Beast Taming: I Have an Immortal Mansion

Fang Qingyuan and Xu Taichu began to chat idly. Gazing at the beautiful scenery, he expressed his sincere envy for Xu Taichu:

"Brother Taichu, you truly know how to enjoy life. This Spiritual Land, this scenery... it’s hard to come by in my White Mountain Territory. I doubt even the Spirit Wood Alliance can boast of such splendor within their sect."

The Spirit Wood Alliance was a great power with two Nascent Soul Cultivators, but on Water Element Peak alone, there were four such cultivators. The Peak Master was at the Late-stage Nascent Soul realm, and in addition, there were three Early-stage Nascent Soul Cultivators.

And there were four other peaks with similar configurations within the Five Elements Peak. On par with the Five Elements Peak in status, Qi Yun also had Heaven and Earth Peak, Instructor Peak, Law Enforcement Peak, and Miscellaneous Affairs Peak.

Of course, aside from Miscellaneous Affairs Peak, none of the other peaks could compare to the Five Elements Peak in their number of Nascent Soul Cultivators.

But the Chairman of each of these peaks was a Divinity Transformation Cultivator. Furthermore, Qi Yun possessed three Immortal Cities—Qi Yun City, Qinan City, and Qi Dong City—and each City Lord was also a Divinity Transformation Cultivator.

His status as a disciple of such a formidable power was the source of Xu Taichu’s pride. As a Golden Core Cultivator, he was also part of the mid-level hierarchy on Water Element Peak. With a single word, he could command respect from many other factions.

Xu Taichu paid little mind to Fang Qingyuan’s praise; he was already accustomed to the adulation of others.

After a few drinks, Xu Taichu asked:

"Younger Brother Qingyuan, is there some difficult matter you need help with?"

Fang Qingyuan had traveled thousands of miles to find him, so he clearly had a favor to ask. Otherwise, he wouldn’t be showing up now, seventy-odd years later.

Xu Taichu suspected the matter was related to Fang Qingyuan’s Core Formation. As it turned out, he was right.

Fang Qingyuan set down his wine cup, produced a bottle of Blood Life Pills, and handed it to Xu Taichu, saying:

"Brother Taichu, take a look at these Elixir Pills. In your expert opinion, how much would they be worth here?"

The quality of the Blood Life Pills was beyond question. The Life Source Liquid, transformed by the Longevity Profound Cyan Vine, had replaced the original Bloodthirsty Vine Essence. This process eliminated the troublesome blood-qi impurities from the pills, elevating these Blood Life Pills from second-tier mid-grade to second-tier top-grade Longevity Elixirs.

Normally, those who needed Longevity Elixirs were mostly elderly cultivators, for whom the side effects of the blood-qi weren’t too severe. However, once the blood-qi was removed, even young cultivators could take these Longevity Elixirs.

The increase in Innate Primordial Qi was beneficial to cultivation as well. Otherwise, there would be no need for cultivators to rush their breakthroughs before reaching a certain age.

Xu Taichu took the Elixir Pills and examined them carefully. After a moment, he smiled and said:

"If I’m not mistaken, these are Blood Life Pills, are they not? It’s just that these pills lack the usual bloody odor of their common counterparts. Instead, they are brimming with a pure blood light and vital energy. Clearly not an ordinary product. As for the price, I feel that three hundred Top-grade Spirit Stones per bottle is quite appropriate."

Fang Qingyuan’s heart stirred. ’Xu Taichu’s valuation is quite high. The Qi Yun people really are rich.’ He then let out a laugh and said to Xu Taichu:

"Brother Xu has a sharp eye, indeed. These Blood Life Pills are certainly of superior quality, but they aren’t quite worth three hundred. I have ninety bottles of these Elixir Pills here and am willing to sell them at a price of two hundred and seventy Top-grade Spirit Stones per bottle. As for what they sell for after that, I won’t inquire."

Upon hearing the quantity and the price, Xu Taichu inwardly gasped, taking a sharp breath of the biting cold wind. ’Ninety bottles of Longevity Elixirs! Did Fang Qingyuan rob several alchemy sects?’

He could make at least thirty Top-grade Spirit Stones of profit from each bottle of Blood Life Pills, and perhaps even fifty if he found someone in urgent need. Fang Qingyuan’s offer was essentially a gift of three thousand Top-grade Spirit Stones. This grand gesture gave Xu Taichu a new, deeper understanding of Fang Qingyuan.

Xu Taichu had to admit he was tempted. Three thousand Top-grade Spirit Stones—for a Golden Core Cultivator like him with few personal assets, it would take twenty or thirty years to accumulate such a sum.

Moreover, the transaction wasn’t difficult to handle—it was a simple matter of reselling. Plus, the factions that acquired these Longevity Elixirs would owe Xu Taichu a favor.

A deal with so many benefits was something Xu Taichu was naturally happy to accept. After seeing the boon Fang Qingyuan offered, he knew he had to return the favor. He opened his mouth to speak, his attitude now treating Fang Qingyuan as an equal:

"Then I accept your kind offer, Younger Brother Qingyuan. Whatever you need me to do, feel free to ask."

Seeing Xu Taichu dazed by the mountain of Spirit Stones he had effectively offered, Fang Qingyuan kept his expression light and unconcerned, even as his heart was bleeding at the cost.

"I, your younger brother, have reached the threshold of Core Formation. It’s just that I’m having trouble gathering some Magical Artifacts and array-formation materials on short notice. So I’d like to ask Brother Taichu to keep an eye out and help me search for them."

"That’s a simple matter. Leave it to me. I just need to know what Magical Artifacts and materials you’re lacking. It’s not me, your elder brother, boasting, but if these items can’t be found in Qi Yun, you can forget about finding them anywhere else in this land."

Xu Taichu began enthusiastically taking charge. His attitude was clearly much warmer than before. Seeing him like this, Fang Qingyuan knew in his heart that Xu Taichu was acting entirely for the sake of the Spirit Stones. Without them to clear the path, their relationship would be that of ordinary friends, perhaps not even that.

’Truly, Spirit Stones are the best lubricant,’ Fang Qingyuan thought. Striking while the iron was hot, he immediately told Xu Taichu everything he needed.

After Fang Qingyuan finished speaking, Xu Taichu silently recited the list to himself. After a final calculation, he said directly to Fang Qingyuan:

"The things you require are indeed difficult to procure. However, I do have some connections. Here’s what we’ll do: you stay here for a few days, and I’ll take you to meet the directors of several large merchant guilds. They are well-informed and have numerous channels.

I’ll also host a few banquets and invite several promising young talents. They are all descendants of Nascent Soul or Golden Core Cultivators. Who knows, they might have what you need in their own family treasuries.

If that doesn’t work, I’ll use my own merit points to post a mission and put up a bounty for you. With this multi-pronged approach, would that be satisfactory?"

Merit points from the Qi Yun Main Mountain were a valuable currency, comparable to the wartime merit points from the Great Zhou Academy. Seeing that Xu Taichu was even willing to part with those, Fang Qingyuan was deeply moved and said:

"For Brother Taichu to go to all this trouble, I, Qingyuan, am endlessly grateful. Please, drink this cup with me."

Fang Qingyuan rose to his feet to express his thanks, but Xu Taichu pulled him back down. Then, raising his wine cup, the two men lightly clinked their cups together, both bursting into happy laughter.