Beast Taming: I Have an Immortal Mansion

As the Manta Ray, the size of a small mountain and carrying a palace on its back, flew into the territory of the Qingyuan Sect, Liu Wenyan finally noticed four other identical Manta Rays flying alongside hers.

’These must be the concubines presented by the other four sects. I wonder what they look like, what their charms are. Can I secure the dominant position among the five of us?’

Coming from a prominent family, Liu Wenyan was quite familiar with the matter of vying for favor. Her father alone had taken more than a dozen concubines, and had even more children from them. If she hadn’t been tested and found to have a Spirit Root, her father would have continued taking concubines, determined to produce a child with an Immortal Root.

In contrast, the Ancestor she was to serve had reportedly not taken any concubines for nearly a hundred years. For some reason, he had now had a change of heart.

A Golden Core Ancestor taking a concubine was a happy occasion for many. The people of the Qingyuan Sect were delighted, as were the five great sects. Loose Cultivators looked forward to a fine banquet, and merchants anticipated the business the upcoming ceremony would bring.

’Am I happy about it, too?’

Liu Wenyan asked herself this inwardly. She felt lost about the future. ’A Golden Core Ancestor... I just hope his temperament isn’t too perverse.’

.....

The joyous day was fast approaching, but Fang Qingyuan was not in the Qingyuan Sect. He had been summoned by Lechuan and was now listening to his news: in a little while, Yue’e Ancestor would be paying a personal visit.

He heard that back at Zongshan, Kaelv Ming’s pressure on Yue’e’s faction had grown even more intense.

Every sect had its own fundamental character, and the struggles within the Beast Taming Sect were just this blatant.

Faced with Kaelv Ming’s threat of a life-and-death duel, Yue’e Ancestor didn’t dare to accept the challenge. Instead, she wisely chose to cede the Spiritual Land she occupied at Zongshan and relocate elsewhere.

For thousands upon thousands of years, the Beast Taming Sect had followed this tradition. This was what allowed the sect to maintain its strength and enterprising spirit, rather than becoming a place where seniority ruled and old elders monopolized the most resources, causing the sect to fall into the mire of factional control.

When a Divinity Transformation Ancestor lost a power struggle and chose to relocate, they could also open up new territories for the Beast Taming Sect. For example, Outer Sea Ice Abyss Island and the Sun Worship Sect in the Western Desert of Death were both sects founded by Divinity Transformation Ancestors of the Beast Taming Sect who had lost internal struggles and voluntarily moved away.

And now, it seemed Yue’e Ancestor was about to carry on this tradition. The Spiritual Land she had her eye on was the Tier Six Spirit Land Lion’s Nest within Awakening Lion Valley.

Fang Qingyuan didn’t have many thoughts on the matter of Yue’e Ancestor’s arrival. It was too far above his station. Besides, he wasn’t a disciple of the main Beast Taming Sect anymore, so he wouldn’t be able to get close to Yue’e Ancestor anyway.

Besides, just looking at Chunyu Hua and his group pissed him off. Since Lechuan had told him not to act rashly, he naturally didn’t want to hang around Moyun Valley any longer.

"I hear you’ve taken a few concubines recently?"

Lechuan looked at Fang Qingyuan with a half-smile. Beast Taming Sect Members were always open-minded about matters of love and romance. Lechuan himself had over a dozen concubines. The reason he asked was his surprise that Fang Qingyuan had suddenly come around to the idea.

Fang Qingyuan wasn’t coy about it. He had taken them, and that was that. As a Golden Core Ancestor, what was wrong with taking a few concubines? They were concubines, not a proper wife. What was this talk of a mistress of the house? If these concubines started putting on airs and acting like the lady of the house, it would be a laughingstock.

"After I achieved my Golden Core, my lifespan was extended to eight hundred years. Taking a few concubines is also a way to alleviate the loneliness of cultivation."

"Hahaha, now that’s the right way to think! A person should live life to the fullest. Forget five concubines—even if you wanted fifty, as long as you’re willing to take them, no one could say a thing."

Lechuan laughed heartily. That was the good thing about being a Beast Taming Sect disciple: no need to follow any strict rules or precepts. They were spontaneous and free, far more so than the Qi Yun Daoist School or the Confucian Family of the Great Zhou Academy.

Of course, they still couldn’t compare to an unorthodox sect like Black Wind Valley, and there was an even greater gap between them and a Dual Cultivation sect like the Hehuan Sect.

"Have you set a date? I’ll come and have a few celebratory drinks then."

Taking a concubine wasn’t the same as marrying a proper wife. Normally, it would be fine for Lechuan not to attend, but the customs of the Beast Taming Sect didn’t care for such distinctions. If Lechuan wanted to go, he would go.

