Beast Taming: I Have an Immortal Mansion

Chapter 215 - 166: Charging Foundation Establishment

At the Celestial Gate Mountain landing, Fang Qingyuan, Situ Jingyu, and Jinbao disembarked from one of the Treasure Pavilion’s Tier Three Flying Boats.

Situ Jingyu felt a little out of place upon arriving. Staring at the prosperous Marketplace and the surging crowds, she felt it was far more vibrant than the Earth Cave Fire Domain.

Fang Qingyuan, however, felt a great sense of relief. ’I’m finally home,’ he thought. ’I never want to set foot in that godforsaken Black Sand City again.’

Sensing the twelve black short blades gathered within his Immortal Mansion, Fang Qingyuan found most of his attention focused on them. During the month since he’d acquired them, he had taken them out from time to time in the Flying Boat’s cabin to study them. He had finally figured one thing out: the intrinsic function of the twelve short blades as Magical Artifacts was not what mattered. The key was the material they were made from.

However, despite consulting numerous books, Fang Qingyuan couldn’t identify the material the blades were composed of.

These short blades were critical to his Foundation Establishment, so Fang Qingyuan was unwilling to show them to another Artifact Refining Master for inspection. In any case, his Foundation Establishment Opportunity was tied to these blades, so he wasn’t worried they would bring him any harm.

After leaving the landing, Fang Qingyuan led Situ Jingyu and flew straight toward the summit of Celestial Gate Mountain. To achieve Foundation Establishment, it was best to be in a place with dense spiritual energy. And in the entire Southern Border, the Spirit Vein on Celestial Gate Mountain was the most potent.

The Spirit Vein on Celestial Gate Mountain was originally a Tier Three Middle Grade Earth Spirit Vein. Later, Lechuan had an Array established, turning it into a third-rank top-grade spiritual land for cultivation. It was used to reward disciples who had performed meritorious service for the Southern Border Beast Taming Sect. The area was open only to sect disciples. Those at the rank of Inner Sect Disciple or higher could use merit points to exchange for a day or two of cultivation time to attempt breakthroughs and raise their cultivation level.

Fang Qingyuan now possessed a top-grade Five Elements Spirit Root, and the difference between his aptitudes was only a point or two at most. Thus, this Earth Attribute, third-rank top-grade spiritual land on Celestial Gate Mountain was the perfect place for him to enter seclusion and attempt his breakthrough to the Foundation Establishment Realm.

It was a fine plan, but there was one problem: he didn’t have enough merit points. His current total was only enough for three to five days in the third-rank top-grade spiritual land, which was not nearly enough.

Breaking through the Foundation Establishment Stage took one or two months at a minimum, and could even take more than half a year. ’What good would three to five days do?’

For all these years, Fang Qingyuan had been on Yuanling Mountain and had no opportunity to come to Celestial Gate Mountain to complete sect missions. As a result, his Sect Token only held the small number of merit points he’d earned long ago.

However, Fang Qingyuan wasn’t worried. He might be short on merit points, but he had plenty of Spirit Stones, and that was all that mattered.

Upon entering the sect grounds on Celestial Gate Mountain, he saw many unfamiliar faces. They looked quite young and were likely new disciples recruited in recent years.

In what felt like the blink of an eye, the Southern Border Beast Taming Sect had been established here for nearly twenty years. After disengaging from the war with the Wei Family, the sect had focused on recuperating. Aside from a single military campaign against the Barbaric Wilderness, it had spent its time quietly developing.

Now, across thousands of miles of the Southern Border, every power—with the exception of remote places like Jiuye Square—had submitted to the rule of the Southern Border Beast Taming Sect.

Those who had been unwilling to submit had long since been turned to dust, their destruction serving as a testament to the Southern Border Beast Taming Sect’s might. In the seven or eight years since Jiang Kui and Shen Wenyan’s breakthroughs, the sect had produced five more Foundation Establishment Cultivators, bringing its number of core experts into the double digits.

Currently, in the Southern Border Territory, the Beast Taming Sect itself had eleven Foundation Establishment Cultivators, while all its subordinate sects and families combined had only about twenty.

Furthermore, the sect had nearly one hundred Core Disciples at Late-stage Qi Cultivation, over two hundred Inner Sect Disciples at Mid-stage Qi Cultivation, and even more newly-recruited Outer Sect Disciples—at least five hundred of them.

The sect’s numbers had swelled not only because families across the Southern Border were eager to send their disciples to the Beast Taming Sect, but also because the sect had relaxed its strict aptitude requirements.

Previously, only those with mid-grade aptitude could join, but now, even those who fell short by a few points could be accepted, provided they could contribute to the sect.

This was one of the sect’s methods for winning over the local populace. After all, the Southern Border Beast Taming Sect was an outside power. Despite its formidable strength, it also needed to employ a softer touch, providing paths for advancement to the natives.

As a result, the entire Southern Border became much more harmonious. The atmosphere was a vast improvement from the past, when fights could break out at the slightest provocation.

Within the sect, Fang Qingyuan didn’t take Situ Jingyu to wander around. Instead, he headed straight for Zhao Liangde’s residence to discuss an important matter with the Head of the Miscellaneous Affairs Peak.

Upon meeting Zhao Liangde, Fang Qingyuan introduced him to Situ Jingyu. Looking at her imposing figure, Zhao Liangde laughed heartily.

"Your master is always bragging to me about his star disciple, but now that I see you, I realize he was being modest! To have already reached Mid-stage Foundation Establishment at your age... while my own unworthy disciples, the best of them is only at Early-stage Foundation Establishment."

Praised by Zhao Liangde, a rare, embarrassed expression appeared on Situ Jingyu’s face. ’Only I know the truth of my own situation,’ she thought. Her master had emptied his coffers for the sake of her cultivation. Otherwise, he never would have sent her to be Fang Qingyuan’s guard for a mere few thousand Spirit Stones.

Thinking of her master, Situ Jingyu felt a pang of homesickness. Zhao Liangde, however, continued.

"Jingyu, you should stay for a few more days. I’ll have my eldest disciple show you the sights of the Southern Border. He’s a loyal and kind-hearted man, and very filial. He reached Early-stage Foundation Establishment after just fifty years of cultivation, and it looks like he’ll reach the mid-stage in a few more years..."