Beast Taming: I Have an Immortal Mansion

Clouds churned at the edge of the cliff, drifting on the wind to swirl around the two people there. A fine mountain mist flowed past, giving Fang Qingyuan a faintly damp and cold sensation.

Huo Yao’Er, who stood before him, was a great beauty to begin with. In this environment, she possessed an even more special kind of allure. She now gazed at Fang Qingyuan with a calm yet self-assured expression, as if his agreement was only natural, awaiting his reply.

Huo Yao’Er had just laid out numerous reasons, one after another, thoroughly analyzing the benefits of marrying Fang Qingyuan. Her tone was so calm, it was as if she were discussing someone completely unrelated to her, rather than herself.

First, Huo Yao’Er had taken a fancy to the Qingyuan Sect’s status as one of the Sealed Sects. As the first-generation Sect Leader of the Qingyuan Sect, Fang Qingyuan would remain in his prime for several hundred years as long as he avoided any accidents. Moreover, she was also aware of his innate Talent.

Fang Qingyuan was still young, and his future was full of potential. As a fellow genius in the eyes of others, Huo Yao’Er preferred to choose a peer rather than become a concubine to some Nascent Soul Ancestor.

Second, Huo Yao’Er was familiar with Fang Qingyuan; he wasn’t a stranger to her. Fang Qingyuan had left a deep impression on her brother, Huo Bai, during the short time they had worked together.

And Huo Bai had, in turn, passed this impression on to his little sister, Huo Yao’Er.

She knew his background, understood his temperament, shared his cultivation realm, and he possessed considerable wealth. Fang Qingyuan was, indeed, an excellent match for her.

Of course, the reasons above were merely part of Huo Yao’Er’s rational analysis. But she also had some less conventional reasoning that, once voiced, made Fang Qingyuan feel she was a bit obsessive.

She believed that for Fang Qingyuan to have risen from an ordinary Qi Cultivation Cultivator to his current realm, he must have encountered some great fortune, or rather, possessed a great secret.

She was willing to offer herself and her Dao Body to help Fang Qingyuan cultivate faster, all in exchange for him sharing his great fortune with her.

Huo Yao’Er was making an enormous gamble. She was betting her own body and the rest of her life on Fang Qingyuan’s great fortune.

It had to be said that Huo Yao’Er had a sharp eye. Unfortunately, Fang Qingyuan’s fortune was simply too immense; he feared she wouldn’t be able to bear it.

At present, he had no plans to marry a Golden Core Cultivator, a female cultivator of the same realm as himself.

It wasn’t that Fang Qingyuan looked down on Huo Yao’Er. Rather, just as she suspected, his great fortune was a secret that could never be mentioned to anyone, a secret no one could ever be allowed to discover.

Taking a few concubines at the Qi Cultivation stage was no issue. With the huge gap in cultivation between Qi Cultivation and Golden Core, Fang Qingyuan could use his Mind Divine Techniques whenever he wished, and none of his concubines’ thoughts would escape him.

But a fellow Golden Core Cultivator would have far stronger mental defenses. Besides, a woman’s mind was incredibly fickle; Fang Qingyuan could never hope to fully understand it.

If they really married and spent all their time together, how could he prevent some clue about his Immortal Mansion secret from slipping out?

’What secret can be kept from the person beside you in bed for hundreds of years?’

The vast amount of resources from the Immortal Mansion appearing out of thin air each year, the irregular flow of the Qingyuan Sect’s Spirit Stones—all of it would be enough to arouse Huo Yao’Er’s suspicions.

With a female cultivator’s intuition, even a single careless remark could be enough for Huo Yao’Er to realize something was amiss.

Therefore, even if Fang Qingyuan was a lustful man who coveted Huo Yao’Er’s body, after hearing her demands, he made up his mind. ’This woman is dangerous. I need to stay far away from her.’

Huo Yao’Er was now waiting quietly for Fang Qingyuan’s reply. In her mind, the chances of him agreeing were very high.

She was a genius in cultivation from a noble and powerful clan. She had beauty, she had grace, and she even possessed a Dao Body that could aid his cultivation. She, Huo Yao’Er, couldn’t imagine any reason why Fang Qingyuan would refuse.

But that’s often how the world works. The moment you believe victory is assured is precisely when the chances of failure are highest.

’My apologies, beautiful. You are wonderful, but compared to the Immortal Mansion, you are nothing.’

And so, Fang Qingyuan spoke with regret.

"I already have five concubines, and my health has been rather poor lately. I don’t have the energy to consider anything else. My spirit is weak, and my strength is lacking. I’m afraid I must disappoint you, Fellow Daoist."

Hearing Fang Qingyuan’s tactful rejection, Huo Yao’Er’s face finally flushed. She had her pride, after all.

It was an inherently embarrassing subject. Faced with Fang Qingyuan’s rejection, she said:

"Then I have been too forward. My apologies for disturbing you, Fellow Daoist Fang."

