Cultivation: I Can Steal Lifespan from Spirit Beasts

Chapter 173: Many Children Many Blessings

The outskirts of the Sword Billow Garrison.

In the subordinate territory, Alpha-Fifteen was released from the Storage Bag. As the creature took in its surroundings, it tried its best to remain stoic, yet a flicker of unmistakable curiosity betrayed its avian eyes.

Alpha-Fifteen—or rather, Lin Xiwen—was consumed by a burning interest in the Heavenly Gate Sect.

Back in the Yan Kingdom, as a Golden Core True Cultivator of the Five Classics Sect, he had stood above all but two or three men. Yet, in the shadow of a behemoth like the Heavenly Gate Sect, he was little more than a speck of dust. Due to the sect’s reclusive and cryptic reputation, most practitioners in the Yan Kingdom knew next to nothing of their inner workings. He was no exception.

However, having successfully executed a Body Seizing on this Rare Fowl, he finally had a chance to peer into the mysteries of the Heavenly Gate Sect from the inside.

He scanned the area, but his findings were meager. From what he could gather, this was far from the sect’s core. Worse still, his Divine Sense was so withered that he could barely perceive anything beyond his immediate vicinity.

I must find a way to restore my soul… Furthermore, this bird is clearly a second-tier Middle Grade creature. Why is its Lifespan so pathetic? Only about a dozen years left?

Feeling the state of his physical vessel, Lin Xiwen’s brow—if a chicken could be said to have one—furrowed in concern. Realizing how bizarre such an expression looked on a bird, he quickly forced himself back into a state of vacant, feathered idiocy.

Still, the twin weights of a failing soul and a fleeting life pressed heavily upon him. The former he could manage; with his vast experience, he could eventually find a way to mend his spirit. But Lifespan was a different beast altogether, one far beyond his current reach.

What disgusted him most was the sheer alien nature of this body. Although it could absorb Spiritual Qi, the energy didn’t flow to a Dantian for refinement. Instead, it was absorbed directly into the flesh and bone to nourish the physical frame, becoming a reservoir of raw, biological power. He was physically robust, but he lacked Magic Power.

Without Magic Power, he couldn’t cast a single Technique.

He experimented cautiously, finding that he could substitute his physical essence for Qi to a degree, but the efficiency was abysmal. He needed time to test the limits, but the Heavenly Gate Sect cultivator was standing right there. He didn’t dare show any abnormality, lest he be discovered.

Suddenly, Lin Xiwen felt the cultivator’s gaze snap toward him. There was a trace of suspicion in those eyes.

Lin Xiwen’s heart—the small, fluttering thing in his chest—tightened.

Why is he looking at me? Did I slip up?

He pushed his weak Divine Sense outward and realized the problem instantly. All the other chickens were frantically pecking at the grain on the floor. Only he was standing there, still as a statue, lost in thought. He was far too conspicuous.

The cultivator, Wang Ba, tilted his head in confusion. “Strange. Why isn’t Fifteen eating? Does it not like the blend? Maybe I should add some spirit insects…”

Lin Xiwen felt his vision go dark. Forgetting the dignity of a Golden Core Elder, he cursed the man’s entire lineage in his mind.

“Cluck! Cluck-cluck!”

But curses wouldn’t save him. Feeling the suspicious weight of Wang Ba’s gaze, he suppressed a wave of bone-deep loathing and took a reluctant peck at the feed.

To his shock, the taste wasn’t half bad. But then he realized what he was eating.

Fish bones! This damned demonic cultivator is feeding me garbage!

Lin Xiwen was incensed. To maintain his cover, he steeled his resolve and took another peck.

Just wait, you bastard. When I return to my peak, I will tear you into ten thousand pieces!

“Cluck!”

He pecked and cursed, cursed and pecked, until he finally saw the man return to his wooden hut and activate the Formation barrier. Only then did Lin Xiwen heave a sigh of relief. He stopped eating immediately, casting a cold, haughty look at the mindless birds around him.

Sharing a meal with such beasts was a stain on his soul. But a grand cultivator must be like water—able to flow into any vessel. He pushed the humiliation aside and began to strategize.

Seizing this bird was a double-edged sword. Cultivation would be a nightmare compared to his time in Golden River City, but as a spirit beast, he was invisible. He could potentially infiltrate the Heavenly Gate Sect’s deepest archives. Compared to the total annihilation of his soul, this was a win.

But the Lifespan… if I don’t solve that, I’ll be dead before I can even learn a basic movement technique.

There were only three ways: find rare spirit herbs or pills, find a life-extending manual, or evolve his rank. Herbs were out of the question—not even as a sect Elder had he possessed such treasures. Evolution took too long. That left manuals.

I’ll have to innovate. No one writes manuals for chickens.

“Damned demonic cultivator!” he hissed internally.

Suddenly, a cold, mechanical voice—stiff and hollow like a puppet—echoed directly in his mind.

[Ding!]

[The ‘Many Children Many Blessings’ System has been activated!]

[Host may obtain Lifespan by producing more offspring.]

[Current Lifespan: 17.2 years]

Lin Xiwen froze. What in the heavens is this?!

He swept his Divine Sense around frantically but found no one. He looked around with his beady eyes, trying to catch any sign of a hidden master. Nothing.

He lowered his head, pretending to peck at the dirt, but his heart was racing. In the corner of his vision, semi-transparent lines of text began to shimmer.

