Beast Taming: I Have an Immortal Mansion

After returning to Yuanling Mountain, Fang Qingyuan went to Jiang Kui’s courtyard. Upon entering, he glanced at the somewhat dilapidated grounds and said,

"Senior Sister, you should find some time to tidy up this courtyard. Otherwise, if people from other sects come to visit, they’ll look down on us."

Jiang Kui replied nonchalantly,

"I don’t have the energy for that. Besides, what other sects are there around Yuanling Mountain? The closest one is five hundred li away. Instead of trying to make them look up to us, we’d be better off making Yuanling Mountain itself stronger. That’s a more reliable approach."

It was true that there were no other sects or Cultivation Clans around Yuanling Mountain. This was because these sects all needed Spiritual Land to cultivate, and the nearest Spiritual Land to Yuanling Mountain was the one Fang Qingyuan had just completely excavated.

In addition, there were three or four abandoned mine pits scattered around Yuanling Mountain, which had likely been dug by the Wei Family in the past.

Once a Spiritual Land is mined, it’s ruined. It’s like draining the pond to catch the fish—an act of total self-sabotage. Barring special circumstances, leaving a Spiritual Land for cultivation is far more profitable than mining it.

This was also why there were no sects around Yuanling Mountain. The occasional Loose Cultivators who passed through on adventures would give Yuanling Mountain a wide berth.

It was only because the fief was so remote that Lechuan had been willing to part with it. After all, if there were other sects in the vicinity of Yuanling Mountain, they would have undoubtedly gravitated toward Jiang Kui, a Foundation Establishment Cultivator from Beast Taming Mountain.

Fang Qingyuan had only mentioned the courtyard in passing. Seeing that Jiang Kui paid it no mind, he dropped the subject.

Once the two of them were inside, Jiang Kui began to brew tea while Fang Qingyuan said,

"Of this batch of Spirit Stones, we can’t touch seventy-five thousand of them. That’s the sect’s tax for the next three years. We also need to set aside five thousand per year for Yuanling Mountain’s daily expenses. By that calculation, Senior Sister, you’ll have sixty thousand Spirit Stones left to use. Oh, and we also have that Spirit Stone Crystal Core."

Yuanling Mountain’s second-rank, mid-grade Mountain Protection Array consumed ten Spirit Stones per day just to operate. Over a year, that amounted to a consumption of over three thousand Spirit Stones.

This was an expense that couldn’t be cut. It was a critical matter concerning the lives of the several thousand mortals on Yuanling Mountain. Moreover, Fang Qingyuan himself wouldn’t feel secure if the array was shut down.

Aside from this, there were many other expenses. A large portion of the daily necessities for the mortals at the foot of the mountain needed to be purchased from the outside world. Since they had just moved, the first few years were quite difficult, so Jiang Kui had been paying for these things out of her own pocket. Once they were more stable, they expected to be able to save on this expense.

Then there were the auxiliary spiritual materials that Fang Qingyuan, Jiang Kui, and Zhang Yuan needed for their daily cultivation. This was another expense that was hard to cut.

Ever since leaving Celestial Gate Mountain, their original sect benefits had been cut off. They were now responsible for their own profits and losses.

But Jiang Kui hadn’t treated Fang Qingyuan and Zhang Yuan unfairly. After paying the sect’s share from the Spirit Stones mined over the years, she would give a portion of what was left to Fang Qingyuan.

All in all, five thousand Spirit Stones a year was sometimes not even enough.

After listening to Fang Qingyuan’s analysis, Jiang Kui held her teacup, took a sip, and said,

"Then how do you think we should spend this fortune of seventy or eighty thousand Spirit Stones, Junior Brother?"

Fang Qingyuan thought for a moment before suggesting,

"The most important thing right now is to properly equip you, Senior Sister. You are Yuanling Mountain’s main combat power, so of course, this money should be prioritized for you."

Hearing this, Jiang Kui’s face flushed slightly, and she hesitated.

"Shouldn’t we use this money to start some kind of business? The Spirit Stone Ore is gone, and so is our income. What will we live on in the coming years?"