Watching Huo Yao’Er’s retreating figure, Fang Qingyuan felt little regret. He simply lamented his own lack of strength. ’If I had reached the Nascent Soul Realm,’ he thought, ’I might have accepted her offer without hesitation.’

As long as he couldn’t keep her completely under his control, Fang Qingyuan would rather stay single for his entire life than expose the slightest hint of his secret.

A Daoist partner of equal standing, a lover with whom he could share his deepest feelings, a wife to whom he could entrust his life—in the face of the monumental secret that was the Immortal Mansion, all of these were sources of danger he could not dare to touch.

This was the shackle Fang Qingyuan was fated to bear from the moment he obtained the Immortal Mansion.

’I am a man who cannot have love. I am a man burdened by a great secret, making me exceptionally lonely. I can only be utterly alone.’

At that moment, the mist at the cliff’s edge grew thicker, churning like a sea until it completely swallowed Fang Qingyuan’s figure.

....

For the next few days, the two Golden Core Female Cultivators were unusually quiet. Perhaps Di Qing, knowing Di Yuanpu was coming, had told Di Suhua to rein herself in, lest Di Yuanpu see her usual behavior and slap her across the face.

In front of her peer, Di Qing, Di Suhua could act as brazenly as she wanted. But before an elder like Di Yuanpu, she had to display the docility expected of a junior.

On this day, a massive gray Dapeng Bird appeared on the southern horizon of the Southern Border Beast Taming Sect, flying in from the distance. It soared upon the astral winds, and on its back stood three people and one beast.

A gray-robed old woman sat cross-legged, cradling a pure white Jade Rabbit. The other two, the Mid-stage Nascent Soul Cultivators Di Yuanpu and Xiong Youde, stood respectfully by her side.

"Only those who cannot survive at home develop the desire to venture out. In this, the motivations of a Divinity Transformation existence are no different from those of mortals."

The old woman’s voice was placid, yet tinged with a hint of melancholy.

"They pushed us too far," Di Yuanpu said through gritted teeth.

Seeing Di Yuanpu’s dramatic performance, Xiong Youde, standing to the side, secretly rolled his eyes. ’Way to make yourself conspicuous.’

In response to Di Yuanpu’s anger, the gray-robed old woman stroked the body of the Jade Rabbit in her arms and said with a helpless sigh:

"If you can’t win, you must concede. Kaelv Ming’s Spirit Beast is truly overbearing, and neither Xiaoyu nor I are skilled fighters. So be it. We’ll let Kaelv Ming have that Tier Five Spirit Land back in the sect. This lion’s den is a Sixth Rank Spiritual Land. It’s a bit remote, but if we manage it well, it won’t be a bad place to settle down."

Just then, the Jade Rabbit in the old woman’s arms opened its three-lobed mouth and said:

"Little Yuan Pu, I heard the Valley Master of Awakening Lion Valley has been leaving his den a lot recently to go fight that stupid bull on the Barbaric Plateau. It’s normal for there to be friction between the territories of two Divinity Transformation Ancient Beasts, but he’s beaten that bull seven or eight times already. What’s he doing?

Is he trying to seize territory? But he’s already got a Sixth Rank Spiritual Land and he’s not satisfied, so he runs out to fight over a Tier Four plot? Don’t you all find that very strange?"

The Jade Rabbit in the old woman’s arms spoke in a crisp, clear voice that sounded like a girl of thirteen or fourteen.

The old woman remained silent. Di Yuanpu and Xiong Youde exchanged a look, unsure how to respond. After a long moment, Di Yuanpu said softly, "The arrow is already on the bowstring..."

"Ancient beasts have a strong sense of territory but aren’t very intelligent. It’s likely the Old Lion is just bullying that Ancient Sacred Bull. But this is for the best. When two powers clash, one is bound to be injured. That’s a good thing for us."

Xiong Youde offered his opinion from the side. The Jade Rabbit turned its head to glance at him, then sighed and said:

"The two factions of the Great Zhou Academy are still fighting fiercely over what happened at Beiding Mountain during the last Reclamation War. No Divinity Transformation cultivators are coming to help our side this time.

The Qi Yun Sect has always viewed White Mountain as a prize already in its grasp. If the Valley Master of Awakening Lion Valley hadn’t acted so strangely and disrupted their plans, we never would have had such an easy opportunity. They might not sabotage us, but they certainly won’t lift a finger to help. And Jia Changgeng of White Mountain can barely protect himself..."

As it spoke, both it and the old woman glanced toward Junxuan Mountain. "After the Yellow Sand Fox was beaten into submission by the Peak Master of Heaven and Earth Peak, he became as obedient as a dog, so let’s not even talk about him. Don’t be fooled by our large entourage; we are, in fact, completely on our own. We must proceed with extreme caution. Let me be blunt: my master and I combined would barely be a mouthful for that Old Lion. You two must understand this clearly."