Chapter 563 - 394: The 3rd Choice
Feeling a sense of release, Fang Qingyuan flew all the way from Celestial Gate Mountain in the Southern Border to Bear Wind’s territory in the Barbaric Wilderness, rarely stopping to recover his energy.
Arriving in Bear Wind’s domain, Fang Qingyuan, who had been pondering the entire journey, had already figured out how to explain things to Bear Wind.
He had promised Bear Wind he would kill Hao Shi, the one who murdered the Great White Bear. But Lechuan, who prioritized the bigger picture, had stopped him, causing him to break his word. Recalling it now, ’I’m not even a member of the Beast Taming Sect anymore, so what’s the point of talking about sect loyalty?’
Along the way, Fang Qingyuan reflected on Lechuan’s actions and realized that his master, as it turned out, also had his flaws.
Fang Qingyuan had originally thought Lechuan was a shrewd strategist and a wise man. Whether in managing the sect or educating his disciples, he was considered a competent and good teacher.
But thinking about it now, Lechuan’s flaws were also obvious. His position was entirely dependent on what the Beast Taming Sect gave him, so he cared far too much about the sect’s interests.
Or perhaps, Lechuan, as the master of the White Mountain Beast Taming Branch, was simply too eager to advance.
To that end, he took the initiative to get closer to Di Yuanpu, seeking a patron. For this reason, he revealed the matter concerning Bear Wind. It was Fang Qingyuan who had initiated the talks with Bear Wind, originally to build up Lechuan’s prestige. But seeing that Xiong Youde was interested in Bear Wind, Lechuan, fearing his prize would be snatched away and also wanting to prove his own ability, sold Bear Wind out.
What was Bear Wind’s pursuit? To be free and unfettered. He would hang the Beast Taming Sect’s sign, but in reality, he would remain an unrestrained Ancient Beast of the Wilderness.
This pursuit was what most attracted Bear Wind, and the prerequisite for this condition was that Bear Wind was strong and Lechuan was weak.
Bear Wind was a mid-stage Nascent Soul Ancient Beast, while Lechuan was only an Eighth-Layer Golden Core Cultivator. In terms of combat power, even ten Lechuans combined would be no match for him.
The two collaborated, each getting what they needed. One could even say Lechuan was the one benefiting more from the association.
But now that Lechuan had laid everything bare, the most crucial prerequisite for their cooperation had changed. In terms of overall strength, Bear Wind’s power could no longer compare to Di Yuanpu’s side.
You see, as soon as Di Yuanpu learned of this, he immediately thought of making Bear Wind an internal spy to fight for territory within Awakening Lion Valley.
This sort of thing had an air of coercion, which was far from what Bear Wind desired. With such an attitude, Di Yuanpu was treating Bear Wind as a tool of surrender, making him act first as a pledge of loyalty.
At this point, Fang Qingyuan felt that the cooperative relationship between Lechuan and Bear Wind had been worn down to the point where no goodwill remained.
Even if there was some goodwill left, the foundation of their cooperation no longer existed.
He recalled how he had boldly schemed for Lechuan’s sake back then, even taking a blow from Bear Wind that sent him flying into a wall. Thinking back on it now, Fang Qingyuan felt it was a huge loss. ’If I had known things would turn out this way, why did I have to meddle back then?’
But no one can see the future, so how could he have predicted what would happen over a decade later? Now, Fang Qingyuan could only ponder how to bring this matter to a satisfactory conclusion.
’This matter started with me, and it will end with me.’
To be honest, Fang Qingyuan didn’t want to see Bear Wind ordered around by the Beast Taming Sect like a dog, with no dignity whatsoever.
That didn’t apply to the Nascent Soul Companion Beasts born and raised in the Beast Taming Sect, but how could someone like Bear Wind, who had joined halfway, ever gain true acceptance within the sect?
Over the years, the kindness Bear Wind had shown him and Jinbao made Fang Qingyuan understand who his real people were.
For that reason, the Beast Taming Sect’s "bigger picture" and humanity’s "common interests"—it was all bullshit.
’Perhaps I should do this myself. The Beast Taming Sect is already a thing of the past for me.’
