Beast Taming: I Have an Immortal Mansion

"Why have you come this time? Let me be clear, I have no desire to fight anyone for the next few years."

Perhaps because of their previous experience fighting a common enemy, Chu Hongshang’s tone with Fang Qingyuan was somewhat casual.

But while Chu Hongshang could be so casual, Fang Qingyuan could not. He still performed a customary bow before speaking:

"You jest, Sect Leader Chu. After the lesson from last time, how would I dare disturb you again? I came this time because I wanted to learn a little about the identities of those two Nascent Soul Cultivators who attacked you. After all, I also participated in that battle, and I’m worried I might be targeted."

"Oh, so that’s it."

Chu Hongshang’s eyes narrowed slightly. She propped her chin on her left hand, a thoughtful expression on her fair face.

After a long while, Chu Hongshang finally spoke slowly:

"The One-armed Nascent Soul is named Tu Ling. He came from Black Wind Valley, but he’s a renegade disciple who was cast out, so this incident won’t involve Black Wind Valley.

"The other one, the Bow-holding Nascent Soul Cultivator, is named Yu Jiao. He was the ancestor of a sect in the Qi Yun Territory. His sect has now been demoted by the Qi Yun Sect. Combined with the death of a Nascent Soul Cultivator, they won’t be able to recover for the next several hundred years.

"But strangely enough, not long after Yu Jiao’s death, his sect’s leader, Yu Ran, also vanished. Some say he fled to escape punishment, while others say he was silenced by the mastermind behind the scenes. In any case, the Great Zhou Academy couldn’t pursue the investigation any further."

Chu Hongshang shared a lot of follow-up information with Fang Qingyuan, some of which he was only learning for the first time.

Normally, with his level of cultivation, he wouldn’t have been able to get involved in such matters. But back then, Fang Qingyuan had chosen to act.

After hearing all this, Fang Qingyuan asked about some more details of the case. Chu Hongshang held nothing back; in her eyes, Fang Qingyuan was qualified to know these things.

After listening to Chu Hongshang’s account, Fang Qingyuan was finally able to piece together the general sequence of events that had unfolded in the three years following the chaotic battle in the Barbaric Wilderness.

On that day, after Ji Yulang was summoned by Fang Qingyuan using Yan Nanxing’s Heaven-Reaching Order, he became preoccupied with Chu Hongshang’s case.

The investigation went smoothly at first, until it implicated Qi Yungao and Gao Hetong. At that point, the upper echelons of the Qi Yun Sect stepped in to protect them.

In the end, Ji Yulang only managed to firmly pin the blame on the Yu Family. The Gao Family and their allies, however, were not punished by the Great Zhou Academy and were instead shielded by the Qi Yun Sect.

However, to give Chu Hongshang a satisfactory explanation, the Qi Yun Sect not only did everything in their power to treat her injuries but also compensated her with a large amount of high-end cultivation resources. All of these costs were shouldered by the Gao Family.

Additionally, Gao Hetong was transferred to serve on the front lines facing Black Wind Valley. In a place like that, Nascent Soul Level Cultivators would fall in battle every so often.

Chu Hongshang was not exactly satisfied with this outcome, but there was nothing she could do. After all, the Nanchu Sect had already split off and was no longer a force within the Qi Yun Sect.

"Recently, a new Golden Core Cultivator arrived at the White Mountain Beast Taming Sect. She also comes from Black Wind Valley, and her name is Tu Dai’Er. I feel she might have some connection to the One-armed Nascent Soul, Tu Ling. If you’re interested, Sect Leader Chu, you could send someone to investigate."

And just like that, Fang Qingyuan sold out Tu Dai’Er. He wanted to use Chu Hongshang’s power to probe Tu Dai’Er’s background.

Hearing Fang Qingyuan’s words, Chu Hongshang raised an eyebrow and nodded slightly. It seemed she was interested.

After relaying this information, Fang Qingyuan tactfully took his leave. Chu Hongshang watched his departing figure and spoke to a shadow at her side:

"Shadowless, go investigate Tu Dai’Er’s background. Remember, if you run into any trouble, go directly to the Fang Qingyuan who just left."

In the firelight, the shadow flickered as if in response.

.....

Leaving the Nanchu Sect, Fang Qingyuan was in high spirits. He snuck back toward his Qingyuan Sect, only to find the way heavily checkpointed. The area bordering the Pill Alliance, in particular, was sealed tight as a drum.

Among them, the Spirit Wood Alliance and the Li Huo Alliance were dead set on bleeding the Pill Alliance dry.

’Hmm.’ Based on the intelligence he had gathered, Fang Qingyuan analyzed that the Spirit Wood Alliance and the Li Huo Alliance were afraid the Pill Alliance would head north to support the White Mountain Sword Sect and the Illusion Sword Alliance. This support wouldn’t be in the form of troops or manpower, but rather materials and money.