[Current Lifespan: 17.2 years] [Current Offspring: 0] [Lifespan Bonus: 0]

Lin Xiwen was floored. He tried to probe the text with his Divine Sense and his internal energy, but they passed right through. The words weren’t “there” in the physical or spiritual sense.

What is a ‘System’? Where did this come from?

He sensed this was something entirely new—a fundamental shift in the laws of the world. He focused on the meaning of the words.

Many Children Many Blessings? I get life by breeding? Preposterous!

He had fallen, but he wasn’t a fool. Life force was the most precious commodity in the universe; how could it be granted so cheaply? And what kind of entity could manipulate such laws? Why would they choose him?

Yet, the sheer mystery of it terrified him. To manifest text inside his mind that bypassed all his senses… that was a feat even a Nascent Soul master might struggle to achieve.

As if hearing his doubt, the robotic voice spoke again.

[This System is unique across all realms, a dedicated tool for Upper Realm cultivators to nurture Immortal Descendants. Does the Host wish to retain it?]

[Note: If you select ‘No,’ the System will unbind and seek a more worthy Host.]

“No—Wait!”

Lin Xiwen hesitated. What if… what if it was real?

He remembered his luck back in Golden River City. Finding those Yin Food Worms had allowed him to skyrocket from Qi Refining to late Foundation Establishment in just thirty years. Perhaps his luck hadn’t run out.

If this “System” spoke the truth, if he could truly buy his way to the peak of the world with offspring, then his current predicament was solved. And what did he have to lose? He was a chicken at the end of its rope. What could a supreme being possibly want to steal from a bird?

He reached a decision. But then, reality set in.

If he were still human, he could simply take a few mortal concubines or even low-level female cultivators. But he was a chicken. How was he supposed to…

Just then, as if on cue, a male Rare Fowl with a bright red, swollen comb nearby let out a cry and hopped onto the back of a hen.

Lin Xiwen watched the display, feeling like he’d been struck by a bolt of Tribulation lightning.

With… with the other chickens? I… I can’t…

He wavered. A great cultivator knows when to yield, but this was beyond the pale! A Golden Core Elder, even a fallen one, reduced to this? He would rather die.

An hour passed.

His resolve, forged over three hundred years of brutal cultivation, finally won out over his pride. He clumsily hopped onto the back of a high-grade hen. He tried to imitate the other male, biting the hen’s comb, but he was clumsy. He fumbled, nearly falling off, unable to find the “method.”

He looked around at the other hens, then back at his target. A dizzying thought hit him. Is she… too young?

The hen’s comb was pink and small, unlike the dark red ones of the “experienced” birds. His Dao Heart nearly cracked then and there.

He switched targets to a battle-hardened hen. He didn’t care about his dignity anymore. He didn’t care who else had mated with her.

He hopped up.

After a long, awkward silence, the hen turned her head and stared at him with a round, judgmental eye. It was as if she were asking, “Are you just going to stand there all day?”

Lin Xiwen was lost. What next? Is this it?

Despite his centuries of wisdom, he realized he knew absolutely nothing about avian biology. A male chicken nearby let out a triumphant crow as it finished its business.

Watching closely, Lin Xiwen finally had an epiphany.

I see… I must mobilize the Primal Yang.

A normal bird did this by instinct, but Lin Xiwen felt no natural “urge” for a chicken. He had to manually manipulate his internal energy to force the process.

Seconds later, he finished. The hen gave him a resentful, unimpressed look and walked away.

Lin Xiwen collapsed into a heap and dry-heaved for several minutes. But when he stood up, his eyes were burning with a terrifying, cold determination. Through this unprecedented humiliation, his Dao Heart had actually grown more resilient.

Deep in his pupils, a faint, sinister red light flickered.

Inside his wooden hut, Wang Ba withdrew his Divine Sense, his expression a mix of awe and pity.

He hadn’t expected the arrogant Lin Xiwen to actually go through with it. The man’s adaptability was truly frightening.

Wang Ba had suspected something was off ever since he found he couldn’t crack the soul-bounds on Lin’s Storage Bag. The final confirmation came when he felt a foreign presence try to invade his own sea of consciousness, only to flee a moment later.

Since there were no other humans nearby, the remnant soul had to be in one of the birds. By distributing feed, Wang Ba had used his Yin Spirit power to test them. While the Ape King was too intelligent to be easily influenced, the low-intellect Alpha-Fifteen was the perfect vessel for a mental “seed.”

He had decided to squeeze every drop of value out of this Elder.

The breeding of high-grade poultry had always been Wang Ba’s bottleneck—the higher the grade, the lower the fertility. But Lin Xiwen was a master of energy control.

So, Wang Ba had implanted two specific illusions:

The “Many Children Many Blessings System.”

The false belief that Lin had only 17.2 years to live.

In truth, Alpha-Fifteen had at least two hundred years of life left. Wang Ba would simply “reward” Lin with a few years of fake lifespan every time he produced a chick. A perfect, cost-free labor loop.

Maintaining the illusion drained half of Wang Ba’s Yin Spirit energy, requiring him to consume Spirit Turtle essence to recover, but it was worth it.

His dedication to the Dao is… impressive, Wang Ba thought, shaking his head.

He then pulled out a small, wriggling creature from his bag: the Yin Food Worm mother. Helping the Ape King reach the second-tier High Grade was a great success, but this worm was his true prize.

Are there any examinees? I wish you success!

(End of Chapter)