layer spirit beasts!"
"No wonder the chores disciples here only dared to feed them from afar..."
Su Bai smiled faintly.
His aged face was full of smiles, but the drool spilling from the corner of his mouth suggested his smile wasn't all that benevolent.
The spirit beast froze.
Are humans these days this unhinged?
A cultivator who had barely stepped into Qi Refinement was actually drooling at it?
It was the leader of these spirit cranes, possessing the full strength of the Qi Refinement 7th Layer.
Given its abilities, killing a cultivator of Su Bai's level was as simple as stepping on an ant.
The crane king let out a sharp cry, seemingly trying to intimidate Su Bai.
Yet the very next moment, Su Bai's actions stunned it even further.
Su Bai actually pulled out a key, unlocked the cage door, and swaggered right in!
The crane king widened its eyes, its gaze brimming with murderous intent; it felt this human was provoking it!
Stamping its thick, sharp claws fiercely against the ground, the crane king used the spring-like momentum to launch its slender beak forward like a battle spear, charging straight at Su Bai in the blink of an eye.
Today, it was going to make this human pay the price in blood!
The surrounding spirit cranes gathered around the perimeter, watching the spectacle with a remarkably human-like fascination.
To deal with such an insignificant human, there was no need for them to lend a hand.
Yet in the next instant, Su Bai flicked his finger, and a cluster of Vermilion Bird Divine Fire erupted from his fingertips, instantly setting the crane king's feathers ablaze.
The crane king screamed in terror, its eyes filled with horror. Why did this man possess the Vermilion Bird Divine Fire?!
As a fellow avian beast, the Vermilion Bird was an ancient fierce beast whose grade was vastly superior to this crane king; the suppression of its bloodline could keep it firmly in check.
The other spirit cranes immediately retreated far away, shivering uncontrollably. Some even grew too weak in the legs to stand, collapsing flat onto the ground with horror-stricken gazes.
"It smells so good..."
Su Bai sniffed the air, discovering that the crane meat roasted with the Vermilion Bird Divine Fire was incomparably tender, its aroma mouthwateringly appetizing.
Su Bai heaved the massive roasted spirit crane out of the iron cage, locked the door behind him, and produced an assortment of jars and bottles from his Storage Bag.
Oil, salt, soy sauce, vinegar, cumin, and chili powder.
The sight of Su Bai bringing out various spices terrified the beasts even more.
Eating one of their own right in front of them—this human was simply too savage!
Su Bai casually ripped off a crane leg and took a huge bite, the oil dripping down the corners of his mouth.
As expected of a spirit beast, the crane meat was firm and brimming with spiritual energy; just a single bite left his entire body feeling warm and glowing.
By this time, not only the spirit cranes, but the lions, tigers, leopards, and monkeys in the nearby cages were all watching with dropped jaws.
A single, shared thought arose in the minds of these fierce beasts:
A truly ruthless character had arrived in the Spirit Beast Garden today!
"My name is Su Bai—Su for eating and drinking for free!"
Wearing a beaming smile, Su Bai stood up and casually wiped the grease from his hands onto his clothes.
"If anyone in the Spirit Beast Garden dares to disobey orders from now on, this spirit crane will be their fate!"