Beast Taming: I Have an Immortal Mansion

.......

In the residence of the Qingyuan Sect’s Sect Leader, Liu Xun was meeting with guests. Seated before him were several imposing Foundation Establishment Cultivators. In terms of appearance, every single one of them seemed much older than Liu Xun.

But in Liu Xun’s presence, they all wore ingratiating smiles. Whenever he spoke, they would all nod in fervent agreement.

"Sect Leader Zhang, you’re aware of the alliance we’re forming. And yet, your disciples have still been harassing neighboring powers recently. At a critical juncture like this, aren’t you just embarrassing me, the Qingyuan Sect, and the Sect Leader?"

Having been singled out by Liu Xun, Sect Leader Zhang’s face instantly paled. He opened his mouth to protest:

"A misunderstanding! It’s a complete misunderstanding! They’re just young and hot-blooded. They got into a few arguments, and things got physical in the heat of the moment. That’s all. How could you call that harassment?

This is a critical time for the alliance. We of the Mao Ling Sect wouldn’t be so foolish. Rest assured, Sect Leader Liu. When I return, I’ll discipline them strictly. I guarantee this will not happen again."

Hearing Sect Leader Zhang’s defense, Liu Xun’s expression softened slightly. He continued,

"Sect Leader Zhang, I’m not picking on you. But at a time like this, anyone who steps out of line and sabotages the great plan for our alliance is making an enemy of the Qingyuan Sect. I’m telling you this bluntly now, so don’t blame us later for not giving you a fair warning."

"Yes, of course. The alliance is a wonderful thing. We fully support it."

The other sect leaders chimed in with their agreement. They were all powers based in the Far East Land Realm. Now that the Qingyuan Sect’s Sect Leader had become a Golden Core Cultivator and a titan in the region, their pleas for intervention to the Li Huo Alliance and the Spirit Wood Alliance had gone unanswered. Naturally, none of these sects dared to forcefully oppose the new alliance.

"It’s only because our Qingyuan Sect is a vassal sect, bound by the rules of the Great Zhou Academy. If it were any other sect, it would have been ’submit and prosper, resist and perish’ long ago. Would they be sitting here discussing things so amicably? The Qingyuan Sect is stepping up to be your protector, not to forcefully annex you. You should count yourselves lucky."

Since there were no outsiders present, Liu Xun spoke more candidly. Upon hearing his words, the sect leaders all nodded in agreement.

’Just as Liu Xun said,’ they thought, ’the rise of the Qingyuan Sect is better than the rise of any other sect. For one, their foundation is strong. For two, because they’re constrained by the Great Zhou Academy’s vassal rules, they can’t just forcefully swallow up our territories.’

Seeing the atmosphere had grown a little tense, Liu Xun broke into a smile and clapped his hands. Maids waiting by the door filed in to serve Spirit Wine to each of the sect leaders.

"Let’s raise our cups in a toast to the Qingyuan Alliance!"

All six of them drained their cups. However, aside from Liu Xun, the other five had rather strange expressions on their faces.

"What is it? Do you find the Qingyuan Sect stingy? Is the wine I’m serving of such poor quality that it’s unbefitting of a major sect’s stature?"

The other five sect leaders looked embarrassed. Trying to pretend everything was normal at this point would be far too conspicuous.

"To be frank with you all, since we’re forming an alliance, we’ll all be one family from now on. And as family, if there are benefits to be had, the Qingyuan Sect certainly won’t forget you. Take this Spirit Rice Flower Brew, for example. It’s a new Spirit Wine our sect has just released. If any of you are interested, you can purchase some at cost. It’s excellent whether you plan to resell it or use it yourselves."

Hearing what sounded like a sales pitch from Liu Xun, the five sect leaders exchanged glances. ’Everyone knows how to brew Spirit Wine,’ they thought. ’It’s not exactly a high-level skill. Now, if you were talking about talisman crafting, artifact forging, Alchemy, or Refining Arrays, we might not be experts... but brewing wine?’

’Could this be the Qingyuan Sect’s new way of squeezing us for Spirit Stones?’

’You could just rob us blind, but you’re at least putting up a front by offering us some Spirit Wine. How benevolent of you.’

When it came to paying tribute, everyone knew the score. They naturally interpreted Liu Xun’s offer as a demand for payment. After all, White Mountain had its own customs; graft and extortion had always been a local tradition.

But what the five sect leaders couldn’t imagine was that this time, Liu Xun was genuinely trying to make them all rich.

"Since Sect Leader Liu has made the offer, the Pan Mountain Sect will naturally show its support," the Pan Mountain Sect Leader began. "However, our sect is small and has few disciples, so we can’t take too many. We’ll start with one thousand jars."

Seeing the Sect Leader of Pan Mountain Sect take the lead, the other four sect leaders secretly cursed his shamelessness for jumping on the chance to pledge loyalty first. Unwilling to be outdone, they all chimed in:

"We’ll take one thousand jars, same as the Pan Mountain Sect."