With this thought in mind, Fang Qingyuan met with Bear Wind.
At this moment, several Golden Core Bear Beasts of various shapes and sizes stood beside Bear Wind. These were his offspring, who had originally been scattered across other Spirit Veins.
After the incident with the Great White Bear, Bear Wind had been feeling uneasy lately, so he had summoned these Golden Core Bear Beasts to his side to watch over them personally, lest they be targeted again.
Among these Bear Beasts, the one in the lead was a brown bear five zhang tall, its body radiating a furious aura. It did not look pleased to see Fang Qingyuan.
Besides this large brown bear, there was a Malayan sun bear with a crescent-shaped mark on its chest, a cute and cuddly little raccoon, and a spectacled bear with dark patches around its eyes that made it look like it was wearing glasses.
These four Golden Core Bear Beasts stood guard at the entrance to Bear Wind’s Cave Mansion. The tiny raccoon was sitting on the large brown bear’s shoulder, looking down at Fang Qingyuan with somewhat dazed eyes. She spoke to Fang Qingyuan in a soft, sweet voice:
"You must be the one who raised Jinbao. Jinbao is cultivating with the Old Ancestor right now. What do you need?"
Hearing a voice that sounded like a seven or eight-year-old girl and seeing it come from the little raccoon, Fang Qingyuan gave her a few extra glances. If a Golden Core Demon Beast refined its Horizontal Bone, it could produce a human voice. However, this also depended on the species of demon beast. It was easier for beasts and birds, but much more difficult for insects and fish.
The Great White Bear had also studied for a long time, but in the end, it could only speak a few short words, unlike the little raccoon before him, whose speech was clear and natural.
Seeing these Golden Core Bear Beasts of all different shapes, Fang Qingyuan couldn’t help but secretly admire how Bear Wind, the Old Ancestor, must have had quite a diverse harem back in the day.
"I have indeed come to see the Old Ancestor to discuss an urgent matter. Also, may I ask the young lady’s name?"
Fang Qingyuan said politely. Seeing this, the little raccoon just nodded and didn’t try to make things difficult. She floated down from the large brown bear’s shoulder and landed in front of Fang Qingyuan. Only then did Fang Qingyuan realize that when standing upright, the little raccoon was less than a meter tall, not even reaching his waist.
But the Spiritual Light contained within her body was enough to show that she was a demon beast equivalent to the late-stage Golden Core. Among the four Golden Core Bear Beasts present, her cultivation was the highest.
"Just call me Xiaoqi. I was the seventh to be born back then. As for this big brown bear, you should call him Xiong Ba. It’s a name he recently gave himself after asking some adventurers. We used to call him Blockhead, but after we learned human writing, he didn’t like his old name anymore.
This is Crescent, and this is Confusion Insect. One is shy, and the other is dazed. If the Old Ancestor hadn’t protected them, they wouldn’t have had the ability to cultivate to the Golden Core Realm."
The Golden Core Bear Beasts in Bear Wind’s territory were quite different from those in the territories of other Nascent Soul Ancient Beasts. Because of Bear Wind’s personality, he valued kinship and was quite protective of his bear offspring.
Thus, even those Bear Beasts whose temperaments weren’t fierce or resolute enough could live relatively peaceful lives as long as they could cultivate. They didn’t need to fight to the death with other demon beasts over limited resources when they were weak.
Though called an Ancient Beast of the Wilderness, Bear Wind was actually more like a sect leader. The atmosphere here was more like a loosely-organized sect.
It could only be said that the personality of a single Nascent Soul Ancient Beast could influence the atmosphere of an entire Land Realm. If it were the neighboring Cloud-Clawed Lizard instead, Bear Beasts like Crescent and Confusion Insect probably wouldn’t have survived their youth.
After Fang Qingyuan greeted Xiaoqi and the other three Bear Beasts, he received varied but generally friendly responses. It seemed none of them blamed him for Dabai’s death.
Led by Xiaoqi, Fang Qingyuan followed her into the cave mansion. It was visibly more complex in its construction than before.
Perhaps it was Bear Wind preparing for a rainy day, but it was not a good sign regardless.