"Not yet, but it will be this year. When the time comes, I’ll have to ask you, Master, to bring our fellow sect brothers to help bolster my prestige."

Fang Qingyuan extended the invitation, and Lechuan naturally nodded. He then added a word of advice:

"Then you’d better hurry. I’m afraid that when the time comes, Yue’e Ancestor will grab us disciples and throw us into the Barbaric Wilderness. The moment she arrives, the campaign against Awakening Lion Valley will likely be put on the agenda. No one will have the time to come attend your happy occasion then."

"I understand. I won’t make things difficult for everyone. I’ll definitely pick a good date when everyone is free."

Lechuan and Fang Qingyuan exchanged a knowing smile. Everything was understood without a word. This was the silent understanding between Male Cultivators.

......

In a world of pure white Spiritual Power, utterly without impurity.

The scheming One-armed Nascent Soul, waking once again from its slumber, looked at its increasingly ethereal soul body, then at the human-shaped illusion of the Old Lion before it, and a sense of urgency welled up in its heart.

’Time is not on my side. Every time I wake from slumber, I feel like a part of my soul body has been absorbed by this Spiritual Space. Though my divine soul is powerful, sooner or later I won’t be able to resist the Old Lion’s assimilation. I’ve laid the groundwork for three years and have already gained the Old Lion’s trust. It’s time to lead the Old Lion down the path I’ve planned for it.’

"What are you pondering?"

The studious Old Lion scratched his messy hair and pushed the countless illusory books surrounding him toward the One-armed Nascent Soul.

"This is all your human knowledge. I’ve been reading it recently, and it’s left me a bit confused. Which of these do you think I should learn?"

"HAHAHA."

The One-armed Nascent Soul casually glanced at the covers of those books and laughed without stopping.

"What are you laughing at?"

The Old Lion was displeased.

"If you finish learning this stuff, you’ll turn into a common fool!"

The One-armed Nascent Soul declared loudly, "An existence of your level only needs to learn one subject."

"What? You’re not trying to trick me like the last Cultivator, are you?" the Old Lion asked, on high alert.

"The art of ruling men, of controlling the masses—the way of the hegemon!" the One-armed Nascent Soul answered decisively.

......

"Your attitude toward your concubines can’t be too close, nor too distant. Distance breeds resentment, while closeness breeds insolence. You have to grasp the balance."

"So this is your ’Way of Managing Concubines,’ Master?"

Lechuan chuckled slyly. On the way to the Southern Border to find Di Qing, he took the opportunity to impart his worldly wisdom to Fang Qingyuan.

Barely ten days had passed since their last discussion when Fang Qingyuan was summoned again. This time, the two of them were leading a group to the Southern Border Beast Taming Sect. Word had come from Yue’e Ancestor that her first stop would be the Southern Border Beast Taming Sect, and she had specially dispatched the Nascent Soul Cultivator, Di Yuanpu, as an advance party to sort out affairs in the Southern Border.

A few years ago, when the Old Lion of Awakening Lion Valley displayed its power from afar, Yue’e Ancestor sensed the might of the Yuanhou Lion Dance and delayed her arrival. She specifically had Di Yuanpu’s Nascent Soul Companion Beast, the Nascent Soul Giant Crocodile, infiltrate Awakening Lion Valley to gather intelligence.

Recently, that Nascent Soul Giant Crocodile, while monitoring the Old Lion in Awakening Lion Valley, discovered that the Old Lion had actually left its cave and headed for the Wild Ox Plateau behind it. Soon after, the earth-shattering aura of a battle emanated from the Wild Ox Plateau.

This action led everyone to speculate that the Old Lion was seizing territory. Although a Divinity Transformation Ancient Beast normally doesn’t move from its lair, for an existence like the Yuanhou Lion Dance, nothing it did was surprising.

Seizing this golden opportunity, Yue’e Ancestor prepared to come and see for herself. Thus, Lechuan had to go and receive her venerable presence, preparing to wait by her side and report on the achievements of the White Mountain Beast Taming Sect over the years at the first opportunity.

As for Fang Qingyuan, he was dragged along by Lechuan, who hoped he could make an appearance before the Ancestor. Perhaps if Yue’e Ancestor was pleased, she might casually let some resources slip through her fingers, which would be more than enough for Fang Qingyuan to enjoy endlessly.

For this reason, Fang Qingyuan had the sect continue preparations for the concubine-taking ceremony, but without seeing a single one of the concubines, he eagerly followed Lechuan and ran off to the Southern Border.

’Concubines are nice, but meeting a Divinity Transformation Ancestor is what’s truly important. Taking concubines is just for pleasure and to appease others. Meeting the Ancestor is the real business.’

