Chapter 405 - 311: The Coming Vortex
Gazing upon the Immortal Mansion that was his and his alone, a fortuitous encounter of heavenly proportions, Fang Qingyuan’s heart filled with contentment. Compared to this, what did the turmoil of the outside world even matter? Sometimes, Fang Qingyuan even thought it wouldn’t be so bad to just find a remote place and lie low for a thousand years, not emerging until he reached the Nascent Soul realm.
Unfortunately, that was just wishful thinking. In this world, cultivation to the Golden Core realm required a high-grade Tier Three or even a Tier Four Spiritual Land. And for a Golden Core cultivator to attempt Nascent Soul Formation, a Tier Five Spirit Land was an absolute must. Yet, every single Tier Five Spirit Land was in the hands of major powers like Qi Yun, the Beast Taming Sect, or White Mountain. Without a Spiritual Land, one could be a once-in-ten-thousand-years prodigy and still have no hope of achieving Nascent Soul Formation. Therefore, Fang Qingyuan still had to manage his own faction, striving to one day return to the Beast Taming Sect and obtain the right to use a Tier Five Spirit Land.
But Fang Qingyuan had never, ever considered undergoing Nascent Soul Formation on White Mountain. That was because the Nascent Soul Cultivators from major powers like the Spirit Wood Alliance, Lifire, the Hehuan Sect, and the Pill Alliance who had chosen to do so on White Mountain found their true bodies trapped. They could never leave White Mountain for the rest of their lives; their physical forms were bound there.
’What’s the difference between that and being imprisoned?’ Every move would be under someone else’s watch. Fang Qingyuan had no desire to live such a life. He would rather never achieve Nascent Soul Formation than ascend White Mountain to do it.
But he was only at the Foundation Establishment Eighth Layer right now. Talking about the issue of Nascent Soul would be laughable. So, it was enough for Fang Qingyuan to just be clear about it in his own mind. ’With this Immortal Mansion, a place among the Divinity Transformation cultivators of this world will surely be mine.’
He continued to check on the growth of the Spirit Rice. After confirming that no damned pests were plaguing his crops, Fang Qingyuan left the Immortal Mansion with peace of mind and returned to the outside world.
Currently, not counting the tributes to the Qingyuan Sect, the yields from just the Bee Queen and the Spirit Rice brought Fang Qingyuan an annual income of nearly one hundred Top-grade Spirit Stones.
This was all Fang Qingyuan’s private property, unrelated to the Qingyuan Sect. Besides, Fang Qingyuan still had to feed Jinbao and Yinbao, two massive gluttons, so his finances weren’t exactly flush.
Speak of Jinbao, and in he came, bounding happily in from outside. He ran to Fang Qingyuan’s side and looked up at him with pleading eyes.
Fang Qingyuan understood what was on Jinbao’s mind. He just wanted to go to the Barbaric Wilderness and play with the Bear Beasts under Bear Wind’s command. Over the years, Jinbao had gotten to know these Bear Beasts quite well.
When Fang Qingyuan was in long-term seclusion, Jinbao was very lonely. Without Fang Qingyuan’s Heart Sound Divine Techniques, none of the Sect Disciples in the Qingyuan Sect could understand the bear language he spoke.
Furthermore, all the disciples in the Qingyuan Sect were exceedingly respectful toward Jinbao. As Fang Qingyuan’s Companion Beast, seeing Jinbao was equivalent to seeing Fang Qingyuan himself. If anyone dared to show Jinbao disrespect, Mao Cheng, the increasingly rigid Vice Sect Leader, would enforce the sect’s rules without Fang Qingyuan even needing to say a word.
Over time, Jinbao grew incredibly bored in the Qingyuan Sect. Only in the Barbaric Wilderness, when fighting, roughhousing, and hunting with the other Bear Beasts, did Jinbao feel truly happy.
Fang Qingyuan could, of course, clearly sense these feelings in Jinbao. He had always doted on the bear, and with nothing else pressing, he decided to take Jinbao to the Barbaric Wilderness to chat with the other Bear Beasts and, while he was at it, see how Nanli was doing lately.
Nanli, the Fire-Bright Bird, had made rapid progress after ten years of cultivation in the Barbaric Wilderness. Her skill in combat was now matched only by her skill in flattery. She had the Great White Bear wrapped around her little finger and was now living comfortably in the Barbaric Wilderness as the chief strategist for the Golden Core Demon Beast.
But even though the bird Nanli was in the Barbaric Wilderness, her life and death were completely in Fang Qingyuan’s hands due to the Soul Contract she had signed with him. Moreover, without Fang Qingyuan’s consent, Nanli was fundamentally incapable of revealing any information about him to the outside world.
It was a form of control that stemmed from the depths of the soul, the most unequal of contracts. But for Fang Qingyuan, it was also the most secure.
Beast Taming was, first and foremost, about "taming." He who controls the beast decides whether it lives or dies. Before a cultivator of the Beast Taming Sect, a Spirit Beast could only be controlled and manipulated.
Without alerting anyone, Fang Qingyuan and Jinbao snuck out of the Qingyuan Sect, leaving only Yinbao and his six beloved "concubines" to live in a large marsh the sect had built for them.
