Beast Taming: I Have an Immortal Mansion

The news that the Hehuan Sect had dispatched its forces made the expressions of many Cultivators in attendance turn grim. One by one, they bid their farewells and hastily departed from the Qingyuan Sect.

After his lecture, Fang Qingyuan glanced toward the spot where the Hehuan Sect representative had been, only to find that the Golden Core Cultivator from the Pill Alliance and Zhong Xingyue had vanished at some point.

Chai Yi and the Li Huo Alliance Leader, Lang Jigao, were also nowhere to be seen.

’Great. Not a single one of the key figures is left.’

The only Golden Core Cultivators who remained were from nine other Golden Core Sects and the various sub-sects of the Beast Taming Sect.

The chaotic war in White Mountain had little to do with these sects, so it was no surprise that these Golden Core Cultivators could remain seated.

Fang Qingyuan returned to the summit with the others. Yan Nanxing was still waiting for him so they could travel together to the Nanchu Sect and find Chu Hongshang.

After the ceremony, the Sect Leaders of several Beast Taming Sub-Sects followed Lechuan to the White Mountain Beast Taming Sect to discuss the Barbaric Marketplace he envisioned.

After conquering Moyun Valley, Lechuan’s spirits were high. He saw this as a major turning point in his life’s work. From being posted away from Zongshan to the Southern Border, then being driven out of the Southern Border to White Mountain, he felt that time and fortune were finally on his side, allowing his faction to ascend to a higher level.

Once this crowd had departed, the Sect Leaders of the various enfeoffed sects who had come for the ceremony also began to head back. Only Yan Nanxing and the second-generation Sect Leader of the Lingliang Sect remained within the Qingyuan Sect.

Fang Qingyuan glanced at the pale-faced, second-generation Sect Leader of the Lingliang Sect and asked Yan Nanxing,

"Is Sect Leader Xiao planning to travel with us to the Nanchu Sect?"

Yan Nanxing nodded, confirming that the Lingliang Sect’s Leader would be accompanying them. He thought there was a chance the Nanchu Sect might possess a Miracle Elixir capable of treating injuries to one’s core foundation.

Fang Qingyuan had no objection to the idea. The Nanchu Sect traced its origins back to Qi Yun, so it was possible they truly possessed such a Miracle Elixir. ’But something like that would be priceless,’ he mused. ’It’s highly unlikely they’d give it to an outsider.’

Yan Nanxing was pursuing a two-pronged approach, searching far and wide for pills and medicines while also keeping the Beast Taming Sect’s blood sacrifice ritual in mind. ’He’s running himself ragged for the Lingliang Sect,’ Fang Qingyuan thought. ’I wonder how much their Sect Leader promised him.’

"I’ve imposed on you a great deal this time, Sect Leader Fang. Without you, I wouldn’t even have the chance to approach the Nanchu Sect. COUGH, COUGH."

The Lingliang Sect’s Leader had spoken only a few words before he couldn’t help but cough. For someone in the Golden Core Realm, who should be impervious to external maladies, to be unable to suppress a cough was a clear indication of how grievous his injuries were.

"Think nothing of it, Sect Leader Xiao. There’s no need for such formality. Sect Leader Yan and I go way back."

Yan Nanxing was even older than Lechuan, but as he was the one asking for a favor, he could only respond to Fang Qingyuan’s remark with a cheerful smile.

Fang Qingyuan summoned Liu Xun and instructed him to proceed with their established plan. With the tacit approval of both the Spirit Wood and Li Huo Alliances, no power in the vicinity of the Qingyuan Sect could stand against them.

Liu Xun’s task was to employ diplomacy before force. He would lead a delegation to negotiate first, informing each sect and Cultivation Clan of their intentions one by one. Once he had a clear picture of each party’s stance and had separated the supporters from the dissenters, Fang Qingyuan would then step in to handle the final stage.

Generally speaking, when a Golden Core Sect moved to absorb them, lesser powers with only Foundation Establishment cultivators would almost always submit. But the Great Thousand Realms were full of endless wonders, and Fang Qingyuan didn’t think his sect’s name alone carried that much weight. ’I’ll probably have to pick one or two sects to make an example of,’ he thought, ’just to show everyone.’

Due to the enfeoffment rules set by the Great Zhou Academy, the Qingyuan Sect couldn’t directly annex these sects and Cultivation Clans. To that end, Fang Qingyuan proposed forming an alliance. Of course, the real authority within this alliance would, without a doubt, have to be held by the Qingyuan Sect.

Fang Qingyuan envisioned a future where there was only one voice in the lands of the Far East: the Qingyuan Alliance. It would be like the United Federation system—each member would have a vote, but major affairs such as diplomacy and declarations of war would be handled solely by the Qingyuan Alliance.

Private conflicts among members would be resolved internally, while externally, they would form a pact for mutual offense and defense. Internally, they would be governed by the articles of the alliance.

If the alliance was formed successfully, the Qingyuan Sect’s original force of eight Foundation Establishment and two hundred Qi Cultivation cultivators would, under the banner of the Qingyuan Alliance, swell to a scale of fifty Foundation Establishment and two thousand Qi Cultivation cultivators.

After sending Liu Xun off to his tasks, Fang Qingyuan summoned Jiang Wanqin and asked about Tu Dai’er. When he learned that she was doing well and that everything was as usual, he couldn’t help but smile.

’Looks like she really is going to wait for Jinbao to wake up,’ he thought. ’Fine. Once Jinbao awakens, I’ll let her see for herself. Then she’ll have no reason to stay here any longer, I expect.’

He instructed Jiang Wanqin to keep a close watch on Tu Dai’er and report to him immediately if anything unusual occurred. After putting his affairs in order, Fang Qingyuan departed from the Qingyuan Sect with Yan Nanxing and the second-generation Sect Leader of the Lingliang Sect. They flew across the better part of White Mountain, heading for the Nanchu Sect’s territory beyond its borders.

Everywhere they looked along their journey, the three of them saw skirmishes and battles erupting one after another. Their route from the Qingyuan Sect took them through the lands of the Li Huo and Lianshui Alliances, as well as a region that had once belonged to Artifact Talisman City but was now part of the Spirit Wood Alliance. Only after crossing these territories would they reach the Nanchu Sect.

With the exception of the Lianshui Alliance’s lands, which had always been stable, their path through the Li Huo Alliance’s territory revealed sect gates everywhere smoldering with the black smoke of recent fires. This was the result of Loose Cultivators, directed by the Hehuan Sect, conquering the Li Huo Alliance’s vassal sects.

Although the Hehuan Sect was said to be marching on two fronts, it seemed they were still in an initial, exploratory phase. For the time being, the only ones truly taking action were Loose Cultivators, used to harass their enemies’ vassal clans.