In response to Jiang Kui’s question, Fang Qingyuan explained,

"There’s no rush to start a business. We need to observe a bit more first. But four years have passed, Senior Sister, and you’re still using the Magical Artifacts from your Qi Cultivation days. That won’t do."

After hearing this, Jiang Kui argued,

"It’s not that I don’t want to replace them, but there’s no need right now. I barely ever leave Yuanling Mountain. Besides, other Cultivators know we’re from the Beast Taming Sect, so they wouldn’t dare cause trouble. When we’re better off in a few years, I’ll definitely get better ones."

Fang Qingyuan shook his head.

"The name of Beast Taming Mountain is useful, but we can’t rely on it completely. We must become stronger ourselves. Listen to me: use this money to equip yourself properly. Everything else will be easier after that."

Seeing Fang Qingyuan’s firm attitude, Jiang Kui could only nod in agreement. Once the general plan was set, the two began discussing where would be the best place to buy Magical Artifacts.

Celestial Gate Mountain and Black River Square were the first to be ruled out. Both places were too close to the sect. If they made a large expenditure, it would be difficult to hide it from Zhao Liangde. If that sparked his greed, the potential losses would far outweigh any gains.

Fang Qingyuan also wanted to take this opportunity to sell the Top-grade Spirit Stone. If Zhao Liangde found out, given his personality, he would most likely use the sect’s needs as an excuse to forcibly exchange it for the ’cost price’ of ten thousand Low-grade Spirit Stones.

This was a very real possibility, so Fang Qingyuan immediately rejected those two locations.

Going to the heart of the Qi Yun Sect’s territory wasn’t a good option either. Not only were prices high there, but there were also fewer Magical Artifacts suited for combat. In that region, Magical Artifacts that aided cultivation were king, and everything else was considered a minor art.

Of the three directions bordering the Southern Border Beast Taming Sect, with the Qi Yun Sect ruled out, that left Nanchu and White Mountain.

After weighing his options, Fang Qingyuan ultimately decided on White Mountain. However, this time he wouldn’t go to the Artifact Talisman Alliance, which had a feud with the Southern Border Beast Taming Sect. Instead, he would go to the Lianshui Alliance.

The Lianshui Alliance was a much greater power than the Artifact Talisman Alliance. The Artifact Talisman Alliance was just a loose coalition of seven Golden Core Cultivators, whereas the Lianshui Alliance had a Nascent Soul Ancestor.

Of course, according to the customs of White Mountain, any Golden Core Cultivator within its domain who wished to achieve Nascent Soul Formation had to go to Upper White Mountain to cultivate. They were forbidden from descending without permission.

This had been the rule for tens of thousands of years, and the White Mountain Cultivators were long accustomed to it. After all, the Master of White Mountain was a Divinity Transformation Cultivator. Who would dare to disobey his words?

It was just that in recent years, the Master of White Mountain had rarely made an appearance, leading younger Cultivators like Fang Qingyuan to have no real concept or awareness of him.

If Jiang Kui hadn’t mentioned it, Fang Qingyuan would have assumed White Mountain was just a lawless, chaotic place.

The Lianshui Alliance’s Nascent Soul Ancestor was naturally on White Mountain as well. Although he had ascended and could not come down, he possessed a Secret Technique allowing him to project his divine soul from a distance.

This method had been used many times in the history of power struggles on White Mountain, so it was hardly a secret. Even Cultivators from outside White Mountain knew of it.

When a Nascent Soul Cultivator sent down their divine soul, even without their physical body, they were still not something a group of Golden Core Cultivators could stand against. Therefore, in the White Mountain Territory, any power with a Nascent Soul Cultivator was an undisputed top-tier force.

Among them, the five great powers of Spirit Wood, Li Fire, Sharp Metal, Thick Earth, and Lianshui all possessed Nascent Soul Cultivators.

United, these five formed the Five Elements Alliance, the undisputed hegemon of White Mountain. Other factions within White Mountain had to be much more polite when dealing with them.