Aboard Fang Qingyuan’s Qingyun Gangfeng Shuttle, Lechuan was also quite fond of this Tier Three Flying Shuttle. Compared to the palace on the Silver-backed Manta Beast Ship, the interior of this shuttle was smaller, but its flight was much smoother and faster.

The interior of the seventy to eighty-foot-long Qingyun Gangfeng Shuttle was actually quite spacious. In the half-year since the flying shuttle had come into Fang Qingyuan’s possession, he had Qi Wenchu slightly modify its interior, adding some luxurious furnishings and even using an Ice Array to chill some Spirit Wine.

Now, Lechuan sat on a comfortable seat made from the fur of a Fire Fox demon beast, holding a goblet of Tier Three Spirit Wine that another sect had purchased at great expense and gifted to Fang Qingyuan. His demeanor was very relaxed.

Behind the flying shuttle, a group of more than a dozen Flying Manta Rays flew leisurely, carrying disciples of the White Mountain Beast Taming Sect.

"That envoy from the Pill Alliance came looking for you again, didn’t he?"

Lechuan drained the wine in his cup in one gulp and then questioned Fang Qingyuan.

There was no one else inside the flying shuttle. Fang Qingyuan personally poured wine for Lechuan, and a thought crossed his mind: ’I’m still missing a serving girl to pour the wine.’

After that thought flashed through his mind, Fang Qingyuan replied naturally:

"He did, but I refused him. The Pill Alliance hasn’t reached the end of its rope yet, and the price they offered wasn’t high enough. I plan to wait a bit longer."

The Pill Alliance had pinned its hopes on the Hehuan Sect, but while the Hehuan Sect claimed to be sending troops, how could they possibly go all out for the Pill Alliance? After a series of performative attacks, the battle lines became deadlocked once more. The siege on the Pill Alliance was not relieved; in fact, their situation became even more passive than before.

It seemed that Spirit Wood and the Li Huo Alliance were truly intent on dismembering the Pill Alliance. The Pill Alliance’s territories were gradually falling, and soon only the land where the Pill Alliance’s Zongshan was located would remain. Its other vassals had been completely plundered.

However, since its inception, the Pill Alliance had situated its core sects near Silver Elephant Mountain. Therefore, even if only the Zongshan gate remained, as long as the personnel of the core sects were safe, the Pill Alliance wouldn’t suffer a major loss. It was just embarrassing to be surrounded and beaten, a blow to their prestige.

Silver Elephant Mountain was originally the cultivation ground of the Divinity Transformation Mother Elephant from the last Reclamation War. Although it was only a peak Tier Four spiritual land, its Spiritual Power was rich. Furthermore, because the Pill Alliance had been founded on Alchemy and Artifact Refining, its cultivators were not skilled in combat and lacked a sense of security. Thus, they spent an exorbitant price to upgrade their Mountain Protection Array to a peak Tier Four array.

Once the array was fully activated and contracted, even if seven or eight Nascent Soul Cultivators attacked it with all their might, they wouldn’t be able to break it in less than eight or ten years.

So now the Pill Alliance had shut its gates and was acting like a cowardly turtle in its shell, and there was nothing Spirit Wood and Li Huo could do about it.

The deciding factor of this war didn’t lie here in Southern White Mountain, but rather in the conflict between Sharp Metal, the Thick Earth Alliance, the White Mountain Sword Sect, and the Illusion Sword Sect.

The matter began with these four powers, and it would have to end with them as well.

But in Lechuan’s eyes, the current conflict in White Mountain was nothing. Compared to Yue’e Ancestor’s plans for Awakening Lion Valley, the struggle between these eight sects in White Mountain was mere child’s play.

As they traveled and talked, Fang Qingyuan and Lechuan found more and more to discuss. Now, with the improvement in Fang Qingyuan’s cultivation realm, the relationship between them had gradually evolved from that of master and disciple to one of both mentor and friend.

After all, besides Fang Qingyuan, there wasn’t a second person in all of White Mountain with whom Lechuan could speak his mind, someone who could keep up with his train of thought.

When the group arrived in the Southern Border, Fang Qingyuan and Lechuan disembarked from the flying shuttle and saw Di Qing leading a crowd of disciples to welcome them in front of the Southern Border Beast Taming Sect.

Golden Core Cultivators had sharp eyes. Fang Qingyuan immediately spotted a Female Cultivator in the crowd who was unnaturally lowering her head.

Fang Qingyuan merely gave her a slight glance before naturally looking away. He followed behind Lechuan, smiling as he greeted Di Qing.

"Sect Leader Di, it’s been a while."