The Pill Alliance had built its foundation on refining elixirs. The several Golden Core Sects within the alliance were all experts at it. As a result, the people of the Pill Alliance had always been wealthy, but they were terrible at fighting.

In the decades since the Pill Alliance’s founding, every time a conflict arose with the Spirit Wood Alliance, they would retract their military formations and turtle up inside their fourth-rank Spiritual Land. No matter how the Spirit Wood Alliance attacked, they could never break the Fifth Rank Array that the Pill Alliance had spent a fortune to acquire.

After several conflicts, although the Spirit Wood Alliance had plundered many good things, they had never managed to harm the Pill Alliance’s foundation. This time, the Spirit Wood Alliance had changed its strategy. The focus wasn’t on killing the Pill Alliance’s effective forces, but on a scorched-earth policy to deny them any chance to resupply.

It had to be said, this move was extremely effective. The Pill Alliance had only been under blockade for a short while, and they were already starting to buckle.

And wouldn’t you know it, a Pill Alliance disciple, in disguise, had actually come to the Qingyuan Sect’s territory to seek help.

"Sect Leader Fang, you’re finally back! For the sake of our past friendship, you have to help me out!"

The visitor wailed with tears and snot running down his face, as if he had suffered a tremendous injustice.

Fang Qingyuan looked at the man’s face and didn’t recognize him at first. After a few moments, he exclaimed in surprise:

"It’s you? Han Ping?"

Han Ping was overjoyed. It was rare for this man to still remember him. Now, with nowhere else to turn, he had come to Fang Qingyuan as a last resort.

The Pill Alliance was once again beaten into turtling up, but from the looks of it, this time would be very difficult to endure.

"Sect Leader Fang, I won’t hide it from you, I’ve come to ask for your aid. The Pill Alliance is now completely surrounded, cut off from the surrounding Marketplaces. The Nine Stars Square is also temporarily closed. Our supplies are dwindling by the day, and we’re on the verge of running out of everything. Therefore, I implore you, Sect Leader Fang, to show some kindness and provide us with a batch of supplies. Rest assured, we absolutely won’t let you suffer a loss. Whether you want to trade for pill formulas or Spirit Stones, we will have something to satisfy you."

Looking at Han Ping’s anxious face, Fang Qingyuan couldn’t help but ask curiously:

"Is the Pill Alliance’s situation that dire? This looks like a war of annihilation. Aren’t any of the Nascent Soul Ancestors from White Mountain willing to intervene?"

"To tell you the truth, ever since that Divinity Transformation Ancestor on White Mountain fell, we haven’t received any news from up there for a long time. That’s why the situation has devolved to this point. Otherwise, with the deterrence of the Nascent Soul Ancestors, the Pill Alliance would never have ended up in such a state."

That was quite the secret. The Nascent Soul Cultivators on White Mountain had all lost contact collectively. If news of such a major event were to spread, countless factions around White Mountain would be rubbing their hands in glee, preparing to move in.

’Just how far have the Spirit Wood Alliance and the Li Huo Alliance gone to push the Pill Alliance into such a corner that they’d even come to my little Qingyuan Sect for help?’

Fang Qingyuan pondered for a moment. He recalled the terrible relationship between his sect and the Spirit Wood Alliance, and the fact that he and the Pill Alliance had been allies back in the day.

"I’ll definitely help. But how to help is something that needs careful consideration. Why don’t you, Little Brother Han, stay here with me for a few days, and we can discuss it then?"

When Han Ping heard Fang Qingyuan’s decision, he had a bad feeling. ’For Fang Qingyuan to say that, he’s probably unwilling to put in any real effort.’

’You can’t catch a wolf if you’re not willing to part with the bait. This Fang Qingyuan won’t sincerely help unless he sees some benefit.’

Thinking this, Han Ping took out an illustrated catalog. It contained all sorts of treasures the Pill Alliance had collected over the years, such as Magical Artifacts, pill formulas, and Cultivation Techniques. Every single item was top-grade. Now, at a time of life and death, he couldn’t afford to sell them off slowly. He simply took it out for Fang Qingyuan to pick from.

Seeing the sincerity Han Ping was showing, Fang Qingyuan didn’t stand on ceremony. He reached out, took the catalog, and opened it on the spot. With just a glance, Fang Qingyuan found he couldn’t look away.

"This Yin Yang Qi Creation Pill, a third-rank top-grade spiritual pill... you have this too?

"And this mass of Douluo Cyan Qilin Fire... you’re actually selling it? This is a supreme-grade Pill Fire for Alchemy!"

Faced with Fang Qingyuan’s admiration, Han Ping looked pleased on the surface, but his heart was bleeding. If it were possible, he wouldn’t have been willing to take out a single one of these items. But the situation was desperate, and only by exchanging these treasures for supplies could they have a future.

Fang Qingyuan was still slowly looking through the catalog when he turned to the next page. An Eight-sided Palace Lantern at the top immediately captured his attention.