"One thousand jars for me as well."

"Same here."

"We’ll take three thousand jars."

The four of them immediately turned to look at the one who had broken formation. It was Sect Leader Zhang of the Mao Ling Sect, his face slightly flushed. Having just been publicly reprimanded by Liu Xun, he felt he had to spend a few more Spirit Stones to get back in his good graces.

"Gentlemen, I haven’t mentioned the price yet. It’s not too late to state your orders after you’ve heard it."

’You can’t be serious,’ they thought. ’Is he trying to squeeze us for more? Was he not satisfied with the quantities we just offered?’

As the five sect leaders’ imaginations ran wild, Liu Xun announced the price for the Spirit Rice Flower Brew:

"A ten-catty jar of Spirit Rice Flower Brew costs just twelve Low-grade Spirit Stones. There’s a total of fifteen thousand jars available. You can decide how to divide them amongst yourselves. Deliveries will be made once a month."

At his words, the five sect leaders were stunned. The price wasn’t too high—it was far too cheap! They had been expecting it to be at least twenty-five Low-grade Spirit Stones per jar. If Liu Xun had been more ruthless, they would have accepted thirty-five. They’d even have stomached a price of fifty; they would have just treated the cost as the protection money they had to pay anyway.

’But twelve Low-grade Spirit Stones?’ they thought. ’Is Liu Xun joking? This isn’t a question of making a profit; it’s a question of how much the Qingyuan Sect stands to lose!’

But how could they know about the Qingyuan Sect’s greatest asset: the output from Fang Qingyuan’s Immortal Mansion? The actual production cost of the Spirit Rice Flower Brew was unbelievably low.

"So, are we all sticking with the quantities you just stated?"

Liu Xun watched the five sect leaders with a grin, savoring their emotional journey from disbelief, to tentative acceptance, to unadulterated joy, and finally, to completely losing their composure.

He savored the feeling. As he watched the five men begin to squabble over the quotas, Liu Xun contentedly raised the wine jar and poured himself another cup. After downing half of it, his expression shifted slightly. ’This wine is great in every respect,’ he thought, ’except for the truly bizarre taste.’

....

Much later that day, after enjoying the dramatic squabble among the five sects, Liu Xun met with Jiang Tianfang to discuss the sale of the Spirit Rice Flower Brew. Afterwards, he composed himself, bathed, changed his robes, and dispelled every trace of alcohol from his person. Only then did he proceed to the summit and speak politely to the disciple on duty at the door.

"Ah, Brother Hong, you’re on duty today. Could you please announce me? The disciple Liu Xun requests an audience with the Old Ancestor."

This Brother Hong was a handsome boy of only seven or eight, with rosy lips and pearly teeth. Hearing Liu Xun, he replied in a clear, high-pitched voice,

"The Old Ancestor has been in secluded cultivation recently. He hasn’t come out in a long time."

’Clever boy,’ Liu Xun thought. He took a small Magical Artifact from his robes, placed it in Brother Hong’s hand, and gave another respectful bow.

Receiving small gifts was one of the perks for the disciples on duty at Fang Qingyuan’s door. Fang Qingyuan was aware of this but never interfered.

Having received his prize, Brother Hong turned and rang the Qingxin Bell in front of Fang Qingyuan’s Quiet Chamber. After a long moment, a gentle voice came from within:

"Ah, it’s Liu Xun. Come in."

Liu Xun quickly straightened his robes one last time, making sure everything was perfectly in place before striding formally into the Quiet Chamber.

Upon the ten-foot-long White Jade Cloud Bed, Fang Qingyuan sat cross-legged. Before him, on a Sandalwood Sea Shell Table, the finest quality incense burned quietly within a Top-Grade Bronze Gilded Furnace.

The fragrance was faint and elegant. Liu Xun knew instantly from the scent that this was the exquisite incense painstakingly crafted by the Guest Minister, Jiuyan. A single stick was worth several hundred Low-grade Spirit Stones and would only burn for a single day.

The furnace itself was also a Magical Artifact. When one stick of incense burned out, it would automatically light the next one from its internal storage, ensuring the fragrance would never fade, even if its owner was too busy to tend to it.

Fang Qingyuan enjoyed the scent, which was reminiscent of osmanthus blossoms, and particularly liked its intermittent nature. He had Jiuyan prepare an extra supply, keeping some for himself and giving the rest to Jiang Wanqin and Tu Dai’Er.

"Xun, what brings you here this time?"

Fang Qingyuan spoke slowly, his eyes not yet fully open, seemingly still immersed in a recent moment of insight.

Liu Xun didn’t dare to stare, so he lowered his head and said,

"The Spirit Rice Flower Brew you previously bestowed upon us has all been sold. Just now, I promised another fifteen thousand jars to five other sects. I was wondering... is that too much?"