Chapter 426 - 322: Becoming a Family
At that moment, Fang Qingyuan understood Lechuan’s true meaning. At its core, the Le Family was suffering from a shortage of Nascent Soul Cultivators. Otherwise, this Spirit Beast would never have been released from its restraints and granted so much freedom after the Le Family’s last Nascent Soul Cultivator had died.
Although Bear Wind agreed to cooperate with Lechuan, it was a mutually beneficial arrangement. He would gain an officially recognized identity among humans, securing his future and ensuring he wouldn’t be targeted by other Nascent Soul Cultivators. Lechuan, in turn, would earn a monumental achievement, as well as an overt ally with Nascent Soul Battle Power.
But this wasn’t something that could be accomplished overnight. There were still many details for Bear Wind and Lechuan to negotiate and finalize.
However, those were all matters for Lechuan to handle later. At this moment, Fang Qingyuan made a request.
"You want to attempt Core Formation on my territory? I wouldn’t normally allow it, but since we’re going to be family, go right ahead."
Bear Wind agreed readily, even offering to stand guard for Fang Qingyuan when the time came. This was a privilege Fang Qingyuan would never have enjoyed before proposing their partnership. Previously, acting solely out of consideration for Jinbao, Bear Wind hadn’t paid Fang Qingyuan much mind.
In Bear Wind’s eyes, the old Fang Qingyuan had been merely the master who raised Jinbao. Now, he had a new identity: a partner whose fortunes were tied to his own.
...
Three days later, Fang Qingyuan left the area with Jinbao and Nanli. After reaching the territory of the Great White Bear, a Golden Core Demon Beast, Fang Qingyuan had Nanli say her goodbyes.
Now that he had reached a deeper level of cooperation with Bear Wind, Nanli’s duty as a messenger—to minimize Fang Qingyuan’s exposure—was no longer necessary.
It was time for this Little Firebird, who had been away from Fang Qingyuan for twenty years, to return to his side, as he had a much more important task for her.
Her new task was to manage the ever-increasing number of Long-armed Apes within the Immortal Mansion, as well as the production of the Water Swamp Insect Beasts across seven hundred mu of land.
As the Land Realm within the Immortal Mansion expanded, the Long-armed Ape population grew, and insect beast production increased, the matters Fang Qingyuan had to oversee became increasingly complex.
He had considered asking the Bee Queen to help manage things, but he didn’t have the heart to do it after seeing the effort it took for her just to squirm around.
Of course, the more important reason was that the Bee Queen was naturally lazy and had no interest in managing such affairs. Compared to chores, Fang Ruoxi much preferred Alchemy, reading, sleeping, and daydreaming.
Jinbao wasn’t suitable either. As for Silver Treasure, Fang Qingyuan never even considered asking for its help. Silver Treasure’s most important role right now was to get busy with its "wives" and produce more Little Manta Rays. That was its greatest contribution to the sect.
As the sect grew, so did the need for transport Spirit Beasts. Thankfully, Silver Treasure had been hard at work. The number of Little Manta Rays it had sired over the years had already reached thirty, which greatly alleviated the sect’s pressing needs.
Watching Nanli’s tearful farewell with the Great White Bear, Fang Qingyuan also bowed to the Golden Core beast, thanking it for taking care of Nanli all these years.
The Great White Bear ran back to its cave in tears, little knowing that they would all be family in the near future.
The sequence of events Fang Qingyuan and Bear Wind had initially discussed was as follows: the White Mountain Beast Taming Sect would continue to explore deeper into the Barbaric Wilderness. Then, in about ten years, when they began their "conquest" of Bear Wind’s territory, the two sides would put on a little show. Bear Wind would feign defeat, and it would be announced to the world that Lechuan had displayed his divine might by subjugating this Ancient Beast of the Wilderness.
Then, no matter how many jaws dropped in astonishment, they would immediately sign the pact, creating a done deal and silencing any potential objectors.
The brilliance of the plan was that, by all logic, Bear Wind would never submit to a Cultivator below the middle to late-stage Nascent Soul realm. He looked down upon Golden Core Cultivators and wouldn’t even deign to communicate with them. Moreover, the entire affair would have been impossible without Fang Qingyuan’s All Things Heart Sound Divine Techniques, the connection through Jinbao, and Jinbao’s mother still buried beneath Qingfeng Mountain.
After Nanli said goodbye to each of her underlings and Fang Qingyuan handed out plenty of tasty treats, she happily followed him, scampering away with a spring in her step. ’I’ve had enough of this awful Barbaric Wilderness,’ she thought. ’I want to go back to the sect and enjoy the vibrant world of humans!’
But little did Nanli know, a pile of tedious chores awaited her. Of course, Fang Qingyuan would give her a vacation first.
Once they left Bear Wind’s territory and entered the lands of the Cloud-Clawed Lizard, Fang Qingyuan recalled Nanli and Jinbao into the Immortal Mansion. He then raced at full speed toward the territory of the White Mountain Beast Taming Sect. He couldn’t wait to see the look on Lechuan’s face. ’It’s going to be priceless.’