"Cuckoo-cuckoo-ga!" A shrill, distorted rooster crowed!

At the base of the rooster's tail feathers, a tiny, faint, orange-red flame suddenly popped up with a "puff!" The flame danced, emitting unstable heat.

"Divine Flame! It's Divine Flame!" The crowd burst into wild cheers!

"The Fire Bird! The real deal!"

"I'll give you 500 spirit stones!"

"Eight hundred!"

"one thousand!"

Bidding continued one after another. The young monk's face showed ecstasy.

However, the flame only lasted for less than three breaths before it began to dim and shrink rapidly... At the same time, the rooster's body swelled up like a balloon, its feathers stood on end, its eyeballs bulged out, and it made a painful "ho ho" sound.

"Oh no! Spiritual power is out of control!" someone exclaimed.

Before he finished speaking!

“Bang!”

A muffled sound!

The poor "Lihuo Divine Bird" exploded like a burst balloon in front of everyone's eyes!

Feathers, flesh and blood, undigested pill residue... mixed with those pitiful sparks, splashed all over the heads and faces of the nearest bidder and the young monk!

The scene was deathly silent, with only a few bloody chicken feathers slowly falling from the sky.

After a brief moment of silence, there were sounds of vomiting, cursing, and screams of terror!

"Exploded...exploded?"

"My spirit stone! My Fire Bird!"

"Swindler! Give me back my money! Compensate me for my robe!"

"Ugh...what's that smell..."

The young monk stood there dumbfounded, his face covered in a sticky mixture and his eyes empty. His plan to "create a god through science" had completely failed in a bloody and absurd explosion.

However, this tragic failure did not quench the speculators' enthusiasm! Instead, it gave rise to a safer and more gentle school of thought for accelerating the ripening of elixirs—mainly promoting "gentle evolution," "safety and painlessness," and "seven-day rapid growth of divine beasts"!

The "Wan Shou Fang" (Wan Shou Fang), and even poultry markets in major cities, were completely transformed into testing grounds for elixirs and gambling dens. Elixirs of every color and scent, claiming to activate "Phoenix Bloodline," "Qilin True Meaning," or "Black Tortoise Shell," were endlessly available. Roosters, hens, ducks, geese...even pigeons and quail were not spared, forced into all sorts of bizarre pills. The poultry were tortured to the point of drooping, feathers falling, and strange behavior. The market was in chaos, and the real "divine chicken," the Golden Flower, and its colorful eggs were drowned out by this artificial "divine beast" bubble.

---

In the general's mansion, the atmosphere was so solemn that it seemed as if water could be squeezed out of it.

In the main hall, the atmosphere was even more oppressive than during the last pickle jar crisis. The air seemed to be filled with a faint... strange smell of poultry and medicinal pills.

Su Li's face turned pale as he looked at the latest secret reports on the table:

"At Li Ji Chicken Farm in the west of the city, the owner fed 300 chickens 'Golden Feather Dan', causing them to suffer from diarrhea and hair loss. The chicken farm is stinking and causing public outrage!"

"At the 'Xiangrui Bird Garden' in South City, a duck that was fed 'Xuanbingdan' laid an egg. The eggshell froze, and... it gave its butt a frostbite!"

"The worst is the black market! Monks are forcing the explosion with potent elixirs, and three poultry explosions have already occurred! The casualties... well, mainly among onlookers, with over ten injured and dozens fainted!"

"Bang!" Su Li slammed his fist on the table, causing the teacup to jump. "Lawless! Absolutely lawless! For a few bucks, they even took chickens and ducks! And they even set off an explosion? What do they think this is? Is the alchemy furnace exploding?!"

Xiao Jue sat at the head of the table, his face sullen. The Guihong ruler hummed softly on his knees, emitting a cold, murderous aura. Lingbao, sensing the oppressive atmosphere in the hall, remained silent for once, resting obediently in Xiao Jue's arms, his little head resting against his solid chest, gnawing on his fist, his large eyes curiously watching his mother's rage.

Chenbao Su Chen clutched his abacus, his face more serious than ever. The beads clashed furiously, a golden light swirling as he desperately sought a solution to this (animal version of) financial crisis sparked by a single old hen. His brow knitted into knots, clearly this situation was far more complex than a pickle jar—live, fertile, tradable, and even involving cultivators and elixirs!

Second child Su Heng clutched his golden pacifier, his face filled with confusion and a touch of fear. He'd just been scooped up by Ah Luo, and had peeked out the window when he saw someone on the street holding a drooping, multicolored rooster, hawking "Seven-Colored Little Phoenix." The rooster's eyes were so pitiful... Hengheng didn't like it when bad people fed chickens drugs!

Third Treasure Su Yu hugged his rainbow cloud boat model tightly, his mouth pouting. He'd heard Ah Luo say that some bad guys had blown up the chickens! How scary! His cloud boat was meant to catch broken pots and deliver rainbow candies; he didn't want to catch exploded chickens!

"This must be stopped immediately!" Su Li said firmly, "Otherwise, the consequences will be disastrous! A market collapse is a minor issue, but triggering a large-scale plague (from birds being indiscriminately fed drugs) or even fighting among monks (over the resources of the 'divine beasts') would be the real disaster!"

"How do we stop this?" Xiao Jue's voice was low. "Ban the elixirs? Seize the poultry market? Arrest the speculators?" He glanced over the secret reports. "The scope is too wide, the profit chain is too deep, and many transactions are in a gray area. Forcible suppression might provoke a greater backlash, and even lead to being labeled as 'monopolizing auspiciousness'."

The hall fell silent again. This chaotic situation was more complicated than the pickle jar. The mobility of living things and the uncontrollable nature of human intervention (feeding drugs) made the situation even more complex and dangerous.

In this suffocating silence, the abacus beads in Chen Bao's arms suddenly stopped again! The golden light converged and gathered into several clear plan frameworks.

My dear, there is more to this chapter. Please click on the next page to continue reading. It will be even more exciting later!