Fang Qingyuan was heading to the Lianshui Alliance, a power that specialized in producing water-attribute Magical Artifacts, which matched Jiang Kui’s Spirit Root.

Even if he couldn’t find a suitable Magical Artifact off the shelf, it was also feasible to buy a high-grade spiritual material within the Lianshui Alliance and commission someone to forge a custom piece for her.

Furthermore, within the Five Elements Alliance, the Lianshui Alliance had the largest population. This was because the Lianshui Alliance prided itself on following the righteous path, a style that was out of step with the other powers of White Mountain. The mortal society under its rule was the most stable and prosperous.

It was the safest place in the entire White Mountain Territory, even safer than the domain of the Southern Border Beast Taming Sect.

Taking all this into consideration, Fang Qingyuan decided to go to the Lianshui Alliance’s main hub, Lianshui City.

After Fang Qingyuan shared his thoughts with Jiang Kui, she praised his plan. From her perspective, Fang Qingyuan’s considerations were far more thorough than her own.

With their destination set, they couldn’t leave immediately. The trip would take over a month at least, and Yuanling Mountain could not be left without a Cultivator overseeing it. At the very least, they had to wait for Zhang Yuan to finish tying up the loose ends at the mine before they could depart.

「One month later」

Zhang Yuan dismantled the Primordial Spirit Heavy Soil Array that had been covering the mine. The pit had been completely excavated, so there was no longer any use for the Array to remain.

As more than a hundred Array Banners were pulled out, the protective barrier that had enveloped the mine for seven or eight years finally receded, allowing sunlight to once again shine upon the land.

When Zhang Yuan returned with the Spirit Dogs and the Shrimp Turtle Beast, Jiang Kui handed the Mountain Protection Array Token to him. Only then did she step onto Yinbao’s back and depart with Fang Qingyuan.

Zhang Yuan was left behind, staring blankly at a pack of Spirit Dogs holding their food bowls in their mouths.

....

Lianshui City was located in the heart of White Mountain. Fang Qingyuan flew on Yinbao for more than ten days, passing through the Death Swamp and the territory of the Spirit Wood Alliance before finally arriving.

Lianshui City was situated atop a fourth-rank, mid-grade Water Attribute Large-scale Spiritual Vein. The entire city was built along the contours of the mountain, and Fang Qingyuan had never seen such towering city walls.

The walls, a thousand feet high, were built entirely from Vajra Talisman Stones. Each stone was a spiritual material refined by Cultivators. Millions of these Vajra Talisman Stones were interlinked, forming a defense that even a Nascent Soul Cultivator would find difficult to breach.

Combined with the Mountain Protection Array set up by the Lianshui Alliance, the city was truly impregnable. Over thousands of years, Lianshui City had been attacked by other powers, but they had all been forced to gaze upon it and sigh in despair.

Fang Qingyuan and Jiang Kui arrived at the gates of Lianshui City. After paying the entrance tax, they entered through one of the side gates.

Lianshui City had thirty-two gates on its four sides. The four main gates were generally kept closed, while the remaining gates were designated for use by either Cultivators or mortals.

Upon entering, Fang Qingyuan finally understood what a true Immortal City was. Towering buildings and massive halls stood in dense rows, and the flow of Cultivators was so heavy they were shoulder to shoulder and beyond count. Aside from the ubiquitous Qi Cultivation Cultivators, Foundation Establishment Cultivators were also a common sight on the streets.

In addition to the countless cultivation shops, there were also many Cultivation Cave Mansions available for rent by Cultivators. The number of mortals serving as Servants was so large that a separate, vast residential area had to be established within the city just to house them.

Fang Qingyuan had never seen such a scene anywhere else. In comparison, the Wei Family’s former base on Celestial Gate Mountain was, at best, a local landlord’s estate, and Black River Square was little more than a countryside shanty town.

Not only was Fang Qingyuan looking around nonstop, but Jiang Kui’s beautiful eyes also lingered on the magnificent sights. However, the most pressing matter was to find a place to stay first.

So, Fang Qingyuan said to Jiang Kui,

"Senior Sister, it’s getting late. Let’s find an inn and get some rest."