Reaching the deepest part of the cave mansion, Fang Qingyuan saw Jinbao practicing his cultivation, and it looked like some kind of fist technique.
’This doesn’t seem to be something Bear Wind taught him. It must be a legacy left behind by Jinbao’s father from afar.’
Bear Wind sat to the side, legs spread wide like a general. His three-zhang-tall body was as imposing as a small mountain, his powerful frame containing earth-shattering strength. He was far more awe-inspiring than the large brown bear outside.
However, at the Nascent Soul Realm, physical strength played a relatively small part in battle. What mattered more was the clash over the True Meaning of the Great Dao.
When he saw Fang Qingyuan enter, Bear Wind’s expression lacked its previous warmth. He shot Fang Qingyuan a glance and said in a booming voice:
"Where’s the head I asked for?"
The mention of this made Fang Qingyuan wince. Failing to deliver on a promise was an embarrassing thing to be called out on to your face, no matter the circumstances.
Moreover, Fang Qingyuan’s humiliation today was far from over.
Seeing Fang Qingyuan remain silent, Bear Wind sneered:
"I knew it. You were just all talk back then."
Fang Qingyuan felt helpless. He had genuinely intended to kill Hao Shi, Dabai’s murderer, but in the end, he had failed. Now, he could only let Bear Wind mock him.
Seeing Fang Qingyuan arrive, Jinbao, who was standing nearby, dropped his boxing stance and rushed to Fang Qingyuan for a hug. A heartfelt smile appeared on Fang Qingyuan’s face as he hugged Jinbao and vigorously ruffled the fur on his bear head.
Seeing this, the mockery on Bear Wind’s lips lessened slightly. With Jinbao present, he couldn’t truly turn hostile toward Fang Qingyuan.
After a moment, seeing that Jinbao and Fang Qingyuan were playing endlessly, Bear Wind had to clear his throat and say sternly:
"You must give me an explanation for this matter. Otherwise, our cooperation is off."
’Weren’t agreements signed precisely so they could be torn up at a time like this? Without a binding Soul Contract, who would take a mere agreement seriously? As for why they hadn’t used a Soul Contract back then, if they had really used one, neither Bear Wind nor Lechuan would have dared to sign. They weren’t familiar enough with each other for that. Besides, a Soul Contract capable of binding a Nascent Soul Level being was extremely expensive; even Lechuan would have found the cost painful. Moreover, if the terms were violated, not even a Golden Core Cultivator or a Nascent Soul Ancient Beast could withstand the contract’s soul-reaping power. One could never be too cautious with such a thing, and the best way to handle it was simply not to sign.’
Fang Qingyuan didn’t dispute Bear Wind’s attitude. He just ruffled Jinbao’s head, looked at Bear Wind, and said a single sentence that made Bear Wind’s face fall in alarm:
"The two Divinity Transformation experts from the Beast Taming Sect have already arrived here."
At the mention of Divinity Transformation combat power, Bear Wind’s previous anger seemed insignificant. In front of a Divinity Transformation Cultivator, Bear Wind had no way to respond other than to flee.
Taking advantage of Bear Wind’s moment of shock, Fang Qingyuan calmly informed him of the recent developments.
As Fang Qingyuan emotionlessly recounted the events, the bitterness in Bear Wind’s heart grew heavier. Yue’e’s intentions, the Beast Taming Sect’s schemes, the Old Lion of Awakening Lion Valley, the Tier Six Spiritual Land... with all this going on, what did he, Bear Wind, amount to in the grand scheme of things?
This news broadened Bear Wind’s horizons, but it also filled him with anxiety. He wasn’t some brainless ancient beast from the Barbaric Wilderness who knew nothing. Four hundred years ago, he had already witnessed how terrifying humans could be.
They were only placating him now because he still had some use. If he truly disobeyed, a single kick from the Jade Rabbit would be enough to splatter the brains of a Nascent Soul Ancient Beast.
While Bear Wind’s mind was in turmoil from this news, Fang Qingyuan spoke seriously:
"Since you don’t want to be an internal spy for the Beast Taming Sect, and you don’t want to move your entire clan away from this land, why not consider a third option?"
"What?"
"How about you follow me?"