Beast Taming: I Have an Immortal Mansion

....

In the Quiet Chamber atop the mountain, Fang Qingyuan opened his long-closed eyes, his expression a little dazed. At that moment, his divine soul was still immersed in the perspectives of a myriad of projections.

After a long while, Fang Qingyuan finally regained his senses completely, after which the total volume of his divine soul began to surge explosively.

Bit by bit, piece by piece, the fragments of his divine soul that had been coexisting within the myriad birds and beasts in a fifty-li radius of the Qingyuan Sect’s Land Realm now returned to his body, merging together to increase the total volume of his divine soul limitlessly.

Of course, ’limitless’ was just an illusion. Once the total volume of his divine soul reached five times that of an ordinary Perfect Foundation Establishment Cultivator, the speed of its growth slowed abruptly.

For the past five years, from the moment he had entered seclusion, Fang Qingyuan had been trying to use his All Things Heart Sound Divine Techniques to envelop the minds of every living creature in the Qingyuan Sect.

It went rather smoothly at first, but as time went on, Fang Qingyuan grew dissatisfied with merely enveloping them and passively sensing. He wanted to do something more.

So, he tried to invest his divine soul into human beings. However, humans were protected by their physical bodies, and the strength of their qi and blood was a great enemy to the divine soul.

If Fang Qingyuan were to force this parasitic inhabitation, he would have to kill the person and possess their body, which was not something he wanted to do.

The people living here were his subjects, beings he was meant to protect. He could not experiment with his Cultivation Technique while disregarding the lives of these mortals.

Later, Fang Qingyuan changed his approach. He no longer fixated on human bodies, instead choosing to invest his divine soul into newborn birds.

Newborn chicks were fragile, their divine souls faint and almost nonexistent. Fang Qingyuan would split off a sliver of his divine soul and let it inhabit these young birds, growing alongside them. In the process of their growth, the total volume of his own divine soul also increased.

Eventually, birds were no longer enough for him. He began to inhabit beasts and livestock, only snapping out of this state of cultivation when Jiuyan achieved his breakthrough.

Half a day later, Fang Qingyuan felt better than ever before. However, the divine soul he had recalled was mixed with too many memory fragments from the original hosts. He still needed to use the Godslaying Needle to clear them out.

The Godslaying Needle specialized in attacking the divine soul; it was the most potent Magical Divine Technique for soul attacks that Fang Qingyuan had ever seen. Using it to clear away junk memory fragments was, frankly, overkill.

His Mind Divine Techniques sensed that Jiuyan still needed a few more days to complete his breakthrough, so Fang Qingyuan closed his eyes once more and began purging the jumbled memory fragments of birds and beasts from his own divine soul.

......

Seven short days later, Jiuyan followed Liu Xun up the mountain, arriving before the Sect Leader’s Quiet Chamber.

Before they could announce their presence, the door to the Quiet Chamber swung open silently. Seeing this, Liu Xun glanced at Jiuyan behind him and quickly walked inside.

Upon the Cloud Bed, Fang Qingyuan sat quietly cross-legged. When he opened his eyes, Liu Xun and Jiuyan were startled, for they seemed to see an illusory white lightning bolt arc and crackle before them.

The Quiet Chamber was not dark, yet this phantom lightning gave the illusion of illuminating the space.

Fortunately, the phenomenon vanished in a flash. By the time Fang Qingyuan’s eyes were fully open, it was completely gone.

Jiuyan was inwardly stunned. He realized that in the mere five years since they had last met, this Sect Leader Fang’s divine soul cultivation had clearly reached a new level. From what he knew, the scene just now was a phenomenon caused by a divine soul that had grown powerful to a certain degree.

It was an effect on one’s own mind; only when another’s divine soul far surpassed your own could you experience the illusion of being struck by lightning.

At that moment, Fang Qingyuan paid no mind to the effect that the wisp of power from the Godslaying Needle, which had leaked out as he concluded his practice, had on the two men. He glanced at the box Jiuyan was holding, and with a wave of his hand, it flew into his grasp.

He opened it and saw six cyan-green incense sticks lying quietly inside. He took them out, inspected them carefully, then put them back.

To open the Magic Altar once, only three sticks of Dongzhen Incense were needed. The extra three were just a precaution.

In truth, once the Magic Altar was opened, the burning speed of the Dongzhen Incense wasn’t determined by the length of the sticks, but by Fang Qingyuan’s own cultivation. Later on, the Magic Altar would draw upon his Magical Power to sustain its operation. By then, the incense would have become one with the Magic Altar; as long as Fang Qingyuan’s Magical Power was not exhausted, the incense would not go out.