Yinbao’s main task now was to sow his seed, then look after the young Little Manta Rays. Once they were grown, Sect Disciples would take them to be rented out for transport jobs at Nine Stars Square.
Yinbao was finally living the life he had always dreamed of back when he was with Fang Qingyuan, his lifelong and highest ambition. For this, Fang Qingyuan was also happy for him.
Arriving in the Barbaric Wilderness, Fang Qingyuan followed a familiar path through the territory of the Cloud-Clawed Lizards and entered Bear Wind’s domain. Ever since realizing ten years ago that someone was plotting against him, he rarely showed his face publicly. He had Nanli act as an intermediary for most matters, which was also the reason she had remained here all this time.
For more complex information, Fang Qingyuan had Jinbao act as a messenger. After all, compared to Jinbao, he was far less popular here.
Letting Jinbao run off to play with Bear Wind and his subordinates, Fang Qingyuan found a spot to cultivate in peace. Although the Spiritual Qi here was far inferior to that in the Qingyuan Sect, being able to perceive the vitality of nature provided a supplementary perspective to his theories on alchemy.
Ten days later, Jinbao returned with a full stomach and a large bundle of goodies. Every time he visited, he would both eat his fill and take things back with him. As a Nascent Soul Ancient Beast, even the random odds and ends that Bear Wind gifted were extraordinary Spiritual Materials for the current Fang Qingyuan.
Jinbao handed the bundle to Fang Qingyuan, his perfectly round belly swaying with every step. Fang Qingyuan opened it and examined the contents carefully, discovering more than a dozen Tier Two Spiritual Materials and two items that could be classified as Tier Three Spiritual Materials.
Fang Qingyuan delightedly stored the items away and started heading back with Jinbao. However, as he walked through the territory of the Cloud-Clawed Lizard, he saw a growing number of Beast Taming Sect disciples, and a complicated feeling welled up inside him.
These Beast Taming Sect disciples were all from the Zongshan Yue Peak faction, sent to support the White Mountain Beast Taming Sect. Their main objective was to continue the conquest of the Barbaric Wilderness. Most of the disciples were currently active in the Cloud-Clawed Lizard’s territory, gathering intelligence in preparation for a future offensive.
If not for his connection to Bear Wind, Fang Qingyuan would have been more than happy to see the White Mountain Beast Taming Sect expand its territory. But Bear Wind’s existence clearly brought him many benefits. If Bear Wind were driven away by the Beast Taming Sect, his own interests would undoubtedly suffer.
But this was a matter Fang Qingyuan couldn’t get involved in. At most, he could give Bear Wind a heads-up; there was nothing else he could do.
After returning to the sect, Fang Qingyuan sorted the items he had received. Some things he didn’t need, like horns and hides shed by Golden Core Bear Beasts, had to be sold off as soon as possible. Other things, like Spirit Fruits and roots, would be carefully processed and saved for the Bee Queen to use in alchemy.
He had only been back for a few days when a message arrived from Lechuan, urgently summoning him over. When he arrived, Lechuan said with a frown, "Xiao Xuan of the Lingliang Sect has suffered a qi deviation. Now two factions within the Lingliang Sect are fighting fiercely. The Spirit Wood Alliance and the Pill Alliance are each backing a side. It looks like a real fight is about to break out. We need to go and assess the situation."
Hearing Lechuan’s words, Fang Qingyuan was quite surprised. He had met this Xiao Xuan of the Lingliang Sect once, thirty years ago. At the time, he had even received the exclusive beast-ship route between the Qingyuan Sect and Nine Stars Square from the man. Although it hadn’t ended up earning him many Spirit Stones, he still owed him for the favor.
But back then, Xiao Xuan was already in the late-stage Golden Core realm. Although it wasn’t guaranteed for late-stage Golden Core cultivators to advance a minor realm even in twenty or thirty years, why would he suffer a qi deviation even if he failed to advance?
For a moment, Fang Qingyuan found it hard to believe, but Lechuan’s information was unlikely to be wrong. An image flashed through his mind: the fate of the former Patriarch of the Fangshan Zhang Family. ’How is this situation so similar?’
As a first-generation Divine Sect Leader and a late-stage Golden Core cultivator, Xiao Xuan’s identity and status were second to none in this Land Realm. His qi deviation was a major event. For both public and private reasons, Lechuan had to go and pay a visit personally.
There was no time to delay. After summoning Fang Qingyuan, Lechuan took a group of disciples, boarded the sect’s beast-ship, and hurriedly flew toward the Lingliang Sect’s territory.
The two sects weren’t actually that far apart. After flying for the better part of a day, the beast-ship reached the Lingliang Sect’s territory. Still a good distance from the main gate, Fang Qingyuan could already see three groups of people arguing with each other. He extended his Divine Sense slightly and discovered that among the cultivators ahead, who were red-faced with anger, there were more than a dozen Golden Core cultivators gathered.
With so many Golden Core cultivators, it seemed the leaders of most of the major powers in Southern White Mountain had arrived. At this, Fang Qingyuan looked at Lechuan’s back ahead of him, and a single word flashed in his mind: ’Vortex!’