Beast Taming: I Have an Immortal Mansion

Two days later, Fang Qingyuan opened Yuanling Mountain’s Mountain Protection Array and welcomed in a group of routed disciples from Beast Taming Mountain.

The three leaders of Yuanling Mountain wore grave expressions. They had seen the warning flares launched from Red Camp and had intended to go to their aid. However, they were delayed while readying their gear and making final arrangements. Just as they were about to set out, they were met by the first of the routed Beast Taming Sect disciples.

The once-grand sight of over a dozen beast ships and a hundred Qi Refining Cultivators had vanished. Now, only a dozen or so had made it back to Yuanling Mountain.

As the Cultivator with the highest cultivation level present, Jiang Kui naturally took charge. She asked,

"What happened up ahead? Who would dare to attack Red Camp?"

The Cultivator in the lead was Shen Wulei’s disciple, a man named Song Daochong. Even after reaching Yuanling Mountain, he still looked utterly terrified.

Hearing Jiang Kui’s question, Song Daochong replied, his voice still shaking with fear,

"It was Wilderness Demonic Beasts. Tens of thousands of them. They poured out from the edge of the forest like a tidal wave and instantly submerged Red Camp. Our arrays barely held. Caught completely by surprise, everyone was thrown into a desperate battle. By the time the few of us managed to break out, many of our comrades had been captured."

Hearing Song Daochong’s story, Fang Qingyuan, who had been listening from the side, asked,

"Just captured? What about your master? With his high cultivation, shouldn’t it have been even easier for him to break out than it was for you?"

Song Daochong’s face was a mask of confusion. He recalled,

"I don’t know. My master didn’t make a single move the entire time. His Companion Beast was also nowhere to be seen. We urged him to break out with us, but he refused and chose to let us go first. I... I fear the worst for him now."

This bizarre account left the three from Yuanling Mountain completely bewildered. ’Shen Wulei didn’t fight, but he didn’t flee either? What was he playing at?’

But now was not the time to unravel this mystery. The most pressing matter was to contact the sect at Celestial Gate Mountain, report the situation, and let Lechuan decide what to do.

In addition, to prevent the Wilderness Demonic Beasts from attacking Yuanling Mountain, they needed to run the Mountain Protection Array at full power and not let their guard down for a single moment.

These were all common-sense precautions. Not brilliant, perhaps, but prudent. As for sending someone to investigate the situation at Red Camp, Yuanling Mountain simply didn’t have the strength.

Jiang Kui had the highest cultivation, but she couldn’t go. Shen Wulei had already fallen; they couldn’t afford to lose Jiang Kui as well.

And as for Fang Qingyuan and Zhang Yuan, with their current cultivation levels, sending them would be pointless.

Fortunately, there was a three-hundred-li buffer between Yuanling Mountain and Red Camp. While close, it wasn’t on the very edge of the Wilderness Forest. The mastermind who had commanded tens of thousands of demonic beasts to attack Red Camp might not dare to venture so far from the forest in force.

’That said, we can’t rule out the possibility,’ Fang Qingyuan thought. He was even tempted to take the Liu Xun and Qu Wujie families, mount Yinbao, and retreat directly to Celestial Gate Mountain.

But the thought only circled his mind a few times before his reason suppressed it. Jiang Kui would never agree to such a proposal.

Yuanling Mountain was Jiang Kui’s responsibility. If Fang Qingyuan wanted to leave, she probably wouldn’t stop him. But getting her to evacuate as well? Knowing her personality, she would never agree.

Besides, the many mortals on Yuanling Mountain were her own kin. As their Sect Leader, she could never abandon so many people to save herself.

After a moment, Jiang Kui asked a few more questions about the situation at Red Camp. Then, wasting no more time, she made her decision.

"Junior Brother Qingyuan, you, Song Daochong, and two other disciples will hurry back to Celestial Gate Mountain. You must explain the entire situation here to Dean Le. The rest of us will remain at Yuanling Mountain and prepare for the worst."

Fang Qingyuan’s expression softened as he received the order. He was moved. Jiang Kui was clearly giving him the best chance of survival, though her decision was also the most logical one, given Yinbao’s speed.

With no time to waste, Fang Qingyuan summoned Yinbao. After getting Song Daochong and the others, all four climbed onto Yinbao’s broad back. With a powerful beat of its bat-like wings, Yinbao shot through the gap Jiang Kui opened in the array and flew off toward Celestial Gate Mountain, soon becoming a distant speck.

Jiang Kui and Zhang Yuan watched the receding silhouette of the Silver Treasure Bat, worry etched on both their faces.

....

This time, Yinbao flew with all the energy it once used to impress other female Silver Treasure Bats. A journey that should have taken three days, Yinbao completed in less than two.

At this speed, Yinbao had long since surpassed a Late-stage Qi Refining Cultivator and could even rival the flight speed of an Early-stage Foundation Establishment Cultivator.

Upon arriving at Celestial Gate Mountain, Fang Qingyuan’s group of four was immediately granted an audience with Lechuan. It was the familiar Grand Council Hall, but this time, only five Foundation Establishment Cultivators were seated on the high platform.

Lechuan’s expression was grave, but he was not overly flustered. The other disciples in the hall, however, looked far worse; most were both shocked and furious.

After Song Daochong and the other two survivors recounted everything that had happened at Red Camp, Lechuan’s brow was deeply furrowed. Zhao Liangde then spoke up,

"For Shen Wulei to surrender without a fight is exceedingly strange. That’s not in his character. I see two possibilities: either the enemy was so overwhelmingly powerful that he knew resistance was futile, or he was somehow restrained and couldn’t fight even if he wanted to."

After Zhao Liangde finished his analysis, Lechuan said,

"We held back from making a move on the Wilderness Forest, yet they brought the fight straight to our door. To command tens of thousands of demonic beasts... a single Golden Core entity is not enough. It would require at least several Golden Core Demon Beasts working together to achieve such an effect."