"You’ve worked hard, Jiuyan. This is even faster than I expected."

Hearing Fang Qingyuan’s gentle words, Jiuyan’s heart warmed. He recalled the boast he had made back then, claiming he could make the incense, but five years was an awfully long time. Yet not only did Fang Qingyuan not blame him, he even said his progress had exceeded expectations. This trust truly moved the jaded old hand, Jiuyan.

"Merit must be rewarded. Jiuyan, tell Liu Xun what you want. If the Qingyuan Sect doesn’t have it, I will find it for you in the future."

"Jiuyan thanks the Sect Leader. I was merely doing my duty. I dare not hope for anything else."

"Very well, then let’s make it Spirit Stones. Liu Xun, dispense one hundred Top-grade Spirit Stones from the sect’s treasury for Jiuyan. And give him half a year’s leave to go out and buy what he wishes."

Liu Xun nodded in assent. Jiuyan then wisely took his leave, leaving the place to Liu Xun and Fang Qingyuan.

"Sect Leader, are you about to attempt Core Formation?"

Liu Xun asked this apprehensively. His tone was filled with joy, anticipation, and also unease.

Fang Qingyuan looked at Liu Xun, his mind recalling the moment on Qingfeng Mountain when he had tested the boy’s Spirit Root. The small child from back then could now stand on his own.

"Do not worry about me. The step toward Core Formation must be taken eventually. What difference does it make if I take it sooner or later?

The longer you delay, the more it proves you fear Core Formation, fear the Celestial Tribulation. With such a mindset, how could you possibly withstand the inquisition of Heaven and Earth?

My cultivation has long since reached perfection. To continue dithering will only amplify my fear. For every day I put off Core Formation, that fear accumulates. When that accumulated fear overflows, it will be the day I die.

When your own cultivation reaches perfection in the future, you must remember this point as well."

Liu Xun nodded forcefully, then looked at Fang Qingyuan, hoping he would say more.

But Fang Qingyuan’s reaction disappointed him. He saw Fang Qingyuan close his eyes again, his mind already drifting off to some unknown place.

Liu Xun silently withdrew from the room, closing the door behind him. He looked at Jiuyan waiting outside and said, trying to remain calm:

"Brother Jiuyan, please come with me."

Once the two had walked away, Fang Qingyuan sighed to himself. He understood the words he had just spoken, the logic behind them. ’But now that it’s really happening,’ he thought, ’am I truly not afraid?’

’Do I choose eight hundred years, or even a longer lifespan, or do I bravely take this step and leap to become a Cultivator who is truly, initially, the master of his own fate?’ Fang Qingyuan believed he had already made his choice.

Five days later, without telling anyone, Fang Qingyuan took Jinbao, quietly left the Qingyuan Sect, and stepped into the Barbaric Land.

.....

In Bear Wind’s territory, Fang Qingyuan appeared once again. The moment Bear Wind saw Fang Qingyuan, he knew he had come to call in the promise made all those years ago.

As such, Bear Wind had nothing to say. He moved his massive body aside, yielding the spot with the densest Spiritual Power within this Fourth-rank Middle-grade Spirit Land inside the cave to Fang Qingyuan.

"Fang the Kid, you better not die on me. I’m still waiting to get out of here and meet Jinbao’s mother!"

Fang Qingyuan just smiled calmly at Bear Wind’s words. He then entrusted Jinbao to Bear Wind and told him to move further away.

When the Celestial Tribulation descended, it would grow stronger to match the strength of those present. If Bear Wind were too close, the tribulation might strike him as well. Not only would Bear Wind suffer for it, but Fang Qingyuan would also be dragged into the mess.

Waiting until Bear Wind was far away, Fang Qingyuan walked over to the large rock where the beast loved to rest and began to pull various items from his storage pouch.

First was a Magic Altar forged entirely from Profound Water Shining Rock. When it first emerged from the storage pouch, it was no bigger than his palm, but as Fang Qingyuan channeled Magical Power into it, it instantly expanded to two zhang wide.

Fang Qingyuan carefully positioned the Magic Altar, then continued to take out an incense burner, a Token, flagpoles, and a Sacrificial Sword.

Once everything was laid out, Fang Qingyuan opened the box containing the Dongzhen Incense and plucked out three sticks.

Looking at the cyan-green incense sticks in his hand, Fang Qingyuan smiled faintly and placed them into the incense burner.